Stop Panicking. Reagan Had 35% Approval in 1983 and Won 49 States in 1984
Someone needs to say this out loud, clearly, before the doom-scrolling crowd turns a tight midterm into an excuse for resignation.
Election analyst Seth Keshel spent last week firefighting against people who’ve convinced themselves that an early August poll is a final verdict on 2026. It isn’t. It never has been. And the historical parallel he reached for is so apt it should be required reading for every Republican who spent this weekend catastrophizing about the generic ballot.
In early 1983 — right after Democrats cleaned out the House in the 1982 midterms — Ronald Reagan held a 35% approval rating. The same man who’d run on a political revolution, won states that hadn’t voted Republican in decades, and survived an assassination attempt was sitting at 35% with the economy still working through its recovery. Most Washington insiders assumed he was a one-term president. He won 49 states in 1984.
The pattern is documented over 92 years of American political history. The president’s party loses House seats 20 out of 23 times since 1934. This year, because of redistricting, affords one of the highest chances of president-party success since the New Deal era. Republicans aren’t going to win the Congressional popular vote. They may not need to.
And if they do lose the House? Democrats will form committees, drag political enemies before cameras, deal out consequences, and in doing so remind America exactly why they can’t be trusted with power. They will remind voters why registration keeps moving against them. They will demonstrate, with high-definition clarity, why the early struggles of the Trump administration are not the fault of his policies — because economic ships take a long time to turn, and global enemies left unaddressed for five decades don’t leave power in months.
The DSA’s emergence is a last gasp, not a permanent realignment. The truth will win out — but only if the people who want to see it get off the internet and start building the relationships that matter: school boards, county commissions, the small unglamorous races where America’s political future actually gets decided.
Keshel also made the point that deserves to be repeated every time someone complains about the Senate’s dysfunction: Lindsey Graham was irreplaceable not for his policy positions but for his ability to get things done — the quiet effectiveness that kept legislation from collapsing at critical moments. His absence is real. Filling it takes time and takes people willing to do the unglamorous work.
The 2030 census is coming. The DSA’s coalition is more fragile than it looks. Republican voter registration trends remain strong even in a year that was supposed to be a blue wave.
Reagan won in 1984. The GOP won 89 of 100 states across the ’84 and ’88 cycles.
Stop panicking. Start working.
BREAKING: Dolly Parton’s Cause Of Death Revealed: ‘Brief Battle’
Dolly Parton’s death came after a brief battle with cancer, her representatives revealed Tuesday.
The country music legend died Aug. 25 at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville. She was 80.
Parton had been admitted to the cancer center Friday, four days before her death. Her representatives confirmed the cancer diagnosis in a statement to PEOPLE but did not disclose what type she had.
“Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy, laughter, hope and integrity into everything she touched. Her unmatched generosity reached the lives of countless people whom she would never meet, yet she was always there to offer a helping hand,” the statement read.
“Whether it be the hundreds of millions of books donated through her invaluable Imagination Library or funding research that helped create a lifesaving vaccine used around the world, Dolly’s unconditional love for all people was the guiding force for her lasting impact. After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones,” the statement concluded.
The “Jolene” singer had also been dealing with kidney and autoimmune issues before her death, PEOPLE previously reported.
Just days earlier, Dolly Parton opened up about her declining health and acknowledged that she had put off addressing some medical issues while caring for her husband, Carl.
“As I’ve shared in video messages throughout the past year, I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over [my husband] Carl. You know, this isn’t the first time I’ve had to manage something like this. Back in the early ’80s, I was down for several months with female issues, and I was struggling with my weight at the time too, so it’s not like I haven’t been through hard times with my health,” Parton told PEOPLE.
Her nephew, Bryan Seaver, announced her death in an Instagram video Tuesday on behalf of the Parton and Owens family.
“My name is Bryan Seaver, son of Cassie Parton, and I’m representing the Parton and Owens family today announcing the passing of my aunt, Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean, Sister, Sis and Granny to one generation and Gigi to the next,” he says in the video.
Seaver, who served as Parton’s head of security for more than two decades, said she had asked him years earlier to deliver the announcement.
“This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality,” he continued. “As her head of security for more than two decades, a role my father Larry held before me, I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven’t truly felt it until now.”
Seaver said the moment brought immense pride and heartbreak, but he took comfort in his faith that Parton had been reunited with Carl and other loved ones.
Seaver added: “It is an honor, an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness. But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly. Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by Carl, her parents and countless othe
Shocking 'truth' behind Prince Harry's decision to quit major role
Prince Harry should have "resigned in disgrace" from the board of a controversial African wildlife charity, a commentator says. James Walker makes the bombshell remark in Wednesday's episode of this publication's podcast, Daily Expresso.
He and the show's host, JJ Anisiobi, delve into the Duke of Sussex's dramatic decision to step down from African Parks. James, commenting on the controversy, said: "When you hear about this stuff and how long it's been going on for, you should be resigning in disgrace. [Harry] should be saying: 'I'm not touching that with a barge pole. That is a failed entity. We're going nowhere near it'.
"But no. He's still saying he's going to 'support their mission'. And again this Caroline Pearce, executive director of Survival International, goes on to say: 'His departure doesn't undo that record'.
"She alleged that African Parks was aware of the abuses for years, but it was only after Survival complained to Harry that the charity finally commissioned an investigation."
James added: "Well, she's got a point."
It emerged on Monday (August 24) that Harry was no longer a board member of the wildlife charity.
The conservation organisation has admitted that human rights abuses were committed by its rangers against members of the semi-nomadic Baka group in Congo-Brazzaville.
African Parks has said since that it has improved its safeguarding processes both in the Odzala-Kokoua National Park and institutionally.
Its admission followed an independent human rights investigation into allegations guards managed and paid by the charity had beaten, raped and tortured indigenous people in Odzala-Kokoua National Park.
Harry was president of the charity for six years before he became a member of its board of directors in 2023.
A spokesman for the Duke said he remains an active and avid supporter of African Parks. He added: "The Duke is proud of his 10 years with African Parks and fully supports the ongoing strengthening of its board.
"His commitment to conservation in Africa continues and he remains a supporter of African Parks’ mission."
Human rights organisation, Survival International, said it had been calling on Harry to step down from African Parks for years.
The group's director, Caroline Pearce, said in a statement: "It’s outrageous that for 10 years Prince Harry has served African Parks while the organisation has been responsible for abuse and violence against Indigenous people.
"His departure doesn't undo that record — African Parks itself must now be held accountable, and must abandon this model of fortress conservation for good."
Survival International said indigenous peoples know how best to manage their land and the idea outsiders know better is racist and colonial.
