Morning in America, Part Deux

Friends, in 1984 President Ronald Reagan famously won re-election in a landslide partly because of the country's economic strength in the wake of the "stagflation" of the 1970s.  The "morning in America" tv ad run by the Reagan-Bush campaign is worth a look:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EU-IBF8nwSY

Steve Cortes makes a strong case that, for essentially the same reasons, it may be "morning in America" again, and the economy may carry Donald Trump over the finish line in 2020 -- or at least it should:

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2019/12/07/jobs_report_takeaway_its_morning_in_america_141911.html

In other news, there's more polling evidence that the Democrats have failed to win Americans over to their argument for impeachment.  Read these polling results carefully.  Note that, as usual, it's adults and registered voters who are polled, not likely voters.  Note that, as usual, the voters' acceptance of any of the Republicans' counter-arguments isn't tested.  Do Americans believe that the Bidens may have committed wrongdoing in Ukraine?  Do they believe that Ukrainian officials may have tried to interfere in the 2016 election?  Do they believe that the Democrats and the Obama administration were motivated by political calculations when they pursued allegations of Russian collusion in 2016 and beyond?  We don't know, because pollsters don't care.  These are non-issues to them.  The only thing they want to know is: can we "get" Donald Trump...  The answer, as usual, is no, you can't!

https://news.yahoo.com/in-new-poll-most-voters-think-trump-committed-abuses-but-are-split-on-impeachment-224437655.html

Donald and Boris: A Winning Combination

Friends, my latest article analyzes President Trump's savvy approach to the recent NATO summit in London, which I believe will go down in history mainly because it did no harm to the electoral prospects of Boris Johnson and the Conservatives, who are poised to win the general election on December 12th.  As you'll see, I believe that a Tory win could open up huge opportunities for Johnson and for Trump...

https://townhall.com/columnists/nicholaswaddy/2019/12/06/in-london-trump-won-with-misdirection-n2557526

Schiff Gets Orwellian

Friends, you'll want to read this story.  It's about the controversy surrounding Adam Schiff's subpoenaing of phone records from his fellow Congressman Devin Nunes, from White House staffers, and even from a journalist.  He included information in the House Intelligence Committee's impeachment report about their private communications!  Somehow the American people need to know that Devin Nunes and Rudy Giuliani had the temerity to talk on the phone!  Incredible.  And a journalist can end up in an impeachment report too, for no better reason than that the chairman of the relevant committee doesn't like the cut of his jib.  This is scary stuff.  As Nunes points out, though, it's part and parcel of the Left's conspiratorial mentality.  The "proof" for their outlandish accusations goes as follows: we know Trump and Giuliani are guilty, because we want them to be, so clearly anyone whoever spoke to them must be in on it.  And we'll destroy them too.  What nonsense!

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/republicans-angry-concerned-about-schiff-release-of-phone-records

And here's Rand Paul's take:

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/sen-rand-paul-schiffs-release-of-phone-records-is-absolutely-outrageous-heres-what-has-to-happen-next

This is an interesting update on the energy-unfriendly policies of New York State.  If the author is right, we may be staring much higher energy prices in the face before long.  Maybe that would finally get the attention of Cuomo and state legislators and force them to stop persecuting the energy industry?  Don't hold your breath.

https://www.manhattancontrarian.com/blog/2019-12-3-update-on-new-yorks-self-inflicted-energy-crunch

A Trump Tsunami Washes Over London?

Friends, with the British general election just days away, and Trump ally Boris Johnson comfortably ahead in the polls, President Trump's visit to London for the NATO summit couldn't come at a more sensitive time.  On this week's Newsmaker Show, Brian and I discuss whether NATO is up to the challenge, and whether Trump will be on his best behavior.  Much is at stake, because a Boris win would seal both Brexit AND, in all likelihood, a U.S.-U.K. trade agreement.  The "special relationship" could be special-er than ever!

