Polarisation of US politics

Question 1

In what decade did polarisation become seismic

Answer 1

1990s

Question 2

Why did talk of Red America and Blue America begin to emerge in the 1990s

Answer 2

With the breakup of the old Solid South, southern conservative Ds began to cross to the Rs, making the R a far more ideologically conservative party and leaving the Ds as a more homogenous, liberal party

Question 3

What kind of people make up ‘Red America’

Answer 3

Characterised as white, overwhelmingly Protestant, and specifically evangelicals, and joined by catholic over the abortion issue, rural and suburban and conservative

Question 4

What kind of political opinions do they hold

Answer 4

Think that the federal government does too many things that would be better left to private individuals and businesses

Tend to think that federal income tax should be cut, even if that means that there will be cuts to federal government services

Pro life

Pro guns

Pro traditional marriage

Opposed to Obamacare

Question 5

Where do they get their news from

Answer 5

• Fox News
• Conservative radio shows featuring hosts such as Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and Mark Levin

Question 6

What kind of people make up Blue America

Answer 6

Rainbow coalition of white, black, asian and hispanic americans. Attending a place of worship is not that important. Wealthy, predominantly urban and liberal

Question 7

What kind of beliefs do they hold

Answer 7

• Think that the federal government should do more to solve issues
• Think that federal taxes on the wealthy should be raised to provide more funding for federal programmes
• Pro Choice
• Pro same sex marriage
• In favour of gun control legislation
• Generally supportive of Obamacare

Question 8

Where do they get their news from

Answer 8

CNN

Question 9

Give three red states

Answer 9

Texas, South Carolina and Kansas

Question 10

List three blue states

Answer 10

California, Massachusets and Oregon

Question 11

Give a statistic to show how most states are a foregone conclusion in presidential elections

Answer 11

30 states have voted for the same party’s candidate in each of the last 5 elections

Question 12

Why can we not view states as ‘red’ or ‘blue’ in a monolithic fashion

Answer 12

There are blue enclaves in Texas, like South Austin, as well as red enclaves in California. Some states can also move into a different category over the course of several elections

Question 13

Give an example of states changing category

Answer 13

• In 2020 Biden won Arizona and Georgia, both of which had been considered traditionally R
• Ohio, which is traditionally seen as a swing state, has become a reliable R state in recent years