Posted on: Thursday, October 14, 2004

A year of unusually strident politics

By Barbara Yost
Arizona Republic

Karen Kruse and Marc Osborn are newlyweds. It's a mixed marriage: She's a staunch Democrat; he's a die-hard Republican.

Osborn, a business lobbyist, describes it this way: "I'm a fiscal conservative. She's a bleeding-heart liberal."

Like famed political spouses Mary Matalin (Republican campaign strategist for George H.W. Bush) and James Carville (Democratic campaign strategist for Bill Clinton), Kruse and Osborn have somehow managed to get along during an election year in which passions run hot and voters seem especially divided.

"We have some knock-down, drag-out fights," says Kruse, who owns a public-affairs company. But, she says, "We have a healthy respect for each other. ... It's all in good fun."

Whether conservative or liberal, most Americans already have taken sides in the 2004 presidential race, says Richard Herrera, an associate professor of political science at Arizona State University.

About 2 percent of likely voters are undecided, according to one recent Gallup Poll — less than in previous election years, Herrera says.

Taking sides can easily become contentious, pitting spouse against spouse, neighbor against neighbor, friend against friend. To keep the peace, the trick is to know when to walk away.

Kruse blames the divisive climate on the 2000 presidential election, a close battle in which supporters of Democratic candidate Al Gore questioned the outcome of the race. Add the war in Iraq and emotions fly.

"People are more passionate this year because more is at stake," Kruse says. "A lot is riding on the presidency. ... They're wearing it more on their sleeves."

Pollster Bruce Merrill, professor of mass communication at Arizona State University, agrees.

"I do a lot of public speaking, and I've never seen people so passionately committed," he says. "They either love George Bush or hate George Bush, love John Kerry or hate John Kerry."

Civility is often lacking in today's political discussions as those on both sides take issues to heart, says Linda A. Blackwell.

"It's very personal," says Blackwell, office manager and a member of the League of Women Voters. "A lot of issues have religious components," and some people equate being religious with being a good person, she says.

Election-year advertisements fuel divisiveness, she believes, and in an election year, people put their beliefs on the line with their vote. Blackwell has felt heat "real or imagined" when she has posted signs in her yard advocating an issue.

"It's difficult to have conversations in politics," she says. "You have to dance around issues."