The Washington Post National Weekly - November 11, 2018 by The Wenatchee World

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Election on Election 2018: The The2018: The White, aftermath math aftermath How the and inHouse the was won

use wasHow wonwhat’s the House was and ahead forwon a ahead for and a what’s ahead for a divided nation Pages 3-17 on Pages divided 3-17 nation Pages 3-17 Pages 8-14 Inside a rural chicken plant, they struggle to fit in.

the minority

What’s next Parties gird for battle 4

Looking to 2020: Suburban voters are key 16 5 Myths Saudi Arabia 23

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THE FIX THE FIX

Making history in theinmidterms Making history the midterms

Rashida Tlaib/Ilhan Omar: First Muslim women in Rashida CongressTlaib/Ilhan Omar: First Muslim in Congress Tlaib ran unopposed in the women general eleche results of the midterm election Tlaib unopposed results of the midterm election tion, all but guaranteeing the ran former Michi- in the general elecushered in one of thehemost diverse tion,inallCongress. but guaranteeing the former Michiin one of the most diverse gan state legislator a seat Omar groups of politiciansushered in American gan state a seat in Congress. Omar groups of politicians in American is already a barrier breaker — legislator in 2016, she history. Though Andrew Gillum, the is already a barrier breaker — in 2016, she history. Though Andrew Gillum, the became the first Somali American legislator Democrat running for governor of Florida, became the first Somali American legislator Democrat running for governor of Florida, in the country. She will now hold that was headed toward a recount on Friday and in the country. She will now hold that was headed a recount on Friday and distinction in Congress. Stacey Abrams was challenging thetoward reported distinction in Congress. Staceyother Abrams was challenging the reported results in Georgia, many candidates results in gender, Georgia, many other candidates Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: America’s became the first person of their race, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: America’s became to thebefirst person youngest woman elected to Congress ethnicity or sexual orientation elected to of their gender, race, youngest woman elected to Congress ethnicity or sexual orientation to be elected to At age 29, Ocasio-Cortez of New York seizes their positions in their states, or in some AtStefanik, age 29, Ocasio-Cortez of New York seizes theirthey positions the record from Rep. Elise who was cases, in the country. Here are. in their states, or in some record Rep. Elise Stefanik, who was cases, in the country. Here they are. elected at age 30 inthe 2014. Shefrom became a elected at age 30 in 2014. She became a Ayanna Pressley: Massachusetts’ progressive star after her upset primary Pressley: Massachusetts’ progressive star after her upset primary first black woman Ayanna in Congress victory over Rep. Joseph Crowley, a highfirst black woman in CongressKEREM YUCEL/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES victory over Rep. Joseph Crowley, a highranking House Democrat. Pressley’s seat was all but assured after she KEREM YUCEL/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES ranking House Democrat. Pressley’s seat was all but assured she upset longtime Democratic incumbent Milhan Omar,after newly elected to the House, upset longtime Democratic incumbent Milhan Omar, newly elected to the House, Kristi L. Noem: First female chael E. Capuano in Massachusetts’ 7th speaks to supporters in Minneapolis, L. Noem: First female chaelunopposed. E. Capuano in Massachusetts’ 7th speaks to supporters in Minneapolis, governor of South Kristi Dakota District. She won Tuesday governor of South Dakota District. She won Tuesday woman unopposed. During the campaign, the Republican to represent Connecticut in Congress. During the campaign, the Republican woman to Santos, represent in Congress. Marsha Blackburn: First woman acknowledged the historic potential of her She beat her opponent, Manny byConnecticut 11 Marsha Blackburn: First woman acknowledged the historic potential of her She beat her opponent, Manny Santos, bypreferred 11 elected to the Senate from Tennessee candidacy, but to focus on issues points. elected to the Senate from Tennessee candidacy, preferred to focus on issues points. rather than gender. The currentbut congressBlackburn, a Republican member of Conrather thanpoints. gender. The current congressa during Republican member of ConDeb Haaland/Sharice Davids: First woman beat Billie Sutton by four gress who aligned herselfBlackburn, with Trump Deb Haaland/Sharice Davids: First woman beat Billie Sutton by four points. gress who aligned herself with Trump during women Native American in Congress this race, defeated popular former governor Native American women in Congress this race, defeated popular former governor Cindy Axne/Abby Finkenauer: Haaland has a long history in New Mexico Phil Bredesen (D) by 10 points. She inherits a Haaland has atribes. long history in New Mexico Phil Bredesen (D) by 10 points. inherits Iowa’s first womenCindy in theAxne/Abby U.S. HouseFinkenauer: state She politics and aworking with native seat held by Sen. Bob Corker, a Trump critic. Iowa’s first women in the U.S. House state politics and working with native tribes. seat held by Sen. Bob Corker, a Trump critic. Iowa has sent women to the Senate and She was able to defeat her opponent, Janice sentHouse women to the Senate and She was able to defeat hergovernor’s opponent,mansions, Janice butIowa Jared Polis: The first openly gay neverhas to the Arnold Jones, by 22 points. Davids, a lawyer Jared Polis: The first openly gay governor’s mansions, but never to the House Arnoldfirst Jones, by 22gay points. Davids, a lawyer That man elected governor of Representatives. changed Tuesday, who will also be Kansas’ openly man elected governor of Representatives. That changed Tuesday, who will also be Kansas’ first openly gay when two women defeated GOP incumbents. member of Congress, defeated incumbent Then-New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevy came when two women defeated GOP incumbents. member of Congress, defeated incumbent Then-New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevy came Kevin Yoder by nine points. out as gay while he was in office, and Oregon Kevin Yoder by nine points.Janet Mills: Maine’s first female outisasbisexual, gay whilewon he was Gov. Kate Brown, who in in office, and Oregon Janet Mills: Maine’s first female Kateman Brown, who bisexual, won in governor Escobar/Sylvia Garcia: 2016, but Polis will beGov. the first to win a isVeronica governor Veronica Escobar/Sylvia Garcia: 2016, but Polis will be the first man to win a Texas’ first Latinas in Congress Mills, the state’s attorney general, has won governorship (Colorado) as an out gay man. Texas’ first Latinas in Congress Mills, the state’s attorney general, has won governorship (Colorado) as an out gay man. the governorship, checking another state off a Escobar, an El Paso County judge, and the governorship, checking another state off a Escobar, an El Paso County judge, and Jahana Hayes: Connecticut’s first long list that has never had a female chief Garcia, afirst state senator and former Harris Jahana Hayes: Connecticut’s long list that has never had a female chief Garcia, a state senator and formern Harris black woman in Congress executive. County commissioner, make history in a state black woman in Congress executive. County commissioner, n that is nearly 40 percent Hispanic or Latino. make history in a state Hayes, a teacher, becomes the first black ©The Washington Post that is nearly 40 percent Hispanic or Latino. Hayes, a teacher, becomes the first black ©The Washington Post

B Y K AYLA E PSTEIN

AND E UGENE S COTT B Y K AYLA E PSTEIN AND

E UGENE S COTT

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This publication was prepared by editors at The This publication was prepared Washington Post for printing and distribution by our by editors at The Washington PostAll forarticles printingand and distribution by our partner publications across the country. publications across columns have previouslypartner appeared in The Post or onthe country. All articles and have previously appeared in The Post or on washingtonpost.com andcolumns have been edited to fit this and have been editedPOLITICS to fit this format. For questions orwashingtonpost.com comments regarding content, format. For questions or acomments regarding content, please e-mail weekly@washpost.com. If you have BOOKS If youOPINION have a question about printing please quality,e-mail wish toweekly@washpost.com. subscribe, or question about printing quality, wish to subscribe, or would like to place a hold on delivery, please contact your FIVE MYTHS woulddepartment. like to place a hold on delivery, please contact your local newspaper’s circulation newspaper’s circulation department. © 2018 The Washington Post /local Year 5, No. 5 © 2018 The Washington Post / Year 5, No. 5

WEEKLY WEEKLY

CONTENTS

ON THE COVER A women takes her CONTENTS ON THE COVER A women takes her

voting — and accessories — and accessories — seriously at the Galleria voting Mall in—Las 4 seriously at the Galleria Mall in Las POLITICS 4 Vegas on Tuesday. Photo by 18 18 forVegas MIKAYLA WHITMORE The on Tuesday. Photo by 20 BOOKS MIKAYLA WHITMORE for The Washington Post 20 23 OPINION Washington Post FIVE MYTHS 23

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TOM TOLES TOM TOLES

OPINIONS OPINIONS

OPINIONS

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In Khashoggi case, will Trump listen to the CIA? MICHAEL MORELL is a Washington Post contributing columnist. He was deputy director of the CIA from 2010 to 2013 and twice its acting director during that period.

