There’s a Reason Trump Loves the Truckers

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The truckers’ protest in Ottawa is the latest barrage from the world’s disaffected in the revolt that found expression in the 2016 election of Donald Trump; the 2017 Unite the Right march on Charlottesville, Va.; the rise of QAnon; and the Jan. 6 insurrection in the halls of Congress.

One thing that stands out in the Canadian truckers’ protests against vaccination requirements specifically and the Trudeau government generally is the strong support they are getting from conservative political leaders and media figures in this country.

“We want those great Canadian truckers to know that we are with them all the way,” Trump told rallygoers in Conroe, Texas, on Jan. 29. “I see they have Trump signs all over the place and I’m proud that they do,” he added. CONTINUED

Thomas B. Edsall, New York Times

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Is time the Democrats’ friend or enemy?

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Former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson said, “A week is a long time in politics.” He wasn’t wrong, even more so in today’s age of social media and instant news 24/7. A lot can happen between now and November.

And that is exactly what Democrats are counting on to deliver them from the political abyss potentially facing them this fall. Time.

Time for inflation and gas prices to head south. Time for the GDP and consumer confidence to head north. Time for the coronavirus to fade into history along with Afghanistan. Time for more jobs and less crime. And, of course, time for “Build Back Better.”

But time isn’t a reliable constant. CONTINUED

David Winston (Winston Group), Roll Call

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When nothing beats something

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… In politics, it is possible to beat something with nothing. In fact, it happens all the time.

While presidential elections inevitably involve a choice between two candidates, two parties, and two agendas, midterm elections are almost always referenda on the sitting president. There is no “choice” involved.

The president’s party often tries to make midterms about the opposition, but that strategy rarely succeeds. It never succeeds when the economy is struggling or when the sitting president is unpopular. CONTINUED

Stuart Rothenberg, Roll Call

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Are Americans ready for a return to pre-pandemic normal? Depends on what ‘normal’ means.

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Most Americans are weary of Covid-19, recent polling shows, but there’s less consensus over how that exhaustion should translate into policy. Public opinion, these surveys suggest, isn’t a struggle between two clearly defined opposing camps — one favoring an immediate and total lifting of Covid precautions and the other a state of lockdown. Rather, Americans hold a broad spectrum of complex, conflicted and changeable views on managing the pandemic. CONTINUED

Ariel Edwards-Levy, CNN

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Public’s Top Priority for 2022: Strengthening the Nation’s Economy

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As the coronavirus pandemic enters its third year, more Americans view strengthening the U.S. economy as a top policy priority than say the same about dealing with COVID-19. This marks a shift from last year, when the economy and the coronavirus both topped the public’s policy agenda. …

As in the past, Republicans and Democrats differ on the importance of most policy priorities, but the partisan gaps have widened significantly for 11 of the 18 items included in the survey – including double-digit increases in partisan differences on dealing with immigration, improving the political system, improving the job situation and addressing issues within the criminal justice system. CONTINUED

Pew Research Center

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Bearing burdens and paying prices in Ukraine

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John F. Kennedy articulated America’s Cold War credo in his inaugural address, “we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” …

While Americans are certainly more focused on domestic than foreign matters and prefer their politicians similarly absorbed, voters are not abandoning foreign entanglements, and even support the use of force when the objectives are clear and important.

Last year’s Chicago Council on Global Affairs poll found 63 percent would favor use of U.S. troops if North Korea invaded South Korea; 64 percent if North Korea attacked Japan; 52 percent if China invaded Taiwan; and 71 percent to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. CONTINUED

Mark Mellman (Mellman Group), The Hill

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