Don't Worry, Be Happy!

Friends, as we approach the new year, we should reflect, as always, on what could be better in our lives, and on what is already good, and thus worthy of our thanks and praise.  The truth is that we stand on the shoulders of past generations, almost all of which had to struggle much harder than we do to survive and prosper.  The article below makes a very persuasive case that, for the vast majority of humanity, the decade we are now ending has been the best ever, in a material sense, and the 2020s portend even more progress.  I defy anyone to read it and not feel a sense of renewed optimism about the future of humanity.

https://spectator.us/just-best-decade-human-history-seriously/?fbclid=IwAR2XjpZ9ggVTm4eTnyaOGmFASkc6eO-VaYIzBcM-m5Ai5aDojO-4GBK48yg

On the less savory side, I recommend this article about the FDA's move to raise the minimum age to purchase tobacco products from 18 to 21.  As you know, I'm not a fan of taking away people's rights, especially when it's done for no better reason than their age.  Expect an article in the near future about this travesty, to which I regret to say many Republicans have contributed.

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/476035-fda-officially-raises-tobacco-buying-age-to-21

Will 2019 or 2020 Be Remembered As Trump's Annus Mirabilis?

Friends, every day in Trumpland is better than the last, and, we assume, that formula might hold true for every year as well.  My latest article, soon to grace the electronic pages of Townhall, recaps some of the greatest triumphs for Trumpism in 2019, and it looks forward to some wonderful opportunities in 2020.  I would argue that, in 2016, we put the Left on the ropes.  We had a chance to finish them off politically in 2018, and sadly we blew it.  Winning the House was enough to put the wind back in their sails.  2020, though, could be the coup de grace.  Now, don't get me wrong: the Left and the Democratic Party have tremendous advantages, especially in their domination of the culture, but there is still a realistic path to their permanent marginalization.  Simply put, it's the path of self-marginalization.  We conservatives can't defeat the Democratic Party and its ideological handmaidens, but it and they can defeat themselves.  That process begins with Americans falling in love with Donald Trump all over again in 2020 and reelecting him.  That, in itself, would probably be enough to cause the Dems to lose their marbles.  They already have, you say?  True, but not so much as to delegitimize their cause for the majority of voters.  We need the Democrats to embrace their vindictiveness, their intolerance, their anti-social tendencies, their lionization of anti-state violence, their hostility to capitalism and Christianity, and all those horrifying qualities that make the modern Left so contemptuous.  We need these qualities to be trumpeted day and night by a media that is either cleansed of its bias (unlikely) or so captivated by the spectacle of leftist self-destruction that they can't help but cover one of the greatest news stories of our lifetimes.  And it all begins, as I said, with the reelection of Donald Trump in 2020.  Decision Day is now roughly ten months away.  My resolution for 2020, therefore, will be to make a maximum effort to win the presidential election, and hopefully the House as well, so we can finally put left-wing extremism to bed and make America whole and wholesome again -- or great, if you prefer.  Are you with me???

2019 Was Great; 2020 Ought To Be Greater

2019 was a year of phenomenal accomplishments for President Trump and for the conservative movement.

First and foremost, our economy continued to surge ahead, the stock market soared, and job and salary growth drove unemployment rates lower and the standard of living ever higher. Joe Biden may have tried to make the case in the last Democratic debate that the middle class is getting “killed” in this economy, but only the most starry-eyed of partisans could believe that...uh, malarkey. The state of our economic union has seldom been stronger.

In foreign policy, President Trump resisted the siren song of the warmongers and neocons, avoiding new military entanglements and setting us on the path of eventual withdrawal from Syria, Afghanistan, and West Africa. He continued to extend an olive branch to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, which may or may not be accepted someday. He successfully challenged our NATO allies to shoulder more of the burden of our common defense. Above all, Trump has been true to his word: he has been an “America First” President, who involves the United States in foreign conflicts only when our vital national interests are at stake.

On trade, President Trump achieved major new free trade agreements with Japan and Canada/Mexico, and he stood firm in our trade war with China — the first American President to stand up to China and its trade manipulation in the post-Cold War era. America's willingness to play hard ball on trade even had the important consequence that Mexico stepped up its efforts to combat illegal immigration. A year that began with a tidal wave of irregular migration, much of it from Central America, is ending with many miles of new border fortifications in place, and illegal crossings way down.

