RUY TEIXEIRA: Democrats Misunderstand the Suburban Vote.

The Democrats have a plan…sort of. In the face of a dreadful political environment dominated by voters’ negative judgment on Democrats’ economic stewardship and further defined by strong disapproval of Democrats’ approach on issues like crime and immigration, Democrats propose to flip the script by focusing their message on abortion and guns. Here they feel they are on stronger ground and can win the all-important battle for the suburbs.

The idea seems to be that the suburbs are full of liberal, highly-educated voters who are likely to be particularly moved by these issues and turn out against the Republicans. That may be true in some limited areas at the margins but it seems highly unlikely to work in the suburbs writ large for a very simple reason: actually-existing suburban voters are quite different from this caricature.

Start with who actually lives in the suburbs. Contrary to popular perception, less than a third of the suburban vote nationwide is made up of college-educated whites, the presumed locus of appeal for the suburban abortion/guns/very liberal on social issues vote. In fact, about three-fifths of suburban white voters are working class (noncollege).

It is widely misunderstood how vital these voters were to Biden’s victory in 2020. While suburban white college voters shifted around 10 margin points toward Biden, suburban white working class voters also had a solid 5 point pro-Democratic shift. Because of this group’s larger size, their shift toward Biden contributed almost as much to the Democrats’ improved margin over Trump in 2020 as suburban white college voters. . . .

Finally, an issue like abortion rights is vexed for the Democrats by the complications of public opinion on the issue, including in the suburbs. It is undeniably true that suburban voters are opposed to the overturning of Roe v. Wade but it is also true that they are open to significant limits on access to abortion—for example, suburban voters, by 53 percent to 41 percent, say they would favor a law in their state confining access to abortion (except in the case of medical emergency) to the first 15 weeks of a pregnancy. This suggests a contested playing field where Democrats’ ability to mobilize voters around the issue may be hindered by the party’s commitment to more or less unfettered access, which is not particularly popular.

In sum, the Democrats’ plan to turn the election around by targeting suburban voters on abortion rights and gun control seems mathematically challenged and unlikely to work in the current environment. Once again, the Democrats may be basing their strategy around an electorate that they wish existed but does not in the real world. Perhaps after November they will reconsider this approach.

Or not.

AMAZON CALLED OUT AS ‘ANTI-TRANS’ DURING PRIDE FLAG CEREMONY:

LGBTQ groups dislike Amazon chief Jeff Bezos, who has donated millions to support gay groups and same-sex marriage campaigning for well over a
decade. So chances are, you’ll never get on the ‘Nice’ list as common folk.

Just sayin’.

The rainbow-colored claws were out against Bezos yet again on Wednesday when an internal Amazon LGBTQ group (“No Hate at Amazon”) called out the company as an opponent of trans rights and safety for permitting the sale of books deemed “hurtful” toward the transgender community.

Around 30 protestors organized a “die-in” on Wednesday during the Seattle HQ’s raising of the Pride flag. The angry attendees lay on the ground during the ceremony, wrapped in trans flags to protest the alleged violence caused by permitting the “anti-trans” publications.

“Amazon does have standing policies against hate speech in its content and technically, they say we don’t sell it,” said an anonymous protestor via The Washington Post. “But we’ve obviously seen through a number of these books that that’s not the case when it comes to transphobic material.”

Amazon has been criticized for permitting books that have been deemed problematic by the trans community, including “Irreversible Damage” by Abigail Shrier and Matt Walsh’s “Johnny the Walrus.”

Eight-year Amazon senior software engineer, Lina Jodoin, quit her job as part of the outrage.

“As much as it’s about the books being for sale, for me personally, this is also very much about the response that we’ve gotten from leadership as we’ve tried to escalate,” said Jodoin.

Amazon needs to take a cue from Netflix, and steal their “Culture Memo,” and rewrite it with book-related language (or maybe expand it, and keep the existing language to cover Prime Video): Netflix Fires Major Warning Shot At Its Woke Employees With New ‘Culture Memo.’

