Americans overwhelmingly say small businesses are on their side, followed by local news media and local government. But helpfulness scores turn middling to mildly negative for a range of other institutions in society – and sharply negative for one, the U.S. Congress. CONT. Gary Langer, ABC News Read more »
The Minimal Class Divide in American Politics
How deep is the class divide in American politics today? According to some scholars and pundits, it is very deep indeed. In a recent post on the Washington Post’s Monkey Cage blog, Larry Bartels of Vanderbilt University, the author of Unequal Democracy and a highly regarded public opinion scholar, presented […] Read more »
Cliven Bundy: Racism entwined with government antipathy
Conservatives would like us to believe that hatred of government and racism are totally separate phenomena. That one has nothing to do with the other. They’re wrong. Resentment of the federal government and racism have gone hand-in-hand in the United States for 200 years. CONT. Bill Schneider (George Mason U.), […] Read more »
Taxpayers troubled by inequity
It’s a refrain that troubles me: “Nobody likes paying taxes.” Especially for people like me who never served in the military, taxes are the contribution we make to our country, the dues we pay for membership in the enterprise we call America Despite my personal misgivings, I’m willing to agree […] Read more »
Republicans See Political Wedge in Common Core
… A once little-known set of national educational standards introduced in 44 states and the District of Columbia with the overwhelming support of Republican governors, the Common Core has incited intense resistance on the right and prompted some in the party to reverse field and join colleagues who believe it […] Read more »
Democrats Confront Vexing Politics Over the Health Care Law
… Even as Mr. Obama announced that eight million Americans had enrolled in the program and urged Democrats to embrace the law, those in his party are running from it rather than on it, while Republicans are prospering by demanding its repeal. The reasons are complex and layered in the […] Read more »