Since the coronavirus emerged in China, the Trump administration’s response has been focused largely on massaging Donald Trump’s ego. Trump did not want virus concerns to disrupt the stock market, so Trump played down those concerns. Trump went further, claiming that those warning of the virus’ danger were partisans whose only aim was to damage him. Public officials…
Biden and Sanders both likely to choose a woman for vice president. Yay?
“There’s no question that the notion of a female V.P. is used as a strategy and I think that’s a little bit sexist,” Jennifer Lawless, the Commonwealth professor of politics at the University of Virginia, told The New York Times. “It’s sort of like an ‘insert woman here’ kind of conversation.” The women whose names The Times cites…
Trump team plans coronavirus response: More racism, more tax cuts, and more incompetence?
The plans being contemplated are, of course, the things that the authoritarian-minded Trump team either has been promising or has been trying to do all along, but that were so radical and/or illegal that even a Republican Senate willing to cover up international extortion would have never gone along with them. Trump has been threatening…
Six states vote Tuesday, and could cement Biden’s road to the Democratic nomination
Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders Six states are voting Tuesday, and their results will show whether Super Tuesday’s massive Biden surge continues—and possibly all but ends the primary—or whether this race has another realignment left in it. Sen. Bernie Sanders needs to show some strength this week, or he’ll face a major delegate deficit heading…
Morning Digest: Montana Democrats land their top candidate to challenge GOP Sen. Steve Daines
Campaign Action As the sitting governor, Bullock has already won two hard-fought elections in 2012 and 2016, and he had a strong approval rating in the few available polls. Bullock is also starting with very high name recognition and should be able to raise ample money, making him a far more imposing challenger than the…
Bernie’s revolution fizzled on first contact with actual voters. It didn’t have to be that way
x Voter turnout last night vs. 2016: Virginia +23%South Carolina +21%North Carolina +20%Texas + 27%Tennessee + 19%Maine +17%Alabama +22%Oklahoma +16%Colorado +12% America is itching to get Trump out. — Joshua Potash (@JoshuaPotash) March 4, 2020 Of those, Sanders won only Colorado. If there’s anyone expanding the electorate, it’s Biden. Ironic, I know. I would’ve never…
Trump calls Sean Hannity to downplay COVID-19 as ‘corona flu’ and call the death rate ‘fake numbers’
In the conversation, Hannity begins by asking Trump about the lethality of COVID-19, with Hannity mentioning a number of 3.4%. This value is essentially the worldwide case fatality rate (CFR): The number of 3,285 deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus divided by the 96,600 confirmed cases, gives a global CFR of 3.4%. That number is currently dominated…
Morning Digest: Montana’s governor may run against GOP senator in a boon to Democrats
Campaign Action If Bullock does join the race, he would instantly give Democrats a far better shot at pulling off an upset in a state that went solidly for Trump in 2016 but has been more amenable to Democrats downballot. As the sitting governor, Bullock has already won two hard-fought elections in 2012 and 2016,…
How Much of a Role Does Big Data Play in Politics in America and Europe?
Is the hype around Big Data’s role in politics overblown? Experts argue the extent of it’s utility but one thing is clear – it can’t magically create an audience for a political message that wasn’t there to begin with. The modern digital marketing world has given rise to a host of specialized acronyms and vocabulary.…
Coronavirus misinformation is threatening to become a pandemic of its own on WhatsApp
The Washington Post reports that WhatsApp users in parts of Africa, Asia, and Europe are getting flooded with conspiracy theories, false reports of the disease’s spread, and fake cures. Governments are not only trying to restrict the spread of COVID-19; they’re also battling misinformation: “In Singapore, where regulators just last week warned about ‘unsubstantiated information over WhatsApp,’ health officials…