Displaying posts categorized under

ELECTIONS

That Old Republican Brawl By Amity Shlaes

https://www.nationalreview.com/2023/10/that-old-republican-brawl/?utm_source=recirc-desktop&utm_medium=homepage&utm_campaign=right-rail&utm_content=capital-matters&utm_term=second

Republicans should learn from their own history to avoid a replay of the 1912 election in 2024.

If Republicans have this much trouble choosing a speaker of the House, they can’t consider policy. If they can’t consider policy, they can’t build a strong platform. And if they can’t build a strong platform, they will have nothing to stand on in the next presidential election.

The default will be a mêlée of loyalists of various stripes — traditional Republicans, the odd libertarian, Trump revivalists — and of course, Donald Trump himself. The result is that policy itself will get neglected in the crucial 2024 year, to the enormous detriment of the American economy.

The price of such a free-for-all becomes clear when you go back to another point when Republicans brawled: the year 1912.

Playing the Trump role in that period was Theodore Roosevelt, though TR hadn’t started out as a powermonger. In his early years TR was a reformer, shining a spotlight on corruption in New York state. The early TR was also an American expansionist and a warrior — the Rough Rider who breached a steep ravine to emerge victorious at the Battle of San Juan Hill. Roosevelt became president after an assassin felled William McKinley in 1901.

And the presidency went to Roosevelt’s head. As president, he electrified the nation with impulsive forays — to call some of them “policies” would be a stretch. He forced a coup in Colombia to secure the Panama Canal, a step so brazen that Senator S. I. Hayakawa of California would comment of Panama, “We stole it fair and square.” But it was on the domestic front that most Americans focused. Here Roosevelt proved equally heedless, wielding the Department of Justice like a cudgel against business leaders he branded as “malefactors of wealth.”

Roosevelt selected as successor his friend William Howard Taft, who had a certain Burkean incrementalism. “We are all imperfect,” Taft once intoned. “We cannot expect perfect government.” Taft was also a fine jurist who could lay out the value of the separation of powers with all the skill of Montesquieu. “Wise deliberation,” Taft said, “may constitute the salvation of our republic.”

When it came to defending the Constitution, Taft managed to convert theory into action: persuading Congress to back legislation that gave the Supreme Court more independence to set its own agenda, as well as supporting funding for a symbol of that independence, a separate Supreme Court building. It is this champion of judicial independence some of us hope to learn more of in Walter Stahr’s forthcoming Taft biography.

Meanwhile we can study the Taft whom we know — the one who, against his own nature, opted to play the loyalist in his era’s electoral theater. As Jeffrey Rosen shows in his own perspicacious biography, after his 1908 election Taft devoted his first years in office to dignifying Roosevelt’s excesses by forcing them into a constitutional corset.

Democrats are pushing work authorization for migrants — so they can vote By Betsy McCaughey

https://nypost.com/2023/10/24/opinion/democrats-are-pushing-work-authorization-for-migrants-so-they-can-vote/

If you think offering migrants luxury hotel rooms, free meals, laundry service, transportation, health care and immigration lawyers is excessive, just wait until they can vote.

Democrats are pushing to give noncitizens the franchise in local elections in New York City, Boston and other municipalities, as well as statewide in Connecticut.

The number of migrants pouring across the southern border has hit a record high, according to data released Saturday.

Illegal crossings soared 21% over the previous month.

On a yearly basis, the figure reached 2.48 million.

Democrats may feign shock and distress. 

Don’t be fooled. 

Dems see these newcomers as their guarantee of a permanent voting majority in local elections. 

Not years from now, after the newcomers become citizens.

Right now.

Mayor Eric Adams’ rhetoric is typical. 

He warns that the overwhelming number of migrants arriving — 16,000 to 17,000 a month — will “destroy the city,” but he’s also leading the legal effort to turn migrants into voters.

Adams and other New York Democrats pushed President Joe Biden to expedite work authorizations for them.

They said it’s about making migrants self-sufficient. Maybe, but Dems have another powerful motive.

Video: Rep. Allred (DTX32) Threatens to Call Cops on Reporter for Asking Questions “Why are you standing with Hamas against Israel?”

https://www.frontpagemag.com/far-left-rep-allred-threatens-to-call-cops-on-reporter-for-asking-questions/

He is running for the Senate in Texas. Primary day is in March 2024…he leads thus far in raising funds and visibility….rsk

In the short video below, far-Left (aren’t they all?) Democrat Rep. Colin Allred attempted to brush off a reporter asking inconvenient questions in the halls of Congress, telling him “You’re on federal property. Stop doing this.”

