POLITICS

12Jan

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS, TOP FOUR

Trump And His ‘Unconditional Discharge’

Trump gets an ‘unconditional discharge’ in hush money conviction − a constitutional law expert explains what that means. Donald Trump is now a convicted felon, and will be the first president of the United States with a felony conviction. On Jan. 10, 2025, Justice Juan Merchan, who presided over the trial in a New York state court, sentenced Trump to an unconditional discharge for all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. In his statement to the court, Trump maintained the point he had made throughout the prosecution, that the whole case was a political witch hunt. “The fact is, I’m totally innocent,” said Trump via a video appearance in the court. During the sentencing, Merchan said he was keenly aware of the unique set of circumstances before him and ...

Campaigning To Protect Freedom May Work Better Than Campaigning To Protect Democracy

30Sep

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS, TOP FOUR

Campaigning To Protect Freedom May Work Better Than Campaigning To Protect Democracy

Why trying to protect freedom may work better than campaigning to protect democracy. When Joe Biden was the Democrats’ candidate for president in 2020 and again in 2024, he staked his candidacy on being the person who would save democracy from the threat Donald Trump posed. But Kamala Harris has shifted away from that message and toward the idea of protecting and advancing freedom. Freedom has become the theme of many Harris campaign ads and speeches. Her slogan “we are not going back” is meant to invoke concern about freedoms being taken away. As scholars of citizens’ commitment to democracy, we see a few reasons that promoting freedom might be a more effective campaign message than protecting democracy. One is that our research and others’ has found that a lot of Americans aren’t ve...

If Voters Believe The Inaccurate Info Speaks To A Larger Truth ‘Moral Flexibility’ Helps Them Defend Politicians Misinformation

15Sep

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS, TOP FOUR

If Voters Believe The Inaccurate Info Speaks To A Larger Truth ‘Moral Flexibility’ Helps Them Defend Politicians Misinformation

Voters’ ‘moral flexibility’ helps them defend politicians’ misinformation − if they believe the inaccurate info speaks to a larger truth. Many voters are willing to accept misinformation from political leaders – even when they know it’s factually inaccurate. According to our research, voters often recognize when their parties’ claims are not based on objective evidence. Yet they still respond positively, if they believe these inaccurate statements evoke a deeper, more important “truth.” Our team conducted a series of online surveys from 2018 to 2023 with over 3,900 American voters. These surveys were designed to elicit responses about how they evaluated political statements from several politicians, even when they recognized those statements as factually inaccurate. Consider former Pr...

This Year Could Give Harris A Chance To Make History

3Sep

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS, TOP FOUR

This Year Could Give Harris A Chance To Make History

Nothing about this year is normal. It could give Harris a chance at history. With 70 days to go until Election Day, Vice President Kamala Harris is now within striking distance of becoming America’s 47th president. For some, the moment seemed implausible just over a month ago — and that was not lost on Harris as she accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination for president. “America, the path that led me here in recent weeks, was no doubt unexpected,” Harris told voters Thursday, the final night of the Democratic National Convention. “But I’m no stranger to unlikely journeys.” In record time, Harris has gone from running mate to candidate, from overlooked to undeniable as the Democratic Party’s standard bearer. The circumstances of Harris’ historic run, like the 2024 election cycle, ha...

Do Celebrity Political Endorsements Make A Difference? 19% Of Young People Say They Just Might

22Aug

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POLITICS

Do Celebrity Political Endorsements Make A Difference? 19% Of Young People Say They Just Might

Do Charli XCX’s and Kid Rock’s endorsements make a difference? 19% of young people admit they might. British pop star Charli XCX sent many young people’s group text chats and social media feeds wild when she endorsed Kamala Harris by playing off a term she coined in a song, and posted on X, that “kamala IS brat.” While this endorsement, which happened in July 2024, likely means very little to most adults who don’t follow the singer’s music, it is considered high praise among young people. Harris’ campaign astutely embraced Charli XCX’s support – temporarily changing the background of its X profile to the same shade of lime green that Charlie XCX favors. Celebrities, including singer John Legend and actors Octavia Spencer, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Jesse Tyler Ferguson, are all making ...

