… What changed this state of affairs was the passage, 50 years ago this month, of the Voting Rights Act. Signed on Aug. 6, 1965, it was meant to correct “a clear and simple wrong,” as Lyndon Johnson said. “Millions of Americans are denied the right to vote because of […] Read more »
Negative Views of Supreme Court at Record High, Driven by Republican Dissatisfaction
Following major, end-of-term rulings on the Affordable Care Act and same-sex marriage, unfavorable opinions of the Supreme Court have reached a 30-year high. And opinions about the court and its ideology have never been more politically divided. CONT. Pew Read more »
Discomfort with Social Directions Marks a Charged Political Landscape
Americans by a wide margin express discomfort with the country’s direction on social issues, a potentially potent force in political preferences. Just 34 percent in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll say they’re comfortable with the country’s social direction, while 63 percent are uncomfortable. Indeed more than four in 10 […] Read more »
Democrats View U.S. Justices Kennedy, Roberts Favorably
More Democrats have a favorable than an unfavorable view of Republican-appointed U.S. Supreme Court Justices Anthony Kennedy and John Roberts, while Republicans’ opinions of the justices are much more negative than positive. Democrats’ views of another GOP-appointed justice, Antonin Scalia, are more unfavorable than favorable, while Republicans rate him favorably. […] Read more »
Republicans’ Approval of Supreme Court Sinks to 18%
After a historic Supreme Court session that included rulings on same-sex marriage and the Affordable Care Act, Democrats’ approval of the high court has surged to 76% and Republicans’ approval has plummeted to a record-low 18%. Americans overall are divided, with 49% approving and 46% disapproving. CONT. Jeffrey M. Jones, […] Read more »
The Supreme Court and the Politics of Fear
When he ran for president the second time almost half a century ago, Richard M. Nixon made Earl Warren’s Supreme Court a target of his campaign. It was a brilliant move. … I thought of Nixon last week as I watched the parade of Republican would-be presidents outdoing one another […] Read more »