Author: TheConversation

By Michael J. Faber, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Texas State University As President Joe Biden’s approval ratings continue to hover around 40% and polls consistently show that most Americans do not want him to run for reelection, Biden’s spokespeople insist that he plans to run. It would be more surprising if he did not run. No eligible sitting president has declined to run for reelection since 1968. Announcing that he does not plan to run would make Biden an early lame duck and make it much harder for him to accomplish his goals. ‘A lot of little things’...

By Steven Webster, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Indiana University Regardless of whether they live in a red state or a blue state, identify as Democrats or Republicans, or claim to be ideologically liberal or conservative, Americans have one thing in common. They are angry, especially about this year’s midterm elections. Americans’ anger is driven by contemporary political events. Republicans are enraged by troubling economic indicators and perceived spikes in crime. Democrats, meanwhile, are angry about the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned abortion rights enshrined by Roe v. Wade. Politicians...

By Sara Kamali, Professor, Creative Writing, University of California San Diego In September 2022, President Joe Biden convened a summit called “United We Stand” to denounce the “venom and violence” of white nationalism ahead of the midterm elections. His remarks repeated the theme of his prime-time speech in Philadelphia on September 1, 2022, during which he warned that America’s democratic values are at stake. “We must be honest with each other and with ourselves,” Biden said. “Too much of what’s happening in our country today is not normal. Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent extremism that threatens the...

By Rachel Hadas, Professor of English, Rutgers University – Newark There seems to be no sense of shame or its cousin, guilt, in our time. Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones tormented the parents of Sandy Hook’s murdered children by spreading the lie that the massacre was faked. The families sued. As the jury’s decision ordering Jones to pay almost US$1 billion to them was read in court on October 12, 2022, Jones, appearing online from his studio, was “laughing and mocking the amounts being awarded,” NBC News reported. GOP Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker, resolutely anti-abortion – with “no exception”...

By Austin Sarat, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science, Amherst College Voters who want to cast their ballot on Election Day this November may be in for an unpleasant surprise, the very real possibility that they will be unable to vote. That is because any registered voter can challenge the right of another voter, or group of voters, to cast a ballot by alleging that they are not qualified to do so. Potential challenges range from the wrong address on a voter’s registration to not being old enough to vote to having been barred from voting...

By Sara Wilf, PhD student in social welfare, University of California, Los Angeles; Elena Maker Castro, Doctoral Candidate, University of California, Los Angeles; and Taina Quiles, PhD candidate, University of Virginia Immigrants’ political power is on the rise in the United States. The number of eligible immigrant voters nearly doubled from about 12 million in 2000 to more than 23 million in 2020. Immigrant voters tend to be older than U.S.-born voters, but immigrants ages 18 to 37 still made up 20% of all immigrant voters in 2020. We are a team of scholars and students across disciplines and...