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March 15, 2024

Election 2024 – It’s the Border, Stupid By Brian Joondeph

During Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign, his advisor James Carville crafted the phrase, “It’s the economy, stupid” to highlight the US recession under then-President George H.W. Bush.  Bush also had his share of “stupid” by raising taxes after uttering his famous promise, “Read my lips, no new taxes.”

March 15, 2024

Democrats Losing Their Hold on California and California Losing Its Hold on America By Michael Barone

Last week's Super Tuesday results ensured the renominations of former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden, barring some unanticipated adverse health events. So, who's going to win in November?

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March 14, 2024

The Republican Veepstakes 2024, Part Two: What History Suggests About Trump’s Options By Joel K. Goldstein

KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE

— If he sticks to history—and he very well may not—Donald Trump’s eventual vice presidential selection will be someone with high governmental experience.

— While Democratic VP nominees have very often come from the Senate, the backgrounds of Republican running mates have been more diverse in terms of previous government experience.

— The VP slot may be seen as particularly valuable on the Republican side because anyone elected with Trump knows that the Constitution prevents him from seeking a third term in 2028, meaning that the VP could run in four years instead of having to wait the customary eight for a presidential ticket headed by someone who has not previously been president.

— On the other hand, Mike Pence’s experience with Trump may deter some from making themselves available.

— Trump, a Florida resident, would be unlikely to pick someone else from Florida as his running mate because of the 12th Amendment.

March 13, 2024

Degrowth By John Stossel

The left has a new goal: degrowth!

March 12, 2024

Can Biden Buy the Voters? By Daniel McCarthy

   Joe Biden's weaknesses are obvious, but the State of the Union last Thursday and the president's $7.3 trillion budget proposal this week are reminders of just how tough he can be.

March 12, 2024

On the Economy: Biden Needs to Go Back and Take Remedial Math By Stephen Moore

It's a good thing President Joe Biden wasn't strapped to a polygraph while giving his State of the Union speech on Thursday, because his results would have come back about as clean as O.J. Simpson's. That was especially true when he recited a lot of tall tales -- and some whoppers -- while touting his administration's alleged successes.

March 8, 2024

Are Voters Recoiling Against Disorder? By Michael Barone

The headlines coming out of the Super Tuesday primaries have got it right. Barring cataclysmic changes, Donald Trump and Joe Biden will be the Republican and Democratic nominees for president in 2024.

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March 7, 2024

The Republican Veepstakes, Part One: Picking an Apprentice, Donald Trump’s Way By Joel K. Goldstein

KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE

— Vice presidential selection season is upon us, and the early apparent resolution of the Republican presidential nomination and the fact that former President Donald Trump will be orchestrating the 2024 Veepstakes promises to make the process a long and unique episode of that quadrennial event.

— Trump is an anomalous selector, having chosen a running mate once before. If his 2016 approach is a guide, and it may not be, the conventional wisdom that he will choose one of those who is publicly most obsequious may not be accurate.

March 6, 2024

The Renewable Scam By John Stossel

   "We're building a clean energy future," says President Joe Biden.

March 5, 2024

Veepstakes Give Trump an Edge By Daniel McCarthy

Donald Trump is already beating Joe Biden; polls last weekend from The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CBS News and Fox News all agree.

March 5, 2024

Biden's OTHER Immigration Calamity By Stephen Moore

Recent polling shows President Joe Biden's open-border immigration policy is now ranked as the No. 1 or 2 problem facing America -- in part because of the havoc in our large cities where the millions of migrants are now residing.

March 1, 2024

Some Idiosyncratic Observations of the Elections So Far By Michael Barone

Herewith some idiosyncratic, perhaps eccentric, observations on the electoral contests so far in this presidential cycle.

1. Turnout is down. In the first five contests -- the Iowa and Nevada caucuses and the New Hampshire, South Carolina and Michigan primaries -- Republican turnout was down from 2016, the most recent cycle with serious contests. That's based on precincts currently reporting and the ace New York Times number crunchers' estimates of as-yet-uncounted votes.

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February 29, 2024

The Postwar History of Senate/Presidential Ticket-Splitting, Part Two By J. Miles Coleman

As Democrats try to hold the Senate through defending red states, a look at the rise and fall of split Senate outcomes in presidential years.

KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE

— This is the second part of our history of presidential-Senate split-ticket results, from World War II to now. This part covers the mid-1980s to present, a timeframe that started with many instances of split results and ended with hardly any at all.

— In 1984 and 1988, amidst large GOP victories at the presidential level, more than a dozen Republican-won states sent Democrats to the Senate both years.

— The 1990s, when Democrats were successful at the presidential level, split-ticket voting tended to benefit Republicans in the Senate, making the decade an exception in the postwar era.

— In the 2000s, Democrats were back to benefitting from the split-ticket dynamic, first under a Republican president, George W. Bush, then with a Democrat, Barack Obama.

— Montana, a state which Senate Democrats are defending this year in a Toss-up race, is the state that has split its ticket most often in the postwar era. And almost every state has split its ticket at least once during that time.

February 28, 2024

Michigan Takes a U-Turn Back to the Rust Belt By Stephen Moore

No state in modern times has transitioned from a worker freedom state to one that forces workers to join a union and pay dues to labor bosses. All the momentum across the country in the last two decades has been in the opposite direction: allowing workers the right to choose a union -- or not.

February 28, 2024

Taxation Without Reason By John Stossel

   My income tax is due in a few weeks!

February 27, 2024

Why Online News Isn't Saving Journalism By Daniel McCarthy

   Bad news for the media often feels like good news for conservatives.

February 23, 2024

Biden Open-Door Policy: Some Facts and Historical Context By Michael Barone

What's been missing these past couple of months from the coverage of and debate over the failed immigration bill? Some important basic facts and lots of historical context.

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February 22, 2024

The Postwar History of Senate/Presidential Ticket-Splitting, Part One By J. Miles Coleman

As Democrats try to hold the Senate through defending red states, a look at the rise and fall of split Senate outcomes in presidential years.

KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE

— In the post-World War II era, there have been nearly 200 instances of states voting for one party for president and another for Senate in presidential election years.

— This type of ticket splitting has generally been to the benefit of Democrats, who have been out of the White House for a slight majority of that timespan.

— The split-ticket trend has been declining, but Democrats will want to reverse that to some degree this year.

February 21, 2024

Our Sneaky Phones By John Stossel

   The government and private companies spy on us.

February 20, 2024

What Biden Bull Market? By Stephen Moore

   President Joe Biden is boasting about the recent stock market rally. He's right that stocks have been on a tear for the last 14 months. The S&P 500 hit 5,000 for the first time in history. That's up from 500 some 30 years ago.