Given widespread concern about the possible erosion of democracy in the United States, Bright Line Watch has conducted expert surveys since early 2017 asking thousands of professional political scientists to identify the dimensions of democracy they see as most important and to rate how well the U.S. is performing on […] Read more »
Shifting attitudes among Democrats have big implications for 2020
Partisan divisions are not new news in American politics, nor is the assertion that one cause of the deepening polarization has been a demonstrable rightward shift among Republicans. But a more recent leftward movement in attitudes among Democrats also is notable and has obvious implications as the party looks toward […] Read more »
Democrats’ Leftward Shift and Its Impact on 2020
… Talk to most Democratic strategists these days and you hear a lot of frustration about a lack of a compelling or cohesive Democratic message or narrative. This Pew data, however, gives us a pretty good idea of where the core values of the party lie. And, these values have […] Read more »
California Is the Future
America is stuck between two historical eras. That’s the best way to understand the strange, unprecedented politics of Trump, the political polarization and paralysis of government, the deep dissatisfaction of public opinion, the lack of trust in all institutions — all of it. The post-Industrial era that blossomed in the second half […] Read more »
The Partisan Divide on Political Values Grows Even Wider
The divisions between Republicans and Democrats on fundamental political values – on government, race, immigration, national security, environmental protection and other areas – reached record levels during Barack Obama’s presidency. In Donald Trump’s first year as president, these gaps have grown even larger. And the magnitude of these differences dwarfs […] Read more »
Why the majority keeps losing on guns
Why does our political system make it impossible even to consider solutions to gun violence? … As we argue in our book, “One Nation After Trump,” the United States is now a non-majoritarian democracy. If that sounds like a contradiction in terms, that’s because it is. Claims that our republic […] Read more »