by jpitney | Jul 19, 2025 | Polarization, Public Opinion
Megan Brenan at Gallup: Americans’ average confidence in major U.S. institutions is unchanged since last year, with a near-record-low 28% of U.S. adults expressing “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in nine institutions...
by jpitney | Jul 16, 2025 | Bipartisanship, Federalist, Madison, Polarization
Jay Cost at AEI: There are many reasons for the dramatic rise in partisanship at the end of the 1820s, mainly related to economic diversification and rapid democratization. The number of voters had more than doubled between the elections of 1800 and 1820, and while an...
by jpitney | Jul 7, 2025 | Civility, Polarization, Reagan
Fred Ryan at The Dispatch: When I first joined the White House, I was young and driven, eager to help the president capitalize on his political mandate. So were many of my colleagues. But Reagan taught us a crucial lesson that’s in short supply today: In a healthy...
by jpitney | Jul 2, 2025 | Elections, Polarization
CMC alum Todd Achilles is running for the US Senate. Laura Guido at the Idaho Capital Sun: A former Boise Democratic legislator on Sunday stepped down from his role in the Statehouse to run for the U.S. Senate as an independent against longtime Idaho U.S. Sen. Jim...
by jpitney | Jun 30, 2025 | California Politics, Democracy, Polarization
Mark Z. Barabak at LAT: Democrats may be California’s majority party, enjoying a sizable registration advantage. They hold 60 of 80 seats in the Assembly and 30 of 40 in the state Senate. But the state has nearly 6 million registered Republicans. There are doubtless...
by jpitney | Jun 17, 2025 | Civility, Polarization, Violence
Julie Bosman at NYT: The assassination of an elected official is rare and shocking anywhere on American ground. Nowhere is it more jarring than in Minnesota, a state known for a singular political culture with high value placed on bipartisanship and a tradition of...
