Jonathan Zhang's AP U.S. Government Blog

1. The seven most recent polls they looked at measured opinion about last weekend (Those covering Jan 19 in the polling dates).  How many showed more support for removing Trump than opposition for removing Trump?  All of them slightly favored removal, with a wide range of margins (1 to 12 percent). 2. Which of these 7 polls found the most support for removing Trump? Which found the most opposition to removing Trump? The FiveThirtyEight/Ipsos poll had a 12% net gain on support for removal. Monmouth and The Economist/YouGov only had a 1% net gain on support for removal. Gallup had a 5% net gain on opposition, but it is not within the 7 most recent polls. 3. In FiveThirtyEight's polling average, what percentage of Democrats support removing Trump from office? What percentage of Republicans support removing Trump from office? 83.9% of Democrats and 8.4% of Republicans. 4. What difference did the most recent Monmouth University poll find in the people who say they support removi...

1. What issue is at the center of both the  Trinity Lutheran  and  Espinoza  cases? The majority opinion must be crafted carefully, as to not give any side of the case too much power, such as the state being able to ban funding to religious schools or religious schools requiring funding from the state. 2. How does Justice Kagan argue that banning ALL funding to religious institutions would be ridiculous? Without funding for religious institutions, they would also not have access to common public resources, such as the fire department and police, which is absurd. Therefore, a complete cutoff of access is not reasonable or safe for the public. 3. What choice do the plaintiffs argue that these bans force on students? The students must choose between going to school that reflects their religious beliefs or going to school with access to resources from thousands of dollars of federal funding. 4. According to the Census, what's the average amount that states spend on ...

1. Why was General Soleimani an important target for the airstrike? The U.S. wanted to prevent further bloodshed by the Iranians by taking out a key military leader.  Soleimani was already at the forefront of hundreds of American deaths. 2. How did the Department of Defense (the Pentagon) justify this attack? The attack was stated to be defensive and meant to counter further attacks from the Iranians. 3. How have Iran's leaders responded to the US attack? The supreme leader stated that revenge awaits those who killed Soleimani.  4. How has President Trump responded to Iran's promises of "revenge"? Trump promises retaliation by attacking 52 Iranian sites.  5. Why have some said that Trump's response would be considered a war crime? Targeting cultural sites, which he said would happen in his tweet as retaliation, would be a war crime. 6. What impact has this attack on Iran's leadership had on normal Iranian people? Normal Iranians saw Soleimani as a hero...

1. In changing environmental policy, how much bureaucratic regulation has the Trump Administration reduced? Trump has aimed to rollback environmental regulation. Currently, 53 separate rules have been rolled back and 32 are in the process. 2. How has the Trump Administration changed America's approach to resource extraction? The U.S. has started to become an oil/petroleum producer instead of an importer. Natural gas output is also at a record high. Natural resource extraction is on the rise and has been largely successful. 3. What changes has the Trump Administration made to the Medicaid program? Trump has allowed states to have work requirements for Medicaid. 4. What has been the result of these changes? Uninsurance rate has risen and implementation of Obamacare has fell in strength. People are having less access to reliable healthcare. 5. What policy changed has caused the biggest changes in the federal deficit? TCJA (Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017). The deficit actually ...

1. How much has Trump spent advertising on Facebook about the impeachment process? $1.6 million 2. Which voters is he targeting his ads towards? He is targeting his voter base instead of the deciding votes. He wants to assure them that the impeachment is a plot by the Democrats, not a nonpartisan political process. 3. What are the ads about? They build the conspiracy instead of addressing the actual issues of impeachment. These ads are meant to keep voters from switching sides and rile them up against Democrats. 4. How much did political groups spend on advertising on Facebook in the 2018 elections? $284 million 5. What percentage of Trump's advertising is about the impeachment? 30% 6. What age groups is Trump targeting with this advertising? 90% aimed at >35 year olds 30% of that 90% aimed at 65+ 7. Where is Trump avoiding using these ads? He isn't focusing on the states that won him the 2016 election. This allows him to test what ads are th...

​1. What changed about Virginia's government in last week's elections? The Democrats now control the House and Senate in Virginia's state legislature. They want to become the last state needed to ratify the ERA. 2. What would the Equal Rights Amendment proposed in 1972 do? It would give equal rights to everyone regardless of sex. Congress can pass legislation to enforce the legislation, and it would take effect two years after ratification. 3. How many states ratified the amendment when it was originally proposed?  What states have ratified it recently? 22 states ratified within first year, and 35 states initially ratified it during the first attempt to pass the ERA. 2 other states, Nevada and Illinois, ratified it in 2017 and 2018, respectively.  4. According to the constitution, why is it necessary to have a 38th state ratify the amendment? 3/4 majority has to be reached in the 50 state legislatures to ratify an amendment, so that is why the 38th state is crucial to c...

1. Why is the Liberty and Justice Celebration dinner important to candidates? It is the largest gathering of Iowa voters and represents a chance to change the voters' opinions before the Iowa caucus. Undecided voters can be swayed. 2. What percentage of voters still consider themselves undecided?  What percentage of voters are currently certain of their choice in candidates? 29% are undecided. 20% are certain. This leaves lots of rooms for candidates to get support. 3. Which candidates are seeing an increase in support? Which candidates are seeing a decrease in support? Buttigieg was able to gather lots of support and has the third position in the polls. Biden was supposed to be the frontrunner but is now fourth. Bernie and Biden aren't doing as well as Buttigieg and Warren. 4. What message does Pete Buttigieg use to try to stand out to voters? Buttigieg wishes to contrast himself with Warren as a centrist and Obama supporter. He rides Obama's coattails and wants to ach...