One group was noticeably absent among the biggest players in Washington, D.C. this week for the U.S. Conference of Mayors: Republicans. There are many ways to measure the much-discussed urban and rural divide in American politics, but one area with the steepest divide, at least on the urban side, is […] Read more »
The polarization paradox: elected officials and voters have shifted in opposite directions
During the past four decades, the two major political parties have steadily moved farther away from each other and are now as deeply divided as they have been for more than a century. For most of this period, analysts agree, Republican elected officials have moved more to the right than […] Read more »
Why Debt-Ceiling Brinkmanship Feels Different This Time
Business, community, and government leaders are growing increasingly alarmed that the populist and ideologically conservative House Republicans may endanger Congress’ ability to approve an increase in the federal debt ceiling, a move crucial to avoiding the nation’s first-ever default and a calamity in the financial markets. The federal public debt […] Read more »
How Republicans view their party and key issues facing the country as the 118th Congress begins
Republicans now hold a narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, the first time they have controlled the chamber in four years. The GOP’s first weeks in power have been marked by drama – most notably by Kevin McCarthy’s protracted, 15-ballot victory to become House speaker. As the new […] Read more »
In elections, a win is a win. And Republicans won
… Republicans won the House, after just four years, but with a thin margin. Voters, especially independents, were motivated by economic issues, their unhappiness with the direction of the country and President Joe Biden’s leadership, and they wanted solutions. But a poor Republican economic campaign message, focused on attacking Pelosi […] Read more »
Why Black voters are more important in Georgia than in any other state
The current list of swing states in American politics mostly features places where Black voters don’t play an outsize role – states such as Arizona, Nevada and Wisconsin. Even in swing states where Black voters make up at least 10% of the voting public (e.g., Michigan and Pennsylvania), the Black […] Read more »