The geographic and demographic separation between the two political parties, and the two Americas, has reached a new peak in the House of Representatives. In the 116th Congress sworn in last week, Republicans and Democrats now control districts that represent virtual mirror images of each other across a wide range […] Read more »
White right? How demographics is changing US politics
Monica Duffy Toft, Tufts University When Donald Trump was campaigning to become the U.S. president, much of the discussion about his growing popularity focused on so-called “angry white males,” who had been struggling through years of declining economic opportunities. Their frustration led some of them to adopt and espouse white […] 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 »
What does it mean to be a ‘real’ American?
Are you American? What do you think about when you answer this question? Do you think in terms of citizenship? Cultural attributes? Certain values? When Grinnell College, where we are both faculty members, polled Americans on what they most associate with being a “real” American, the vast majority of respondents […] Read more »
With Outsize Influence, Black Voters Are Ready to Make Themselves Heard
… The first votes of the Democratic presidential primary remain more than a year away, but black voters are keenly aware of the prominent role they will play in choosing the next nominee. In 2016, Mr. Sanders’s “political revolution” flamed out with black voters, and Hillary Clinton fell short of […] Read more »
Why Fights Over Immigration Keep Shutting Down The Government
We’re facing the third government shutdown in less than a year this Friday thanks, in part, to a fight over immigration policy. President Trump wants $5 billion for a border wall — an amount that is unlikely to make it through the Senate. Back in January, a disagreement over the […] Read more »