Ronald Brownstein
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Lucy Nicholson / Reuters L.A.’s Health-Care Reform Is a Lesson for Democrats
In 2013, Los Angeles County implemented its own version of a “public option.” It’s delivered change, but not the revolution some advocates want.
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Aaron Bernstein / Reuters Abolishing the Filibuster Is Unavoidable for Democrats
Even if the party sweeps Congress and the White House in 2020, the Senate rule would let a faction of the reddest, whitest states stymie its agenda.
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Mike Roemer / AP The Limits of Trump’s White Identity Politics
The president is casting Democrats as the real racists to energize his base, but in doing so he’s hindering his capacity to reach beyond it.
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Carlos Osorio / Paul Vernon / AP / ... Joe Biden Is the Big Winner of the Democrats’ Leftward Shift
In the latest debates, Warren, Sanders, and Harris all vied for the party’s progressives rather than testing the front-runner’s support with moderates.
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Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP Will Trump’s Racist Attacks Help Him? Ask Blue-Collar White Women.
His strategy rests on a bet: that these voters will respond just as enthusiastically to his belligerence as working-class white men.
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Rachel Jessen Trump’s Base Isn’t Enough
The president needs the voters who approve of his record on the economy but disapprove of him overall. His racist attacks this week only hurt that cause.
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Jeff Chiu / AP The Democrats’ Gamble on Health Care for the Undocumented
Several 2020 candidates are proffering moral and policy arguments for providing coverage, but the politics of the move are another matter.
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Jordan Gale / Reuters The Most Critical Argument Democrats Will Have in 2020
Expect way more fighting over health care before the next set of presidential debates.
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Filip Bjorkman / Shutterstock / Arsh Raziuddin / ... A Single Day Exposed the Central Tension Driving American Politics
The Supreme Court’s census ruling and the second Democratic debate both wrestled with the same question.
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Evan Vucci / AP The Biggest Obstacle to Trump’s Victory in 2020
There may be an unprecedented level of discontent with the president among voters satisfied with the economy.
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Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP Brace for a Voter-Turnout Tsunami
Even with a surge in overall participation, white working-class voters could still remain decisive in the 2020 election.
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Doug Mills / AP Democrats Learned the Wrong Lesson From Clinton’s Impeachment
It didn’t actually cost the GOP all that much.
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Mike Blake / Reuters A New Age of Conflict Between Washington and the States
Kamala Harris wants to use federal oversight as a check on local anti-abortion laws—the latest example in a bipartisan pattern.
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Patsy Lynch / AP White Women Are Helping States Pass Abortion Restrictions
Their support for Republican officials has been key to the GOP’s strength in the South.
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Michael Dwyer / AP The Democrats’ Age Divide Is Defining the 2020 Primary
Joe Biden’s edge with older voters is his greatest asset so far in the race.
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Frank Franklin II / AP The Democrats’ Coalition Could Fundamentally Change by 2020
The voters who flipped the House aren’t uniformly on board with an ambitious progressive agenda.
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Scott Morgan / Reuters The Democratic Debate Over Winning Back Trump’s Base
Joe Biden’s candidacy is a proxy for the larger question of how the party can best rebuild a successful presidential majority.
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Andrew Harnik / AP The Mueller Report Could Alienate the Voters Republicans Need
The special counsel’s findings validate the concerns of anyone who feared how Donald Trump would wield presidential power.
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Jacquelyn Martin / AP Trump’s Immigration Policies Unify White Republicans
As the GOP’s political power concentrates in less diverse areas, resistance to the president’s agenda keeps on shrinking.
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Acta Non Verba How to Build Community in an Era of Division
These local groups support individuals and families who are economically vulnerable and socially isolated.