President Trump secured record levels of funding for the U.S. military and for veterans, keeping his promise to maintain our national security and to do right by the brave men and women who fight, and have fought, on our behalf. Moreover, Trump added a new branch to the U.S. armed forces for the first time in more than 70 years: the Space Force. America is thus well-positioned to be a leader in both the civilian and military exploitation of space, the “Final Frontier”. Will the United States of the Milky Way someday herald Donald J. Trump as one of its founders? It would be foolish to scoff.

Perhaps most consequentially, in the medium term, President Trump, in cooperation with Mitch McConnell and a solid Republican majority in the Senate, maintained a steady flow of conservative, originalist judges onto the federal bench. This is the Trumpian accomplishment that inflicts the most consternation on liberals, and, not coincidentally, it is the accomplishment that patriots and conservatives should most prize, because it guarantees that those who believe in and cherish our Constitution will have a powerful voice in debates about our country's future for decades to come.

Perversely, we have the Democrats to thank for another potentially salutary development in 2019: the partisan, political, and unpopular impeachment of President Trump. The chances of Trump's removal from office are zero — but the chances that this farce of an impeachment will represent, in effect, a donation-in-kind to Trump's reelection campaign, and to Republicans trying to unseat swing-district Democrats in the House, are substantial. Thus, the albatross of impeachment, hanging around the necks of so-called moderate Democrats, combined with the stupefying weakness of the Democratic field of presidential candidates, may be the necessary preconditions for conservative and Republican wins in 2020 and beyond, portending even more Trumpian progress in the years ahead.

All in all, 2019 was a banner year for President Trump and for all those who believe in the values and goals of his popular, conservative movement. We have much to be thankful for, and ample reason to believe that 2020 will be a year filled with opportunity and optimism for our great country.

Dr. Nicholas L. Waddy is an Associate Professor of History at SUNY Alfred and blogs at: www.waddyisright.com. He appears weekly on the Newsmaker Show on WLEA 1480.

And here it is at Townhall:

https://townhall.com/columnists/nicholaswaddy/2019/12/30/2019-was-great-2020-ought-to-be-greater-n2558592 

The Christmas Factor

Merry Christmas, to one and all!  It's worth remembering that Christmas, although it has plenty of ancient and modern pagan connotations, is first and foremost a holiday celebrating the birth of Christ, who most Americans acknowledge as their Lord and Savior.  And the beauty of Christianity, I've always felt, is its message of infinite and inclusive forgiveness: God offers everyone, warts and all, redemption and salvation.  That's why we call the message of the New Testament "good news," right?  The birth of Christ is just one of many ways that God tells us, "I value you, and I want to know you better."  So...give and receive presents this Christmas, sure, but remember that the greatest gift of all has been sitting under your proverbial tree all along: God's love.

In other news, the Newsmaker Show featured a guest even more famous than me last week, if you can believe that: Bill O'Reilly!  I've always liked Bill.  He's a voice of reason in these dark times of sensational journalism, although the Left certainly doesn't see it that way.  They went gunning for old Bill, and to a point they got him.  His star has faded, but he's trying to make a comeback, and he's still got plenty of great insights on American politics.  You'll find them in the second half of this program:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMWzT41DKrA&feature=youtu.be

Incidentally, I don't agree with 100% of Bill's analysis.  I think Donald Trump was won over to conservatism partly because of the opportunism that Bill describes, yes, but I believe that the "push factor" of the Left's disdain (to put it mildly) has to have played a major role too.  Trump doesn't like criticism -- that much is clear -- and the relentless and scurrilous attacks on him and his family must have been powerful motivation to break completely with liberals and Democrats.  I also disagree with Bill in his assertion that Trump has no core beliefs.  Everyone does, to some extent, and it's obvious that his moral and ideological compass is better suited to the Republican Party than it is to the Democrats.  Above all, Trump is a nationalist -- and nationalism has no place on the Left, unless it's in knee-jerk Russophobia, and, as I've said before, that's mostly for show, as far as I can tell.

