They have worked more closely with the self-proclaimed democratic socialist than anyone else the past 13 years, and some fear his impact on competitive Senate races.
Perspective
Posted inOp-Eds, Perspective
Question 1: Maine’s 31st people’s veto referendum
March 3 — for the first time in 20-years — Maine will have a presidential primary election. It will be only the third time in the state’s history such an event will be taking place — the others being 1996 and 2000. The date marks, however, a somewhat more familiar though still unusual landmark in […]
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Opting out of vaccinations should not be an option
If you were to conduct a public survey as to whether respondents thought a terrorist should be criminally prosecuted, convicted and punished for spraying an aerosol can of dangerous pathogens in a school building, you’d probably get a nearly unanimous affirmative response. Well on Tuesday, Maine’s voters will be asked in a referendum if it’s […]
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Could Bernie Sanders beat Donald Trump?
Assessing the relevant data points after the senator’s dominant win in Nevada’s caucus.
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Shift to digital census raises fear of Iowa-like breakdown
Some observers worry that this year’s census carries the same potential for mayhem as last month’s Iowa caucuses, except on an infinitely larger scale
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Advocates see challenges in persuading immigrants to fill out census forms
After the battle over a citizenship question, many worry that responding could invite scrutiny by authorities.
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Why the 2020 census matters for rural Americans
As director of the University of Mississippi Center for Population Studies, I regularly talk to people about how they can use data to help their communities thrive. The decennial census is particularly important – and the next one is less than a year away. People living in rural and small town America in particular have […]
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Mr. Golden goes to Washington and serves us well
It’s hard not to admire first-term U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, an earnest young newcomer to the national political scene, who possesses the quiet dignity, gritty independence, and solid integrity of the heroic underdog played by Jimmy Stewart in the classic 1939 movie, “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.” Although Golden’s GOP opponent in the 2020 […]
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Humans are hardwired to dismiss facts that don’t fit their worldview
Something is rotten in the state of American political life. The U.S. (among other nations) is increasingly characterized by highly polarized, informationally insulated ideological communities occupying their own factual universes. Within the conservative political blogosphere, global warming is either a hoax or so uncertain as to be unworthy of response. Within other geographic or online communities, vaccines, fluoridated water and genetically modified […]
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Civility in politics is harder than you think
When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tore up the text of President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech in full public view, her supporters saw defiance of both his policies and his earlier refusal to shake her hand. But her political opponents cried foul, calling it “unbecoming” and “nasty.” This is yet another example of why […]