Purity Tests and Political Reality

Demanding total purity from candidates isn't moral seriousness—it’s a misunderstanding of how power works.

Illustration by Riley Levine

I want to start this by being clear about something that should not be controversial, but often is online: political scientists are not all experts in the same things.

Like most scholars, I have specific areas of focus. Mine are political behavior, political psychology, American government, and the First Amendment. That’s wher…