The public renders a harsh judgment on the state of political discourse in this country. And for many Americans, their own conversations about politics have become stressful experiences that they prefer to avoid. … Donald Trump is a major factor in people’s views about the state of the nation’s political […] Read more »
Trump Is Betting That Anger Can Still Be Power
Donald Trump has been the most persistently unpopular first-term president in the postwar era. Much of the nation is exhausted and embarrassed by his presidency, pining for normalcy, eager to change the channel. The president’s own internal polls show Mr. Trump trailing the former vice president, Joe Biden, not only […] Read more »
The Wave That Could Carry Trump to Re-election
… Brexit, Election Day 2016, the collapse of the center-left in France, Germany and Italy, the so-called yellow vest protests, the losses by centrist parties in the recent European elections and a political upset in Australia have been categorized as examples of “populism” or “nationalism.” They are labeled a reaction […] Read more »
Americans weren’t always bitterly divided on abortion. This is how we got that way.
Everyone who cares about abortion has reason to be genuinely alarmed right now. … While public opinion on abortion has mostly stayed steady, the major parties have been steadily and deliberately choosing to move away from each other on the issue for decades. The confirmation of Brett M. Kavanaugh as […] Read more »
Democracy in Crisis
ILL WINDS: Saving Democracy From Russian Rage, Chinese Ambition, and American Complacency By Larry Diamond … Larry Diamond, a respected political scientist at Stanford, has spent 40 years circumnavigating the globe promoting democracy in Nigeria, Venezuela and some 70 other countries. Yet today he is aghast: “After three decades in […] Read more »
How Americans’ Economic Views Define — and Defy — Party Lines
Americans hold varying beliefs about the causes of inequality and the role of wealthy people in society. These stories largely break down along partisan lines. Democrats generally emphasize an unfair economy and the negative effects of wealth. Republicans commonly attribute economic fortunes to hard work and talent, and see wealthy […] Read more »