Front and center in the raging debate between liberals and progressives over whether they should support Joe Biden or opt out of the two-party trap by voting third party or not at all is the assumption that Biden would do less harm both to the world and to American leftism than Donald Trump.
To that nagging question, the answer increasingly seems to be yes.
When U.S. cities erupted after the death of George Floyd, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser was in the vanguard of the protests, renaming a section of downtown Black Lives Matter Plaza, and painting the name in letters on the street so huge they could be seen from space.
Watch what people do, not what they say. Politicians who say one thing and do another are called hypocrites, but perhaps they have inside knowledge that the average person does not possess.
That the public is less confident in Biden’s chances than the polls could have a down-ballot impact; 14 House rating changes.
— Perceptions of the presidential race could have some impact down the ballot.
— Ticket-splitting is on the decline, but plenty of voters will vote for different parties for president and House, perhaps to the benefit of candidates from both parties.
— We are making 14 House rating changes, 10 in favor of Democrats and four in favor of Republicans. The changes don’t really impact our overall House assessment, which is that we are not expecting much net change in the makeup of the House.
The media obsess about Trump/Biden, but another candidate will be on every state ballot: Libertarian Party nominee Jo Jorgensen.
American workers across the wage scale are hurting. Small-business owners across the country are fighting for their survival. Young people face more uncertainty than ever about their futures and ability to put food on the table.
President Donald Trump isn't the first incumbent president to run for reelection facing a deficit in the late summer polls. At this stage of the election cycle in 1948, no one thought Democrat Harry Truman had a prayer of winning as he sank in the polls.
In northeast Syria last week, a U.S. military vehicle collided with a Russian armored vehicle, injuring four American soldiers.
"Jesus, Ted. All you ever do," some people tell me, "is complain. We get it -- you hate both the Republicans and the Democrats. We don't like them either. But those are the only two parties that have a chance of winning an election. Stop telling us what not to do. Tell us what you think we should do instead."
Is Joe Biden forfeiting the law-and-order issue to Donald Trump?
So it would seem.
You know the first two nights of the Republicans' virtual national convention have gone well when you see that Politico's morning Playbook leads with a lame joke about the U.S. Postal Service hiring a new lobbyist, aimed at reviving the post office non-scandal. Ho, ho, ho!
— After President Obama’s narrow win there in 2008, light red North Carolina has proved elusive for Democrats — but it remains a target for both sides.
— North Carolina’s politics are increasingly shaped by its growing bloc of unaffiliated voters.
— Over the past decade, North Carolina’s traditional east-west divide has evolved into more of an urban-rural split — a pattern seen in many other states.
— In a state known for volatile Senate races, 2020’s contest should be true to form, and further down the ballot, voters will weigh in on several statewide races.
Here we go again: Manufacture. Rinse. Repeat.
Everyone knows the cycle. Everyone knows it ends with false and incomplete narratives eventually being debunked by actual facts. Everyone knows that the racial mythmakers and political opportunists end up with fame, wealth and glory -- but never any criminal punishments or moral accountability.
Last week, I tallied Joe Biden's spending plans. This week, President Trump's.
Democrats keep attacking President Donald Trump's idea of a payroll tax cut for 140 million American workers. At the Democratic National Convention, Joe Biden said it would endanger Social Security. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York rejects the tax cut as "unworkable." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi dismisses the plan as a "tax cut for major corporations."
As Donald Trump is about to be nominated for a second term, how his presidency has already altered the orientation of his party is on display.
Republicans will vote for President Donald Trump no matter what. Democrats will vote for Joe Biden no matter what. This column is for progressives weighing the pros and cons of succumbing to the two-party trap and voting for Biden.
Give Politico's chief Washington correspondent, Ryan Lizza, some credit. After Michelle Obama's speech capping the first night of the Democrats' virtual convention, he tweeted: "Story of an era in two convention speeches: Barack 04: 'There's not a black America and white America . ... there's the United States of America.' Michelle 20: 'my message won't be heard by some people' because 'we live in a nation that is deeply divided.'"
As a cradle Catholic and recipient of Notre Dame's Laetare Medal, Joe Biden is outspoken in declaring that the principles and beliefs of his Catholic faith guide his public life.
