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Political Commentary

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October 31, 2023

The Great 'Green Energy Transition' That Wasn't by Stephen Moore

One of the textbook marketing flops of all time was the Ford Edsel sedan, which was heralded as the hot new car in the late 1950s.

All the automotive experts and Ford executives said it was a can't-miss. Henry Ford (the car was named after his son) guaranteed hundreds of thousands of sales.

October 27, 2023

Can a New Speaker Reinstate an Old Norm? By Michael Barone

After a little more than three weeks, House Republicans have finally elected a speaker. He's Mike Johnson, first elected to the House in 2016 from a district in northwest Louisiana. He's almost unknown to the public, has a right-wing voting record, and has been a supporter of Donald Trump. He grills witnesses effectively but calmly, with no visible anger.

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October 26, 2023

The Third Party Wild Card By Kyle Kondik

Recent non-major party vote strongest out west -- and not in the states likeliest to decide 2024.

KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE

— Potentially weak major party nominees paired with a long list of third party candidates could lead to a higher-than-usual level of third party voting in 2024.

— Recent third party performance has generally been strongest in western states and weakest in the South.

— The states that are most likely to decide the 2024 election have not had high average third party voting this century.

October 25, 2023

COVID Deception By John Stossel

   Remember when Sen. Rand Paul accused Dr. Anthony Fauci of funding China's Wuhan virus lab?

October 24, 2023

America's Top National Security Threat Is Our Runaway Debt y Stephen Moore

        After spending $6 trillion on social welfare and a Green New Deal spending spree and running our national debt up to $33 trillion, President Joe Biden is asking to whip out the federal credit card yet again for $100 billion more in military assistance for Ukraine and Israel and "humanitarian" aid.

October 24, 2023

Israel's Lesson for 2024: A Liberal Crackup By Daniel McCarthy

Conventional wisdom says voters don't care about foreign policy.

October 20, 2023

Time to Stop Appeasing Terrorist Iran By Michael Barone

 The 2020s are starting to look like the 1930s, as I wrote last week in the wake of Hamas' unprecedentedly vicious attack on Israel.

October 19, 2023

No Border, No Country By Brian Joondeph

America’s national border is a border in name only. Just ask the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency as they are by statute charged with controlling America’s borders.

October 18, 2023

California Crushes Pennsylvania By John Stossel

  Pennsylvania's Peter Brothers Trucking delivers goods all across America. Owner Brian Wanner says Pennsylvania bureaucrats now are driving him out of his home state.

October 17, 2023

Our Public Schools Are a National Disaster By Stephen Moore

Perhaps what's most distressing about the latest collapse in high school test scores is that no one seems to be very distressed.

October 17, 2023

Liberals' Dilemma: Immigration or Israel? By Daniel McCarthy

The war between Hamas and Israel forces everyone to recognize an uncomfortable truth: Immigration is a foreign-policy issue.

October 13, 2023

The Gathering Storm By Michael Barone

Russia has been attacking Ukraine for 20 months now. Iran, through its terrorism partner Hamas, attacked Israel this weekend. China has been threatening to attack Taiwan.

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October 12, 2023

Louisiana 2023: The Road to Saturday’s Primary By J. Miles Coleman

With a November runoff expected, some context for this weekend’s jungle primary.

KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE

— On Saturday, Louisiana voters will go to the polls to begin selecting a replacement for term-limited Gov. John Bel Edwards (D-LA).

— In the all-party primary, state Attorney General Jeff Landry (R) has been the frontrunner for much of the campaign and will likely advance to a runoff.

— The state Democratic establishment has thrown its weight behind former state Transportation Secretary Shawn Wilson, who will probably join Landry in a runoff.

— Despite Edwards’s success in recent gubernatorial elections, many of the dynamics that favored him in 2015 and 2019 are now absent. The Crystal Ball rates the race as Likely Republican.

October 11, 2023

To Protect and Destroy By John Stossel

What happens when police, trying to catch a bad guy, destroy your house?

October 10, 2023

Why Bidenflation Defines Bidenomics By Daniel McCarthy

As the world burns and President Joe Biden's inadequacies grow only more obvious, Democrats reassure themselves that voters next year will care most of all about domestic issues.

And there, they think, Biden has something to be proud of: Bidenomics.

October 10, 2023

Pope Francis Blames America First By Stephen Moore

When I was growing up and attending Catholic schools, I was taught that the pope is infallible.

October 6, 2023

New Deal Politics Turned Upside Down By Michael Barone

"The World Turned Upside Down." That's the song, or so longstanding legend would have it, that the British army band played after surrendering to American and French forces at Yorktown, 242 years ago. You can understand, even while not sympathizing, with the choice of ditty.

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October 5, 2023

Trump and Biden Seek Historic Combined Sweep By Kyle Kondik

Despite weaknesses, they could be the first-ever pair of modern nominees to each win every nominating contest.

KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE

— Despite weak overall favorability, Joe Biden and Donald Trump could combine for the strongest presidential nominating performance in modern history.

— Since the advent of the current nominating system in each party, which dates to the early 1970s, at least one of the two eventual major party nominees suffered at least some losses during the primary season.

— It is possible that Biden and Trump could both sweep every contest next year.

— Several nominating seasons came close to producing such a sweep, particularly in the 1996-2004 range.

October 4, 2023

Shut It Down! By John Stossel

   This week Republicans and Democrats got together to avert a government shutdown.

        Too bad.

October 3, 2023

Will Gavin Newsom Copy Trump? By Daniel McCarthy

Gavin Newsom wants to be Donald Trump.

Eight years ago, Trump took stock of the Republican Party and found it ripe for conquest.