Daybook

Daybook posts are a Wolves and sheep Extra feature.  If you are an Extra member, the excerpts below will take you to the Wolves and Sheep Patreon site where you can read all of the Daybook posts. 

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7/28/2023 Daybook

History repeats itself stupidly

Paging Rose Mary Woods.

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7/24/2023 Daybook

On generations

Millennials and Gen Z, your time is now.

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7/21/2023 Daybook

Your entree will be out shortly

Justice is served.

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7/17/2023 Daybook

A way too early look at 2024

It’s never too early to consider the fundamentals.

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7/14/2023 Daybook

This looks normal

Well not really, but it’s exactly what we expected.

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7/10/2023 Daybook

Playing not to lose versus playing to win big

It’s time to start playing for keeps.

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6/30/2023 Daybook

A huge win for democracy

This could have been very bad.

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6/26/2023 Daybook

More on the abortion trap

It could be the key to saving democracy.

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6/23/2023 Daybook

Clash of realities

The two realities of American politics were on display this week.

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6/19/2023 Daybook

Backwards

Winning campaigns understand that yesterday’s gone.

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6/16/2023 Daybook

The scope will broaden

It’s more than just one man.

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6/12/2023 Daybook

Pressure is building

In Congress and the campaign, reality gets in the way.

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6/9/2023 Daybook

Indictment, Volume II

This time it’s federal.

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6/5/2023 Daybook

Leaving the Beltway

Time to come home.

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6/2/2023 Daybook

Update from Washington: Looks like we’re getting a commission

That tells us a lot.

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5/28/2023 Daybook

Update from Washington: Deal or no deal

It appears the radicals have lost.

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5/26/2023 Daybook

Update from Washington: Process vs. substance

Do the details even matter?

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5/21/2023 Daybook

Update from Washington: It all feels so normal

But it shouldn’t.

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5/19/2023 Daybook

Update from Washington: No one knows what happens next

What, me worry?

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5/15/2023 Daybook

CNN

It may take prosecutors for journalists to get it right.

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5/12/2023 Daybook

Still the whole ballgame

Pressure for Court reform is not going away.

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5/10/2023 Daybook

Special accountability edition

Reports from Manhattan and Long Island.

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5/8/2023 Daybook

When it happens, it happens fast

That’s what rot does.

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5/1/2023 Daybook

It’s morning again in America . . . kind of

Biden channels the last transformational president.

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4/28/2023 Daybook

The race no one seems to want

An unwelcome rematch from a party that can’t move on.

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4/24/2023 Daybook

The case for Joe Biden

He’s still the bridge to an unfinished future.

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4/21/2023 Daybook

Abe Fortas and Clarence Thomas

What’s happening is not unprecedented.

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4/17/2023 Daybook

The abortion trap

There’s no way out.

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4/3/2023 Daybook

They still don’t understand

They really don’t.

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3/30/2023 Daybook

Finally

Indictment watch is over.

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3/27/2023 Daybook

Constructive losing

It can be the first step toward renewal.

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3/24/2023 Daybook

Not yet

Indictment watch continues.

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3/20/2023 Daybook

Indictment week?

Trump thinks so.

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3/17/2023 Daybook

The Biden paradox

Biden has been a historically effective president, but voters aren’t feeling it.

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3/13/2023 Daybook

Be prepared

Everything will look different.

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3/6/2023 Daybook

Retribution

Stop me if you’ve heard this one.

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2/23/2023 Daybook

More tea leaves

This time from a peer.

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2/20/2023 Daybook

Loyalty

It’s a one-way street.

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2/17/2023 Daybook

The Trump trap

How can you be a better choice when the real thing is still hanging around?

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2/13/2023 Daybook

Invisible revolution

An unlikely populist spearheads a potential realignment.

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2/10/2023 Daybook

A strategic tour de force

How Biden made the most of his moment on stage.

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2/6/2023 Daybook

The state of a different union

Joe Biden addresses a country that’s in a different place than it was a year ago.

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1/30/2023 Daybook

Pushback

Real journalism emerged on Meet the Press, even if it was for the wrong reason.

