We begin today’s roundup with The New York Times and its take on the need for Democrats to run in every race, even in deep red areas:
Regardless of who wins the special House election in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, the Democratic candidate, Conor Lamb, has already accomplished something impressive by showing that his party ought to contest every election — no matter how daunting the odds.
“You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take,” goes the line often attributed to the hockey great Wayne Gretzky and quoted in school gymnasiums ever since. It’s a lesson that bears repeating to Democratic Party leaders, who in recent years effectively surrendered many seats to Republicans under the mistaken belief that Democrats had no chance.
David Weigal and Robert Costa at The Washington Post:
A loss in Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District — a working-class slice of the country that Trump has cultivated as his political base — could shatter hopes that his core voters will turn out in droves this fall and save the GOP’s 24-seat House majority. [...]
Conservative groups have spent more than $10 million in the race, and Trump rallied a crowd here over the weekend, underscoring the desire to emerge victorious and calm GOP lawmakers who have seen a spate of retirements and only grown more wary of their reelection chances since Democrats won a U.S. Senate seat in Alabama in December.
Here is Paul Waldman’s analysis at The Week about why good economic news doesn’t translate to better numbers for Trump:
People are keenly aware that "the economy" is more complicated than just jobs and growth. If a job doesn't come with benefits or security, you can have one and still not feel like the economy is serving you particularly well. We just watched public school teachers in Virginia stage a dramatic strike to get themselves a 5 percent raise, which at a median salary of $45,700 would mean a bump up to $47,985 — better, but still not nearly what they ought to be paid. With wages growing painfully slowly and inequality constantly increasing, it's hard for a few months or even years of job gains to convince everyone that we've entered a time of boundless prosperity.
And it's almost impossible to assess Donald Trump on the basis of any factor outside of Donald Trump. People might have been able to compartmentalize the Lewinsky matter, but every day in the Trump era features a half-dozen Lewinsky-level scandals. The president may have colluded with a hostile foreign power to get elected, he allegedly gave hush money to a porn star to cover up their affair, he's in an unending war with the news media, his staff is running for the hills, and each day we all wake up wondering what he's going to rage-tweet because of something he saw on Fox & Friends. In that reality it's awfully hard to say, "Sure, but what I'm focused on is durable goods orders for the second quarter."
Jill Lawrence at USA Today looks at inclusion riders through a personal lens:
In my first journalism job, making a standard, unisex union salary, I accused a bank manager of refusing to give me a credit card because I was a woman (I was right and I got the card). In my second job, I wrote about how women had to pay higher car insurance rates than men even though statistically, they were better drivers. Years later, at the Associated Press, I was the first woman to get the coveted “AP political writer” byline.
So it was a real moment for me when Frances McDormand, accepting her Oscar for best actress, asked that all the female nominees stand. And it was even more of a thrill when she suggested a concrete way to help realize the goals of the Me Too and Time's Up movements — the now famous “inclusion rider,” a contract provision requiring diversity in cast and crew.
Next up, Donald Trump’s totally predictable cave to the NRA on the issue of common sense gun safety measures. Here is Eugene Robinson’s analysis of the president’s cowardice:
Trump’s support for arming teachers and his refusal to back sensible gun-control measures represent a craven surrender to the National Rifle Association. In his made-for-TV meeting with members of Congress to discuss gun violence, Trump accused Republicans of being “afraid of the NRA.” But he’s the one cringing and cowering to keep the gun lobby’s favor. [...]
Incredibly, the president has even backed away from the no-brainer idea — newly enacted by the state of Florida — of raising the minimum age for at least some gun purchases from 18 to 21. He supported such a move until the NRA slapped his little hand.
Forming a school safety commission under hapless Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is like consigning the issue to a gaggle of geese. Slightly toughening background checks and banning bump stocks hardly amount to incremental progress. Sorry, students. Trump has wimped out.
Speaking of Betsy Devos, on a final note, don’t miss Dana Milbank’s scathing op-ed about her incompetence:
Betsy DeVos gives every indication that she is, to borrow President Trump’s phrase, a “low-IQ individual.” Her interview with Lesley Stahl of CBS’s “60 Minutes,” broadcast Sunday night, is being mocked as the most disastrous televised tete-a-tete since Palin met Couric. [...] Whenever DeVos speaks, it feels as though the sum total of human knowledge is somehow diminished. [...]
Listen to her for five minutes and you will no longer be able to complete the New York Times crossword puzzle. After 10 minutes of DeVos, the human brain loses the ability to perform simple arithmetic. After 15 minutes, those in the presence of DeVos report forgetting the answers to their security questions, including first pet and first car.