The NYT Today
I read this in the New York Times today and immediately thought I needed to share it for three reasons.
1. Look at their reaction and words about the SF School Board vote: “An Earthquake.” Read what they say.
2. Then look at how they pivot after that to attack Republicans.
3. Finally, they end it with what? A defense of the President! The NYT – fair and unbiased? I don’t think so.
| An Earthquake |
| Elections to the San Francisco Board of Education are not normally national bellwethers. The city is a proud symbol of liberalism, not a swing district, and school-board elections — as Thomas Fuller, The Times’s San Francisco bureau chief, notes — “have for decades been obscure sideshows to the more high-profile political contests.” |
| But the recall election this week that ousted three board members wasn’t about only local politics. It also reflected a trend: Many Americans, even in liberal places, seem frustrated by what they consider a leftward lurch from parts of the Democratic Party and its allies. This frustration spans several issues, including education, crime and Covid-19. |
| Consider these election results from last year, all in politically blue places: |
| Look At In Minneapolis, voters rejected a ballot measure to replace the city’s Police Department with an agency that would have focused less on law enforcement.In Seattle, voters elected Ann Davison — a lawyer who had recently quit the Democratic Party because she thought it had moved “so far left” — as the city’s top prosecutor. Davison beat a candidate who wanted to abolish the police.In New York, voters elected as their mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat who revels in defying liberal orthodoxy. As a candidate, Adams promised to crack down on crime. Since taking office, he has signaled his frustration with Covid restrictions.In the Democratic-leaning suburbs of both New Jersey and Virginia, Republican candidates for governor did surprisingly well. Several postelection analyses — including one by aides to Phil Murphy, New Jersey’s Democratic governor, who narrowly survived — concluded that anger over Covid policies played a central role. Now In The Next Paragraph Look At How They Have To Attack The Republicans What’s striking about this situation is that the Republican Party is also out of step with public opinion on many of the same issues. Republicans have defended the Confederate flag, nominated candidates who make racist comments and launched an exaggerated campaign against critical race theory. Republicans have opposed popular measures to improve police accountability and gun regulations. Republicans have made false statements about Covid vaccines and claimed that masks are a tool of government oppression.Rather than responding with positions that are both more liberal and more popular, some Democrats and progressive activists have responded by overreaching public opinion in the other direction.They have opposed the resumption of normal operations in schools. They have said they would no longer honor popular former presidents, like Thomas Jefferson and Theodore Roosevelt. They have called for defunding the police.They have also called for abolishing the agency that enforces immigration laws; eliminating private health insurance, maintaining the current system of affirmative action and forbidding almost all abortion restrictions. Then the kicker. . President Biden is not in line with the left wing? What has he done in year one but support their ideas? Her comments are a reminder that many elected Democrats, including President Biden, tend to disagree with the party’s left flank on several of these issues and to be more in tune with public opinion. But that flank nonetheless influences voters’ image of the party. In the most recent national elections, in 2020, Democrats fared worse than they expected, despite the highest voter turnout in decades. |
Look At This, Also From The NYT
David Axelrod, remember him? He was the top campaign and White House strategist for President Obama. He has an essay in the Times today with this advice for President Biden ahead of his State of the Union address on March 1:
- “The state of the union is stressed. To claim otherwise — to highlight the progress we have made, without fully acknowledging the hard road we have traveled and the distance we need to go — would seem off-key and out of touch.”
- “You simply cannot jawbone Americans into believing that things are better than they feel. … They will want to hear less about his ‘transformative’ legislation than the specific, practical steps Mr. Biden has taken, and is recommending.”
The Democrats have a problem and eight months to fix it. The President telling us how great things are is not going to work. Axelrod is right.
2022
With that in mind, here’s an early look at 2022 from me.
Republicans will definitely win the House. They are quietly organizing and getting their candidates in line. They are assuring the candidates are diverse with many woman and minorities. They are positioned to win going away.
In the Senate it is a different story.
The Republicans are fighting each other and “Trump loyalty” is front and center. Missouri, Alabama, Ohio and Arizona are examples of places they are heading for divisive primaries that will prevent unity.
Add candidates who could have won and chose not to run in NH, Maryland and Arizona. They do not have their best foot forward.
We’ll do more on this as we go forward, but we may well end with a divided congress.
A Few Short Takes
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is certainly making headlines as he proceeds. Yesterday he signed a bill ending school mask mandates in his state and leaving school face coverings up to parents. The legislation takes effect immediately, and school districts have until March 1 to be in compliance. Imagine that – parental choice. So logical. You have to wonder how those opposing can defend otherwise.
Ukraine stays front and center. The Biden administration said that it now believes an attack is coming in the next few days. They said Russia’s claims of withdrawing troops from near Ukraine are “false.” The charge is Russia has in fact increased its presence on the border “by as many as 7,000 troops” in recent days, despite their claim of pulling back.
Uber is releasing driver ratings of their passengers.
Take a look at the best and worst of passengers. See if you’re surprised.
