George H. W. Bush: A Great Loss for America

President George H. W. Bush’s funeral service Wednesday at the National Cathedral was on a blustery day. The weather was appropriate for the former President. He was a great man, a brave war hero, a skilled diplomat, a warn and generous person, compassionate, a dedicated public service, but a poor politician buffeted by uncontrollable forces. He cared for all Americans, but was characterized as a patrician, wimp, out-of-touch, part of the old WASP Elite. The media is commemorating the late President George H. W. Bush as the last great Republican after the earlier death of Senator John McCain. Yet, they loathed the two when running for President. The media celebrates RINO Republicans, such as Senator Jeff Flake or dead Republicans. They’’ll mourn you when you’re dead, but crucify you while alive. They extol the two as the anti-Trump. President Bush represented the end of an era. Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford and Bush 41 all served in WWII. Carter and Bush 43 also served. President George H. W. Bush was caught in the change of paradigms when the parties would strive to reach a compromise versus the total partisanship of today. George H. W. Bush was a war hero in World War II, having flown 58 sorties by his 20th birthday. He enlisted the day he turned 18. He was also politically heroic in running for Congress in Texas. He was elected in 1966, becoming one of only two Republican Congressmen from Texas. He had campaigned for the Senate in 1970, but that was a lost cause for Republicans at that time. George Herbert Walker Bush was a dedicated public service. He may have grown up rich, bur he practiced noblesse oblige. He served in Congress, the first ambassador to the Peoples Republic of China, Director of the CIA, Vice President, and President. It was his duty. People could easily misjudge President Bush because he believed in and practiced quiet diplomacy rather than engage in histrionics. He did not do a victory dance on top of the Berlin Wall after it fell. The media says the death of President George Herbert Walker Bush marks the end of civility in American politics. The media seems to be suffering from acute memory loss or selective amnesia. They trashed Bush 41 and Bush 43, not to mention Reagan, Ford, McCain, Romney, and now Trump. They reviled the Republican predecessors of President Trump. The difference today is that deep down, they totally loathe President Trump. Words used to describe President Bush in the past few days were class, dignity, willing to compromise, loyal, gracious, compassionate, a dedicated public servant. Those were not the words used to describe him in 1992. Only 7% of the journalists admitted to voting for him. His Thousand Points of Light in his 1988 Acceptance Speech were mocked. The media may be commemorating President Bush today, but they excoriated him while in office. They labeled the man who enlisted in the Navy the first day of his 18th birthday and flew 58 combat missions in the Pacific a “wimp,” while giving a pass to Governor Bill Clinton, a draft dodger. George H. W. Bush was a philanthropist; William Jefferson Clinton a philanderer. Texas Governor Anne Richards famously said of Vice President Bush in her keynote address at the 1988 Democratic National Convention: “Poor George, he can’t help it. He was born with a silver boot in his mouth.” (Sweet revenge for the Bushes: George W. Bush defeated her reelection in 1994). He had two middle names. Who does that in modern America? The elitist preppie was out of touch with the people whereas Bubba was one of them. The President Bush purportedly did not know what a scanner was or the price of a pair of socks. The castigation for not recognizing a scanner is an example of fake news. The President was shown a new model scanner that could weigh groceries and read mangled and torn barcodes. A reporter at the scene wrote he had “a look of wonder” on his face. He was obviously amazed at the advance in technology. The New York Times rewrote the the short line to report he was “dumbfounded” by the scanner. The tale of his being out-of-touch was widely disseminated. President Bush used phrases like “deep doo doo,” “Big Mo” and Voodoo Economics” that sounded funny to many Americans. He talked at times like Mrs. Malaprop to the media’s amusement whereas they ignored the seemingly infinite gaffs by Joe Biden and similar misstatements by President Obama. He was only a one term President, but like President James K. Polk, he accompanied much. President Polk annexed Texas, reached agreement with Great Britain on the Oregon Territory at the 49th parallel, acquired the Southwest through the Mexican-American War, and created an independent treasury. Bush 41 presided over the fall of the Berlin Wall, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the end of the Cold War. He watched the independence of the former Soviet republics in Central and Eastern Europe. He fought for the reunification of Germany after the fall of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact. He did not publicly humiliate in a victory lap Prime Minister Gorbachev of the Soviet Union. He further entered into the SALT Treaty (Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty) with Russia. He put together a coalition of western and Arab nations to drive Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait. He successfully supported the enactment of the Americans With Disabilities Act. He became the first Vice President since Martin Van Buren to be directly elected to the Presidency. He was also the last Republican to win California in a Presidential election. The preppie WASP from New England became an adopted son of Texas, but could not leave his twang behind. Several reasons account for his reelection loss to Governor Clinton. The media opprobrium certainly played a role, but it could not have done it on its own. His raising of taxes was the primary reason. The public expects politicians to breach promises, even perhaps to lie, but his 1988 Pledge “Read My Lips; No New Taxes” was more than a promise; it was a covenant. His 1992 reelection campaign was doomed when he raised taxes. His son, President George W Bush, never made the mistake of raising taxes during his 8 years in office. He agreed to raise taxes in exchange for spending cuts. He was snookered by the Democratic Congress which promptly raised taxes, but never came through with the spending cuts. The Republican Party had three main constituencies: 1) the Eastern elite; 2) economic conservatives; and 3) pro-life forces. He lost his base by raising taxes. The once great Eastern Establishment was substantially diminished, and he alienated the economics conservatives by raising taxes. That left pro-life as his constituency, but they knew he had earlier been pro-choice. Another reason was that he seemed lethargic against the young, energetic, charismatic Governor Clinton. The Governor relentlessly ran for the Presidency, while President Bush adhered to the tradition that campaigning began with the Labor Day weekend. The entry of H. Ross Perot into the election provided 19 million Americans with an alternative to the two front runners. The story was that Perot ran because of a deep seated animus to President Bush. The final blow to his campaign came four days before the election when Special Prosecutor Lawrence Walsh indicted former Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger on charges arising out of the Iran Contra controversy. A judge later threw out this indictment because the statute of limitations had lapsed. The American public was suffering from Bush Fatigue by election day. Governor Clinton won with 43% of the vote compared to 37% for President Bush and 19% for H. Ross Perot. He deserved better in 1992 and America has paid a steep price for his defeat. America lost a man who enjoyed the zest of life. The so-called wimp was parachuting out of planes in his 90’s.

