Unhappy new year? Poll finds Americans wary of the nation’s course, its leaders and its future ahead of 2023

Americans are braced for an unhappy new year. Two-thirds of respondents in a new USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll say the country has gotten off on the wrong track, and they express little confidence in either political party or any branch of government to effectively address the challenges they see ahead. […] Read more »

Americans want compromise, but have no confidence Congress will work together

Three-quarters of Americans say they want members of Congress to compromise with the other side, the highest in at least a decade, but most have no confidence they will, the latest NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll finds. Seventy-four percent said Congress should compromise. But Americans have gotten more pessimistic that their leaders […] Read more »

Who are the extremists?

… As I argued here earlier, poor-quality Republican candidates played a key role in suppressing the widely anticipated red wave, and their extremism contributed significantly to the diminished quality of many defeated Republicans. But before Democratic triumphalism becomes dogma, it is important to recognize that, in the public mind, both […] Read more »

Gretchen Whitmer Rejected False Choices. All Democrats Should.

… For Democrats, much of the debate about running in and winning big northern industrial states is that we have to choose a style of campaign. Either we talk to blue-collar voters about issues like economics and manufacturing, or we talk to suburban women about abortion. Either we use progressive […] Read more »

Many around the world feel the system is broken. Can we do anything?

Over the past few years, there has been a string of populist victories. From Brexit in 2015 to Trump’s victory in 2016, they have been the canary in the coal mine for surging anti-establishment sentiments worldwide. Following these two earth-shattering wins, anti-establishment candidates continued their victory march in places like […] Read more »

Fear Was More Powerful Than Anger This Year

Republicans have been effectively stuck in an abusive relationship, unwilling or unable to extricate themselves from a toxic situation. Donald Trump and his MAGA movement have had a virtual stranglehold on the GOP for six years, and now the consequences for the party are becoming increasingly apparent. From the circumstances […] Read more »