WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 -- Sen. John Thune, R-South Dakota, issued the following commentary on July 31, 2026: * * * Democrats Go to Extremes At the start of last year, a New York Times poll offered a warning to Democrats. The headline read, "Many Americans Say the Democratic Party Does Not Share Their Priorities." Just weeks after Democrats were rejected at the ballot box, the Times poll suggested that one of the reasons for their loss was that Americans thought that Democrats weren't concerned about the things that matter most to them. A year a more PR