The Third Rail of American Politics
The Third Rail of American Politics
Biden dares Republicans to touch it. And Trump does too.
What You May Have Missed
President Biden is taking on Republicans on Social Security and Medicare… and so is Donald Trump.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has almost certainly decided to run for president and is now working on the timing for an announcement. In the meantime, he’ll be ruling over the Disney World castle.
DeSantis and Trump are tied in a Monmouth poll on GOP presidential preferences at 33% apiece. Mike Pence, who is a distant third with 2%, is launching ads in Iowa and will travel to the state on the same day that Nikki Haley is expected to enter the race. (Trump bests DeSantis in a new head-to-head Yahoo News/YouGov poll.)
After urging his caucus not to act up during Biden’s State of the Union address, House Speaker McCarthy is now defending the hecklers.
While Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is reportedly pushing ex-Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) to succeed Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, Deputy Secretary Julie Su is the favorite.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) gave journalist McCay Coppins piles of emails, diary entries, and other materials in a remarkably candid self-exposure for a new book.
The Supreme Court can’t rule on Supreme Court rules.
Balloon news: The House voted 419-0 to condemn China over its spy balloon, which carried antennas to gather intelligence. Romney broke with most Republicans by lauding Biden’s handling of the episode.
Buffoon news: Rep. George Santos (R-NY) was charged with theft in 2017 after passing bad checks, but claimed someone had stolen his checkbook. And his work at alleged Ponzi-scheming Harbor City drew SEC scrutiny. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) is introducing a resolution to expel Santos from the House.
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Extra Links
Here are some interesting links that didn’t make it into Political Wire today:
The devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria might upend politics.
Boris Johnson has declared income of £4.8mn since he left office last September, more than 50 times his salary as a backbench MP.
Biden names the Republicans seeking changes to Medicare and Social Security.
Ukraine readies along all fronts for Russia’s next big attack.
A high school sophomore was invited to the State of the Union address.
Presented Without Comment
I like Biden channeling Truman & Eisenhower when it comes to Social Security & etc.
Ike: “Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history.”
Truman: “Taft explained that the great issue in this campaign is "creeping socialism." Now that is the patented trademark of the special interest lobbies. Socialism is a scare word they have hurled at every advance the people have made in the last 20 years.
Socialism is what they called public power.
👉🏽Socialism is what they called social security.👈🏽
Socialism is what they called farm price supports.
Socialism is what they called bank deposit insurance.
Socialism is what they called the growth of free and independent labor organizations.
Socialism is their name for almost anything that helps all the people. When the Republican candidate inscribes the slogan "Down With Socialism" on the banner of his "great crusade," that is really not what he means at all. What he really means is, "Down with Progress — down with Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal," and "down with Harry Truman's fair Deal." That is what he means.””