“…overall, congressional politics reverted to its norm of strong partisanship. This is why Republican leaders would rather suffer an embarrassing Speaker election and appease hardliners in their party than pursue a deal with moderate Democrats.”

“voters who are willing to split their ticket can help decide key elections, even as split-ticket voting becomes increasingly rare in a calcified era.”

“Our argument centers on three elements. First, long-term tectonic shifts have pushed the parties apart while making the views within each party more uniform. This is the familiar trend toward gradually increasing partisan polarization. Second, shorter-term shocks, catalyzed especially by Trump, have sped up polarization on identity issues-those related to race, ethnicity, religion, and gender, And third, it is precisely these identity issues that voters in both parties care more about-exacerbating divisions even further and giving politicians every incentive to continue to play to them.”

The reason I wanted to read this book was because the factors in the premise are why the two parties are calcifying. They are arresting into level 4 development in constructive development theory. The more cemented things become, the more force will be required to resolve it. I want understand this dynamically, specifically as it relates to our country.