[Pops]

So after going to the HOF and doing a Liberal Rant and then being flamed with a conservative rant, then in an hour, being post to post in support of the constitution with those I was previously ranting against, I begin to wonder how much of our so called political polarization do you think has been fueled by the monetarily and politically motivated, media ratings induced, Howard Stern and Rush Limbaugh lead media?

Are Americans so insulated from one another by our oil-fueled standard of living and the presets on our radio dials, that the thickness of a bumper sticker can actually split the country the way the talking heads say?

[Leanan]

There's been some interesting analysis of the perceived "polarization" of the United States. It turns out that we, the American people, are not more polarized than we have been in decades past. But the political parties are.

It used to be that both parties had a spectrum, from liberal to conservative. The South tended to be very conservative, but they were mostly Democrats, because after the Civil War, no white Southerner wanted any part of the "party of Lincoln." Similarly, the north held many liberal Republicans. Socially liberal rich people, the so-called "Rockefellar Republicans."

But now, both parties are more polarized. The "boll weevils" (conservative white Southern Democrats) have mostly switched to the GOP. Meanwhile, black Southern Democrats tend to be much more liberal than their white predecessors, pulling their party left. And elsewhere in the country, the Rockefellar Republicans are being replaced with a more rightwing crowd.

The result is that "Independent" is the fastest-growing segment of voters. In some states, there are more independents than Republicans or Democrats. It used to be that almost everyone who voted was a member of a political party. No more.

It does seem like that leaves room for a third, moderate party to rise up in the middle. We almost got that with Ross Perot's "People's Party." Unfortunately, he turned out to be a megalomaniac nutcase.

Anyway, at least one reason fewer of us are members of a political party is the increased complexity of our society. The population is larger. No longer can party operatives knock on doors and talk to everyone individually. (Even if they try, we're not home, or we don't answer the door or the phone, being too busy.) The parties have switched from offering rides to the polls to blanketing the net and the airwaves with ads. Only the hardcore are left, in both parties. Mainstream America has been left out.

[Pops]

Yes Leanan, we aren't more polarized; we're actually more fractured. But the 2 parties, through sound bites tailored to our Neilson-designated statistical areas, find our hot buttons. And the morning heads then “report” how different the areas vote.