Ronald Brownstein
Brownstein, a two-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, is a senior editor at The Atlantic & a senior political analyst for CNN.
Last synced from Twitter 861d ago
Why the Louisiana Governor’s Race Is So Close
As voters cast ballots on Saturday for Gov. John Bel Edwards or Eddie Rispone, Louisiana’s traditional regional divide is giving way to an urban versus rural political chasm.
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Ronald Brownstein
Via @jmartNYT more evidence of the transformation Trump is imposing on GOP: "Rs have brought the president to the state 3x...to energize his voters, but all three visits have been far removed from New Orleans & Baton Rouge, Louisiana’s population hubs."
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Just How Far Will Republicans Go for Trump?
Lawmakers won’t face facts about Ukraine because they’re scared of the base. Yet one reason the president’s support remains so indivisible is that few lawmakers have condemned him.
To Exonerate Trump, Republicans Embrace Russian Disinformation
In this week’s impeachment hearings, expect a lot of G.O.P. conspiracy theorizing.
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Ronald Brownstein
Fiona Hill: “If we have people running around chasing rabbit holes because Rudy Giuliani or others have been feeding information to The Hill, Politico, we are not going to be prepared as a country to push back on this again”
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Defense Dept. Official Testified Trump Questioned Ukraine Aid in June
Laura K. Cooper told impeachment investigators the White House began questioning the military aid after it came up at a meeting with President Trump.
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Ronald Brownstein
“Mick Mulvaney, then the director of the budget office and now Mr. Trump’s acting chief of staff, temporarily held up shipments of missiles to Ukraine because of concerns about angering Russia.” nytimes.com/2019/11/11/us/… via @NYTimes
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How Voters Turned Virginia from Deep Red to Solid Blue
A new kind of suburbanization is sweeping through politics, from Richmond to Atlanta, Houston, Denver and elsewhere, and Democrats are starting to breach Republicans’ firewalls in elections.
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Ronald Brownstein
Tuesday showed again that Trump is driving away the diversifying America-w/the complicity of GOP at all levels: “The way he speaks, you get the feeling that you are separate,” Mr. Katkuri said. “This is not what we signed up for in America.” nytimes.com/2019/11/09/us/… via @NYTimes
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The Suburban Backlash Against the GOP Is Growing
Donald Trump’s strategy of revving up his rural base may not be worth the cost.
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Ronald Brownstein
Republican losses yesterday suggest that the cost of Donald Trump’s strategy of revving up support from his mostly rural base may not be worth the benefit, writes @ronaldbrownstein.
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Ronald Brownstein
Seems like KY/VA/Phillie suburb results all raise the same core question for 2020: if metro AND rural turnout surge-if more of everyone votes-can Trump offset bigger deficits in the growing places w/bigger numbers in the shrinking ones?
13d
Can Warren Actually Avoid Taxing the Middle Class?
Her Medicare for All plan makes big assumptions about how much money she’ll be able to squeeze from the health-care system.
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Ronald Brownstein
The biggest question about @SenWarren #MedicareForAll plan isn't whether she's laid out a plausible plan to raise $20 trillion. It's whether $20 trillion is a plausible estimate for the plan's 10-year cost. Many experts are very dubious.
16d
America's Goodly Veneer Was a Lie
If the country awakes from its nightmare, the knowledge Americans will have gleaned from these years is harrowing.
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Ronald Brownstein
Big, appropriate, question from @Profepps: "When one side of a political struggle has shown itself willing to commit crimes, collaborate w/foreign powers, destroy institutions & lie brazenly..can the other side- pretend [it] did not happen?"
19d
Trump’s Dark Assumption About America
The president is erasing the distinction between his political needs and the nation’s enduring interests, setting the stage for a potential crisis.
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Ronald Brownstein
The notion that a president won’t step aside when the time comes has always been unthinkable. Now it’s a question that’s openly debated—and will take on new urgency in the year ahead, @PeterAtlantic writes
20d
Nancy Pelosi’s Predictions for Impeachment
The House speaker is concerned about voters’ appetite for a lengthy process: “How much drama can the American people handle?”
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Ronald Brownstein
@SpeakerPelosi has a few thoughts on what will happen next in the #impeachment struggle. She shares them here.
20d
Trump Has No Room for Error in 2020
Changes in the electorate are putting the squeeze on the president.
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Ronald Brownstein
In 2020, Trump's base-first strategy will be riskier than ever, @RonBrownstein writes
26d
Our Republic Is Under Attack From the President
If President Trump doesn’t demonstrate the leadership that America needs, then it is time for a new person in the Oval Office.
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Ronald Brownstein
McRaven: "They have seen our leaders stand beside despots and strongmen, preferring their government narrative to our own. They have seen us abandon our allies and have heard the shouts of betrayal from the battlefield."
33d
The Eye-Popping Cost of Medicare for All
According to new figures: more than the federal government will spend over the coming decade on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid combined.
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Ronald Brownstein
One big claim of #Medicare4All advocates is that it will reduce total national spending on #healthcare even as it shifts costs to govt. But new @urbaninstitute finds Warren/Sanders style single payer would increase total health spending by $720b annually
33d
The House Can Play Hardball, Too. It Can Arrest Giuliani.
Two ways that Democrats in the House can match the White House’s aggressive tactics.
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Ronald Brownstein
"Neither house of Congress has arrested anyone since 1935, but it was not uncommon before that point (& was blessed by SCOTUS in 1927). Indeed, on at least two occasions, a house of Congress had its sergeant arrest an executive branch official."
40d
The Humiliation of Lindsey Graham
He traded his honor to be “relevant” as a Trump advisor. But on Syria, Trump didn’t bother to ask what he thought.
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Ronald Brownstein
"The senator once known as John McCain’s best friend in the Senate, transformed himself into Trump’s shinebox, willing to ingratiate himself with rationalizations and praise even as Trump became increasingly erratic." politi.co/2LVpptP via @politicomag
43d
Fox News Poll results September 29-October 2, 2019, Wisconsin
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Ronald Brownstein
I know reporters never seem to find anyone in a MW diner who has lost faith in Trump, but in this @FoxNews WI poll his approval among non-college is -3 & Biden runs even w/him among them. It's all races in the survey but that's virtually all white in WI.
44d
Why Trump’s Favorite 2016 Map Should Scare Him
Dirt doesn’t vote.
The Risks of Impeachment Are Overblown
The release of an internal whistle-blower complaint about President Trump’s relationship with Ukraine immediately appeared to harden House Democrats’ determination.
Trump’s War on Blue America
The president’s move to revoke California’s authority to set car-emission standards is part of a broader push to stymie the states that voted against him.
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Ronald Brownstein
Donald Trump's move to revoke California’s authority to set car-emission standards is part of a pattern: his harnessing of federal power to constrain, or punish, the states that voted against him. @RonBrownstein reports
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