Getting Getting Washington Washington out out of of D.C. D.C. MITCH MITCH DANIELS DANIELS is a Washington Post is a Washington Post contributing columnist. contributing columnist. He is president of Purdue He is president Purdue University and aofformer University a former governor ofand Indiana. governor of Indiana.

compound would mean for U.S.A robust process for Pakistan relations, whether formulating that response would out bininLaden would lead include considerable work by the Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perduetaking announced August that he his followers to conduct attacks Central Intelligence Agency. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced in August that he wanted to move the Economic Research Service and the National onWashington U.S. interests, should the In thetoearly days of his first Research wanted the Economic Service and ,the National Institute ofmove Food and Agriculture out of toand, places where raid result in bin Laden’s death, term, President George W. Bush Institute ofscholarship Food and Agriculture out Washington , to places whereis the type of they rely on is of centered. Now the department how the various options for myis toldtype me that the CIA had two the of scholarship they rely on centered. Now the department considering proposals submitted byisinterested parties (including disposing of the body would play roles in serving him. The first, considering submitted by interested parties (including my university) toproposals host the headquarters for those subagencies. in the Muslim world. By the end obvious to most people, was to university) to host the headquarters for those subagencies. of the policy process, a thick uncover clandestine information briefing book contained the the president needed to know to sprawling assets somewhere that You might assume that such a answers to these questions and keep the nation secure. sprawling assets of somewhere Youwould mightbe assume thatas such isn’t the District Columbia?that move regarded a a dozens of others. The second — less obvious but isn’t the District of Columbia? move would be regarded a The Economic Research Service common-sense exercise inassound I hope President Trump is just as critical — was for the CIA The Economic Research Service common-sense exercise in sound and the National Institute of Food administrative and academic utilizing all the CIA has to offer to provide him with all the and the Nationaltogether Institute of Food administrative and academic Agriculture practice. But you would be wrong while thinking through the context and perspective he and Agriculture together practice. youeyes would be wrong comprise less than 1 percent of — at leastBut in the of the client Khashoggi case. Of course, the needed to make informed foreign comprise less than 1 percent of — at least in the eyes of the client totalshould Agriculture Department organizations that seek funding CIA be collecting its own policy decisions. total Agriculture Department organizations that seek funding employees, a large majority of from these mini-bureaucracies. intelligence and providing it to These two roles have always employees, a large majority of in from mini-bureaucracies. whom already work elsewhere Their protests came promptly the White House and Congress. struckthese me as excellent mission whom already work elsewhere in Their protests came promptly the country. The Centers for and loudly after Perdue’s For instance: statements for the operational the country. Centers for for and after Perdue’s Disease Control Prevention, announcement. What was The the and Saudis’ plan and loudly analytic sides of the CIA, Disease Control and Prevention, announcement. one ofKhashoggi the more respected and The Housing Assistance when walked into respectively — and presidents one ofconsulate thefederal morein respected and Theused Housing effective agencies, is Council complained moving their Istanbul? (CIA have both. Assistance The that two roles effective federal agencies, is Council complained that moving headquartered in Atlanta. the Economic Research Service Director Gina Haspel may well were, for example, fully headquartered in Atlanta. the Economic Research Service The idea of getting Washington away from by Washington yet already know, since she harnessed the Barack“is Obama The idea of getting away from Washington “is yet out of Washington hasWashington come another way rural voices will be reportedly has listened to a up administration as we closed in out of Washington has come up another way rural will be periodically In 2002, out of earshot.” Thevoices National recording of for thedecades. killing.) Who in on Osama bin Laden. periodically decades. Inin 2002, out earshot.” Theagency National I was part of for a Arabia, small group the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Riyadh, Saudi knew Inofthat case, the had to IGeorge was part of a small group in the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition W.operation Bush administration wrote plan meant about the in advance? answerthat thethe obvious question — George W.toBush wrote that the plan meant assigned studyadministration whether the “America would experience a at Most importantly, did Crown whether bin Laden was hiding assigned to study whether the “America would experience a government’s various with a disastrous reduction in its in Prince Mohammed binunits Salman the Abbottabad compound government’s unitstowith disastrous reduction in itsless relationship tovarious what came be a agricultural research capacity.” know — and did he subsequently Pakistan. But there were relationship what came agricultural research called “homeland security” But what exactly is capacity.” sothe lie about it toto Trump? Whoto inbe obvious questions that called security” But what exactly is sothese should“homeland be gathered together in a unthinkable, especially Riyadh was involved in the initial president needed answered. should be gathered together unthinkable, especially these new Cabinet-level days, dispersing more coverups? What is department. the status in of a They about included what a raid onofthe new Cabinet-level department. days, aboutgovernment’s dispersing more of I proposed locating the new the federal I proposed locating the new the federal government’s

MICHAEL ROBINSON CHAVEZ/THE WASHINGTON POST

Hatice Cengiz, fiancee of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, speaks through video message during a memorial in his honor.

agency anywhere but D.C., for the Saudis so far deemed agency anywhere but D.C.,highly for what seemed to me some responsible —to including what me somethe highly logicalseemed reasons: crown prince’s closest logical reasons: First, given that theaide, Saud al-Qahtani? Have they First, given the been fired Department ofthat Homeland from their government Department of Homeland Security would make an attractive positions? Are they in an custody? Security make attractive terrorist would target, prudence would But the CIA should also be terrorist target, prudence would dictate not placing it immediately providing answers to a number dictate not it immediately adjacent to placing Washington’s many of key analytical questions.many For adjacent to Washington’s existing targets. example, the agency should existing targets. Second, technology has assess the distance Saudi reform program Second, technology rendered andhas physical — how important is it to the rendered and physical place less distance important than ever. future of the kingdom, how place less important than ever. Enterprises of all kinds operate integral is the crown prince to its Enterprises ofacross all kinds operate perfectly well multiple success, and is the crown prince’s perfectly across multiple locations well as data moves instantly, move toward authoritarianism locations as data moves instantly, and teleconferencing has necessary for reform or a step and teleconferencing has feel. advanced to a “same room” that will cause it to ultimately advanced to a “same room” feel. Third, locating DHS fail? Third, locating DHS somewhere other than The agency should also somewhere other Washington wouldthan have of made analyze the implications Washington would have made much better economic sense. possible sanctions against Saudi much better economic sense. Under the government’s Arabia. Would the crown statutory prince Under the government’s geographic compensation be damaged politically bystatutory geographic compensation formula, the savings increate salary and sanctions? Would they formula, the savings in salary and benefitsinstability alone would have been political within the benefits alone would have of been significant, to say nothing significant, to say nothing A ofGS-13 other operating expenses. other A GS-13 Step 2operating employeeexpenses. who is paid Step 2 employee who is paid $100,203 in Washington would $100,203 in Washington cost less than $91,000 in would Kansas cost lessIndianapolis. than $91,000 in Kansas City or City or can Indianapolis. You guess how far the idea You can guess how far the idea got. The idea might have seemed got. The idea might have far-fetched back then, butseemed it far-fetched back should be less so then, today.but it should be less so Washington istoday. becoming Washington is becomingindex unlivable. Its cost-of-living unlivable. Its cost-of-living index has exploded: Housing prices has exploded: Housing prices

The CIA should also be providing answers to a number of key analytical questions.

have doubled since 1988 and are kingdom? How would theend Saudis have doubled 1988 and up a third justsince since the ofare the —up and the rest of the world a third just since end—of the recession. A meal at the a midrange react? Would the Saudis try recession. Acosts meal at a midrange restaurant almost halftoagain repair relationship withagain the restaurant costs almost half abovetheir the national average.Traffic United States or would they above thewith national average.Traffic gridlock, its attendant escalate, using oil a weapon? gridlock, with its as attendant pollution and lost productivity, Would Russia and China see an pollution productivity, ranks withand thelost nation’s three opening to strengthen ties with ranks with the nation’s three worst areas. the Saudi government, shifting worst areas. bureaucracies can Relocating alliances eastward? How would Relocating bureaucracies can offer important intangible pluses. the Iranians try to take offer intangible pluses. Partsimportant of the nation now estranged advantage of a U.S.-Saudi rift? Parts of the nation now estranged from the federal government — And, importantly, what about from the federal — and cynical aboutgovernment it — might feel deterrence? If we choose not to and about — might feelif morecynical invested anditsympathetic impose sanctions, will the Saudi more invested and sympathetic of its officials were seen asif regime — or others around the more of itsand officials were seen as neighbors not as faraway, world — be emboldened to neighbors and not as faraway, arrogant paper-pushers. commit similar atrocities in the arrogant paper-pushers. And federal workers future? Would taking action And federal workers themselves might benefit, against Riyadh deter other not themselves might benefit, not only from quality-of-life countries? Or would it not make from quality-of-life improvements but also from a aonly difference? improvements butCIA’s also from a perspective onthe their work The skills of perspective on their work enriched by closer exposure operations officers and the to its enriched byconsequences. closerof exposure to its real-world breadth and depth the Might real-world there notofbeconsequences. atanalysts least a little logic expertise its giveMight the in there not bethe at least a little logic having, Interior agency ansay, unparalleled ability to in having, say, lines the Interior Department located somewhere follow these of inquiry. Department located somewhere in theadministrations country’s . . . interior? The Prior in the country’s . .Research interior? The USDA’s Economic understood these. capabilities USDA’s Research Service near actual and usedEconomic themsome to make critical Service near actual farmers? decisions. Thesome CIA may already farmers? Then again, the idea of be pursuing both the obvious and Then again, thebureaucracies idea ofabout relocating federal not-so-obvious questions relocating bureaucracies could be one of those sensible the killing offederal Jamal Khashoggi. could bethat one of to those choices Washington finds But it will be up thissensible White choices that Washington finds simplyand unthinkable, such astheir House Congress to turn simply unthinkable, such as reforming Security before answers intoSocial actions. n reforming Security before it implodes.Social n it implodes. n

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OPINIONS

The attempted pipebomb attacks on a number of promi nent Americans, followed by the horrific killings in Pitts burgh, have dominated the recent news. And for good rea son: These homegrown attacks on Americans are devas tating and hark back to the darkest times in our nation’s history. ¶ But even amid the cacophony of tragedies we face, we cannot afford to move past the murder of Post / / contributing columnist, U.S. resident and Saudi journalist MICHAEL ROBINSON CHAVEZ/THE WASHINGTON POST Jamal Khashoggi. And the United States needs to respond Cengiz, fiancee of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, — beyond simply enforcing a travel ban on those Saudis Hatice speaks through video message during a memorial in his honor. identified by their own government as having been many employees signed protest leadership, which are lacking involved. kingdom? How the had Saudis the Saudis soparties. far deemed petitions that thewould company to today in both

We need to take command of AI DAVID IGNATIUS is a Washington Post opinion columnist.

