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WhydidDonaldTrumpreallygetelected?
constitutedmuchoftheRepublicanParty’sbase.
Meanwhile,racialandethnicminoritiesaswell
aswomen,poorpeopledependentongovern-
mentservices,andcomparativelyliberalwhites
comprisedtheDemocraticParty’sbase(Edsall,
2012,p.41;Edsall&Edsall,1992;Campbell,
2016,p.158;Judis,2016,pp.36-37).Public
opinionpollsreflectedthisinquestionsabout
discriminationandsupportingaffirmativeaction.
By2014,therewasasharppartisandividebetween
RepublicansandDemocratsonthisissue.Sixty-one
percentofRepublicansbelievedthatdiscrimination
againstwhiteswasatleastasbigaproblemas
wasdiscriminationagainstblacks.Justasmany
Democratsdisagreed.TeaPartyRepublicansfelt
particularlystrongaboutthiswith76%believing
thatwhiteswerediscriminatedagainstatleastas
muchasblacks.Moreover,whiteRepublicans
out-numberedwhiteDemocratsthree-to-one
inbelievingthattoomuchattentionispaidnowa-
daystoissuesofrace(Johnson,2017,p.173;
PewResearchCenter,2016).Tosomeobservers,
“Oneofthecentralsourcesofcontinuitylinking
theRepublicanPartythatemergedunderNixon
inthelate’60sandearly’70swiththe[Republican
Party]oftodayisasustainedpoliticsofracial
reaction”(McAdam&Kloos,2014,pp.104,
254-255).Inotherwords,thewhitebacklash
assumedapoliticallypartisanflavorthatfurther
polarisedthetwoparties.
Immigrationhelpedfuelracialpolarisation
inpoliticstoo.Bythelate1970stherewasagrowing
populationofnewimmigrants,whichintensified
thecompetitionforcollegeadmissions,jobs,
andpromotions.Compoundingtheproblemwas
thatthiswashappeningjustastheeconomywas
beginningtosufferfromtheeffectsofstagflation,
globalisation,andrisinginternationalcompetition,
sothesupplyofopportunitiesdidnotkeeppacewith
increaseddemand.Inparticular,conservativewhite
mensawthemselvescompetingagainstminorities
(Edsall,2012,pp.68-72).Bothexplicitandimplicit
anti-Hispanicandanti-blackattitudesincreased
accordingly(Agiesta&Ross,2012).Rising
anti-Muslimsentimentalsoemergedinthewake
ofthe9/11attacks.Racialandethnicscapegoating
wasontherise.Theimportantpoint,however,
isthatallofthisfurtherexacerbatedracialand
ethnicpolarisationbetweentheRepublicanand
DemocraticPartiesastheDemocratsattracted
agrowingminoritypopulationandtheRepublicans
becameincreasinglywhite(Abrajano&Hajnal,
2015;Abramowitz,2013,chap2).
Tobesure,therootsofpoliticalpolarisationare
complex.Avarietyofinstitutionalchangeswerealso
inplay.Theseincludednewcampaignfinancelaws,
gerrymandering,attemptstopreventcertaingroups
fromvotingundertheguiseofstoppingvoterfraud,
expandingthewhippingsystemsinCongress,
andtheadventofmorecontentiousandpartisan
presidentialprimarysystems.Buttheideological,
economicandracialtrendsIhavediscussedwere
crucialinelevatingpoliticalpolarisationtoavery
highlevel.
AllofthissetthestageforDonaldTrump-
anarcissisticpitchmanextraordinaire.Hepromised
tobethebestjobcreatorGodevergaveAmerica.
Hepromisedtobuildawallalongthesouthern
bordertokeepouttheMexicans.Hepromised
tocrackdownonMuslimimmigrationtoprevent
terrorism.HepromisedtocutthroughtheGordian
knotofpolarisationinWashingtonbymakingdeals
nooneelsecouldmake,andifthatdidn’twork,
launchingafusilladeofexecutiveorderstoblast
throughthecongressionallogjam.Hepromised
thathisdeal-makingprowesswouldalsohelp
rewriteAmerica’stradeagreements,andrepeal
andreplaceObamacare.Inshort,Trumppromised
toMakeAmericaGreatAgain,acorecampaign
sloganherepeatedadnauseaframedinallsorts
ofnationalist,racist,xenophobicandoccasionally
sexistlanguage.Butthereisstillmoretothestory.
Thecatalyst:BarackObama
andgridlock
By2008,thepoliticaldifferencesbetween
DemocratsandRepublicanshadreachedatipping
point.Iftherightcatalystcamealong,polarisation
couldturnintofull-blownpoliticalgridlock.That
ZarządzaniePubliczne/PublicGovernance4(46)/2018
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