Politics

Rub the Lamp

Posted on by thependulumswings staff
Canadian leader Justin Trudeau’s campaign for national elections was hit Wednesday by the publication of a photo showing him in “brownface” makeup at a costume party in 2001.

We have questions.  One, was Aladdin a racist movie?  Two, when then teacher Justin Trudeau dressed as an Aladdin character in 2001 for the annual school dinner that was themed “Arabian Nights” was he furthering sterotypes and committing a racist act?  Was Trudeau’s apology for doing so, politics aside, really necessary?  When he dressed that night, and likely many others at the British Columbia school party did similarly, did he or others think what they were doing was wrong?  If he did, should he have apologized any time in the last 18 years?  If he should have apologized, why didn’t he?

We have answers.  No.  No.  No.  No.  Yes.   And, hmm, good question.

Aladdin debuted in 1992 produced by Walt Disney.  It was remade in 2019 and grossed one billion dollars worldwide.  Will Smith was the lead in the 2019 remake.  It seems like Walt Disney, a ton of movie goers, and Will Smith seem to think it wasn’t racist.

The dressed for the party Trudeau in 2001 was doing nothing different than the movie writers, producers, casting, cast, directors, and producers did in 1992.  Did he give getting “brownfaced” a second thought then?  It’s highly unlikely, and it was highly unnecessary as well that he do so.  Intent matters.

Trudeau, who launched his reelection campaign a week ago, said he should have known better.  “I’m pissed off at myself, I’m disappointed in myself,” Trudeau told reporters traveling with him on his campaign plane.  Perhaps he could get a make believe role in the next remake.  He is “sooooo” redfaced about being caught redhanded being brownfaced. This sounds “sooooo” 2019 politically correct that we wish we could rub a genie’s lamp and make it all stop.

We wonder how long he has been beating himself up for this heinous act.  Our guess is that the faux self flogging only began right after Time magazine posted the photo, which it says was published in the yearbook from the West Point Grey Academy where Trudeau worked as a teacher before entering politics. The photo depicts Trudeau wearing a turban and robe, with dark makeup on his hands, face and neck.

Trudeau has been admired by liberals around the world for his progressive policies.  Canada has accepted more refugees than the United States in the last three years.  His Liberal Party government has also strongly advocated free trade.  He faces a very stiff challenge from Conservative leader Andrew Scheer.  But, being politically correct knows no political boundaries.

One of the three wishes Aladdin had for the Genie was to get out of the “cave of wonders.”  We don’t live in a cave.  Therefore, we don’t wonder why he apologized after the photo surfaced and not before.

Bad acting comes and goes.  But, we hope that the curtain never falls on authenticity.  Somebody rub the lamp and wish it all away.

Know When to Say “Uncle.”

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Budweiser, in a responsible drinking campaign several years back, coined the phrase “know when to say when.”   Remember growing up when you were involved in a little physical tussle, skirmish, wrestling match, etc. and one side had enough they would say “uncle.”  Why would they say “uncle?”  It seems that while “crying uncle” is today regarded as an Americanism, its origins go all the way back to the Roman Empire. Roman children, when beset by a bully, would be forced to say “Patrue, mi Patruissimo,” or “Uncle, my best Uncle,” in order to surrender and be freed.

So, when should Uncle Joe Biden’s team say “uncle?”  Preposterous you say?  We actually think that Joe Biden means well.  We think that he thinks that he can continue to do something, or has done something in his 32 years in public office to make a positive difference.  But.

Wasn’t it just three years ago that very suddenly people named Bush and Clinton looked old and sounded so “yesterday?”  What does that make Biden look like and sound like today?

Ronald Reagan’s detractors pointed out repeatedly when he had a “senior moment” or three that he might no longer be fit to hold the highest office in the land in his second term.  Reagan exited the oval office for good after term two at the tender age of 77.  Biden would already be 77 if he won when sworn into the office.

