PO SC 4420 Quiz: Americans; Extreme or Well Sorted? Toms
25 Sep 2018
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Hopkins and sides discuss in chapter 5 the extent to which the american electorate is polarized. Interestingly, many americans view themselves as moderates. this moderate self- view is what causes the increase in electorate polarization. However, many do not understand what this term truly means. As discussed, people often identify as moderates because they are uninformed on party ideology, and they are not deeply involved in politics. This leads to them labeling themselves and their preferred candidate as moderate on the political ideology scale. However, increased use of data and new scales, such as the bayesian aldrich-mckelvey scale, can help account for mistakes voters make when labeling themselves. This data can be used to show a more accurate representation of where the electorate stands. I believe this use of data supports the ideas in chapter 6 that party ideology is shifting, and more people are changing on where they fall on the political ideology scale.