compound would mean for U.S.A robust process for Pakistan relations, whether formulating that response would taking outbusiness bin Laden would lead include—considerable austin A conferencework hereby to the gather American and military hisinfollowers conduct attacks CentraltoIntelligence experts discuss the Agency. coming revolution artificial to intelligence was a onmaintain U.S. interests, and, should the Inmeasure the earlyofdays his first ahead to good the of challenges the U.S. competitive raid result in bin Laden’s death, term, President George W. Bush edge. how the told me thatand the government CIA had two leaders agree Corporate thatvarious China’soptions rapid for disposing of the body play roles in serving The first, application of AI him. to business and military problems should bewould a the Muslim world. By the end obvious to most people, waschange to “Sputnik moment” to propel inin America. As a top-down the policy process, a thick uncover clandestine information command economy, China is directing of money and its best brains to briefing book contained the the president needed to know to operate develop the smart systems that will cars, planes, offices and answersofto these questions and keep the nation secure. information — along with the transformation warfare. dozens of others. The second — less obvious but I hope President Trump is just as critical — was for the CIA utilizing all the CIAthat hasmachines to offer toThe provide him withisallstruggling the the structured data United States while thinking context and he can learn on. through the to respond to perspective this world-changing Khashoggi case. Of course, the needed toWhat’s make informed “China is the OPEC of data,” challenge. underwayforeign is CIA should its own policy argues Webb.be Incollecting a totalitarian frail anddecisions. exists mostly on paper. intelligence providing it to These this two year rolespassed have always society, everyand human and social Congress the White House struck mecalling as excellent mission interaction feeds aand vastCongress. pool of legislation for a national For instance: statements for the structured data for machines to AI commission, but operational so far it’s just What was the Saudis’ plan for analytic of theinCIA, ingest. The Chinese government aand concept. Thesides Pentagon June when Khashoggi walked into respectivelya new — and presidents can then commandeer companies established Joint Artificial their consulate in Istanbul? (CIA have used both. The two roles and people, as needed. Intelligence Center that will Director Gina were, $1.75 for example, fullysix years, America mayHaspel need anmay “AI well czar,” spend billion over already know,B. since sheformer harnessed by the Barack argues Ashton Carter, but critics fear it will be farObama short reportedly listened to a administration secretary of has defense for President of what’s needed.as we closed in recording of the killing.) Whono in on“There Osamaisbin Laden. Barack Obama. That’s because no quarterback” for Riyadh,agency Saudi or Arabia, that case, the author agencyof had current Whiteknew House AI, In says Amy Webb, a to aboutisthe operationtoincoordinate advance? answer the obvious question — office empowered forthcoming book called “The Big Most importantly, did Crown whether binthe Laden was and hiding at an effort as complicated as the Nine ” about top U.S. Prince Mohammed bin Salman the Abbottabad compound Manhattan Project, which built a Chinese AI companies. The in know —weapon, and didor hethe subsequently Pakistan. Butstarted there were nuclear “space United States withless a lie about it toaTrump? in obvious questions race” that put man onWho the moon. technology lead, butthat U.S.the efforts Riyadh was involved in the initial president needed answered. But mobilizing resources in this are dispersed and decentralized. coverups? What is thevision status of They included a raid on the way requires political and Companies havewhat trouble sharing

responsible includingstrategy the “China has— a national crown prince’s closest aide, Saud and is executing it. That’s what’s al-Qahtani? Have been fired missing. There is nothey compelling from their government overarching policy,” argues Paul positions? Are they in Scharre, who studies AIcustody? at the But for theaCIA also be Center Newshould American providing number Security. “Itanswers has to betoa anational of keyespecially analyticalinquestions. For effort, terms of talent example, the agency management,” agrees should Robert assessathe Saudi reform program Work, former deputy secretary —defense. how important is it to the of future the kingdom, how Workof argues that a good start integral prince to its would be is anthe AI crown “training corps,” a success, and is the crown bit like the National Guard.prince’s The move toward authoritarianism Pentagon would pay for advanced necessaryeducation for reform a step technical inor exchange that will cause it to ultimately for two days a month of training fail?government systems and with agency should also twoThe weeks a year for major analyze the implications of exercises. Members could keep possible sanctions Saudi their regular jobs at against Microsoft or Arabia.say, Would crown prince Google, but the might be called bein damaged politically by up a national emergency. sanctions? Would they create An awkward problem for politicalnow instability within the America is that the employees of the biggest and best AI companies seem reluctant to work with the U.S. government. After the Edward Snowden revelations, tech companies and their employees got nervous about appearing too cooperative with government intelligence programs. For example, when Google this year agreed to help the Pentagon develop battlefield algorithms in “Project Maven,” so

The CIA should also be providing answers to a number of key analytical questions.

— and the rest of the world — back out. react? Would the Saudis try to We can see all our national repair their strengths andrelationship weaknesseswith in thethe United States or would they AI debate: a smart, dynamic escalate, using oildisplay as a weapon? private sector (on here at Would Russia and 2018” China see an the “Time Machine opening to sponsored strengthenby ties with conference, the Saudi government, shifting SparkCognition) but weak public alliances eastward? How would leadership; proud military the Iranians try to take are services that unfortunately advantage ofweapons a U.S.-Saudi rift? tied to legacy systems And, importantly, what such as manned fighter jets about and deterrence? we choose not to giant aircraft If carriers; a public impose sanctions, willdoesn’t the Saudi education system that regime students — or others prepare wellaround for thethe tech world —matter; be emboldened jobs that a brokento commit similar atrocities in the immigration policy that doesn’t future? taking action serve ourWould economic needs. against Riyadh deterelections, other After the midterm countries? not make the country Or willwould begin it a heated a difference? debate about the best candidate Thethe skills of the to lead nation inCIA’s the 2020 operations officers the elections. One way toand assess breadth and depth thehow potential leaders is toofask expertise its analysts give the they wouldofmeet the AI challenge agency an unparalleled ability to of refashioning our economic and follow these lines of inquiry. strategic foundations. A bitterly Prior administrations divided country with a understood these capabilities dysfunctional political system andgoing used them make isn’t to wintothe racecritical decisions.except The CIA may already anywhere, down. beAsk pursuing both obvious yourself whothe could lead aand not-so-obvious about national push toquestions capture the high the killing of Jamal Khashoggi. ground of technology, and you But come it willup bewith up tothe this White may name of House Congress toshould turn their the manand or woman who be answers into actions. our next president. n n

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Saudi Arabia BY

M ADAWI A L- R ASHEED

Saudi Arabia is difficult to comprehend. Blessed with almost limit less oil wealth and tremendous sway in global affairs, its leaders still feel precarious enough in their power that they imprison royal rivals and assassinate critics such as Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. Myths about the kingdom and its affairs contin ue to flourish. MYTH NO. 1 Saudi Arabia is a good partner against Iran. Despite a bonanza of spending on weapons and military tech — it is the world’s third-largest buyer of armaments — the Saudi regime cannot fight a war alone and can’t even effectively confront Iran in a proxy conflict. In 2015, the Saudis launched a war in Yemen in part to halt Iranian influence on their southern border. Almost four years later, the Saudis have succeeded only in destroying the country, increasing Iran’s sway among the Houthi rebels there and making Saudi cities vulnerable to Houthi missiles. In Lebanon, Saudi efforts on behalf of its client-leader, Prime Minister Saad Hariri, only made Iranian-backed Hezbollah stronger. In Iraq, Saudi leaders desperately recruited acolytes among tribal, secular and even radical Sunni rebels, with the hope of influencing Iraqi politics to counter Iran’s pull. All of those efforts were doomed. MYTH NO. 2 Saudi Arabia is a key ally in the ﬁght against terrorism. But the Saudi state has played a central role in spreading a splinter fundamentalist ideology that has justified terror across the globe. The siege of the Grand Mosque in Mecca in 1979, alQaeda’s activities in Afghanistan in the 1980s, the 9/11 attacks on New York and the Pentagon, and the rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria in 2014 were based on the idea of “jihad against

unbelievers” and the excommunication of those who do not share Wahhabi religious outlooks, which are Saudisponsored interpretations. Riyadh expected its fundamentalists to launch jihad abroad and remain obedient at home. But the policy backfired, with fighters eventually targeting the nation’s government. MYTH NO. 3 Saudi Arabians are Islamic fundamentalists. While Wahhabism, a fundamentalist strain of Islam, is a state ideology, not many Saudis subscribe to it. Researcher Mansoor Moaddel confirms that a moderate undercurrent pervades Saudi society — and that Saudis are less religious overall than people in other Middle Eastern countries. In other Arab republics, including Egypt, Syria and Algeria, Islamic fundamentalism rose against secular regimes, but in Saudi Arabia, it was a product of the state, and it never became a true social movement. Although a minority of Saudis endorsed this project, the majority remained unconvinced, and many refused to be enlisted in it. MYTH NO. 4 Saudi Arabia’s leaders are directing revolutionary reform. This notion makes a mockery of both revolution and reform. A revolution is a complete overthrow of a government and social order, which has not happened. Cinemas, theaters and

SIMON DAWSON/BLOOMBERG

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has enjoyed good press for efforts to reform and modernize the country. But critics say real political change is nowhere on the horizon.

circuses are not symbols of real transformation. Young people may enjoy these superficial changes for the time being, but the government is an absolute monarchy, now with even greater power concentrated in the hands of one individual. The economic transformation is stumbling, with the unemployment rate rising to more than 12 percent, and the social order has become more restrictive, repressive and dangerous. MYTH NO. 5 Saudi Arabia is a stabilizing force in the Middle East. The status quo that Saudi Arabia helps maintain, however, is one of the major sources of instability in the region. The 2011 Arab uprisings came at a time when this status quo — namely, decades of authoritarian rule — appeared to explode under demographic, economic and political pressure from truly prodemocratic forces. Saudi Arabia and its Persian Gulf allies acted as counter-revolutionaries determined to preserve the autocratic state of affairs. In Egypt, Saudi money backing dictator Abdel Fatah al-Sissi

returned the country to military rule, repression and political stagnation. In Syria, Saudi financial and military sponsorship of some rebels stifled democratic forces and started a sectarian civil war. In Bahrain, a direct Saudi military intervention led to the reversal of years of mass mobilization and the quashing of dissent. The worst came in Yemen, where a GCCbrokered agreement guaranteed thesafe return of its president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, who later turned against his Saudi sponsors. Since 2015, the Saudis have launched airstrikes on Yemen that have led to a catastrophic humanitarian crisis and the total destruction of the country. Such measures reflect Riyadh’s erratic regional policy, the main purpose of which is to preserve the monarchy and authoritarian republicanism in the Arab world rather than to create long-term stability. n Al-Rasheed, a Saudi Arabian scholar of social anthropology, is a visiting professor at the Middle East Center at the London School of Economics and Political Science. This was written for The Washington Post.