Don’t you wonder why he passed on the chance to run one final time after he served eight straight years as VP under Obama?  Would the timing ever be better?  Did he think it was Hillary’s turn?  Please.  Who thinks like that when they need to have the drive, bravado, tenacity, and “can do” attitude to handle the insane pressure of the top job? When has that stopped someone who wanted something?  Or, was he just plain tired?

Several weeks ago he reminded us in his service to his country as VP that he had a chance to speak to some of the survivors and families touched by the Parkland School shooting.  The problem, of course, was that he wasn’t in office then.  His team said that he was referring to the Sandy Hook school shooting.  Hmm.

A few weeks later, when America was on it’s heels from the back to back mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, Biden spoke to gun control needs again and referenced these shootings in Houston and Michigan.  Well, that’s a wrong city in the right state and the wrong state when attempting to recall a city in another state.  Jeez.

Yesterday, to an assembled crowd, he advanced  the idea of an $8000 child care credit for families and said that it would put 720 million women back to work.  You can see the short clip here.  We aren’t convinced that one begets the other.  Further, when you subtract men and children from the estimated 330 million who call America home, you might get to 80-90 million women in all.

Remember, all of this is happening 14 months out from the general election.  There are 11, yes 11, Democratic Presidential debates scheduled prior to the nomination.  Then, the survivor gets to tangle with the man who loves to get people to say “uncle,” one Donald J. Trump.

Most incumbents, and all front runners, tend to limit their exposure and by definition limit the number and length of the debates.  Donald J. is not a  “most” incumbent.

Current odds on Biden to not be the Democratic nominee is minus $400.  You bet $400 to win $100 if he doesn’t gain the nomination fair and square.  You also win the 100 bucks if Uncle Joe says “uncle.”

“I want to be clear, I’m not going nuts,” Biden said Friday two weeks ago. The former vice president’s clarification came before he mistakenly praised Vermont when asked about his impression of Keene, N.H.   Painful.

Father Time is undefeated.  Uncle Joe might be best served by saying “uncle” before he is defeated.

 

 

 

 

One Love That Is Shared by Two

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

In a interview with the Washington Post earlier this week noted progressive Barbara Streisand described the United States electoral college system as “antiquated” and advocated replacing it with a system that allows the winner of the popular vote to win the election.

She went on to say, “If I could, I would end the antiquated electoral college. Twice in the last 20 years the popular vote winner was denied the presidency. This is an assault on our democratic principles, where the dictum should hold true: one person, one vote.”

And she isn’t the only voice from the left touting a change away from the now 243 year old way of electing presidents.  South Bend, Indiana mayor and announced Democratic Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg suggested making the reform as well calling it undemocratic.  Streisand would change it now if she could as she said, while Mayor Pete would do so down the road a bit.

We wonder if of the above is exactly why our founding fathers put the process in place at the outset.   We submit the following counterpoints.
  • That is, they had the foresight to realize that a ground swell could occur.  And when it did a simple popular vote taken on the matter could eliminate the electoral college vote and replace it with, well, a simple popular vote.  Stated differently, over the course of time, this would open up the opportunity to repeatedly manipulate how the president was elected.
  • What Barbara should know, and likely does, is if one person could do anything unilaterally in our union it would not be a democracy.
  • Citing twice in the last 20 years as a reason fails to speak to the fact that a) its happened only five times in 243 years, and b) it happened in a span of 12 years when in 1876 Rutherford B. Hayes won the electoral college and lost the popular vote and again in 1888 when Benjamin Harrison did the same.  The logic sounds much like two bad hurricanes in 20 years proves climate change, so we must change and now.
  • And, we’re supposed to be United States, not necessarily always united people.  States, as an entity all to themselves, have rights in our union and therefore each have two senators with equal say to senators from other states.
  • Buttigieg says that we won’t know in the 2030’s which party would benefit.  One, yes we do Pete.  Two, if we don’t know which would benefit why change from the current, unless you don’t believe in states’ rights.
  • Buttigieg hails from Indiana.   It’s a state that could be the poster child for why the electoral college is in place.  It has a) below average population making the two electoral senate seats important to them, b) is driven by farming creating a need for perspective that is anything but urban (ask them right now if they want a voice in who is the next president considering the effect on the state that tariffs are having).

