"Jesus, Ted. All you ever do," some people tell me, "is complain. We get it -- you hate both the Republicans and the Democrats. We don't like them either. But those are the only two parties that have a chance of winning an election. Stop telling us what not to do. Tell us what you think we should do instead."
Is Joe Biden forfeiting the law-and-order issue to Donald Trump?
So it would seem.
You know the first two nights of the Republicans' virtual national convention have gone well when you see that Politico's morning Playbook leads with a lame joke about the U.S. Postal Service hiring a new lobbyist, aimed at reviving the post office non-scandal. Ho, ho, ho!
— After President Obama’s narrow win there in 2008, light red North Carolina has proved elusive for Democrats — but it remains a target for both sides.
— North Carolina’s politics are increasingly shaped by its growing bloc of unaffiliated voters.
— Over the past decade, North Carolina’s traditional east-west divide has evolved into more of an urban-rural split — a pattern seen in many other states.
— In a state known for volatile Senate races, 2020’s contest should be true to form, and further down the ballot, voters will weigh in on several statewide races.
Here we go again: Manufacture. Rinse. Repeat.
Everyone knows the cycle. Everyone knows it ends with false and incomplete narratives eventually being debunked by actual facts. Everyone knows that the racial mythmakers and political opportunists end up with fame, wealth and glory -- but never any criminal punishments or moral accountability.
Last week, I tallied Joe Biden's spending plans. This week, President Trump's.
Democrats keep attacking President Donald Trump's idea of a payroll tax cut for 140 million American workers. At the Democratic National Convention, Joe Biden said it would endanger Social Security. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York rejects the tax cut as "unworkable." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi dismisses the plan as a "tax cut for major corporations."
As Donald Trump is about to be nominated for a second term, how his presidency has already altered the orientation of his party is on display.
Republicans will vote for President Donald Trump no matter what. Democrats will vote for Joe Biden no matter what. This column is for progressives weighing the pros and cons of succumbing to the two-party trap and voting for Biden.
Give Politico's chief Washington correspondent, Ryan Lizza, some credit. After Michelle Obama's speech capping the first night of the Democrats' virtual convention, he tweeted: "Story of an era in two convention speeches: Barack 04: 'There's not a black America and white America . ... there's the United States of America.' Michelle 20: 'my message won't be heard by some people' because 'we live in a nation that is deeply divided.'"
As a cradle Catholic and recipient of Notre Dame's Laetare Medal, Joe Biden is outspoken in declaring that the principles and beliefs of his Catholic faith guide his public life.
— Even without the optics that come from hosting the Democratic National Convention, Wisconsin will be a crucial state this fall.
— Joe Biden’s apparent strength with older voters may buoy him in rural parts of the state, though Donald Trump also may have some room to improve even after his tremendous rural showings four years ago.
— Aside from the presidential contest, the state will see few competitive major races.
I still can't get over the creepy spectacle of Dr. Marc Siegel, a New York University professor of medicine, vehemently hawking "No Hugs Please" buttons for all schoolchildren last week.
Which presidential candidate will bankrupt America first, Donald Trump or Joe Biden?
Conventional wisdom suggests that presidential election polls will tighten as the election approaches. In the summer ahead of an election, most voters are not paying close attention to the campaign, and opinion polls many months ahead of the election are designed more to influence rather than reflect public opinion.
It seems obvious that President Donald Trump is going to need a blockbuster economic revival if he hopes to win reelection in November.
Part of the equation to achieve that spring back is to resist trade protectionist temptations. But will he?
If the definition of racism is deliberate discrimination based on race, color or national origin, Yale University appears to be a textbook case of "systemic racism."
Accused of being a serial harasser in 2019, Joe Biden did what comes naturally. He apologized for perceived past misbehavior, and, to appease his accusers, pledged to choose a woman for a Biden ticket.
Just as Joe Biden announced Kamala Harris as his vice presidential nominee, and a week before the Democrats' virtual national convention is scheduled to begin at various sites, the basement strategy he's been pursuing, hailed as the political equivalent of "The Emperor's New Clothes," was starting to look tattered and torn.
The presumptive Democratic nominee plays it safe.
— Kamala Harris, long seen as a frontrunner to be Joe Biden’s running mate, represents a vetted, qualified, and safe VP choice.
— Harris is the latest in a long line of Democratic senators who have become running mates. If she becomes vice president, Democrats should not have any real obstacles to keeping her seat.
— Biden’s new running mate has only been in the Senate for less than four years, but she was California’s statewide elected attorney general before that — though she almost lost in 2010.
