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Pollster: Trump win a ‘big, fat middle finger’ from middle America

November 10, 2016 / Comments Off on Pollster: Trump win a ‘big, fat middle finger’ from middle America / Posted in: 2016 Presidential Election, In the Media, U.S. Politics

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Christopher Beem, managing director of the McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State, was quoted in a recent San Diego Union-Tribune article about the 2016 presidential election. Here’s an excerpt:

“Trump’s win, he said, occurred through a convergence of economic and societal issues that were important to white working-class voters. Those voters, Beem said, were driven by their anger over feeling abandoned by corporate America and government and their resentment over transgender and movements such as Black Lives Matter.  Those sentiments, he said, then were lumped on top of a dislike for Hillary Clinton, and that dislike grew after FBI Director James Comey’s announcement 10 days before the election that he was renewing a probe of Clinton’s emails.

“ ‘All of those things were factors but how you would begin to parse them out and assign percentages, I have no idea,’ Beem said. ‘I think a lot of people hear  “transgender bathrooms” and that’s too much, I can’t accept that. All of those things come together to create this feeling of “This isn’t my country anymore and it makes me angry and this is my opportunity to express my anger.” ’ ”

Read more at SanDiegoTribune.com.

What we thought we knew …

November 9, 2016 / Comments Off on What we thought we knew … / Posted in: 2016 Presidential Election, In the Media
Donald Trump speaks at a December 2015 campaign stop at Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Photo Credit: Matt A.J./Flickr

Donald Trump speaks at a December 2015 campaign stop at Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Photo Credit: Matt A.J./Flickr

Christopher Beem, managing director of the McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State, was quoted in a recent Philadelphia Inquire political column about the 2016 presidential election. Here’s an excerpt:

“Trump lugged around more negatives than Clinton. Didn’t matter. He’s untested in governing and public service. Apparently, that was a plus.

“But there is the issue of running the country.

“And when I asked Christopher Beem, who runs Penn State’s McCourtney Institute of Democracy, how Trump might do that, here’s what he said: ‘God only knows. It’s a complete crapshoot. . . . It’s like a guy who’s got a Swiss watch that’s not working right. You maybe can open it up. But how do you make it work better?’

“I guess that (and so much more) just remains to be seen.”

Read more at Philly.com.

What does this election mean to America?

November 8, 2016 / Comments Off on What does this election mean to America? / Posted in: 2016 Presidential Election, In the Media
Image credit: newamericamedia.org

Image credit: newamericamedia.org

Christopher Beem, managing director of the McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State; Dan Letwin, social history professor; and Rob Speel, associate professor of political science, were all recently quoted in a Sunbury Daily Item article about the presidential election. Here’s an excerpt:

“ ‘No matter where you come down politically, I don’t think anyone thinks this campaign has been a pleasant experience,’ said Christopher Beem, managing director, The McCourtney Institute of Democracy at Penn State University.

“Beem pointed to the start of it all, when Republican Sen. Ted Cruz announced in March 2015 that he was running for president. Ever since, this has been a rough-and-tumble, no-holds barred campaign characterized by sexual innuendo, half-truths, and charges of criminality that were magnified by social media and the 24-hour news cycle that now exists online and on cable TV.

“What does the last year say about America? ‘A lot of things,’ social historian Dan Letwin, a professor at Penn State University said.

“ ‘In most election years, win or lose, a good number of supporters of one candidate can accept the other candidate as a viable, legitimate president. Here, the vast majority of Trump supporters will not accept Hillary as a legitimate alternative, as the vast number of Clinton supporters will not accept Trump. Things are incredibly polarized,’ Letwin said.

“American politics has become almost tribal, noted Robert Speel, associate professor of politics at Penn State University. Supporters of both major party candidates often overlook the deep flaws of the candidate they support because the voters have such a deep-seated animosity towards the other party or candidate, Speel said.”

Read more at DailyItem.com.

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