The 77 year old Oscar winning Streisand might be an expert on “antiquated.”  It looks more and more like her party’s current front runner sure does.   But she is no expert on democratic principles.  She should  know that what she and other left voices are advocating to eliminate this “assault on our democratic principles” is actually an assault on our democratic principles.

Aren’t the real experts our founding fathers?

“How” and “Why” Matter.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Journalism 101 teaches to insure that the “who”, “what”, “when”, and “where” is included in every lead of a story.  Optional, but also important, is the “how” and the “why.”  Getting the first four “w’s” in is relatively easy.  Figuring out the how and the why is harder as it sometimes requires some interpretation.

Take late last week as an example.   In a span of 48 hours on Thursday and Friday (when) President Trump (who) castigated (what) Fed Chairman Powell (who)
on Twitter (where) of not being aggressive enough with rate cuts and economic commentary.  He barely took a breath, then he ORDERED American companies importing manufactured goods and the like from China (he pronounces it as CHII Nah) to find a way to bring the manufacturing back to the U.S.  By mid Friday morning he announced further tariffs(import taxes) almost across the board on goods coming from across the Pacific from said China.

The result of his actions and words seems, at the outset, that Powell said nothing, American companies did nothing not already planned, and China said “we’ll see your bet, and raise you one or five.”  The other result is again, at least for a day, the American stock market and those still open abroad, tumbled hard.

We think his political base added the to the story by questioning “how” he did this?

How he swung three times seemed almost petulant, petulant like a child that is.  In the Trump Tower when you hold the decisions as to who gets massive building contracts and what your expectations are and when they get paid is one thing.  When you ORDER (we use all caps because he did in the Tweet) American companies around you cross way too far into government attempted control on free enterprise at a minimum.  At the maximum you sound like a second grader who doesn’t get his way on the playground.  Plus, it’s the exact opposite of the many government regulations that he has pulled back to free businesses up.

In the tariff tiff he seems to think that he can bully China like he bullied Mexico.  Maybe.  Maybe not.  It seems to have not worked so far.

The Powell undressing is tired.  Take the repeated rants indoors already.  You hired him Mr. President.

We think even his political base questioned “why” as well.

Why did he do all of the above?  Well, we admit that every time he seems to have face planted off a newly built tower he actually has packed a parachute and landed just fine, and ready to fight for the American people for another cause on another day.

And, just this AM he is tweeting that China is ready to come to the table.  Maybe Powell will cut again and again and sooner.   And, maybe more American companies will build or rebuild factories here.

But, when how Americans feel about their investments (401k, education, house) turns south, they stay home if they voted for you prior, and turn out if they voted against you prior.  The very recession talk (at this point talk) that you are trying to squash becomes self fulfilling.

The tightrope that is being walked is high, higher than most Trump Towers built.  The fall would be unpleasant for all.  How you walk across, and why you walk across matters greatly in the next 15 months.

On Thursday you anointed yourself as “The Chosen One” to combat the decades long China advantage in import and export tariffs.  China seems to have chosen too.  Their choice looks like they want to see if  “The Chosen One” is chosen again in November of 2020.

A small fracture in the Trump base and someone else will need to “Keep America Great.”  Perhaps there will be another “Chosen One?”  Although that seems as cloudy as the smoke created from last week’s outbursts.  The lead candidate against Trump was in New Hampshire, was asked about New Hampshire, and sung the praises of Delaware.

It’s another week.  Can the American political leaders gaffe meter possibly keep up?

