Last week, The New York Times’s astute chief political analyst, Nate Cohn, raised serious doubts about polling on background checks for gun purchasers and, by extension, about the efficacy of issue polling generally. The heart of his case: “When voters in four Democratic-leaning states got the opportunity to enact expanded gun background checks into law…
After the Supreme Court’s radical draft opinion revoking Roe v. Wade was released, Washington Post headline writers opined that it would “deepen America’s divide.” In fact, we are relatively united on the key point at issue here: Americans overwhelmingly want Roe to remain what Justice Neil Gorsuch called “the law of the land.” Few support overruling it.…
You know what activists think. They tell you. Often and loudly. That’s what makes them activists. Those active for good causes play a vital role. Without them, the pace of positive change would slow to a crawl. But activists’ attitudes don’t always reflect the views of the majority, or even the views of the communities…
While President Biden has done a remarkable job building a coalition and executing a plan to help Ukraine fight back against Russian aggression, the far left of the Democratic Party has exhibited a halting and inconsistent policy toward the Russia’s invasion. Their problem stems in part from a broader misunderstanding of the role of diplomacy — a…
We tend to naturally assume that cruel, kleptocratic dictators are unpopular among their constituents. It ain’t necessarily so. Witness Vladimir Putin. There is no doubt he’s ruthless and evil. A former KGB agent, Putin invaded two sovereign countries even before his latest unprovoked war against Ukraine. He’s jailed, and even poisoned, his political opponents, in particularly…
Pomp and circumstance returned just in time for President Biden to deliver an outstanding State of the Union address (SOTU) yesterday. He defined the stakes in Ukraine, while making clear his central role in uniting the world against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression. The president acknowledged the economic challenges confronting us and mapped out ways to meet them, while…
Each of us carries around in our heads some theories about how the world works that animate our broader outlook. We often assume others, or at least others “like us,” share those theories. For example, I’ve long thought that, on average, it’s easier for moderates to win general elections (not primaries) than it is for extreme…
John F. Kennedy articulated America’s Cold War credo in his inaugural address, “we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” Though often observed in the breach, when adhered to, this doctrine sometimes enmeshed us in…
When human beings first built cities in dry climates, then walled them in to protect against enemies, they tried to ensure their water sources were inside the walls. Leaving the water outside the protected zone would’ve made it easy for adversaries to quickly bring the inhabitants to their knees. As the mayor of Dirt put…
The Jim Crow party is aghast because President Biden is nominating a Black woman to the Supreme Court. When Ronald Reagan announced he would appoint a woman to the Court, Republicans cheered. Now when Biden says his appointment will be a Black woman, they’re jeering. Partisanship? Prejudice? Or both? One commentator derisively suggested “the Supreme Court’s too…
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