American politics is not the rich versus the poor

Income inequality can't explain the growing polarization in the American electorate

By Michael Barone | MAY 1, 2014

I have long thought that, as I wrote in my 1990 book Our Country: The Shaping of America from Roosevelt to Reagan, “in the United States politics more often divides Americans along cultural than along economic lines.” Strong evidence that this conclusion is true today comes from Emory University political scientist Alan Abramowitz in Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball blog.

Abramowitz looks at data from the 4,000 interviews in the 2012 American National Election Survey showing voting by whites, blacks and Hispanics of various income levels. Bottom line: There’s not much difference in voting behavior or attitudes highly correlated with it among whites and blacks…..To Read More…..