Here are my observations and opinions on selected news of the day.
WHAT TO BELIEVE – With memories of polls that had Hillary Clinton winning in 2016 still vivid, I must again caution you about the polls looking forward to the November 6, 2018 midterm elections.
Apparently, the generic ballot has Democrats leading by seven points, but an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll designed to determine the level of interest various groups have in the midterms reflects a stronger interest among traditionally Republican voters.
Seniors, who generally favor the GOP have the highest interest at 75 percent, while Democrats (65 percent), Republicans (61 percent), whites (61 percent) and men (60 percent) follow.
Women (56 percent), blacks (53 percent), Latinos (49 percent) trail all registered voters (58 percent).
Low interest by Independents (37 percent) and young voters (35) spell trouble for Democrats.
KAVANAUGH’S CONFIRMATION AND THE MIDTERMS – How each party deals with the Kavanaugh confirmation will weigh heavily on voters’ minds going into the midterms.
Republicans, led by Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (D-IA), have gone the extra mile to be fair to the accuser, but must be careful not to upset their base who do not want their majority going wobbly.
With two more accusers surfacing as I write this, what’s stopping others from coming out of the woodwork to further delay the confirmation. I am concerned that Grassley won’t demonstrate the leadership required to proceed as scheduled.
It appears that Democrats have put it all on the line against Kavanaugh with their shameless political stunts and character assassinations, seemingly having no concern over a voter backlash.
On thing is sure, voters will not forget the performance of their party when they go to the polls.
THAT HATE ON THE LEFT – In an opinion piece, “Why the Left Is Consumed With Hate,“ written for the Wall Street Journal by Shelby Steele, the author believes “For many on the left a hateful anti-Americanism has become a self-congratulatory lifestyle.”
While the Trump administration has pledged to make America great again, Steele notes that New York’s Democrat Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently said, “America was never great.” “For radical groups like Black Lives Matter,” Steele notes that “hatred of American is a theme of identity, a display of racial pride.
“For other leftists, hate is a license,” says Steele as he refers to conservatives being shouted down on university campuses and others harassed in restaurants, in the streets, or in front of their homes.
“How did the American left – conceived to bring more compassion and justice to the world – become so given to hate?” he asks.
Reviewing the role of the left in the 1960s when it addressed “the great menace of racism as America’s most intolerable disgrace,” Steele recalled the more than $22 trillion spent on “the greatest array of government-sponsored social programs in history.”
While Steele believes that led to America achieving one of the greatest moral evolutions ever, “that is a profound problem for the left, whose existence is threatened by the diminishment of racial oppression. Today the left looks to be slowly dying from lack of racial menace.
“Today’s left lacks worthy menaces to fight. It is driven to find a replacement for racism, some sweeping historical wrongdoing that morally empowers those who oppose it. Failing this, only hatred is left.
“The left has used hate to transform President Trump into a symbol of the new racism.”
Believing that left is “stalked by obsolescence,” Steele states that “the voices that speak for the left have never been less convincing. For the American left today, the indulgence of hate is a death rattle.”
Why is this man smiling? (dailycaller.com)
THE ROSENSTEIN DILEMMA – With the story published by the left-leaning New York Times (based on anonymous sources) that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein suggested during a meeting with fellow DOJ and FBI officials in July 2017, that he wear a wire in the Oval Office, his future is obviously in question.
While I am sure the president would like to terminate his employment, he is being cautious without proof of his intention. One must wonder if AG Jeff Sessions is looking into what is said to have taken place. Naaaaah.
Rosenstein’s misgivings over writing the letter citing former FBI Director James Comey’s managerial performance bothers him, according to the Times piece, and Rosenstein and was said to have grown increasingly worried about his reputation being sullied by the move. If that is true, it points to a managerial weakness on the part of Rosenstein, that will not sit well with the president.
May God bless the United States of America.
