Define the term hyperpartisanship, and discuss why it has become more prevalent in modern American politics.

What will be an ideal response?

Hyperpartisanship is defined as a commitment to one’s party that is so strong that it transcends other commitments and leads members to choose the interests of the party over those of constituents or the interests of the nation as a whole. Party affiliations have always been an important part of the identities of members of Congress, but in recent years, it has come to trump other considerations. In today’s era of hyperpartisanship, the parties are polarized, which means that the issue positions and ideological stances of Democrats and Republicans have been growing apart, and each party has become more internally homogeneous. This means that bipartisanship--working with members of the opposite party--is increasingly rare, especially when the very act of cooperating with the other side can be seen as a betrayal of one’s own.