New polling from NPR/Marist aligns with much of what we are seeing in other polling: Trump’s approval rating is now below 40% and Democrats appear to have an edge in the midterm. But what is more interesting is its message that both parties need to rebuild the electorate’s trust by delivering for ordinary Americans. NPR nicely summarizes and, in doing so, reinforces that an under-appreciated factor driving our current politics is the social distance between party elites and those they seek to represent–a point to be drawn from Theda Skocpol’s historical comparison of civic and political networks.

‘I feel lost,’ said poll respondent Wayne Dowdy of Memphis, Tenn., who calls himself a ‘lapsed Democrat.’ ‘The parties don’t speak to me anymore.’

He said he often feels unseen by the Democr

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