GM's Problem: It Still Can't Build Competitive Cars

GM announced major plant closings, job cuts, and cutting car models. This time its assembly plants in Lordstown, Ohio, Hamtramck, Michigan, and Ontario, Canada, as well as transmission plants in Baltimore and Warren, Michigan, are earmarked for closure. No plant closure would be necessary if GM could sell cars. What else is new? GM consistently had problems marketing downsized cars that Americans were willing to buy since the two Arab oil embargoes of the 1970’s. The once industrial goliath has been losing market share for five decades, slipping from over half of the U.S. auto market to hovering around 17%. Its been cutting assembly plants for decades from Massachusetts to California, laying off tens of thousands of blue collar and white collar employees. Ask Buick City, St. Louis Truck, Wilmington, South Gate, Oakland, Detroit Cadillac, Norwalk, Framingham, Janesville, Willow Run, North Tarrytown, Baltimore, Oklahoma City, Fremont, Saginaw, Pontiac, Ypsilanti, Linden, Van Nuys, and Doraville. The GM bankruptcy gave GM a fresh start. It wiped out the pension liabilities, shuttered factories, cut dealers, walked away from toxic facilities, wiped out products liability claims, and emerged with a multibillion dollar tax loss carryforward, shielding it from federal income taxes for years. GM though could still not design and build cars Americans wanted to purchase. The Japanese and Koreans ate GM’s lunch in sedans. The Japanese and Germans control the luxury car market. “Cadillac” is no longer the standard of luxury cars. GM car sales in California, the largest market in the US, are negligible. Buick and Cadillac survived the bankruptcy only because they are big sellers in China, which is now GM’s largest market. Vehicle sales (cars and light trucks) peaked in 2016 at 17,547,028. Sales have slipped since then, with sedan sales leading the downturn. The top selling vehicles in October were the Ford F-150 pickup, Dodge Ram pickup, Chevy Silverado pickup, Toyota RAV 4, Honda CRV, Chevrolet Equinox, Nissan Rogue, Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, and Honda Civic. Only the last three were cars; the top seven were pickups or SUV’s. 60% of GM’s sales in October were trucks and SUVs, up from 50% five years ago. Detroit is increasingly unable to compete in car sales. The imports are also dropping, but in smaller numbers from a higher base. They are feeling the pain less. Once again, GM is behind the curve. Fiat Chrysler announced in April 2017 that it will concentrate on Dodge Trucks and Jeeps. The only cars it will continue to produce are the Chrysler Pacifica Minivan, Chrysler 300, the Dodge Challenger and the Dodge Charger. The Charger, Challenger, and Chrysler 300 are built on the same platform. Ford in April, 2018 said it would discontinue all car models except for the Focus Active, a crossover hatchback, and Mustang. $11 billion is being reallocated from cars to trucks, SUVs, and electrics. GM at its peak could successfully lead from behind. It did not need to innovate because it had the resources to respond and adapt. No longer! GM’s travails are shown by the Chevy Volt. It announced the hybrid Volt as the future of the new General Motors during the 2010 reorganization with projected annual sales of over 100,000 units. The Volt was a flop, starting with its initial list price of $40,280. The remodeled Volt in 2016 started at $33,170. GM’s assumption must have been the large federal ($7,500) and state tax credits would make it affordable, such that that the car would pay for itself over time with fuel savings. GM sold 113,489 Volts in the United States from mid-December 2010 through December 2016. Many of those “sales” were low-priced leases. By way of comparison, Tesla has sold over 500,000 higher priced all-electric Teslas, while the Toyota Prius passed 1 million sales by April 2011. Companies respond to the market or go out of business. Detroit is responding to the changing dynamics of the domestic auto market. GM is shifting billions from cars to autonomous cars and electric vehicles. It paid $1 billion in early 2016 to acquire Cruise, a San Francisco self-driving company with 40 employees. It now has over 1,000 employees. It is further prioritizing factory investment in China and Mexico, away from the United States. President Trump is upset. He won Michigan and Ohio on a Make America Great Again Campaign, restoring manufacturing jobs to the heartland of America. He’s threatened to cut off the subsidies for electric vehicles and impose tariffs on imported cars. He said: “You know the United States saved General Motors, and for them to take that company out of Ohio is not good. I think she’s going to put something back in soon.” Mary Barry, GM's CEO, sees the future a self-driving cars, electric cars, and ride sharing networks. Time will tell if her vision is correct. General Motors executive Mark Reuss took his son to see the shuttered Buick City complex in Flint, Michigan. His son asked: “Why did this happen dad?” Mark Reuss responded: “This happened because we could not compete.” GM could not compete!!!!!