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1/27/2023 Daybook

Imminent

Something is happening in Georgia.

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1/23/2023 Daybook

Giddy

Some caution is in order.

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1/20/2023 Daybook

Your debt ceiling primer

A user’s guide to financial Armageddon.

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1/16/2023 Daybook

There is no conservative party

And it matters when default is on the line.

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1/13/2023 Daybook

The insurrection continues

There are ominous undertones to House Republicans’ comically bad performance.

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1/9/2023 Daybook

Pathetic

The seeds have been planted.

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1/2/2023 Daybook

The drama begins

Complaining is easy. Governing is hard.

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12/26/2022 Daybook

Where we’re going

Reflections on the year ahead.

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12/19/2022 Daybook

Where we are

It’s been quite a year.

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12/16/2022 Daybook

A little more math

The House could be heading into chaos.

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12/12/2022 Daybook

Criminal referrals

The January 6 Committee ponders its conclusion.

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12/5/2022 Daybook

A little math

The outcome is counterintuitive but the numbers add up.

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12/2/2022 Daybook

Actually, it’s encouraging

The fallout continues.

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11/28/2022 Daybook

Same play, different outcome

It worked in ’94 and ’10 but failed miserably in ’22.

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11/21/2022 Daybook

Pressure

The midterms produced the second-best scenario for protecting democracy.

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11/18/2022 Daybook

Say it with me: he’s never going away

Republicans bought Donald Trump in 2016. They own him forever.

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11/14/2022 Daybook

Democracy required this outcome

A note of hope and a note of caution.

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11/11/2022 Daybook

Right in front of them

They should know better.

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11/9/2022 Daybook

It turns out Americans like democracy

Sleep deprived thoughts on a historic election.

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11/7/2022 Daybook

Which election will we get?

In a year that is confounding predictions, here are three election scenarios.

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10/31/2022 Daybook

Young people

The future offers hope.

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10/28/2022 Daybook

Disconnect

The election and the story of the election are different things.

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10/24/2022 Daybook

Chaos ahead?

You thought the election was going to resolve anything?

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10/21/2022 Daybook

The day the narrative changed

Democrats are losing the polling narrative but are holding their own in the early vote.

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10/17/2022 Daybook

Where things stand

With three weeks to go, the election could still tip either way.

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10/14/2022 Daybook

Is abortion fading as an issue?

Spoiler alert: not really.

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10/10/2022 Daybook

Does anything matter?

Not when privilege is at stake.

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10/3/2022 Daybook

Early voting

We will soon have a sense of how the electorate is shaping up.

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9/30/2022 Daybook

Polls

How much we can believe them?

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9/26/2022 Daybook

Where things stand

Our first comprehensive look at the fall campaign.

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9/23/2022 Daybook

So many witch hunts

Walls are closing in.

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9/19/2022 Daybook

A milestone in the culture wars

We may look back on this moment as pivotal.

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9/16/2022 Daybook

Having the issue

You have to rethink your politics when you catch the car.

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9/12/2022 Daybook

Inside the Beltway, progress is slow

DC insiders have been slow to grasp the dynamics of this election.

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9/5/2022 Daybook

Biden sets the narrative

In an important address, the president finally goes there.

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9/1/2022 Daybook

Then and now

Three months that made big a difference.

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8/25/2022 Daybook

Democrats can hold the House

And Washington is starting to notice.

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8/22/2022 Daybook

I’ll say it again: he is never going away

You can’t just wish away a parasite.

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8/19/2022 Daybook

“Now the real work begins”

Liz Cheney embarks on her mission.

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8/15/2022 Daybook

Why?

That seems to be the most pressing question.

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8/11/2022 Daybook

Thank you for visiting Mar-a-Lago!

Don’t forget to take your classified documents!

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8/8/2022 Daybook

Build BackFinally

Against all odds.

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8/1/2022 Daybook

The story is changing

Official Washington is slowly realizing that a Republican win this November is not a done deal.

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7/29/2022 Daybook

Build Back Suddenly

Well that was unexpected.

