Adverse interests and tribal loyalties have always existed here. But they have not always been weaponized by pols seeking power. If stirring up hatreds is not a winning strategy, hatreds will not be stirred up.

Provoking hatred became a winning strategy when legislative obstruction became a winning strategy. The two go hand in hand. For a minority party to get away with refusing to participate in useful legislation, in order to make the majority look feckless, it must paint the majority as evil. No decent person negotiates or compromises with Satan, right? Obstruction and antipathy are thus joined at the hip. The good news, then, is that if obstruction were more difficult, antipathy wouldn't be worth stoking.

And that's why fixing the filibuster will save the country.