The Orange County of Barry Goldwater, Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan Is No More: The Times They Are A-Changing

“The Times They Are A-Changing..” Bob Dylan. The Orange County of Barry Goldwater, Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan is no more. A blue tsunami struck California November 5. The Democrats swept all 8 state constitutional positions. They reaped a supermajority in both houses of the legislature, thereby no longer needing voter approval for tax increases – all the taxes they put on the political backburner earlier this year. They will raise taxes, more taxes, and even more taxes. Democrats held 39 of California’s Congressional seats going into the November election. Republicans had 14 seats. The Republicans will probably hold 7 seats after November 5. One district is still not determined, but the votes are swinging Democrat. Republicans are becoming an endangered species in California. Seven Congressional District include Orange County voters. Two of them are essentially in Los Angeles County, so five are mostly in Orange County. The first, representing heavily Hispanic Santa Ana and Little Saigon, flipped in 1996 when Loretta Sanchez defeated Congressman Robert “B-1 Bomber” Dornan by 984 votes. That district has remained Democratic. Congresswoman Sanchez had unsuccessfully run for the Anaheim City Council in 1994 as a Republican using her married name of Loretta Sanchez Brixey. Orange County had four Republican representatives. Now there are none from the O.C. Orange County was the heart and soul of the modern conservative movement. It had a national reputation as the bastion of conservatism. One metaphorically crossed “The Orange Curtain” from Los Angeles into Orange County. It was the lynchpin of Arizona’s Senator Barry Goldwater’s 1964 Presidential Campaign. It was the birthplace and home of Richard Nixon. The County was critical to the election of Republicans Ronald Reagan, Pete Wilson, George Deukmejian, and Arnold Schwarzenegger as governors of California. It fueled Governor Reagan’s road the White House. Ronald Reagan referred to Orange County as “Republican Heaven.” It provided substantial funds to the campaigns of both Presidents Bush. The Times They Are A-Changing. Orange County is no longer the White, Republican conservative homogeneous county ofa few decades ago. The estimated population for 2017 in Orange County is 3,190,400, of which Caucasians comprised 42%, Hispanics 34.2%, Asians 19.1%, and African Americans 2.1%. Registered republicans slipped from 660,561 in 2000 to 541,665 in 2018, barely surpassing Democratic registration of 523,624. No Party Preference (Independent) rose to 429,675 from 190,950). The Times They Have A-Changed. Orange County was a post-War World II development. The pre-War county was primarily agricultural. Farmers are political conservatives. The post-war Orange County was built on the military-industrial complex of military bases and aerospace plants. Developers turned the orange groves and lima bean fields into tract homes. There is matter and anti-matter. There is LA and anti-LA. Orange County was the anti-LA. Orange County partially grew on white flight from LA. Several reasons exist for the change. The first is the change in demographics. A second reason is the anti-Trumpers, who would normally vote Republican. He received 32% of the California vote in 2016 and even lost Orange County to Hillary Clinton. The initial “R” has become anathema to most Californians. For example, Los Angeles Sheriff McDonnell was heading to reelection in the non-partisan election. However, Alex Villanueva, a retired Sheriff Lieutenant, tossed his hat in the ring, and is now heading to election with the absentee, early voting tally. His key to the election was emphasizing he is a Democrat and will kick the immigration agents out of the county jail. He would though deliver dangerous immigrants to immigration. He recognized the need to deport dangerous convicted felons, rapists and sexually violent predators. Republicans lost the Hispanic vote in 1994 when Governor Pete Wilson won reelection by supporting Prop 187, which denied benefits and services, such as education, to illegal immigrants. The courts threw out the measure, but it damaged the Republican label with the growing Hispanic population in California. The fall of the Berlin Wall and collapse of the Soviet Union resulted in the collapse of the Southern California aerospace industry. Military bases and factories closed. Thousands were laid off. 1990 saw a recession in California. About a million left the state. The emigres tended to be conservative Republicans. The Republicans had a 22% registration advantage over Democrats. Its been shrinking ever since. Businesses continue to flee California. Carl Jr.’s just announced a move to Tennessee. Texas is very attractive to California businesses. Sacramento sees the economy, and tax revenues, booming with Hollywood and Silicon Valley leading the boom. Sacramento is blind to businesses leaving the state. Once again, Californians leaving California exceeds Americans moving in from other states. Conservatives are fleeing the state. Another reason for the Orange County wipeout was the money pouring into Democratic campaign coffers. For example, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg threw $9 million into two Orange County races, those of Harley Rouda and Katie Porter. $4 million went into Harley Rouda’s campaign. Gil Cisneros won the lottery a few years ago. He poured $8 million of his own money in defeating the Republican candidate Young Kim, who only raised $1.9 million. Both Harley Rouda and Gil Cisneros had opportunistically switched from Republican to Democrat. Democrats Harley Rouda and Katie Porter in Orange County, and Katie Hill in Los Angeles dominated the airways with ads. The Republicans lacked the resources to compete. Orange County voted for Hillary Clinton two years ago. The signs were on the wall. The O.C. was changing. The O.C. suburbs voted Democratic this time, as they did nationally. The younger voters have turned away from the Republican Party. The Vietnamese and Persian refugees were conservative, but their children have been fully assimilated into the American culture, which entails many of them adopting the liberalism of their peers. The Times in the O.C. They Have A-Changed.

