It’s easy to get upset during a political era in which the leaders of the two major parties seem incapable of putting aside their differences and working together to solve the nation’s problems.
But if there’s plenty of blame to go around, some of it belongs to the voters themselves. They are the ones who have chosen the politicians. Quite often, they reward those who sit at either end of the ideological spectrum while punishing compromisers.
In part, that’s because voters are becoming more like rigid partisans — unwilling to see the other side as having any good ideas or political virtue.
“The folks who’ve worked across party lines are generally being replaced,” says Joe Hackney, the Democratic leader in the North Carolina House. “The public does ultimately hold the key to that.”
Recent polls underscore how much more polarized Americans have become.
MORE: Angry At Washington Gridlock? You May Want To Look In The Mirror : It’s All Politics : NPR.