"Negative partisanship"

[_Maksutov]

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics ... ocrat-ohio

From the article:

This attitude — hatred of the other party above all else — is at the heart of so-called “negative partisanship,” a concept that Georgetown University’s Jonathan Ladd defines as “the tendency to vote for a party not mainly because you like it, but because you are repulsed by the other major party.” This phenomenon, he explains, is why Republican leaders and voters were able to get past their policy disagreements with Trump and vote for him: They’d rather have a Republican in office, however unorthodox and unqualified, than any kind of Democrat.

The crucial feature about negative partisanship is that it isn’t really about policy; it’s about identity. Negative partisanship becomes really powerful, political scientists Alan Abramowitz and Steven Webster write, when “supporters of each party perceive supporters of the opposing party as very different from themselves in terms of their social characteristics and fundamental values.” The other party is your cultural enemy, hostile to people “like you,” and therefore must be defeated at all costs — even if, as in this instance, it means siding with a foreign power.

When negative partisanship is strong, Republicans are willing to believe the worst about Democrats — and rationalize away any sins committed by Republicans. Hence why, over the course of four years, you go from Republican voters enthusiastically backing Mitt Romney — who called Russia America’s “No. 1 geopolitical enemy” — to the vast majority of them supporting Donald Trump through the Russia scandal.

[_honorentheos]

Good article. It's fundamentally concerning how the "win at all costs" political calculus combined with hyper-partisan news outlets that have found the public has a limitless appetite for fear and distrust, which can be converted into ad dollars, has turned into such a strong social corrosive.

It feeds into the discussion from this previous thread as well, in my opinion: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=50553

ETA: I do think it is worth noting that, while the article is focused heavily on explaining why Trump is getting the support he is among Republicans despite the 180 degree swing it takes on everything from trade policy and deficit spending to Russia relations, this is a bipartisan concern. The Bush/Cheney years turned hate of conservatives into a Democrat platform as well. And today concern with Trump is really the only definitive position that is universally shared across the spectrum of Democrats, liberals and progressives.

[_Maksutov]

Good article. It's fundamentally concerning how the "win at all costs" political calculus combined with hyper-partisan news outlets that have found the public has a limitless appetite for fear and distrust, which can be converted into ad dollars, has turned into such a strong social corrosive.

It feeds into the discussion from this previous thread as well, in my opinion: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=50553

ETA: I do think it is worth noting that, while the article is focused heavily on explaining why Trump is getting the support he is among Republicans despite the 180 degree swing it takes on everything from trade policy and deficit spending to Russia relations, this is a bipartisan concern. The Bush years turned hate of conservatives into a Democrat platform as well. And today concern with Trump is really the only definitive position that is universally shared across the spectrum of Democrats, liberals and progressives.

Thanks, Honor, I must have missed that one. Completely spot on.

I see the visceral-hate-of-liberals-project as starting back in the 80s with Rush Limbaugh, if not even earlier with Paul Weyrich. It's come to full 'fruition' in the present regime.