 

Crazy. Crazy. Chomp. Chomp.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Are you ready for some football?  Tomorrow afternoon the Florida Gators kick off the NCAA football season with the Miami Hurricanes.  We can’t wait for 3pm.  And, thankfully we won’t have to wait longer than that.

We won’t have to wait longer to watch the Hurricanes because we won’t need to worry about watching The Weather Channel worrying about a hurricane.  Those pesky storms can get in the way of our fun this time of the year.  But, so far this year so good.  Tropical storm Chantal churns weakly over 500 miles off of the east coast.  It’s only the third named storm this year from the east- a weak start to the season.

Another plus is that, while the game is in Florida, we assume Orlando is far enough inland that Andrew Yang considers it high enough ground in his Democratic debate plea to “move everyone to higher ground now” since it was too late in his opinion to reverse the effects of climate change.

All of which brings us to two events this week that has us puzzled.  Governor Jay Inslee from the great state of Washington ended his campaign for president.  Inslee’s platform started and ended with his six prong, detailed approach to a climate change solution.  His fire burned out on it’s own.   Meanwhile, yesterday Bernie Sanders unveiled his $16.3 trillion plan to combat climate change.

Others have put forth their plans, Elizabeth Warren among them.  But her plan was a meager 2 trillion.  Bernie was considered a bit crazy four years ago running against Hillary Clinton.  But, in the race to crazy it seems Bernie has been left out recently in the torrential rain.  No more.  This plan calls for the most massive government outlay of all.  Crazy indeed.  Bernie chose California of all of our 50 states to chose from to announce his plan.  Hmm.

Aside from all of the announced future benefits of the plan, the greatest part is that Bernie says that the plan will “pay for itself.”  If you ever concern yourself with the small matter of the 22 trillion and counting debt that this country is in, this must be relief welcomed by you much like getting electricity restored after a storm knocks yours out.

Two point three trillion dollars of the cost would come from income taxes from new jobs generated under the plan.  The plan doesn’t estimate the income taxes lost by current jobs in fossil fuel industries that would be leveled like a tornado that would also be eliminated, we assume, with this plan.  Another $1.2 trillion would come from reduced military expenses related to oil shipping routes.  We assume(you know what happens when you assume) the military would not be redeployed in any other way.

The plan is to lower the two largest causes of U.S. harmful emissions by 71% by 2030, and “help” developing countries to lower theirs by 36% in that same time with a $200 billion appropriation. At press time no developing countries had yet commented on whether they would accept the government handout, though we assume (damn it, again) that they graciously would.

Sanders also boldly claims that his new Green New Deal will “end unemployment” based on the sheer number, estimated at 20 million, of jobs it would create. With only 6 million American workers(who want to or are capable to work) currently unemployed we will need 14 million more people here, and soon.  One current problem with the clean energy economy is that a 2019 Brookings Institute study found that the workforce is “older, dominated by male workers, and lacks racial diversity.”  Where could we ever find them?  Our guess is to look south to the border towns that are so global warming dry this time of the year.  Sounds like a win win to us.  Open the borders like floodgates on a climate change caused swollen Mississippi River.

And, in an effort to be even more inclusive, the plan includes $40 billion for a “climate justice resiliency fund” for under-resourced groups like Native Americans, people with disabilities, and the elderly to “prepare for climate change.”  Presto, Elizabeth Warren qualifies in two of the three ways.

Sports are a great escape from all of the day to day craziness.  We’re counting on the Gators.  Hurricanes must be stopped by 2030.  Why wait?  Let’s get started Saturday.

Win One for the Old Gaffer!

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

What a presidential race we would have if it were a racist v. a racist.   So far we have one contestant and reigning champion signed up for it.  Will we get another?

Donald Trump is a racist.  Numerous TV news shows, late night shows, radio shows, comics, and civic leaders tell us this every day.  He provided even more fodder for their cannons in the last two weeks.  First he called Baltimore rat infested.  It turns out that “infested” is a racist term.  Who knew?  Now we do.