Lastly, if you're looking for the perfect last minute Christmas gift for your favorite conservative commentator of all time, might I suggest this incredibly handsome Trump-Space Force-themed Christmas sweater?  I'm usually a medium.  Thanks a million!  😉

Impeachment Surprise

Friends, I was so impressed by one of my own blog posts this week that I decided to turn it into an article.  It's about the three most surprising developments to emerge from the impeachment charade.  You'll find that I made some minor enhancements to my already stunning analysis, so it's worth a look.  Thanks to the good people at WND for publishing it!

https://www.wnd.com/2019/12/3-surprises-ho-hum-impeachment/

L.A. Story: Sparks Fly Between Warren and Buttigieg at the Democratic Debate

Friends, I know many of you can't stomach the Democratic debates, but you can rely on me to do opposition research for you.  I watched with great interest as the Democrats, by and large, bored the nation and each other, but there were, believe it or not, a few moments of genuine entertainment.  In particular, while the national front-runners, Biden and Sanders, escaped unscathed, Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar made a decision to let Mayor Pete Buttigieg have it.  Neither Warren nor Klobuchar has been particularly aggressive in the past, so this is a sign that both are feeling vulnerable, and it's Buttigieg who they seem to regard as the greatest threat to their respective candidacies.  All are competing, one assumes, for the same educated white voters in Iowa and New Hampshire who have an outsize influence on American politics.  Buttigieg and Klobuchar are ideologically moderate, while Warren is progressive, which adds to the intrigue.  In any case, I've found it interesting recently that the mainstream media is increasingly focusing on the disdain that many progressives feel for Buttigieg.  My guess is that the progressives don't like his policies and values, while the Bidenites don't like the fact that he's stealing some moderate votes from their guy.  All in all, I thought Buttigieg parried the attacks last night very effectively.  He's a smart guy, and, if the polls are to be believed, he's still in front in Iowa.  Thus, we can't count him out.  It amazes me, though, that the national front-runner, Joe Biden, would be essentially ignored by his competitors in a major debate.  Are they inclined to dismiss him?  That would be a mistake, in my opinion.  The oddsmakers, by the way, now have Biden ahead again, but nowhere close to a cinch.  This race is a long way from over, and a brokered convention is still a decent possibility.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/blitzing-buttigieg-democratic-u-presidential-060830790.html

In other news, Jeff Van Drew is officially a Republican!  Welcome to the GOP, Jeff!  What took you so long?  Tell all your friends about us, huh?

And, in news that will bring joy to many a conservative heart, the U.K. Parliament has voted in favor of Boris Johnson's withdrawal agreement.  That means...sayonara, E.U.!  Hello, sovereignty.  Hooray!

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-50870939

The Impeachment Anticlimax

Friends, it's official: Donald J. Trump is only the third U.S. President to be impeached by the House of Representatives.  It's big news, and yet you could be forgiven for saying: "Ho-hum."  We've all seen this coming for a long time.  The only suspense was in the question of whether swing-district Democrats would stay on-side and vote for impeachment, despite the danger it places them in for the 2020 election.  Almost all of them did.  That doesn't mean that Trump is guilty as sin, of course.  It means those vulnerable Democrats are more afraid of a primary opponent picking them off from the left than they are of losing in the general election in November.  For many of them, a vote for impeachment is therefore simply a vote for self-preservation -- the prime directive of politics, if you will...

There are only three surprises, therefore, in this whole mess.  First, the Democratic Party is shrinking.  New Jersey Congressman Jeff Van Drew, formerly a Democrat, is joining the GOP because of his opposition to the articles of impeachment, and because he knows that an opponent of impeachment is not welcome in today's Democratic Party.  That's excellent news!  Let's hope many free-thinkers and independent-minded centrists and liberals will be similarly disgusted by the campaign of persecution and vilification that Democrats have unleashed against our President.

Second, Tulsi Gabbard, a Democratic Congresswoman from Hawaii and a candidate for President herself, voted "present" on both articles of impeachment.  Her reasoning was straightforward: she doesn't think a partisan impeachment is in the country's best interests.  Naturally, she's right, but consider the courage it takes to buck the impeachment obsession among Democrats.  Gabbard will be, and in fact already has been, viciously attacked by her fellow Democrats for her refusal to endorse impeachment.  The question that will inevitably arise in the wake of her votes is this: if the Democrats thoroughly alienate her, might she make the journey to the GOP -- or might she run as an independent centrist in 2020?  The latter move would be a game-changer -- not because she'd have a prayer of winning, but because anything that splits the Democratic/left-leaning vote will almost certainly help Donald Trump win re-election.  Tulsi's iconoclasm could therefore have world-historical consequences.  Stay tuned.

Lastly, the big news tonight is that Nancy Pelosi isn't guaranteeing that the House will forward the articles of impeachment to the Senate.  Is this mere gamesmanship, or is Pelosi seriously considering dispensing with a Senate trial of President Trump?  It's true that Democrats have little to gain from such a trial, but, if there's to be no trial, then what was the point of impeachment in the first place?

