Given a choice, 54% of rank-and-file Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents would prefer that their party move closer to the center, and 41% would rather it shift further left. At the same time, rank-and-file Republicans and Republican-leaning independents favor a shift to the right for their party, as 57% say they […] Read more »
Partisan Media and Political Distrust
… The evidence suggests that we may not be trapped in bubbles, that media may not cause polarization and that declining trust may not threaten democracy. But this does not mean we should rest easy. Although scholarship in political science and communications has undermined the widely held “bubble” theory of […] Read more »
Can 2018’s extreme weather persuade skeptics that the climate is changing?
… Many scientists have been working to determine when strange weather can be attributed to climate change. I have focused my research on examining Americans’ understanding of how strange weather and climate change are related. Here’s what I’ve found: Political orientation determines attitudes toward both climate change and extreme weather […] Read more »
The John Birch Society is still influencing American politics, 60 years after its founding
Some of the far-right group’s staff in 1976. AP Photo/J. Walter Green Christopher Towler, California State University, Sacramento The retired candy entrepreneur Robert Welch founded the John Birch Society 60 years ago to push back against what he perceived as a growing American welfare state modeled on communism and the […] Read more »
How George H.W. Bush enabled the rise of the religious right
Following Wednesday’s state funeral for George H.W. Bush at Washington National Cathedral, the former president’s casket will be flown to Houston where a memorial service will be held at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church the following day. Unlike his son George W. Bush, the elder Bush, a lifelong Episcopalian, was less […] Read more »
2018 Midterms: A Missed Opportunity for Republicans
We’ve assessed the 2018 campaign that began and ended with the fight for the election narrative. Our conclusion: This was not a base election. Independents decided the outcome, breaking for Democrats by 12 points. It was a missed opportunity. By “we” I mean the Winston Group, which on Tuesday released […] Read more »