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2015 U. Chi. Legal F. 243 (2015)
Reducing Polarization: Some Facts for Reformers

handle is hein.journals/uchclf2015 and id is 247 raw text is: Reducing Polarization: Some Facts for Reformers Nolan McCartyt ABSTRACT In response to the governance problems associated with excessive party polarization in American national and state governments, many reformers now seek to alter existing electoral institutions to reduce polarization and its effects. Unfortunately, many existing proposals are based on premises that lack empirical foundation. This essay outlines a set of empirical regularities about polarization in the United States that have important implications for the appropriateness and efficacy of reform proposals. In the conclusion, I outline some approaches to polarization that are consistent with the empirical facts. I. INTRODUCTION On January 3, 2015, the New York Times published an article entitled Departing Lawmakers Bemoan the Lack of Compromise.' The article features four departing members of Congress with a combined 120 years of legislative experience. The lawmakers include two Democrats, Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa and Representative Henry Waxman of California, and two Republicans, Senator Saxby Chambliss and Representative Jack Kingston, both of Georgia. Notably, the two Democrats were known as staunch liberals while the two Republicans were reliable conservatives. Yet, all four decry the effects of the partisan and ideological polarization which they believe has led to serious erosion of the capacity of Congress to get things done. Each former legislator recalls past bipartisan compromises t Susan Dod Brown Professor of Politics and Public Affairs, Woodrow Wilson School and Department of Politics, Princeton University, nmccarty@princeton.edu. 1 Carl Hulse and Robert Pear, Departing Lawmakers Bemoan the Lack of Compromise, NEW YORK TIMES (Jan. 3, 2015), available at http:I/www.nytimes.com/ 2015/01/03/us/politics/departing-lawmakers-lament-capitols-partisanship.html, archived at http://perma.cc/7D7N-C97B. 243

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