Democratic hopes for passing big legislation through the Senate rely on Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. Both have made things difficult for Senate Democrats because they are moderates who have been hesitant to pass big spending packages. But while Democrats are lucky to have a […] Read more »
What will it take for Biden to bring fractured Democrats together?
… There are now many cooks in the kitchen as Democrats seek consensus and compromise between the $3.5 trillion proposed and a $1.5 trillion ceiling Manchin is calling for. Ultimately, however, this is Biden’s agenda and the political judgments will fall most heavily on him, while the rest of his […] Read more »
Biden Throws In With Left, Leaving His Agenda in Doubt
For well over a year now, President Biden’s vaunted negotiating style largely boiled down to this: I’m with you. After he vanquished Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont in the Democratic primary, he brought the liberal icon’s ardent supporters into the fold by embracing much of the senator’s platform even as […] Read more »
The Texas Border Shift
Most of the country saw modest shifts in vote margin from 2016 to 2020. The Texas border stands out for the intensity and breadth of the pro-Republican shift. Miami is also attention getting, but here we focus on Texas. It isn’t that the Texas border counties gave majorities to Trump. […] Read more »
Trust in Biden on COVID erodes
… Anyone else feeling a sense of déjà vu? Yet another poll, this time with ABC News, finds that approval of Biden’s handling of a slate of issues – from COVID to the economic recovery – has taken a hit. Being a president is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately job. This is yet […] Read more »
Biden’s Slide With Key Voters: Momentary Blip or Danger Sign?
President Biden’s approval rating among key Democratic constituencies has declined considerably in recent months, eroding or even reversing decades-long patterns in public opinion. The as-yet-unanswerable question is whether that slide is a momentary dip — a fluke of a tough run of headlines — or a warning sign of even […] Read more »