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A legacy eclipsed by Trump’s fury BY S ARI H ORWITZ, D EVLIN B ARRETT AND M ATT Z APOTOSKY

o Jeff Sessions, President Trump was the man who could do no wrong. To Trump, Sessions was the attorney general who could do no right. On questions of immigration, police work and civil rights, the president could hardly find a more eager champion of his administration’s policies. But on the issue that seemed to matter most to the president — protecting him and his White House from the criminal investigation into 2016 election interference by Russia — Sessions recused himself shortly after becoming the attorney general. The president never forgave him. And on Wednesday, Sessions resigned at Trump’s request. By the time Trump declared in September, “I don’t have an attorney general,” even his torturous relationship with Sessions had become a subject of scrutiny for special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. Specifically, Mueller has examined whether Trump’s efforts to pressure Sessions into resigning in 2017 might have amounted to an attempt to obstruct justice. Sessions has said publicly and privately that he does not regret the recusal, believing it was the right course of action. According to a person familiar with Sessions’s thinking, he has shared the president’s frustration with the pace of the Mueller probe and would like it to be finished, but also feels that it is important for the country that the investigation continue unimpeded, so that its results are accepted by the public. Sessions also believes that even though he did not oversee the Russia probe, he played a positive role at the Justice Department, shielding that probe from political interference, even as his boss publicly scorned him, this person said. As much as the shadow of the Russia probe has loomed over Sessions’s tenure as attorney general, he has sought to make his

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Sessions’s recusal from Mueller shattered once-close relationship time in the job about more than that — a return, as he calls it, to the principles of pro-police, antiillegal-immigration law enforcement. In May, standing before a sparkling Pacific Ocean and a looming border fence, Sessions emphasized his vision for America. “Today we’re here to send a message to the world that we are not going to let the country be overwhelmed,” Sessions said. “People are not going to caravan or otherwise stampede our border.” While the family-separation policy pursued by the administration has been shelved, at least for now, the broader set of immigration actions pursued by Sessions became a central argument for

Trump and the Republicans as they sought to retain control of Congress. Avideh Moussavian, legislative director at the National Immigration Law Center, said Sessions “came in with a very strong antiimmigrant ideology, and a very deeply ingrained world view that is rooted in exclusion.” Through his directive that prosecutors bring cases against anyone who crosses the border illegally, his defenses of Trump’s ban of travelers from certain majority-Muslim countries and his family-separation policy, his effort to end an Obama-era program granting reprieves from deportation to people who had come here as children without documentation, and his opinions

Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigned Wednesday at the request of President Trump.

attempting to restrict asylum, Sessions has “demonstrated a willingness to radically transform our immigration system in ways that run around Congress and are sort of death by a thousand cuts, if you will,” Moussavian said. “I think that he’s trying intentionally to turn the immigration courts into fast-track deportation machines, and to turn immigration judges into mass deportation agents, and limiting their discretion,” Moussavian said. As the nation’s highest law enforcement official for 21 months, Sessions will be remembered for remaining loyal to a president who turned virulently against him, even as he pushed Trump’s controversial policies more aggressively than any other member

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POLITICS of the Cabinet. “In my view, there has never been a Republican attorney general — a conservative attorney general — who can be credited with more achievements in advancing the conservative legal policy agenda,” said Charles J. Cooper, Sessions’s longtime friend and attorney and the former assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel under President Ronald Reagan. “What he’s managed to accomplish, despite the distractions, has been nothing short of astounding.” Cooper pointed to Sessions’s undoing of Obama-era criminal justice policies, his immigration policies and his push against drug trafficking. “In virtually every area of legal policy, he has done exactly what conservatives like me had hoped and expected that he would do,” Cooper said. Civil rights activists, however, said Sessions’s actions and rhetoric demonstrated racism and antipathy to civil rights. They point to steps he took to loosen federal protections for African Americans and Latinos, along with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, including restrictions on immigration and the Justice Department’s reversal of Obama administration policies on civil rights, criminal justice, policing and voting. “Sessions has been terrible for civil rights in this country,” said Vanita Gupta, the head of the Justice Department’s civil rights division in the Obama administration who is now the chief executive of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. “He’s turned back the clock from trying to re-create mass incarceration policies, to his view of the voting rights act as intrusive, to his abdication of the mission of the civil rights division on a range of issues including addressing systemic police misconduct, voting rights and LGBTQ rights,” Gupta said. After a rocky confirmation battle amid charges that he was racially insensitive, Sessions, who had been a senator from Alabama, took the helm of the Justice Department in February 2017 with the full support of Trump, whom he supported for president in early 2016 before any other senator. “It is with great pride — very

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great pride — that I say these words to you right now: Attorney General Jeff Sessions, welcome to the White House,” Trump said during Sessions’s swearing-in ceremony in the Oval Office on Feb. 9, 2017. “He’s a man of integrity, a man of principle and a man of total, utter resolve.” Those feelings sharply changed just a few weeks later. Trump became enraged when Sessions held a news conference on March 2 announcing that, upon the advice of ethics lawyers and others at the Justice Department, he was recusing himself from the investigation into possible conspiracy between Russian officials and the Trump administration during the 2016 presidential election. For the rest of Sessions’s tenure, Trump berated and humiliated his attorney general on Twitter and in interviews. He publicly called him “beleaguered” and “very weak.” In September, Trump told reporters he was “very disappointed in Jeff. Very disappointed.” Through it all, Sessions continued to speak effusively about the president and moved aggressively to reshape the Justice Department to reflect his hard-line views. One of the first actions Sessions took in April 2017 was to order the Justice Department to

conduct a sweeping review of all reform agreements — or consent decrees — with troubled police departments nationwide, saying it was necessary to ensure that the pacts didn’t work against the Trump administration’s goals of promoting officer safety and morale while fighting violent crime. “We’ve been very pleased with Attorney General Sessions from Day One,” said Chuck Canterbury, the national president of the Fraternal Order of Police. “He’s been much more supportive of the law enforcement mission in this country.” Sessions’s actions regarding police investigations, along with a strong effort to reach out to local police officers whenever he traveled to give speeches, endeared him to law enforcement. He would often say to them, “we have your backs, and you have our thanks.” Law enforcement officials in local communities also point to the aggressive approach Sessions has taken to fighting crime, both with his rhetoric and a string of new initiatives, particularly focused on the country’s opioid crisis. The Justice Department, for example, has tripled its prosecutions of fentanyl cases and last year brought the first cases charging Chinese nationals with selling large quantities of the drug to Americans.

Chief of Staff to the Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, left, looks past Kristi Johnson of the FBI to Sessions during a roundtable discussion at the Justice Department in August. Trump has installed Whitaker as acting attorney general.

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Sessions proposed a change to national drug policy by limiting the amount of opioids that companies can manufacture each year. He created a team of agents and analysts to disrupt illicit opioid sales online and started a unit to target opioid-related healthcare fraud. But civil rights leaders say they see Sessions’s actions, particularly with regard to agreements reached with police in places like Chicago, as an effort by the Justice Department to walk away from its obligation to ensure that state and local law enforcement agencies nationwide are following the Constitution. “Sessions abandoned the Justice Department’s investigation and duty by law to remedy the findings of systemic police misconduct in the Chicago Police Department,” Gupta said. The Obama administration had opened 25 investigations into law enforcement agencies and had been enforcing 14 consent decrees, along with some other agreements before Sessions became attorney general. Sessions also reversed the charging policy of former attorney general Eric H. Holder Jr. and in May 2017 directed his federal prosecutors to aggressively target drug traffickers and charge defendants with the most serious, provable crimes. Holder, five years ago, had directed his prosecutors to stop charging low-level, nonviolent drug offenders with offenses that impose severe mandatory minimum sentences. Civil rights groups, some Republican lawmakers and even the Koch brothers — major donors to conservative groups and causes — criticized Sessions’s new policy, saying that he was taking the country backward after there had been a consensus in Congress about criminal justice reform. But many prosecutors praised the measure, saying it gave them more tools to do their jobs, which they felt had been taken away in the Obama administration. “That was huge,” said Cook, a former prosecutor in Tennessee. “It unhandcuffed prosecutors who were demoralized when they were told not to charge drug traffickers — even drug traffickers who had large quantities of controlled substances — with the actual crimes they commited.” ©The Washington Post

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How the house was won B Y M ICHAEL S CHERER AND J OSH D AWSEY

JIM WATSON/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

s he flew aboard Air Force One to an airport hangar rally in Mosinee, Wis., President Trump groused to aides about having to tone down his prepared remarks. Pipe bombs had been mailed to several of his favorite foils, including to the homes of two former presidents and the New York offices of CNN. It was a moment for presidential leadership, less than two weeks before the midterm elections that would deliver a verdict on his first two years in office. But, according to two aides familiar with Trump’s objections, the words set to be loaded into the teleprompter didn’t match the president’s own plans for closing the campaign, the details of which he had kept from other Republican leaders. He wanted

Democrats refocus their messaging while Trump defies aides’ advice controversy, fury and fear that would push limits and get ratings, paint a caravan of Central American migrants as a mortal threat and color Democrats as their coconspirators. Now speechwriters were telling the man who encouraged fistfights at his 2016 campaign rallies to call for “all sides to come together in peace and harmony.” They wanted the real estate promoter who dubbed his Democratic opponent “crooked” to demand an end to “treating political opponents as being morally defective.”

