The escalating red-state efforts to ban more books mark a new stage in the struggle to control the educational experience of America’s kaleidoscopically diverse younger generations. … Though battles over access to controversial titles traditionally have been fought district by district, and even school by school, Republican-controlled states including Florida, […] Read more »
California: Sanctions on Russia Have Bipartisan Support
Following the invasion of Ukraine, most Californians—and majorities across party lines—favor imposing economic sanctions on Russia even if it means higher energy prices. On the pandemic front, Democrats are far more likely than independents and Republicans to say controlling COVID-19 is more important than having no restrictions on normal activities. […] 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 »
Abortion Battlefields in a Potentially Post-Roe Political World
Key Points• If the Supreme Court overturns Roe vs. Wade later this year, it could hypothetically energize Democratic voters in the 2022 midterms. But it’s unclear whether abortion will become a big enough motivator for Democrats to overcome the historical pattern of unfavorable midterms for the party controlling the White […] Read more »
Red states are remaking the civil liberties landscape
From Florida, Georgia and Tennessee through Texas, South Dakota and Montana, Republican-controlled states are approving a torrent of culturally conservative hot-button legislation at a pace unmatched in recent times, and probably ever. States where the GOP controls both the governorship and state legislature are moving in unprecedented numbers to restrict […] Read more »
Fewer Californians Say the Worst of the Pandemic Is Behind Us
Amid the continuing effects of the omicron COVID variant, two in three Californians say that, as a country, the worst of the coronavirus outbreak is behind us, down from last May’s peak. Also, the share of Californians saying that things in the US are going in the right direction is […] Read more »