Radical American Partisanship: Mapping Violent Hostility, Its Causes, and the Consequences for Democracy

222 Pages·2022·12.845 MB·English

by  Nathan P. Kalmoe, Lilliana Mason

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Radical American Partisanship ://a
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Chicago Studies in American Politics h
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a series edited by susan herbst, lawrence r. jacobs, adam j. berinsky, s
and frances lee; benjamin i. page, editor emeritus ://a
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Also in the series: ic
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by Allison P. Anoll environment shape religious identity om
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american public opinion the increasingly united states: ic
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by Susan Herbst how and why american political g
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power shifts: congress and bbey hDaavnioierl Jn.a Htioopnkainlsized -sc
presidential representation ho
by John A. Dearborn legacies of losing in american politics la
by Jeffrey K. Tulis and Nicole Mellow rs
prisms of the people: power and hip
organizing in twenty- first- century legislative style -o
america by William Bernhard and Tracy Sulkin n
by Hahrie Han, Elizabeth McKenna, and lin
Michelle Oyakawa wanhdy dpaermtoiecsr amcayt tine rt:h peo laimtiecraicla cno msopuettihtion e/bo
democracy declined: the failed politics by John H. Aldrich and John D. Griffin ok
of consumer financial protection /4
by Mallory E. SoRelle neither liberal nor conservative: 42
ideological innocence in the 8
race to the bottom: how racial appeals american public 4 b
work in american politics by Donald R. Kinder and Nathan P. Kalmoe y
by LaFleur Stephens- Dougan O
strategic party government: why winning h
the limits of party: congress and trumps ideology io S
lawmaking in a polarized era by Gregory Koger and Matthew J. Lebo ta
by James M. Curry and Frances E. Lee te
post- racial or most- racial? race and U
america’s inequality trap politics in the obama era n
by Nathan J. Kelly by Michael Tesler iv
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gthoeo dpu ebnloicu grhep fuotra tgioovne crrnimsiesn itn wamorekr:i c a tchoen spcoiloiutiscnse osfs rine sweinstcmoennsitn: raunrda l rsity u
(and what we can do to fix it) the rise of scott walker s
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by Amy E. Lerman by Katherine J. Cramer r o
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Additional series titles follow index 22
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Radical American Partisanship ://a
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Mapping Violent Hostility, Its Causes, .o
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and the Consequences for Democracy .co
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nathan p. kalmoe e
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and lilliana mason u
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the university of chicago press chicago and london 2
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The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637 c
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The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London d
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© 2022 by The University of Chicago m
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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner .o
whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations in critical up
articles and reviews. For more information, contact the University of Chicago Press, .co
1427 E. 60th St., Chicago, IL 60637. m
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Published 2022 h
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Printed in the United States of America a
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isbn- 13: 978- 0- 226- 82026- 2 (cloth) rs
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isbn- 13: 978- 0- 226- 82028- 6 (paper) ip
isbn- 13: 978- 0- 226- 82027- 9 (e- book) -o
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doi: https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226820279.001.0001 lin
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Library of Congress Cataloging-i n- Publication Data oo
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Names: Kalmoe, Nathan P., author. | Mason, Lilliana, author. 2
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Title: Radical American partisanship : mapping violent hostility, its causes, 4
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and the consequences for democracy / Nathan P. Kalmoe and Lilliana Mason. y
Other titles: Chicago studies in American politics. O
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Description: Chicago ; London : The University of Chicago Press, 2022. | io
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Series: Chicago studies in American politics | Includes bibliographical ta
references and index. te
Identifiers: lccn 2021040663 | isbn 9780226820262 (cloth) | isbn 9780226820286 U
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(paperback) | isbn 9780226820279 (ebook) iv
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Subjects: lcsh: Party affiliation— United States. | Radicalism— United States. | rs
Political violence— United States. | Political culture— United States. | ity u
United States— Politics and government— 2017– 2021. s
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Classification: lcc jk2271 .k35 2022 | ddc 320.973— dc23 r o
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021040663 n 2
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♾ This paper meets the requirements of ansi/niso z39.48– 1992 (Permanence of Paper). cto
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dedicated to the memory of ://ac
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martin johnson de
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leader, humanitarian, scholar, mentor, friend ic
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and u
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to the kalmoe and mason kids .co
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who are bringing more good into the world /c
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Contents ://a
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chapter 1. Recognizing Partisan Extremes 1 u
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chapter 2. Radical Historical Roots 11 m
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chapter 3. Radical Partisan Psychology 28 ic
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part i. Identifying Radical Partisans -sc
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chapter 4. The Scope of Radicalism 41 la
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chapter 5. Trends: Stumbling toward a Breakdown 58 ip-o
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chapter 6. Who Are the Radical Partisans? 71 line
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part ii. Radical Behaviors and the Impact of Conditions and Events ok
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chapter 7. From Radical Views to Aggressive Behavior 91 28
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chapter 8. Historical Precedents and Reasons for Violence 109 y O
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chapter 9. Reactions to Election Losses and Violent Events 118 io S
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part iii. Communicating Radicalism te U
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chapter 10. Words Matter 139 ive
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chapter 11. The Future of Radical Partisanship: Risks and ity u
