The Polarizers by Sam Rosenfeld, 2018

Describes the origin and development of partisanship in U.S. political parties from the gray mush of the Truman-Eisenhower post-war era to the fire-breathing of the Clinton-Gingrich turn of the century. Political scientists start it by theorizing issues-based parties to foster a deliberative democratic populace. Anti-communism on the right and civil rights on the left (as well as anti-civil rights on the right) motivate it and drive party restructuring. Reagan and Gingrich perfect it. Somewhere along the line ideology creeps in and replaces issues (or maybe it was always there), and here we are.

The Polarizers is a fun and easy read, heavy on the stories and light on the social science. There are lots of fun little facts to collect (e.g., the Democrats do procedural, top-down party restructuring, and the Republicans do bottom-up, organizational party restructuring), and the occasional hilarious joke (“The power of party polarization might very well lead to the forced disappearance of filibusters altogether in short order.” p. 256). And, as always, it’s a pleasure to see political cartoons used to illustrate topics under discussion.