Drew Downs

Make a New Normal

Midterms

  • Whenever the U.S. holds a national election, there is much evaluation, haranguing, and prediction. We are reminded often that midterms always have a different character than presidential elections, but that knowledge is thrown out the window in the fever of gloating and sorrow. The most popular prediction this time, and the one I have often subscribed…

  • A trap was set back in early 2009 for Democrats that was pretty smart at the time. Republicans in the Senate would filibuster a lot, arguing to their base and to moderates that they were preventing a tidal wave of Democratic legislation based on their conscience. In the 2009 session, they doubled the previous record…