MICHAEL BARONE: History has some bad news for Biden Democrats.

Another historic perspective: Three decades ago, Americans emerged from a long era (1952-92) in which they mostly elected Republican presidents and Democratic Congresses. That often resulted in widely accepted bipartisan legislation, as neither party’s politicians expected to have total control any time soon.

Since 1994, voters have become both increasingly partisan and more closely divided. So both parties’ politicians have reason to shun bipartisan compromise and wait until they can win a political trifecta — control of the White House and both houses of Congress. When they get one, they push for, and sometimes pass, sweeping legislation, then promptly lose their majorities.

This happened in 1994 after Democrats failed to pass Hillarycare and in 2010 after they passed Obamacare. It happened in 1966 after the passage of Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society legislation, when Republicans won the House popular vote outside the then-heavily Democratic South. If Biden’s approval remains low, it will probably happen again in 2022.

It happened to Republicans in 2018 after passage of the Trump tax legislation, and it might well have happened in 2002 if George W. Bush’s job approval hadn’t been so high after 9/11. In any case, Republicans were swept out of control in the 2006 midterm elections.

Why do voters dismantle trifectas? Partly for the structural reasons already mentioned. And partly because apparently, most voters don’t want the significant economic and entitlement policies pushed by politicians and policy wonks of both parties.

As Glenn has written, “Really, don’t get cocky…If you want to win, donate and volunteer. Winning takes work, and commenting on Internet blogs, even this one, doesn’t count.”