Ronald Brownstein

Brownstein, a 2-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist, senior CNN political analyst & author of NYT best-seller Rock Me on the Water

[Ronald Brownstein @RonBrownstein]

#RockMeOnTheWater: how @JacksonBrowne, Linda Ronstadt, the Eagles; Beatty, Nicholson, @Janefonda, Spielberg, Altman; @TheNormanLear Carroll O'Connor, James L. Brooks, Mary Tyler Moore, Jerry Brown & more transformed music, movies, TV & politics in 1974 LA https://t.co/OBqDkFRrwo

[Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum]

Strange how Ukraine prefers to keep its citizens alive instead of helping Trump in the midterms

[Ronald Brownstein @RonBrownstein]

“The national average for diesel stood at roughly $6.32 per gallon Monday, according to AAA — up from about $3.69 at the same time last year, a jump of more than 70%. The surge has also eclipsed the previous record of $5.816 per gallon, set in June 2022” https://t.co/J4FXzhNjOR

[Mike Pence @Mike_Pence]

President Trump’s decision to lift sanctions on Russian fuel amidst Putin’s ongoing and brutal attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine makes no sense and is a betrayal of the legacy and leadership of the late Senator Lindsey Graham.

While Ukraine fights for its survival, Putin’s war machine continues to prosecute his terrorist war on civilian populations and innocent Ukrainians are dying every day.

Now, Instead of implementing the tough sanctions Lindsey Graham fought to his last breath to enact, President Trump has announced the United States is lifting sanctions on Russian energy, fueling the Putin’s war machine.

As I saw firsthand in Ukraine last month, Putin is losing this war. Ukraine has fought the Russian military to a standstill and reinvented warfare with drones taking the fight into the heart of Russia.

America should not be throwing a lifeline to Putin’s war machine. Now is the time to stand strong against Russian aggression as we did during the first Trump administration.

Putin doesn’t want peace. Putin wants Ukraine. I have no doubt that if Putin overruns Ukraine, it will only be a matter of time until Russia’s military crosses a border that our troops will have to deal with him.

America is the Leader of the Free World. For our National Security, for the security of our Allies in Europe including Ukraine, President Trump should rescind this deal immediately and return to the strong policies of our four years in the White House; impose harsh sanctions on any nation purchasing Russian energy and work with our allies to ensure Ukraine has the military support it needs to repel and defeat this Russian invasion once and for all. Slava Ukraini🇺🇸🇺🇦

[Javier Blas @JavierBlas]

COLUMN: Your oil columnist ditched his gasoline car and bought an EV.

“The oil crises of 1973-1979 dramatically reduced the rate of global oil demand growth. Will the current shock do the same? It’s early days, but the parallels are striking.”

@opinion
https://t.co/tuxKIK9ZLb

[Acyn @Acyn]

Trump talks about potentially deploying the military/national guard to New York if Bruce Blakeman is elected

[Matthew Herbert @HerbertMatthewJ]

People don’t realize just HOW MUCH better professional athletes are than “normal” people.

[Leonard Shelby @LeonardShelby6]

@NikkiHaley @RonBrownstein Again, you voted for this.

[David Frum @davidfrum]

Another way to think about Trump announcement today: If he increased US diesel imports from Canada by 4%, he would gain as much fuel as from this Russia deal. But the Canadians are global super-villains, so who wants to buy from them when you could enrich Putin instead?

[Ronald Brownstein @RonBrownstein]

Songwriting yes; prophecy no. Lennon in 80 here on @springsteen: “God help Bruce Springsteen when they decide he’s no longer God….when he gets down to facing his own success and growing older and having to produce it again and again, they’ll turn on him & I hope he survives it”

[Rolling Stone @RollingStone]

John Lennon: The Last Interview

Three days before he died, John Lennon talked with Rolling Stone for nine hours. Celebrate what would have been his 86th birthday by reading this extraordinary conversation.

🔗 https://t.co/NOQLsTgHcu

[Sen. Lisa Murkowski @lisamurkowski]

There is no need to livestream any execution, including this one. I would expect this from terrorists and dictators, but not here in America. It would give this individual, who deserves no further notoriety, the martyrdom he seeks. How we carry out justice matters just as much as the justice itself, so I urge the Pentagon to reverse this gruesome decision.

https://t.co/HtKIy8FpBX

[Ruth Ben-Ghiat @ruthbenghiat]

Historian of fascism here. This is an escalation of an attempt to normalize extreme violence, ritualize violence, militarize the country, and make violence entertaining so when they ask you to commit violence in their name, you will be ready.

[Nikki Haley @NikkiHaley]

Who still carries out public executions:

The Iranian regime
The North Korean regime
The Taliban in Afghanistan
Al-Shabaab in Somalia

That is not the company we want to keep or the country we want to be.

[Collins Watch @CollinsWatch]

Longtime Susan Collins fan and Press Herald columnist @SteveCollinsSJ comes to the conclusion that she hasn't met the moment and isn't up to the job. #MEpolitics

[Ronald Brownstein @RonBrownstein]

Wave meet wall. Hard to stack bricks fast enough

[Inside Politics @InsidePolitics]

Amy Walter explains why Cook is shifting 18 House races towards Dems: "Here we are, 25 days from the election, and it's pretty clear that even all that spending isn't able to stop what is really a building tide here against Republicans."

[Ben Rhodes @brhodes]

Deciding not to talk about climate change anymore doesn't make it go away.

[Michael Beschloss @BeschlossDC]

John Lennon's U.S. green card --- he was born today 1940:

[Ronald Brownstein @RonBrownstein]

It's not only the state-it's that the Trump disapprovers now include more R-leaning voters who are still really reluctant to vote for a D (espec in a red state). As @pgiangreco recently told me, some will hold nose & vote D; some hold nose & vote R; and many just won't vote.

[Neal Cabral @NealCabral]

@RonBrownstein This is where the solid data point of 90% of Trump disapprovers voting D in 18/20 runs into the very real but unspecific Red Wall. What do Trump disapprovers do in these Red states. Anecdotal evidence says some stay home to punish Trump or out of disgust. Is that enough?

[Ronald Brownstein @RonBrownstein]

Trump won't be at 2/3 disapproval in any state w/a competitive Senate race. Maybe 60% or a little more in the blue/purple races. Maybe 55-60% in the red places. Dems will also get some sliver of voters who approve. In Trump 1, they often got 10-15% of approvers. Prob fewer now

[RD @riiuclas8]

@RonBrownstein @DanaBashCNN @CNNInsidePolitx @SenatorCollins Winning three-fourths of two-thirds = 50%

Enough for a win

[Ronald Brownstein @RonBrownstein]

From @MLB: "Turns out Yoshinobu Yamamoto vs. Chris Sale the other day was just the appetizer. This weekend we're ready for the main course: Skubal vs. the Miz." Yes, please (altho these pitchers' duels for the ages have a way of ending up 6-4.)

[Ronald Brownstein @RonBrownstein]

Meanwhile, Trump is at 45% approval in a district where he won 60% of the vote. 46% of men and 63% (!!) of women strongly disapprove-in Stefanik's district.

[Nathaniel Reed @ReedReports]

👀 NEW Siena poll in NY-21 (Retiring Rep. Elise Stefanik's district):

Blake Gendebien (D) 46%
Anthony Constantino (R) 42%
Undecided 8%

Sponsored by local news outlets NBC5 (WPTZ), Times-Union & WAMC, conducted by Siena from Sept 30-Oct 6 among 496 Likely Voters, MOE +/- 4.6%.