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MAY 8,  2018

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:56 P.M. ET:

DODGING A BULLET – The Republicans dodged a bullet in West Virginia today.  From CBS News:  CBS News has called the West Virginia Senate GOP primary race for the state's attorney general Patrick Morissey. Moments earlier, Don Blankenship, the convicted ex-coal baron Washington Republicans feared might win, conceded.  "You're going to have a senator that works for all West Virginians," Morrisey said in his victory speech.  President Trump urged Republicans in the state not to vote for Blankenship, citing his inability to win the general election in November, as the GOP looks to unseat Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin. Blankenship cited Mr. Trump's tweet as perhaps the biggest factor in his loss. He came in third, behind both Morrisey and Evan Jenkins.  Trump carried West Virginia by a wide margin in 2016, and has real political clout there.  Joe Manchin must be in deep worry.  He's had many chances to switch to the Republican Party, which probably would have guaranteed his political future.  But he stayed with the Dems, and runs a serious risk of going down to defeat in November, flipping the seat to the GOP.  Look for the president to do serious campaigning in West Virginia.

AND ELSEWHERE – Republicans seem in reasonable shape to flip Democratic Senate seats.  From CNN:  Congressman Jim Renacci, who had the endorsement of President Trump, will win the GOP Primary in Ohio, setting up a fall race with Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown, CNN projects.  Renacci took on self-funding businessman Mike Gibbons in this primary...Mike Braun, businessman and former state representative, has won Indiana's Republican primary, CNN projects, and is now set to face Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly in one of the marquee Senate contests of this year's midterm elections.  From the Dayton Daily News:  President Trump’s hand-picked U.S. Senate candidate Congressman Jim Renacci will take on U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown this fall after defeating Cleveland businessman Mike Gibbons and several other challengers in Tuesday’s GOP primary.  Renacci, a former car dealer who has served in the U.S. House since 2011, was easily the best known of the Republican candidates. Brown is unopposed on the Democratic side and, for now at least, is a favorite to win in November. The oft-quoted Crystal Ball rating system for the University of Virginia Center for Politics lists Ohio’s Senate race as “leans Democratic.”  At least the GOP tonight didn't nominate any nut cases.  If Trump can help pull off some miracles in November, he should be in fine shape for 2020.

THE WORLD HAS NOT BLOWN UP – And that is the big news, and a surprise to some, following President Trump's announcement that he is withdrawing the United States from the Iran nuclear agreement.  His announcement was not that shocking – Washington pretty much expected it – and the decision to withdraw matched his campaign rhetoric.  Of course, CNN was immediately on the air and managed, in a lengthy discussion, to avoid any mention of Field Marshal Barack Obama and his role in creating the disagraceful agreement.  And Christiane Amanpour, from whom no good can come, went totally irrational in seeming to blame every problem in the Mideast on Bibi Netanyahu.  The Iranian regime was treated benignly, if at all.  It was an alternative universe.

The real action will come in the next eight weeks or so.  Trump left some wiggle room for further talks with Iran that could improve the nuclear agreement, thus avoiding crushing new sanctions on Tehran that the Iranians are desperate to duck.  And our European allies, eager to maintain the agreement and the trade with Iran that goes with it, may well step forward and help us extract further concessions from Iran.

The story is not over.  This will be a substantial test of Trump's resolve, but also his negotiating skills. 

As usual, Trump got almost no support from the Democrats.  The idea of a bipartisan foreign policy, especially when confronting an enemy nation, is essentially dead.

More on this tomorrow.

May 8, 2018       Permalink

BULLETIN:  PRESIDENT TRUMP ANNOUNCES HE IS PULLING OUT OF THE IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL.  WE'LL HAVE MORE AS INFORMATION IS GATHERED.

SHOCK – AT 1:23 P.M. ET:   There is a sense of shock here in the rickety state of New York at the sudden political decapitation of our ambitious, ultra-liberal attorney general, Eric Schneiderman, over severe sexual assault charges.  The New York Post headlines it, JEKYLL AND SCHNEID.

Schneiderman, a legend in his own mind, had established himself as Donald Trump's number one adversary in New York, having his office investigate a number of Trump's business dealings.  He also established himself as a supporter of the "me too" movement of women who allege that they've been sexually abused.  Now they're saying "him too."  From AFP: 

New York (AFP) - New York state's top prosecutor, a public defender of the #MeToo movement and antagonist of Donald Trump, has become the latest public figure to resign over allegations of sexual misconduct.

Eric Schneiderman, a 63-year-old progressive Democrat serving a second elected term as state attorney general, resigned late Monday hours after being accused of physically assaulting four women.

