… Though it is difficult to establish a connection between campaign rhetoric and voter behavior, the 2014 version of the “war on women” may not have benefited Democrats for this key reason: Democratic campaigns mistakenly conflated abortion and government-mandated insurance coverage for birth control, even though voters view these two […] Read more »
Nothing Obama and Holder say will change racial debate over Ferguson
… We don’t have to wonder what the reaction would be if Obama talked about the racial components of the events in Ferguson, because we’ve seen it before. There would be an explosive backlash on the right, no matter what Obama actually said. … During the Obama years, the opinions […] Read more »
How Race Undermines Obama’s Bully Pulpit on Ferguson
… Research by a Brown University political scientist, Michael Tesler, shows that the mere mention of Mr. Obama, the first African-American president, polarizes the public along racial lines on issues ranging from health care to how people feel about his dog, Bo. The Ferguson controversy may end up being as […] Read more »
On The Media: ‘Climate Change’ vs. ‘Global Warming’
The Environmental Protection Agency recently rolled out the Obama administration’s ambitious proposal to cut carbon pollution from existing power plants 30% by 2030. This proposal could bring renewed worldwide attention to climate change. Trouble is, we still haven’t sorted out how to talk about the issue. Is it “Climate Change” […] Read more »
The Political Rhetoric Around Climate Change … Er, Global Warming
… Last week, Yale University released a study showing that people are more likely to fear “global warming” and take part in a campaign to stop it than they are “climate change.” Yale’s report echoed research by George W. Bush pollster Frank Luntz, who had argued that the Bush White […] Read more »
What’s In A Name? Global Warming Versus Climate Change
… What do the terms “global warming” and “climate change” mean to the American public? Are they synonyms? Does the public see and use each term equally? Do they interpret and respond to the two terms in the same way? Or do they view and respond to each term differently? […] Read more »