The midterm elections were always going to come down to a moment like this: President Trump, isolated and imperious, deciding the fate of his Republican Party’s electoral hopes. In three short years, he had become an omnipotent force in American life, overturning the customs of the White House, the values of the Republican Party and the rules of public debate. His opponents had reacted fiercely, with the largest street protests since the 1960s and the greatest wave of political engagement — as measured by money and volun-

teer energy — that had ever been seen in an off-year election. They were united, as rarely before, against him. But that was just how he liked it, always at the center of attention, going with his gut, selling his defiance as a foundational attribute. He believed in the reactions of his own enormous crowds. They would allow him to defy the prognosticators and polls, show up his media critics, and once again rewrite the rules of American politics. At the White House, a number of senior aides had argued privately that Trump’s focus on fanning fears over immigration went too far. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) would call Trump twice in the final weeks to urge him to get off the nonstop immigration talk and refocus on the economy.

“You know the midterm elections used to be, like, boring, didn’t they?” President Trump said at a rally Monday in Cleveland. “Now it’s like the hottest thing.”

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through the suburban districts that were most concerned about the president’s divisive behavior, with many races being decided by the thinnest of margins. It was just the latest step in a political realignment — a repolarization of politics — that began in 2015 with Trump’s announcement that he would run for president as a Republican. This account of the battle for power on Capitol Hill is based on more than four dozen interviews with campaign strategists, White House advisers, party officials, government advisers and elected leaders, on both sides of the aisle. Many spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. They told the story of a Republican Party battered, emboldened and increasingly redefined. Trump also helped Democrats find a new voice, with a new generation of leaders emerging and a new playbook for winning.

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He argued that Trump should focus on how voters outside the boisterous rallies reacted. Avoid distractions and needless fights, Ryan’s team argued with White House colleagues. Frame the election as a choice between Republican accomplishment and Democratic rhetoric. Trump would sound like he agreed on the phone, and then veer quickly back to what interested him, while complaining to his own advisers that Ryan, who was leaving office, had allowed too many of his members to retire. Now as Air Force One crossed over Lake Michigan, Trump would once again listen only to himself. He agreed to read the words about unity without abandoning his own strategy of division. To explain the contradiction, he just added a wink and a nod. “Do you see how nice I’m behaving today? Have you ever seen this?” Trump told the crowd, going off script, in a sarcastic aside after calling for harmony. “We’re all behaving very well.” The crowd burst into laughter, providing a nice segue to tease his plans. “Wait until you see what

we’re doing with our border over the next two weeks,” he said. “Our country is assaulted by thousands and thousands of people marching,” he said of a group of migrants more than 1,000 miles away. What followed were days of shocks to the political system. The mail-bombing suspect was a Trump booster who had attended his rallies and, authorities said, internalized his name-calling. Three other men suspected of racist, anti-Semitic, misogynist or anti-immigrant delusions allegedly would shoot and kill 15 people in three states over 10 days, at a supermarket, a synagogue and a yoga studio. But Trump stayed the course, consistently raising the temperature of the public debate. He would not make phone calls to the pipe-bomb targets, including former president Barack Obama and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton. He complained about the distraction of domestic terrorism hurting Republicans. “For seven days nobody talked about elections,” he told a crowd in Columbia, Mo., on Nov. 1. Instead, he rolled out his own news events, without coordinat-

ing them with Ryan or the leadership of the National Republican Congressional Committee: new troop deployments to the border, a profane campaign ad that falsely accused Democrats of letting a Mexican cop killer into the country, the threat of answering rock throwers at the border with gunfire by U.S. soldiers, even the claim of a treasonous “Democratled assault on our sovereignty.” Sometimes, he did not coordinate his announcements with his own aides. When the president threatened to undo birthright citizenship with an executive order, Ryan spoke out to defend the Constitution as written, prompting Trump to publicly attack his governing partner. The two men talked by phone later that day. The conversation was short, said three people familiar with the call, and Trump made clear he thought that immigration was still a better message than the economy. It was pure Trump, and it cleared the way for a blow to the president’s governing coalition as Republicans lost the House while keeping firm control of the Senate. Republican losses in the House on Tuesday ran directly

Dressed as Wonder Woman, Rachel Burns rallies with fellow supporters of the Affordable Care Act in Washington in 2017. Democratic polling led to a party effort to fight plans to raise insurance premiums.

Trump’s ‘snow globe’ The election season began for Dan Sena, the executive director of the Democratic House effort, at a Cracker Barrel in Pennsylvania, where he went to watch diners stream Trump’s 2017 inauguration on their phones. “There was a woman who was sitting there,” he remembered, “and she says to her daughter, ‘We’re recording this at home. He’s our president.’ ” In a blink, Sena saw the challenge. Midterm elections tended to be referendums on the sitting president. Whole parts of the nation, particularly women in well-heeled suburbs, were rejecting Trump. But Sena knew that was not enough, given the way districts were drawn. To win the speaker’s gavel, Democrats would have to compete for voters who had already forgiven Trump for his rulebreaking and liked his policy pitch amid a rising economy. The party would have to break from its instincts, lay off Trump and resist moving left on policy. Sena found himself describing Trump to other Democrats as a godlike figure. Trump held the nation’s attention in his hands, able to unleash chaos whenever he wanted. “I can’t control what happens when Donald Trump goes like this to the snow globe,” he would say, shaking his hands as if hold-

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ing one. “We knew that to pick up seats in this cycle, we needed a strategy that allowed us to put as many boats into the water, not necessarily waiting on a wave or banking on a wave, but just as many chess pieces on the board as you possibly can.” The first step was to come up with a message. A poll by the Democrats’ House Majority PAC in the summer of 2017 raised alarms: Congressional Republicans scored far higher with working-class whites on issues Democrats believed they should own, such as reducing the power of special interests, rewarding hard work, fighting for people “like you.” Less than 1 in 4 said Democrats in Congress helped to improve the economy and create jobs, compared with 41 percent who credited Republicans. “They were certain that Washington was wholly corrupt, and they were the inevitable losers in that equation,” said Jill Normington, the pollster. As the discussions continued, voters kept coming back to the same question: “Is there going to be more money in my pocket or less money in my pocket?” Pollsters soon returned with a way for Democrats to claw out of their abyss — a broad message focused on fighting GOP plans to raise health-insurance premiums, remove protections for preexisting conditions and cater to special interests. “We sort of combined taxes and health care — the idea that Republicans were going to cut taxes on insurance companies and they were going to raise premiums on people didn’t sit well with people,” said Matt Canter of Global Strategy Group, who led focus groups as part of the effort. By the summer of 2018, Democrats had a pocketbook plan that minimized issues like immigration and went after Trump in only a handful of districts where he was deeply unpopular. It was a sharp departure from the Republican strategy in 2010 and 2014 to campaign more directly against Obama. But first Democrats had to find new faces to sell their new message, a task that suddenly appeared far easier than anyone had expected. They were people like Dan McCready, a Marine veteran who had led troops in Iraq before graduating from Harvard Busi-

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JIM LO SCALZO/EPA-EFE

ness School. He began talking to an old classmate, Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), in the weeks after Trump won. “We spent hours on the phone,” said Moulton. “At one point he told me, ‘Seth, I’m 99 percent certain. I just need to know I can be as good a dad as a member of Congress.’ ” Moulton told McCready, who trailed by fewer than 2000 votes in North Carolina’s 9th District, that the commute to Washington would not make him a better father. “But you weren’t when you were a Marine, either,” Moulton added. “You were serving the country.” Before long, there were about 20 military-veteran candidates for Congress, including Jason Crow in Colorado, who began

trading campaign tips on a private Slack channel organized by Moulton. None identified as liberal crusaders, and most voiced skepticism of the current Democratic leadership. They were joined by a swell of hundreds of female candidates, many of them encouraged by the activist groups that had sprung up in defiance of Trump and in sync with the women in suburban districts who would prove the biggest target of the midterm elections. The rush of new talent with scant political records and more-moderate views was a nightmare for Republicans. Many cut biographical videos for YouTube, filled with military hardware and straight talk, that brought in millions from around the country. M.J. Hegar, a long-

ABOVE: Hondurans Roxana Orellana, 21, and Kevin Flores, 26 are among the migrants from Central America making their way through Mexico toward the U.S. border. The group was a midterm fixation for Trump. LEFT: Sharice Davids (D), center, gathers with supporters on Monday, a day before she won a House seat in Kansas. Davids was among the swell of female candidates who sought office.

shot Democratic candidate in Texas, raised $750,000 in 10 days after posting a three-minute video that went viral. Over the course of the campaign, as the popularity of Trump and Democrats rose and fell, the polling for first-time candidates in the tightest races would hold steady, a sign that they had defined themselves as distinct from the poisonous national conversation that had convulsed the party in earlier campaigns. Republicans had always wanted to run against Nancy Pelosistyle liberals, like they had in the first special election after Trump’s win, when Democrat Jon Ossoff had been defeated in Georgia after his supporters were mocked as old San Francisco hippies. But Democrats had learned from that race and would not make the same mistake. Pelosi made clear there were no consequences for denouncing her. “Just win, baby,” became her mantra. Candidates such as Kansas Democrat Paul Davis, one of the first to publicly oppose Pelosi, were quietly invited to Washington to receive strategy advice and a pep talk from Pelosi. “She allowed a large swath of candidates to run against the party without consequence and present themselves as genuine political outsiders,” said Andy Surabian, a former White House political adviser who worked for Donald Trump Jr. later in the cycle. Republicans also saw their dream of a socialist rebellion in the Democratic Party fail to materialize. Nominees such as New York’s Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made for early targets but quickly became team players. Only one liberal candidate, Kara Eastman in Omaha, won a primary that Democratic strategists believed undermined their chances of winning the seat. Republican Don Bacon won the district Tuesday. In the U.S. Capitol, meanwhile, Democrats moved quickly to diminish the calls for impeachment in their rank and file, and coached candidates away from talking about massive new government programs favored by the base. “Stick with lower health-care costs, bigger paychecks and cleaner government,” Pelosi would say, publicly and privately. “The health-care issue is dominant — it’s dominant.”

