<em>The Atlantic</em> Politics Daily: All About That Base—Again

3. Young Americans are moving away from blue strongholds like New York City and to booming Sun Belt metros, which give Democrats an opening in states like Texas, Arizona, and Georgia. In 2012, Democrats lost Maricopa County, Arizona, which includes Phoenix, by nearly 150,000 votes. Six years later, in the 2018 Senate election, Democrats captured the state by more than 50,000 votes.

— Saahil Desai

Snapshot

(Al Drogo / Reuters)

Maryland Representative Elijah Cummings lay in state at the U.S. Capitol today, after dying at 68 last week. Former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, as well as former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, are set to eulogize him Friday during a service in Baltimore.

+ Cummings’ death is a reminder of the racial disparity in life expectancy, Ibram X. Kendi writes: “[T]here may be no more consequential white privilege than life itself. The privilege of being on the living end of racism.”

What Else We’re Watching

(Leah Millis / Reuters)

Who’s in control of the impeachment narrative? Earlier this year, Attorney General William Barr was able to reframe the conversation around the soon-to-be-released Mueller report. This fall, things are a little different, our White House reporters Peter Nicholas and Elaina Plott report.

What striking teachers tell their students: Tens of thousands of Chicago teachers are now in their second week on strike in one of the nation’s largest school districts. “I asked the kids, ‘Do you want to know what we’re fighting about?’” one teacher told Jack Crosbie.

Tim Ryan goes out with a whisper. The hot yoga enthusiast and 2020 Democratic hopeful from Ohio is dropping out of the race. “We need a national coalition of people who say it’s ‘both and,’ not ‘either/or,’” Ryan had told our reporter Elaine Godfrey after they sweat buckets at a Georgetown studio back in March shortly before he announced his candidacy.

Argument of the Day

(Jonathan Ernst / Reuters)

While the president frequently attacks his Democratic rivals, Trump’s tweet calling so-called Never-Trump Republicans “human scum” should be a badge of honor, Paul Rosenzweig argues.

What makes me human scum? Evidently, a belief in enduring American ideals, like the rule of law and the value of a free press. A belief in a system of governance that enshrines the principle of checks and balances in our Constitution—a system in which Congress and the judiciary serve as limits on authoritarian executive overreach.

→ Read the rest

+ More from Paul, who served as a Senior Counsel in the investigation of President Clinton two decades ago: “Trump’s Defiance of the Rule of Law.” (June 2019)

What Our Reporters Are Reading

The Ongoing Horror of #MeToo (Megan Garber, The Atlantic)

Outdoor Industry Giants Such as Patagonia Stood Up for Bears Ears. Why Won’t They Stand Up for the Borderlands? (Jessica Kutz, High Country News)

On Capitol Hill, the Caucus Grows for Diwali (Priya Krishna, The New York Times) (🔒Paywall)

About us: The Atlantic’s politics newsletter is a daily effort from our politics desk. Today’s edition was written by Saahil Desai, with help from Christian Paz, and edited by Shan Wang.

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Saahil Desai is an associate editor at The Atlantic, where he covers politics and policy.

Christian Paz is an editorial fellow at The Atlantic.