Data Shows: Conservatives really ARE the problem

The nonpartisan Pew Research Center released a new report on political polarization in the American public, and it came to the utterly unsurprising conclusion that conservatives are far more likely to belligerently oppose the opposition and label them as a threat to the country’s well being.

Sure, the study indicates that some of that kind of thinking is present on both sides of the ideological spectrum, but it is far more widespread among consistently conservative Republicans. Indicator after indicator shows that conservatives and Republicans are more entrenched in their ideologies and less willing to negotiate and govern. Conservatives are more likely to consume media that only caters to their existing political biases. They’re more likely to surround themselves with people who are like-minded on political issues.

Perhaps most telling, though, in the context of Washington gridlock, is the fact that conservatives balk at the very idea of compromise. Where 82 percent of consistent liberals say they support politicians who are willing to compromise, fewer than a third of consistent conservatives agree. Conservatives overwhelmingly prefer politicians who “stick to their positions.”

That revelation makes perfect sense when one considers the recent shutdown of the federal government. Repeatedly, tea party Republicans in Congress have threatened to shut down the government, or allow the US to default on its debts rather than pass legislation with which they disagree. As a rule, they have been more willing to allow calamitous consequences to occur than to be seen compromising with the other side of the aisle.

So, at the risk of sounding like a conservative, I’m going to go ahead and say, yes, the other side is the problem, and they are a threat to our democracy as a result.