The Ohio State University 62: The University of Michigan 39

Once again Lucy pulled the football out from Charlie Brown. This time though, she not only yanked the football out, but she then kicked the ball in his face. Oh it was disappointing. It was ugly. It was like getting hit on the head with a 2X4. Finally, the curse would be broken. Michigan had won 10 straight with the toughest defense in the nation. Finally the team had a decent offensive line and a healthy quarterback. Ohio State had been playing poorly, even losing to Purdue by 29 points. TOSU beat Maryland by one point a week ago. The signs were aligned. Michigan had blown out Penn State and Wisconsin. They beat Michigan State in East Lansing. Michigan defeated a top ranked team on the road for the first time in forever. The Wolverines were ranked fourth in the nation, headed to the Big (Ten) Conference Championship game, followed by a spot in the BCS final four, presumably in Dallas. Michigan had already defeated Northwestern. Yes, Jim Harbaugh had brought the Wolverines back to national prominence. Pre-season expectations were 8-4 or possibly 9-3. My prediction was 8-5 to 14-1. I held out for 14-1, predicting Michigan would win it all. That was excessive exuberance. The Michigan family was excited, ecstatic, exuberant. Finally, after 11 long years wandering the pig iron wilderness. 1-14 against the Buckeyes in the past 15 years. The Wolverine Revenge Tour had checked off Michigan State, Penn State, and Wisconsin. Only the Buckeyes were left. Someone forgot to tell Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes that Michigan was back. They quickly scored on a 57 second drive. That was just the beginning. Three touchdowns in their first five series. Michigan’s vaunted defense was shredded by crossing patterns. The great pass defense applied no pressure to the Buckeye’s Heisman candidate QB Dwayne Haskins, Jr., who put on a passing exhibition. He was never sacked or even pressured. Similarly, Michigan’s porous offensive line leaked, not on every play, but on many. Wisconsin similarly torched Michigan last year, winning 42-13 and gaining 502 offensive yards. Michigan’s defensive coordinator Don Brown said he woke up every morning since then, thinking about the game. Michigan won 42-7 this year. We hope he wakes up every morning until next year’s game thinking about the this year's TOSU rout. The viciousness of social media erupted after the game. Cries arose to fire Harbaugh, Don Brown, and Pep Hamilton. Rashan Gary and Chase Winocvich are overrated. A 10-2 record was absolutely unacceptable. Get a life! The 2018 Michigan Wolverines exceeded expectations. Many fans globally have high, not always justified, expectations The question is "What have you done for me lately"? They possess short memories and no patience. It’s happening on blogs for Florida State and USC. One blogger at FSU targeted first year football coach Willie Taggert by posting a meme showing him being lynched. Utterly despicable! Michigan – Ohio State may be The Game, but it’s only a game - not life. Get a life! It’s only a game!