Congressman Elijah Cummings in 1998 called his Baltimore district drug infested.  Maybe it wasn’t a racist term then.  Or, maybe what happened twenty years ago is too far back to really bring up about a person’s past.  Don’t tell now Supreme Court Judge Brett Kavanaugh that though.  You may recall that he all but stood trial in front of the Gentleman from Baltimore who proceeded over his House confirmation hearings.  Kavanaugh’s high school behavior of over 30 years ago was front and center for over a week of hearings.

And yesterday the Trump administration announced that it is implementing a new rule changing green card criteria to more closely examine immigrants’ financial resources. It makes it more difficult for immigrants who came to the country legally to stay as permanent residents if they’ve used or are likely to use public benefits like food stamps, Section 8 housing vouchers, or Medicaid.  “Racist,” said one CNN commentator this AM.  “White nationalist,” said another.  “He only wants people in this country that look like him,” the first commenter added on.  What is strange about those character assassinations though is that Trump didn’t target any race with the new rule proposal.  He targeted any and all that are most likely to “lay on the country’s leg” regardless of skin color.

Which brings us to the need for another racist to join the fray to get to the racist v. racist showdown.   So far Democratic front runner Joe Biden hasn’t been labeled a racist.  He has been the owner of a few, ok several, spoken gaffes.  Gaffes sounds so much nicer than racist doesn’t it?

He said late last week that “we believe in the truth, not facts!”  His audience actually cheered.   Well the truth of the matter is that the next day in another stump speech he also said “that poor kids are just as bright and talented as white kids during a campaign speech to Hispanic and Asian voters in Iowa.”  Is that a fact?  After an awkward pause (dare we call it a senior moment?) he added “we,wa, wealthy kids, black kids, Asian kids, but I’m serious.”  His audience actually cheered.  If you watched the link above you can hear the CNN crew agree that it was just another gaffe in a history of gaffes that Biden makes.  Gaffes still sounds so much nicer than racist doesn’t it?

Of course 30 years ago Joe Biden stood with congressmen labeled as segregationists and spoke out opposing federally mandated school bussing.  It was at least another gaffe don’t you think?  Was it racist?  Kamala Harris took him apart on stage about it but said she didn’t think he was a racist.  Whew.  It’s funny how that works.  And, thirty years ago, like with Cummings’ comments, is probably too far back to really bring up a person’s past.  But, she did.  Again, don’t tell that to now Supreme Court Judge Brett Kavanaugh though.

So, for now, if Biden holds on to his Democratic nomination lead we’ll only get to see the “Old Gaffer” v. the racist.  Biden says that his gaffes are just “Joe being Joe.”  But, with each gaffe the Democrats are more and more concerned if they can “just win one for the Old Gaffer.”

Why?

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Today we wonder why.

The head of the NRA warned the Trump administration yesterday that suggesting that more stringent and universal background checks for gun owners would not be “welcomed” by a great number of his supporters.  Why not have a thorough check?  If you want future citizens/immigrants thoroughly checked why not a future gun owner?

Donald Trump always says that he never attacks people until provoked.  He states that he only counter punches and does so twice as hard as when he is first attacked.  If that is entirely true, and we doubt it, why not put the jabs aside yesterday on his two city (Dayton and El Paso) tour?  Those that protested his arrival and talked about him after he departed the two cities couldn’t put their attacks aside which is shameful.  But,  President Trump could have and should have risen above the fray on the one day that rising above the polarization was warranted.  Two wrongs don’t make a right.

Meanwhile, about a dozen outspoken Democrats have called for Mitch McConnell to recall the Senate to either approve pending gun legislation or create new gun law.  Why wasn’t this urgent need an urgent need prior to the past two weekend’s shootings?  It’s as reactionary as the TSA making you take off you shoes after they figured out you could actually put explosives in your shoes and walk straight through those reactionary security screening machines designed to detect those explosives.

