The Washington Post‘s graphics department put its skills to use …

… to prove that we’re not only politically divided, our partisanism is growing more intense, as demonstrated by the intensity of the red and blue on the map:

This is how every single county in the United States has voted vs. the national average since 1960.

The redder the red, the more Republican the county voted than the rest of the country. The bluer the blue, the more Democratic it voted. In 1960, 1968 and 1992, there are some counties that were a flat red. They voted against the Democratic winner and for third-party candidates. (Harry Byrd, George Wallace and Ross Perot, respectively.)

By far the most interesting thing about this animation is how the density of the colors increases. In the late 1980s, most counties were fairly bipartisan. By 2000, there are a lot of very strong red counties — a trend that increases. Keep an eye, too, on Appalachia. Until 2008, it’s a pale blue. Then it quickly grows red.

By the way, don’t bother reading the comments. The Post once again facilitates hatred of non-liberals.