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NOVEMBER 5,  2021

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

ANOTHER GAIN – FROM AP:   RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Democratic leaders in Virginia conceded Friday that Republicans have won control of the House of Delegates.  The Associated Press has not called all of the races yet.  But House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn issued a statement acknowledging the GOP majority shortly after Democratic Del. Martha Mugler conceded defeat in a tight race against Republican challenger A.C. Cordoza in the 91st House district, located in Virginia’s Hampton Roads region. WIth Mugler’s concession, Republicans now expect control over 51 seats in the 100-member chamber.  The concession means Republicans would complete an elections sweep in which they also reclaimed the offices of governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general. The GOP victory is being seen as a backlash against a Democratic majority that has pushed through a series of progressive reforms over the past two years.  The General Assembly is now split, with Democrats holding a slim 21-19 majority in the Senate. Senators are not up for reelection until 2023.  State legislatures are critically important.  Not only can they enact or reject major programs, they also preside over redistricting, reshaping congressional districts to favor one side or another.  We're halfway there in Virginia.  Now we must work toward a GOP takeover of the Virginia Senate.

November 5,  2021     Permalink

PATHETIC  – Progressive Democrats learned nothing from Tuesday's election – OVERNIGHT:  It didn't take long for the hard left of the Democratic Party to get past this week's election results.  Election?  What election?  Where is Virginia?  From Fox: 

A number of House Democrats voted against a resolution on Wednesday that would condemn Cuba's government and offer support for protesters throughout the communist-ruled country.

The resolution, sponsored by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., was introduced this week in an effort to express "solidarity with Cuban citizens demonstrating peacefully for fundamental freedoms, condemning the Cuban regime's acts of repression, and calling for the immediate release of arbitrarily detained Cuban citizens."

The House passed the measure in a vote of 382 to 40, with all no votes coming from Democrats.

Included in the list of Democrats who voted against the resolution are all members of the left-wing House "Squad," as well as Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., and Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y. Four lawmakers voted present, while five did not vote.

The resolution aimed to condemn the Cuban government's response to a series of protests that occurred over the summer amid high prices, food shortages and the country's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

In addition, the measure calls for the Cuban government to allow Cubans to peacefully protest on Nov. 15 during a planned demonstration over civil rights orchestrated by a group called Archipelago.
Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., who voted against the resolution, attempted to defend his vote, writing in a tweet that the resolution fails to acknowledge "the role the U.S. plays in contributing to the suffering of ordinary Cubans."

A report by Human Rights Watch found that the Cuban government "systematically engaged in arbitrary detention, ill-treatment of detainees, and abuse-ridden criminal prosecutions in response to overwhelmingly peaceful anti-government protests in July 2021."

COMMENT:  It is ridiculous for us to believe that the Squad and its comrades will change their actions in any way because of an election, a set of facts, or anything else.  Theirs is world of fanatical ideology.  It is a world in which dictatorship is valued, not despised, as long as some goods are distributed to "the people."   It is a world in which education exists only to control the nation, not to stimulate it.

The major political fight right now is the battle for control within the Democratic Party.  I would not be shocked if we see the emergence of a new center-left party should the current chaos continue.

November 5, 2021       Permalink

NOVEMBER 4,  2021

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

COULD THIS BE CORRUPTION?  NAH! – OVERNIGHT:  How to buy influence and stay in power.  From Americans for Tax Reform:  The reconciliation bill working its way through the U.S. House calls on the American taxpayer to subsidize Democrats' media allies. The bill provides a special tax cut for the media under the guise of helping "local journalists" but eligible media companies will receive the funds for up to 1,500 reporters per company.  This provision would provide a refundable payroll tax credit equal to 50 percent of wages up to $12,500 per quarter per employee for the first four calendar quarters and a 30 percent credit for each calendar quarter thereafter.  On page 1,957 of the 2000+page bill, section 138516 would create a tax credit for news organizations, including newspapers and broadcasters such as radio and television.  The Poynter Institute today bragged that the tax handout would benefit "broadcasters, public and commercial" in addition to newspapers.  It appears that both NPR and PBS will be eligible to receive this special tax handout. The bill specifically mentions that the credit is not to be applied to “the Government of the United States, the government of any State or political subdivision thereof, or any agency or instrumentality of any of the foregoing”; however there is an exception for public broadcasting entities as defined in the Communication Act of 1934.   Incredible.  This is outright buying of favorable press coverage.  Will the GOP please get on this and expose it.  Make it big.  This is real third-world corruption.

