Historically, elite polarization is the usual state of affairs. According to research, there is a reciprocal relationship between polarization of the leadership and political polarization of the people. A study presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology has found that political polarization of the public has barely budged at all over the past 40 years. The polarization of the public is exaggerated by strongly identified Democrats and Republicans, according to study researcher John Chambers.

And yet, political leaders appear to be even more divided now than ever before. To date, in the 112th Congress there have been 82 motions filed to end filibusters, resulting in 48 votes on cloture, and 26 instances of it being invoked. Of the 1,344 cloture motions filed since 1917, over one quarter of those have been filed in the 2007 to 2012 time period. There appears to be a general upword trend of legislative obstruction.

Have politicians actually become intensely polarized? Or is this too a false perception?

The Civility and Political Discourse Panel frame their discussion from the standpoint that political leaders have indeed become more polarized and less civil. They cite two reasons for this: a loss of personal connection among politicians and a lack of incentive to compromise.

Should politicians be rewarded for reaching across party lines? Watch this clip to see what the panel had to say:


Video clip from the ''Keynote Panel on Civility and Political Discourse'' convened by NCoC and the Bipartisan Policy Center at the 66th Annual National Conference on Citizenship in September 2011.