The Jim Crow party is aghast because President Biden is nominating a Black woman to the Supreme Court.
When Ronald Reagan announced he would appoint a woman to the Court, Republicans cheered. Now when Biden says his appointment will be a Black woman, they’re jeering.
Partisanship? Prejudice? Or both? CONTINUED
Mark Mellman (Mellman Group), The Hill
Amid the continuing effects of the omicron COVID variant, two in three Californians say that, as a country, the worst of the coronavirus outbreak is behind us, down from last May’s peak. Also, the share of Californians saying that things in the US are going in the right direction is down from a year ago. Though fewer Californians now say that the state is in a recession, rising prices are a severe hardship for one in five Californians and one in three lower-income residents. These are among the key findings of a statewide survey released today by the Public Policy Institute of California. CONTINUED
Public Policy Institute of California
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… The challenge for all incoming presidents is to balance who gave them the nomination and the larger, less partisan electorate that made them president. This dynamic also impacts the priority of issues. Obama failed to understand that crucial point. …
As it was in 2008, the economy is the country’s top issue, with its sub-issues of inflation, energy costs and other kitchen table issues with the COVID-19 pandemic and crime other important concerns of voters.
Yet Biden seems to be walking a familiar path, following in Obama’s footsteps by focusing on Democratic base issues: social spending, climate and voting rights. As a result, Biden’s job approval among independents in the recent Economist/YouGov poll, Jan. 22-25 was an abysmal 26 percent approve/64 percent disapprove; and in Morning Consult’s Jan. 22-23 survey, it was 34 percent approve/59 percent disapprove. CONTINUED
David Winston (Winston Group), Roll Call
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What will happen if the political tables are turned and the Republican Party wins the White House in 2024 and the House and Senate along the way?
One clue is that Donald Trump is an Orban worshiper — that’s Viktor Orban, the prime minister of Hungary, a case study in the aggressive pursuit of a right-wing populist agenda. In his Jan. 3 announcement of support for Orban’s re-election, Trump declared: “He is a strong leader and respected by all. He has my Complete support and Endorsement for re-election as Prime Minister!”
What is it about Hungary under Orban that appeals so powerfully to Trump? CONTINUED
Thomas B. Edsall, New York Times
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As Democrats attempt to defend their Senate majority, they hold 4 seats that both sides see as prime Republican targets: Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and New Hampshire.
Given Biden’s poor numbers and the usual problems the presidential party has in midterms, Republicans have a prime opportunity to flip 1 or more of these Democratic-held Senate seats. For instance, a couple of polls last week showed Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) slightly behind his likely opponent, former football star Herschel Walker (R).
Beyond these states, there has been some Republican activity worth noting in some of the dark blue states the Democrats are defending. CONTINUED
Kyle Kondik & J. Miles Coleman, Sabato’s Crystal Ball
2022 Crystal Ball Senate ratings
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The U.S. Supreme Court, which typically attracts only modest attention from the American public, is about to occupy the national spotlight with the possibility of a history-making change among the court’s justices and a series of highly anticipated rulings on matters ranging from abortion to gun policy.
The court enters this pivotal period with its public image as negative as it has been in many years, as Democrats – especially liberal Democrats – increasingly express unfavorable opinions of the court.
In a national survey by Pew Research Center, 54% of U.S. adults say they have a favorable opinion of the Supreme Court while 44% have an unfavorable view. CONTINUED
Pew Research Center
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