The battle over religious exemptions to coronavirus stay-at-home orders, which flared again over Easter weekend, captures the likelihood of steadily rising tension in coming years between an increasingly secular American society and the most religiously conservative voters, particularly white evangelical Protestants. … Compounding the volatility, these religious distinctions increasingly parallel […] Read more »
Tracking The Pandemic In The Battleground
For the first time in our post-Tea Party era, America responded to a big national challenge with a single voice. Nine in ten Democrats, independents, and Republicans embraced social distancing to fight the pandemic in a way that stopped the economy, split families apart and most of all, left most […] Read more »
No progressive tea party: Sanders’ exit highlights asymmetry between the parties
The tea party of the left never materialized. While the election of Barack Obama triggered a takeover of the Republican Party by its more radical elements and eventually paved the way for Donald Trump, Democrats have taken a different route during Trump’s presidency and have mostly defeated their populists at […] Read more »
They Watch Trump’s Virus Briefings Daily. Here’s What They Have to Say.
For some supporters, President Trump’s daily appearances with his coronavirus task force are a reassuring ritual during a time of crisis, consumed from the folds of a leather sectional, snacks and beverages within easy reach. … For the president’s opponents, the news conference has become a daily hate-watch, a blaring […] Read more »
How the Virus Crisis Could Help a Red-State Democrat Stay in Office
… In contrast to President Trump, whose approval bump during the health emergency has been modest by historic standards and is rapidly fading, governors are experiencing strong support for providing sober updates of new cases and hands-on guidance like how to apply for unemployment checks. Once dull gray figures to […] Read more »
The Most Important 2020 States Already Have Vote by Mail
In the states that will likely decide the 2020 presidential election, Donald Trump has already lost his newly declared war against voting by mail. All six of the swing states that both sides see as the most probable tipping points allow their residents to vote by mail for any reason, […] Read more »