Sen. Bernie Sanders, for the moment the front-runner in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, has built his campaign on the idea that the U.S. government should provide all Americans with many of the basic necessities of life. … What follows are six questions and answers about Sanders’ broad […] Read more »
As Economic Concerns Recede, Environmental Protection Rises on the Public’s Policy Agenda
Reflecting a strong U.S. economy, Americans’ policy priorities have changed in recent years. The public now places less priority on economic and job concerns than it did just a few years ago. At the same time, environmental protection and global climate change are rising on the public’s agenda for the […] Read more »
Trump Wants Law and Order Front and Center
Unexpectedly, the 2020 presidential campaign is drilling down on petty crime and homelessness. Donald Trump and his Republican allies are reviving law-and-order themes similar to those used effectively by Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew in the late 1960s and early 1970s to demonize racial minorities. To this end, Republicans seek […] Read more »
Do Americans approve of Trump’s pardons for court-martialed military officers?
In November, President Trump granted executive clemency to three U.S. military officers accused or convicted of war crimes: deliberately killing foreign civilians or prisoners, who posed no immediate threat, in Iraq and Afghanistan. Those pardons have been widely criticized by former U.S. military lawyers, senior military commanders and Pentagon civilian […] Read more »
Climate change and health care reform are top priority issues to Californians likely to vote in the state’s Democratic primary
Eight in ten voters likely to be participating in the state’s March Democratic presidential primary consider climate change and health care reform top priority issues for the next president to address. Another 54% rate immigration reform as a top priority issue, while 30% say this about reforming the nation’s criminal […] Read more »
Why support for the death penalty is much higher among white Americans
People who oppose the death penalty cannot serve on juries in those cases. Crazy City Lady/Shutterstock.com Kevin O’Neal Cokley, University of Texas at Austin Sentencing a person to die is the ultimate punishment. There is no coming back from the permanence of the death penalty. In the U.S., the death […] Read more »