President Trump and congressional Republicans begin their drive to cut taxes with lackluster public support, according to the new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. The survey shows that just 25 percent call the Trump tax plan a good idea, while 35 percent call it a bad idea. The remaining 40 […] Read more »
More Would Blame Trump, GOP for Higher Health Care Costs
Half of Americans say they will blame President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans if health care costs increase under Obamacare and if more end up losing coverage, according to results from the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, while 37 percent say they would put the blame on former President […] Read more »
Silver Lining in the GOP Gloom
The news seems unrelentingly bad for Republicans these days. … But in the spirit of a Wall Street friend who likes to ask me, “Charlie, if you are wrong, why are you wrong?,” it seems only fair to look around and ask, “Are there any factors that are actually favorable […] Read more »
The Midterms and Mueller
… One thing that should scare Republicans—and make them think that the 2016 strategy may not be sufficient in 2018—is the enthusiasm gap. Back in 2016, Republicans were wary of Trump but they turned out and voted for him because they didn’t like the alternative and they were willing to […] Read more »
Why the Virginia Governor’s Race Could Echo Across the Country
The Virginia gubernatorial contest has unexpectedly become a test case of the explosive politics of race in the Donald Trump era. The outcome could tug the Republican Party much further toward Trump-style racial provocation and polarization next year. Or it could warn the GOP that such positioning carries too high […] Read more »
The Party of Lincoln Is Now the Party of Trump
Last year, as it became clear that Donald Trump would win the Republican nomination, analysts on both the right and the left speculated that millions of regular Republicans would be repulsed by his ethnonationalism and misogyny. … Come Election Day, however, Republican voters did not abandon their party. The Republican […] Read more »