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POLITICS Behind the scenes, she would speak with more-colorful language about Trump. “You can’t get in a tinkle contest with a skunk,” she told colleagues. “You just can’t.” Members were won over. “The message ‘Contain Trump’ is a stronger political message than ‘Impeach Trump,’ ” said Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), who was one of the first to introduce articles of impeachment for Trump, before deciding he did not want the House to vote on them. The lost ones Republicans, meanwhile, were having less luck in the candidate department. Early in 2018, Republican strategists convened a focus group to screen a positive ad about Rick Saccone, Lamb’s opponent. Several women in the group reacted with laughter. When asked why, they pointed to the candidate’s close-cropped mustache. Lamb, who was 26 years younger, looked like a clean-shaven action hero, and he beat Saccone in March by 627 votes, or 0.2 percent, in a district Trump had carried by nearly 20 percentage points. Even before that defeat, the sense of looming disaster had been spreading through the party. Between 1930 and 2016, there had never been more than 27 Republicans retiring from the House in a single election cycle, according to the Brookings Institution. On Tuesday’s ballots, 41 Republicanheld districts, including Ryan’s, lacked an incumbent on the ballot, either because of retirement or resignation. Of that group, at least 15 were vulnerable to Democratic takeover, more than half the number Democrats needed to take the majority. Tens of millions of dollars had to be set aside to defend these seats, and in several cases there was little hope. “If we had half as many [seats to defend], we would keep the House,” predicted one Republican strategist of the retirements. Inside the caucus, years of dysfunction had taken a toll. Leaders had little sway with members, and former committee chairmen had little incentive to stick around. At the White House, political advisers were taken aback as the names started dribbling out. “There was no strategy to

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him. But in the end his heart was not in it. He decided over Christmas without telling party leaders, paving the way for a likely Democratic pickup.

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keep people around,” said one person involved in the effort. More often than not, party leaders found that out someone was heading out the door only after the decision had been made. Over at the NRCC’s office, staffers could be heard screaming when news broke on Twitter of another key lawmaker throwing in the towel. Other members debating retirement found themselves captive to the new wave of antiTrump activism sweeping the country, with protesters camped outside their offices. In early 2017, Rep. Steve Stivers (R-Ohio), the NRCC chairman, responded with an all-hands-ondeck effort to stop Republicans from even holding town halls, lest embarrassing video result. Those who insisted on meetings were instructed to follow clear rules: Enter and exit the event separately from voters, bring security, make sure the participants were constituents and try to get questions submitted in advance. In New Jersey’s 11th District, Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen had been expected to continue his family’s Republican dynasty of elected leadership that dated to his state’s founding. Since 1994, he had never won his Democraticleaning district by less than 58 percent of the vote, but now the resistance was camped outside his office, with a surprisingly sophisticated operation. “We had a full-on research team. We had a data analysis

team that was looking at the entire area,” said Sally Avelenda, the executive director of NJ11th for Change. “We showed up at every farmers market, every town event that wouldn’t shut us out.” Frelinghuysen complained about Avelenda’s political work to a board member of her employer, Lakeland Bank. She says a supervisor later warned her that the congressman was a “friend of the bank,” prompting her to quit her job and go public with the story, which the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee cut into a digital ad. Frelinghuysen called it quits less than a year later, allowing Democrats to pick up the seat with Mikie Sherrill, a former Navy pilot and federal prosecutor who became an early favorite. Out in California, the weekly rallies against Rep. Darrell Issa (R) grew over the course of 2017 into a sort of street carnival, with a sound system manned by a former musician for Sha Na Na and a retirement cake baked into the shape of a Hawaiian shirt. Ellen Montanari, a corporate consultant who had seen Trump’s election as a catastrophe, made sure everyone stayed on message. When one speaker took the microphone to thank Democrats, Montanari grabbed it away, and quickly thanked independents and Republicans as well. “I said to her, ‘Don’t ever do that again,’ ” Montanari remembered. Issa tried to engage, speaking several times at the rallies against

Republican Rick Saccone narrowly lost to Democrat Conor Lamb in a special election in March for a Pittsburgh-area House seat. Trump had carried the district in 2016 by nearly 20 points.

Well-oiled machine With the deck stacked against them, Ryan and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) decided their best option was to try to get both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue on the same page. At a Camp David retreat in early January, McCarthy stood before the president with a slide show of animated charts and graphs. McCarthy explained that the president’s party typically lost more seats in midterm elections than Republicans could afford if they wanted to stay in power. But there were two recent exceptions — in 2002 after the attacks of 9/11 and in 1998 after the impeachment of Bill Clinton, when Republicans also overreached by shutting down the government. That second example, McCarthy argued, could provide a model, especially since Democrats were headed toward a shutdown over Trump’s decision to end legal protections for migrants who had been brought to the country as children. The key, McCarthy said, would be to minimize losses with college-educated women in the suburbs and keep the partisan advantage of Democratic House candidates at less than six points, according to a person familiar with the briefing. He recommended focusing on legislative efforts to curb the opioid epidemic and limit human trafficking, along with an aggressive plan to sell the tax cut — issues meant to project a sympathetic face to voters outside Trump’s base. Notably, the presentation did not focus on immigration, the topic Trump would choose to obsess over in the fall. But for Trump, whose entire brand was anchored in disruption, sticking to a plan based on soothing suburban women was a challenge. At an April tax cut roundtable in West Virginia, he announced that his prepared remarks were “a little boring” and threw the paper into the air. What followed was a rambling preview of the closing message. He decried birthright citizenship and claimed, without any evidence, that a group of asylum

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seekers then walking through Mexico included women who had been “raped at levels that nobody has ever seen before.” GOP strategists watched Trump nervously as the generic ballot polls fluctuated like a stock market ticker, rising and falling with national events and the president’s actions. House Republican leaders wanted Trump to talk about economic issues. Trump wanted to talk immigration. The president became upset when his campaign produced an ad that focused on economic gains through the eyes of a mother hoping her daughter would succeed, surprising his own political advisers. He repeatedly said that his voters wouldn’t come to the polls for the economy, advisers said, and that they did not like Congress. So he ordered the ad to be replaced with a spot focused on the dangers of immigration. At the White House complex, Trump’s political team had examined every House and Senate district to see where he could have the most impact. In an office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, the wall was plastered with details of his 2016 performance. The aides concluded that there was little he could do for some in the House, but substantial sway that he could bring to Senate races by reminding Republicans in rural states why they voted for him. The message matched Trump’s own desire, never changing, to be out there on the trail, dominating cable television news. The decision only magnified divisions in the party that Stivers, the NRCC chair, had long struggled to navigate. In early November 2017, weeks after former White House aide Stephen K. Bannon had appeared on “60 Minutes” to declare that Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) opposed Trump’s “populist economic agenda,” Stivers met with Bannon at his home base on Capitol Hill. The hope was to form a truce within the party, but the immediate effect was the opposite. Josh Holmes, an adviser to McConnell, was enraged. “Fellas — this is genuinely hard to believe,” he wrote in an email to Ryan’s staff. Neither House nor Senate leaders had been given

ADAM BEAM/ASSOCIATED PRESS

advance warning about the meeting. Late in the cycle, as suspected hate crimes came to dominate the news, Stivers became defensive. He had been criticized for a Sunday show appearance in which he defended Republican ads that called out George Soros, the Jewish financier who was often the target of anti-Semitic propaganda. After a story broke about Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) traveling to Austria to meet with representatives of a party with neo-Nazi roots, Stivers announced on Twitter that he “strongly condemned” King’s behavior — without first consulting other Republican leaders. He had a debate scheduled back in his own district that night. “It is the NRCC’s job to win races, not to be the morality police,” said one former NRCC aide. Pressure built throughout the House caucus. Many realized they would have to fend for themselves, without any cover from the president or the national party. “Birthright citizenship is protected by the Constitution, so no @realDonaldTrump you can’t end it by executive order,” Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.) tweeted after Trump floated the idea. In Colorado, Rep. Mike Coffman (R) would take an even harder public line, announcing

that Trump’s “attempt to demonize” migrants as criminals “is simply wrong.” Trump will be Trump As a candidate in 2016, Trump believed that his opponents underestimated the power of grabbing people’s attention. When he got to Pensacola, Fla., three days before the elections, he felt he needed to educate his critics. “Why doesn’t he talk about the economy? Why does he talk about immigration and what’s coming up with the caravan?” he asked the crowd rhetorically. “We can talk about the economy, but the fact is we know how well we’re doing with the economy and we have to solve problems.” His advisers kept trying, anyway. Some continued to tell Trump that he faced both a base motivation problem and a suburban women problem. He only seemed fixated on the former. Even his strategy to bring female aides on stage was less calculated strategy, White House aides said, and more that they were standing beside him before he went out and he thought the crowds would love them. In what seemed intended as a hint, the chair of the Republican National Committee, Ronna McDaniel, told ABC News’s “This Week” on Sunday that the presi-

House candidates from Kentucky Amy McGrath (D), left, and Garland “Andy” Barr (R) attend a debate last month. Barr beat McGrath, a Marine veteran, Tuesday night.

