… One of the few messages escaping from Washington in recent months is the ostentatious internecine battling among Democrats. I understand that legislating, especially with a tiny majority in polarized times, is arduous. I look at where we are and say, “Miraculous.” But no stranger to the process (a group […] Read more »
Biden Has Slipped With Independents, Can He Win Them Back?
Unlike partisans, who tend to stick with their side in good times and bad, independent voters are willing to criticize or support the party in power based on current events. They aren’t living in a movement; they are living in the moment. As such, when a president’s job approval ratings […] Read more »
Red America has seen the highest rates of cases and deaths, and the lowest rate of vaccinations
… It is red America, Donald Trump-voting America, that has seen the worst effects of the pandemic. With divergent vaccination rates, with the unvaccinated population that’s most at risk being made up of Republicans at three times the rate of Democrats, that gap is poised to grow. If we break […] Read more »
Why A ‘Sister Souljah Moment’ Won’t Save Biden
Joe Biden needs a “Sister Souljah Moment.” At least, that’s according to the quickly congealing conventional wisdom in Washington. That is, Biden and Democrats are in dire danger of losing control of Congress next year, and the one thing that could save them would be by bashing someone to Biden’s […] Read more »
Local Economic and Political Effects of Trade Deals: Evidence from NAFTA
Why have white, less educated voters left the Democratic Party over the past few decades? Scholars have proposed ethnocentrism, social issues and deindustrialization as potential answers. We highlight the role played by the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). In event-study analysis, we demonstrate that counties whose 1990 employment […] Read more »
Should Democrats stick to only saying popular things?
Should Democrats stick to rhetoric and positions that are popular in swing states such as Georgia and Wisconsin? Ultimately, I think the answer is “no,” but the question is worth exploring. Many in the party blamed the Democrats’ weaker-than-expected results in the 2020 elections on left-wing activists and politicians touting […] Read more »