Local communities almost always pull together on the ground after natural disasters like the torrential flooding that has submerged Houston. … Yet, once the immediate danger has passed, the response to the storm will raise larger political questions on at least two major fronts: the cost of recovery and the […] Read more »
What if Trump ditched the GOP?
… What if, having systematically attacked what seems like every other institution involved in American government — the judiciary, the intelligence community, the press, the election process, law enforcement, Congress — he’s now set to attack and undermine the institution whose nomination he commandeered to obtain the presidency? What if […] Read more »
Republicans’, Democrats’ Views of Media Accuracy Diverge
Just over a third of Americans (37%) in 2017 say news organizations generally get the facts straight, unchanged from the last time Gallup asked this question in 2003. But despite the apparent stability in U.S. adults’ perceptions of news media accuracy, major partisan shifts in beliefs on this topic have […] Read more »
Senate: Trump Has Become Republicans’ 2018 Nightmare
When the party in power loses Senate (and/or House) seats in a mid-term election, it is generally because the President isn’t very popular. More accurately – barring a scandal or an economic downturn – it’s because that President has put forth, and Congress has approved, a policy that proves unpopular. […] Read more »
President Trump is living up to his critics’ worst predictions, but Democrats remain in need of a winning message
Over six months into a turbulent Presidency, and Donald Trump has become an even more profound force for division and polarization than many thought possible. In this sense, he is living up to his critics’ worst predictions, driving a deep wedge between his political party and the rest of the […] Read more »
Negative Emotions are the Key Turnout Catalyst for Mid-Term Elections
Mid-term elections are often about voting against something. For example, the historic Republican gains in the 1994 mid-term elections were about voter frustrations with the liberal policies of the Clinton administration, especially a failed attempt at health care reform. Not since the calm and decisive leadership of President George W. […] Read more »