The Cutting Room Floor – May 8, 2026
A $1B East Wing security upgrade tucked inside a $72B immigration enforcement bill is polling worse than the bill itself (46–24 against keeping it in). "Mass deportations are coming" splits 41–40, but the mechanism polls 12 points better than the label. And 86% of voters still think government runs for a few big interests — the soil every other story lands in.
MaxDiff Memo: Frame Ice Funding As A Blank Check Lacking Financial Oversight
Voters aren’t debating immigration policy—they’re rejecting unchecked power. The top ICE funding message hits 70.9% by framing it as a “blank check” with no oversight. Here’s what works—and what fails.
Voters Oppose Stripping Birthright Citizenship. They Oppose One Person Deciding It Even More.
New Tavern Research polling finds that opposition to Trump's birthright citizenship executive order runs 25 points deep — but opposition to one person rewriting the 14th Amendment alone runs 26. The procedural argument is pulling its own weight, independently of where voters stand on immigration.
The Cutting Room Floor – Mar 13, 2026
$100 oil as a job performance issue. MTG's anti-war critique at 51%. White House caught changing deportation messaging. Quick hits from this week's polling.