American politics

RFK Jr. Joins the War on Climate Scientists

RFK Jr. has filled a top campaign position with an anti-vaccine activist named Del Bigtree who has called global warming “an enslavement system.”

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made headlines when a Super PAC supporting his presidential bid ran a pricey Super Bowl ad, stealing the look of a famous 1960 spot for his uncle John F. Kennedy. But he got far less attention for another move that says a lot about his campaign: He has tapped Del Bigtree …

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And the Survey Says…

How to interpret and utilize “environmentalist” poll results showing widespread support for environmental protection

As most of us know by now, environmentalism in the United States has increasingly become a politically polarizing topic. A Gallup poll from March 2018 revealed that only 42% of surveyed individuals consider themselves to be “environmentalists,” a figure which has decreased over time from the early 1990s: Interestingly, however, this shift in identity for …

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EPA Is One of the (Relatively) Popular Kids

Despite all the attacks it has suffered, EPA has a better image than either political party. Not to mention Congress.

Republicans — especially the House GOP — often lambaste EPA.  The phrase “jack-booted thugs” will stick in my memory a long time.  A recent NBC/WSJ poll, however, shows EPA is actually one of our more popular institutions: %Positive %Negative Difference EPA 40 28 +7 Barack Obama 38 40 -4 Democratic Party 38 50 -2 Republican …

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Keystone Nation: Mapping the Politics of the Pipeline

Keystone XL would run through a column of Red States and depopulating counties.

Looking at three maps sheds some interesting light on the the politics of the Keystone XL pipeline. The pipeline’s geography resonates in an interesting way with political and demographic geography.  We can start with two maps that show the proposed route (on the left) and the dates in which counties reached their peak populations. You …

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The Tea Party, the GOP, and the Environment

According to a recent study, non-Tea Party members of the GOP are actually a bit closer to Democrats than to Tea Party members on environmental issues.  That creates a conundrum for the GOP.  More than half of Republicans support the Tea Party, and supporters tend to be more active than others.  Yet the Tea Party …

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