The reporter repeatedly asked, “Congressman Allred, do you regret calling for the release of millions of dollars to Hamas?” and if Allred regretted voting against funding Israel’s Iron Dome defense system which protects against Hamas rockets. He also asked pointedly, “Why are you standing with Hamas against Israel?”

You would think that last question would prompt a Congressman to declare that he stands with Israel against terrorism, but a clearly irritated Allred just threatened to have the Capitol police deal with him. Why?

Check out the video below:

Rising Voter Anger Over Illegal Immigration Is Big Problem For Biden, Dems In 2024: I&I/TIPP Poll Terry Jones

https://issuesinsights.com/2023/10/10/rising-voter-anger-over-illegal-immigration-is-big-problem-for-biden-dems-in-2024-ii-tipp-poll/

If you’re wondering why President Biden has suddenly shown renewed interest in illegal immigration, wonder no more. As the I&I/TIPP Poll for October clearly shows, most Americans now see the open U.S. border as a serious national problem. And that also includes Democrats.

With a record surge of illegal immigrants into the U.S., I&I/TIPP asked the 1,378 voters who responded to the national online poll, which was taken from Sept. 27-29: “How would you describe the current situation at the United States’ southern border with Mexico?”

The poll, which was taken from Sept. 27-29 and has a margin of error of +/-2.7 percentage points, then provided five potential responses for participants: “crisis,” “a major problem,” “a minor problem,” “not a problem,” and “not sure.”

The response was clear and unequivocal. 72% of Americans called it either a crisis or a major problem. Just 22% said it was either a minor problem or not a problem. Another 6% said they were “Not sure.”

Republicans came out highest, with 88% calling the illegal border crossings a crisis or major problem, and just 10% calling the problem minor or nonexistent. Independents were somewhat below the Republicans at 64% vs. 25%. But Democrats weren’t far behind, at 62%-32%.
Of all the 26 demographic groups I&I/TIPP tracks each month, just one group was less than a majority: The youngest cohort, which includes those age 18 to 24 years. And even among the young, there was a plurality of 44% (“crisis/major problem”) to 37% (minor/not a problem).

There were some interesting results, however. Overall, 62% of the two largest minority groups, blacks and hispanics, called uncontrolled immigration across our border a crisis or major problem, while 27% didn’t see it that way.

Liz Peek: Trump’s the Republican To Solve the Crisis in the House, Which Would Bolster His Chances in 2024

https://www.nysun.com/article/trumps-the-republican-to-solve-the-crisis-in-the-house-which-would-bolster-his-chances-in-2024

It is time for President Trump to exert his authority as putative head of the Republican Party. He needs to step in and resolve the mess created by Congressman Matt Gaetz and his seven cohorts in the House of Representatives. 

How can he do that? By making sure that the selection of the next House speaker is done quickly and with minimal drama. Get Mr. Gaetz and his allies to support the most electable candidate, whether it is Congressman Jim Jordan or Congressman Steve Scalise or whomever else party leaders and Mr. Trump choose.

It’s time to tell the bomb-throwers, all Trump admirers, to stand down. Because it is widely believed that Mr. Gaetz’s drive to topple Speaker McCarthy stemmed from personal animus rather than any ideological high ground, that should not be impossible. The eight whose votes bounced Mr. McCarthy have no favored candidate, they have no plan. They just wanted him out.

Why would the 45th president wade into this particular swamp? Because nobody has more to lose politically from the ejection of Mr. McCarthy. When voters — even those of us who admire his policies — think of Mr. Trump’s presidency, they think of chaos, and the recent turmoil in the House furthers that narrative.

Support For Both Biden And Trump Fell In Oct. — A Blip, Or Opening For Challengers? I&I/TIPP Poll Terry Jones

https://issuesinsights.com/2023/10/05/support-for-both-biden-and-trump-fell-in-oct-just-a-blip-or-an-opening-for-others-ii-tipp-poll/

The 2024 election has seemed to be a preordained outcome, with current President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump holding substantial leads in their respective parties. But in October’s I&I/TIPP Poll, both major candidates’ support slipped a bit against their challengers. A one-off fluke, or the start of a trend?

The most recent online I&I/TIPP Poll, taken Sept. 27-29 from 1,262 registered voters, saw slippage for both candidates, though neither will yet be pushing the panic button. The overall poll has a margin of error of +/-2.8 percentage points.

After several months of steady support among Democrats for the party’s presidential nomination, Biden saw his support fall to 34% in October after edging higher from 36% in July and 37% in August to 38% in September.

