In his marathon speech to a gathering of conservative activists last weekend, Donald Trump unloaded more than 16,000 words, according to the official White House transcript. But amid all the meandering and asides, the belittling taunts (“Little Shifty Schiff” for Democratic Representative Adam Schiff) and geysers of grievance, Trump may […] Read more »
The Oppression of the Supermajority
We are told that America is divided and polarized as never before. Yet when it comes to many important areas of policy, that simply isn’t true. About 75 percent of Americans favor higher taxes for the ultrawealthy. The idea of a federal law that would guarantee paid maternity leave attracts […] Read more »
Can the center hold? Populist challenges, liberal democratic responses
During the past decade, a populist revolt against long-established political arrangements has erupted throughout the West. This surge reflects deep-seated trends in contemporary market economies—in particular, the shift from mass manufacturing and resource extraction to information and services, which worked to the advantage of large metropolitan areas at the expense […] Read more »
Don’t fool yourself. The political center won’t recover anytime soon.
British media and political elites are chattering about a possible new, centrist party forming after 12 members of Parliament defected from the Labour and Conservative parties. Such speculation from elites is understandable, as the defectors’ anti-Brexit stance largely mirrors their own. But, once again, they are missing the forest for […] Read more »
Democratic focus groups may have identified a hidden vulnerability for Trump
This is the week that the broad outlines of President Trump’s reelection strategy are coming into focus. Trump will continue pushing forward with his reactionary xenophobic nationalist agenda on immigration, while executing a massive but largely phony pivot back to the pro-worker economic populism he immediately abandoned upon taking office. […] Read more »
The ‘Rotten Equilibrium’ of Republican Politics
One clear lesson from the elections of 2016 and 2018 is that President Trump and his fellow Republican candidates win where white voters are losing ground. Take a look at the 2018 congressional results in the upper Midwest and Pennsylvania, states that provided the Electorate College votes crucial to Trump’s […] Read more »