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7/25/2022 Daybook

What happens if it’s close?

Republicans themselves might block the insurrectionists.

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7/22/2022 Daybook

Renewed for fall

The summer’s best miniseries is coming back for a second season.

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7/18/2022 Daybook

It sure doesn’t look like a wave

The 2022 state of play at mid-summer.

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7/15/2022 Daybook

The Republican Party’s pending Donald Trump problem

Republicans should have insisted on a prenup.

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7/11/2022 Daybook

The “Great Disconnect”

Can we please stop pretending things are normal?

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7/5/2022 Daybook

Fallout

No one is ever ready for an earthquake.

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7/1/2022 Daybook

Temperature’s rising

I feel like I need a vacation. And I just returned from one.

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6/28/2022 Daybook

Tipping point

This is what minority rule feels like.

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6/17/2022 Daybook

The hearings are working

The January 6 committee continues to deliver.

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6/13/2022 Daybook

Exceeding expectations

The January 6 committee delivers.

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6/6/2022 Daybook

Disconnect

Is the country ready to vote against its own interests?

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6/3/2022 Daybook

Minority rule

Once again, the system is failing us.

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5/31/2022 Daybook

Reflections on Washington

Hope despite darkness.

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5/24/2022 Daybook

Ground level

Things also look different from below.

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5/21/2022 Daybook

Everything seems so normal

Things often look different up close.

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5/18/2022 Daybook

Symbolism

Sad and telling.

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5/15/2022 Daybook

On the accuracy of conventional wisdom

It always works this way. Until it doesn’t.

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5/13/2022 Daybook

They’re not going to show

Remember when people honored subpoenas?

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5/9/2022 Daybook

Politics of the unprecedented

Having the issue.

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5/2/2022 Daybook

Truth in humor

If it wasn’t so serious . . .

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4/29/2022 Daybook

June 9

We have a date.

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4/25/2022 Daybook

I don’t recall

And she thinks Biden is forgetful?

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4/22/2022 Daybook

It’s kind of hard to explain

Prelude to the hearings.

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4/18/2022 Daybook

Transitions

The next two months will tell us a lot.

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4/15/2022 Daybook

Not debatable

No regard for democracy.

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4/11/2022 Daybook

Is the story just too big?

Too big to cover?

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4/4/2022 Daybook

Reality check

The performance is over. Now let’s vote.

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4/1/2022 Daybook

Democrats aren’t the only party in trouble

On the other hand . . .

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3/28/2022 Daybook

Things are not where they need to be

A lot remains undone on the democracy checklist.

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3/25/2022 Daybook

Two Americas

Just like we expected.

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3/21/2022 Daybook

A return to division

Cue the outrage.

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3/17/2022 Daybook

More than a reset

Suddenly, fighting over masks seems really small.

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3/14/2022 Daybook

In other news

A lot is happening while no one is looking.

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3/7/2022 Daybook

A lot to take in

We’ll talk about it on Thursday.

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2/21/2022 Daybook

State of the Union

Up next: the big reset.

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2/18/2022 Daybook

It’s starting

November begins in February.

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2/14/2022 Daybook

An interesting development

What say you, Rudy?

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2/11/2022 Daybook

Legitimate Political Discourse

Republicans face an impossible choice.

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2/7/2022 Daybook

Better late than never

Challenging narratives.

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1/31/2022 Daybook

Vengeance tour

Once again, in broad daylight.

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1/28/2022 Daybook

Breyer

Biden finally gets a break.

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1/24/2022 Daybook

What makes 2022 different?

Welcome to the midterm political cycle.

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1/21/2022 Daybook

Plan D

Bad faith.

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1/17/2022 Daybook

Talking

There is an untapped path to filibuster reform.

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1/14/2022 Daybook

Seditious conspiracy

One step forward. One step sideways.

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1/10/2022 Daybook

The speech

It’s time to act.

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1/3/2022 Daybook

Picking up where they left off

This is it for BBB and voting rights.

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12/20/2021 Daybook

Build Back Never?

