Last week, Ted Cruz, the unexpectedly endangered Republican senator from Texas, warned that Beto O’Rourke, his Democratic opponent, would turn the state into California, with “tofu and silicone and dyed hair.” Does Cruz really think every blonde in Texas – and every middle-age man with remarkably little gray – is natural, and nobody has had work done?
Meanwhile, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia – which went for Donald Trump by 40 points – seems to have the edge in his re-election campaign. His secret weapon? Defense of the Affordable Care Act, which drastically reduced the number of uninsured residents in his state.
These two races epitomize how the 2018 campaign is playing out. On one side, Republicans are running almost entirely on identity politics – white identity politics – rather than policy.
On the other side, Democrats are running on policy issues, above all health care, promising to protect people with pre-existing conditions while also protecting and perhaps expanding Medicare.
But politicians make lots of promises, which are often empty. For example, Republicans promised that the Trump tax cut would lead to soaring wages, which hasn’t happened. So are Democrats really credible on health care?