On the New York Times opinion page, the editors suggest (“The Stolen Supreme Court Seat,” December 24th) that President-elect Donald Trump could nominate President Obama’s choice, Judge Merrick Garland, as a gesture of goodwill. I myself suggested this on CNN last month (that was the point, you guys, not the bug – go watch). This […]
Entries from December 25th, 2016
Constitutional Hardball: Can Senate Democrats Confirm Merrick Garland on January 3rd?
December 25th, 2016, 11:25pm by Sam Wang
Happy Hannukah / Merry Christmas!
December 25th, 2016, 3:47am by Sam Wang
2016 was tumultuous. I expect 2017 will be more so. But today is peaceful, at least here. I hope you all have a good holiday wherever you are. Above, a song in memory of the Red Army Choir.
Tags: 2014 Election
Politics & Polls #25: What does the Declaration of Independence say about limited government?
December 22nd, 2016, 9:01pm by Sam Wang
Sometimes the Declaration of Independence is hauled out as an argument for limited government. But historian Steve Pincus points out that the Declaration was actually a complaint that the government should do more to promote and protect citizens’ welfare. Blew my mind. Julian Zelizer and I interviewed him about his new book: “Heart of the […]
Tags: Politics
Indivisible
December 21st, 2016, 10:58pm by Sam Wang
Recently, some progressive Congressional staffers wrote Indivisible, their guide for resisting the Trump agenda. The guide went viral. Now they have a website, https://www.indivisibleguide.com/. A current version of the guide is here.
Tags: U.S. Institutions
What Actions are Shared to All Fascist Movements?
December 21st, 2016, 3:17pm by Sam Wang
Today’s leisure reading is Robert Paxton’s essay The Five Stages of Fascism (downloadable PDF). It’s a followup to my previous post on Umberto Eco’s essay on fascism. According to Paxton (link to biography), even though fascist movements had varying stated goals, the shared elements lay in what they actually did.
Tags: 2016 Election · Politics · U.S. Institutions
What data got right in 2016 – and what’s ahead for PEC
December 20th, 2016, 2:25pm by Sam Wang
Harry Enten points out that areas surrounding Ivy League schools voted predominantly for Clinton. He concludes that these are bubbles. I think there is something more in these numbers. Undeniably, academics tilt liberal, as do the communities they live in. However, additional forces were at work in 2016. White college-educated voters swung away from the […]
Tags: 2016 Election
Podcast #24: A Politics & Polls Home Companion
December 17th, 2016, 3:45pm by Sam Wang
Polarization was a strong undercurrent to the 2016 presidential election, affecting the campaign, voting, and now President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet appointments. In an unusual *live* recording of Politics & Polls, Julian Zelizer and I discuss Trump’s recent appointments, the state of polarization today and how the polls got it wrong in the recent election. Link: […]
Tags: 2016 Election
Democracy’s Survival, Part I: Action Items for Today
December 16th, 2016, 7:30am by Sam Wang
In today’s NYT, two scholars of authoritarian movements, Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, weigh in. It’s an important article. Readers, recall that my main purpose in running this site was not simply to aggregate polls. I also wanted to help direct efforts and resources. Presidential polls were off (watch my entomophagy, which I made as […]
Tags: 2016 Election · U.S. Institutions
The Comey effect
December 10th, 2016, 10:06pm by Sam Wang
September 18, 2017: Re-upping it again because of that claim over at The Monkey Cage to the contrary. Nothing new to add, except that it is always possible to cast doubt on a fairly obvious claim if you use a method that makes your error bars large. May 9th, 2017: I am re-upping this because […]
Tags: 2016 Election
Politics & Polls #23 with Jamelle Bouie on the Democrats’ Response
December 8th, 2016, 9:26am by Sam Wang
Since Donald Trump’s election, there has been considerable debate about what the Democratic party should do next. While some Democrats argue for an openness to cooperation, others insist there isn’t room for compromise given Trump’s views on race and individual rights. In this episode of Politics & Polls, professors Julian Zelizer and Sam Wang interview […]
Tags: 2016 Election · President
