Hill column  .

It’s no coincidence that word leaked out about a poll revealing that 59 percent of Americans see a conspiracy in the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy, just as…

Let’s be honest. Healthcare reform doesn’t quite sell itself. With few exceptions, more voters have disliked the plan than liked it in polls over the last several years. But at…

Many are asking how senators – elected officials, who are supposed to represent the public and are required to garner voters’ support – could so flagrantly disregard public opinion in…

Growing up, one of my favorite bumper stickers claimed “The West wasn’t won with a registered gun.” I never agreed with those promoting this viewpoint, so my admiration must have…

Republicans love pointing to their governors, arguing they chart the party’s course to success on a national scale. “Republican governors are America’s reformers in chief,” boasted the Republican National Committee’s…

Here’s a puzzle: voters feel ideologically closer to the Republican Party than to the Democratic Party, yet see the GOP as more extreme. Our recent survey with North Star Research…

Last week we examined two alternative understandings of polarization. One emphasizes deep divisions and extreme opinions, while the other focuses on even divisions. Though the latter stretches the concept almost…

Polarization is a term frequently used but rarely defined. That failure accounts, in part, for the polarized headlines on the subject, some of which decry “increasing polarization” while others explode…

What’s the relationship between party identification and issue positions? Many assume that a voter’s positions determine their party. It ain’t necessarily so. Indeed, in some instances, the reverse is true:…

One of my favorite Washington stories concerns infamous Watergate conspirator G. Gordon Liddy, who used to entertain party guests by holding his hand in a candle flame for some time.…