Variety reports that the change in Netflix’s company culture appears to be in large part due to the backlash the streaming service faced from woke employees last year over its Dave Chappelle special, which the employees claimed was transphobic.

The updated Netflix Culture memo includes a new section called “Artistic Expression” that states that it will not “censor specific artists or voices” even if employees consider the content “harmful.”

“If you’d find it hard to support our content breadth, Netflix may not be the best place for you,” the memo states, later adding that employees may be required to work on projects that they “perceive to be harmful” and that if they have a hard time accepting their work assignment, they might want to consider working somewhere else.

“Entertaining the world is an amazing opportunity and also a challenge because viewers have very different tastes and points of view. So we offer a wide variety of TV shows and movies, some of which can be provocative,” the new section reads, later adding, “we support the artistic expression of the creators we choose to work with” and that “we let viewers decide what’s appropriate for them, versus having Netflix censor specific artists or voices.”

Netflix reportedly fired the leader of a trans organization within the company last October who allegedly organized a walkout to protest the company backing Chappelle over his special “The Closer.”

The Verge reported:

The employee was terminated on suspicion of leaking metrics to the press related to the Dave Chappelle special. Those metrics — about how much Netflix paid for The Closer and how many people it reached — subsequently ended up in a report on Bloomberg. While the employee had shared the metrics internally, they spoke out against the leaks to colleagues, worried they might hurt the walkout movement.

The leaking of internal data is highly unusual at Netflix. While the company prides itself on transparency, employees are told that the culture can only thrive when Netflix data remains internal.

Over to you, Jeff.

SOMETHING SHOULD BE DONE, SINCE THE LEAKER WILL LIKELY BE REWARDED BY THE LEFTY ESTABLISHMENT: Ex-Prosecutor Markus Funk and Judge Virginia Kendall (N.D. Ill.) on Possible Prosecution of S. Ct. Leaker.

POLICIES ARE NOT CHOSEN BASED ON WHAT WORKS:

Or at least, not on what works for the public.

WHY HIRE AN MBA when you can hire a Green Beret?

HEH:

OPEN THREAD: I know we were using her authenticity.

LUXURY BELIEFS: Michael Barone on Politics as the Leisure of the Theory Class.

Politics has increasingly become, for many Americans, the leisure of the theory class. That’s a phrase from the early 20th century sociologist Thorstein Veblen, which I turned on its head in a recent column. He was condemning the showy consumerism of the contemporary rich for having no economically practical purpose. I, on the other hand, was describing the political preoccupations of contemporary people, mainly high-education liberals but also low-education populists, as having no practically achievable goals.

One prime example is the abortion question, which was brought into the political foreground by the leaking of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade. Within 30 days, we’ll see whether this view prevails.

But for most voters, abortion is, increasingly, an abstract concern. Statistics compiled by the pro-abortion rights Guttmacher Institute, and largely relied upon by those with other views, too, show that the abortion rate, or the number of abortions per woman ages 15 to 44, peaked in 1980, just seven years after Roe was handed down. That’s 41 years go. The absolute number of annual abortions in the United States peaked in 1990, 31 years ago, even though the national population has since increased from 250 million to 330 million.

Read the whole thing.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: Chinese astronaut gives hair-washing demonstration in space (video).

HMS BIDEN HITS ICEBERG: Karine Jean-Pierre on latest White House departure: “But not everyone is leaving.”

POWER IS NOT A MEANS; IT IS AN END. ONE DOES NOT ESTABLISH A DICTATORSHIP IN ORDER TO SAFEGUARD A REVOLUTION; ONE MAKES THE REVOLUTION IN ORDER TO ESTABLISH THE DICTATORSHIP: Why is the left so ruthless and so determined to take power and keep it forever?

WAPO: WE ARE ALL SOCIALISTS NOW — Complete with Maoist Struggle Sessions: Washington Post spirals out of control after a writer retweets a ‘reprehensible’ joke about women.

A spokesperson for the Washington Post issued an apology after a writer retweeted a sexist joke and other writers at the news outlet objected vocally on Twitter.

