Partisan polarization remains the dominant, seemingly unalterable condition of American politics. Republicans and Democrats agree on very little – and when they do, it often is in the shared belief that they have little in common. Yet the gulf that separates Republicans and Democrats sometimes obscures the divisions and diversity […] Read more »
Bill Clinton Saved His Presidency. Here’s How Biden Can, Too.
Swing voters in two blue-leaning states just sent a resounding wake-up call to the Biden administration: If Democrats remain on their current course and keep coddling and catering to progressives, they could lose as many as 50 seats and control of the House in the 2022 midterm elections. There is […] Read more »
Peak Polarization? The Rise of Partisan-Ideological Consistency and its Consequences
This paper presents evidence from American National Election Studies surveys showing that party identification, ideological identification and issue positions have become much more closely connected over the past half century. As a result, the ideological divide between Democratic and Republican identifiers has widened considerably. … These findings indicate that polarization […] Read more »
Democrats fear political wipeout in next year’s midterms
The results out of Virginia and New Jersey on election night, along with the rejection of progressive ideology in deep-blue jurisdictions across the country, came as a rude awakening for Democrats. While party leaders were already preparing for a difficult midterm election, the scope of Republican gains in suburbanized, Democratic-friendly […] Read more »
Progressive fantasies hit political reality in Virginia
Republican Glenn Youngkin’s come-from-behind victory in the governor’s race proved the maxim that Virginia is for moderates. Throughout the campaign, Democrat Terry McAuliffe squandered his reputation as a business-friendly, centrist former governor who worked constructively with a Republican legislature. Instead, he became a Trump-obsessed attack dog who nationalized the race […] Read more »
Terry McAuliffe Bet on Voters Hating Trump. Turns Out They Dislike Democrats More.
The Republican Party — populated with cranks, crooks, clowns, bigots and deranged conspiracy theorists — has spent five years alienating women, minorities and young voters. The party — and its entire leadership from the grassroots to Congress — remains in thrall to a disgraced, defeated, one-term president, who is reduced […] Read more »