Why hardball tactics have led to the most polarized Congress ever

Pop Quiz: What was the most polarized time in American history?

The Civil War? Prohibition? The Civil Rights Movement?

Nope, no, and nyet. Well, if you gauge polarization by the House and Senate, that is.

Political science professor Sean Theriault tells us that, though the American public has been extremely divided over the course of the nation’s history, today’s Congress is more polarized than at any time before it. Despite the fact that the public is much less so.