RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://www.city-journal.org/ron-desantis-rules-for-political-success

On a disappointing night for Republicans, Governor Ron DeSantis crushed it in the free state of Florida, lapping his challenger, Congressman Charlie Crist, by close to 20 points. Before DeSantis’s emergence, Florida used to keep us wondering whether it would turn blue or red until the wee hours on Election Night or, in the case of the 2000 election, for weeks thereafter. But it was clear well before midnight on Tuesday that Florida had turned solid red. From Portsmouth to Puget Sound, Republicans interested in replicating DeSantis’s “win for the ages” should learn from these eight rules.

Stay on offense. Given the mainstream media’s leftward tilt, Republicans are often stuck playing defense. As president, Donald Trump called the media the “enemy of the people” but also seemed to crave their approval. DeSantis, by contrast, rewrote the Republican playbook by staying on offense virtually nonstop for four years. He refused to bend or apologize for anything he said or did, even when the media called him “DeathSantis” for keeping the state open during Covid or mischaracterized his Parental Rights in Education law (falsely smeared as “Don’t Say Gay”). As he said in his victory speech on Tuesday night, “We took the hits, we weathered the storms, but we stood our ground, we did not back down.”

Every week, or so it seemed, the governor took the fight to a new target: woke corporations like Disney, intransigent teachers’ unions, Big Tech, liberal judges and prosecutors who refused to follow the law, or “sanctuary-city” leaders who “embraced” illegal immigrants—as long as they didn’t settle in places like Martha’s Vineyard.

You can create your own majority with the right approach. When DeSantis took office, Democrats enjoyed a small voter-registration edge statewide, but now Republicans hold a commanding 300,000-voter lead. He undoubtedly won over some native Floridians, but probably the much bigger factor here was his effort to inspire like-minded conservatives to move to Florida from blue states. (And perhaps this helps explain, in part, why Gretchen Whitmer, Kathy Hochul, and other embattled liberal governors survived.) I moved to Florida from Oregon in 2019 to some degree because I admire DeSantis and his approach to governance, so I count myself a member of this movement.

https://spectatorworld.com/topic/democrats-mail-voting-midterms-fix/

I have been thinking about the phrase “the fix was in.” What it means is that a certain result was predetermined. It carries with it a suggestion — but only, I think, a suggestion — of something, if not quite illicit, then at least not quite above board.

Why have I been thinking about that pregnant phrase? If you said “the midterm elections,” go to the head of the class.

I have no idea whether there was anything corrupt or underhanded about the election, notwithstanding the Caligula’s horse moment of John Fetterman’s election to the United States Senate. It was odd, no doubt, that the people of the great state of Pennsylvania elected a mentally incompetent trust-fund leftie who never saw a dead baby he didn’t like. But perhaps, like Caligula, who is said to have made his horse a consul, the people of Pennsylvania did it out of spite, just to show that they could. Or maybe Fetterman’s elevation to the 100 club is just an illustration of the old observation that anybody — and I mean anybody — can rise to the top in America.

Of course, by “anybody,” I do not mean “anybody.” I mean anybody with the approved left-wing attitudes.

But I digress. Let’s return to that “fix” I mentioned above. What was the determinative fix in the 2022 midterm elections? Early, mostly mail-in, voting. It is perfectly legal. But it undermines a fair and open electoral process. Were I a Democrat, I might even say that it “threatens our democracy.” Why? Because it allows for the wholesale manipulation of the vote. It also dilutes the integrity of an election by transforming it from an event into a process.

I should add that “mail-in ballots” is an equivocal term. It can mean different things in different contexts and in different states. The practice is obviously open to more interference and manipulation than same-day voting is. So extra safeguards must be put in place and scrupulously followed if such interference and manipulation is to be avoided. Some states do this. Florida is a good example. Other states do not. Apparently, about 1.4 million people asked for mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania. Around the same number voted early by mail in Arizona, compared to just shy of half a million on Election Day. Were all such ballots carefully checked to ascertain the identity and eligibility of the person casting the vote?

https://thefederalist.com/2022/11/11/democracy-dies-when-americans-stop-scrutinizing-partisan-election-administration/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

As we witness the mass breakdown of voting machines on the single day of the year they’re supposed to work, cameras going down in vote-counting offices, and the endless drip-drip of ballot dumps — curiously in the most hotly-contested races and most critical precincts for political control in the country — remember that this is all commonplace and normal. And if you think otherwise, you’re not only unhinged, but you might be a domestic terrorist.

