Conservative defections can’t really kill repeal.said they will join Rand Paul (R-KY) and Susan Collins (R-ME) in opposing the motion to proceed on Mitch McConnell’s Obamacare repeal bill.That means that the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) is dead. But the cause of Obamacare repeal is very much still alive. And the cause of preserving its coverage gains — and the welfare of the millions of people who gained insurance thanks to the Affordable Care Act — has now entered a new and dangerous phase.The problem, fundamentally, for people who care about health insurance coverage is that of...…Conservative defections can’t really kill repeal.said they will join Rand Paul (R-KY) and Susan Collins (R-ME) in opposing the motion to proceed on Mitch McConnell’s Obamacare repeal bill.That means that the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) is dead. But the cause of Obamacare repeal is very much still alive. And the cause of preserving its coverage gains — and the welfare of the millions of people who gained insurance thanks to the Affordable Care Act — has now entered a new and dangerous phase.The problem, fundamentally, for people who care about health insurance coverage is that of...WW…

A huge — and growing — source of bias in the political system.Democrats have a Senate problem, and not just in the sense that Republicans currently hold the majority or that the prospect of that changing in 2020 is relatively slim. The problem is that the odds of ever changing it are slimmer than is generally realized., a progressive think tank and advocacy organization, is trying to raise alarm bells about the issue. that’s biased 3 percentage points in the GOP’s favor and systematically underweights the interests of nonwhite Americans.Of course, the fact that the Senate gives extra weight...…A huge — and growing — source of bias in the political system.Democrats have a Senate problem, and not just in the sense that Republicans currently hold the majority or that the prospect of that changing in 2020 is relatively slim. The problem is that the odds of ever changing it are slimmer than is generally realized., a progressive think tank and advocacy organization, is trying to raise alarm bells about the issue. that’s biased 3 percentage points in the GOP’s favor and systematically underweights the interests of nonwhite Americans.Of course, the fact that the Senate gives extra weight...WW…

The ongoing war in Ukraine is imposing significant economic costs on the world at large (which is bad) and also markedly elevating the risk of a large-scale nuclear war that would kill millions, including your humble blogger and the vast majority of his family.1 So I absolutely agree with the people who are saying it would be desirable to see a negotiated end to the war. Like many who are following the conflict, I’ve enjoyed the regularly updated maps produced by the Institute for the Study of War. I’ve enjoyed them so much that it’s easy to forget at times that ISW is a pretty hardcore...…The ongoing war in Ukraine is imposing significant economic costs on the world at large (which is bad) and also markedly elevating the risk of a large-scale nuclear war that would kill millions, including your humble blogger and the vast majority of his family.1 So I absolutely agree with the people who are saying it would be desirable to see a negotiated end to the war. Like many who are following the conflict, I’ve enjoyed the regularly updated maps produced by the Institute for the Study of War. I’ve enjoyed them so much that it’s easy to forget at times that ISW is a pretty hardcore...WW…

Harry Reid, the former Senate majority leader who distinguished himself as one of the Obama-era Democratic Party’s premier political strategists, died Tuesday at the age of 82.Reid, who had pancreatic cancer, led an uncommonly colorful life for a United States senator. But despite his vast power and influence, he was never a high-profile public figure. Reid wasn’t known for his stump speeches, was a relatively rare presence on national television, and, despite his occasionally pungent language, wasn’t a go-to source of quips on Capitol Hill, either.But perhaps more than any other Democrat...…Harry Reid, the former Senate majority leader who distinguished himself as one of the Obama-era Democratic Party’s premier political strategists, died Tuesday at the age of 82.Reid, who had pancreatic cancer, led an uncommonly colorful life for a United States senator. But despite his vast power and influence, he was never a high-profile public figure. Reid wasn’t known for his stump speeches, was a relatively rare presence on national television, and, despite his occasionally pungent language, wasn’t a go-to source of quips on Capitol Hill, either.But perhaps more than any other Democrat...WW…

You know how the regular polls were wrong? Exit polls are much worse.Before the votes from the 2020 presidential election have been fully tabulated, pundits all across the land are venturing forth to offer analysis based on the demographic breakdowns provided in the exit polls.If we’re looking to reiterate our own prior convictions, the data is serviceable. But if we want actual information about voting behavior, exit polls are not very useful — and the early exit polls that haven’t even been weighted to the final vote count are even worse.To start with, as we all keep learning over and...…You know how the regular polls were wrong? Exit polls are much worse.Before the votes from the 2020 presidential election have been fully tabulated, pundits all across the land are venturing forth to offer analysis based on the demographic breakdowns provided in the exit polls.If we’re looking to reiterate our own prior convictions, the data is serviceable. But if we want actual information about voting behavior, exit polls are not very useful — and the early exit polls that haven’t even been weighted to the final vote count are even worse.To start with, as we all keep learning over and...WW…

