2/12/2024

Last week’s curation at RealClear’s American Civics portal begins with a column at the Washington Examiner by Julian Adorney of Braver Angels. He argues that, contrary to a recent Washington Post article, polarization in American politics does not simply come from Trump supporters. “Data show that both major political parties are contributing to affective polarization,” he argues. In fact, “about 30% of people in both parties agreed that members of the other party ‘lack the traits to be considered fully human – they behave like animals.’” Unfortunately, he finds that among the legacy media, there is still a heavy bias against understanding the various reasons why Americans support Donald Trump – that not each and every Trump voter needs to be drummed out of polite society. There is “little recognition among center-left or leftist outlets that someone might have virtuous reasons for voting for Trump or that nonwhite folks might see something in him worth voting for,” writes Adorney. He concludes by noting that pieces such as the one from the Washington Post will only help further entrench polarization by moving “Trump supporters further away from the middle.”

At RealClearPolitics, analyst Sean Trende asks the question why President Biden is so unpopular among voters. “Biden is marching into this election season as likely the least popular president to face the voters since Herbert Hoover,” notes Trende. Yes, there are economic indicators that suggest the economy is doing well. But Americans also “care about things ranging from the war raging in the Middle East to their overall perception of the president,” which could be factors that are fueling Biden's unpopularity. But, returning to the economy, Trende surmises that the problem of inflation looms large over other, more positive economic indicators. He notes that “no matter what your price point, you feel the pinch.” Though “wages have nearly kept up with inflation (on average),” Trende concludes by arguing that “that’s cold comfort for an individual who finally gets a decent raise, only to see it go to cover inflated prices.”