President Trump versus Chief Justice Roberts: America Loses

President Trump Versus Chief Justice Roberts: America Loses President Trump is justifiably frustrated with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and its district court judges. They are the leaders of the anti-Trump judicial resistance. Federal judges have lifetime appointments. Many therefore act like a captain of a ship, or even God. A large number of the Ninth Circuit appellate and district court judges are social activists, who believe in the Rule of Man rather than the Rule of Law. The Ninth Circuit has 16 appellate judges appointed by Democrats and 7 by Republicans with six vacancies. Five replacements have been nominated by the President, awaiting Senate confirmation President Trump responded to a reporter’s question yesterday about Judge Tigar’s nationwide injunction Tuesday against his new amnesty policy, which would allow amnesty only for immigrants who entered the country legally. He replied “Every case that gets filed in the Ninth Circuit, we get beaten. And then we end up having to go to the Supreme Court, like the travel ban, and we won.” He also said It’s a disgrace, and I am going to put in a major complaint because you cannot win – if you’re us – a case in the Ninth Circuit.” He added: “This was an Obama judge. And I’ll tell you what, it’s not going to happen like this anymore.” Chief Justice John Roberts responded through a statement: “We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges. What we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal best to do equal rights to those appearing before them. An independent judiciary is something we should all be thankful for.” President Trump responded: “Sorry Chief Justice John Roberts, but you do indeed have ‘Obama judges,’ and they have a much different point of view than the people who are charged with the safety of our country,” beginning a series of presidential tweets. “It would be great if the 9th Circuit was indeed an ‘independent judiciary,’ but if it is why are so many opposing view (on Border and Safety) cases filed there, and why are a vast number of those cases overturned. Please study the numbers, they are shocking,” the tweets said. He continued on Thanksgiving: “Justice Roberts can say what he wants, but the Ninth Circuit is a complete and total disaster. It is out of control, has a horrible reputation, is overturned more than any circuit in the country, 79%, is used to get an almost guaranteed result – judges must not legislate security.” He added “It’s a terrible thing when judges tell you how to protect your borders. It’s a disgrace.” Many of the federal judiciary would have been unsympathetic to the Trump Administration proposals. He made it worse by “taking out” one of them during the campaign. Judge Gonzalo Curiel, a second generation Mexican American from Indiana. His parents emigrated to America to seek a better life for themselves and their family. The Judge was hearing two Trump University fraud suits in San Diego. Donald Trump had won some rulings, but lost others. He said in May 2016 the judge was of Mexican heritage and a member of a Latino lawyer’s group and thus had a conflict of interest because of Trump’s “building a wall.” The case was later settled for $25 million. Ironically Judge Curiel ruled in February 2018 that the Department of Homeland Security could proceed with building the wall. I have to believe that some of the district court decisions are the judges expressing their displeasure in his behavior. Donald Trump complained about the Chief Justice before being elected President. He tweeted after the Chief Justice upheld ObamaCare: “Congratulations to John Roberts for making Americans hate the Supreme Court because of his BS.” The candidate referred to the Chief Justice during the campaign as “disgraceful” and disappointing for his Obamacare opinions. We know several realities about President Trump. First, he is a New York City streetfighter. He fights back. Second, he will tweet and otherwise express his feelings. He is transparent. Third, he is not diplomatic or euphemistic in his comments. He calls them as he sees them. Fourth, he says what many think, but will not say. He’s right about the Ninth Circuit. The are constantly creating new law to fit their social beliefs, often engaging in judicial legislation. Judge Stephen Reinhardt was liberal guru on the bench. His attitude was that the Supreme Court couldn’t reverse them all. His wife Ramona Ripston, was executive director of the ACLU of Southern California for four decades. His opinions had a high reversal rate before he Supreme Court. He felt loosely bound by precedence. He believed courts should be an instrument of social change. His name on an opinion was a red flag for the Supreme Court. Judge Reinhardt passed away on March 29, 2018. President Trump will not fill the vacancy with another progressive judge. Several of the President’s tweets are ill-advised and counterproductive. His comment about Senator McCain was one of his most objectionable and particularly costly. He said about the Senator during the campaign: “He’s not a war hero. He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured.” The ailing Senator flew back from Arizona to cast the deciding vote on repeal of ObamaCare. He campaigned against ObamaCare in his reelection campaign. He voted NO on the repeal, to the surprise of almost everyone. I can’t read his mind, but the vote seemed to have been a vindictive payback to President Trump. His NO vote contributed to the defeat of several Republicans two weeks ago because they had no answer to the preexisting-condition claim that they were opposed to coverage of pre-existing conditions. The Kavanaugh Hearings confirmed that the Supreme Court is a political body, not that there was ever much doubt. The Court, as a political body, is open to criticism. The Chief Justice denies the obvious in publicly defending the district judges. He knows what’s happening. The Chief Justice is not above reproach when using the Court as a political instrument. His two opinions upholding ObamaCare were politically motivated. His fellow justices knew he was against it, but then he suddenly pulled a rabbit out of the hat, calling it a tax rather than a penalty. The second time around, three years later in 2015, he ignored the plain language of the statute which provided “An individual could receive tax credits only if the individual enrolls in an insurance plan through ‘an Exchange established by the State.’” Chief Justice Roberts went through judicial conniptions to hold the individuals could receive the tax credits if they were enrolled in a state or federal exchange. Justice Roberts received withering criticism from the media and Democrats before issuing his 2012 ObamaCare decision. The charge was that a rejection of the Act would serve as an institutional failure for the Court. A ruling on unconstitutionality would harm the Republic and subvert the will of the people. The Chief Justice caved. He caved to political pressure, making the Court a political body. He was strangely quiet when President Obama in his 2012 State of the Union address, trashed the Supreme Court, misconstruing its Citizens United opinion, as six justices inter judicial robes sat in front of him. Justice Alito was seen muttering "Not sure, Not sure," but never a peep from the Chief Justice. He has shown signs of following the paths of Justices Stevens, O’Conner and Kennedy in succumbing to Potomac Fever. We can only hope that the President’s tweets do not push him further in that direction. What’s Chief Justice Roberts going to do next time on Obamacare since Congress has rescinded the individual mandate and the tax penalty?

