Reporters and political commentators often express frustrated surprise at the steadfast support of President Trump from most Republicans in the House and Senate. But they shouldn’t — it has happened before. In fact, when these critics refer back to the Watergate era as a time of bipartisan commitment to the […] Read more »
Nixon, Watergate and Partisan Opinion
… By the time of the Saturday Night Massacre, on October 20, 1973, Nixon’s approval had already reached its “steady state” low point, with almost no change until the bitter end. The Massacre itself and subsequent revelations, including tape transcripts, and impeachment proceedings did little to reduce his approval ratings. […] Read more »
Blunders, Scandals, and Strategic Communication in U.S. Foreign Policy: Benghazi vs. 9/11
Scholars have paid little attention to the role of media scandals in U.S. foreign policy discourse. This article suggests that journalists’ treatment of foreign policy failures as scandalous bears little relationship to the nature or effects of officials’ malfeasance. Scandalized news coverage is instead more fruitfully viewed through the lens […] Read more »
What the 2016 Elections Taught Us About Uncertainty
I am frequently asked what the “surprise elections” will be this fall. After all, there are always a few races whose outcome—or near outcome, the results much closer than expected—seem to come out of the blue. … The surprise outcome in November 2016 was the disparity between the state-level polls […] Read more »
Trump’s Kobach endorsement could cost the GOP a governor’s race in red Kansas
President Donald Trump endorsed Kris Kobach ahead of Tuesday’s Kansas Republican gubernatorial primary. The endorsement doesn’t come as a surprise, but should Kobach win, it could cost the Republican Party a governor’s seat in deep red Kansas. Why? To start, Kobach, who is Kansas’ secretary of state, is mired in […] Read more »
Erosion, polarization, and norm violations: Bright Line Watch Survey Report
Donald Trump is a disruptor. Few would disagree that his actions and style of political combat set him apart from past presidents. There is less consensus about the implications of Trump’s distinctive governing style for the health of American democracy, however. To understand how Americans rate their democracy in the […] Read more »