Since Donald Trump’s ascension to the White House, various political insiders have warned Democrats not to talk about race issues or what they term — “identity politics,” a phrase that intentionally downgrades a raft of critical concerns. … They’re wrong. In empirical testing, we found that Democrats can prevail by […] Read more »
Democratic Candidates Should Be Bolder on Gun Control, Poll Finds
Gun control has been a third rail of Democratic campaigns, but a new poll suggests that Democratic candidates should embrace a bolder approach to restrictions on guns, even in general elections. … I’m normally reluctant to write about issue polls because they often fail to put into context how voters […] Read more »
President Trump’s racially charged words dovetail with harsh policies
It started during the campaign. Donald Trump said “Islam hates us,” he called Mexicans “rapists,” and he tweeted a photo of a taco bowl to demonstrate his appreciation for Hispanic culture. As president, he said the crowd at the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville included “some very fine people.” He […] Read more »
American political behavior firmly outside the norm for consolidated democracies
Our expert survey results in May-June 2018 demonstrate significantly increased threat levels compared to April, with ratings worsening on all six dimensions of democratic performance. … The results give us clear reasons to be concerned about the future of American democracy. May and June saw increases in threat levels across […] Read more »
Instead of Trump’s propaganda, how about a nice ‘truth sandwich’?
Last week was a particularly rough one for journalists and truth-seeking citizens. President Trump declared the news media the nation’s worst enemy. And time after shocking time, his acolytes demeaned or threatened reporters for doing one of their most basic jobs: asking questions of those in power. … It was […] Read more »
Trump has turned words into weapons and he’s winning the linguistic war
Donald Trump has been a salesman for nearly half a century. He is now selling himself, his worldview and his self-serving views of the law and the truth. … Language can shape the way we think. Trump knows this. Here are some of his favorite manipulation techniques. First, he weaponizes […] Read more »