Nothing New Under the Sun

What to Know: Commentators continue to call the 2020 election—and its outcomes—“unprecedented.”

The TPPF Take: There’s very little that’s truly unprecedented.

“In 1960, U.S. Sen. John F. Kennedy defeated two-term Vice President Richard Nixon in the 1960 presidential election by 303 to 219 electoral votes (with 15 ballots going to Sen. Harry F. Byrd),” says TPPF’s Chuck DeVore. “Nixon ‘lost’ Illinois by 8,858 votes and Texas by 46,257. Had those two narrow losses been overturned, Nixon would have won and America might not have fought and lost the Vietnam War.”

For more on historical election outcomes, click here.

Hide the Bill

What to Know: New rules in the House of Representatives mean that advocates of the Green New Deal won’t have to explain how they’ll pay for it.

The TPPF Take: Exempting the Green New Deal from “pay as you go” rules demonstrates that Democrats know we can’t afford it.

“The House essentially admitted that we can’t afford the Green New Deal and that Democrats don’t want you to know how much it costs, either,” says TPPF’s Katie Tahuahua. “Carving out special treatment for big-government climate programs will give Congress license to spend with abandon on nominally ecofriendly initiatives without the slightest impact on climate change.”

For more on the Green New Deal, click here.

Improve, Don’t Expand

What to Know: Amid continued calls to expand Medicaid, the new Speaker of the Texas House, Dade Phelan, instead calls for improving the existing program.

The TPPF Take: This is the right approach to Medicaid.

“Expanding Medicaid to able-bodied adults would steer resources away from the truly needy, force cuts in other priorities like education and public safety, end private health insurance for nearly half a million Texans, and blow a massive hole in future state budgets,” says TPPF’s David Balat. “Focusing on fixing Medicaid by improving delivery and decreasing delays is the compassionate road forward for those whom the program was intended.”

For more on Medicaid, click here.