Republicans Are Spending More Money But It's Not Getting More Votes

 

New Poll Has Talarico With A 5-Point Lead Over Paxton In Texas Senate Race

 

These charts are from the Texas Public Opinion Research Poll -- done between September 19th and 22nd of a statewide sample of 1,007 likely Texas voters, with a 3.6 point margin of error.

Gas Is Now Very Expensive

Political Cartoon is by R.J. Matson in Roll Call.
 

The United Nations Has Problems - But The World Needs It

The following is just a small part of an excellent article by Nicholas Kristof in The New York Times: 

Sure, bash the United Nations; it often deserves it. But my guess is that millions more children would die every year if it weren’t for UNICEF, the World Food Program, the U.N. Refugee Agency and the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. On balance, that seems a defensible record, no?

Understand also that the U.N. is a crumbling pillar of what is left of this geopolitical global order that the United States helped create after World War II and that has so benefited us and the world. And note that one reason for the infuriating U.N. paralysis and timorousness is that great powers throw their weight around, often vetoing constructive action and, in the case of the United States, slashing budgets as well.

I fear that the paralysis may get worse.

The United Nations is supposed to choose a new secretary general this year, and this is a moment when the world needs a charismatic, outspoken leader who could use the bully pulpit and tackle the globe’s security and humanitarian crises. Sadly, that seems exactly what the United States, China and Russia are determined to avoid.

There is growing concern that Trump, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin may be unable to agree on any of the current candidates for secretary general, and that they will settle on some innocuous dark horse nonentity so mild and inoffensive that the United Nations will be further marginalized and weakened.

The result would very likely be more Ebola outbreaks, more war, more paralysis in confronting the common threats to humanity — and more darkness descending on our planet.

He Wants His Name On Everything

Political Cartoon is by Patrick Chappatte at chappatte.com.
 

Pennsylvania Democrats Strongly Dislike Fetterman

 

The charts above are from the Philadelphia Inquirer / New York Times / Siena College Poll -- done between September 15th and 21st of a sample of 615 Pennsylvania voters. The margin of error is 4.4 points.

The Town Liar

Political Cartoon is by Rob Rogers at Tinyview.com.
 

U.S. Taxpayers Billed For Trump Propaganda Ad

 

There are 3 Major World Crises - Trump Is Making All Of Them Worse

 

Marist Poll Has Talarico With A Six Point Lead Over Paxton In Texas

The chart above is from the Marist Poll -- done between September 17th and 20th of a statewide sample of 1,139 registered Texas voters, with a 4.4 point margin of error. 

The poll also has Hinojosa (D) with a 3 point lead over Abbott (R) in the governor's race, but that is well within the poll's margin of error.

Putin And His Mini-Me Copycat

Political Cartoon is by Adam Zyglis in The Buffalo News.
 

Corruption Has Become An Important Issue In This Election

 

The charts above are from the Change Research Poll -- done between August 8th and 13th of a nationwide sample of 2,045 registered voters, with a 2.3 point margin of error.

Presidents

Political Cartoon is by Pat Bagley at Cagle.com.
 

What Many In Other Countries Think About The U.S. Post-Election Future

From Robert Reich:

I spent much of this week talking with foreign officials who are in the U.S. for United Nations meetings. I was curious to know how they’re strategizing about the United States in the future — assuming Democrats do well in the midterm elections and Trump becomes a lame-duck president. (None of my nine sources were heads of state; my stature doesn’t reach that high. But they were high enough to give me some useful insights.)

Here’s what I learned:

1. Most are thinking past Trump. They believe his influence is already waning, and his bellicose rantings show that he knows it. He’s still dangerous, they say, but not nearly as dangerous as he was, and he’s no longer capable of plunging the world into war. Every one of them told me he’s deeply unpopular in their countries. 

2. They’re thinking in a timeframe of five to 10 years. They see Trump as a temporary phenomenon and assume the United States will “return to its senses.” 

3. But — and here’s the part that concerned me — they’re unsure they can ever again rely on the United States for world leadership. Several pointed out that the fact Americans elected Trump for a second time reveals, in the words of one of them, “there’s something troublesome about your nation that transcends Trump.”

4. Even post-Trump, they see the United States as unstable and unpredictable. They don’t believe the country will fall into civil war, but they worry that policymaking will cycle between extremes because, in the words of another, “your extreme inequality will make it difficult to achieve any longer-term consensus.”

5. As a result, they’re looking ahead to a world where another nation, or group of nations, will take leadership on global issues that need to be addressed, such as climate change, AI, migration, widening inequalities, Putin’s aggression, and disease prevention.

6. Which nation or group? Another official put it to me this way: “We don’t trust China, the U.N. doesn’t work because of its security council, but the EU isn’t strong enough yet. Several of us are hoping that over the next decade the EU will be joined by Canada, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, and that this new EU — really, a World Union — will devise a structure that enables it to work collaboratively and forcefully for the good of the world.”