I usually push back at claims that the Democratic Party is in disarray, particularly right in the middle of a nomination contest. It’s supposed to be a messy process, after all. Messiness needn’t prevent the party from finding a nominee and rallying around that person. But it seems reasonable to […] Read more »
Sanders Rises, But Socialism Isn’t Popular With Most Americans
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is rising in the polls among Democrats, but questions about his electability against President Trump persist because he self-identifies as a democratic socialist. A new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll backs up the idea that the label could hurt him. Asked about their impression of socialism, 28% of […] Read more »
The 100 Million Project: The Untold Story of American Non-voters
As primary season heats up and voters cast their ballots during this presidential election year, the largest bloc of the electorate is a group of Americans that no politician has polled and who have seldom exercised their basic civic act – those who chronically do not vote. In an effort […] Read more »
Is the two-party system good for democracy?
Facing extreme partisanship and polarization, America’s two-party system has come under fire. Critics argue that the two-party system runs contrary to the founders’ intent and has created a political system that fails to represent the electorate, concentrates power for the elites, and makes compromise impossible. They say it’s time for […] Read more »
Why Don’t We Know Which Democratic Candidate Can Beat Trump?
The Democratic presidential primary is starting to feel less like a political contest and more like an existential experiment. In the era of big data and after a year of micro-analyzing every little twist and turn, we seem to know less than we did at the beginning. In an era […] Read more »
Is America’s Two-Party System Fracturing?
Neither Donald Trump nor Bernie Sanders are conventional leaders in their parties. NPR’s Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks to political scientist Diego von Vacano about the breakdown of the two-party system. Weekend Edition, NPR News Read more »