Casual observers and hardened political pros alike came away from the 2016 presidential campaign thinking it was the most nasty showdown in American history, thanks to the talk of “Lock her up!” tiny hands and JFK assassination conspiracies.
In reality, the harsh tone and incredible accusations thrown around by candidates are part of the country’s long, maybe not-so-proud history, according to Washington State University political science professor Cornell Clayton. He explores the good, the bad and the ugly of American politics as part of the Humanities Washington speakers bureau, and will be in Spokane on Wednesday to lecture on “American Rage: Division and Anger in U.S. Politics.”
“What I think is a bit distinctive about today’s political period,” he says, “is not only are we polarized and deeply divided over issues, but we have remained so over a long period of time. If you go back to 1968, we’ve had a long period of elections that were extremely contested.”
Close elections and divided government, both common for the past 40 or so years, leads to the inability of government to function, dismaying Americans on both sides of the aisle, says Clayton.
“The government can’t address important social, economic and political issues,” he says. “That gridlock is so frustrating for Americans that they’re willing to reach for a strongman, populist demagogue like a Donald Trump.”