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Conservative Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin has a warning for Republicans: you're losing.
Writing Thursday, Rubin noted that if Republicans thought they could use the same playbook they did to attack former President Barack Obama, they're sadly mistaken. That hasn't stopped them from trying, though.
"When you look at what actual voters think, it is the GOP (which has shrunk to 25 percent of the electorate, according to Gallup polling) who dug itself into a hole," she explained. Citing the Morning Consult-Politico poll, Rubin noted that Biden's approval is at 60 percent and only 37 percent disapproval, winning over independents 52 percent to 40.
"Republicans' quibbling about the definition of infrastructure has largely fallen on deaf ears," Rubin explained. "Voters generally have more expansive definitions for infrastructure, which in their minds includes schools (70 percent say it's infrastructure), child care (53 percent), manufacturing (69 percent), water pipes (78 percent), Internet (68 percent), housing (69 percent). Biden's overall plan gets 57 percent approval, with only 24 percent disapproval. Mention an increase in corporate taxes, and support climbs to 62 percent."
Axios reported on a focus group with swing voters Wednesday night that revealed a similar understanding. They too understand that infrastructure is broader than just roads and bridges. Interestingly, they said that they wanted to see a bipartisan plan. What wasn't asked, however, is whether they would refuse any infrastructure package if it wasn't bipartisan.
While infrastructure is the top bill on the Biden agenda, Americans also stand with him on gun safety laws. A whopping 83 percent of Americans want background checks and 64 percent want a ban on assault-style weapons. Similarly, 65 percent want to ban high-capacity magazines. There's overwhelming support for mandatory waiting periods, raising the age to buy guns to 21 and so-called "red flag" laws that would remove guns from those having mental illness episodes. While elected Democrats overwhelmingly support regulations on guns, Sen. Joe Manchin (R-WV) is holding up the ability to win any meaningful safety laws.
Democrats are also feeling empowered to vote in the 2022 midterm elections where Republicans are seeing a depressed interest.
Rubin closed with a reminder to the president's foes: "Republicans and the media have continually underestimated Biden and his team. They should take a look at the scoreboard."
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Former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin on Thursday invoked his 5th Amendment rights and said he would not testify at his trial for the murder of George Floyd.
Via CNN's Jim Sciutto, Chauvin also emphasized that it was his own decision to not testify at the trial.
With Chauvin's announcement, the defense in the trial officially rested its case.
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Paul Manafort's longtime associate Konstantin Kilimnik was sanctioned by the U.S. government for providing polling data to Russian intelligence during the 2016 election.
The Russian-Ukrainian political consultant was indicted in 2018 as part of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation for carrying out election interference on behalf of the Kremlin, and the Treasury Department state for the first time Thursday that Kilimnik had provided Russia with sensitive polling data before the 2016 election, reported Axios.
Today's sanctions on Kilimnik go way further on what happened to the Trump '16 polling data: Treasury now says that… https://t.co/NzwVTXISFd— Josh Kovensky (@Josh Kovensky)1618494308.0
That completes a key link between Mueller's investigation and one conducted by the Senate Intelligence Committee, which found that Donald Trump's campaign chairman Paul Manafort tried to pass sensitive internal polling data and campaign strategy to Kilimnik.
Remember, Mueller could not determine what Kilimnik did with the data Manafort provided him. From the Mueller report: pic.twitter.com/USzZgQqUPM
— Justin Hendrix (@justinhendrix) April 15, 2021
The committee obtained some information that suggested Kilimnik "may have been connected" to Russia's hacking and leaking of Democratic emails, but those findings were largely redacted in the public report.
Kilimnik, who is wanted by the FBI for obstruction of justice, provided sensitive data to Russian intelligence as part of his efforts to blame Ukraine for the hacks and return former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych to power.
Manafort, who was pardoned by Trump in the final weeks of his presidency, worked as a political consultant to Yanukovych for nearly a decade.
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