Why did they go home for six weeks in the first place? Isn’t there infrastructure, prescription costs, healthcare, and a ballooning deficit to attend to?  Why don’t they mandate six week vacations for all?  Think of how many tropical drinks you could suck down through ocean saving paper straws in 42 consecutive days off.

When the Democrats held the House and the Senate in the first two years of the Obama Administration why didn’t they pass stricter gun control measures?  When the Republicans held the House and the Senate in the first two years of the Trump Administration why didn’t they pass stricter gun control measures?

Why couldn’t New York Mayor Bill De Blasio, appearing on The Sean Hannity Show last evening, affirm that he supported gun ownership for citizens who passed background checks, were deemed mentally stable, and who had not been convicted of a felony?   He was asked every which way and declined each time.  Thankfully he is polling at less than one percent in his run for the Democratic Party’s 2020 presidential nomination.

It’s positions like his from the left that slow or stifle any real meaningful dialogue.  If you are from the right you have every right to worry about giving an inch and having people try to take a yard.  If you are a proponent of the Second Amendment why would you want to give an inch when someone in a big government (De Blasio) position, running for the biggest government position of all, is protected by guns doesn’t feel like you should have that same right?  Didn’t some of his running mates publicly state that they would go door to door confiscating guns?  Good luck with that.

Why does it feel like the national narrative has changed from Russia, Russia, Russia to racist, racist, racist?

Why don’t we impeach Trump? Isn’t being a racist, a white nationalist, a white supremacist, or having white privilege an impeachable offense?  Clearly those heinous beliefs combined with collusion and obstruction can get it done.

Then we can blame someone else the next time a mentally ill person decides to “go off” on a group of innocent people in any town in any moment for any reason.  Then, after a week of lip service we can go back to our daily routines until it happens yet again.  And, then we can look around the halls of Congress and find someone else to blame.  Well, we can if they are in session.

Happy (C)Hump Day!

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Happy Hump Day.  You’ve made it this far into the week, you might as well stick it out now and go the distance.  Joe Scarborough, MSNBC cohost of Mornings With Joe, made it far enough into his transformation to the Democratic Party that this AM he decided to stick it out and go all of the way over the cliff.

BBR, being fair and balanced, monitors all news outlets.  This AM we tuned in to hear Joe, his sidekick and wife Mika Brzezinski, and others interview Nebraska GOP State Senator John McCollister.  McCollister tweeted Sunday night, “The Republican Party is enabling white supremacy in our country. As a lifelong Republican, it pains me to say this, but it’s the truth.”

Ah, that’ll get you instant oxygen on MSNBC.   Through out the 5 minute or so interview MSNBC had the large font, all caps, double high banner on the bottom quarter of the screen stating “REPUBLICAN STATE SENATOR IN NEBRASKA SAYS GOP IS “COMPLICIT” WITH WHITE SUPREMACY.”  But, a funny thing happened in those five minutes.  No one asked him about the “complicit” claim.  No one.

But they did ask him why he was speaking out against his own party.  Mika, “So where do you stand with your party affiliation?  I guess the Republican Party kicked you out?”  McCollister, “No. they can’t. Only I can kick myself out.”  Nice try by Joe’s wife.

McCollister went on to say that “the GOP party under Trump has lost the values it used to stand for being free trade, legal immigration, and fiscal sanity.”  Joe called Trump a “long time Big Government Democrat who only changed parties so that he could run” then asked, looking for leaks in the dam  “if he had heard from or received any support from elected officials in Nebraska or around the country?”  “No, no elected officials have reached out.”  Nice try by Mika’s husband.

Willie Geist asked what his fallout could be for speaking out.  “I term out in three years and we have no caucus, so the political fallout for me is very little.”  BBR would have liked to have asked him, then, why it took all of this time to speak out.  We think we got that answer.  Nice try by Willie.

