FDL Review

Besieged by crises since the Taliban fully retook Afghanistan in August, President Joe Biden may have been hoping for some Christmas cheer. But the pivotal member of the U.S. Senate, West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin, announced Sunday that he will not support the president’s blowout social-spending package, dooming the legislation. And this Monday morning, Marist College released the latest NPR/PBS NewsHour poll, which pegs Biden’s approval rating at its lowest point yet. President Joe Biden (Flickr) If Marist’s survey is to be taken at face value despite the liberal bias of sponsors NPR and PBS , Biden’s approval rating among all American adults is 41%. 55% disapprove of his job performance. Among registered voters, Biden is at 42% approval. Limited Support Overall: Independents hold the president’s job performance in low regard, evidenced by his 29% approval rating among that key subgroup. 66% of independents disapprove of Biden’s job performance, and 50% strongly disapprove. J

Last week’s polls show the potential for Democratic underperformance in 2021 and 2022. President Joe Biden’s approval rating dropped six points in a month in Gallup polling , and Emerson College’s survey of California indicates that Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom will be fighting for his political life ahead of the September 14th recall election. Gallup pegs Biden’s approval rating at 50%, with 45% disapproving, down from 57% approval in April and 56% in June. Former President Donald Trump achieved 49% approval per Gallup on several occasions and never crossed the 50% threshold, but the 2016 and 2020 elections indicated that polls systemically understate Trump’s support among American voters. Democrats and independents, not Republican partisans, are the reason for Biden’s plunge. His support among Democrats declined from 98% in February to 90% today, and he similarly went from 61% to 48% among independents. 12% of Republicans give Biden good ratings, up one percentage point from Fe

Florida and New York have comparable population sizes and densities . However, their governors—Ron DeSantis (R., Florida) and Andrew Cuomo (D., New York)—have taken starkly different approaches to the coronavirus pandemic. Ron DeSantis ( Naples Daily News ) Florida's DeSantis has implemented few COVID-related restrictions, with a local CBS affiliate reporting that "there is no statewide mask mandate. There are no restrictions on restaurants, and the governor says restaurants will stay open." In an acknowledgment that COVID-19 primarily affects senior citizens, DeSantis dispatched the National Guard to nursing homes and banned visits until September. Even today, indoor visitation at nursing homes is limited to family members and caregivers. Conversely, New York's Cuomo has opted for centralized control, dictates, and regulations, basing his decisions on regional hospitalization statistics, test positivity rates, and other metrics. Indoor dining in New York City

In the past several days, congressional Democrats and Republicans compiled a 5,593-page spending bill that is “so unwieldy that it kept crashing Congress’s computers.” Unfortunately, it is likely that the bill—which provides COVID-19 relief and funds the federal government through 2021—will pass without any member of Congress having read it in full. Among other things, the $900 billion of coronavirus-related funds  extends $325 billion for small business loans, boosts state unemployment benefits by $300 a week, allows for 50 weeks of unemployment benefits instead of 26, and offers a $600 check to Americans who made less than $75,000 in the previous year (and another $600 for each of their children). Separately, the $1.4 trillion in government funding provides everything from foreign aid money to plans for presidential libraries . The Washington Post , hardly a bugle for austerity, disapprovingly reports , “The proposal includes numerous provisions -- from Smithsonian American W

On Tuesday, historian Larry Schweikart announced that President Donald Trump appointed him to the National Board for Educational Sciences, which assists in the management of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). The IES's mandate is to gather the statistics necessary for developing federal educational policy. Larry Schweikart Schweikart announced his appointment on Twitter, writing, "Pleased to report I have been appointed by President Donald Trump to a 4-year appointment to the Board of Directors for the National Board for Educational Sciences. This is a non-revocable appointment." He added, "I am now an embed in the unfortunate case Trump cannot overturn the fraud." Schweikart is a longtime supporter of Trump. He is a retired professor of history at the University of Dayton who co-authored A Patriot's History of the United States and Why Trump Won , along with many other books and pieces of academic research. All unsigned FDL Review content is the p

America, we have reached the eve of the most important election in our lifetimes. The fate of the United States is on the ballot. Allow me to offer my predictions and my recommendation. President Donald Trump The State of the Race: Today, President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden are making their final rounds on the campaign trail. Biden spoke in Cleveland and will proceed to Pennsylvania, where he will spend the remainder of his day. Trump started his day in North Carolina and will proceed to Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan. As the story has been all campaign, Trump will be in front of a large crowd and Biden will be speaking in front of a few Honda Civics. Enthusiasm is in favor of Trump headed into election day. Headed into tomorrow, the states to watch are Minnesota (10), Michigan (16), Pennsylvania (20) and Florida (29). As I noted above, it is very telling that both Biden and Trump are spending the majority of their final day on the trail in Pennsylvania. Al