Monday Edition

Despite extreme polarization and negative partisanship in modern American politics, a few issues are bringing the fringes of both sides together. (Jewish Insider)

The latest: Prominent anti-war Republicans — including Vivek Ramaswamy and Sens. J.D. Vance of Ohio and Rand Paul of Kentucky — will speak at an event hosted by right-leaning American Conservative and the left-leaning Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.

Jewish Insider senior Congressional correspondent Marc Rod: “The conference on Capitol Hill, and the GOP figures’ planned appearances, are a further reflection of ‘horseshoe’ trends in foreign policy that have united the far right and far left in support of a more isolationist U.S. posture.”

In an announcement promoting the event, the Quincy Institute said, “Americans have tired of sending their money and their family members to fund and fight foreign conflicts not vital to their own safety and security.”

• The Quincy Institute is funded by Democratic megadonor George Soros and libertarian philanthropist Charles Koch.

• The organization backed the House Progressive Caucus’ controversial 2022 letter calling on President Biden to negotiate directly with Russia to end the Ukraine War.

We’re seeing this happen in other corners of the right, too: While mainstream Republicans have lined up against pro-Palestine campus protesters, popular right-wing pundits like Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens have been more concerned with criticizing Israel.

In November, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene caused a stir when she praised Code Pink, a radical left-wing group that shares the Georgia Republican’s stance against sending military aid to Ukraine.

Bubba’s Two Cents

Writing about horseshoe theory last year, political commentator Jonah Goldberg observed that while the trend isn’t necessarily new, “What’s changed is how much more willing the political center is to let itself be defined by the logic and rhetoric of the extremes.”

Vaccine hesitancy spiked during the pandemic and is picking up mainstream attention. (NYT)

Earlier this month, The New York Times covered the thousands of Americans who’ve reported side effects from COVID-19 vaccines.

The scale of the problem: 13,000 vaccine-injury compensation claims filed vs. nearly 677 million COVID vaccine doses.

Concerns about vaccines are growing, and trust in public health officials is down.

• A UNICEF report released last year found confidence in childhood vaccines fell in 52 out of 55 countries (including the U.S.) during the pandemic.

• The same UNICEF report found measles cases doubled in 2022 compared to the previous year and polio cases increased 16%.

• The share of Americans who think vaccines should be mandatory for public school students fell from 82% in 2016 to 70% in 2023, per Pew Research Center.

• According to a KFF poll released last year, Americans’ trust in the CDC, FDA and Anthony Fauci fell significantly from 2020 to 2022 (by 9%, 8% and 15%, respectively).

Data shows the vaccines worked to protect people, especially the elderly, from dying of COVID.

Bubba’s Two Cents

The evidence points to COVID vaccines being mostly safe and saving lives, so why all the skepticism? Well, probably because public health officials oversold other pandemic measures (like lockdowns and mask mandates) that weren’t as effective. And in some cases, like the “6-feet” social distancing rule, policies weren’t even based on science.

When some states began issuing same-sex marriage certificates 20 years ago, critics said it would have detrimental effects on society and the institution of marriage, but have those predictions borne out? (RAND)

A new report from the RAND Institute:

• New marriages between different-sex couples have risen by 1-2%, and marriages overall have increased by 10%.

• No evidence of increased cohabitation or divorce among different-sex couples.

RAND researchers: “When states legalized marriage for same-sex couples, the physical health of LGBT individuals in those states improved; state-level rates of syphilis, HIV, and AIDS fell significantly; same-sex households in those states experienced more-stable relationships, higher earnings, and higher rates of homeownership; and sexual orientation–motivated hate crimes and employment discrimination against LGBT individuals declined.”

Over the past 20 years, Americans’ support for same-sex marriage has doubled:

The share of Americans who identify as LGBT went from 3.5% in 2012 to 7.6% in 2023, according to Gallup.

• More than 1 in 5 Gen Z adults identifies as LGBT.

Recent polls reveal a surprising shift in how U.S. Hispanics view migrants. (CBS News)

A new CBS News poll: 40% of Hispanic voters in Arizona say recent immigrants from Mexico and Latin America have made life in the state worse, versus just 18% who say they’ve made it better.

A series of Axios polls released last month:

• 45% of American Latinos support mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.

• 42% of Latinos support building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, up from 30% in 2021.

A Pew Research Center poll from March: 75% of U.S. Hispanics describe the current situation at the border as a “major problem” or “crisis.”

A 2007 study found Latino immigrants to the U.S. were assimilating as quickly as earlier waves of European immigrants.

Bubba’s Two Cents

Modern U.S. Hispanics may be less sympathetic to high levels of migration because they identify less strongly with recent immigrants and more strongly with other Americans. In other words, it seems like Latino Americans increasingly view themselves as … just Americans.

A new Wall Street Journal analysis shows Americans’ inflation-adjusted net worth spiked much higher under Donald Trump than it did under President Biden. (WSJ)

Adjusted for inflation, net worth (assets like stocks, bonds, cash and property, minus debts) increased by 0.7% under Biden versus 16% under Trump.

The above chart might help to explain why Americans are so down on Biden’s economy, despite many metrics indicating it’s in good shape.

• Confidence in Biden's economic management is historically low, at just 38%.