Following up a bit from yesterday’s post — today Paul Waldman writes that so far the covid relief bill “looks to be one of the most popular pieces of major legislation in U.S. history.”

A new CBS News poll found that 83 percent of Americans would approve “of Congress passing an additional economic relief package that would provide funds to people and businesses impacted by the coronavirus outbreak.” While 40 percent thought the package being discussed is “not enough,” 39 percent said it is “about the right amount” and only 20 percent said it is “too much.”

A Yahoo News/YouGov poll found 74 percent of Americans supporting $2,000 relief checks, and 69 percent supporting increased funding for vaccinations. Those are two of core pieces of the bill.

A Quinnipiac poll found that 68 percent of Americans support the rescue package, in response to a question that explicitly mentioned Biden (which might be expected to turn off Republicans). And 78 percent of Americans supported relief checks.

Given these poll numbers, I don’t see that the Republicans have the policial capital to whine that nobody is compromising with them.

I have been listening to the impeachment trial and checking in with it from time to time. It seems to me the Democrats are giving a devastating presentation. Not that the Republicans will change their minds. But I hope a lot of people are watching this.

See also I’ve Studied Terrorism for Over 40 Years. Let’s Talk About What Comes Next.by Martha Crenshaw at the New York Times.