Mark Mellman

It’s no coincidence that word leaked out about a poll revealing that 59 percent of Americans see a conspiracy in the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy, just as discussion of the Benghazi and IRS scandals are heating up. 

Let’s be honest. Healthcare reform doesn’t quite sell itself. With few exceptions, more voters have disliked the plan than liked it in polls over the last several years. But at the same time, even fewer voters want the law repealed or defunded. Hence, Republican attempts to take those actions are strategically inexplicable. They have enjoyed some advantage by just complaining about Democrats’ passing the law. Why dilute that by taking an even less popular position themselves? 

Many are asking how senators could so flagrantly disregard public opinion in opposing the background checks for gun buyers that some 90 percent of Americans embrace. 

Growing up, one of my favorite bumper stickers claimed “The West wasn’t won with a registered gun.” I never agreed with those promoting this viewpoint, so my admiration must have been fueled by some combination of adolescent macho, love of the “old West” (and the movie “How The West Was Won”), appreciation for the rhyme and admiration for the talent of the slogan writers.

Republicans love pointing to their governors, arguing they chart the party’s course to success on a national scale. 

Here’s a puzzle: voters feel ideologically closer to the Republican Party than to the Democratic Party, yet see the GOP as more extreme. 

Last week we examined two alternative understandings of polarization.

Polarization is a term frequently used but rarely defined. That failure accounts, in part, for the polarized headlines on the subject, some of which decry “increasing polarization” while others explode “the myth of polarization.” Often these writers are talking about rather different phenomena using the same term.

What’s the relationship between party identification and issue positions? Many assume that a voter’s positions determine their party. It ain’t necessarily so.

One of my favorite Washington stories concerns infamous Watergate conspirator G. Gordon Liddy, who used to entertain party guests by holding his hand in a candle flame for some time. “What’s the trick?” shocked onlookers would ask. He would reply stoically “The trick is, I don’t care.”