[The Soup Nazi]

...cont'd

In the United States, though, socially illiberal voters who want a strong safety net for themselves have effectively no representation. Donald Trump made a play for such voters in 2016, posing as a different kind of Republican, but once in office he slashed taxes for the rich and tried to kill Obamacare. If Republicans win one or both houses of Congress next month, they’ve already signaled that they will use the debt limit to try to blackmail the Biden administration into cutting Social Security and Medicare.

So even as we marvel at Truss’s political obtuseness, we should ask what it is about the United States that prevents the emergence of anyone catering to a large bloc of voters who want the nastiness of MAGA without the right-wing economics.

Quick Hits

Buyer’s remorse.

The Tories may bring Boris Johnson back.

“When I drive into fog, I slow down.”

Gas prices are heading lower again.