Count Every Legal Vote

Make Every LEGAL Vote Count. Back to the Bush-Gore 2000 Florida Vote Democratic mantra: Make Every Vote Count. 2018 the Florida Vote Democratic mantra: Make every vote count that counts. Yes, let every vote count: The non-residents. The illegal voters. The legally disenfranchised. The double voting. The graveyards voting. The totally bogus votes. The voters who can’t read or follow the voting instructions. Adjust the undercount as desired. Fill in the blanks. No, let every legal vote count. A history of late suspicious, “newly discovered” bundles of votes switching elections to Democrats from the erstwhile winning Republicans. Let’s start with “Landslide” Lyndon Johnson. Congressman Johnson lost his first race for the Senate in 1941. He went to bed on election night, declared the winner by 5,000 votes. He made the mistake of declaring early the vote count in the counties he controlled. He woke up the next morning learning that Governor W. Lee “Pappi” O’Daniel won by 1,311 votes through the voter fraud late returns from East Texas. LBJ, the master politician, learnt to control the final vote. Next time in 1948 he controlled the late returns, turning a 20,000 vote loss into a 87 vote victory over Coke Stevenson. The icing on his victory cake was Precinct 13 from Alice, Texas with 202 votes in alphabetical order six days after the polls closed. The 1960 Presidential Election resulted in Senator John Fitzgerald Kennedy defeating Vice President Richard Nixon by 8,800 votes in Illinois and 46,000 votes in Texas. History tells us Mayor Daley in Chicago and Vice President nominee Lyndon Baines Johnson of Texas stole the election. Nixon would have won with an honest count in Illinois and Texas. He decided, for the good of the country, not to contest the result. How times have changed? We have the miraculous discovery of votes that gave Al Franken a 225 vote victory over Senator Norm Coleman in 2008. The incumbent Senator initially had a 726 vote victory on election night with the official count showing him winning by 215 votes. Then came a recount, reconsidering rejected absentee ballots. The comedian suddenly won by 225 votes. The Supreme Court of Minnesota reviewed the case and raised Al Franken’s victory margin to 312 votes. The Democrats controlled the Senate so an appeal to the Senate by Senator Coleman would have been futile. 1,099 felons voted illegally. Senator Coleman could not effectively appeal to the Senate because the Democrats controlled it. Senator Franken and Senator Arlen Spector, who switched from Republican to Democrat, gave the Democrats the 60 Senate votes necessary to break a filibuster and pass ObamaCare. The lead attorney for Al Franken was Marc Elias, who currently is the lead attorney for Senator Bill Nelson in Florida. The attorney arranged for the preparation of the Fusion GPS Russia-Trump Dossier – “The Russian Connection.” Then we have Florida in 2000 when Broward and Palm Beach County wanted to keep recounting until they found the magic number to overturn Governor Bush’s election as President. The Democrats only tried to recount in the Democratic counties. They wanted to count every ballot, or so they proclaimed. They tried to exclude the overseas military ballots. And now we have Florida redux. Bundles of ballots suddenly found after the election. A history of misfeasance or malfeasance in Broward County. An admitted exclusion of 28 ballots by non-citizens and then placing those ballots into a stack of 250 legitimate ballots with no way to distinguish them. That was either an anomaly or the tip of the iceberg. Democratic watchers attempting to get a ballot from an illegal resident counted. Count every vote, or make every vote that counts be counted? Make every legal vote count. Don’t try to divine the intent of voters. It’s no more accurate than the Oracles of Delphi. Don’t presume the undervotes intended to vote for the Senate candidate. If they didn’t mark it, they didn’t mark it. Don’t let federal district judges decide the elections. If Broward and Palm Beach Counties tilt the outcome to Senator Nelson, then the right will cry stolen election. The final recount on the Florida Senate election will be by the Republican Senate and not by the state. If the state rules for Senator Nelson and the United States Senate reverses, then the left’s cry of stolen election will ring out through the country. Let all legal votes count. I really wanted to write: Send in the clowns Send in the lawyers

Reflections on the 2018 Midterms

The big winner Tuesday night was Fox News. Its viewership of 7.78 million exceeded all other broadcasters, the networks, cable and satellite. Money usually talks in political campaigns. The Democrats heavily outspent the Republicans. The Democrats raised $951 million for House candidates as of October 17, 50% more than Republicans. The airways in the LA/Orange County area were flooded with ads for Harley Rouda, Katie Hill, and Katie Porter. Their opponents, incumbent Republicans Dana Rohrabacher,Steve Knight, and Mimi Walters, were drowned out. Harley Rouda had $11.3 million to spend versus $4.14 million for Congressman Rohrabacher. Steve Knight was outspend $5.8 million by Katie Hill. They outspent the Republicans by 40% for the Senate. For example, Beto O’Rourke in Texas had $69 million to spend compared to $40 million for Senator Ted Cruz. Professor Dave Brat upset the Eric Cantor, the House Majority Leader, four years ago. He lost this time to Democrat Abigail Spanberger, who raised $3.8 million more than him. The Democrats are opposed to Citizens United. They claim much of their money came from small donors. So they say. Many of their checks were signed by Michael Bloomberg, George Soros, and Tom Steyer. The media kept predicting a blue wave, a tsunami, a tsunami blue wave. 2018 was to be a wave election rejecting President Trump. 