I love the term "progressive."  It's kind of a code word for "left of liberal."

It was a swift fall from power for the chief law enforcement official in the state, an outspoken Trump opponent whose office had launched multiple legal challenges against the Republican administration.

"Gotcha," tweeted White House counselor to the president, Kellyanne Conway, although there was no immediate response from Trump.

"While these allegations are unrelated to my professional conduct or the operations of the office, they will effectively prevent me from leading the office’s work at this critical time," he said.

"I therefore resign my office, effective at the close of business on May 8."

Two of the women spoke to The New Yorker on the record, alleging that Schneiderman repeatedly hit them, often after drinking, frequently in bed and never with their consent.

Both say they sought medical attention after having been slapped hard across the ear and face, and also choked, the magazine said.  

COMMENT:  Here is the question:  Did no one know that this "progressive" supporter of women's rights was actually an abusive monster?  The charges against him go far beyond the usual in cases involving public figures.  This is real abuse – physical and possibly life-threatening.  Now, of course, we must remind that the accused is innocent unless and until proved guilty, but the breadth of the charges is deeply disturbing.

Nobody knew nothin' about this guy?  What about the press?  Did it vet him properly, or were his leftist credentials enough?  This may turn out to be a major press failure.   The now-resigned attorney general was well known.  His stands were familiar.  You mean, there weren't even rumors about his dark, private side?  Come now.

May 8, 2018       Permalink

BIG DAY – AT 11:49 A.M. ET:  Yes, it will be a very big day in American politics.  First, the president will announce his decision on the Iran nuclear deal at 2 p.m. ET.  All the speculators are out in force this morning, announcing their sense of dread.  Why, if Trump doesn't do exactly what John Kerry wants, civilization will end, even affirmative action will end, the Universe will be no more, and the Obama library and sacred site will not be built.

It's terribly depressing, but I prefer to wait to hear what the president actually says.

And today we have four primaries – West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, and North Carolina.  The most interesting race is the one for the GOP Senate nomination in West Virginia.  West Virginia is a decidedly pro-Trump state, but one of its senators, Joe Manchin, is a moderate Democrat who'll be fighting for his survival in November.  The Republicans, as usual, are trying hard to lose that election. 

Three candidates are running for the GOP Senate nomination.   And the man who has a slight edge, Don Blankenship, is an obnoxious, convicted felon, who uses racial language and has already slurred Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's Chinese-born wife.  President Trump is urging his supporters not to vote for Blankenship, arguing that Blankenship would have no chance against Manchin in November.  We'll see that the voters say.

In Indiana, three Republicans are vying for the Senate nomination, hoping to unseat Democratic Senator Joe Donnelly in a very Republican state.  Vice President Pence is from Indiana, and may have some influence in the race.  A possible Republican November pickup, if the party can unite after the primary.

In Ohio, always a major political state, two Republicans are vying for the Senate nomination.  The winner will run against very liberal Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown in November.  Trump won Ohio in 2016, but unseating the reasonably popular Brown will be a challenge, but a good candidate and unified campaign could succeed, against the odds.

There are no statewide races in North Carolina.

It is imperative that our side keep control of the United States Senate, the body that confirms judges, including nominees to the Supreme Court.  The quality of the Republican nominees who are victorious tonight may well determine whether control can be kept, and even expanded.

May 8,  2018     Permalink

MAY 7,  2018

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET:

MR. CLEAN – FROM THE NEW YORK POST:  New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced his resignation Monday night, hours after The New Yorker magazine published allegations of physical abuse and controlling behavior by four women who had romantic relationships or encounters with him.  "It’s been my great honor and privilege to serve as Attorney General for the people of the State of New York," Schneiderman said in a statement. "In the last several hours, serious allegations, which I strongly contest, have been made against me. While these allegations are unrelated to my professional conduct or the operations of the office, they will effectively prevent me from leading the office’s work at this critical time. I therefore resign my office, effective at the close of business on [Tuesday]."  It was not immediately clear who would succeed Schneiderman, a Democrat who was seeking a third term as attorney general this November and had been tipped as a possible successor to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.  Schneiderman was accused in the wide-ranging report -- co-written by Ronan Farrow -- of hitting and choking women without their consent, asking to use "about half" of a woman's prescription of the anti-anxiety drug Xanax, and mocking anti-gun demonstrators including parents from Sandy Hook Elementary School, the site of the 2012 shooting massacre, as "losers."  What a comedown.  This guy was presented to us as a pure and noble left-wing activist, who would lift up the downtrodden and bring dignity to his office.  The charges against him are among the most serious I've seen in this area of law.

