U.S. political polarization: Note for a discussion, "E Pluribus Unum? What Keeps the United States United."

From: Michelle Goldberg, "The De-Trumpification Agenda," New York Times, Feb. 23, 2018

Excerpt:

Steven Levitsky, a Harvard professor and a co-author of the recent book “How
Democracies Die,” cautions that new laws aren’t enough to knit together the fraying
civic fabric that allowed for Trump’s rise.

“No set of rules anywhere can respond to every situation, cover every
ambiguity,” he said. Even the most exacting regulations can’t compensate for bad
faith and a total-war approach to politics. Our political parties are so “intensely
polarized — and this polarization is being driven by Republican Party extremism —
that they are willing to basically employ any means necessary to win,” Levitsky said.
“As long as that’s the case, you’re going to see politicians breaking norms and
skirting rules, or using the letter of the law in ways that undermine its spirit.”