Turning off the logistically complicated SNAP system—which relies on the federal government, states, and private companies to function in concert—and then trying to turn it back on quickly is no easy task.
Republicans
Posted inTAP
The Shutdown’s End as a Republican Victory? No Way.
The shutdown enabled the Democrats to highlight the Republicans’ withdrawal of health coverage from millions of Americans, and Trump’s withholding food stamps—while he was praising himself for building a ballroom and rebuilding the Lincoln bathroom—only accelerated his descent in the polls.
Posted inTAP
A Blessing in Disguise?
The Republicans now own the reopening of the government on Trump’s terms, and they have a real problem when it comes to the cost crisis. Whether that helps the Democrats depends entirely on how the Democrats play it.
Posted inPolitics
The Most Frustrating Thing About the Shutdown Cave
Senate Democrats actually know how to use their power to counter Donald Trump and ensure that legislative funding gets spent—but this continuing resolution makes it clear they chose not to.
Posted inPolitics
Democrats Get Rolled by Their Own
Coming out of last Tuesday’s election blowout, the Democrats were riding high and unified. But on Sunday night, centrist Senate Democrats, with Chuck Schumer’s tacit encouragement, voted to reopen the government on Republican terms.
Posted inPolitics
Candidate Trump Boosts Republican Turnout. President Trump Boosts Democratic Turnout.
Trump in power has meant death for Republican prospects in every election held while he’s occupied the Oval Office. His skills on the stump (slander, vilification) don’t play so well when they dominate his performance in office.
Posted inPolitics
Poll: Trump Is Not Delivering on Foreign Policy
Overall, Americans are not pleased with President Trump’s performance on foreign policy: 50 percent grade him as “poor” against 37 percent as “good,” and on a range of foreign-policy topics, he is only above water on stopping “international drug trafficking.”
Posted inTAP
The Wave Election and the Politics of Shutdown
The most remarkable thing about Tuesday’s election was not just the Democratic sweep but how normally it went off. Republicans are now fracturing, and Democrats, almost in spite of themselves, are united.
Posted inPolitics
Chuck Schumer Is Not Fit to Lead the Democratic Party
The Senate leader doesn’t just betray his own party, he’s also terrible at leading it. In Trump’s second term, facing a full-on authoritarian attack on America’s democracy and constitutional structure, Schumer is simply incapable of mounting a determined resistance.
Posted inPolitics
California Democrats Win Redistricting Measure, Prove That Resistance Works
The win, combined with several mid-cycle surprises, has weakened Trump’s shield against accountability for his unpopular reign, although the Supreme Court really holds the key to whether we’ll have something approaching legitimate elections next year.
