… One way to understand unrest is to talk to peaceful protesters. These are activists that have taken time to try to make a difference on some issue. They have chosen to do so peacefully. But many of them have at least considered that, under certain circumstances, they might expand […] Read more »
Trump, the Floyd Protests, and the End of Confident Conservatism
… The current crisis in the streets of America has roots that stretch in many different directions, but it has surely been exacerbated by the current administration’s propensity for confrontation with the many perceived enemies that surround it. … The current governing regime seeks to retain political power from behind […] Read more »
The George Floyd Election
The nationwide protests over the killing of George Floyd will test two competing notions of how voters respond to crises that provoke both anger and grief. Could the demonstrations that have devolved into mayhem, looting and assault lead to victory for President Trump? Will they empower Republicans in the way […] Read more »
What Biden’s VP Picks Say About Him
Given that presidential nominees choose their running mates without any formal input from voters, how they choose can say a lot about the candidate and his views of the party and country. In this installment of the FiveThirtyEight Politics podcast, Perry Bacon Jr. and Julia Azari discuss the considerations former […] Read more »
WHO’s to Blame? Coronavirus and the Politics of Blame Shifting
Last week, President Donald Trump threatened to permanently cut US funding to the World Health Organization and eventually leave the institution. … Trump maintains that the WHO’s response during the early days of the COVID-19 crisis justified his unprecedented move. Will Trump’s attempt to scapegoat the WHO for the COVID-19 […] Read more »
Does Partisanship Affect Compliance with Government Recommendations?
… I examine three cases of government vaccine recommendations – Smallpox in 2003, H1N1 in 2009, and measles in 2015. In the first case, the president, George W. Bush, was a Republican. In the latter two, the country was governed by a Democratic administration. Using survey data, I test whether […] Read more »