An unnamed commenter on the desk asked how “Nebraska farmers were holding up given the reckless and incompetent tariff and trade policies.”  McCollister expressed surprise that no backlash had occurred from the farming community.  He said “I guess that they are just hoping something will eventually get better.” Nice try by Mr. Unnamed.

Mika was thanking him for his time and said that she “really appreciated his voice” as the interview concluded, but Mika’s husband couldn’t help himself and jumped in.  “Thank you so much Senator for standing up and being counted, sounding like actually a member of the party of Lincoln,” Joe said.  “Yep!” Mika said.

So, to summarize Joe called they party he joined “big government democrats.” And, Mika and Joe yearn for the old days of the Republican Party when it stood for free trade, legal immigration, and fiscal sanity.   So, isn’t Trump attempting to balance the trade field with China, Mexico, Canada, and others to make it truly free or at least a level one as opposed to one sided tariffs?  So, isn’t Trump railing incessantly about his belief in immigration as long as it’s legal?  Now, on the fiscal sanity, BBR wholeheartedly agrees.  Trillion dollar deficits are no way to run a country.  We wonder if they felt they felt the same from 2009-2016.  However, Trump’s team insists that there is plenty of time to tighten the belt, just not now.  And, they claim that they will when (2020-2024) they want to “Keep America Great.”

Joe’s wife should be so, so proud.  Her transformation of Joe, former Republican Congressman, is complete.  It’s complete in the sense that they both cannot accept that Trump was elected in 2016, and both spend 24/7 speaking out against anything he does.  Russia, Russia, Russia.  Racist, racist, racist. It’s complete in how he identifies his Democratic party affiliation.

But, but ideologically they sound so, so confused.

Happy Chump(s) Day.

 

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-Debates

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The Fox Theater, which was certainly a fair and balanced venue, hosted night two of two of the second round of the Democratic Party Presidential 2020 debates.

You’ve likely had your fill of it, so the ten nuggets that follow are light, quick, low calorie, and priced just right.

  1.  Cory Booker wants to start impeachment proceedings now.   Good idea except his speaker likely won’t allow it, a House vote would fail, and the Senate wouldn’t even bring it to a vote.   He’s drinking the Kool Aid and he doesn’t even know which flavor.
  2. Jay Inslee, the climate change candidate, is passionate and then some on this topic, or crisis if you prefer.   He, and everyone else on stage, knows that America only produces 15% of the world’s fossil fuel emissions.   If we change all of our “bad” habits, 85% remain.  One candidate said we only have twelve years left. Inslee calculates it a mere ten.  Surely by the next debate someone can get it down to eight.
  3. Kirsten Gillenbrand dramatically asked white people how they would feel “if their son was walking down the street wearing a hoodie and was stopped by the police.”  We wonder about the hoodie comment which is an obvious attempt at correlating it to black male teenagers.  Do all black teens wear hoodies?   Seems like she might be prejudging herself a bit there.
  4. Candidate Yang wants to give every family $1000 a month every month, but two debates in we still aren’t sure why.   Last night he decided to tell us that we should also pay people before they went to prison and pay them after they got out.  He’s no Mary Williamson, but he’s a bit on the edge.
  5. Mary Williamson was the most Googled searched candidate after Tuesday night’s debate.   She is interesting.  Being the most searched can be good or bad though.  Her idea of creating a Department of Peace sounds so comforting though, doesn’t it?
  6. Most everyone on stage last evening was for decriminalizing border crossings. Public opinion polls overwhelmingly are opposed.  It’s a losing hand.
  7. Many are for single provider healthcare effectively eliminating private plans.  The over 150 million who have it are overwhelmingly opposed.  It’s a losing hand.
  8. Kamala Harris went from the hunter to the hunted.  Tulsi Gabbard took her to task on her Cali Attorneys General decisions on marijuana, the death penalty, and other areas.  It will be interesting to see how the polls shake out after this debate for both.  Gabbard needs a few points to stay and Harris might have made a few available to her.  Harris is borderline condescending and angry.  It was a step backwards for her.
  9. NY Mayor Bill De Blasio’s opening and closing statements featured him telling us that he wanted to “tax the hell out of the wealthy.”  Ok.   Then what Bill?
  10. Sleepy Joe Biden, still the pole sitter, took over seventy percent of the attacks on stage.  He handled some well.  Some, not so much.  At the end of the long evening, he closed by asking folks to visit his site at Joe 30…..3….30.   It should have been an appeal to text Joe to 30330.   Get some rest Joe.
  11. One extra.   So.  Who won the two nights?   BBR thinks it was Donald Trump.  But, November 2020 is a long ways away.  Say it ain’t so, Joe.

