Secondary source excerpt (Period 9, 1980–present): As partisan polarization increased in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, elected officials relied more heavily on ideologically aligned media and donor networks. The excerpt argues that this feedback loop rewarded uncompromising rhetoric, making bipartisan compromise rarer and increasing the likelihood of government shutdowns and legislative gridlock. In this interpretation, structural incentives pushed politicians toward strategies that intensified conflict. Which choice best states the central causation argument in the excerpt?
- Bipartisan compromise caused increased polarization by eliminating ideological media outlets.
- Polarization and aligned media/donor incentives contributed to gridlock and shutdown threats. (correct answer)
- The excerpt argues that polarization ended campaign fundraising in the United States.
- The New Deal coalition directly caused twenty-first-century government shutdowns.
- The excerpt claims that gridlock caused the creation of donor networks in the 1970s.
Explanation: This question addresses how partisan polarization created a feedback loop affecting governance. The excerpt describes how politicians increasingly relied on ideologically aligned media and donor networks, which rewarded uncompromising rhetoric and made bipartisan compromise rarer. Option B correctly identifies this causation: polarization and aligned media/donor incentives → gridlock and shutdown threats. Option A reverses the relationship, option C incorrectly claims polarization ended fundraising, option D anachronistically links the New Deal to modern shutdowns, and option E reverses the temporal sequence. The passage emphasizes how structural incentives in the political system intensified conflict and reduced cooperation.