New York Times contributing op-ed writer Thomas Edsall warns about Republicans attempting to enforce “white political dominance;” anti-democratic trends in American politics; and the blind spots he sees in media coverage. “Trump and the Republican Party have created a real dilemma for the media,” he tells Brian Stelter. “When you […] Read more »
Why Donald Trump may lose influence in the Republican Party
Common wisdom holds that former president Donald Trump remains the dominant force within the Republican Party. The truth is that his personal influence and standing are not as powerful as many imagine, and his power is as likely to decline as it is to increase. There’s no denying that many […] Read more »
Joe Manchin is a bona fide centrist. Deal with it
Joe Manchin is a bona fide centrist, a political animal nearing extinction in the Democratic Party, whose home state of West Virginia gave Donald Trump his second-highest winning percentage last fall, with 69 percent of the vote. … Manchin’s the kind of senator that presidential candidate Joe Biden and, once […] Read more »
Evidence and experts or common sense
In our hyperpolarized society, the left can’t talk to the right and the right can’t talk to the left. … Liberals and conservatives not only reach different conclusions, they arrive at them in different ways. One of the important distinctions is in who we look to for guidance. We Democrats […] Read more »
How America Fractured Into Four Parts
Nations, like individuals, tell stories in order to understand what they are, where they come from, and what they want to be. … Tracing the evolution of these narratives can tell you something about a nation’s possibilities for change. Through much of the 20th century, the two political parties had […] Read more »
New Democratic focus groups find many voters aren’t sure what the party stands for
New focus groups conducted by a prominent Democratic pollster warn that many voters “have trouble describing a clear positive vision of what the Democratic Party stands for.” The study of swing voters and liberal “surge” voters in competitive districts, led by Celinda Lake of Lake Research Partners and requested by […] Read more »