Dave Weigel retweeted a joke about women on Friday and immediately regretted it after he was criticized heavily for joking on Twitter.

Weigel deleted the tweet, but it was saved for posterity by random people on Twitter and other writers at the outlet, like Felicia Sonmez, who objected to the sexist message.

“Every girl is bi. You just have to figure out if it’s polar or sexual,” read the tweet.

“Fantastic to work at a news outlet where retweets like this are allowed!” replied Sonmez sarcastically.

“Or perhaps @daveweigel the correct diagnosis: they’re just not that into you,” responded Stephanie Ruhl, the MSNBC host.

Kristine Coratti Kelly, a Wapo spokesperson, quickly issued an apology for the offensive joke tweet.

“Editors have made clear to the staff that the tweet was reprehensible and demeaning language or actions like that will not be tolerated,” said Kelly.

Live look at the Post’s inter-office discussions:

Also at the Post today: The Washington Post and Taylor Lorenz Lie to Smear (and Maybe Deplatform) Law YouTubers Who Got the Amber Heard Defamation Story Right.

(Classical reference in headline.)

HONESTLY, I THINK THEY’RE MOSTLY HOPING THAT WE’LL JUST IGNORE BIDEN, PERIOD: Are We Just Going to Ignore Biden’s Biggest Whopper in His Shoddy Anti-Gun Address Last Night?

ANSWERING THE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS: A Scientist Explains Why Being Cold Makes You Need to Pee More.

EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY (CONT’D): 2 monkeypox strains in US suggest possible undetected spread. “Genetic analysis of recent monkeypox cases suggests there are two distinct strains in the United States, and officials are considering the possibility the virus has been circulating undetected for some time.”

Two thoughts: (1) If it’s circulating undetected, as Covid did, does that suggest it’s less serious than originally thought, as Covid turned out to be? And (2) Having squandered public trust, the public health people are likely to be ignored.

EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY: Areas around Atlanta see rent increases as high as 83% over last year.

BREAKING: Dave McCormick concedes to Dr. Mehmet Oz #PASEN. “Dr. Oz, a retired heart surgeon, will take on John Fetterman, a candidate who will be off the campaign trail because of a heart problem.”

Speaking of Fetterman: Fetterman’s doctor finally reveals: Yes, he has an underlying heart problem.

WHEELS? Are the Wheels Coming Off the Biden Presidency?

WELL, THIS IS THE 21ST CENTURY, YOU KNOW: Woman gets 3-D printed ear transplant made of her own cells.

HELPFUL ADVICE:

Follow us for more handy tips to #surviveinflation pic.twitter.com/s8AqhTwYRb

— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) March 20, 2022

YEP:

FLORIDA MAN FRIDAY: Love, FedEx and Nude…

It’s a record-breaking edition, among other things.

21st CENTURY RELATIONSHIPS: I’m in a relationship with my 1998 Chevy — and our sex life is so special.

Unlike most people, this driver loves ramming his car.

An Arkansas man known only as Nathaniel — for, uh, privacy reasons — is revving back into the headlines after saying he has “sex” with his 1998 Chevy Monte Carlo.

The randy motorist, 37, revealed he was in a sexual relationship with his racy red automobile back in 2012, when he was featured on an episode of TLC’s “My Strange Addiction.” However, vintage YouTube clips of his bizarre auto erotica are just now going viral — globally.

“I like to lean over his fender and across his hood and kind of press up against him,” Nathaniel said of how he engages in intercourse with his vehicle, which he has gendered as male and affectionately named “Chase.”

“One of the more bold positions is for me to be underneath him,” he added, describing the sexual act as “special.”

Found via Iowahawk — who has questions:

The Lamborghini Miura? Endorsed.

MIDDLE OF SOMEWHERE: Salena Zito: Sisterhood of the Fly Rod.

WELL, THIS IS THE 21ST CENTURY, YOU KNOW: The Navy’s ‘Ghost Fleet’ of Robo-Subs Will Drop Deadly Surprises for Enemies.