New UMass Poll gauges ‘What Makes Us American’ ; also views on upcoming 250th anniversary - is it point of pride, unfinished work, or something else?www.umass.edu/news/article/ahead-us-25...

Fewer than one-quarter of Americans view the U.S. economy in a positive light and the nation heading in the right direction — @umasspoll.bsky.social
(@agtheodoridis.bsky.social @jesserhodesumass.bsky.social @raylaraja.bsky.social et al)
More, via Opinion Today:
opiniontoday.substack.com/p/260405

Our just released UMass poll on views of Trump, with more to come this week on views of war, MAGA, immigration, which groups are seen as 'more American', and more.

President Trump’s Approval Sinks to 33% in New UMass Poll | UMass Amherst Amidst war with Iran and deepening disapproval over his handling of inflation, immigration, jobs and tariffs, 17% of 2024 Trump voters now express reservations about their vote choice.

“What is surprising...are the dips in support from the very groups that helped Trump win in 2024,” says UMass Amherst’s Tatishe Nteta.

New poll shows sharp drops among men, working-class Americans, African Americans, moderates (-18), and independents (-13). https://bit.ly/4dQZOj6

Donald Snyder Wins NEAAPOR Best Student Paper Award | UMass Amherst Snyder, a doctoral student in political science and graduate fellow with the UMass Amherst Poll, will present his paper, “There’s a Lot to Unpack There: Personalization in Political Language and Affec...

More evidence that our @umassamherst.bsky.social Political Science PhD student and @umasspoll.bsky.social fellow Donny Snyder is a rockstar! Coming soon to a Poli Sci job market near you!

Donald Snyder Wins NEAAPOR Best Student Paper Award : UMass Amherst www.umass.edu/news/article...

When public participation strengthens—and weakens—democratic governance | Brookings Public participation strengthens democracy when well designed, but poorly timed input can stall broadly supported policies.

My comments with @robsaldin.bsky.social @BrookingsGov
about how poorly designed public participation and transparency can impair governance without necessarily improving democracy. MA examples. www.brookings.edu/articles/whe...

Letter: Defend democracy against unchecked presidential power ‘Every generation is called to renew democracy. Yours will be tested,’ writes Ray La Raja

I teach American government to 200+ college students.
If I don't point out to students through the college newspaper that constitutional principles and the rule of law are being undermined, what use am I? This is not about partisanship. dailycollegian.com/2025/10/lett...

What former lawmakers reveal about the strain on American democracy | Brookings There is a divergence in how current and former lawmakers talk about the issues facing American democracy.

My comments w
@agtheodoridis.bsky.social on unique survey of former members of Congress, which indicates how far views of former GOP officeholders differ from Republican electorate on democratic norms @BrookingsGov www.brookings.edu/articles/wha...

Letter: Violence over politics has no place on campus or in our country “In a democratic society, even the most polarizing ideas must be met with words, not weapons,” LaRaja writes.

dailycollegian.com?p=187989

• Small donors share large‑donor polarization, esp on issues like guns & abortion
• They fuel more extreme, media‑savvy candidates
• Instead of blanket matching, we need localism & pluralism—district-level donor matches, strengthen parties, civic orgs & expand who votes.

www.aei.org/events/elect... I encourage you to join an upcoming event hosted by AEI (online too), with election experts talking about proposals to reform the electoral process, especially to combat extremism.

www.nytimes.com/2024/11/17/u...

« La dénonciation de “l’élection truquée” depuis 2020 s’est avérée un coup de maître, un mythe mobilisateur du trumpisme » TRIBUNE. Donald Trump exploite sans vergogne les peurs d’une base charriant des fondamentalistes religieux, des racistes et des isolationnistes, rassemblés dans une grande synthèse populiste qui a bal...

www.lemonde.fr/idees/articl... via @lemondefr

🤔Are Americans’ attitudes toward local issues structured ideologically?

➡️ @bfschaffner.bsky.social @jesserhodesumass.bsky.social & @raylaraja.bsky.social find that only a smaller subset of attitudes about local issues appears distinctively local www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Opinion | Musk’s hunch is right: Lotteries boost voter turnout Elon Musk’s $1 million lottery should inspire us to make voting more fun.

wapo.st/4fgJRAf . My take with @bfschaffner.bsky.social on Musk's idea with lottery.

Why passing Question 1 would hurt democracy - The Boston Globe By enabling the executive to infringe on the independence of the Legislature, Question 1 undermines the checks and balances system championed by James Madison.

My argument for why letting the Massachusetts State Auditor audit the legislature should be resisted with as much passion as taxation without representation www.bostonglobe.com/2024/10/16/o... via @BostonGlobe

Fence off the parties, and start in the states Discussions about political parties lack talk about boundaries. What is the core of a political party? And why should we care? Julia Azari and others are right about the weakness and hollowness of U.S...

On of my arguments for strengthening the party system and parties for better politics @ Niskanen hypertext @daviddagan.bsky.social hypertext.niskanencenter.org/p/fence-off-...

@NiskanenCenter @daviddagan.bsky.social
hosts forum among experts on US political parties, their problems and potential. Not your usual mix of mechanistic reform ideas.