There is a push and pull in the race for control of the U.S. Senate between the big picture electoral environment, which clearly benefits Republicans, and the day-to-day developments on the campaign trail, which do not always clearly benefit Republicans.
The media's ignorance about basic economics is galling.
"The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion."
What were the benefits and costs of the COVID-19 restrictions implemented over the last two years? It's a good time to ask that question, especially now that the masks are coming off and the lockdowns are canceled.
The prime ministers of Sweden and Finland, Magdalena Andersson and Sanna Marin, both signaled Wednesday that they will likely be applying for membership in NATO.
— The number of “crossover” districts — those won by different parties for president and House — has generally been declining over time.
— Under the current congressional district lines, there were only 16 crossover districts in 2020, with Republicans winning 9 Biden-won seats and Democrats winning 7 Trump-won seats.
— Based on the new district lines, and with a few states still outstanding, there are currently 16 incumbents running in districts that their party did not win for president: 11 Republicans in Biden seats and 5 Democrats in Trump seats.
— The Democrats may not hold a single Trump district next year, and the Republicans very well could hold many more Biden-won seats.
Bookstores now sell only certain kinds of children's books.
Once upon a time, the mantra of the libertarian Left was "keep the government out of the bedroom."
When he arrived at Christ the Savior Cathedral to pay his respects to the ultra-nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who had died of COVID-19, Russian President Vladimir Putin carried a clutch of red roses.
Speaking of the seven-week war in Ukraine ignited by Vladimir Putin, Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is warning us to expect a war that lasts for years.
— 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin surprised the political world when she announced a run to replace the late Don Young in Alaska’s at-large U.S. House seat.
— It’s not unusual for VP losers to subsequently win elected office, although in recent decades that has meant simply winning reelection to the job they held prior to being named to a presidential ticket.
— If Palin wins, she will set an obscure historical marker for unsuccessful postwar VP nominees.
President Joe Biden says he never talked business with his son.
I guess you could mark me down as a "climate change skeptic." I'm not a climate scientist, so I have no expertise on what is happening with the planet's temperature or severe weather events that can wreak havoc on life and property.
"In the battle between democracy and autocracy, democracies are rising to the moment, and the world is clearly choosing the side of peace and security," said President Joe Biden in his State of the Union address.
It feels like we're turning a corner.
Several weeks into the war in Ukraine, ABC's George Stephanopoulos asked President Joe Biden if he agreed with those who call Russian President Vladimir Putin "a killer."
President Joe Biden, perhaps looking at the rising budget deficit along with his desire to spend far more money than the U.S. Treasury has in its coffers – not to mention his sinking poll numbers and dim prospects for his party in the November midterm elections – has proposed a wealth tax on the uber rich. The White House calls it the “billionaire minimum income tax” which is neither limited to billionaires nor a tax on income.
— The U.S. Census Bureau recently reported changes in population from 2020 to 2021.
— While the headline findings mainly dealt with population declines, a number of places (particularly in the Sun Belt) are still experiencing substantial growth.
— A little more than 5 dozen counties with at least 100,000 residents grew by 3% or more from April 2020 to July 2021. These counties are spread across 20 states.
— Almost all of these counties vote Republican for president, although GOP presidential performance has eroded in many of them.
— Nearly half of these counties are in Florida and Texas, and the differing presidential trends in these fast-growing counties help illustrate the changing political trajectory of each state.
While President Joe Biden was in Brussels and Warsaw showing U.S. solidarity with Ukraine, the 38-year-old autocrat who rules North Korea made a bold bid for the president's attention.
