America's government has a two party system. People used to complain that the parties are too much alike. When things are working OK, there is a lot of overlap between the parties.

The increasing difference between the two parties suggests that something is wrong. The most overrated cause of this change is the politicians. The supporters of corrupt politicians have self-selected to be irresponsible. By being irresponsible, they limit their own ability to understand and influence policy. These supporters are not good at debate and don't value discourse (from impatience to contempt). The main driver of this change are people that do not support corrupt politicians, but do not act to stop them. (Freedom is not free.)

It is unrewarding to stand for what is right. There is a false appearance of sophistication in fatalism. (Notice how rarely ‘Government No Good’ is followed by a policy recommendation.) Further, while disinterest is to avoid prejudice, it is increasingly common to acquiesce to or to promote false equivalence. (Use extra scrutiny when you hear, "both sides".) With a big difference between only two parties, we should know which is more responsible. 

The way to know who to blame (and not be distracted) is to look at the formal mechanism of the primary means of exercising power. The primary means of exercising power in the USA is federal legislation. At the beginnings of the last two administrations, we had important votes on health care. While there are a number of differences leading up to the votes, they make an unusually good comparison. Notice that one had fifteen months of public hearings, while the other bill was not public before its vote. (It has been years since journalists even bother to dismiss defending liberty as “people don’t want to hear about procedure”.)

Next, think on how this happens. Consider is the stability of rhetoric. The talking points of corrupt politicians don't change much. Since the talking points don't provide policy, they don't need to change to suit our needs. It is polite to restrain ourselves when someone says something stupid. The silent treatment gets more bullying. As we are accustomed to these small insults, we cannot help but hold the political parties to different standards. Political speech is not one-to-one communication. The consistency of rhetoric shows good organization and bad journalism (, civics, patriotism, etc.). 

We don't like to be talked down to; especially when we deserve it. Preaching is not effective political advocacy, so it is unreasonable to expect politicians to fix this situation. We ‘rig the system’ against responsible people by taking part in a double standard. It is hard to admit that the parties do not have equal legitimacy. We are in denial because the more ugly politics seems the more we invest hope in society. That is how we fool ourselves. 

The party that offers solutions gets double its share of criticism, while the other cannot be criticized critically because it offers no solutions. Broadcast journalists play along / promote lies. One party does not get rewarded for doing a good job. The other party does not get punished for doing a bad job. This situation has a history; Expect more violence.