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Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) said Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that he is “not clear” on the Biden administration’s position on Israel’s war with Hamas. Partial transcript as follows: MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to pick up on this same topic we’ve been talking about in terms of the developing policy, because you have been pressing for the White House to act- act on the President’s own standards for national security, and to hold Israel to account in terms of possibly conditioning military aid. Were you clear on what the White House position is?

Democrats would not have had such a good election night without the support of independent voters. ...Despite plenty of polling this year showing that independents were, like Republicans, primarily concerned with the state of the economy and inflation, they ended up making nuanced decisions in key statewide races — and that worked to benefit Democrats.... ...Perhaps the most confounding result for pundits across the spectrum was how the negative perception voters, and especially independents, had of President Joe Biden’s job performance and the state of the economy did not translate into a massive swing for Republicans. But voters weren’t viewing...

Democratic consultant and political commentator James Carville said Tuesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that Democrats needed to improve their messaging for the 2024 presidential election. Co-host Joe Scarborough asked, “So, James, we don’t know what’s going to happen today. I’m already hearing reports Democrats are feeling pretty good in some places. We’ve got a Republican Senate candidate who’s supposed to win easily. I’m hearing he’s very concerned, especially in the suburbs, that they may be breaking against Republicans. We don’t know who’s going to win. That said, looking ahead to 24, what can Democrats learn, regardless of outcome, about how...

On Monday, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich outlined how President Joe Biden’s policies were hurting the Democrats ahead of the upcoming midterm elections. Gingrich told FNC’s “Fox & Friends” that there was not “any messaging” the Biden administration could utilize to help them positively spin the president’s cognitive ability, the continued push for masking, inflation and rising crime rates across major cities.

Democrats, who have continuously had messaging problems through the current election cycle, have now blamed messaging itself for their failures months before the general election. Democrats across the country are claiming they have “done a lousy job at highlighting their accomplishments in a year plus of unified power in Washington” and are using that as the source of their problems leading up to the November midterm elections, according to the Hill. In fact, the Democrats believe they are in so much trouble that one strategist told the Hill, “I’m not going to BS. We’ve done a f—ing horrible job, and...

Democrats, who have continuously had messaging problems through the current election cycle, have now blamed messaging itself for their failures months before the general election. Democrats across the country are claiming they have “done a lousy job at highlighting their accomplishments in a year plus of unified power in Washington” and are using that as the source of their problems leading up to the November midterm elections, according to the Hill.

President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced a revamped infrastructure messaging scheme to tout across America as the 2022 midterms approach. With the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill signed into law in November, Biden is intending to sell the legislation across America to drum up support for Democrats’ retention of congressional majorities.

House Democrats acknowledge they weren't very effective at selling their $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan to the general public. Now, they're hoping to improve on those mistakes with their mammoth climate and social spending package. While President Biden's Build Back Better Act still has a tough road in the Senate, House Democrats have already begun holding a series of roundtable discussions, site visits, in-person and virtual town halls and news conferences across the country highlighting individual pieces of the roughly $2 trillion package. The idea is to break it up into smaller bite-size chunks - things like child care, climate...

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said his optimism on a bipartisan infrastructure bill was “short-lived” following President Joe Biden’s remarks that he would consider vetoing the bill if it doesn’t include a sweeping reconciliation package. His comments came shortly after Biden endorsed the bipartisan deal to spend $1.2 trillion over eight years before stating that “If only one comes to me, this is the only one that comes to me, I’m not signing it“ McConnell accused Biden of “caving” to the far left following the bipartisan breakthrough and offering mixed messaging on the matter.

The White House on Monday blocked President Joe Biden from speaking with reporters about a signature administration effort on entitlements. The Biden administration kicked off a messaging push to promote the child tax credit, but Biden was not scheduled to speak to reporters. Families will begin receiving monthly payments in their bank accounts of $250 or more per child beginning in July, a massive entitlement program that comes as part of Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus rescue plan. Biden was not part of the White House’s number one messaging strategy of the day. His daily schedule for Monday only featured a...

If you listen to some skeptics of the COVID-19 vaccines, you'll hear various doubts about effectiveness and safety, which have not been validated by the data. To the contrary, the vaccines are working miraculously well and have been proven safe among many millions of recipients across the world. Another argument that certain fence-sitters may advance is that the government isn't eager to give up control over people's lives anyway, so why bother getting a set of injections against a virus that probably won't kill you -- especially if the Powers That Be won't allow your life to return to normal...

