The House Is Lost: Show Notes, 10/14/2022
Plus: ACT scores shrink in Louisiana and Mitt Romney's silence in Utah.
The Joe Cunningham Show airs 3-4 p.m. every weekday on NewsTalk 96.5 KPEL. The daily show notes offer you a look into the topics of the day and the links to the top stories and Joe's own writings on the state of politics in Louisiana and around the country. Follow Joe on Twitter at @JoePCunningham and Like the Joe Cunningham Show on Facebook. You can also subscribe to the Joe Cunningham Show podcast on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, or Amazon.
DOOM: Democratic Donors Turn Off The Taps
The Democrats are either in denial or putting up a front. They were hoping to flip GOP seats in districts Biden won, but there is no money, according to POLITICO. Donors have largely given up on trying to mitigate damage in the House and are seeking to spend money holding on to the Senate, which itself is looking really close to flipping to the Republican Party. But it’s telling that the donors are giving up on the House when Democrats overall have had a better fundraising year than Republicans. But where Democratic Senate campaigns have enjoyed windfalls, everyone seems to be ignoring the House.
Louisiana’s ACT Scores Are Dropping Again
The company behind the ACT has released ACT scores by state, and there is some telling information in it: Louisiana’s scores have dropped for the fifth year in a row.
ACT numbers released on Wednesday show Louisiana's Class of 2022 produced an average composite score of 18.1 out of 36, a decline of 0.3% from the previous year. The score marks the fifth consecutive year the composite score has declined, mirroring a national trend of declining achievement that's now at the lowest level in 31 years.
"This is the fifth consecutive year of declines in average scores, a worrisome trend that began long before the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, and has persisted," ACT CEO Janet Godwin said. "The magnitude of the declines this year is particularly alarming, as we see rapidly growing numbers of seniors leaving high school without meeting the college-readiness benchmark in any of the subjects we measure."
In Louisiana, where all high school students are required to take the ACT to graduate, students struggled the most with math with a score of 17.4, while the highest score came in reading at 18.6. Louisiana students scored 18.3 in science and 17.6 in English.
"We have to do better," Louisiana Superintendent Cade Brumley told NOLA.com.
I have a theory. I can’t quite prove it because there is some data I just don’t have, but here we go regardless: It wasn’t the pandemic, but the shift to mandatory ACT testing in schools back in 2013. It took a while to kick in, but gradually students just began treating it as another test day, and they knew they would take it at school so they stopped caring about those non-mandatory tests you could take.
Mitt Romney Won’t Endorse Mike Lee
This is such a below-the-radar race, but while some in the media and those of the extremely anti-Trump mindset are wishcasting Democrat Evan McMullin to beat Mike Lee and take his Senate spot. Republicans are privately (and some publicly) furious that Mitt Romney, the other Senator from Utah, refuses to endorse Lee. National Review has a good piece on it.
Headlines Of The Day
Air Force Casts Doubt on Politico’s Claim That GOP Candidate’s Sexual Assault Was Public Info (National Review)
Americans face nationwide shortage of Adderall, FDA says (CBS)
Eight in 10 Americans Favor Early Voting, Photo ID Laws (Gallup)
Sources: Commanders boss Snyder claims 'dirt' on NFL owners, Goodell (ESPN)
Virginia parents could face abuse charges for not affirming their LGBTQ child under new bill (WJLA)