ONE YEAR AGO, the Americans pictured here — Republicans, Democrats and independents — were among a group of voters feeling pretty good about the state of American democracy. They believed their differences weren’t so vast. They believed they could talk to one another. They thought compromise might even come of it.
They were part of an experiment that brought 526 Americans, demographically and politically representative of all registered voters, to a conference center outside Dallas last September. They spent several days debating climate change, the economy and immigration — mostly respectfully. And many left feeling hopeful that American politics writ large could resemble something so civil.
That was before the impeachment, the pandemic, the civil unrest and the recession. Before protesters clashed in Portland, Ore., and Kenosha, Wis., and before angry voters rallied against mask mandates and lockdowns. Now, in follow-up interviews a year later, some of the most optimistic voters in America sound, instead, despondent. CONT.
Emily Badger & Kevin Quealy, New York Times
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