Racial politics doesn’t always work how white liberals think it should.Election night started with a major underperformance for Democrats in Miami-Dade County that cost Rep. Donna Shalala her House seat and sank Joe Biden’s hope of an early win.Miami has always been a bit of a city apart in terms of Latino politics in the United States, with a heavily Cuban American population that has a tradition of Republican voting and deep emotional and intellectual investments in the Latin American Cold War.But while Cuba-specific issues are tactically central to electoral battles in Florida, the fact...…Racial politics doesn’t always work how white liberals think it should.Election night started with a major underperformance for Democrats in Miami-Dade County that cost Rep. Donna Shalala her House seat and sank Joe Biden’s hope of an early win.Miami has always been a bit of a city apart in terms of Latino politics in the United States, with a heavily Cuban American population that has a tradition of Republican voting and deep emotional and intellectual investments in the Latin American Cold War.But while Cuba-specific issues are tactically central to electoral battles in Florida, the fact...WW…

To win, Trump needs a bigger polling error than in 2016.This weekend saw the release of a final batch of high-quality polling that generally confirms what polling has said all along: Democratic presidential nominee is in the lead.Evidence for that proposition comes from a tetralogy of , which were released Sunday morning. They show Biden ahead in Arizona, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Wisconsin — easily enough states to give him the win. But even a that was released on Saturday evening, which showed Trump with a 7 percentage point lead in Iowa, is actually not very good news for President...…To win, Trump needs a bigger polling error than in 2016.This weekend saw the release of a final batch of high-quality polling that generally confirms what polling has said all along: Democratic presidential nominee is in the lead.Evidence for that proposition comes from a tetralogy of , which were released Sunday morning. They show Biden ahead in Arizona, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Wisconsin — easily enough states to give him the win. But even a that was released on Saturday evening, which showed Trump with a 7 percentage point lead in Iowa, is actually not very good news for President...WW…

To win, Trump needs a bigger polling error than in 2016.This weekend saw the release of a final batch of high-quality polling that generally confirms what polling has said all along: Democratic presidential nominee is in the lead.Evidence for that proposition comes from a tetralogy of , which were released Sunday morning. They show Biden ahead in Arizona, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Wisconsin — easily enough states to give him the win. But even a that was released on Saturday evening, which showed Trump with a 7 percentage point lead in Iowa, is actually not very good news for President...…To win, Trump needs a bigger polling error than in 2016.This weekend saw the release of a final batch of high-quality polling that generally confirms what polling has said all along: Democratic presidential nominee is in the lead.Evidence for that proposition comes from a tetralogy of , which were released Sunday morning. They show Biden ahead in Arizona, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Wisconsin — easily enough states to give him the win. But even a that was released on Saturday evening, which showed Trump with a 7 percentage point lead in Iowa, is actually not very good news for President...WW…

If you didn’t watch it, you didn’t miss much — that’s kind of nice!The closest sparks came to flying Thursday night at town hall was when the former vice president squared off with George Stephanopoulos over whether or not it would make sense to delay tax increases until the end of the recession.Biden, who’d read off note cards the precise revenue estimates involved in a 7 percentage point increase in the corporate tax rate and a 2.6 percent increase in the top marginal income tax rate, explained that the way policymaking works is there’s inevitably a congressional negotiation, so he can’t...…If you didn’t watch it, you didn’t miss much — that’s kind of nice!The closest sparks came to flying Thursday night at town hall was when the former vice president squared off with George Stephanopoulos over whether or not it would make sense to delay tax increases until the end of the recession.Biden, who’d read off note cards the precise revenue estimates involved in a 7 percentage point increase in the corporate tax rate and a 2.6 percent increase in the top marginal income tax rate, explained that the way policymaking works is there’s inevitably a congressional negotiation, so he can’t...WW…

SubscribeSign inShare this postThe regrettable death of the Slatepitch www.slowboring.comCopy linkTwitterFacebookEmailFeb 17Share this postThe regrettable death of the Slatepitch www.slowboring.comCopy linkTwitterFacebookEmailAs an industry veteran, I hate when critics assert that a site’s business problems simply reflect the consequences of their own personal editorial critiques, so I want to be clear: plenty of websites that I think are garbage (like Dan Bongino’s) seem to be doing well as businesses, and I think a digital media operation of Slate’s size would struggle no matter how...…SubscribeSign inShare this postThe regrettable death of the Slatepitch www.slowboring.comCopy linkTwitterFacebookEmailFeb 17Share this postThe regrettable death of the Slatepitch www.slowboring.comCopy linkTwitterFacebookEmailAs an industry veteran, I hate when critics assert that a site’s business problems simply reflect the consequences of their own personal editorial critiques, so I want to be clear: plenty of websites that I think are garbage (like Dan Bongino’s) seem to be doing well as businesses, and I think a digital media operation of Slate’s size would struggle no matter how...WW…