Congress Will Soon Be Even More Polarized

Morning Line: “Most wouldn’t think the House could get any more partisan, but it will. Retirements of moderates in at least half a dozen seats will likely mean even more ideological rigidity. And it’s not just on the Republican side. National Journal noted that the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats are down from a membership of 54 in 2010 to 19 today. (Part of that is, of course, that many of those Blue Dogs were targeted in 2010 by Republicans because they were in conservative districts — not because of primaries like on the Republican side.) Brookings has a great interactive on how things have changed in Congress since just before the Civil War. And polarization has gotten worse over the last 30 years. There are plenty of reasons for the trend — from members jetting home and not socializing anymore to the more partisan bents of gerrymandered districts. But whatever the reason, the reality is the next Congress will almost certainly mean more of the same inertia and incivility.”