President Trump pardoned ex-Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona’s Maricopa County on Friday night. Arpaio, known for his hardline stance on illegal immigration, had been convicted of criminal contempt for violating a federal court order commanding his department to stop racially profiling Latinos. National surveys conducted before the pardon suggest it’s […] Read more »
Partisan Rancor at Fever Pitch in Washington, D.C.
Most Americans believe civility has deteriorated in Washington, D.C., since President Donald Trump was elected. Seven in ten residents, 70%, think the tone between Republicans and Democrats has gotten worse. … With the exception of the Intelligence Community such as the CIA and the FBI, 60%, and the courts, 60%, […] Read more »
Americans Say Civility Has Worsened Under Trump; Trust In Institutions Down
As Americans prepare to celebrate the country’s 241st birthday, they believe the overall tone and level of civility between Democrats and Republicans in the nation’s capital has gotten worse since the election of President Trump last year, a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll finds. The same survey also shows distrust of […] Read more »
Bright Line Watch Survey Report: How is U.S. democracy doing?
From May 11-20, 2017, Bright Line Watch conducted its second expert survey of political scientists assessing the state of democracy in the United States. BLW’s first survey (Wave 1) was conducted at the outset of the Trump administration in February 2017. This report presents results from the second survey (Wave […] Read more »
Democratic Norms Are Under Attack, and Not Just by Trump
Shortly after last year’s election, Andrew Reynolds made a startling assertion. The University of North Carolina political scientist, who had helped devise a formula for measuring the vitality of democracies, wrote a newspaper column claiming his state’s restrictions on voting and its unwillingness to follow established rules “means our state […] Read more »
Americans remain divided on how the Supreme Court should interpret the Constitution
The contentious Senate debate over Judge Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to the Supreme Court has cast a spotlight on deep partisan and ideological divisions in Congress – and in the public – over how the high court should interpret the Constitution when making its decisions. CONT. Samantha Smith, Pew Read more »