… Mass politics has become more polarized by racial attitudes because of Barack Obama’s rise. As I show, the election of President Obama helped usher not a post-racial but a “most-racial” political era. Racially liberal and racially conservative Americans are now more divided over a host of political positions — […] Read more »
Democrats’ Views on Confederate Flag Increasingly Negative
As South Carolina officials prepare to vote to remove the Confederate flag from the state capitol grounds, a diminished majority of Americans, 54%, down from 59% in 2000 and 69% in 1992, now view the Confederate flag as “a symbol of Southern pride” rather than “a symbol of racism.” Democrats’ […] Read more »
Why blacks see Dylann Roof as a terrorist and whites don’t
In the two weeks since a gunman walked inside a historic black church in Charleston and, after some prayer, shot and killed nine people, two competing narratives about what happened have emerged. Was the shooter a terrorist? Or was he simply a lost and animus-filled individual who committed a one-off […] Read more »
Majority sees Confederate flag as Southern pride symbol, not racist
American public opinion on the Confederate flag remains about where it was 15 years ago, with most describing the flag as a symbol of Southern pride more than one of racism, according to a new CNN/ORC poll. And questions about how far to go to remove references to the Confederacy […] Read more »
White support for the Confederate flag really is about racism, not Southern heritage
The killing of nine black churchgoers by a white gunman, Dylann Roof, in Charleston, S.C., sparked a nationwide debate over the Confederate battle emblem. … Drawing on rare survey data on this subject, we can shed light on this question. We find that white Southerners who support the Confederate flag […] Read more »
Obama’s approval rating grows following memorable week
Could Barack Obama’s great week mark a turning point in his poll numbers? After months of stagnant approval ratings, a new CNN/ORC poll finds that for the first time in more than two years, 50% of Americans approve of the way Obama is handling the presidency. CONT. Jennifer Agiesta, CNN […] Read more »