Journalist Economic Jujitsu

On January 21, 2008, the day that George W. Bush entered his last day of his Presidency, and with the Presidential race heating up, the Associated Press predicted a recession ahead. The report defined recession “as an outright contraction of economic activity and employment lasting at least six months.” In the June of 2019, again in the middle of a heating Presidential race, a Politico report said that “Manufacturing as measured by the Federal Reserve has declined…

Arizona puts Trump’s political influence to the test

Arizona is shaping up to be the next high-stakes test of Donald Trump’s political power, as the former president’s endorsed candidates face off against a slate of establishment-backed Republicans. The proxy battle kicks into high gear this weekend when Trump will hold a rally Friday for his favored candidates, including gubernatorial hopeful Kari Lake, while former Vice President Mike Pence will stump for one of Lake’s opponents, Karrin Taylor Robson. The dueling rallies come as Trump continues…

Can Kari Lake Be Stopped?

By Matt Lewis, Senior Columnist – Beating back Donald Trump and beating back Trumpism are both vital, if different, goals. Although there are signs his hold is weakening, Trump, the man, still holds plenty of sway in the Republican Party. But his ability to spread Trumpism, by virtue of his endorsed acolytes, is not nearly as impressive. Arizona’s primary voters have another chance to stop Trumpism in its tracks on Aug. 2. It’s two weeks to slow the spread. I’m…

A polarized U.S. celebrates Independence Day

By Daniel Trotta July 4 (Reuters) – DeShanna Neal’s 7-year-old son stopped standing for the Pledge of Allegiance to the U.S. flag in school, questioning whether the United States of America really stood for, as the pledge says, “liberty and justice for all.” “He said, ‘I will only stand when Black lives matter,’” said Delaware native Neal, 40, a Black, queer mother of two transgender girls and a son she describes as gender non-conforming. Neal is…

Analysis-Beyond Trump, Trumpism is the winner in midterm primaries

By Alexandra Ulmer ATLANTA (Reuters) -The crushing defeat of David Perdue in Tuesday’s Republican gubernatorial primary in Georgia likely delighted Donald Trump’s adversaries, who have been keeping scorecards to measure the performance of election candidates backed by the former president. Trump has weighed in on November’s midterm elections like no former president, announcing more than 190 endorsements and holding rallies with his proteges. The success of his endorsees is seen as a key sign of…

Poll: Sen. Mike Lee Takes Commanding Lead Over GOP Primary Opponents

By Jeffrey Rodack    |   Tuesday, 17 August 2021 Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, holds a 42-point lead over his closest Republican primary opponents, a new poll conducted by OH Predictive Insights reveals. Forty-five percent of Utah’s Republican primary voters backed Lee, according to the poll commissioned by the September Group. Here are how the rest of the poll results break down: 3% say they support former state Rep. Becky Edwards. 3% say they back Brendan Wright, an area planning manager for The…

Healing America’s political divide starts with civics

Many U.S. adults don’t understand the basics of our government. By Jonathan Johnson III, Contributor  Apr 20, 2021, 10:00am MDT Imagine you are at a football game where you suddenly discover that nearly 50% of the partisan, screaming fans don’t know the rules of the game. They don’t know a touchback from a touchdown. To make matters worse, their ignorance is only exceeded by their fanatical, potentially violent support for their team. Further imagine (and this takes…