This Day in History | 1957

The Soviet Union launches Sputnik II with the dog Laika, the first animal in space, aboard.

Good morning Middle Americans,

House speaker Nancy Pelosi has a message for the Elizabeth Warrens and Bernie Sanders of the world, also known as the front-runners of the 2020 Democratic primary field  You can’t do anything unless you win.  That is the first rule of politics after all. As the great Conservative scholar Thomas Sowell says, “No one will really understand politics until they understand that politicians are not trying to solve our problems.  They are trying to solve their own problems — of which getting elected and re-elected are No. 1 and No. 2.  Whatever is No. 3 is far behind”.

Was Trump booed again at another major sporting event? Depends on who’s social media video you watch. We have a round up below.  Also the videos are a good reminder of how divided we have become as a nation. 

Pelosi Worried 2020 Candidates Are on Wrong Track

(Bloomberg) – Speaker Nancy Pelosi is issuing a pointed message to Democrats running for president in 2020: Those liberal ideas that fire up the party’s base are a big loser when it comes to beating President Donald Trump.

Proposals pushed by Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders like Medicare for All and a wealth tax play well in liberal enclaves like her own district in San Francisco but won’t sell in the Midwestern states that sent Trump to the White House in 2016, she said.

“What works in San Francisco does not necessarily work in Michigan,” Pelosi said at a roundtable of Bloomberg News reporters and editors on Friday. “What works in Michigan works in San Francisco — talking about workers’ rights and sharing prosperity.”

“Remember November,” she said. “You must win the Electoral College.”

Read more from Bloomberg here

Trump Booed and Cheered at UFC Fight

(The Hill) – President Trump was welcomed into Madison Square Garden Saturday night with heavy booing from the crowd. The president was at the arena to watch the main fight of UFC 244. This is the second time in six days that the president has been heavily booed during a public appearance.

Which were louder, the boos or the cheers? Find out here

New Polls Show How Much Americans Hate Each Other

(The Atlantic) – Americans’ views on impeachment are neatly split along partisan lines. The latest polling averages, tracked by the website FiveThirtyEight, show that 84 percent of Democrats now support impeachment, close to the highest level since at least August 2018, when the site started collecting polls on the issue. By contrast, only 11 percent of Republicans support impeachment, a number that has stayed fairly consistent over the past year and a half. This gulf in Democrats’ and Republicans’ views is more than just partisanship, however. It’s the latest evidence that political tribalism has taken over nearly every part of American life.

Read more about the deep political divisions in America here