Welcome to Liberty Nation's Daily Snapshot. All the top news of the day, the latest polls, and more.
What's happening in the political sphere - the hot stories making the news today.
- The White House is exploring the idea of setting up a commission to investigate allegations of anti-conservative bias and censorship practiced by tech companies. "Left-wing bias in the tech world is a concern that definitely needs to be addressed from our vantage point, and at least exposed [so] that Americans have clear eyes about what we're dealing with," the Wall Street Journal quotes a White House Official as saying.
- President Trump's 2020 campaign is planning to capitalize on opponent Joe Biden's "you ain't black" comment, made to a black radio talk show host on May 22. Team Trump has already posted to Twitter a video montage featuring shots of black Trump supporters interspersed with the clip of Biden saying those three little words.
- House Democrats aren't quite yet calling for a do-over of the Robert Mueller investigation into Russian election interference, but it appears that one or two of them are suggesting the special counsel was, essentially, pressured by Trump into wrapping the probe up too early. Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) have both been conducting public post mortems of the investigation. The implication is that, but for the president's constant complaints about the special counsel – along with his refusal to fully co-operate with Mueller – the final conclusions may have been different.
The latest polls and trends impacting the United States.
- According to a Gallup survey released May 21, 65% of Americans say they had avoided public places in the previous seven days. This figure is down from 71% the week before and from 78% in mid-April.
- Would it surprise anyone that most Americans say they've been very good about social distancing? 90% of Americans answering a recent survey awarded themselves an "A" (excellent) or a "B" (good). Only 35% graded their neighbors "A" and another 35% gave their neighbors a "B" on social distancing.
- In the run-up to the 2020 election, RealClearPolitics currently projects 213 seats in the House of Representatives for the Democratic Party, and 190 seats for the Republicans. The site rates 32 seats as toss-ups.
Something political to ponder as you enjoy your morning coffee.
For the past couple of months, state and local leaders across the country have made the most of their flirtation with fascism. The party's almost over now, though – which is ironic, since for a lot of Americans, the party is about to begin. These officials are now struggling to hold back the tide of reopenings, and it is worth acknowledging the fact that, having complied initially with the draconian new rules, the American people themselves hastened the relaxing of them. Trump has vowed that the country will not shut down again, even if there are signs of a resurgence of COVID-19. That leaves the pro-shutdown camp with one last option; to try to force everyone to wear masks and force small businesses – particularly in the service industry – to adopt strict new operating rules. It's this "new normal" at which they have been hinting. The effect of this "new normal" might be the creation of parallel economies, in which the counties and states that continue restrictions will wither as those that return to the old normal flourish.
A thought for the day from history's most interesting thinkers.
I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.
- James Madison
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