And that, I would argue, will be the question on many a leftist's lips going forward.  Impeachment was a purely symbolic win for the Democrats and for the Left -- and it's a win that may well come back to haunt them in 2020.  Just ask Newt Gingrich how well partisan impeachments tend to work out for the party that engineers them...  This isn't over.  Not even close.

***

And, for good measure, here's some straight talk about the Democrats' baseless claims of "voter suppression":

 https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/12/the-voter-purge-myth/

All Roads Lead To...FISA Abuse and the Deep State Coup

Friends, this week's Newsmaker Show involves a laser-like focus on the question of the Democrats' and the Obama administration's brazen abuse of the FISA court to spy on and essentially frame Carter Page and, indirectly, President Trump for "Russian collusion".  Brian and I explore where things went off the rails and how to fix the system.  In particular, we ask what role the courts should play in refereeing our political process...which seems increasingly necessarily, as bipartisan consensus breaks down about the rules of the game.

In addition, historically speaking, Brian and I tackle the arrival of the Mayflower at Plymouth Bay, the abolition of slavery in 1865 and the question of how to interpret America's checkered past, the presidency of Woodrow Wilson, the "Christmas Bombing" of North Vietnam in 1972, and the horrors of the Battle of Verdun.  Don't miss a single second!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37PZft3zu8Y&feature=youtu.be

And, if you have the time and the inclination, read this excellent piece by Attorney General Bill Barr, who eloquently praises those who work in law enforcement and encourages all the rest of us to show them the respect they deserve:

https://nypost.com/2019/12/16/barr-rising-disrespect-for-cops-not-only-wrong-it-puts-us-in-danger/

A Trump-Pelosi Smackdown!

 

Friends, you simply must read President Trump's no-holds-barred letter to Nancy Pelosi on the eve of the impeachment vote. Trump eloquently expresses the feelings of so many of his supporters in this muscular missive.  It's classic Trump, and should have every Democrat in Congress shaking in his or her boots:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Letter-from-President-Trump-final.pdf

Well done, and well said, Mr. President!

The Numbers Don't Lie

Friends, President Trump has good reason to be smiling.  Support for impeachment continues to tick down, even in polls that are modeled to give the mainstream media more or less what they want.  In fact, according to the RealClearPolitics average of impeachment polls, opposition now tops support.  The Dems seem determined to press on, despite flagging enthusiasm in the electorate, and we can only say: thank you, dummies!  You've just handed Republicans running for election to the House of Representatives in 2020 a golden opportunity.  Let's see if we can capitalize on it, shall we?

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/public_approval_of_the_impeachment_and_removal_of_president_trump-6957.html

Since your appetite for polls has been whetted, look at these intriguing results from the recent U.K. election.  Young people, sadly, were thoroughly deluded by Corbynism.  That's a bummer, but older voters, who of course vote in much greater numbers, were solidly Tory.  Could a similar pattern emerge in the US in 2020?  Older voters could be turned off by many of the extreme proposals of the current crop of Democrats.  They may not always love Trump, but they're not socialists or PC kooks either.  That gives Trump and Republicans a potential...Trump card?

https://www.yahoo.com/news/stark-age-gap-between-conservative-142336182.html

Lastly, for those of you who can't get enough analysis of that thumping Conservative win in the U.K., take a gander here:

https://amgreatness.com/2019/12/16/after-the-british-elections-making-the-anglosphere-great-again/

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/boris-johnsons-revolution

Thanks, But No Thanks, Obama!

Friends, file this away under "amazing, but true".  Former U.S. President Barack Obama is officially on record claiming that women are superior to men.  Read all about it here:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/barack-obama-says-women-are-pretty-indisputably-better-than-men/

Unfortunately, this kind of casual bigotry has become commonplace on the Left.  Men, white people, Christians, police officers, capitalists -- the list of scumbags, from the liberal perspective, is long, and it's often defined demographically rather than ideologically.  To put it another way, it's pure prejudice that Obama is venting, and he's far from alone.  Can you imagine if any Republican said something similarly disparaging about women???  We'd never hear the end of it.

Lefties, it's time to stop your divisive identity politics and instead judge every man, woman, and child on this planet by their abilities and their character, not their gender, race, religion, or any other such category.  We thought we outgrew your bigotry a long time ago.  Sadly, we were mistaken.