The Political Blame Game in American Democracy

Book excerpt: They Started It! looks at the forces that have developed over the past 50-plus years and created a dysfunctional political system in the United States. It argues that the current level of partisan polarization is actually the culmination of a number of forces at work during the past few decades. These include a perception by each party that the other is using unfair political tactics, the subsequent creation of a culture of blame with each party blaming the other for the dysfunction, a decline in political norms leading to childlike behavior by politicians and political candidates, and a culture of payback in which the opposition argue their opponents are responsible for the decline. These four factors culminated in the 2016 presidential campaign, where they were exemplified by the campaign of Donald Trump, and they have continued to have a significant ongoing impact on the political landscape of the United States.