U.S. democracy passed a milestone on January 20, 2021 with the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Donald Trump’s presidency presented unprecedented challenges to this country’s democratic norms and practices. His role in a violent insurrection, sparking a second impeachment has fueled further debate over how to preserve American […] Read more »
Republican voters are deeply divided over Trump. So why do most Republican lawmakers still support him?
Many Republican senators, watching the harrowing footage of the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection played at Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial, were moved to tears, presumably remembering their own experiences that day. Yet it did not persuade many of them to vote to convict the former president on the charge of […] Read more »
Democracy Is Weakening Right in Front of Us
A decade ago, the consensus was that the digital revolution would give effective voice to millions of previously unheard citizens. Now, in the aftermath of the Trump presidency, the consensus has shifted to anxiety that online behemoths like Twitter, Google, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook have created a crisis of knowledge […] Read more »
Trump’s acquittal is a sign of ‘constitutional rot’ – partisanship overriding principles
The impeachment trial shows American democracy is in bad shape. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images John E. Finn, Wesleyan University The Senate’s decision to acquit former President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial may have been a victory for Trump, but it is a clear sign that democracy in the U.S. […] Read more »
After the ballots are counted: Conspiracies, political violence, and American exceptionalism
Americans have experienced one of the most turbulent postelection periods in recent memory. The 2020 presidential election was marked by record turnout amid new voting procedures in many parts of the country, a response to the coronavirus outbreak. In all, more than 155 million voters cast a ballot in the […] Read more »
The GOP Cheat Code to Winning Back the House
Democrats face a daunting future of severe Republican gerrymandering that could flip control of the House in 2022 and suppress diverse younger generations’ political influence for years to come, according to a new study released today. Those findings underscore the stakes in Democrats’ efforts to pass national legislation combatting such […] Read more »