We saw two ends of the Republican Party attacked this week. Rep. Liz Cheney successfully fought off an intraparty challenge for her spot in the House GOP leadership. And Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was stripped of committee memberships by the full House, after the Republicans refused to do it themselves. […] Read more »
There is no singular Trump voter
The motivation behind voters’ support for President Donald Trump has been a source of intense speculation ever since he burst onto the political scene. But there is no singular “Trump voter.” Despite how it is often portrayed in the media, Trump’s coalition is ideologically and demographically diverse. That’s according to […] Read more »
Biden’s Early Moves Reflect the Declining Strength of the Center-Right
… The “moderate” label was always a poor fit for Biden, used mostly as a facile shorthand to denote that his politics differed from those of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. As I observed after his selection of Kamala Harris last August, Biden’s actual career-long persona is “regular Democrat,” with […] Read more »
How the GOP Surrendered to Extremism
… Kevin McCarthy’s half-hearted slap on the wrist for [Marjorie Taylor] Greene this week was a measure of the GOP’s limited appetite for constructing a clear boundary against extremism. The likelihood that the majority of Senate Republicans will soon vote to exempt Trump from any punishment for the Capitol riot […] Read more »
Crossroads: Challenges & Choices in a Low-Trust World
Political analysis, by Bruce Mehlman of Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas. CONTINUED — pdf The OPINION TODAY email newsletter is a concise daily rundown of significant new poll results and insightful analysis. It’s FREE. Sign up here: opiniontoday.substack Read more »
Forcing out the fringe
… In the postwar decades, a slash-and-burn conspiratorial style took hold of the right wing, posing a challenge to several pillars of American democracy, including free and fair elections, the acceptance of facts in political debates and the peaceful transfer of power. … By stigmatizing, punishing and outvoting the forces […] Read more »