WHAT A DOPE – FROM FOX:   A top leader of the Democratic Party greeted supporters during Minneapolis' May Day parade while sporting a T-shirt calling for the abolition of national borders.
Democratic National Committee Deputy Chairman Keith Ellison was seen walking the parade route and taking selfies with his "Yo No Creo En Fronteras" shirt.  The Spanish sentence translates to "I do not believe in borders."  "How are you doing? I'm your congressman," Ellison, also a Democratic Minnesota U.S. representative, is heard telling a paradegoer.  "Thank you so much for representing us," one woman tells Ellison.  May Day has its roots in the late 19th Century left-wing International Workers Day.  Earlier this year, Ellison made news for telling a crowd that Democrats "do not have the right to lose a damn election" and that "women are dying" because Republicans have won in the past.  He's something of an extremist, with past ties to Louis Farrakhan's Nation of Islam.  Now he's the number two guy in what used to be the party of Roosevelt, Truman, and Kennedy.  The new Democratic Party is a running joke.

HILLARY, YOU SHOULDA GONE – FROM THE HILL:   Hillary Clinton joked Monday that she thought about leaving the country after President Trump beat her in the 2016 election.  The former Democratic presidential nominee, speaking in New Zealand during the tour for her book “What Happened,” said she had gotten some offers to move to the nation after the election.  “I must say I really did appreciate the offers. Gave them some thought,” Clinton joked. “But I’m going to stay put because we have work to do in my country as well.”   Well, we came close.  Maybe the incentives just weren't great enough.  Or maybe New Zealand seemed a comedown.  Let's pool our resources and arrange for Hillary to receive an offer to live in a far-away land, with socialized medicine. 

May 8,  2018     Permalink

TRUMP JUMPS INTO WEST VIRGINIA SENATE RACE – AT 12:58 P.M. ET:   Joe Manchin, the incumbent Democratic senator, is up for re-election in November, but the president worries that the Republicans will lose their chance to unseat him by nominating a jerk.  From Fox: 

President Trump made an extraordinary appeal Monday for Republican primary voters to oppose former coal baron Don Blankenship in the looming West Virginia Senate primary, saying he “can’t win” in the general election.

Trump, in an early-morning tweet, instead urged voters to pick one of his two rivals, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey or Rep. Evan Jenkins.

“To the great people of West Virginia we have, together, a really great chance to keep making a big difference. Problem is, Don Blankenship, currently running for Senate, can’t win the General Election in your State...No way! Remember Alabama. Vote Rep. Jenkins or A.G. Morrisey!” Trump tweeted.

COMMENT:  Trump is a quick learner.  No covering up the recent Alabama disaster, where the Republicans worked hard to lose an easy Senate special election by nominating the worst possible candidate.   It can happen again in West Virginia.  Don Blankenship is a convicted felon, and, as the president wrote, probably has no chance to take the Senate seat away from Joe Manchin. 

The primary is tomorrow. 

May 7, 2018        Permalink

SUCH A SURPRISE – AT 12:18 P.M. ET:  A new survey stuns us.  There are, apparently, very few Democrats on elite college faculties.  Aren't you shocked?  From Fox: 

A new study found that 39 percent of "top-tier liberal arts colleges" in the United States don't have any Republicans on their faculties.

The study by the National Association of Scholars also found that the Democrat-to-Republican ratio was 10.4:1 among 8,688 Ph.D.-holding professors.

The ratio is 12.7:1 when two military colleges, West Point and Annapolis, are removed from the sample. 

The report states that the 51 institutions accounted for in the study are among the top 66-ranked colleges in "U.S. News and World Report."

"Political homogeneity is problematic because it biases research and teaching and reduces academic credibility," the report said.

The report also noted that STEM subjects -- like chemistry, economics, mathematics and physics -- have lower Democrat-Republic ratios than social sciences and humanities.

"I could not find a single Republican with an exclusive appointment to fields like gender studies, Africana studies, and peace studies," it stated.

COMMENT:  This is unlikely to change for a long time.  There is no incentive for liberal faculties to give up their advantage.  That incentive might come with changing generations, or if families stop sending their kids to these "elite" schools.  But the elite schools have plenty of applicants.

It's a bad situation, and unacceptable for a healthy academic environment.  Conservatives often feel isolated, even threatened.  Tolerance is not a strong point in liberalism.  And the curriculum is clearly tilted toward the left. 

I fear that our side has paid far too little attention to cultural change and the left's militant assault on colleges and media centers.  We've been too nice.  The country will be the lesser for it.

May 7,  2018     Permalink