This week, the New York Times broke the news that Democratic activists posted misleading Facebook pages and Twitter feeds during the 2017 U.S. Senate race in Alabama. That’s just the latest iteration in the ongoing saga of online disinformation and “fake news” since the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Researchers have […] Read more »
Now Trump Wants His Wall, But It Looks Like He’s Two Years Too Late
The border wall is often described as Donald Trump’s signature issue, his most famous campaign promise, the very rationale for his political career—and therefore the most urgent priority of his presidency. … But if building the wall was so necessary to the success of his presidency, why did he wait […] Read more »
Can Americans Get Along?
FAULT LINES A History of the United States Since 1974 By Kevin M. Kruse and Julian E. Zelizer … Kevin M. Kruse and Julian E. Zelizer’s “Fault Lines” grafts a geologic metaphor onto three divisive threats to our democracy as suggested by Barack Obama in his January 2017 farewell address […] Read more »
A Survey Finds That All Americans Favor Democratic Norms Over Politics—Except in the Case of Voting
The Bright Line Watch team is at it again, exploring the resilience of democratic norms in America, as the Trump Presidency, entering its third year, seems ever more cavalier about them. … This time around, the team has issued a report on a new survey called “Party, Policy, Democracy and […] Read more »
GOP Insists It Doesn’t Engage In Identity Politics. Researchers Disagree
Donald Trump has had success at using identity politics. Ohio’s Mahoning Valley is a place where a conservative version of identity politics — tied to race and class — is flourishing. CONT. Asma Khalid, NPR News Read more »
White Identity Politics Aren’t Going Anywhere
… As the Democratic Party has evolved from an overwhelmingly white party to a party with a huge minority base, the dominant strategic problem has become the tenuous balance between the priorities of its now equally indispensable white and minority wings. President Trump has aggressively exploited Democratic vulnerabilities as no […] Read more »