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Political Commentary

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January 28, 2022

Is Democracy Dying or America Disintegrating? by Patrick J. Buchanan

"What do we mean by the Revolution? The war? That was no part of the revolution; it was only an effect and consequence of it. The revolution was in the minds of the people."

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January 27, 2022

The Challenges of Electing Governors and Lieutenant Governors Separately By Louis Jacobson

KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE

— In almost half the states, governors and lieutenant governors are either nominated separately, or else the official who is next in the line of succession is elected separately.

— This makes it reasonably common for the governor and lieutenant governor to come from separate parties. Currently, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Vermont fall into this category. Sometimes these pairings work smoothly; other times, they don’t.

— Even governors and lieutenant governors from the same party can have relationships that range from distant to acrimonious. There are recent examples of this phenomenon in Idaho and Rhode Island.

— In states where gubernatorial candidates cannot choose their running mates, it may be harder for them to win the governorship in the first place.

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January 26, 2022

Sick City By John Stossel

San Francisco's liberal mayor declared a "state of emergency" to try to deal with the city's "nasty streets."

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January 25, 2022

The Most Dangerous Virus Today Is Runaway Government Spending By Stephen Moore

When I came to Washington, D.C., in 1985, Ronald Reagan was president. I was working for the Reagan budget office. We did something we weren't very proud of at the time. We introduced the first $1 trillion budget in American history, which was unthinkable. One trillion dollars. There are 12 zeroes in a trillion. A trillion is a million dollars times a million. The budget deficit hit $200 billion and 6% of our entire GDP. Again, unthinkable.

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January 25, 2022

Is Biden Right? Does the Left Own the Future? by Patrick J. Buchanan

Before he appeared at his first solo news conference of 2022, President Joe Biden knew he had a communications problem he had to deal with.

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January 21, 2022

Abolish Parenthood? No, Family Trumps 'Equity' by Michael Barone

"California should abolish parenthood, in the name of equity." That's the headline of a Ventura County Star column by Zocalo Public Square's Joe Mathews. "Want true equity?" the San Francisco Chronicle headlined the same column three days later. "California should force parents to give away their children."

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January 21, 2022

By the Numbers, a Failing President By Patrick J. Buchanan

If the left believed that draping the Capitol riot of Jan. 6, 2021, around the neck of former President Donald Trump and the party that refused to repudiate him would sink the GOP, it appears to have miscalculated.

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January 20, 2022

Five Warning Signs for Biden as He Marks First Anniversary in Office By Kyle Kondik and J. Miles Coleman

Reviewing Biden's (and Democrats') numbers after a turbulent first year.

KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE

— As Joe Biden marks a year in office, he has found himself in a perilous position, and there are no obvious signs of improvement.

— Among Biden’s challenges is an apparently weakened position among nonwhite voters as well as younger voters, two immensely important pillars of the Democratic coalition.

— Inflation has re-emerged as an important problem for what appears to be the first time in decades, and Biden has work to do to persuade the public that he’s taking it seriously.

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January 19, 2022

Evil Florida by John Stossel

Omicron spreads. The media say, "Governments must act!"

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January 18, 2022

Remember US Energy Independence Day? By Stephen Moore

Once, during a meeting with then-presidential candidate Donald Trump inside Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in New York, we discussed energy policy. I told Trump that if we went all out to produce America's abundant supply of oil, gas and coal, the United States could be energy independent in four years.

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January 18, 2022

Biden Should Declare NATO Membership Closed by Patrick J. Buchanan

In 2014, when Russian President Vladimir Putin responded to a U.S.-backed coup that ousted a pro-Russian regime in Kyiv by occupying Crimea, President Barack Obama did nothing.

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January 14, 2022

Joe Biden's Deplorable Lies May Not Even Be in His Partisan Interest by Michael Barone

How do you explain why an ultra-experienced politician makes a major speech on the behalf of a legislative goal that is both doomed to fail and unpopular with voters? Especially when his speech is boycotted by the bill's chief backers and consists of one big lie after another?

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January 14, 2022

Biden: Bull Connor's GOP Imperils Democracy By Patrick J. Buchanan

"The next few days ... will mark a turning point in this nation's history," said President Joe Biden in his Atlanta speech to reframe the debate in Congress on voting rights legislation and the filibuster.

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January 13, 2022

House Republicans’ Drive to 35 By Kyle Kondik and J. Miles Coleman

What it would take for the GOP to build its biggest majority since the Great Depression?

KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE

— With some key national factors seemingly in their favor, Republicans could win a healthy majority in the House in 2022 — perhaps even their biggest in nearly a century.

— However, compared to past Republican midterm wave cycles, specifically 1994 and 2010, Republicans probably have less room for growth.

— As a majority of states have enacted new maps, we can chart out what a banner night for House Republicans may look like.

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January 12, 2022

Money for Indoctrination By John Stossel

Glenn Youngkin recently was elected Virginia's governor partly because he promised to ban teaching of CRT.

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January 11, 2022

Save the Children, Fire the Teachers Unions By Stephen Moore

It started in Chicago, where an incredible 91% of union teachers voted to go on strike and refused to do what they get paid to do, which is teach. Then the union walkouts spread to Maryland, New Jersey and California.

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January 11, 2022

Where Does NATO Enlargement End? by Patrick J. Buchanan

After the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and the Warsaw Pact dissolved, the breakup of the USSR began. But the dissolution did not stop with the 14 Soviet "republics" declaring their independence of Moscow.

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January 7, 2022

Why the Left Cannot Let Go of Jan. 6 by Patrick J. Buchanan

"Every Day Is Jan. 6 Now."

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January 7, 2022

The John Lindsay Democrats By Michael Barone

One way to anticipate what may be ahead in politics is to gauge the balance of power in the nation's two political parties. The Republican Party has always been centered on people regarded by themselves and others as "typical" Americans but who do not by themselves comprise a majority. The Democratic Party has always been a coalition of out-groups, powerful when united but often at risk of division.

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January 6, 2022

How Trump and Biden Voters View the Events of Jan. 6 By Larry Schack and Mick McWilliams

KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE

— The UVA Center for Politics/Project Home Fire survey/data analytics project asked Joe Biden and Donald Trump voters their opinions on the events of Jan. 6.

— Overall, about 30% of the combined group of Biden and Trump voters at least somewhat believe the rioters are “patriots” who should be applauded for their actions, while about 70% at least somewhat believe they are “insurgents” who should be criminally prosecuted. The single, biggest predictors of the patriots vs. insurgents divide: belief in or rejection of conspiracy theories and the “Big Lie” that the outcome of the 2020 presidential election was illegitimate.

— This “patriots vs. insurgents” divide reveals in the starkest terms that we are now a nation at war with itself. Our democracy is effectively being held hostage to whether voters believe in conspiracy theories and the Big Lie, or not. Collectively, this analysis of the Jan. 6 events highlights in stark detail how deep, wide, and dangerous our national divide has become.