Were a polarized country. More so every year, for a wide variety of reasons.
It's hard enough to get a "simple majority" on most issues, let alone a "filibuster-proof majority" (60%) on almost every issue to come down the political pipe.
So when a phenomenal, near-absolute majority (90%) of Americans actually agreed on something, you'd think it would be BIG News. You'd think that popular sentiment would lead to sweeping changes in the Congress, simply 'following the lead of the American People' ...
You'd think that -- but you'd be wrong. Dead wrong.
You see, Congress doesn't always care about what the American People really want ... not by a long shot.
[...]
Reality check: 90 percent of Americans rarely agree on anything. We’re diverse that way.
But earlier this year, the respected Quinnipiac poll found that 91 percent of Americans supported universal background checks for commercial firearm purchases, including 88 percent of gun-owning families. Hell, a poll commissioned by Mayors Against Illegal Guns conducted by conservative pollster Frank Luntz found that 74 percent of NRA members supported background checks on every gun sale. But when a bipartisan bill to achieve that end came up in Congress, it couldn’t get enough votes to pass.
[...]
What We Didn’t Learn After Newtown
by John Avlon, thedailybeast.com -- Dec 8, 2013
When was the last time 90% of Americans agreed on anything?
When was the last time 60% of Congress cared enough to do something about it?
Not recent enough. ... IOW, NOT in a very, VERY long time.