donaldtrump

On Deck

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

In the flyover state of Nebraska, the NCAA Men’s College World Series(CWS) is in full swing.  Last evening Wake Forest was eliminated, leaving LSU and Florida as the only two standing.

It’s promoted as The Greatest Show on Dirt.

And, it’s inching closer to winner take all.  Gone are wannabees Oral Roberts, Virginia, Stanford, Tennessee, TCU, and the aforementioned Wake Forest.

The entire event is a real slice of what is right in America.  Omaha puts its very best foot forward as the host.  If you flyover, you’ll miss it.

In all of America, the race for 2024 is in full swing as well.  Not one Republican entry has been eliminated yet.  But, the Democrats eliminated all of their wannabees before the race started.

It could be promoted as The Dirtiest Not So Great Show.

But isn’t it inching closer to Donald J Trump former President vs. sitting President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr?

Sure there are Republican wannabee nominees like Chris Christie, Nikki Haley, Tim Scott, Vivek Ramaswamy, Larry Elder, Asa Hutchinson, etc.  Heck, even Robert Kennedy decided to disobey the DNC and announce his candidacy from the left side.

But, aren’t there really only two?

Maybe.  Maybe not.

Did you have Barack Obama(it was Hillary’s to lose) on your bingo card in 2008?  2012? How bout The Donald(it was Jeb Bush’s to lose) in 2016?  And, did you think Joe Biden(original signer of the Declaration of Independence) would garner the White House in 2020 straight from his basement, mask and all?

It seems, much like gravity, the race to the bottom is on.

More than 50% of Americans don’t want Trump to run.  More than 50% of Americans have seen enough of Joe Biden and want him to exit stage left or right.  Well, actually, his handlers would just like him to remember which side of the stage to exit daily as well, but we digress.

America is screaming for a leader louder than 20,000 jello-shot-filled LSU fans were for 10 innings last evening in downtown Omaha.

Maybe someone emerges from this pack unexpectedly.

But as of now, it seems harder than hitting a Paul Skenes fastball.

America only has its serious “For the World” series once every four years.

Hopefully, America doesn’t strike out in 2024.

 

 

 

Frick and Frack

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

They were out in all of their glory doing what they think they do best last evening for their respective parties.  Trump and Biden.  Biden and Trump.

Donald Trump was in Ohio at a rally of his own, promising a major announcement on November 15th.  He even spent some time attacking Ohio Democratic Senate candidate Rep. Tim Ryan and boosting his GOP opponent JD Vance.

Meanwhile a few states over in Maryland, Biden headlined a last-minute get-out-the-vote rally at Bowie State University, stumping for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wes Moore.

Trump didn’t call anybody in his party a bad nickname.  Biden forgot the want to be governor’s name.

On his best behavior, as he went through poll numbers at the rally, Trump did not call Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis “Ron DeSanctimonious” as he did at a recent rally.

“And, of course, you got that next governor. What’s his name? Wes… Wes…,” Biden said, turning to the audience as they held up “Wes Moore” signs.  “Wes Moore!” Biden said after reading a sign. “The guy’s the real deal, man.”

So on midterm election eve with a possible red wave on the horizon, you had an orange face stumping for himself and an ashen face who might be singing the blues hours from now just plain stumped.

The questions are “why now” for Trump and “why” period for Biden.  Haven’t we reached a point where we can agree on one thing?  That thing is one past president and a past prime current president are both more harmful than good for their sides’ cause.

It may have been fun to label Marco Rubio “Lil Marco” six years ago. How about “low energy Jeb?” Some smart money is now on DeSantis and calling him “DeSanctimonious” doesn’t draw the laughs these days.

It may have been fun for 81 million people to bounce Trump in favor of Biden two years ago.  Today that choice will cost the left the House for sure and the Senate is at best a toss-up.

Things are bad around these 50 states, or 54 if you ask Joe.  Only an ostrich can’t see that.  DeSantis and Newsom can.

