It’s Thursday, November 5.
asserted
It → ’ → ?
Joe Klein on whether the Democrats can capitalize on their midterm triumph.
asserted
Democrats → capitalize → triumph
Jesse Arm and Yemisi Egbewole on what a divided Washington will look like.
asserted
Washington → look → what
But first: The highway that explains the midterm results.
asserted
that → explain → results
There was good news for Democrats nationwide on Tuesday, but if you want to understand why they did so well—and what the party needs to do to capitalize on their victory—the legendary political journalist Joe Klein says you must focus not just on one part of the country but a single highway: the I-35 corridor that starts in Laredo, Texas, and winds its way up through Kansas, Iowa, and Minnesota.
asserted
that → be → Kansas
It is, Joe writes, “where the election of 2026 took place, spiritually and politically.”
asserted
election → write → place
It is also “where the governing strategy for the Democratic Party should now reside.”
asserted
strategy → govern → Party
If you want to understand not just what happened on Tuesday but what the next two years hold, read Joe on the I-35 Democrats and the lessons contained in their triumphs.
asserted
years → want → triumphs
It didn’t take long after the blue wave swept the country for one question to rise to the fore among Republicans: Who’s to blame?
asserted
Who → take → Republicans
Some of those Republicans have the cell phone number of Free Press Washington correspondent Audrey Fahlberg, who reports today on the vicious fight to evade responsibility for Tuesday’s GOP disaster.
asserted
who → have → disaster
“On Wednesday, the mood inside the White House was bleak,” reports Audrey.
asserted
Audrey → report → House
“Aides and other officials had expected to lose, but not this badly.”
asserted
Aides → expect → ?
In her piece today, Audrey takes us inside the Trump administration, where aides and cabinet secretaries are already pointing fingers.
asserted
aides → take → fingers
Who’s responsible?
asserted
Who → ’ → ?
And what does it mean for 2028?
asserted
it → mean → 2028
If you ask conservative columnist Michael Brendan Dougherty, the most plausible explanation for Tuesday night’s rout is the simplest: the unpopular war with Iran.
asserted
explanation → ask → Iran
Trump started the fight, writes Michael, made himself personally responsible for its outcome, and ensured his party would bear the cost.
asserted
party → start → cost
Republicans lost power, he argues, because their leader promised to put “America First” and did anything but.
asserted
leader → lose → anything
So where do Republicans go from here?
asserted
Republicans → go → ?
For Rod Dreher, the answer depends on their willingness to clean house.
asserted
answer → depend → house
Some on the radical right, like Nick Fuentes and the Groypers, had backed the Democrats this cycle with the explicit intention of burning the GOP to the ground and rebuilding it in their image.
asserted
Some → back → image
More broadly, an angry faction of young conservatives see the defeat as a reason to embrace white identity politics.
asserted
faction → see → politics
That, says Rod, would be a disaster for the Republican Party, and a disaster for the country.
asserted
Rod → say → country
If anyone is serious about fixing the GOP, argues Rod, they need to make enemies to the right.
asserted
they → fix → right
And for more on the midterms and the beginning of the end of MAGA, read Ross Douthat’s latest column:
Abdul El-Sayed and the Israel Test
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed defeated Republican Mike Rogers in the Michigan Senate race, one of the most hotly contested battles this cycle.
asserted
Sayed → read → battles
Olivia Reingold spent election night at Abdul El-Sayed’s victory party in Detroit—and after the “Free Palestine” chants and victorious whoops died down, she spoke with supporters about what drove them to the polls: gas prices, concerns over “anti-Muslim” rhetoric, and Palestine.
asserted
what → spend → rhetoric
Read her dispatch on what propelled the Muslim progressive firebrand to victory, and why his win signals a seismic shift for the Democratic Party.
asserted
win → read → Party
It’s a peculiar reality that a domestic congressional race had so much to do with Israel—and yet the Jewish state has for years been a proxy fight for the domestic grievances of both political parties.
asserted
state → ’ → parties
At issue in particular is U.S. aid to Israel, which Trump addressed early Tuesday with the announcement that America would pause $4 billion in military aid by the end of 2026.
asserted
America → address → 2026
Liel Leibovitz, a staunch defender of Israel, has long argued in favor of ending the funding.
asserted
Leibovitz → argue → funding
But the way Trump’s decision came about, he writes today, makes it impossible to “consider the statement as anything but a last-minute campaign stunt.
asserted
it → come → stunt
Read his piece to understand why—and why he says the midterm results may actually be an opportunity to establish a new, and better, framework for the U.S.-Israel alliance.
uncertain
results → read → alliance
What Comes Next for a Divided Washington?
asserted
What → come → Washington
Now that the Democrats will have wide margins in both houses, the question is: What will they do with them?
asserted
they → have → them
And how will Trump operate in a divided Washington?
asserted
Trump → operate → Washington
, tune in to the latest conversation between two of our favorite Washington insiders (don’t worry, it’s a short list).
asserted
it → tune → insiders
Democratic consultant Yemisi Egbewole and Jesse Arm of the conservative think tank the Manhattan Institute talk through what happened on Tuesday, and what is coming next in the capital.
asserted
what → talk → capital
The Dow surged 1,500 points on Wednesday following the Democratic victory in both houses of Congress, with the S&P 500 seeing its largest daily gain in months.
asserted
Dow → surge → months
Meanwhile, shares of Elon Musk’s Tesla and Space X dropped by three and four percent, respectively.
asserted
shares → drop → percent
The two companies are exploring a merger, which could run into problems with a Democratic Congress.
uncertain
which → explore → Congress
…and 9 more, not listed.
The Aporia
