Counterpoint: The Positive Side of Political Polarization

Three weeks before Halloween in 2002, the chambers of Congress considered House Joint Resolution 114.

In non-Congress-speak, that meant the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate voted on a bill officially called the “Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution 2002.” If passed, that meant then-President George W. Bush would be permitted to “use the Armed Forces of the United States as he determines and appropriate” against Iraq.

A total of 296 members of the House of Representatives voted for the resolution; 77 members of the Senate...