Failure may not be an option. But it is the default.

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12/17/2021 Daybook

Lane shift

Build Back Later.

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12/13/2021 Daybook

It’s going to be the biggest story of our time

Get ready. We’re going to have to confront it.

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12/10/2021 Daybook

Momentum

Some things moved quickly this week.

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12/6/2021 Daybook

More on our broken politics

What’s a little dysfunction among friends?

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11/29/2021 Daybook

On normalcy

It’s a paradox.

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11/22/2021 Daybook

Thanksgiving break

More calm before another storm.

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11/19/2021 Daybook

Just don’t bet against Pelosi

Worth waiting for.

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11/15/2021 Daybook

Garland finally acts

Contemptuous toward Congress.

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11/12/2021 Daybook

Out of hand

When voting to repair bridges is a capital offense.

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11/8/2021 Daybook

Victory Lap

It was the worst of weeks. It was the best of weeks.

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11/1/2021 Daybook

The light at the end

Finally? Maybe?

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10/29/2021 Daybook

Half the distance

We’re not quite there yet.

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10/25/2021 Daybook

No word yet

Is a breakthrough in sight?

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10/22/2021 Daybook

Progress

It was an active week.

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10/18/2021 Daybook

Interpreting the silence

There’s good news and bad news. And it’s the same news.

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10/15/2021 Daybook

Criminal contempt

Wheels are turning.

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10/11/2021 Daybook

Crisis delayed but not defused

Dysfunction on display.

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10/3/2021 Daybook

Adventures in lazy journalism

Let’s get it right.

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10/1/2021 Daybook

Infrastructure week

I warned you it would be ugly.

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9/27/2021 Daybook

Intensity

It’s a pivotal week in congress.

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9/24/2021 Daybook

Sure it looks ugly

Things are moving.

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9/20/2021 Daybook

The 25th

Out of control.

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9/17/2021 Daybook

Trump card

What California taught us.

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9/13/2021 Daybook

W speaks out

Two speeches.

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9/6/2021 Daybook

A little extortion

What’s a little extortion among friends?

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9/3/2021 Daybook

Biden’s domestic bet

We are pulling ourselves apart at an accelerated rate.

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8/30/2021 Daybook

A little perspective

Is Biden’s presidency over? Not quite yet.

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8/27/2021 Daybook

Busy Day

One of the all-time greats makes it look easy.

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8/23/2021 Daybook

A new product

Just an old-fashioned feeding frenzy.

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8/12/2021 Daybook

Up all night

An all-nighter brings progress, but the real test is still ahead.

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8/9/2021 Daybook

A little context

Is it a historic accomplishment to just do your job?

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8/3/2021 Daybook

Now the hard part

It took incredible effort to shape a bipartisan infrastructure agreement. But that was easy.

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7/30/2021 Daybook

Something has changed

I should go away more often.

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7/22/2021 Daybook

Of course they did

How real is that bipartisan commitment? 

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7/19/2021 Daybook

More on that new governing paradigm

Shades of the Civil War. 

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7/16/2021 Daybook

Multitasking

Congress walks and chews gum at the same time. 

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7/12/2021 Daybook

Here we go

Apart from determining the future of the republic, it looks like another sleepy summer in the Senate. 

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7/6/2021 Daybook

Reflections on Independence Day

Are we on the way to calm horizons or are we in the eye of the storm?

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7/2/2021 Daybook

About that investigation

Will they regret saying no?

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6/28/2021 Daybook

Partisan Blowback

Pigs aren’t flying after all. 

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6/25/2021 Daybook

Are pigs flying?

Republican obstruction and bipartisanship? Here’s why after a busy week not much has changed in Washington. 

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6/21/2021 Daybook

Looking back

A healthy political party would never think of doing this.

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6/18/2021 Daybook

Movement

What looked speculative on Monday became conventional wisdom by Friday.

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6/14/2021 Daybook

Following the money

Nancy Pelosi sounds surprisingly upbeat about the potential for Joe Manchin to change his mind on voting rights legislation. Could her optimism have something to do with this?

