I think this is a possibility many people are overlooking. The general assumption is that polarization will continue indefinitely, but this isn’t the only time the country’s been extremely polarized (the Gilded Age of the late 19th century was similar)
And it is pretty clear that polarization was at least accelerated by Trump. There were Democrats being elected in North Dakota and Indiana as recently as 2012, and Dems had congressional seats in places like Idaho during Obama’s first term. But 2016 was the first election with no ticket splitting at all in the Senate. Elections were more nationalized than ever with Trump looming over American politics.
It’s not impossible that during the Biden administration, the country becomes less polarized (especially if he doesn’t do stuff like pack the courts, which I doubt he will). But it’s also possible that Trump was only a minor factor and that polarization will stay the same in the near future.
the question then is - if Clinton had won - would things be better or worse?
