If the only voters who really matter are a party’s true believers, then they’re the ones a politician will appeal to, avoiding any positions that might smack of moderation or compromise.
A Congress functioning at the top of its game is better equipped to deal with division and disagreement, and to find ways to address the real needs the country faces.
When Lincoln asked at Gettysburg whether this nation “so conceived and so dedicated” can endure, he was posing a question for all time. Our status as a democracy and as a land of opportunity for all has never been a given, and never will be.