Nate Cohn/New york Times:
Given that New Hampshire is not representative of either Democratic or Republican primary voters, maybe it shouldn’t go first for anyone. In that regard, South Carolina does a better job.
These two states are not the same.
Mark Liebovich/The Atlantic:
The former president is a sharp observer. Given that he’s deceased, it’s a difficult thing to pull off.
Washington Post:
Neither is going anywhere, though each has a different path to defeat.
In the New York Times, Jamelle Bouie says about Ron Desantis:
Stephanie Murray/The Messenger:
The Guardian:
Ryan Burge/Graphs About Religion:
Cliff Schecter and Bob Cesca on Trump being a poor loser:
YouTube Video
Christie’s Exit Should Give Haley a Chance in New Hampshire. Will It Be Enough?
A group of moderate voters is now available, but it may not put her over the top against Trump.
Of course, a Haley win in New Hampshire would not mean that Mr. Trump’s path to the nomination was in jeopardy. Not even Mr. Christie seems optimistic about her chances; he was heard on a hot mic Wednesday saying “she’s going to get smoked,” presumably referring to Ms. Haley, and he did not endorse her.
Her appeal is concentrated among highly educated and moderate voters, who represent an outsize share of the electorate in New Hampshire. She also depends on the support of registered independents — in some other key primary contests, they are not eligible to vote. Back in 2016, moderate candidates who went nowhere nationally — John Kasich, Mr. Christie and Jeb Bush — added up to 34 percent of the vote in New Hampshire. If you add the 11 percent held by Mr. Rubio, a mainstream conservative, that’s 45 percent of the vote that went for establishment candidates. In other words, this state is not representative of the Republican electorate.
Given that New Hampshire is not representative of either Democratic or Republican primary voters, maybe it shouldn’t go first for anyone. In that regard, South Carolina does a better job.
These two states are not the same.
Mark Liebovich/The Atlantic:
WHAT IS NIKKI HALEY EVEN TALKING ABOUT?
Her confident performances have made her the most formidable Republican challenger to Donald Trump. But the more you listen to her, the mushier her message is.
Such flaccid scolding is of course a big part of why Trump is still here. Appeasement has been the Republican business model since 2015. “It’s like what happened last time—nobody wanted to criticize Trump,” Mark Sanford, a former Republican representative from and governor of South Carolina, told me. Sanford, who declined to speak about Haley on the record, lost his 2018 House primary after becoming a strident Trump critic. “They figured he would go away,” Sanford said, referring to Trump’s Republican opponents over the years. “And they sort of waited and waited and waited, and he didn’t go away.”
Eight years later, Haley seems to be of a similarly passive mindset: put up tepid resistance to Trump, at least early on; stay alive; and hope that someone, or something, comes along to take care of the problem. “Maybe she catches a break from a jury,” Chip Felkel, a longtime Republican strategist in South Carolina told me, referring to the possibility of Trump being convicted in the coming months. Felkel, who is not affiliated with Haley’s campaign, says that he’s no fan of hers but that he’s hugely hostile to Trump, so he’ll support his former governor.
Haley is good in a room. She projects authority. She gives fluent answers that could be from any politician in the movies. It is skin-deep, it conceals a vacuum, but basic skills are in such short supply, and our friends in the press are so desperate for a story, here we are.
— Richard M. Nixon (@dick_nixon) January 11, 2024
The former president is a sharp observer. Given that he’s deceased, it’s a difficult thing to pull off.
Washington Post:
Key takeaways from the DeSantis-Haley debate in Iowa
DeSantis predicted Trump will lose his argument in court that he should be immune from a prosecution related to Jan. 6 and will go to trial before a “left-wing” D.C. jury. “I don’t think he gets through that, and so what are we going to do as Republicans?” DeSantis said, arguing Trump would be an ideal opponent for Democrats.
Haley called Trump’s immunity argument “ridiculous.”
Neither is going anywhere, though each has a different path to defeat.
In the New York Times, Jamelle Bouie says about Ron Desantis:
It’s easy to forget, but Ron DeSantis announced his campaign for president in an audio chat with Elon Musk on what was then still Twitter. Not on a scenic Florida beach, not at the State Capitol in Tallahassee, not against the backdrop of a major Florida university — all choices that would have, in some way, reinforced the themes of his campaign.
