America convulses amid a week of protests, but can it change?

All week, the images of an American reckoning accumulated — peaceful demonstrators calling for racial justice; phalanxes of riot police poised for clashes; urban centers aflame with scattered violence; a moat of metal erected around the White House; a president demanding military suppression of an “angry mob” before theatrically brandishing […] Read more »

Is the Crisis Putting the Republican Senate in Jeopardy?

It’s a question as obvious as it is critical: How will the trio of crises—the pandemic, the economy, the demands for racial justice—affect the 2020 race for the White House. But in Washington, there are other implications that could matter almost as much to the direction of national policy, chief […] Read more »

Silent majorities are a misnomer

A few days ago, President Donald Trump tweeted, “SILENT MAJORITY!” amid the recent protests. The President may be hoping that there is a group of people who support him and his positions, yet aren’t being captured by the popular zeitgeist. The polling, of course, suggests that Trump is in a […] Read more »

Two-Thirds Think Trump Made Racial Tensions Worse After Floyd Was Killed

As the country erupts in protests over police brutality and racism, two-thirds of Americans think President Trump has increased racial tensions in the U.S., according to a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll. The poll offers a snapshot of a nation in upheaval after a video captured a Minneapolis police officer with […] Read more »

Why Most Americans Support the Protests

Beyond the scenes of protest and resistance playing out in cities across the country, a movement of a different sort has taken hold. The American public’s views on the pervasiveness of racism have taken a hard leftward turn over the past few years. Never before in the history of modern […] Read more »

How Do We Know We Are at a Tipping Point?

In times of tumult, it’s hard to understand if we are at a tipping point — a place from where there’s no return to the former ways — or just a short-lived change in behavior. Policy changes often come long after the events that precipitated them. And, of course, changing […] Read more »