Political ideology in America... what's it all about?

I do know a number of sincere libertarians who favor a minimal state, and that includes a minimal military. But in terms of U.S. politics, I think Dean Baker basically has it right... the ideological divide is less about the size of government than the distributional impact of government. This is also broadly consistent with the fascinating and important work of Keith Poole and his collaborators on political polarization. So, yeah, class warfare. Who's to blame for the polarization since the 80s? You decide...