The for-sure Republican that will get a Democrat elected to the White House in 2024 is Trump.  The for-sure Democrat that insures a Republican will move in is Biden.  Kamala is a very close second, but we digress.

The RNC and the DNC have quite a job on their hands.  The former needs to convince an egomaniac that it’s in the party’s best interest that he should have no interest in running.  The latter needs to finesse a sitting president and vice president straight to the curb.

That fact will never become clear enough in Trump’s cranium for him to see it.  That fact should become clear to Biden around 10 pm tonight assuming he’s awake and cognitive enough to see it.

Americans coast to coast can see it.  Especially the smart ones.

Toward the beginning of his speech last night, Biden reminded some just how smart they were.  He told the mostly Black audience at the historically Black university that – despite them not having the endowments other schools have – they were “just as smart” and “just as bright.”  Pandering much?

See.

 

A Rock Fight

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

In politics, 2024 is just around the corner.  But for aspiring, thought to be front-running politicians it’s light-years away.

After all, who thought an ACORN employee turned Illinois Congressman would walk in the room and crack the glass ceiling when Hillary Clinton was attempting to hammer it herself in 2008?

And, who thought a gritty NY businessman turned reality show star would walk in the room and crack eggs over the head of Jeb Bush in 2016?

And, finally, who thought a 77-year-old man four years removed from the lifelong political game could hide in his basement and garner the most votes ever cast in a presidential election?

If you type “politicians make” in the Google search bar in no time you get “make me sick,” “make strange bedfellows,” “make false promises,” and “make too much money” in short order.

Long Ago and Way Happier Times

So, while we agree on what they do, who in 2024 will turn our collective stomachs?  As of today, would you say it’s former President Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton?

Several corners on Las Vegas Boulevard do. So is the race to the bottom on?

Time will tell. But what good poker players know as a tell is the not too distant rumblings of the respective parties.

If people judged Donald Trump by what he accomplishes, not what he says or, most of all, how he says it, he would be a worthy candidate all over again.  But, too many people have had it with him and his ego, and that was prior to that January 6, 2021 dustup at the Capital Building now labeled as “Insurrection Day” by the left and their media shrills.

If he polls at 30% and the balance of the Republican field scatters the other 70% does that make him the front runner?  Yes.  But it also makes 70% of the likely Republican voters prefer someone else.

Hillary cannot help herself.  Every time she opens her yapper she proves it to the general public.  Also, she’s physically not up to the task.  She wasn’t well at the wire in 2016, how could she be in 2024?  She’s got more than just carry-on baggage.  Her email server has been on the fritz for years.

And, now she may have far bigger problems.  Special Counsel John Durham looked into Russia’s supposed ties to Trump.  And, in quite the plot twist he has tied Hillary’s campaign team to instigating, paying, and then spying on team Trump per his blockbuster report released Friday.

How bad is it?   The bombastic former President weighed in yesterday.  “​This is a scandal far greater in scope and magnitude than Watergate and those who were involved in and knew about this spying operation should be subject to criminal prosecution,” said Trump.  “In a stronger period of time in our country, this crime would have been punishable by death,” he said.

Death?  Maybe.  But, it is a good transitional word.  Maybe both of these candidates are dead to us as Tony Soprano might say.  Or, maybe they should be.

The only way the Democrats can get back in this race (and we know it is early) is if the Republicans let them back in.  And, if they nominate Trump it will be game on. They’ve taken getting their base riled up to a higher art form when they bellow about that Trump fellow.

For the Dems, Biden is 79 and doesn’t know if he’s President of the US or El Salvador.  There is no way he’s running again unless it’s to the nearest men’s room.  Hillary is 74 and has been shown the door one too many times.

Both parties can do better, can’t they?

Will they?  2024 in one sense is near, but perhaps there is still plenty of time for two fresh faces to appear.