dent was focused on the economy; only the media, she said, focused on immigration. On Monday, the White House placed an opinion piece on Fox News’s website, under the president’s own byline, that contradicted Trump’s points on the stump. “Vote Republican and continue the jobs boom,” the headline said. It was a hallmark of Trump’s politics. There was no shame in contradiction, misinformation or vilification. When several companies, including Fox News and Facebook, refused to run a version of his closing campaign ad demonizing immigrants as murderers, he responded breezily to a reporter. “A lot of things are offensive,” he said. “Your questions are offensive.” What he was after was attention. “You know the midterm elections used to be, like, boring, didn’t they?” he said at a Monday rally in Cleveland. “Now it’s like the hottest thing.” At the White House, aides had already begun to lower expectations for the House. Trump’s efforts to awaken the Republican base had been effective in rural areas and in states where Senate Democrats were struggling to stay in office, they argued. There was just no more talk of the red wave Trump had once promised. The final average of public polls showed Democrats had a 10-point advantage, far higher than the six-point benchmark set by McCarthy at Camp David. But Trump’s own approval rating had ticked up from its lows, and he appeared to have energized his own voters down the stretch. His fingerprints were all over the Senate contests, where Republicans gained ground in conservative states such as North Dakota, Missouri and Indiana, while beating back a moderate Democratic challenge in Tennessee. “These are NOT ‘red states’ or ‘Republican states’ — they are ‘Trump states,’ ” White House political director Bill Stepien wrote in an internal memo that was leaked before Halloween. It was enough for Trump to declare victory, in a tweet that betrayed no misgivings. “Tremendous success tonight,” he tweeted as the results came in, ignoring his defeats in the House. “Thank you to all!” n ©The Washington Post

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POLITICS

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A wave of women heads for House B Y M ARY J ORDAN

ore than 100 women were projected to win seats in the House of Representatives, easily shattering the record. Overwhelmingly they were Democrats who helped the party take control of the chamber. Women have never held more than 84 of the 435 seats in the House. With votes still being counted late in the week, 100 women had been officially declared winners. “Women made history in a number of ways and were a significant force in flipping many districts from red to blue,” said Kelly Dittmar, a political scientist at the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. Many of the winning candidates campaigned on the need for better health care for all Americans. They come from a wide variety of backgrounds — from military veterans to teachers — and many had never run for office before. Women also made inroads in gubernatorial races, which are particularly important because of upcoming redistricting battles. In Kansas and Michigan, women flipped states that had been under Republican control. Democratic state Sen. Laura Kelly defeated Republican Kris Kobach, with whom Trump had campaigned in Kansas last month. Gretchen Whitmer, a former state senator in Michigan, won her race after campaigning on a promise to fix the state’s roads and aging drinking-water infrastructure, and to expand Medicaid to lowerincome adults. Notably, Michigan Democrats selected a woman for every statewide office on Tuesday’s ballot: governor, U.S. senator, attorney general and secretary of state. Georgia had the highest-profile governor’s race. Stacey Abrams, a Democrat, was aiming to be the first black female governor in the nation. She was still contesting the vote count in her state on Friday. . The women who ran this year were remarkably diverse — black,

KATHERINE FREY/THE WASHINGTON POST

At least 100 are elected to Congress; most are Democrats, and many are first-time candidates Latina, Native American. But noticeably absent on ballots were more Republican women. “We need to go out and get our women engaged,” said Sarah Chamberlain, president and CEO of Republican Main Street Partnership. “We are being dwarfed by the Democrats. This is something we are going to focus on.” Chamberlain said she hears voters in key districts talking mostly about an affordable health-care system that serves everyone, even those with preexisting medical conditions. That has been the loud and clear message of many Democratic candidates. The new faces coming to Congress include Alexandria OcasioCortez in New York, a Latina who defeated incumbent Joseph Crowley in a decisive primary. Deb Haaland, a Democrat in New Mexico, will be one of the first Native American women to serve

in Congress. In Florida, Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, an immigrant from Ecuador and an educator, focused her campaign largely on health care and toppled Republican Rep. Carlos Curbelo. Curbelo had voted to repeal Obamacare in a district that contains thousands of people who benefited from it. Michigan’s Rashida Tlaib, born in Detroit to Palestinian parents, and Minnesota’s Ilhan Omar, who arrived in the United States from Somalia at age 14, won their House races, becoming the first Muslim women elected to Congress. Some GOP women won key races. Marsha Blackburn, who called herself a “hardcore, card-carrying conservative,” became the first female senator ever elected from Tennessee. Backed by Trump in the Republican state, she defeated Phil Bredesen, a centrist Demo-

Democrat Jennifer Wexton, a Virginia state senator, is flanked by supporters Tuesday night after she defeated incumbent Rep. Barbara Comstock (R) in the 10th District.

crat and former governor. Democrats did not fare as well in the Senate. In Missouri, one of the few Democratic women in the Senate, Claire McCaskill, was defeated by Republican state attorney general Josh Hawley. While men with military backgrounds have long been recruited to run for office, this year many of the candidates who drew the most attention were female veterans. Chrissy Houlahan, an Air Force veteran and first-time Democratic candidate, won in Pennsylvania’s 6th Congressional District race, replacing retiring Rep. Ryan Costello, a Republican. Mikie Sherrill, a former Navy helicopter pilot and Democrat, won in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District. She said she was motivated to run for office by what she calls a “lack of respect” for women by the Trump administration and was astounded to see an all-male Senate panel debating whether to repeal the Affordable Care Act last year. Democrat Abigail Spanberger, a former CIA operative, pulled off a big win in Virginia by unseating Republican Rep. Dave Brat, a rising star among conservatives. A record 33 of the Tuesday’s matchups for Congress were women vs. women. In Florida, Democrat Donna Shalala, the former president of the University of Miami and Cabinet member during the Clinton administration, defeated Republican Maria Elvira Salazar, a broadcast journalist. “Are women fired up? That is putting it mildly,” said Jen Cox, a founder of PaveItBlue. Her group, one of many formed since Trump’s election, connected thousands of women in the Atlanta area interested in politics. “It’s historic. It’s our turn in having a say in changing the face of politics,” Cox said. “This is only just the beginning,” said Stephanie Schriock, the president of Emily’s List, an influential Democratic-leaning group that supports women in politics. “I think we are going to see a historical turnout of women in 2020 — this is not dying down.” n ©The Washington Post

14 10 SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2018

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SUNDAY, November11, 11, 2018 2018 15 SUNDAY, NOVEMBER

POLITICS / ANALYSIS

KLMNO WEEKLY

POLITICS / ANALYSIS

e d d s s e b

n , a e

WEEKLY

winners Election night’s losers winners and losers How and the BY

house was won

A ARON B LAKE

Democrats have taken the House, and Republicans will keep the Senate. And there was, and will be, plenty of shouting. Below, some winners and losers. B Y M ICHAEL S CHERER J OSH D AWSEY ANDWINNERS

Democrats Republicans will pitch this as a split decision, because they gain seats in the Senate. It’s not; the Senate map was highly favorable to them, meaning that maintaining control of it was expected. Democrats just took over a chamber of Congress, and that’s a big thing for them, period.

reevaluate many political assumptions, and we can now add this Clinton-era adage to the list. The idea that the economy is the most important thing at all times doesn’t make a whole lot of sense when the unemployment rate is 3.7 percent and 8 in 10 voters rate the economy positively, but the party in power loses a chamber.

Trump’s immigration strategy It was fashionable to say that Trump’s fear-based, anti-caravan strategy was ugly, but probably effective. And it might have been in Senate races in clearly red territory. But it didn’t seem to do much of anything to save the House, which was the more endangered chamber. Exit polls showed about half of voters regarded Trump’s rhetoric as “too tough.”

