Politics is not a complicated game to win. Either your party fields compelling candidates that voters mostly like or your party offers a compelling and relevant enough agenda that voters mostly support. The one thing a party can’t do and expect to win is suffer double-digit deficits to the other […] Read more »
The polarization in today’s Congress has roots that go back decades
It’s become commonplace among observers of U.S. politics to decry partisan polarization in Congress. Indeed, a Pew Research Center analysis finds that, on average, Democrats and Republicans are farther apart ideologically today than at any time in the past 50 years. But the dynamics behind today’s congressional polarization have been […] Read more »
Want to Understand the Red-State Onslaught? Look at Florida.
The red-state drive to roll back civil rights is entering a new phase, perhaps best symbolized by Florida’s passage this week of the “Don’t Say ‘Gay’” bill censoring how schools discuss sexual orientation. President Joe Biden’s administration is leaning more heavily into the fight, even as business leaders are retreating […] Read more »
A Potential Rarity in American Politics: A Fair Congressional Map
For years, America’s congressional map favored Republicans over Democrats. But that may not remain the case for long. In a departure from a decades-long pattern in American politics, this year’s national congressional map is poised to be balanced between the two parties, with a nearly equal number of districts that […] Read more »
The U.S. has four political parties stuffed into a two-party system. That’s a big problem.
The United States right now has four political parties stuffed into a two-party system — and that’s increasingly a big problem for the country. This reality becomes clear if you set aside the long-standing catchall labels “Democrat” and “Republican” and look at the fissures actually animating our politics. Importantly, by […] Read more »
Russia is the rare issue on which Democrats and Republicans agree
Almost everything these days has become the victim of partisan polarization. If Democrats like something, then Republicans don’t. If Republicans like something, then Democrats don’t. Partisanship, though, has taken a back seat when it comes to Americans’ views of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Democrats and Republicans largely agree on how […] Read more »