When asked to explain partisanship, Americans point to fear
Michelle Ayala sees 2016 as a crucial election, but has given up having political conversations with Democrats because, she says, 鈥渘ames start flying鈥� if she tries to explain her support for Trump.聽
"I鈥檓 called a racist because I鈥檓 a Republican, but they don鈥檛 even know that I have a second generation Mexican-American daughter," says Ms. Ayala, a Republican from California.聽"I definitely identify more with like-minded people in my daily life. It鈥檚 easier to be friends with Republicans and I find that sad.鈥�
Her experience is increasingly common 鈥� for voters on both sides. Republicans and Democrats feel more animosity toward one another in 2016 than ever in the history of such聽,聽the latest of which was released last week.聽
The trend is driven more by fear than anger, with voters increasingly rooting for one party in order to reject a group they perceive as dangerous 鈥� a growing phenomenon called "negative partisanship."聽The unpopularity of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump is seen as an example of the trend.
And just as the ideological wall is growing taller in Washington, the same divide is being manifested in suburban America as Republicans and Democrats choose to interact with one another less and less, allowing stereotypes to flourish.
鈥淔or one, the parties have become more distinct. There used to be more conservative Democrats or liberal Republicans, so losing control wasn鈥檛 as big of a deal as it is today,鈥� says John Fortier, director of the Democracy Project at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington. 鈥淪econdly, there is a clustering of people with like views. People are associating more with their own types, so there is less knowledge and less connection.鈥�
In one example of the fear inspired by the other side, students at Emory University protested in March after some wrote "Trump 2016" and "Accept the Inevitable: Trump 2016" in chalk on campus sidewalks. The Emory Latino Student Organization in a Facebook post, saying, "They did not do this merely to support the presidential candidate, but to promote the hate and discrimination that goes along with him."
鈥楾he other party seems more alien鈥�
Two political scientists from the University of California, Berkeley, released a study on Republican and Democratic stereotypes in May, reaffirming Americans鈥� misconceptions of party demographics. Democrats see Republicans as wealthy, older Evangelicals, and Republicans see Democrats as LGBT union members 鈥� even though these demographics represent minorities of both parties.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 a rationalization of 鈥楾he in group is good and the out group is bad.鈥� You develop a negative stereotype and then just fill in the blanks,鈥� says Shanto Iyengar, a professor at Stanford University.聽
These partisan stereotypes, no matter how unfounded, affect whom Americans want as neighbors. About of both Republicans and Democrats say it would be easier to befriend a new community member if he or she were from the same party. And according to a study released by Stanford last year, the desirability of a neighborhood can shift by for homeowners depending on their neighbors' political affiliation.聽
鈥淢arriages, neighborhoods, churches 鈥� more of the same people are associating with each other than ever before,鈥� adds Dr. Fortier. 鈥淭he other party seems more alien鈥�. There is much more self-selection.鈥澛�
鈥榃ith us or against us鈥� mentality
Today, 58 percent of Republicans have a "very unfavorable" view of the Democratic Party and 55 percent of Democrats feel the same way about the GOP 鈥� the highest levels since Pew began polling in 1992, with a particularly significant increase since the 2008 election.聽
When President Obama was first ushered into office, only about one鈥恡hird of Republicans and 37 percent of Democrats held such views of the other party.
This dislike in some cases affects voters' choice more than the appeal of their own party, according to Pew. For example, when asked why they identify as Republican, 68 percent of Republicans cited the fact that Democratic policies are bad for the country as a major reason, while only 64 percent cited confidence in Republican policies.
The polarization of news sources parallels 鈥� and likely contributes to 鈥� this partisan antipathy.聽鈥淭he standard point and counterpoint is no longer the case,"聽says Dr. Iyengar of Stanford,聽an expert on politics and public opinion.
鈥淧eople get their news through 140 characters on Twitter,鈥� says Joe Paru, secretary of Massachsetts Young Republicans.聽
As the media reinforce Republicans' and Democrats鈥� stereotypes of each other, that feeds their fear. Half of all Republicans and 55 percent of Democrats say the opposing party makes them feel afraid. Among those highly engaged with politics, these figures jump to 62 and 70 percent respectively.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 a 鈥榳ith us or against us鈥� mentality, and that鈥檚 scary,鈥� says Alex Steed, co-owner of a media production business聽in Maine.
As a聽Democrat from a conservative town, he聽sees himself as somewhat of an anomaly, forced to socialize with people of the opposing political party.聽And that requires a certain civility that increasingly seems lacking.
鈥淪ome things are only easy to say if you are never around people who don鈥檛 agree with you," says Mr. Steed.聽
