Gist: Polarization Nation

On The Gist, the inaugural edition of “whoah there, girl!” Political parties are like people: They grow and change, their values shift, and sometimes they become downright belligerent. Lilliana Mason says America’s two political parties are in the middle of a shift, and it won’t be over anytime soon: “What happened to conservative southern Democrats after the Civil Rights Act passed? They didn’t like it. … It took an entire generation for conservative Southern Democrats to become Republicans.” Mason is the author of Uncivil Agreement: How Politics Became Our Identity. In the Spiel, “angel moms” deserve sympathy, but they’re being used.