Since the margin of error for the 560 Democrats surveyed for the poll was +/-4.2 percentage points, Biden’s October support remains within the margin of error when compared to the previous month’s 34% reading.

That said, Biden’s support fell in October. Meanwhile, backing for several of his possible opponents (or, perhaps, replacements if Biden bows out), gained a bit during the month. Biden’s No. 2 rival, former First Lady Michelle Obama, got 11% of Democrats’ support, up from 9% in September, and support for current Vice President Kamala Harris, rose to 8% from 7%. Socialist gadfly and sometime-Democrat candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders took 7% of support in October, also up a percent from September.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has made news recently by vetoing several laws from the state’s far-left Legislature, saw his support rise from 4% in September to 5% in October.

But perhaps of greater concern to Biden’s political advisers is that he runs very weak among some large constituencies: Women (31% support) vs. men (36%), blacks and Hispanics (29% support) vs. whites (38%), and independents (29%) vs. registered Democrats (36%).

RFK Jr. as Independent Would Propel Trump to Deliver Crushing Blow RFk Jr. could announce on October 9 By Roger Kimball

https://amgreatness.com/2023/10/01/rfk-jr-as-independent-would-propel-trump-to-deliver-crushing-blow/

So it looks as if Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is just about to turn up the volume. It was bad enough for the Democratic establishment when he announced he was going to run for President on the Democratic ticket. Didn’t he know that The Committee already had its heir and a couple of spares, none of whom was named Kennedy? “Look at your poll numbers, Bro. Even against a senile and visibly failing puppet you are trailing by 50 or 60 points. Give it up now before you embarrass yourself further!”

No such luck. It seems that Kennedy is in for the duration. A couple of days ago rumors started circulating that he would soon announce that he was going to run as an independent. Several sources put the magic day as October 9.

As I have said elsewhere, I think Kennedy and Vivek Ramaswamy are—or at least were—the most interesting things to happen in the early stage of this campaign. Both are ferociously articulate. Both have lots of ideas. And neither is named “Trump,” the kiss of death among uniparty factota, Republican as well as Democratic.

According to my astrolabe, the glitter has dissipated somewhat from Ramaswamy. He is powerfully glib, has put forth many good policy ideas, but often seems like a reincarnation of the Energizer Bunny—if not, it pains me to say, that character in Humbolt’s Gift whom Saul Bellow described  as “smooth as a suppository.”

In any event, I suspect that Ramaswamy’s presidential prospects, certainly for 2024, are gibbous waning.

And Kennedy? It’s hard to say. I like his forthrightness. And the fact that Wikipedia, that reliably left-wing fount of approved ideas, castigates him as someone who is “known for advocating anti-vaccine misinformation and public health-related conspiracy theories” tends rather to endear him to me than otherwise. I disagree with Kennedy quite strenuously about many things—the second Amendment, for example, the climate, taxes, and some of what he has said about vaccination. But the fact that he has, as Wikipedia sniffs, “targeted prominent figures such as Anthony Fauci, Bill Gates, and Joe Biden” I regard as a public service.

“The Second Debate – Where Was Reagan’s Optimism and Humor?” Sydney Williams

http://www.swtotd.blogspot.com

Like most Republicans, I watched Wednesday’s debate hoping for a Reagan-like figure to emerge. The venue was the library of a President who had vision, radiated confidence, optimism, humor, and compassion. Like many, I was disappointed. Haley exhibited confidence and vision but without compassion that endears politicians to voters. DeSantis had the confidence of a governor who has done well but appeared humorless. Scott exuded optimism and compassion, but without vision. 

Like today, in 1980 Americans did not believe in themselves. We were in a funk. A President had been assassinated seventeen years earlier; a second resigned ten years later. The Vietnam War, which bled and divided the country for ten years, ignobly ended in 1975; inflation was rampant, with high interest rates and falling real incomes. Culturally, the country was a mess. The optimism of the post-War years was gone. Early in his presidency, Reagan remarked: “What I’d really like to do is go down as the President who made Americans believe in themselves again.” That he did, and the Country, through three presidents, experienced almost twenty years of economic growth and prosperity.

We are living through another fallow period. The twenty-year War against Islamic Terrorism ended disastrously in Afghanistan two years ago. China is on the rise. Inflation is destroying incomes. Parents are excluded from decisions regarding their school-age children. Borders are non-existent. We are told we are a racist society, that our country was built on the backs of slaves. We are divided into oppressors and victims; and that it is okay, if one is a victim, to rampage through streets and destroy private property. Conservative speakers are not allowed on campuses. Public figures cannot define a woman, yet transwomen are allowed to compete against biological women in sports. In his farewell address to the nation, on January 11, 1989, President Reagan said, “All great change in America begins at the dinner table.” Now, the nuclear family is considered passé by many.