Brian and I also talk about the latest impeachment machinations, the many permutations of what could happen after a hypothetical House vote to impeach the President, and the legacy of smog -- once a grave ecological and medical threat, and now a non-issue in most Western countries.

Listen in, and be enlightened!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GlgkerGaSg&feature=youtu.be

China: Pull Yourself Together, and Bow to Trump!

Friends, amidst all the news that doesn't amount to a hill of beans, there's this nugget:

https://news.yahoo.com/video/mass-protest-breaks-chinese-province-224311156.html

The worst nightmare of the Chinese leadership is that the unrest in Hong Kong will spread like an infection to other parts of their communist domain.  And it could easily happen: many Chinese are frustrated by the lack of freedom the regime permits, and by the intractable social and environmental problems it ignores.  Frankly, I'm surprised that the Chinese bigwigs have allowed things to get so out of hand in Hong Kong.  That they have done so is a testament to how flatfooted they become when their usual techniques to control and manipulate public opinion come up short.  What is clear, though, is that China is sweating, and now is therefore not the time to pick a fight with the world's only superpower and its "America First" President.  China has been playing a long game with Trump, coyly refusing to seal a deal to end our trade war because they seem to assume that time is on their side.  My advice: it isn't, so get busy inking a trade agreement while you still can.  President Trump's signing of the recent pro-Hong Kong bills passed by Congress was a shot across the bow of the Chinese leadership.  The U.S. can do much more to destabilize China if it wishes.  But that isn't our wish, and it certainly isn't Trump's.  We want -- we demand -- trade fairness and reciprocity from China, but in return we will gladly offer China a free hand to resolve its own internal problems.  Think on that, Chicoms.  How many battles do you want to fight simultaneously?  How many PR headaches can one regime endure?  It's time to admit defeat on trade, while perhaps also claiming victory in a broader sense, since truly free trade between the U.S. and China will benefit both sides.  It will also bring stability and trust to the U.S.-China relationship -- a development that would benefit the whole world.  Stop dragging your feet, China!  Bow to the inevitable.  Bow to Trump.

The Left Has Money To Burn

Friends, Democrats have to be taken seriously in 2020 and beyond.  Not only do they enjoy the immense advantage of billions of dollars' worth of free, positive media attention, thanks to the MSM -- they have also mobilized a robust network of wealthy liberals to fund their campaigns and movements.  We all know that leftists are supposedly offended by "dark money," and they claim to hate the fact that billionaires and plutocrats can "buy" elections, but the truth is that they are enthusiastic practitioners of both of these electoral strategies.  The Left outspent us in 2016.  It massively outspent us in 2018.  It may well do so again in 2020.  And we're not even talking about the hundreds of millions spent by Tom Steyer and Mike Bloomberg to influence our elections.  That's on top of the Super PACs, the campaign committees, etc etc.  Republicans need to mobilize as never before in 2020, if we're to remain competitive.  Among other things, we need to convince wealthy conservatives and moderates that socialism represents an existential threat to their way of life, as it surely does!  Only by bringing them on board can we hold the Left at bay.

https://freebeacon.com/politics/dark-money-network-funneled-600-million-to-liberal-initiatives-in-2018/

Nixon's ONLY Mistake?

Friends, you and I both know that Richard Nixon was a great President.  Buffeted by the counter-culture, vilified by the media, constantly undermined by the liberal-Democratic establishment, he nonetheless achieved tremendous things for our country -- most importantly, he drove a wedge between the Soviet Union and Red China, and, but for that masterstroke, you and I could be speaking Russian right now, or we could be radioactive dust.

Be all that as it may, Nixon wasn't perfect.  He erred, as is human.  No, I'm not talking about Watergate.  Nixon played the game of politics by the rules that were well-established at the time -- and the establishment decided to alter those rules in the middle of the contest, expressly to destroy Nixon.  And so they did.

