… If Mr. Biden, 76, is going to win the Democratic nomination, it is likely to be because of the support of older black voters, a key constituency for the party and one that polls show is overwhelmingly supportive of the former vice president’s candidacy. But if he is to […] Read more »
Partisan divide creates different Americas, separate lives
Even in the physical world, it’s hard to cross partisan lines. igorstevanovic/Shutterstock.com Robert B. Talisse, Vanderbilt University When people try to explain why the United States is so politically polarized now, they frequently refer to the concept of “echo chambers.” That’s the idea that people on social media interact only […] Read more »
Why Democrats can’t speak for the ‘silent majority’
Ever since Richard Nixon coined the term “silent majority” in 1969, commentators have been obsessed with debating this voting bloc’s contours and character. … The silent-majority concept is inextricably intertwined with backlash politics of the sort promoted by Trump. The concept was perhaps best explained by historian Rick Perlstein, who […] Read more »
Just How Many Swing Voters Are There?
It’s a long time until the 2020 general election, but there’s a good chance it will be competitive. After all, we live in a politically polarized era where most presidential elections are decided by relatively narrow margins (since 1988, in the single digits). Which means if the margins are as […] Read more »
Trump’s War on Blue America
Across a growing number of issues, from immigration to taxes to health care, President Donald Trump is harnessing federal power to constrain—and even punish—the blue states outside of his political coalition. One recent move escalated that offensive: Yesterday Trump tweeted that the Environmental Protection Agency will revoke a federal waiver […] Read more »
Sharp anti-Trump reaction consolidates and grows Democratic bloc
… The public push back against President Trump has produced a level of political engagement the country has never seen before, an elevated anti-Trump Democratic Party consolidated to support the Democratic nominee, whether it is Vice President Biden or Senator Elizabeth Warren. They are defeating Trump by 9 and 7 […] Read more »