Fewer Americans believe that free speech is secure

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… The past few years have left a clear imprint on our collective views on free speech. While free speech is still a universally appreciated value, partisans are bitterly divided on how secure it is. At the same time, many feel that it’s easier for the “other” to express themselves, another indication of how deeply tribalized we have become. How lasting these effects will be remains to be seen. CONTINUED

Clifford Young & Catherine Morris, Ipsos

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Why rising crime isn’t breaking through as a national issue

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It’s tough to turn on the news these days without seeing stories about rising violent crime rates. Violent crime (whether it be homicide or even carjackings) does seem to have climbed significantly during the coronavirus pandemic.

This has changed perceptions of crime, as an average of Gallup polling over the last two years shows more Americans think crime has risen nationally than at any point since the early 1990s. But a closer look at the data reveals that crime, for the most part, remains a back-burner national issue for Americans, unlike in the 1990s. Crime does, however, have the ability to shape local and state politics. CONTINUED

Harry Enten, CNN

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42% of adults nationwide have received a COVID-19 booster

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The latest KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor report shows that 42% of all adults nationwide have received a COVID-19 booster and more than three quarters (77%) have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, up slightly since November (73%) before the omicron variant triggered a surge in cases, hospitalizations and deaths. The small shift comes after vaccination rates stagnated in the fall but leaves relatively few unvaccinated adults who are open to getting a shot. …

Despite widespread reports of vaccinated people testing positive for the omicron variant, a substantial majority (62%) say they believe the vaccines are working because “most vaccinated people who become infected with COVID-19 do not require hospitalization.” Far fewer (34%) say the vaccines are not working because “some vaccinated people are becoming infected.” CONTINUED

Kaiser Family Foundation

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Republicans Are Trying to Suppress More Than Votes

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The accelerating red-state offensive to censor what public-school students are taught about racism is emerging as a critical companion measure to proliferating race-based voter restrictions in many of the same states.

The two-pronged fight captures how aggressively Republicans are moving to entrench their current advantages in red states, even as many areas grow significantly more racially and culturally diverse. Voting laws are intended to reconfigure the composition of today’s electorate; the teaching bans aim to shape the attitudes of tomorrow’s. …

Proposals to limit how public K–12 schools—and even public colleges and universities—talk about race are exploding. They represent the latest battlefield between what I’ve called the Republican “coalition of restoration,” centered on the places and people most uneasy about the way America is changing, and the Democrats’ “coalition of transformation,” revolving around those most comfortable with these changes. CONTINUED

Ronald Brownstein, The Atlantic

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Consumer sentiment sinks to decade low

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Consumer sentiment fell throughout January, posting a cumulative loss of 4.8%, sinking to its lowest level since November 2011, according to the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers.

The Delta and Omicron variants were largely responsible, but other factors, some of which were initially triggered by COVID-19, have become independent forces shaping sentiment, said U-M economist Richard Curtin, director of the surveys. CONTINUED

University of Michigan

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How To Survive A Wave Election

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We are still ten months from Election Day, but all signs point to a Democratic wipeout this fall. …

Even so, there are candidates who are able to swim against the tide and succeed even as their colleagues fall short. Some candidates get lucky. Sometimes the political climate improves over the year. Or, a big and unexpected event re-sets the political calculus. But, counting on luck or a sudden change in the political climate isn’t a strategy. And, wish-casting doesn’t win races.

I reached out to several seasoned Republican and Democratic political strategists to find out how they’ve advised (or would advise) a client who faces a daunting political environment like this one. CONTINUED

Amy Walter, Cook Political Report with Amy Walter

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