It might seem obvious that having a wide-open field, as Democrats have for their 2020 presidential nomination, would make it easier for a relatively obscure candidate to surge to the top of the polls. But I’m not actually sure that’s true. Democrats might not have an “inevitable” frontrunner — the […] Read more »
Why Harris And O’Rourke May Have More Upside Than Sanders And Biden
Last week, we introduced a method for evaluating Democratic presidential contenders, which focused on their ability to build a coalition among key constituencies within the party. … In this article, I’ll go through a set of 10 leading contenders and map out their potential winning coalitions; we’ll tackle some of […] Read more »
No longer a dirty word? More Democrats call themselves ‘liberal’
American politics is full of second acts, but the biggest rehabilitation in 2019 may be around the word “liberal.” For years, even Democrats shied away from the moniker. But new data show that L-word has emerged from its exile, and is being embraced again by those who once shunned it. […] Read more »
Why Autocrats Love Emergencies: Crises — real and imaginary — loosen normal constitutional constraints
… In a democracy, presidents must have patience and thick skin. They must be able to compromise. And crucially, they must be able to lose. Autocratic-minded leaders, by contrast, find democratic politics intolerably frustrating. Most lack the skills or the temperament for the give-and-take of everyday politics. … For would-be […] Read more »
Why Democrats may go hard left in 2020
… A Gallup poll out this week finds that 51% of self-identified Democrats call themselves liberal. This is a record high percentage of Democrats calling themselves liberal since Gallup began tracking this statistic in 1994. … Potential 2020 Democratic contenders seem to be falling over themselves to be seen as […] Read more »
The liberal faction of the Democratic party is growing, new polling shows
As the starting-gun sounds in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, many people believe that the Democratic Party is more liberal than it used to be. And they’re right, at least if you go by how rank-and-file Democrats characterize themselves. But, as we will see, this complicates Democrats’ efforts […] Read more »