I appreciate all the discussion and critique surrounding my New York Times article that came out earlier this week. It has made me think harder about the structure of my study design and implications of my findings, and I now realize where I could have been clearer in presentation of […] Read more »
Hey republic-not-a-democracy folks: It’s your time to shine
If you’ve been spilling ink over the past months or years arguing that the United States of America is a republic, not a democracy, congratulations, this is your moment. … Indeed, the whole idea of an unchecked executive is really antithetical to republican government. “A republic not a democracy” folks […] Read more »
This Week in Impeachment: Does Trump Need a Good Strategy?
Over the two weeks or so since the impeachment of Donald Trump became likely, a series of news articles has chronicled Trump’s strategic and tactical response to his new predicament. Anyone wondering whether Trump would adopt Bill Clinton’s playbook from 1998—acknowledge impeachment as little as possible in public; portray yourself […] Read more »
If Republicans Ever Turn On Trump, It’ll Happen All At Once
… Will Republicans finally break with Trump? We may not know until it happens. But be forewarned — if it does happen, it will likely take us by surprise. After all, political science has shown us that big political changes often come suddenly, after long periods of stasis. Looking back, […] Read more »
Why Partisans Look At The Same Evidence On Ukraine And See Wildly Different Things
… It is not your imagination — partisanship really does affect the way we understand evidence of a scandal and how we interpret that evidence. You can see that in the polls that came out this week, which show sharp divides between Democrats who overwhelmingly support impeachment proceedings and Republicans […] Read more »
Views About the Religious Composition of the Parties Affect Polarization
Is the Republican Party the party of religious Americans? Is the Democratic Party the party of secular Americans? The answer to these questions is a resounding, “NO!” Evidence of religious diversity in American society and within both major political parties abounds. And numerous social scientific studies have done much to […] Read more »