Speaker(?) Nancy Pelosi. Good things (probably) come to those who wait. It’s rare that a former speaker sticks around for Voting against Kavanaugh Voting against Kavanaugh as long as Pelosi did after losing MICHAEL ROBINSON CHAVEZ/THE WASHINGTON POST MICHAEL ROBINSON CHAVEZ/THE WASHINGTON POST One vote can be oversold, but One vote can be oversold, but the gavel in 2010. it’s notable that Sens. Joe Donnelit’s notable that Sens. Joe DonnelBut she kept raising big money ly (D-Ind.) and Heidi Heitkamp ly (D-Ind.) and Heidi Heitkamp for her side, and she stuck around (D-N.D.) cast some of the most (D-N.D.) cast some of the most long enough. Now she just needs surprising votes against Kasurprising votes against Kato make sure there are enough vanaugh’s Supreme Court nomivanaugh’s Supreme Court nomiDemocrats willing to vote for her nation — after voting for Neil M. nation — after voting for Neil M. to allow her to become speaker Gorsuch — while Sen. Joe ManGorsuch — while Sen. Joe Managain. It will be tough to stop her, JIMchin WATSON/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY chin III (D-W.Va.) voted for KaIII (D-W.Va.) voted forIMAGES Kathough. just fine in the vanaugh and did just fine in the felons, and manyvanaugh of themand aredid Beto Beto 2020 (and beyond) Beto O’Rourke 2020 (and beyond) Beto O’Rourke state in the country. Trumpiest state in the country. minorities. That Trumpiest could change supporters listen to supporters listen to No,Mitch things McConnell didn’t go according No, things didn’t go according Again, that votetomay vote maythe not have It may not have been a Force huge elections for years to come. the Democratic the to plan for Texas Democrats’ new plannot for have Texas Democrats’ new s he flew aboard Air teerDemocratic energy — that had everAgain, been that “You know sealed the deal, but Donnellysavior. and But Rep. Beto sealed the deal, but Donnelly surprise thatBut held Senate candidate Senate supposed savior. Beto supposed midterm electionsand One to Republicans anRep. airport hangar seen in candidate an off-year election. Democratic diversity Heitkamp both underperformed. Heitkamp the (D-Tex.) Senate, they it Wis., with from Texas as he from Texas as he O’Rourke did adid metO’Rourke (D-Tex.) did raise a metusedunderperformed. to be, like, rallybut inraise Mosinee, They were united, as rarely both meaning Republicans can Colorado’s concedes defeat to Jared Polis became concedes defeathim. to But that was ric tonease, of money, and even a close ric ton of money, and even a close boring, didn’t they?” President Trump groused before, against Democrats’ Democrats’ next Trump said confirming the the first openly gay man electednext Ted Cruz, Ted theliked it, always loss iskeep keep him on President the loss is likely to keep him on the President tolikely aidesto about having to tone just Cruz, how he at the generation stars judges. And it of will be incumbent, during incumbent, during agoinggeneration governor, anda Democrats electedof stars atof a rally Monday in radar.Trump’s Givenhis the very long list radar. Given the very long list of down prepared remarks. center of attention, with his wasn’t just O’Rourke losing a wasn’t just O’Rourke losing even easier now, given rally Southwest rally at Southwest Muslim women It (Michigan’s Cleveland. “Now it’s a Democrats expected to runthe forGOP’s Democrats expected to run for Pipe bombs had been mailed to attwo gut, selling his defiance as aItfountoughpresident, race. high-profile, tough Andrew majority expanded at least University Park Tlaib in Elfury University Park in ElHe believed Rashida andhigh-profile, Minnesota’s like the race. hottest president, why not the guy by who why not the guy were who several ofhas his favorite foils, indational attribute. in controversy, and fear that The Andrew midterm elections Gillum was behind as made he going headed Gillum acluding couple seats. Paso on Tuesday. Paso on Tuesday. Ilhan Omar) and two Native thing.” as he headed just made Texas competitive? just Texas to the homes of two forthe reactions of his own enor-was behind would push limits and get ratings, always to competitive? come down to a for a recount for Florida governor. for aallow recount for Florida governor. Oh, and theand bonus for him: American women (Kansas’s Shamer presidents the New York mous crowds. They would paint a caravan of Central Amerimoment like this: President Abrams to LOSERS be and imperious, Stacey Abrams appeared to be Democrat Amy McGrath’s loss in rice andasNew Mexico’s Deb appeared officesLOSERS of CNN. It was a moment him to defy the prognosticators can Davids migrants a Stacey mortal threat Trump, isolated headed forcoa loss in Georgia’s Kentucky’s 6th District. The highHaaland), among other for presidential leadership, less and polls, show up hisheaded mediafor a loss in Georgia’s and color Democrats asfirsts. their deciding the fate of his RepubliBeto ly 2018, and its donors Beto 2018, and its donors governor’s race and fail to governor’s touted candidate inthan two weeks beforewould the midcritics, and once again rewrite the race and could fail to conspirators. cancould Party’s electoral hopes. makewere a runoff her team make a runoff (though her team been for term thatconsidered wouldwe deliver rules of American politics. Now speechwriters tell- (though In three years,and he had A stantly loss elections ishave a loss, and A loss isshort a loss, we Medicaid expansion wasencouraged challenging the vote count). challenging the vote count). McConnell’s seat in 2020. a verdict on his twogot years in At the White House, awas number ing the man who become an omnipotent in shouldn’t pretend it’s first not. It’s shouldn’t pretend it’s not.force It’s got Andpassed Randy Bryce, thebeman DemoAnd Randy Ballot at initiatives in office. of senior aides had argued pri- Bryce, the man Demofistfights his 2016 campaign American life, deflating to be especially deflating for those to especially for those overturning the Florida’s fell in love with as a of foilthe toso fell in love with as a foil to three — Nebraska, But, according to twoin aides vately that Trump’s focuscrats on fanralliesdeep-red to call forstates “allcrats sides to come who invested sofelons much hope who invested much hopethe in customs White House, House Speaker D. Ryan, lost House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, lost Amendment 4— passed in FloriIdaho andinUtah — to expand Med- Paul familiar with Trump’s objections, ning fears over immigration went together peace and harmony.” O’Rourke’s candidacy and for O’Rourke’s candidacy — and for values of the Republican Party the estate open-seat for the Ryan’s seat open-seat race for Ryan’s seat da, rights for conicaid eligibility Obamathe restoring words setvoting to be loaded into the too far. House Speaker the They wanted the under real pro-racethe the people who invested their people who invested and rules of public debate.their His Paul D. by double digits.hard-earned These might double digits. These might victed felons. That’s both care, Kansas elected a Demoteleprompter the moterand who dubbed his Democrathard-earned cash, adidn’t recordmatch $70 huge cash, a record $70 opponents had reacted fiercely, Ryan (R-Wis.) would callbyTrump haveto been theafourmillion buzziest Dembeen the four buzziest Demfrom a civil rightsplans standpoint and cratic governor who replaces president’s ic opponent “crooked” demand million worth of it. worth of it.street protests with the largest twice in the final weekshave own for closing to urge ocratic candidates, andthe they all and the greatest ocratic from an electoralthe one.details About of 9 Republican who nixed an expanan end to “treating political opposince 1960s the campaign, him to get off the nonstop immi-candidates, and they all ‘It’s the economy, stupid.’ economy, stupid.’ — came upby short. up short. n percent of the sion the n ‘It’s nentsthat as was beingsupported morally defecwave the of political engagement which he hadvoting-age kept frompopulaother gration talk and refocuscame on the in era Florida is composed of GOP-controlled state legislature. tive.” as measured money and volunThetion Trump has forced us to The Trumpbyera has forced us to Republican leaders. He wanted economy. ©The Washington Post ©The Washington Post

phed when they took back Democrats the triumphed when they took back the star candidates failed to shine House, but their star candidates failed to shine

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Democrats refocus their messaging while Trump defies aides’ advice

15 SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2018

SUNDAY, November 11, 2018 18

KLMNO WEEKLY

BOOKS

An understated champion of radical kindness N ONFICTION

REVIEWED BY

A NNIE M URPHY P AUL

I THE GOOD NEIGHBOR The Life and Work of Fred Rogers By Maxwell King Abrams. 405 pp. $30

Fred Rogers dons his trademark sweater during a ceremony at the Smithsonian in 1984. Rogers donated the cardigan to the National Museum of American History.

n a recent interview on NPR, journalist Beth Macy was asked about the personal toll taken by her work reporting on the ravages of the opioid crisis. Macy replied that the words of a friend helped buoy her spirits and guide her approach to the story, which also involved interviewing “the people fighting back” against the scourge of addiction: doctors, social workers, first responders, health activists. Recalled Macy of her friend: “He quoted Mister Rogers — he said, ‘Look for the helpers.’ ” “Look for the helpers”: a small gift, one of many, for which we can thank the children’s television personality Mister Rogers. The life of Fred Rogers is recounted in “The Good Neighbor,” a new biography by Maxwell King. King, a former journalist who now leads the nonprofit Pittsburgh Foundation, offers the full complement of heartwarming, feel-good stories we would expect from a book about Mister Rogers. But, as King is at pains to demonstrate, Rogers was not just about feeling good. He was no superficial cartoon of niceness. The man was deep. Rogers treated with sober seriousness notions that the rest of us regard as platitudes and devotedly lived them out. He made niceness radical. King is a skilled storyteller who captures the essence of not only Rogers the person but also the very particular American scene that produced him. The future television icon was born in 1928 in Latrobe, Pa., an industrial city 40 miles outside Pittsburgh. His mother was a model for Fred and the source of the advice Macy found so inspiring: “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news,” Rogers once related on his show, “my mother would say to me: ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ Rogers himself was a “sickly, chubby boy” whose classmates called him “Fat Freddy” and chased him home from school. Despite such treatment, he

RON EDMONDS/ASSOCIATED PRESS

formed a loving attachment to his hometown, which he would later re-create on his show as “The Neighborhood of Make-Believe.” “The Good Neighbor” guides us smoothly from Rogers’s childhood through his early adulthood and the start of his professional career. After studying music composition at Rollins College in Florida, he was hired by NBC Television in New York. In 1953, Rogers moved back to Pennsylvania to work at WQED Pittsburgh, the nation’s first community-sponsored educational television station. There he produced a program called “The Children’s Corner,” which led to the creation of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” Rogers’s show was earnest, quirky, amateurish in the best sense of the word; it was also groundbreaking. Into the lilywhite world of midcentury children’s programming, Rogers invited actors of diverse backgrounds such as Francois Clemmons, an African American singer and actor who played a police officer; Mag-

gie Stewart, the African American “mayor” of Westwood; and Tony Chiroldes, the owner of a shop that sold toys, books and computers, and who sometimes taught Mister Rogers words in Spanish. King does his best to excavate Rogers’s dark side. He could be stubborn and rigid, the biographer reveals; to hear former producer Margy Whitmer tell it, Mister Rogers was a bit of a control freak. “Our show wasn’t a director’s dream,” Whitmer confesses to King. “Fred had a lot of rules about showing the whole body, not just the hands. When actors or puppets were reading something, Fred wanted the kids to see the words, even if viewers couldn’t literally read them.” It does no damage to Rogers’s reputation to gain this humanizing perspective. One of the most affecting stories in the book highlights both his rigidity and his goodness. Before appearing on Oprah Winfrey’s talk show in 1985, Rogers issued strict instructions: No children were to be present

during the taping. Winfrey and her producers ignored his request and filled her studio with young children and their mothers. King describes what happened next: “As soon as the children started to ask him questions directly, he seemed to get lost in their world, slowing his responses to their pace, and even hunching in his chair as if to insinuate himself down to their level. This wasn’t good television — at least, good adult television. Everything was going into a kind of slow motion as Fred Rogers became Mister Rogers, connecting powerfully with the smallest children present.” In today’s ugly climate, Rogers’s example feels more necessary than ever. Indeed, 15 years after his death, we’re still passing on his words to each other like something warm to hold. When we look for the helpers, he’s there. n Paul is a social-science journalist at work on a book about rethinking intelligence. This was written for The Washington Post

SUNDAY, November 11, 2018

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