Despite The Small-Town Upbringing Rural Voters Don’t Necessarily Love Walz

22Aug

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS, TOP FOUR

Despite The Small-Town Upbringing Rural Voters Don’t Necessarily Love Walz

Rural voters don’t necessarily love Walz, despite the camo hat and small-town upbringing. The selection of Tim Walz as Kamala Harris’ running mate has sparked a wave of commentary suggesting that simply by elevating a former small-town football coach to the candidacy for vice president, Democrats will naturally secure the allegiance of rural voters nationwide. At first glance, such analysis – tinged with wishful thinking – seems self-evident. Walz, the governor of Minnesota, was raised in a small, rural town in Nebraska and runs a Midwestern state with a strong rural identity. And it is hard to deny that many rural advocates and writers genuinely feel seen and represented with the choice of Walz – a feeling not felt in quite some time. Indeed, you can now sport a Harris-Walz camo hat...

15Aug

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS, TOP FOUR

How To Channel Your Election Anxiety

Dealing with election anxiety? A psychiatrist explains how to channel your fears and break out of tribal thinking. Instead of excitement about the upcoming election, many of my patients and friends – regardless of political affiliation – report they’re terrified at the thought of the “other side” winning. Democrats tell me they fear Donald Trump will end our democracy; Republicans are afraid Kamala Harris will turn the United States into a socialist society without family values. Watching the news leaves people from both parties exhausted, sad and scared about the future. Each half of the country is made to believe the other half is stupid, deeply misguided, immoral, dishonest or maliciously plotting to ruin the country they themselves love. I am a psychiatrist who specializes in tr...

GOP Mockery Of ‘Laughing Kamala’ Is Nothing New To Black Women

5Aug

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS, TOP FOUR, VIDEO REELS

GOP Mockery Of ‘Laughing Kamala’ Is Nothing New To Black Women

Harris brings joy to the presidential campaign − and GOP mockery of ‘laughing Kamala’ is nothing new to Black women. With Vice President Kamala Harris’ ascent to the top of the Democratic ticket, Republicans are rebuilding a campaign strategy that for months focused on running against President Joe Biden. One emerging theme asserts that Harris laughs too much at inappropriate moments – part of a broader argument that Harris is “weird.” “I call her ‘laughing Kamala,’” former President Donald Trump said at a rally in Michigan on July 24. “Have you ever watched her laugh? She is crazy. You can tell a lot by a laugh. … She is nuts.” As a professor of American studies with a focus on race and politics, I know that Black women in the U.S. have a history of struggle against violence and oppr...

It’s Time To Talk ‘Electability’ Again, Apparently

16Aug

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS

It’s Time To Talk ‘Electability’ Again, Apparently

When pundits and political watchers raise the specter of who would would replace President Joe Biden at the top of the ticket, they are often, to mangle a favorite phrase of Vice President Kamala Harris, burdened by what has been. Even as many names have been floated as possible Biden replacements, Harris has the clearest path to the top of the ballot — both because people have voted for her there before and because she would have access to the Biden-Harris campaign’s resources and fundraising war chest. She also now has Biden's backing. But the country’s real history shapes the conversation. Biden's decision means uncertainty in a way no political party wants this close to a national election, regardless of who would take Biden’s place. And when it comes to Harris, there’s an added ques...

Heritage, Trump And Project 2025 aka “Institutionalizing Trumpism”

27Jul

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

IN OTHER NEWS, POLITICS, TOP FOUR

Heritage, Trump And Project 2025 aka “Institutionalizing Trumpism”

Heritage Foundation’s ‘Project 2025’ is just the latest action plan from a group with an over 50-year history of steering GOP lawmaking. As the 2024 presidential election heats up, some people are hearing about the Heritage Foundation for the first time. The conservative think tank has a new, ambitious and controversial policy plan, Project 2025, which calls for an overhaul of American public policy and government. Project 2025 lays out many standard conservative ideas – like prioritizing energy production over environmental and climate-change concerns, and rejecting the idea of abortion as health care – along with some much more extreme ones, like criminalizing pornography. And it proposes to eliminate or restructure countless government agencies in line with conservative ideology. ...