How and why did the US electorate become polarised into the red and blue nation we had by 2012? (45 marks)

Secondly, the two parties have become idealistically separated amongst the American class, race and gender. Many pundits would argue that the real reason Obama won the election was due to Romney’s flaws. The Republican capitalist approach has fueled the rise of radical conservatism, which in turn has intimidated moderate Republicans into taking more extreme social and political positions. In the process, the Republicans have alienated women, blacks, Hispanics and other minority voters. This is illustrated by Romney’s dedication to build a wall to stop Mexican immigration. For this reason and the policies Democrats pursue fiscally redistributing wealth from the rich to the poor, makes Democrats the obvious choice for minorities. Obama receiving 94% of the black vote in the 2012 election could illustrate this, however many would argue that this is merely down to his skin colour not his policies.                                                                                                  Demographics show that women also tend to vote for Obama, potentially due to his female friendly pro-choice policies compared to Romney’s anti abortion stance.

Political polarization is also down to geographical reasons. Since the Bush era, America has become more polarized and adversarial than ever. The political divide between the liberal Blue states and the conservatives Red States is so wide that there are even talks of secession. Either side refuses to compromise or acknowledge their opponents, e.g. Kansan Republican Governor stated ‘one can not truly follow God if they follow the Democratic Party.’ Statements such as this convey the shift away from the centre and the sheer divide between the two parties e.g. In October 2012 Obama’s approval rating was 49 percent and his disapproval rating was 49 percent.

In addition, the Electoral College system used in the election of the US president disfavours third parties who do not receive a majority in a state despite their nationwide support, revealing a distorted result on Election Day. This was revealed in 1992 when Ross Perot gained 19.2% of the popular vote but not a single Electoral College seat.

In conclusion, the lack of a powerful third party and the differing ideologies between the two parties has led to a nationwide social divide on the basis of their contrasting views on the economy, environment and social issues such as abortion.