Bipartisanship is on the edge of extinction.
TikTok introduced the feature of collections not too long ago— anyone who saves a video can place it into one. I have 52 and counting, but the most important folder I have pertaining to this article is my "actual historical events" that I started after the first Trump assassination attempt. It's mostly littered with videos of people expressing their exasperation over Trump's first attempted assassin, Thomas Matthew Crooks, missing the former President.
The two attempted assassinations of former President Trump are absolutely abhorrent. No President, political figure, or person should be subject to violence based on politics. Second, the context of bipartisanship in this article is directly intertwined with the rise of political polarization in the United States.
Trump's assassination attempts weren't the first times that political violence plagued the politicians of today, but they demonstrated a severe escalation, where rhetoric has turned to violent action. Such violent action has infiltrated the mainstream to the point that we now have everyday people justifying such events on social media.
More and more extreme views from either side of the aisle continue to trickle into the mainstream. Whether it's J.D. Vance stating that childlessness makes "people more sociopathic and ultimately our whole country a little bit less, less mentally stable," or Representative Daniel Goldman (D-N.Y.) stating that Trump has to be "eliminated," I continue to observe with despair.
Bipartisanship, arguably, has taken the biggest hit. One example is Kevin McCarthy, who was very publicly removed from office as Speaker of the House for agreeing to collaborate with Democrats to pass a continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown (which we all remember all too well from 2018). Additionally, Speaker Mike Johnson has evaded removal efforts from Majorie Taylor Greene (GA-14).
The 118th Congress passed 34 bills in 2023, setting it squarely on track to be the least productive Congress ever, further showing how polarized America is. Many laughed when Senator Bernie Sanders (VT) had to mediate a near-fight between Senator Markwayne Mullins (OK) and Teamsters President Sean O'Brien on national television in the middle of a Senate hearing, and how Senator Mullins referenced the caning of Charles Sumner, an act that led to the Civil War. How about when former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi ripped up Trump's speech during his 2020 State of the Union Address? Who could forget when Representative Greene called Democrats "the enemy within," practically alluding to the Democratic Party being a fifth column?
With all the rhetoric swirling around, bipartisanship, or even seemingly being bipartisan seems akin to a death sentence. At best, one is shunned by their party, but at worst, they'll be labeled a traitor. We've now transitioned into an "us or them" society, where reaching out across the aisle is selling out your Democratic or Republican country.
Too much is at stake. The consequences of escalating rhetoric go beyond the politicians of America— they have and will continue to seep into the civilian population. As people watch their representatives grow more and more polarized against each other, they'll feel even less of a reason to be civil towards one another.
Bipartisanship is already fragile. If the current trajectory continues, it could one day become impossible to repair. We cannot let extremists dictate how we interact with one another. Compromise and dialogue are hallmarks of a democracy. A proper society cannot function without them. Democracy relies and thrives on disagreement. To be violent would be to violate that.
America has always been divisive and polarized, which arguably is what makes us Americans. But this is not a reason to be violent or embrace extreme rhetoric. Yet, despite our many differences, we have been able to argue, compromise, and evolve as a nation. The danger in the shift from rhetoric to violence not only shows how civil discourse has broken down— it normalizes violence as an acceptable form of political expression in domestic politics.
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