We’ve been buffeted in recent months by the coronavirus pandemic, widespread protests over police violence that often turned into outright civil unrest, and of course, the rampage through the Capitol on Jan. 6. This is truly a unique and unfortunate moment in our nation’s history. But too few seem to […] Read more »
Election Day 2022 will be Independents’ Day
A few weeks ago, I suggested in this column that independent voters would decide when Joe Biden’s honeymoon is over. Well, Independents’ Day has arrived. While the president’s support from his Democratic base remains strong enough to offset Republican opposition, several recent polls have seen his job approval rating begin […] Read more »
The Tool That Joe Biden Refuses to Use
For all the passionate words President Joe Biden delivered in defense of voting rights in his speech yesterday, it was the one word he never mentioned that provoked the strongest response from civil-rights advocates: filibuster. Nowhere in his remarks did Biden utter what may go down as the political word […] Read more »
Americans’ Confidence in Major U.S. Institutions Dips
Americans’ average confidence in major U.S. institutions has edged down after increasing modestly several months into the coronavirus pandemic last year. Currently, an average 33% of U.S. adults express “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in 14 institutions, marking a three-percentage-point dip since 2020 and a return […] Read more »
The Intensity Factor
One of the hardest things to do in politics is to keep your voters engaged and motivated to vote in the midterm elections after your party wins a presidential election. This is especially true if your party controls all three branches of government. In midterm years, only the most committed […] Read more »
Why comparing the 2022 midterm dynamics to 1966 is risky
Democrats lost 47 House seats in the 1966 midterm elections, and that result still “haunts” them, wrote Washington Post columnist Charles Lane recently. But should it? After noting President Joe Biden’s solid job approval numbers and widespread predictions of a strong economic recovery over the next year and a half, […] Read more »