1994 was a wave election in President Clinton’s first midyear. The Republicans won 54 House seats and 9 Senate seats, turning the House of Representatives over to the Republicans for the first time in 42 years. 2010 was a wave election in President Obama’s first midyear. The Republicans won 63 House seats, six Senate seats, and swept the Frost belt from Pennsylvania through Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and much of Minnesota. They won the governorships in all but Minnesota and swept to victory in the state legislative branches. Tuesday was a good day for the Democrats, a very good day for the Democrats, but far short of the 1994 and 2010 waves. It may not have been a wave election, but a W is a W and a L is a L. Whether it’s by one vote or 35, the Democrats control the House of Representatives, and all the power that comes with that. Many of the victory margins were 2,000-3,000, illustrating the closeness of the elections. A W is still a W. Many of the pickups were made easy by 41 Republicans retiring. Democrats regained control of the governorships in Michigan and Wisconsin. They swept the statewide offices in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, but Republicans retained control of the legislatures in Michigan and Wisconsin and the Senate in Minnesota. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker lost his bid for a third term by 30,000 votes. They gained at least 32 seats in the House. Kansas elected Laura Kelly governor, defeating the arch conservative, anti-immigrant Republican Kris Klobach. The Republicans held onto Florida, Ohio, and Texas as well as governorships in the erstwhile Blue States of Maryland, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Senator Joe Manchin won reelection while Senators Heidi Heitkamp, Joe Donnelly, Claire McCaskill lost. Senator Manchin’s polls showed he would lose reelection if he voted against Judge Kavanaugh. He voted accordingly. Senators Donnelly and McCaskill didn’t run this time against Republican opponents who uttered incredibly stupid, insulting statements about abortion. Florida Senator Bill Nelson has little to show for 18 years in the Senate, but he suddenly became pro-active by demanding a recount. The Republican Karen Handel defeated Pajama Boy in a special election in Georgia’s Sixth District in 2017. She was narrowly defeated this year by Lucy McBath. President Trump’s blessings allowed Katie Arrington to upset Congressman Mark Sanford in the South Carolina Republican primary. She was upset in the general election by Joe Donnelly by 4,100 votes. Where was former President Bill Clinton this election cycle? Has he finally become radioactive to Democrats? Once again, as he did as President, President Obama campaigned heavily for some candidates, especially Stacey Abrams and Andrew Gillum. They lost. Taylor Swift’s endorsement didn’t come through in Tennessee for Phil Bredesen. Oprah didn’t come through for Stacy Abrams. California Governor elect Galvin Newsom has the potential to become the next Governor Gray Davis. As expected the billionaire J. B. Pritzker defeated the millionaire Governor Bruce Rauner in Illinois. The prognosis for Illinois is taxes piled on taxes as Illinois emulates Governor Murphy in Connecticut. Illinois is in a race with Connecticut to see which state goes belly-up first. Connecticut voters did their state a grave disservice by electing Democrat Ned Lamont to the Governorship as well as Democrats to all statewide positions, and returning the state senate to Democratic control. Connecticut is suffering from a capital flight, which will only accelerate in the next years. Ned Lamont spent $12 million of his own money on the election. Governor Lamont was a piker compared to Governor Pritzker, who spent $171 million of his fortune on getting elected. The good news for Illinois is that this governor is probably not bribable. The suburbs deserted the Republicans this election cycle. The blame is placed on white educated women in the suburbs rejecting the President. Two other factors were at work. The first is the legacy of Senator John McCain. The House of Representatives voted to repeal and replace ObamaCare. Senator McCain flew from his treatment to the Senate to cast the deciding vote on the bill. He cast a NO, to the surprise of almost everyone. Repeal and replace was dead. The Democrats ran this election on healthcare, hammering the Republicans on their opposition to the coverage of preexisting conditions. Second was the tax bill which limited the SALT (State and Local Tax) deduction to $10,000. The combined income and property taxes in these Blue State suburbs greatly exceed $10,000 annually. The Democrats had the chutzpah of accusing Republicans of raising taxes! Pennsylvania replaced five Republican members of Congress with five Democrats, thanks to a liberal Pennsylvania Supreme ordered reapportionment. Tuesday was a reaffirmation of the double standard between Democrats and Republicans. The ethically charged Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey won reelection by 10% after the Senate Majority PAC and Democratic Senatorial Committee poured $millions into his campaign to save him. A mistrial on bribery charges and rumors of cavorting with underaged prostitutes in the Dominican Republic haunted his campaign. Congressman Keith Ellison won a plurality election to be Attorney General of Minnesota despite serious, credible charges of sexual harassment. Virginia Democrat Representative Bobby Scott was unopposed for reelection. He was accused in 2017 of sexual misconduct. The Los Angeles County Democratic Party