(Un)conventional Wisdom

(Un)Conventional Wisdom focuses on American politics, offering observations on current issues and presenting original research. The blog covers politics at all levels, as well as issues that challenge left-and-right stereotypes. (Un)Conventional Wisdom aims to find new ways to spark ongoing conversations about American politics, without being gratuitously provocative or disrespectful toward alternative views.

October 2013

  • Oct 4 2013 - 3:27am
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    As I wrote on Wednesday, the shutdown of the federal government is not helping GOP change its image as a party of old white men.

  • Oct 3 2013 - 3:36am
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    Tuesday’s post was about the apparent correlation between population density and party affiliation, with counties trending Democratic as they reach the “tipping point” of 800 people per square mile. I noted that Democrat Barack Obama carried 49 of the 50 most crowded counties last year. The flipside is that the Republicans have an overwhelming advantage in the most sparsely settled parts of...

  • Oct 2 2013 - 1:22am
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    You could spend all day reading news and commentary about the federal government shutdown, but little of it is about the 2016 presidential race. In a way, that’s a relief. (It’s three years away! Can’t we take a break from the never-ending campaign?) It’s also key to why the Republican Party seems to be on such a self-destructive course.

  • Oct 1 2013 - 2:00am
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    Eight hundred people per square mile. That’s the tipping point at which “people switch from voting primarily Republican to voting primarily Democratic, according to a study by blogger Dave Troy published last fall.