 

 

 

To Be or Not To Be a Racist. That is the Question.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

President Donald Trump is a racist.  If you don’t believe us, just ask MSNBC, or CNN, or The Atlantic, or Joe Scarborough, or Mika Brzezinski, or Bernie Sanders, or AOC and the three, or Elijah Cummings, or the Reverend Al Sharpton.

President Donald trump isn’t a racist.  If you don’t believe us just ask fair and balanced Fox News, or Fox Business, or Rush Limbaugh, or Mark Levin, or cheerleader Sean Hannity.

Elijah Cummings took on what he feels is inadequate care for children at our border.   And the House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Cummings put on a show Thursday screaming at acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan about the way illegal immigrant children are treated in detention centers.  “These are human beings!” raved the Maryland Democrat. “Human beings just trying to live a better life!”

Racist Trump took to his favorite avenue to express himself.  He tweeted  “As proven last week during a Congressional tour, the Border is clean, efficient & well run, just very crowded. Cummings District is a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess. If he spent more time in Baltimore, maybe he could help clean up this very dangerous & filthy place.

And so, predictably, yesterday friends and foes lined up on both sides of the attacks and counter attacks.  Haven’t you watched this movie before?  And, haven’t you watched it before that?  And, won’t it be playing soon all over again, and over again, at a theater near you?  You bet it will.  It will be live on stage at the Fox Theater in Detroit tonight and again tomorrow night.

The debate’s debaters will no doubt take turns trying to one up one another talking about just how racist The Donald is.  But, there is no real debate within the party about how to beat Trump in 2020.  Democrats have to win over Trump voters in swing states like Michigan, a crucial plank in the party’s 2020 strategy in luring its own traditional supporters back to the polls.  And, like a made in America in Detroit, Michigan Ford, they’ll start the engine tonight in The Motor City.

Boosting turnout in majority African-American Detroit as well as in some of its Democratic-trending suburbs where the party found success in last year’s midterm election should do the trick, state party leaders say.  State party leaders in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Wisconsin say much the same.

Nationwide, the black turnout rate fell to roughly 60% in 2016, down from a record high of nearly 67% in 2012.  It marked the first such decline in 20 years among African-Americans in a presidential election.  Democrats, who typically win an overwhelming majority of black voters, now have just over 15 months to try to reverse that slide.

Trump won Michigan by only about 11,000 votes.  Turn out 15,000 more black voters in 2020, and insure that the traditional 94% of them vote for the Democrat, any Democrat, and voila, the 16 electoral votes goes back to where it usually goes.   Take that strategy to the aforementioned three other states and the rust belt flips.  And, with that, the White House has a new rent free renter for the next four years.

Do you wonder why they chose Detroit for the debate site?  Do you wonder why the attack on Trump for his attack on Elijah’s district is labeled racist?

Cummings has been in Congress for 20 years.  Did the temporary living conditions on our southern border somehow just now deteriorate?  Did the living conditions in some areas of his Baltimore district somehow just now deteriorate?

The answers are of course no and no.  But, the Democratic Party is only interested in your answer to one question.   Is Donald Trump a racist?