Hyper-partisan politics can be dangerous within the government, as the recent shutdown proved, said The Foley Institute guest speaker Thursday.

Foley at WSU welcomed Matthew Levendusky to discuss partisan politics and media in the United States.

Levendusky is an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania and the author of “The Partisan Sort” and “How Partisan Media Polarize America,” published this year. He is also one of the nation’s leading experts on media polarization, Foley Institute Director Cornell Clayton said.

Clayton said Levendusky’s talk was particularly relevant to the current government shutdown.

“What we’re seeing right now is hyper-partisanship preventing reasonable policy choices from being made,” Clayton said.

Levendusky discussed the connection between the government shutdown and partisan politics in his talk.

Elites within politics, such as members of the U.S. House and Senate, are becoming more partisan, meaning their ideas and actions are polarizing, Levendusky said. Democrats are becoming more liberal and republicans are becoming more conservative.

The change has occurred over the last 60 years, but it has increased significantly over the last 30, Levendusky said.

The hyper-partisanship finally reached its peak with the shutdown on Oct. 1, showing the government would need to cooperate despite vast differences, in order to reach a consensus, Levendusky said.

The associate professor found in his research that American constituents are following the partisan trend, however at a much slower rate and not to the degree that elites have reached.

“The vast majority of Americans are still fairly moderate,” Levendusky said.

In addition, the substantial amount of hyper-polarized information the media presents is changing the way ordinary Americans view and involve themselves within politics, Levendusky said.

People who choose to align themselves to one partisan ideology involve themselves in what Levendusky calls voter sorting.

Voter sorting results in many drawbacks including the strengthening of an often uninformed trust in a chosen party, as well as distrust between parties, Levendusky said.

He said most tend to watch the media sources that agree with their own points of view.

“When you hear your own beliefs echoed back at you, you tend to strengthen your point of view on the issues,” Levendusky said. “You become more certain of your own view.”

Moreover, those who watch shows or read sources that agree with their own beliefs have an increase in distrust for opposing views –in this case, the opposing party. Levendusky said this undermines the benefits of our government system.

“Our government is supposed to force consensus,” he said.

While the increased polarization is a hazard within our government, it can be helpful for Americans, Levendusky said.

“By creating clear and different visions for the way the country should be governed, polarization helps ordinary citizens to participate in politics more clearly,” Levendusky said.

Freshman business major Meghan Smith said she thought Levendusky’s points about the democrats becoming more liberal and the republicans becoming more conservative were the most interesting.

Freshman viticulture major Grace Jensen said Levendusky’s talk helped her understand more about the current government shutdown.

“I didn’t really understand why they shut down before, now I know it has to do with their separateness,” she said.