Resource Type: Research & Articles

Integrated, year-round community organizing is necessary to create people-powered political representation in the Midwest. Midwestern state economies have destabilized, and this has caused shifting politics, such as formerly Democratic or swing states now voting mostly for Republicans. This report dispels multiple myths about Midwestern politics, such as: some states swung irreversibly to the right; Midwest states can be won either by engaging only people of color, or by frantically chasing white Obama/Trump voters; retail politics can work in the Midwest by “treating” white voters with messages about the economy and Black voters with messages about race, while ignoring Native, Latino, AAPI, and other voters; and we can win Presidential, US Senate, or Gubernatorial races by dumping billions of dollars into paid advertisements each cycle, rather than building the human capacity to lead and govern. This report argues for intentionally, consistently organizing people into membership organizations, unions, and community institutions in order to move constituencies of people into political action and create political homes. Overall, this report argues for “state ecosystems” of democratically accountable movement groups to engage in electoral politics.

“Perceived fairness” and “effectiveness” are the most important determinants of public support for climate policies. “Self-enhancement values” and “knowledge about climate change” showed weak relationships to public opinion support, and demographic variables showed only weak or close to zero relationship to support for climate policies (or climate concern). “Fairness” refers to the extent that people or a process are treated or implemented equally, or according to criteria like need or merit. “Effectiveness” is people’s beliefs that a policy can fulfill a specific aim.

There are major gaps in the Environmental Impact Statement issued by the Army Corps of Engineers about the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) impacts. The NDN collective has produced a special report on the impacts of the DAPL in light of the D.C. District Court decision on June 22, 2021 dismissing tribe’s case against the Army Corps of Engineers. The purpose of this report is to provide a comprehensive summary of the DAPL project in the context of critical environmental, engineering, social, economic, and climate justice issues that continue to plague the construction and operation of the pipeline.             

In terms of public opinion, energy issues enjoy the least partisan divide while environmental issues, such as climate change, are the most partisan. Over the past year, there has been an increase in the number of Americans who say human-caused pollution contributes to climate change—from 79% to 82%—and say their lives have been impacted by climate change—from 39% to 53%. 46% say “energy issues, like the cost of energy and energy reliability” are extremely important—including 46% of Democrats and 47% of Republicans. 41% overall say “environmental issues, like clean air, clean water, climate change, and clean energy” are extremely important—including 60% of Democrats and just 20% of Republicans. Voters say they are generally more likely to support candidates who are pro-clean energy. Republican and independent voters generally favor natural gas. Just 16% of voters think the U.S. is energy independent.