… Income inequality is back in the headlines, but it’s more than Elizabeth Warren’s rhetoric or Bernie Sanders‘s presidential announcement; Rand Paul, Mike Huckabee, and others have joined the conversation. These combined voices suggest the ground may be shifting on the issue of income inequality and in popular resentment toward […] Read more »
Economy Trumps Foreign Affairs as Key 2016 Election Issue
Eighty-six percent of Americans say the economy will be extremely or very important to their vote next year, a significantly higher percentage than for any other issue. Concerns about terrorism rank high at 74% with foreign affairs further down the list at 61%. CONT. Jeffrey M. Jones, Gallup Read more »
Battleground 2016: Economic security, equal opportunity, and a fair shot at the American Dream
Celinda Lake, Daniel Gotoff & Matt Ogren, Lake Research Partners The findings from the most recent Battleground survey underscore the deep sense of anxiety and frustration that have defined the national mood for well over a decade now—anxiety over an economy that voters see as rigged against the interests of […] Read more »
As Middle Class Fades, So Does Use of Term on Campaign Trail
Hillary Rodham Clinton calls them “everyday Americans.” Scott Walker prefers “hardworking taxpayers.” Rand Paul says he speaks for “people who work for the people who own businesses.” Bernie Sanders talks about “ordinary Americans.” The once ubiquitous term “middle class” has gone conspicuously missing from the 2016 campaign trail, as candidates […] Read more »
UK Elections: Voters were influenced by the politics of fear
… Judging by the results, which saw Labor secure barely 30 percent of the vote against 37 percent for the Conservatives, the politics of fear trumped the politics of inequality — despite significant increases in income inequality in Britain over recent years. Moreover, as both parties ran neck and neck […] Read more »
Populism could divide the Grand Old Party
… Republicans and conservatives have a brand problem. Their presidential campaign will only aggravate it as candidates are forced to double-down on an ideology that is in danger of decline. Moreover, the next year is likely to intensify deep stresses inside their coalition. Mike Huckabee gleefully highlighted these frictions when […] Read more »