Professor Barbara Sinclair's new book, Party Wars, illustrates historically how gradual shifts between the two parties gave way to polarization and also explains how activist and media-driven campaign strategies impact American legislative processes.

BookZone: A key point that you make in your book is how there is no evidence that indicates that “ugly politics" are turning voters away from the polls; that it is more likely the fact that non-voters are simply not interested in politics.

Sinclair: Almost all of the studies seem to indicate that negative campaigning may turn people off but not to the point of them not voting. To some extent the partisanship and high-stakes politics has increased turn-out. Certainly in 2004, turn-out was considerably higher than it had been in a while.

BookZone: Harold Ford, Jr., a Democrat running for Senator in Tennessee, is positioning himself as moderate. Do you see this as a trend, moving away from polarization?

Sinclair: Candidates, as always, attempt to fit themselves into where they are running. If you look at Harold Ford's voting record, he was never (an extreme) liberal. He didn't represent that kind of district and now that he's trying to represent all of Tennessee, he's moderating further. You'll certainly find that Democrats who are running in districts that are more conservative will present themselves as being more moderate. Republicans who are running in more liberal districts are more liberal. On the average most Democrats and most Republicans are quite different ideologically in a way that wasn't necessarily the case when the South (in the early 1950s), for example, had so many relatively conservative Democrats because it had no Republicans.

BookZone: You were an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow, observing in the office of the House Majority Leader and also in the Office of the Speaker. That must have been an exciting time for you.

Sinclair: Oh yes. Capitol Hill is simply an exciting place to be and the leadership offices are by far the most exciting because something is always going on. At least one crisis a day! When you've been in one of those offices and you come back, say to California or wherever, it's like (missing) an adrenaline hit.

Professor Sinclair, who grew up in Texas, worked as a Fellow in the office of Jim Wright, who later became Speaker of the House. Her experience and reputation as a Fellow earned her the privilege to return a year later and sit in on many Capitol Hill leadership meetings. She recently read Gary C. Jacobson's A Divider, Not A Uniter.