November 4, 2021       Permalink

DEMS IN A PANIC AS THEY LEARN IT'S NOT ENOUGH TO HATE TRUMP – OVERNIGHT:  No one needs Donald Trump the way the Democrats, and their fans in the press, need Trump.  Being anti-Trump is the secular equivalent of battling the Devil.  Without Trump, what would the Democratic Party and CNN do?  Would they go back to laughing at Ronald Reagan?  From Daily Beast: 

A week before the Virginia governor’s race, President Joe Biden came to Arlington to rally for Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe. He dutifully ticked through McAuliffe’s record, mentioned McAuliffe’s campaign promises, and then did what he really came to do: talk about Donald Trump.
“Just remember this,” Biden told the crowd. “I ran against Donald Trump. And Terry is running against an acolyte of Donald Trump.”

Biden spoke at length about GOP candidate Glenn Youngkin’s veiled embrace of the ex-president. And he reminded everyone of Trump’s greatest hits, from fomenting the Jan. 6 Capitol riot to his tendency to speak ill of deceased critics like John McCain and Colin Powell.

By the time Biden closed—saying extremism could come from a rage-driven mob or “a smile and a fleece vest,” a clear reference to Youngkin’s personal campaign uniform—the president had mentioned Trump as many times as he had mentioned McAuliffe.

The moment reflected a culmination of a clear strategy for Democrats in Virginia: rev up a burnt out electorate in a state Biden had just won by 10 points by connecting a fresh face to Trump.

But on Election Day, the guy that Democrats dubbed “Trumpkin” bested McAuliffe by more than two points to become the first Republican elected Virginia governor in 12 years.

The finger-pointing flowed freely and instantly among Democrats. But many fished out of the rubble a quick lesson as they wobble into the 2022 midterm elections: think twice about making everything about Trump, even where he is unpopular, and focus on making Democrats more popular.

“As long as Donald Trump is a former president, I think Democrats have a responsibility to look more to the future,” said Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN), who flipped a suburban Minneapolis district in 2018.

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), who represents a solidly Democratic area of northern Virginia, said his takeaway from Tuesday’s results was that Trump talk “is not enough.”

“I wouldn’t say don’t do it,” Connolly told The Daily Beast. “But if you’re counting on that to be 100 percent effective and dispositive, then last night tells you otherwise.”

In the aftermath of the “off-year” elections—and a year out from the 2022 midterms—Democrats seem to agree that the anti-Trump playbook that propelled them to control of Congress and the White House may no longer work. Certainly, Youngkin had little trouble dodging that familiar Democratic messaging.

The former venture capital CEO avoided alienating the ex-president but also avoided him in general, making Democratic attempts to paint him and Trump as one and the same seem like a reach.

Democrats largely relied on one quote from early in the campaign, in which Youngkin vaguely praised Trump for inspiring him to run as a first-time candidate, as the main connective tissue. And at one point, Virginia Democrats paid for a mailer reminding voters that Youngkin was endorsed by Trump—which may have ended up doing some of Youngkin’s work with the GOP base for him.

Ultimately, Democrats did vote in large numbers, with liberal strongholds posting higher turnout totals for McAuliffe’s defeat than they did for Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam’s win in 2017. But deep-red pockets of the state turned out for Youngkin in historic numbers, and McAuliffe lost ground with independent voters in the suburban areas that turned against Trump in 2018 and 2020.

COMMENT:  Now the question is, what happens if Trump runs again?  Would the Trump issue be reborn?  Would Trump be a gift to the Democratic Party?  I don't think we really know.  Americans might wind up actually missing Trump.  They may not miss his personality, but they could easily miss his accomplishments and the kind of economy he built.   Compared to Joe Biden, Trump is an organizational genius.  Will Americans be prepared to overlook his considerable flaws? 

Just remember that Ronald Reagan was laughed at by the "sophisticates."  People thought he would start World War III.  Earlier, Abraham Lincoln was called a "baboon" by his first commanding general.  Franklin Roosevelt was labeled "featherduster" for his apparent lack of intellect.  Dwight Eisenhower was called a simpleton.  Reputation at a given moment is hard to predict.   

November 4, 2021      Permalink