Results from the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll illuminate how public attitudes provide the context for the political and policy responses of Texas’ elected leaders to President Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy on immigration on the U.S.—Mexico border. Continued support for Trump, and for restrictive immigration policies writ large among […] Read more »
Riling Up the Base May Backfire on Trump
Political commentators and strategists write with some awe of President Trump’s outrageous, gutsy strategy of ginning up his base with one more attack on black athletes, one more crackdown on Central American mothers and children on the Mexican border, one more assault on Obamacare, one more tariff on imports. … […] Read more »
Orange County Fights Turning Blue. And the Resistance Is Formidable.
California has dug in at the front lines of the resistance to President Trump, suing to overturn his environmental policies, passing legislation to hamstring his immigration enforcement and marching in mass demonstrations of defiance. Then there is Orange County, a stubborn redoubt of conservatism that keeps defying prognostications that 80 […] Read more »
America’s Seismic Political Shifts
The cover of the April 21 issue of The Economist asked, “What’s become of the Republican Party?” Inside, the article was headlined, “How the elephant got its Trump,” beginning with a quote from a speech that Sen. Jeff Flake made in March: “Never has a party abandoned, fled its principles […] Read more »
Meet the New Boss. Actually Quite Different From the Old Boss.
… For four decades, from 1968 to 2008, what was loosely described as the Republican establishment — the party’s congressional leaders, campaign operatives, donors, lobbyists and special interests — reigned supreme. Every four years, the party’s presidential nominee secured the establishment’s stamp of approval. Endorsements from governors and senators — […] Read more »
How the US mid-terms could kickstart a new era of progressive reform
Get yourself into a totally different mindset when you try to understand this year’s US mid-term elections. Congressional elections are, of course, no rare thing. They happen every two years, and when the White House is not up for grabs, the President can normally expect a bit of a bruising. […] Read more »