I mention this because it encapsulates DeSantis’s fundamental flaw as a candidate for national office: He has no idea what normal people want. None at all. This was clear throughout the debate. There was his extended rant about “the woke.” There was his charge that Disney was in the business of “transing kids” (truly one of the most insane things I’ve heard from a candidate not named Donald Trump). And there was his strange decision to accuse his opponent on the stage of “ballistic podiatry” rather than just say she shot herself in the foot.
This moment sums it up for the GOP debate…Nikki Haley’s biggest supporter & champion, Gov. Chris Sununu saying he would support Trump if he’s the nominee even if he’s a convicted felon. No matter what you may think about Joe Biden, this is an incredulous acknowledgement of the… https://t.co/VSfB4J0Tdv
— Olivia of Troye (@OliviaTroye) January 11, 2024
Stephanie Murray/The Messenger:
Debate Takeaways: Chris Christie Was Right. Nobody Wants to Take on Trump
Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis took a pass on their final chance to draw a contrast with the former president before the Iowa caucuses
Despite Christie’s call to take Trump on directly, neither of his top opponents took anti-Trump bait. Haley dodged a question about whether Trump has the character to be the president again, calling him “the right president at the right time.” DeSantis, while continuing his recent trend of hitting Trump on abortion and failed promises, also said he “appreciated what President Trump did” and promised to fulfill the former president's campaign promises like building a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border and draining the Washington, D.C. “swamp.”
They also dodged questions about Trump’s latest courtroom argument that a president has legal immunity even if he or she assassinates a political rival. DeSantis answered by focusing on himself, saying “it's not going to be an issue with me because I'm always going to follow the Constitution” and did not denounce the former president. Haley called the idea “absolutely ridiculous” and then used her answer to attack DeSantis instead.
“Ron said we should have leaders that we can look up to. Well, then stop lying because nobody's gonna want to look up to you if you're lying,” Haley said.
The Guardian:
‘Better be scared’: threats of political violence foretell tense election year
Several years of sustained harassment of election workers and judges have led to security concerns and a high turnover
A recent wave of threats against elections officials and judges foretells a tense presidential election year that’s likely to see ongoing threats of political violence that could turn physical, as the future of US democracy hangs in the balance.
“It does seem sort of like it’s a message starting off the year, saying, ‘OK we are in 2024, and this is not going to be easy. Elections are not going to go smoothly, and you better be scared,’” said Lilliana Mason, a political science professor at Johns Hopkins University who studies political violence.
The wave comes after several years of sustained threats to and harassment of elections officials, who have seen high turnover in their field as a result. It’s now part of the job to face an onslaught of harassing messages when running an election in the US.
While these recent threats haven’t carried physical violence, they aren’t innocent. They disrupt and intimidate the people involved – and they cause chaos, making it difficult for elections officials to do their jobs. Women and people of color are more often the targets of these threats, Mason said, which could drive people out of the jobs, potentially changing the profile of who runs elections.
Ryan Burge/Graphs About Religion:
Do Evangelicals Care About Climate Change?
Is there any evidence that younger evangelicals are more concerned?
The situation comes into clearer focus now. It’s not that evangelicals don’t care about climate change and atheists care a lot. It’s much simpler than that - Democrats believe climate change is a serious issue and Republicans don’t.
Recall that atheists expressed the most worry. Well, that’s really just because most atheists are Democrats. Nearly all atheist Democrats say that climate change is an extremely or very serious problem. 29% of Republican atheists agree.
That pattern repeats for every group visualized here. A Democrat is about sixty points more likely to be concerned with global climate change on average compared to a Republican. That’s not to say that religion doesn’t matter - for instance, only 77% of evangelical Democrats think that climate change is a extremely/very serious problem compared to 98% of Democratic atheists. But views of climate change turn more on politics than religion.
I’ve been saying this for months. Wether you believe the polls or not (and I am skeptical of him being that high with Seniors) Biden’s legislative accomplishments and messaging are geared to a much, MUCH older audience. Burn pits, junk fees, insulin—not much in the youth brain! https://t.co/4JyRFDprJ1
— Adam Bass (@AdamBassOfMass) January 11, 2024
Cliff Schecter and Bob Cesca on Trump being a poor loser:
YouTube Video