A raft of polls in recent days has shown a sharply tighter presidential race, with Hillary Clinton’s lead over Donald Trump shrinking to just a couple of points. Those polls have generated a lot of questions: Just how reliable is polling this far in advance of an election? What’s causing […] Read more »
When Will Sanders Start to Help His Party Heal?
Democrats are facing the springtime of their discontent, and maybe the summer too. The recent flurry of national polls showing an unexpectedly close general election race between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton has punctured the Democratic hope that the Republican’s historically high unfavorable ratings would render him uncompetitive. Instead, the […] Read more »
Trump is a symptom of the decline of American institutions
… How are Trump and Sanders doing so well? Part of the answer is that there has been a long-term crisis of confidence in America’s leaders. Trump and Sanders’s success is a symptom of that crisis. … The General Social Survey (GSS) has asked Americans about their confidence in Congress, […] Read more »
The System Isn’t ‘Rigged’ Against Sanders
… As Sanders fans claim that the Democratic primary system is rigged against their candidate and that Sanders wins when turnout is higher, they fail to point out that Sanders has benefited tremendously from low-turnout caucuses. Indeed, if all the caucuses were primaries, Clinton would be winning the Democratic nomination […] Read more »
Why Democratic Unity Could Be Easier to Achieve This Time: Donald Trump and Barack Obama
… There is mounting concern in Democratic Party circles that even after Clinton clinches the nomination, most likely after the California and New Jersey primaries on June 7, she will have difficulty winning over Sanders’ base of young, liberal voters, many of whom identify themselves in exit polls as independents. […] Read more »
Sanders Isn’t Doing Well With True Independents
A lot has been made of Bernie Sanders’s appeal with independent voters during the Democratic presidential primary. He has won people who identify as independents in state after state, while Hillary Clinton has won people who identify as Democrats. Some Sanders backers have argued that this will translate to the […] Read more »