… By setting a populist agenda that appeals to millions of Republicans and to substantial numbers of Democrats and independents as well, Trump has opened the door to a reshaping of the traditional two-party coalitions. As everything shifts and we question previously sacrosanct boundaries, Trump and his supporters embody conflicts […] Read more »
Trump, Cruz, and a Cage Fight
… One way of looking at the GOP nomination fight is to think of three lanes or brackets: a populist lane—obviously dominated by Trump—a conservative lane, and a conventional/moderate lane (the libertarian lane that Rand Paul was banking on failed to emerge). CONT. Charlie Cook Read more »
The Eight Causes of Trumpism
… Both Trump and a broader phenomenon—call it Trumpism—are stronger and deeper than most veteran political analysts realized or were willing to acknowledge. They are neither immediate nor transitory phenomena. The disdain for the status quo, for authority figures of both parties and other institutions, and the anger at inexorable […] Read more »
Why 49% of Americans are Angry
The “Meet the Press” panel discusses a new NBC News, SurveyMonkey, Esquire poll that explores the political issues that are making Americans angry. NBC News Read more »
The boost Republicans are getting from attacking ‘political correctness’
… White working-class men are enraged because they inhabit a world they don’t recognize. It’s a world with a black president, same-sex marriage, illegal immigration, empowered women, anti-police protests and radical Islam. They want the Old America back — when white men were in charge, gays stayed in the closet, […] Read more »
Opposing Political Views Emerge in Face of Real, Imagined Threats
At home and abroad, politics is increasingly revolving around one fundamental question: are nations more likely to achieve prosperity and security by building bridges to the outside world—or by erecting walls against it? The dilemma is playing out in the U.S. with the rise of Donald Trump. In Europe, it’s […] Read more »