Over the past half century, there has been a process of partisan polarisation whereby party allegiances have become far stronger. Indeed, they now define Congressional politics to such an extent that some now speak of hyper-partisanship.
Although important reforms were enacted during his first 2 years in office when the Democrats had a majority in the House of Representatives as well as the Senate, President Obama’s subsequent efforts to pass substantive legislation have been frustrated by determined Republican opposition. Furthermore, many Republicans, particularly those with ties to the grassroots Tea Party movement, hoped to roll back some of the earlier reforms, most notably the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) or ‘Obamacare’. Healthcare reform, they said, imposed additional financial burdens on businesses, increased the cost of health insurance and (by requiring everyone to take out insurance) threatened individual liberties.
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