Tuesday’s Forum
Steven L. Taylor
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Tuesday, May 12, 2026
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3 comments
About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a Professor Emeritus of Political Science and former College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored
A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog).
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Inflation up 3.8%, and a new CNN poll finds that 76% (!!!!) of Americans say cost of living is their biggest economic concern.
That 3.8% increase is going to look quaint in a couple of months if this war of choice in Iran continues. I’m not sure that even Republican shenanigans on redistricting are going to help them much if this pattern holds through to, say, August/September. By then it will be baked into voters’ minds, even if the administration decides it wants to turn the ship around.
Also, all of the money Trump is spending on nonsense sh!t like painting the bottom of the reflecting pool and ballroom (now with a $1 billion taxpayer price tag) is not going to resonate well with voters. These are easy-to-understand excess/unnecessary costs. You don’t renovate the living room if you can’t afford to buy gas.
Prediction: These ships will never be made. But not before a lot of cash is burned and paper plans are produced.
Trump Class Battleships Will Be Nuclear Powered
They are already making up as they go.
It will take the Navy til 2028 just to define the “operational requirements” for this. The “technical requirements” needed for contracting will take a lot longer. So far all we have is a marketing brochure.
I have no expectations about the upcoming Xi-Trump meeting other than some bland photoops. War, peace, tariffs, and Taiwan are issues on which neither side is prepared to cede an inch. Will Chinese support for Iran change? They will want a big US concession for that.
If we make Venezuela the 51st state, we’ll be sure to win the World Baseball Classic next time.