Forget Democrats versus Republicans, liberals versus conservatives.
According to a new analysis of the exploding divide pushing America to the breaking point, now it’s Democrats versus Democrats, Republicans versus Republicans.
“Partisanship continues to be the dividing line in the American public’s political attitudes, far surpassing differences by age, race and ethnicity, gender, educational attainment, religious affiliation or other factors,” according to a just-out Pew Research Center report.
“Yet there are substantial divisions within both parties on fundamental political values, views of current issues and the severity of the problems facing the nation,” according to the report.
Of course, there are some ideological differences among liberals and moderates in the Democratic Party and conservatives and moderates in the GOP.
But Pew found other important factors tearing the parties apart. For Republicans, age was a big factor. For Democrats, it was race.
“The issues that divide the partisan coalitions are different for Republicans than for Democrats. Age differences are generally wider among Republicans than Democrats – particularly in opinions about foreign policy, immigration and homosexuality – while educational attainment is a bigger divider among Democrats,” according to Pew.
“Democrats also are divided by race, with black Democrats much more likely than white Democrats to associate belief in God with morality and less likely to say that same-sex marriage has been good for society,” added the analysis.
Pew, of course, found Grand Canyon-size gaps between Democrats and Republicans. The biggest was on guns, with a 57-point gap.
Few expect those partisan gaps to close.
But the gap within the parties is a new sign of how divided the country has become.
Take the issue of war and diplomacy. Pew found that younger Republicans believe “peace is best ensured with good diplomacy.” Older Republicans prefer peace through military strength.
Or God. Black Democrats believe faith is essential, but white Democrats have a different relationship with God.
“White Democrats are nearly twice as likely as black Democrats to say that it is not necessary to believe in God in order for a person to be moral (89% vs. 44%),” according to Pew.
