How racists and partisans exploit the age of Obama

As worrisome as anything is that our parties themselves are sorting out by race. Democrats find their support among whites—especially working-class whites—slipping, and that is not just an artifact of differential turnout in midterm contests. Especially in the South, white voters are moving steadily more toward voting for and identifying with the Republican Party, while nonwhites, even with a small uptick in some states for GOP votes for Senate and gubernatorial candidates, are heavily Democratic. Those divisions could change, of course, but right now it is possible to see a future where the GOP is clearly and distinctly a white party, while Democrats are clearly a majority-minority party.

I have written before about the increase in tribal identities among mass voters—sharp increases in the numbers of Democrats and especially Republicans who see those in the other party as a threat to the nation’s well-being, and those who would feel uncomfortable if a family member married someone from the other party. Now layer tribal animosities over partisanship on top of the long-standing differences and frictions across racial lines. Not a great way to build a national identity, or to move from a Blue State and a Red State America to a United States of America.