Before zooming out to the larger political context and lessons, here’s how I’ve reasoned through the past week’s events and how others have characterized them. crooked.us19.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=88…
Because it looks chaotic there’s a widespread assumption that there must be a better way, and then bad-faith critics who insist they would've pulled it off seamlessly. Given that backdrop, Biden is right to be unyielding.
Oversight is totally appropriate going forward, but Democrats in Congress fell instantly into a defensive crouch, when they should’ve taken their cues from Biden.
But *both* Biden and Democrats in Congress should apply the lessons from this experience to things like Republicans spreading COVID to children, and their broader emphasis on placation and bipartisanship.
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New: Trump is in the midst of a desperate play to turn out young male voters. Here's why I think it won't work for him in the short run OR the GOP in the long run. 🧵
First, speaking as a recently young man, we don't tend to have our shit together. Women turn out at higher rates than men and oldsters at higher rates than youth. Trump might ask Dems how much success they've had mobilizing the youth with policy pandering. offmessage.net/p/trump-pander…
Second, the pandering itself is super ham-fisted. It's marked as much by grift as by political potential. Is he really interested in the future of crypto? Or is he scamming supporters to enrich himself with both crypto AND silver commemorative coins AND... offmessage.net/p/trump-pander…
Recent reporting suggests Biden world understands that his abysmal approval is rooted in a rotten info environment more than material reality. That’s the good news. The bad news is they’ve developed a defeatist mentality, instead of trying more things. offmessage.net/p/joe-biden-im…
The short version is Biden turned the page on Trump too quickly, allowing Trump to revise the history of his presidency AND pin blame for everything post-Jan 20, 2021 on Biden. Three-plus years later, that’s not an easy problem to fix without time travel. offmessage.net/p/joe-biden-im…
But I think there’s a way: conceptualize the universe of people who might be persuaded that the CW about the economy is wrong, and speak to them in a different register than Dems typically use. offmessage.net/p/joe-biden-im…
New: Republicans hope to intimidate Democrats out of abandoning their advantages with aggressive posturing, but they’re really just leading with their chins. offmessage.net/p/republicans-…
The bad news: this has clearly worked on some Dems (cf @PaulBegala). The good news is, once you spot the con, it’s easy to detect in later instances. h/t @joshtpm offmessage.net/p/republicans-…
When @EWErickson and @JDVance1 insist they’re mad about Joe Biden campaigning on democracy and attacking Trump’s contempt for veterans, it’s not because they think Biden did anything wrong. It’s because they know Biden hit his target. offmessage.net/p/republicans-…
1. @GregTSargent is obviously right that “A guilty verdict is powerful new information,” and that, “We should hold institutional Democrats responsible if they don’t use it, and use it ruthlessly and effectively.” newrepublic.com/article/182111…
2. But I think we’ve already reached that point.
3. Call it the eruption of a political supervolcano! Devastating, shameful, humiliating news for the GOP, which has lashed itself to a felon—the biggest crook in US political history by a mile. What’ll make this a nothingburger is Democrats’ apparent determination to make it one.
New today: Business leaders cozying back up to Trump don’t just offer up laughable excuses. They also evince terrible critical thinking skills. The logic is there, it just reflects poor logical reasoning and reckless risk tolerance. offmessage.net/p/why-are-thes…
One thing people like Stephen Schwarzman might consider is: What would’ve happened if Trump’s coup attempt had been even just a bit more successful: No certification on Jan 6, a scramble to transfer power after January 20, more street violence. offmessage.net/p/why-are-thes…
But even stipulating that a second Trump term will be relatively “normal”—no crises or coups, just familiar erraticism and partial success implementing his agenda—why do any of these guys think they’ll be better off than just continuing the Biden era? offmessage.net/p/why-are-thes…
As it happens, before Durbin’s most recent preemptive surrender this week, I wrote about specific ways he *could* use his power now. To wit: unearth Alito’s unlogged votes and unstated reasoning wherever the Court has done quiet favors for Trump. offmessage.net/p/expose-the-s…
Biden, who has also been inert here, could do his part by lifting his embargo on exploiting Trump’s criminal exposure, making it easier for Senate Dems to hold Alito, Thomas, Cannon, et al accountable. offmessage.net/p/lacking-camp…
Then on Politix, we discussed the institutional asymmetries between Dems and Republicans that makes it necessary to apply pressure in this way, where Republicans would just know to react aggressively. politix.fm/p/big-alito-li…