When I say Nixon was flawed, I'm thinking in particular of his imprudence in expanding the reach and powers of the federal government.  The EPA, the EEOC, Title IX -- all were created under Nixon, and all mushroomed into forces for the imposition of (leftist) governmental dictates on the American people, whose liberties correspondingly contracted.  Nixon's greatest act of apostasy vis-a-vis limited government, however, came in 1971 with the imposition of price and wage controls.  That is the subject of my latest article, along with the parallel that I see to contemporary efforts to regulate prices in the health care system.

Believe me, it pained me to write an article critical of Dick Nixon, unheralded patriot and genius President, but intellectual honesty requires us to acknowledge that even our heroes can be wrong.  Nixon erred, Reagan erred -- heck, even Trump slips up every once in a while.  Let's learn from their mistakes, shall we?

Note that this article appears on the website of the Foundation for Economic Education.  I'm very honored to be featured there.

https://fee.org/articles/even-nixon-s-ghost-agrees-that-price-controls-wont-fix-our-broken-health-care-system/

Thanksgiving Comes Early, and It's Filled With Newsmaker Stuffing!

Friends, this week's Newsmaker Show is implicitly thankful, insofar as Brian and I spend a lot of time analyzing the declining fortunes of the Democrats' impeachment inquisition.  It looks like the polling momentum has turned against impeachment and removal, and the Dems are starting to sweat.  Some are even talking about censure as an alternative to impeachment.  If they were smart, they wouldn't have boxed themselves in on impeachment, or raised its specter in the first place...but as we all know Democrats are capable of limitless self-mortification.

Brian and I also talk about the enforceability of Congressional subpoenas, why Democrats may fear a trial in the Senate, who President Obama may prefer as the Democratic candidate in 2020, the latest bouts of intolerance on college campuses, and the ongoing "climate strike."  And in This Week in History we cover the Chinese intervention in the Korean War, the First Crusade in the 11th century, and the legacy of the Alger Hiss trial and American Russophobia.

Don't miss a single second!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-ecZQw5ATs&feature=youtu.be

The Incredible Shrinking Impeachment Movement

Friends, you've already seen how polling on impeachment is going south, from the Democrats' perspective.  Well, lefties aren't dumb.  They know a loser when they see one.  Now, liberals are searching for the exits, and the obvious alternative to impeachment is censure.  It's been embraced already by one Democratic Congresswoman, and now the Chicago Tribune is pushing the idea.  When the mainstream media starts balking at impeachment, and even Adam Schiff starts getting shifty about it, you know the Dems have a problem!  Stay tuned.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/editorials/ct-editorial-trump-impeach-censure-congress-ukraine-20191126-gqq2bszaqzhffkd6ybieuxyw2y-story.html

The Bloomberg Factor

Friends, is there any doubt that what Democratic primary voters are pining for is a rich, old, white, male, centrist candidate who only recently became a Democrat?  Uh, yeah.  Good luck with that, Mike.  It amazes me that a well-educated and extremely successful man like Bloomberg could be this naive.  Be that as it may, he's in the race, I believe his only impact will be to draw votes away from Biden and Buttigieg, but mainly Biden.  In other words, he's effectively running to make Elizabeth Warren the Democratic candidate -- so thanks, Mike!  With your help, the Dems will nominate the biggest loser, and Trump might actually put together that landslide that his most fanatical fans have been talking about...  Hooray!

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/michael-bloomberg-launches-2020-presidential-bid-n1090216?cid=sm_npd_ms_tw_ma

In other news, you heard it here first: the polling is trending against the Democrats' impeachment con job.  As time has gone on, Republicans have successfully muddied the waters with counter-charges, and they've convinced many Americans, especially independents, that the inquiry is a frame-up and the Bidens might just be guilty, after all.  Or, from another perspective, Americans have simply gone back to their partisan corners, as they always do, and half the country wants Trump's head on a platter, while the other half thinks he's the greatest thing since sliced bread.  In truth, though, there is a political center in America, and guess what: it's not crazy about impeachment!  Dems -- what's next?

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/471723-independents-souring-on-impeachment-underscores-risk-for-democrats