‘Tribalism’ a Major Reason for Political Division, Says Pundit Lewis

WASHINGTON – As our nation heads towards the 2024 Presidential Election, both Republicans and Democrats are more strongly attached to their parties’ beliefs, according to Matt Lewis, senior columnist for the Daily Beast and author of several political books, including “Too Dumb to Fail: How the GOP Went from the Party of Reagan to the Party of Trump.”

One the reasons Washington is so politically divided these days is because of the recent trend of “tribalism,” according to Lewis, who spoke Tuesday at NMPA Legislative Day in a session sponsored by Control Solutions, Inc.

Today, people “are living in areas where only people who share their political beliefs and values live. They're only dating people of the same political party. They only listen to podcasts or radio shows that reinforce their values,” Lewis said.

As people’s beliefs have become more ingrained, they’ve become less tolerant/accepting of other people's beliefs. That wasn’t always the case; as recently as the mid-1990s partisan animosity was really low, Lewis said, citing a mid-1990s survey that only 12 percent of Republicans held a negative view of Democrats. Today, it's near 67 percent and the trend is happening in both parties. ‘For whatever reason, we tend to really view the other party with animosity and hostility,” Lewis said. “I would argue if you believe that the other party is evil, then you are willing to pretty much do whatever it takes to stop them from gaining power.”

What this means for the upcoming Presidential election is that most people already have made up their minds as to which of the presumptive candidates (Joe Biden or Donald Trump) they will be voting for, and that this election will be extremely close, Lewis said.

If the election was held today, Lewis said it would come down to these factors for the majority of voters. “If the No. 1 thing on your mind is which candidate is more likely to preserve democracy you will probably vote for Biden. If you show up on Election day and ask yourself which of these candidates is going to be good for the economy and help my business, I think you'll probably vote for Trump.”