Good morning. We're covering the Democrats' surprising early strength in Senate races — as well as Trump's trial, U.S.-made bombs in Rafah and photos of space.
Six populistsRecent polls contain a surprising combination of results: Democrats appear to be leading in six tough Senate races even as President Biden trails Donald Trump in the same states. What are these Democratic Senate candidates doing right? To answer that question, I studied their campaigns, looking at advertisements, social media posts and local news coverage. In today's newsletter, I'll highlight the single biggest theme that emerged: The six Democrats are basing their campaigns around a populism that harshly criticizes both big business and China. (In a follow-up newsletter, I'll look at several other campaign themes.) It's still early in the campaign, obviously, and some candidates who are leading now may lose in November. Still, most of the Democrats in these races aren't merely ahead in the polls; they also have a track record of winning tough races by appealing to voters who are skeptical of the Democratic Party. I think that their use of populism is crucial to that appeal. 'Corporate greed'
Successful campaigns, like movies and novels, tend to have heroes and bad guys. Republicans are comfortable with this idea. Their bad guys in recent years have included criminals, illegal immigrants and cultural elites. Democrats are sometimes squeamish about naming antagonists (other than Republicans) and prefer a higher-minded version of politics. This year's swing-state Democrats are not squeamish. They portray both China and big business as making life hard on working families. Here's a flavor of what they are saying about corporations:
'The greatest threat'
The other main antagonist is China, which the candidates portray as using unfair trade tactics to undermine American jobs.
What about Biden?This kind of populism, in which politicians promise to fight for ordinary people against the powerful, was once core to the Democratic Party. Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman were more populist than many people now remember. Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign was notably populist, too, as was Barack Obama's 2012 re-election campaign. It's true that almost all elected Democrats today favor some populist policies, like raising taxes on the rich. But as the party has become dominated by college graduates and white-collar professionals, it has tended to emphasize other issues, like climate change and cultural liberalism, that fail to resonate with working-class Americans. Remember — most Americans don't have a bachelor's degree. Biden has shown some signs of running a populist campaign this year. (He has begun to emphasize Trump's wealth, as my colleague Jess Bidgood has noted.) Still, Biden devotes more attention to Trump's anti-democratic behavior and to what Biden calls "the very soul of America." Democracy is obviously a vital issue. So far, though, the polls suggest that pocketbook issues may be more resonant this year. For more: My recent essay on "neopopulism" tries to explain why many Americans are so frustrated with the economy. And you can watch the campaign ads mentioned in today's newsletter here.
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Berisha zbulon vendimin për përfshirjen e kandidatëve të Partisë së Lirisë
në listat e PD-së
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Kryedemokrati Sali Berisha ka lënë të hapur mundësinë e përfshirjes së
kandidatëve të Partisë së Lirisë në listat e Partisë Demokratike. “Do e
ndihmoni M...
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