Thomas Mann on Pew Study of polarization

Mann challenges the President of Pew Research who claimed of the study that it undermines asymmetric polarization. Mann quotes from the study which directly challenges this biased notion of false equivalency:

• The growing gap between the two parties on the individual items making up their ideological consistency scale are mostly a consequence of Republicans taking more conservative positions.
• Consistent conservatives have much more unfavorable views of the Democratic Party than consistent liberals have of the Republican Party. 
• Republicans, especially those who are consistent conservatives, see the other party as a threat to the nation’s well-being more than do Democrats.
• Republicans who view the other party very negatively are more likely to vote than Democrats. 
• The ideological “silos” by place and friendship networks are much higher among conservatives than liberals.  The same is true for race and ethnicity as well as religious faith. 
• And importantly, as we have seen in other surveys, consistent conservatives like their elected officials to “stick to their positions” rather than “make compromises”; consistent liberals overwhelmingly prefer politicians who make compromises.