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Opportunities 155 e
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Acknowledgments 169 2
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Notes 175 cto
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References 189 r 2
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Index 205 2
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chapter one h
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Recognizing Partisan Extremes ://a
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The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people, and u
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they tried to use fear and violence to stop a specific proceeding of the first branch of the .c
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federal government which they did not like. — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell m
(R- KY), January 19, 2021 /ch
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Hate just hides. It doesn’t go away, and when you have somebody in power who breathes oxy- o
gen into the hate under the rocks, it comes out from under the rocks. — Presidential candidate -sc
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Joe Biden, June 1, 20201 o
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Racism is real in America and it has always been. . . . Xenophobia is real in America and hip
always has been. Sexism too. — Vice President Kamala Harris, March 19, 20212 -o
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Democracy ultimately prevailed on January 20, 2021, when Joe Biden k/4
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was sworn in as the forty- sixth president of the United States. That 28
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result was not a forgone conclusion. b
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Biden had won the national vote eleven weeks earlier, and the result O
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was constitutionally affirmed by the Electoral College in December. But io S
from election night onward, defeated president Donald Trump claimed ta
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fraud without evidence and fielded dozens of baseless lawsuits. His chal- U
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lenges were denied or dismissed by dozens of judges— some appointed by ive
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Trump himself. The results were verified, reverified, and reverified again ity
by state and federal officials. us
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Trump never did concede to Biden. Instead, on January 6, 2021, the r o
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sitting president, with fourteen days left in office, encouraged a mob of 2
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his supporters to violently attack the US Capitol building while Congress O
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met inside. The intent was to disrupt the formal tally of Electoral College tob
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votes that would constitutionally certify Joe Biden as the next president. r 2
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The mob injured 138 Capitol and DC police officers, and two officers 2
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2 chapter one
died. Members of Congress and Vice President Mike Pence narrowly es-
caped rioters who intended to “capture and assassinate elected officials
in the United States government,” according to federal prosecutors.3 A D
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makeshift gallows was erected on the west side of the US Capitol grounds w
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with a noose hung from the top. Some insurrectionists could be heard a
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chanting “HANG MIKE PENCE!” Trump was publicly furious with his d
own vice president for refusing to use his ceremonial role to interfere with fro
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the Electoral College certification. As rioters broke through Capitol win- h
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dows and doors, the president tweeted “Mike Pence didn’t have the cour- s
age to do what should have been done to protect our Country.”4 Clearly, ://ac
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his followers were ready to mete out violence on Democrats and any de
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Republicans who dared disobey their undisputed party leader. Congress ic
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finally certified the election results late that night as Republican congress- u
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men continued to make seditious objections. .co
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Why was it so easy to stoke an insurrection by thousands of Americans— /c
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many of whom carried their nation’s flag as they desecrated its Capitol and ic
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hunted its elected leaders? How are self-p rofessed patriots driven to vio- o
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lent sedition? Trump’s incitement is the obvious, immediate answer, but ch
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that raises more questions. Part of the deeper answer is that the bases of la
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each party are divided into nearly warring factions with radically opposed hip
visions for America. After decades of realignment and consolidation, core -on
groups in each party now pull forcefully in opposite directions. line
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Republicans increasingly pursue outsized power and benefits for domi- o
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nant social groups while working to undercut government by the people. /4
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The party has been overtaken by those who long for the stricter racial hi- 28
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erarchies of the old white South, who envision a Christian theocracy, and b
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who steer government benefits to the rich, all of which have had national O
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constituencies since the founding. Not coincidentally, many of the Capitol io S
insurrectionists displayed Confederate symbols and Christian iconography, ta
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and a surprising number were business owners or white-c ollar workers. U
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By contrast, Democrats today are a pluralistic multiracial party in- ive
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creasingly committed to advancing democracy through electoral repre- ity
sentation and equal rights and liberties. They are reckoning with and us
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attempting to overcome America’s legacy of oppression by race, sex, reli- r o
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gion, and class, among other categories. This is a battle over the future— 2
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and the past— of the United States. No wonder, then, that many Ameri- O
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cans (though not most) engage in politics with a spirit of violence and not tob
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comity or compromise— today’s parties pursue fundamentally incompat- r 2
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ible visions for America’s future. 2
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