Midterms too close to call, GOP’s missing positive – Latest News
From the left: Midterms Too Close To Call
“Trump certainly deserves a shellacking — his presidency combines the unthinkable with the unnecessary with the unhinged,” growls Joe Klein at Sanity Clause, however he’s not making any predictions. “Senate races across the country,” together with pink states, “are all within or near the margin of error.” I’m “hoping that the Democrats will take one of the Houses,” however “I’m not willing to bet the farm on that.” One fear: Democrats this yr “have accepted socialism in the same righteous, benighted way that they strutted trans activism in 2024.” Yet you possibly can see Dem momentum in “the trend toward ship-jumping and modification by Republican candidates” distancing themselves “from Trump in close races.” Beware: “Crazy things have been known to happen in October.” Plus, “journalists really suck at predictions,” so: “Don’t trust us.”
From the correct: GOP’s Missing Positive Message
“What should Republicans do about [Abdul] El-Sayed?” asks Washington Examiner’s Byron York. He’s a “radical” who “has some truly terrible ideas,” however “that doesn’t mean he’s wrong about everything.” When he “leads with the cost of living” and blames “recent increases on the war in Iran,” he’s “hitting Republicans in their weakest spot.” Republicans can reply with “negative advertising targeting his positions, record, and associates,” however they need to additionally show that he “does not have a plausible plan to stop the increase in the cost of living” — and that the GOP does, one thing they’ve “not done that well enough.” Republicans “need to raise their game,” or they’ll “spend the next six years with Sen. El-Sayed.”
Educator: School Choice Requires Good Schools
Nikole Hannah-Jones casts “segregation and school choice as causing educational inequality,” however the true outrage “isn’t that some families can choose a good school, but that too many can’t,” argues Roland Fryer at The Wall Street Journal. “Too many must choose from a menu that presents the options dishonestly or offers no good ones” — “the fundamental problem is the scarcity of effective schools.” His expertise exhibits that “effective schools are made.” A aggressive training market can enable “new schools to enter,” “successful ones to expand” and “ineffective schools close if they fail to improve.” “The goal is effective schools at scale and genuine choice among them.” Choice succeeds once we “make schools effective, tell parents the truth and trust them to choose.”
More From Post Editorial Board
Ukraine battle: Beware Vlad’s Baltic Gambit
“Vladimir Putin’s only conventional path to victory in Ukraine may lie through the Baltic States,” warn Mark Toth & Jonathan Sweet at The Hill. His ailing Donbas ailing offensive has backed him “into a corner”; he “needs another way to get to Kyiv,” similar to “an asymmetrical war against the European Union and NATO member states” — say, placing “the Baltics” in hopes the alliance is paralyzed into not responding after which rethinks its help for Ukraine. “A large drone and ballistic missile attack, precipitated by a Russian false-flag event, would suffice.” To deter Putin, Europe ought to “go on the offensive”: Declare “an active defense” over Western Ukraine, and signal that “it has no intention of backing down in its support of Ukraine.”
Centrists: The Feds’ ‘Piggy Bank’ Mistake
Uncle Sam wants to stop serving as a “piggy bank” for the states, argues The Washington Post’s editorial board. “State politicians have largely viewed federal largesse as free money that they would be foolish to refuse,” although it’s “convoluted and wasteful” for the feds to tax state residents after which ship some of that money back to state packages. Then-Gov. Scott Walker balanced Wisconsin’s funds by reducing grants to native governments; Washington may strive a related transfer. “A sudden increase in responsibility would be a shock to state governments, but smart governors and legislators would view it as a generational opportunity to improve the lives of their residents.” Plus, “Most states are in relatively strong budgetary positions right now.”
— Compiled by The Post Editorial Board