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6/11/2021 Daybook

Who could have seen this coming?

You can’t negotiate with someone who already has what they want. 

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6/7/2021 Daybook

Parallel realities

Washington is experiencing a surreal moment, caught between conducting business as usual and a looming existential threat. 

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6/4/2021 Daybook

Tea leaf

The first special election of the Biden era was notable for what didn’t happen.

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6/1/2021 Daybook

Assumptions

Republicans will retake Congress next year . . . unless they don’t.

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6/1/2021 Daybook

Assumptions

Republicans will retake Congress next year . . . unless they don’t.

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5/28/2021 Daybook

Irreconcilable differences

One word captures the state of the Republican Party four months into the Biden presidency.

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5/24/2021 Daybook

The urgency paradox

Democrats know they have to move quickly and decisively to avoid losing the window to act on Biden’s ambitious agenda. There’s only one thing standing in their way. 

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5/21/2021 Daybook

The bipartisanship fallacy

We shouldn’t expect Republicans and Democrats to come together around anything if they can’t come together around this one thing. And they can’t. 

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5/17/2021 Daybook

Commission watch

Is it possible to investigate something that one side sees as an attempt to violently overthrow the government and the other side sees as a tourist event? The reality gap that divides the two parties will be put to the test this week as Congress nears a vote on one of the most important issues of our day.

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5/14/2021 Daybook

Words or actions?

In the wake of Liz Cheney’s ouster from congressional leadership, a group of high-profile former Republican officials said now is the time to free their party from Trump’s influence. Together, there is one thing they can do to make this happen. But will they?

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5/10/2021 Daybook

More purge politics

With Congress returning to Washington this week, the political world will be consumed by the power struggle in the Republican House caucus, where Liz Cheney is poised to be ousted from the number three leadership spot. As political dramas go, this one has zero suspense. The challenge to Cheney’s leadership has been brewing for months and everyone in Washington expects it to end with Cheney being replaced by upstate New York congresswoman and Trump opponent-turned-acolyte Elise Stefanik. What makes this gripping political theater is the fact that it is happening to a legacy figure in the conservative movement and what it says about the present and future state of the Republican Party.

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5/7/2021 Daybook

Group identity

In the coming weeks you will see a lot of stories about how the White House is open to bipartisan compromise with Republicans on the massive infrastructure legislation working its way through Congress and how West Virginia’s Joe Manchin is confident he can work in good faith across the aisle. But several events this week point to why these efforts rest somewhere between bad theater and wishful thinking. If we connect the dots across what’s happening this week in Arizona, on the Hill and in Florida, we see Republicans telegraphing that they are animated not by policy objectives or ideology but by nurturing and defending a shared identity built around a worldview unsupported by external reality. No longer a conventional political party, Republicans are turning into a faith group united by the false belief that massive fraud by voters of color illegitimately removed Donald Trump from power, a wrong that has to be righted at any cost.

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5/3/2021 Daybook

Mitt

There was an incident over the weekend in which Mitt Romney was booed at a state convention of Utah Republicans for having twice voted to convict Donald Trump at his impeachment trials (and – reality check – impeachment may seem like ancient history, but the most recent trial ended less than three months ago). If you’re looking for a measure of the health of the post-Trump Republican Party, you can stop here.

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4/29/2021 Daybook

Biden’s ordinary extraordinary speech

Joe Biden’s speech to a socially distanced joint session of Congress Wednesday night lacked some of the pomp and grandeur we normally associate with such events, but Biden made the largely empty room work to his advantage. Speaking softly enough to make viewers want to lean in to their screens, modulating his voice for emphasis, Biden delivered his remarks in the casual cadence of a friend or neighbor in what felt like a 21st century Fireside Chat.

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4/16/2021 Daybook

It’s been quiet . . . but . . .

The Biden administration launched with a flurry of activity, culminating in passage of the $1.9 trillion Covid relief package. For several weeks we had wave upon wave of executive orders and cabinet nominations, and while Biden intentionally toned things way down he remained a presence in the news. Then things seemed to get quiet.

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