DFP's newsletter of our latest polls, memos, and memes.

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Meet the Cheneys

In the aftermath of the election, we’re all asking a lot of questions about what happened and why. But we set out to answer one question in particular from Jon Stewart ([link removed]) : “the Cheney thing, did we really have to do that?”

We worked with our friends at the Progressive Change Institute to conduct a poll ([link removed]) in Michigan (MI) and Pennsylvania (PA) during election week. The polling suggests that Kamala Harris' decision to focus on generating earned media by campaigning with former Republican Representative Liz Cheney in the final days of the race sacrificed enthusiasm among key voters.

Our polling finds that Pennsylvania Independents were 18 points more enthusiastic to vote for Harris when campaigning on economic issues, and 7 points less enthusiastic to vote for Harris when campaigning with Cheney – a swing of 25 points. In Michigan, Independents were 11 points more enthusiastic to vote for Harris when campaigning on economic issues and 7 points less enthusiastic when campaigning with Cheney — a swing of 18 points.

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Voters saw the economy as the most important issue, and they even supported Harris' economic platform, but voters in both states say they heard Trump talk significantly more about the economy than Harris.

Despite the popularity of her agenda, Harris was ultimately unable to convince voters that she, not Trump, would usher in the changes they wanted to see, lower prices, and challenge bad actors and special interests.

Of course, now that Trump has been elected, we’re all anxiously awaiting $6 Chipotle burritos and $7 movie tickets to Wicked. But we’re not holding our breath.

Read the full poll here ([link removed]) .

Here are some other highlights from DFP this week:

A cabinet of deplorables

Now that Donald Trump has nominated Fox News host Pete Hegseth to lead the Department of Defense, we’ve been thinking about all the TV show personalities that could have been appointed to Biden’s cabinet. Kelly Clarkson for Secretary of State? RuPaul for Secretary of Education? Kim Kardashian for Attorney General? Truly a missed opportunity.

Trump has begun announcing his cabinet picks, and they’re so terrible that they’re already lasting less than one Scaramucci ([link removed]) .

But even though the Gaetz have closed on Trump’s first pick for Attorney General, he still has plenty of other controversial nominees that he’s trying to ram through the Senate in a process known as “recess appointments,” which would allow him to appoint his cabinet without confirmation from the Senate. It’s probably because his picks can’t pass the low bar of 53 Republican votes. At this point, the bar has gone so low that it’s basically in Hell.

We find ([link removed]) that a majority of voters (54%) disapprove of recess appointments and believe that “Donald Trump should not be able to appoint his Cabinet without confirmation from the Senate.” Notably, 60% of Independents disapprove of Trump making recess appointments.

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We also find strong disagreement with some of the controversial statements made by Hegseth and Secretary of Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., including:
* Vaccines cause autism (59% disagree)
* Chemicals in the drinking water are causing some children to become gay or transgender (77% disagree)
* The coronavirus vaccine is the deadliest vaccine ever made (56% disagree)
* HIV may not be the cause of AIDS (57% disagree)
* Women should not be allowed to serve in military combat roles (70% disagree)
* Transgender people should not be allowed to serve in military combat roles (56% disagree)

It’s truly a cabinet more ugly and disorganized than the kitchen pantry at your college group home. We didn’t expect anything less.

Read the full poll here ([link removed]) .


The banking industry’s biggest opps

Ah, 2011. It was the year everyone bullied Rebecca Black for no reason and lost their minds over Beyoncé’s baby bump and Adele. It’s also the year that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was established in the aftermath of the 2007-2008 financial crisis, which was truly devastating for the country but also ushered in a fun era of recession pop. ([link removed])

The CFPB does the essential job of regulating mortgages and other consumer finance products to protect consumers from corporate abuse. But much like Melania Trump’s freedom from Christmas decorations ([link removed]) , the CFBP could be on the chopping block in the second Trump term.

New polling ([link removed]) from Data for Progress demonstrates strong public support for recent actions taken by the CFPB to increase competition in the banking sector and protect consumers from unfair medical billing, misuse of financial data, mortgage lending discrimination, and worker surveillance.

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We also find strong support for CFPB actions to reduce abusive medical debt collection practices, like protecting Medicare recipients from illegal and inaccurate bills (88% support) or banning medical bills from people’s credit reports (81% support).

To the less than 10% of Americans who oppose the CFPB’s actions to regulate big banks — did y’all not watch The Big Short? We shouldn’t need Margot Robbie in a bathtub to explain to you why protecting consumers from abusive banking practices is important.

Read the full poll here ([link removed]) .

DFP In The News

POLITICO: Voters just didn’t care’: The abortion-rights movement grapples with Trump’s return ([link removed])

New York Times: The Greatest Cancel Culture Warrior in America Is Donald Trump ([link removed])

The Rolling Stone: The Electoral Problem for Democrats: It’s the Neoliberalism, Stupid ([link removed])

Axios: The game-of-telephone election ([link removed])

Salon: "People are scared": Activists brace for "unprecedented assault on human rights" under Trump ([link removed])

Documented: Immigration News Today: How Big Companies Get Away with Mistreating Undocumented Workers ([link removed])

GGWash: Montgomery County was listening, but mostly heard from Chevy Chase ([link removed])

Nevada Public Radio: The threat of ‘mass deportations’ has many advocacy groups concerned and they’re taking action ([link removed])

Newsweek: Sean Hannity Suggests Solution to Illegal Migrants Crisis ([link removed])

The Guardian: Donald Trump confirms choice of Howard Lutnick as commerce secretary – US politics live ([link removed])

The Wrap: Trump Voters Were Less Likely to Pay Attention to Political News Than Harris Supporters, Polling Shows ([link removed])

On Social
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Meme of the Week
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