What If We Excused Other Crimes the Way We Do Election Fraud? Rachel Alexander

https://www.frontpagemag.com/what-if-we-excused-other-crimes-the-way-we-do-election-fraud/

The left and its comrades in the MSM and judiciary have been dismissing all evidence of significant election fraud, coming up with excuse after excuse to justify every single anomaly, even though there are hundreds of them. Despite the fact the anomalies in 2020 and 2022 all went against Republicans, favoring Democrats, which violates the law of large numbers, they still threw out all kinds of unbelievable excuses.

Let’s look at how these kinds of strange misnomers would be treated in other illegal and criminal activities. Can’t find tens of thousands of chain of custody records or delete the server logs? Let’s compare that to the medical industry, which is somewhat similar since medical records are treated very securely, like elections. If you lose or delete medical records, it’s considered medical negligence, and doctors have lost their licenses to practice medicine for doing so.

How about taxes? If the IRS audits you, tell them you have no receipts or records for the last few years, so agents need to believe you; you won’t be allowed to get away with it. Same with insurance claims; in order to collect reimbursement for a loss, you can’t just state you lost or damaged the item; you’re required to show evidence of it.

In the banking industry, employees are fired and can be prosecuted if the numbers merely seem off. As with cashiers at stores, a typical amount of money is expected to come in daily. If that number starts being low, security measures like cameras and keystroking devices are put in place to try and discover the theft.

In contrast, we are seeing the opposite in elections. Runbeck Election Systems, the private contractor hired by Maricopa County to assist with processing ballots, is fighting tooth and nail in court to prevent its video surveillance of ballots being dropped off and sent back out from being released. During the motion to dismiss hearing last week, Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer thought it was acceptable to argue with a straight face that it would take too many resources to fulfill public records requests like that. Runbeck lost a chain of custody records on tens of thousands of ballots, and 22,000 ballots that showed up at Runbeck cannot be accounted for.

The law of large numbers is violated when all the anomalies come down against Republicans. A team of experts put together a report on the large vote dumps in states suspected of election fraud that occurred the night of the 2020 election, batches of 25,000 or more net votes for Joe Biden. There were 26 dumps in 14 states. Pennsylvania had four. I’m no statistician, but this seems next to impossible odds.

GOP Debate II: Déjà Vu All Under Again Bob Maistros

https://issuesinsights.com/2023/09/28/gop-debate-ii-deja-vu-all-under-again/

EXCERPT

Who, as it happens, was the second challenger regressing from a widely hailed performance. In these parleys, participants – particularly women – must take care not to cross the fine line between strong and strident, and assertive versus annoying. The not-so-gentlelady from the Palmetto State all but obliterated it, coming across as weirdly bellicose even in otherwise well-considered asseverations on key issues, and outright boorish in continuously interrupting and attempting to drown out fellow candidates. 

As for beleaguered erstwhile veep Mike Pence, two (admittedly borrowed) words suffice: “low energy.” 

Which brings us to the similar outcome referenced above: the night’s winner, and by a wider margin than in the initial wrangle, was again Florida’s Ron DeSantis. The Sunshine State’s chief executive succeeded in his campaign’s priority: turning every opportunity into paeans to his splendid record at home – even three questions, on health insurance, education curricula and abortion, intended by the mostly overmatched moderators to knock him on his heels. 

DeSantis made good use of a “veto pen” as a prop in promoting his fiscal record in Florida, and pointed out to applause that he would be the first president since 1988 to have served overseas. 

He played peacemaker in various fracases, and took the pressure off the field in turning back the initial question on who should be “voted off the island” as “disrespectful.” 

He boasted a pair of those dreamy “defining moments.” One was his triumphal – and all-too-true – pronouncement that his success in having “gotten into big fights and delivered big victories for the people of Florida” has left “the Democratic Party … in ruins” in his state. 

But the evening’s climax came in a flurry of world-class counterpunching in response to a planned knockout punch on abortion. Instead of cowering, the governor seized the opportunity to tout his blowout reelection victory due to leading “with purpose and conviction.” Rejected the premise that pro-lifers were responsible for mid-term losses. Offered a full-throated defense of the pro-life position that included a quote engraved on The Gipper’s grave. And suggested that Republicans should hold Democrats accountable for their “extremism” on late-term abortion.