This is the gaslighting we have been getting from our political class and the media over the last two federal election cycles. It is purposeful propaganda meant to obscure the truth that our betters have fundamentally transformed voting policies and practices, and then exploited the new rules to the maximum extent.

The reality is that those skeptical about the integrity in our brave new election world are not a “threat to democracy.” They are defenders of the republic. America is in serious danger if the public unquestioningly accepts the fact that authorities made radical changes, sometimes unduly and under cover of crisis, that made less safe, secure, or at minimum trustworthy the processes by which we elect our representatives.

For decades we voted one way: In-person, with identification, on a singular Election Day, usually with rudimentary, analog tools. With rare exceptions, we received the results on Election Night. In the 2020 election, that all changed. For the first time in modern history, we had a mass mail-in election, held over the course of weeks, much of it automated. The results came in over a period of days, not hours.

The ‘Shadow Campaign’ That Rigged 2020

https://thejewishvoice.com/2022/11/trump-rips-de-santis-on-truth-social-as-political-fued-explodes/

Donald Trump’s record as president was astonishing particularly when one considers he was under constant vicious attack by the Left during his entire presidency indeed even before he took office. One has to wonder how much more he could have accomplished for America if he had not been subjected to a torrent of manufactured accusations and Soros financed subversion. He was a political novice but his instincts were razor sharp. He left America far better off than he found it. An honest comparison between his record and the blizzard of Biden’s bungles reveals the stark difference between MAGA and the leftocratic lunacy of leading from behind.

Trump believes he was cheated in 2020 by Basement Biden, the Deep State, Facebook, Twitter, the MSM, GOOGLE with its algorithms skewed in favor of the Democrats and the leftocracy who conspired against him and what should have been a stunning Republican victory. 

Reinforcing this belief was a signed statement by 51 former prominent national security intelligence officials stating that the Hunter Biden laptop revelations bore all the signs of a Russian intelligence disinformation operation. They were hopelessly wrong and completely dishonest. Not only do I feel Trump’s pain and profound disappointment I also share his furious outrage at being manipulated and out-maneuvered by a treacherous cabal of well-funded anti-Americans.

Alas, it has to be said that DT’s personal remarks about DeSantis described in the article listed above are pathetic, puerile and preposterous but they are worse than that; they are embarrassing. They are an unjustified and unnecessary attack against someone who has not attacked him and who he enthusiastically supported for all the worthy reasons which produced such an overwhelming and transformational victory in Florida for Republicans and the conservative cause on Tuesday.

https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/speech/proclamation-5534-veterans-day-198

September 23, 1986

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Veterans Day gives all Americans a special opportunity to pay tribute to all those men and women who, throughout our history, have left their homes and loved ones to serve their country.

Their willingness to give freely and unselfishly of themselves, even their lives, in defense of our democratic principles has given our great country the security we enjoy today. From Valley Forge to Vietnam, through war and peace, valiant, patriotic Americans have answered the call, serving with honor and fidelity.

On this special day, our hearts and thoughts turn to all the Nation’s veterans. Let us reflect on the great achievements of those whose sacrifices preserved our freedom and our way of life. With a spirit of pride and gratitude, let us recall their heroic accomplishments and thank them for their unselfish devotion to duty. They are indeed worthy of the solemn tribute of a grateful Nation.

I invite all Americans to join me in observing Veterans Day — through appropriate ceremonies, activities, and commemorations on November 11.

In order that we may pay fitting homage to those men and women who have proudly served in our Armed Forces, the Congress has provided (5 U.S.C. 6103 (a)) that November 11 of each year shall be set aside as a legal public holiday to honor America’s veterans.

Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Tuesday, November 11, 1986, as Veterans Day. I urge all Americans to recognize the valor and sacrifice of our veterans through appropriate public ceremonies and private prayers. I also call upon Federal, State, and local government officials to display the flag of the United States and to encourage and participate in patriotic activities throughout the country. I invite the business community, churches, schools, unions, civic and fraternal organizations, and the media to support this national observance with suitable commemorative expressions and programs.

Ronald Reagan