Like many others who have been glued to political blogs and podcasts since election night, I have been constantly checking for any news that might "break the dam" and, effectively, "stop the steal" in it's tracks. And like many others, it's been a 7 week long emotional rollercoaster, with some occasion highs, but an overall sense of frustration and anger. After weeks of public hearings, rumors about gunfights between the CIA and Special Forces, speculation about the DNI report, Electoral college challenges, SCOTUS, etc, etc, I feel that it's time to take a step back, recalibrate, and try to see...

President-elect Joe Biden named Ron Klain, a lawyer and former President Barack Obama’s “Ebola czar,” to serve as his White House chief of staff. “Ron has been invaluable to me over the many years that we have worked together, including as we rescued the American economy from one of the worst downturns in our history in 2009 and later overcame a daunting public health emergency in 2014,” Biden said in a Wednesday statement distributed by his transition team. ... Klain has additionally been extremely critical of President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. In March, he gave the federal...

Dive Brief: The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has awarded Jacobs Engineering Group a 10-year, multimillion dollar contract to design an active traffic management (ATM) system for Interstate 76 through Philadelphia, according to Traffic Technology Today. Jacobs' services for the Schuylkill Expressway will include preliminary and system engineering, design, analysis of alternatives, right-of-way acquisition and construction consultancy.The final ATM system could include occasional use of the shoulder, connected vehicle technology, variable speed limit signage and traffic jam detection and alerts. PennDOT could also implement features like ramp metering, junction control, dynamic lane assignments, and multimodal strategies in tandem with shoulder use....

"In Al-Bukamal, we destroyed 116 tanker trucks, which we believe will reduce ISIL's ability to transport its stolen oil products," Warren said. "This is our first strike against tanker trucks, and to minimize risks to civilians, we conducted a leaflet drop prior to the strike. We did a show of force, by -- we had aircraft essentially buzz the trucks at low altitude." The leaflets, which fluttered to the ground about 45 minutes before the strikes, simply said: "Get out of your trucks now, and run away from them. Warning: airstrikes are coming. Oil trucks will be destroyed. Get away...

Guns are becoming the prop of choice in campaign ads around the country this midterm year. Take it as another sign that the Obama administration’s gun control push is running aground: Firearms have become this year’s go-to accessory for candidates of both parties seeking to advertise their toughness and willingness to fight.

Whether you like it or not, in politics, the aggressor usually shapes the debate. This means that, in terms of political messaging, it’s best to be on offense so that you can advance your agenda on your own terms and on your own schedule. The reverse scenario is that you get blindsided and are forced to respond to your opposition. The more unprepared someone is to respond, the less effective their response will be, and the more likely that they’re constantly playing defense. In American politics, liberals (excuse me, “progressives”) are usually the aggressors. Generally speaking, it's liberals who want...

Official: White House seeks Syria response 'just muscular enough not to get mocked' By Justin Sink - 08/28/13 12:45 PM ET A U.S. official briefed on the military options being considered by President Obama told the Los Angeles Times that the White House is seeking a strike on Syria "just muscular enough not to get mocked." "They are looking at what is just enough to mean something, just enough to be more than symbolic," the official told the paper, giving credence to similar reports describing a limited military strike in the aftermath of last week's alleged chemical weapons attack. NBC...

News flash for conservatives, Christians, libertarians or anyone in America who embraces traditional values, the rule of law, common sense, basic math, a more secure nation or politicians who put you and your family first: You have lost or are losing across the board. Period. With the re-election of Barack Obama — and he and his campaign should be congratulated for not only running a winning campaign but, more importantly, for also exploiting the weaknesses created by the nanny-state — there is now no more mystery or doubt. Liberal ideology rules supreme in our country and to say otherwise, is...

With just over four months to go before the election, and Republicans ravening to make health care a frontline issue, the Obama campaign still appears to be pursuing a "wishful thinking" strategy. They are simply wishing that the Affordable Care Act, the president's signature domestic achievement, would go away now that the Supreme Court has delivered what they hope is a "final answer," to quote White House Chief of Staff Jacob Lew. "I don't think the American people want to have this debate again," Lew said on Fox News Sunday, reflecting the "let's move on" approach reported by National Journal's...