Not only are Americans divided, but we’re more politically fickle than ever.
Every couple of years, we hire a bunch of politicians to fix the country. Then we fire them and replace them with the people we fired a few years earlier.
Last week’s election was a spectacular example.
Democrats won control of both houses of Congress, including races in places where Republicans had dominated for years.
But Democrats might want to keep the champagne on ice, because Americans have become very impatient with the people we elect.
According to a fascinating CNN analysis, control of at least one part of the federal government has changed parties in each of the last seven elections.
That’s the longest streak of political turnover since before the Civil War.
In the entire 20th century, that kind of turnover never happened more than twice in a row.
Something has changed. And I don’t think it’s simply that Americans have become more liberal or more conservative. I think we’re just never satisfied.
Consider the political history of this century.
In 2000, Americans elected George W. Bush. In 2006, they gave Democrats control of Congress.
In 2008, they elected Barack Obama and handed Democrats control of Washington. Two years later, Republicans swept into the House.
In 2016, voters elected Donald Trump and gave Republicans control of everything. Two years later, Democrats took the House.
In 2020, Americans elected Joe Biden. Republicans reclaimed the House in 2022.
Trump returned in 2024. And now, in 2026, Democrats have won back Congress.
The interesting thing is that neither party seems capable of keeping us happy. And both parties appear convinced that the problem is the other side.
Republicans blame Democrats for inflation, immigration, government spending, and various other disasters.
Democrats blame Republicans for inequality, threats to democracy, healthcare costs, and a different collection of disasters.
Both have legitimate criticisms. Both also have records of promising things they can’t deliver.
Americans have watched housing, healthcare, education, and everyday living expenses eat up more of their incomes. Our economy produces enormous wealth. But a lot of the people doing the work aren’t seeing much of it.
And for many Americans, the concerns go beyond money. They’re worried about their rights, the future of democracy, and how nasty our political arguments have become.
Meanwhile, politicians promise that their particular combination of tax policies, regulations, spending cuts, or government programs will fix things.
Then they discover that governing is hard.
The economy doesn’t operate on an election schedule. Neither does inflation. Or housing construction. Or the international price of oil.
A president can sign a bill on Tuesday and spend the next two years explaining why its benefits haven’t arrived.
And voters don’t care about those explanations. They were promised results. And they want them before the next election.
But there’s another reason I think we’re so unhappy.
We’ve started expecting national politics to deliver personal happiness.
We’ve gotten used to treating every election as a referendum on everything that’s wrong with our lives.
The price of groceries. The condition of the roads. Our children’s future. Our retirement accounts. Whether the country feels safe. Whether our neighbors share our values.
Some of those things are influenced by government. Others are influenced by forces no president, senator, or congressman can control.
Yet every campaign suggests that electing the right people will somehow restore the country to the way we remember it. Never mind that our memories are highly selective.
The good old days were rarely as good as we remember. And people living through them spent a lot of time complaining about how terrible everything had become.
One thing I’ve learned is that winning an election and actually governing require different skills.
Campaigning rewards certainty. Governing requires compromise. Campaigning rewards promises about the future, while governing forces politicians to deal with the present.
And sometimes, the very things that get someone elected make it harder for them to govern.
There’s also the question of whether the American political system can keep going back and forth like this. A government that changes direction every two years has a hard time getting anything done that requires a long-term commitment.
Infrastructure takes years. Education reform takes generations. Economic policies can have consequences long after the people responsible have left office.
The silver lining, though, is that this means elections still matter. Incumbents can lose. Political parties can’t simply assume they’ll stay in power forever.
But the constant turnover also suggests that millions of Americans believe the system isn’t working for them, regardless of who’s running it.
Last week’s Democratic wave may mark the beginning of a lasting political shift. Or it may be another swing of the pendulum.
We’ve seen enough of those to be cautious about declaring anything permanent.
And the odds are pretty damn good we’ll get on this merry-go-round again in 2028.
Are we expecting too much from the politicians we elect? Or have they simply gotten too good at making promises they can’t keep?
Leave a comment. I’d like to hear what you think.
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I hope the new Congress immediately works on legislation. They need to hit the ground running. The turnout for the Hegseth impeachment vote was disappointing and not a sign that they were being whipped to show up and start the progress rolling.