… Yes, Republicans are more divided than Democrats on basic support of same-sex marriage. … But Democrats are actually slightly more divided than Republicans on the religious freedom measures. In this Pew survey, Republicans split 68 percent to 28 percent in favor of allowing businesses to refuse services for same-sex […] Read more »
Parties Trade Places in Culture Wars Over Rights Measures
The uproar set off by legislation in Indiana and Arkansas that sponsors billed as religious freedom measures not only signaled a revival of the culture wars, but also threw into stark relief the expectations and tensions in the coalitions that now make up the two major political parties. The contrasting […] Read more »
Pence’s Problems a Preview of GOP’s Biggest 2016 Hurdle
Indiana Republican Gov. Mike Pence has long been a big fish in conservative circles. And this week he looked every bit the part, raging and writhing like a shark caught in a net after the “Religious Freedom Restoration Act” that he signed to cheers from social conservatives provoked a furious […] Read more »
Republican candidates are on a collision course with the American electorate
The good news for Republicans: They have a path to victory in 2016. The bad news for Republicans: They are not on that path. At the moment, in fact, they have wandered into a dense thicket and are picking nettles from their skin while being bitten by mosquitoes. The latest […] Read more »
Indiana and the defining divisions in American politics
The controversy over Indiana’s religious-freedom law highlights the most fundamental divisions that now define American politics. For all the recent talk that foreign policy or income inequality will dominate the 2016 campaign, the firestorm over Indiana is a reminder of the underlying power of values and social issues to shape […] Read more »
Who ‘Values Voters’ Like — and Don’t Like — For 2016
If you’re Republican presidential contender, one of the most important voting blocs to win over is the “values voters” – the nearly 50 percent of GOP primary voters who are focused on social issues like abortion and traditional marriage. And perhaps even more important than identifying who’s winning over those […] Read more »