America deserves better than a rock fight.

 

Elijah and the Karaoke Singers Hit a Few Low Notes.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Infrequent visits to karaoke bars have all resulted in the same result for this writer.   Friends, family, strangers, and bouncers alike all highly recommended that I “keep my day job.”  Well, their point is understood to a point.  Yesterday, if you had a day job good for you.  Those job responsibilities hopefully kept you safely away from a live stream or TV and therefore from watching the U.S. House of Representatives Oversight Committee hearings.

The plea deal guilty Michael Cohen, aka Donald Trump’s decade long plus personal lawyer, took an oath to tell the truth to answer questions from blood thirsty Republican and Democrat Representatives.  It was the same pledge he took a while back then summarily lied through his pearly whites.

His 30 minute long (unprecedentedly long some said) opening manifesto only occurred after a vote to postpone was rejected by the majority Democrats.  It seems like the Republicans didn’t take too kindly to the prior night’s coaching and prepping session Cohen took part in with honorable reps, Adam Schiff among them.  And so Cohen began his 1800 second assault on anything his attorney, Lanny Davis (the Clinton family’s honorable lawyer and confidant) and he could think about to poke, jab, and stab at President Trump.  The speech touched on racism, womanizing, Stormy Daniels, hush money, repayments, son’s of Trump, Russian collusion (except he couldn’t call it collusion because of that silly under oath thing), payoffs, Trump Towers, and the like.

It even painted a picture of a Donald Trump picture, er portrait.  Cohen orated that Trump instructed Cohen to insure that a straw bid occur at an auction where Trump’s portrait was up.   As the last item in the auction a 60k bid secured the piece and secured the fact that it was the highest price paid for any portrait offered.  Cohen told us in this rundown that Trump has a big ego.  The hearings likely cost taxpayers far greater than 60k a minute.  So America paid about 180k to learn that Trump has a high opinion of himself.  Quite revealing isn’t that?

Then the fun really began.  Democrats asked if Cohen knew of any Trump drug use.  They asked if he ever provided money to any woman for “personal healthcare.”  Each of the Republican reps spent their five minutes calling Cohen a convicted felon, known liar, jealous lawyer, and scorned “White House employee want to be.”

What substance came of all of it?  Little.  The Russian collusion theory should now be put to rest once and for all.  But it won’t be. Trump reimbursed Cohen over 12 months for silencing Stormy days before the election.  Shameful perhaps.  Criminal? Nah.  Paging the Mueller Investigation.  Mr. Mueller what have you?

When it was all done Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings eloquently and passionately told the honorable committee’s rank and file, Cohen, and a worldwide TV audience that “WE ARE BETTER THAN THIS!”  He also asked that we leave our democracy in a better place than we found it.  It sounded like he wanted to Make America Great Again.

Was this entire day the first step, launched by the Lanny Davis aided Cohen speech towards finding something/anything to eventually vote to impeach Donald Trump?  Perhaps.  Perhaps.

And perhaps it is once again a loud, Cummings loud, reminder that votes really, really matter.  The American people voted Trump into office in November 2016.  The American people voted and enough Democrats won in November 2018 to flip the House to the Democrats.  The Oversight Democrats voted to make disgraced and disbarred Michael Cohen their star witness to dig dirt on you know who.   It was these same Democrats that voted to not postpone the hearings with the coaching so fresh in Cohen’s mind.  If the House stayed red there would have been no Cohen testimony.

Will the next big vote that matters eventually be cast by the House to attempt to over throw Trump?  Or will it be in the general election in November of 2020 to vote for or against Trump?  Cohen warned us in his closing remarks that if it were the latter that he had concerns that the transition from Trump to “fill in the blank” could be accomplished peacefully.  Over Cohen’s right shoulder Lanny smiled.  Mission accomplished.

We looked carefully at how the committee conducted itself in its “day job.”

We hope that they can sing.