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Although the Texan Senator Ted Cruz has been the focus of much blame for the government shutdown, many Texans appreciate his strong conservative effort in Washington, much less to defund the ACA. Still, moderate and establishment Republicans in Texas disapprove of Cruz, and question his real purpose for stalling the government. While quieted, there a divide within the red state among Republicans. But is this political divide a bigger issue than the divide between Texas and other liberal states?

"But the continued support for Mr. Cruz among Texas Republicans illustrates something larger: the cultural and political divide that continues to widen between a red state that President Obama lost by nearly 16 points in the 2012 election and the blue or even purple parts of the country where Mr. Cruz's tone and tactics have caused outrage and consternation"

Haha just fun to laugh at the Republicans sometimes. I love how people try to deny something that seems so obvious. "Part of the problem here is that Republicans reject the science because they oppose the solutions." This statement says it all, Republicans do not want to deal with (spend money on and get taxed more) fixing the problem because it is not good for their pocketbooks. Sad.

"For years, there has been a mantra that Republicans have recited to comfort themselves about President Trump - both about the things he says and the support they offer him. Trump, they'd say, should be taken seriously, not literally. The coinage comes from a 2016 article in The Atlantic by Salena Zito, in which she complained that the press took Trump "literally, but not seriously; his supporters take him seriously, but not literally." For Republican elites, this was a helpful two-step. "

The visual accompanying this article was very useful! I found it helpful to compare the American political parties to European political parties. I always knew that American politics were very right-leaning, but I had no idea of the extent.

The Republican National Convention took an uncharacteristic turn toward foreign policy on Wednesday night, as two prominent speakers lashed out at President Barack Obama's leadership in world affairs. "Unfortunately, for four years, we've drifted away from our proudest traditions of global leadership, traditions that are truly bipartisan," said Sen.

Very interesting. I like this quote from the article: "Rice oversaw U.S. foreign policy during a time when many citizens have come to feel the United States overextended itself abroad, entering into two wars that continued well into the Obama administration (and one, Afghanistan, that continues to this day). Perhaps in a nod to that legacy, Rice acknowledged that "there is a weariness -- I know that it feels as if we have carried these burdens long enough." But, she continued, "One of two things will happen if we don't lead: No one will lead and there will be chaos, or someone will fill the vacuum who does not share our values. My fellow Americans, we do not have a choice: We cannot be reluctant to lead, and you cannot lead from behind." For us to discuss: what IS the United States' foreign policy role today? How might it be changing?

"Earlier in the day, Rice had offered some specific criticisms of Obama's handling of the uprising in Syria, accusing the president of waffling and "muting" America's voice."

After the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, conservatives and GOP members are pushing for a quick confirmation before the November election. Nevertheless, two senate republicans have already come out against this; Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine. It is important to note that in the Senate, Republicans hold a slim majority 53 to 47 and democrats would only need 4 republican votes to block the confirmation. It is also important to point out the hypocrisy in the GOP. Previously, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said that a Supreme Court Vacancy in the last year of a president's term should not be filled until after the election.

In three key battleground states, Florida, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, Republicans have shortened the gap with Democrats in terms of voter registration. This is being considered the secret weapon of the Republicans in the race and could possibly propel Trump into a second term. Nevertheless, Democrats still hold a lead in total registration in those states and also have a large advantage in early turnout. Although Biden is leading in the polls this race will be closer than many anticipated.

The senate race is especially important this year because, if Joe Biden wins, he and the house will be unable to pass anything with the currently Republican senate. The democrats are expected to need to flip four seats to gain a 50-50 tie (that would be decided by the VP and POTUS), and North Carolina is one of the most important of those four. It is a purple state that usually picks a democratic governor, but the Republican president. However, the Democrats have been recently enacting a successful strategy of nominating moderate, veteran candidates and did the same with Thom Tillis. He was expected to win already, when Thom was seen at the Supreme Court announcement party for Amy Barret, without a mask, the day before Trump announced that he had corona virus. Republican voters tend to be more moderate and do believe in the virus in NC, yet are often still Trump supporters. So Tillis is stuck between supporting the president and receiving backlash for Trump's more radical and irresponsible actions. All of which led analysts to believe that the race would be a democratic landslide, until news broke that dem candidate Cal Cunningham was having an affair. Now, it is a complete guess as to who will win as polls have not shown obvious fall out from either incident. (Plus it's a podcast, so it's nice to not look at a screen).

We're all still on tenterhooks for the runoff! Two Senate seats in the balance!

Some facts on the health care dilemma

Hours before her prime-time moment Tuesday as Mitt Romney's best cheerleader, Ann Romney was energetically at work on her mission - doling out homemade pastries to the media, talking up her husband's "regular guy" love of Costco shirts and presenting an ever-smiling face to supporters.

Senator Susan Collins of Maine becomes the third Republican to announce her opposition to the Graham-Cassidy bill, effectively killing it. Her stance was based on the bill's lack of provisions for people with pre-existing conditions, among other things.

Pretty messed up stuff. I did not even realize that problems like this existed. Very interesting article.

This is intense; before reading about this, I was unaware of how much work and manipulation goes into controlling districts behind the scenes, and how easy it is to get away with this and keep it secret. I was also surprised how much data on voting patterns, especially by race, is available to be used for things like this.

"Above all there is the president, not complicit but wholly, undeniably and unforgivably responsible. For five years, Republicans let him degrade political culture by normalizing his behavior. For five years, they let him wage war on democratic norms and institutions. For five years, they treated his nonstop mendacity as a quirk of character, not a disqualification for office. For five years, they treated his rallies as carnivals of democracy, not as training grounds for mob rule. For five years, they thought this was costless. On Wednesday - forgive the cliché, but it's apt here - their chickens came home to roost. Every decent society depends for its survival on its ability to be shocked - and stay shocked - by genuinely shocking behavior. Donald Trump's entire presidency has been an assault on that idea."