endorsed Representative Tony Cardenas for reelection while attacking the Republicans on the Kavanaugh hearings eventhough the Representative was accused of assaulting a 16 year old girl. The Democrats only applied the #MeToo to Republicans. To be fair, Republicans voters in New York and San Diego have apparently reelected two Representatives under federal indictment. Texas beats that by reelecting state Representative Ron Reynolds while he was serving a year in jail on five misdemeanors. The late returns from Broward and Palm Beach Counties in Florida and Maricopa County in Arizona threaten to flip the election night Republican victories to Democratic, shades of the selective and inconsistent Florida recounts in 2000, and a repeat of the Al Franken 2008 election. It seems the Chicago election model has migrated to Broward County, Florida. Always remember the great title of Hugh Hewitt’s book, “If It’s Not Close, They Can’t Cheat.” The dead may vote in Chicago, but Arizona beats that by electing a dead, brothel owner, Dennis Hof, to the state legislature. The new 116th Congress will be the most diverse in history, with at least 118 women in the House of Representatives and the Senate. Two Native American women and two Muslim women will enter the House as will two African American woman from Connecticut and Massachusetts. If Katie Porter holds on to her lead against Congressman Steve Knight in California and Max Rose’ victory over Congressman Dan Donovan in New York stands, then neither Los Angeles County nor New York City will have a Republican member of Congress. Maine’s outgoing Governor Paul LePage is packing up and moving to Florida for the usual reasons of winters and taxes. New York state voters removed 8 Republican Senators from the legislature, replacing them with Democrats. The effect is that for the first time in decades democrats will control both houses of the legislature. The tacit agreement in the past is that the Assembly would reapportion itself and the Senate itself every ten years. The Democrats will control all the entire reapportionment process after the 2020 election, which will strike a severe blow to the shrinking Republican base in New York. Democrats flipped over 300 state legislative seats, but that’s far short of the roughly 1,000 seats lost to the Democrats under President Obama. State ballot results paint an interesting vignette. Colorado and Washington are both purple states leaning blue. Colorado voters defeated Prop 112, an effective ban on new fossil fuel development. It would have banned oil and gas production within 2,55 feet of homes, hospitals, schools, buildings with a certificate of occupancy, and “vulnerable” areas, as well as parks, playgrounds, public open spaces, lakes, rivers, and reservoirs. Colorado voters also rejected Amendment 74, which would require just compensation to be paid landowners whose properties dropped in value as a result of government regulations. Washington voters defeated Initiative 1631, a proposed carbon tax, which would have increased the gas tax on cars, starting at $.13/galloon. Seattle residents supported the tax, but were outvoted by the rest of the state. They also approved Initiative 1634, which bars communities from imposing food and beverage taxes. Conversely, California voters rejected Prop 6, which would have repealed Jerry Brown’s gas tax increase, which could cost the average family $800/year. Much, but not all the tax revenues, would go to road and street repairs. The state Attorney general changed the label on the initiative to rescinding the funds for road repair, backed up by over $30 million in ads opposed to the repeal. California voters also rejected Prop 10, which would have allowed communities to reimpose rent control. Florida voters approved 69-31 a ban on offshore drilling. California’s Democrats won 5 of the 8 statewide elections by about a 20% margin. A major exception was Senator Dianne Feinstein, who was expected to defeat State Senator Kevin DeLeon by a astronomical margin. Instead, she won by only 8%, reflecting Republican blowback over her treatment of Justice Kavanaugh. Colorado and Michigan approved the creation of an independent reapportionment commission. Colorado elected the first openly gay governor while Wilton Manor, Florida now has an all LGBTQ city council. Voters in Idaho, Nebraska, and Utah approved the Obamacare Medicaid Expansion. Montana approved it a few years ago, but defeated a cigarette tax increase to fund the expansion. Free medical care sounds attractive, but Medicaid is failing to deliver in fact. The 2017 expenditure for Medicaid was $557 billion, of which the feds covered 62% and the states 38%. The Medicaid expansion is a Faustian bargain. San Francisco and Mountain View voters decided the solution to the sad homeless problem was to tax large employers in their community. Let’s see how well that works out. Mountain View obviously believes Google will not leave town. Michigan, Missouri, and Utah voters approved toking up, at least for medical purposes. A wonderful election in Kentucky was the defeat of Rowan, Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis, who had refused to license a gay marriage because of her religious beliefs. Jefferson County, Alabama (Birmingham) elected African Americans as Sherriff and District Attorney. Bull Conner must be rolling over in his grave. New Yorkers elected Letitia James, an African American woman, Attorney General. The Democrats ran on no platform, except Trump. It worked. Their priorities seem to be: 1) Resistance; 2) Subpoena; 3) Get President Trump’s tax returns; 4) Impeach Justice Kavanaugh 5) Investigate, investigate, investigate 6) Pursue the Russia conspiracy. Is this what the electorate elected them to do?