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Last week’s Politicon conference in Pasadena, California gave us the opportunity to hear from two Republicans making the case “for” and “against” Donald Trump. GOP strategist Mike Murphy insists there’s a chance, albeit slim, that the convention will back the effort to free the delegates to vote their conscience. The opposing view came from Michael Steele, the former RNC …
The eight-member Supreme Court released key decisions in the past week, with special attention focused on the issues of abortion rights and immigration. Robert Barnes of the Washington Post lays out the cases and explores how they may play politically. Donald Trump may be the presumptive Republican presidential nominee in most parts, but there are …
Were the Senate votes this week on gun legislation about guns, or about politics? That’s what Jennifer Steinhauer of the New York Times talks about, as she assesses how the issue may play in November. While Hillary Clinton may have all but officially wrapped up the Democratic nomination earlier this month, there is the history of the moment to consider. Debbie Walsh of …
The unimaginable horror of the terrorist attack in Orlando has led to the inevitable (and regrettable) finger-pointing and partisan political rhetoric. Elizabeth Zechmeister, a political science professor at Vanderbilt University, talks about how Republicans (and male candidates) often benefit politically in the aftermath of such attacks … but how this incident has the potential to be …
Hillary Clinton may have gone over the top in her bid to become the Democratic nominee for president, but Bernie Sanders has not thrown in the towel and continues to say there are issues that must be addressed before he can talk about party unity. One of his issues is the outsized influence of the …
Mathematically, it should all be over on Tuesday. But realistically, the battle for the Democratic presidential nomination, between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, is expected to go on, possibly all the way to the convention in Philadelphia. Neal Conan makes his monthly visit to the Political Junkie with analysis and observations. He may be the presumptive nominee, but Republicans are …
With both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton showing high unfavorable numbers in the latest polls, will that translate into greater interest in a third-party candidate? Ron Rapoport, a professor at William & Mary College and an expert on third parties, offers his analysis. Regardless of whether Clinton makes it to the White House this year, Jay Newton-Small, a correspondent for Time magazine …
The math may be against him, but Bernie Sanders continues to think he still has a shot at winning the Democratic nomination. Laura Meckler of the Wall Street Journal reports on how Sanders is now talking about bringing his challenge all the way to the convention in Philadelphia this summer. Yes, we did have a primary in Oregon on Tuesday. But journalist …
With the presidential nomination battles all but settled in both parties, you might wonder why so many people remain unhappy. Aaron Blake of the Washington Post is here to explain the rise of Donald Trump and how he proved all the experts — including the media — wrong. And if Hillary Clinton is close to reaching the Democrats’ magic number, why is Bernie Sanders winning …
What are the odds that Ken Rudin would be off recovering from a bad case of the flu, the same week that this long, arduous Republican primary came to a sudden end? Or, for that matter, that Donald Trump would hold out among a crowded field of qualified candidates to become the presumptive GOP nominee? …