There is no greater obstacle to progressive change than the idea of austerity. It has dominated economic policy in Europe, resulting in continued slow growth (or outright contraction) and high unemployment. These conditions have produced demoralized electorates that lack faith in all politicians—a cynicism that has only deepened when leftist parties have attained power and failed to revive growth. In such an environment, progressive change is not possible, and the left is reduced to purely defensive actions. READ MORE >>
Good Speech, Bad Strategy
Obama's State of the Union doesn't bode well for his coalition
President Obama’s strong re-election victory last November—he is only the third Democrat, along with Andrew Jackson and Franklin Roosevelt, to surpass 51 percent of the vote in two presidential campaigns—marked the indisputable arrival of a new and vibrant coalition in American politics. READ MORE >>
Forget the debt ceiling. Forget the fiscal cliff,” wrote Jonathan Last, “The root cause of most of our problems is our declining fertility rate.” This view, as recently expressed in The Wall Street Journal and at greater length in Last’s new book, What to Expect When No One’s Expecting, holds that a decline in fertility rates (the average number of children born per woman) means nothing less than the end of civilization as we know it. READ MORE >>
Why Obama Better Hope That the ‘Likely Voter’ Estimates Are Wrong
Much of next Tuesday’s election outcome depends on which electorate shows up for the election. Will it be the “likely voter” electorate assumed by many national polls or will it be an electorate that looks more like the actual pool of eligible voters? A lot rides on the answer to this question. READ MORE >>
Why Democrats Need the White Working Class
The Obama Coalition is Still Alive—But For How Long?
Eyes on the Prize
THE TITLE OF Sean Trende’s book is something of a misnomer. A better title might be The Never-Found Majority or The Never-Existing Majority. Trende, a senior elections analyst at the conservative website RealClearPolitics, believes that the very notion of long-lasting political realignments is a myth. READ MORE >>
Obama’s White Working Class Problem, and Ours
Why Obama Shouldn't Be Taking the Black Vote for Granted
There’s no question that Hispanics are among the most coveted voting blocs for November’s election. Numerically, they’re the fastest growing minority group in the U.S. population. Major media regularly monitor their presidential preferences. And both campaigns have already made loud overtures to them—including the Obama administration’s directive not to deport undocumented immigrant children, and Mitt Romney’s hints that Hispanic senator Marco Rubio might be his vice presidential nominee. READ MORE >>
