Listening In to Nixon

Friends, this week's Newsmaker Show with me and Brian O'Neil is a humdinger!  We cover the controversy over the President's Baltimore tweets, the constant refrain on the Left that Trump and Republicans are "racist," the state of the Democratic primary race, and prospects for Brexit now that Boris Johnson is at the helm.  Historically, we cover the importance of the introduction of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965, generational politics on the Left, and the complex historical legacy of Presidents Kennedy and Nixon, including Nixon's culpability in the Watergate Scandal and the wisdom (or lack thereof) of his taping system in the Oval Office.  Don't miss it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58jkNXDHB0Y&feature=youtu.be

Law and Order: Will 2020 Look A Lot Like 1968?

Friends, the columns of Pat Buchanan are always thoughtful and prescient.  In his latest op-ed, Buchanan asks whether Trump's seemingly provocative tweets about Baltimore are designed to position him as the "law and order" candidate in 2020.  It's an intriguing question.  Democrats are now in the position of defending the livability of Baltimore, one of the most dangerous cities in America.  Why?  Because Trump insulted Baltimore, and therefore any suggestion that the city is less than delightful is, by definition, "racist." 

But, as Buchanan notes, something bigger is going on here.  Crime is spiking in a number of inner cities.  Why?  A major factor is the Democrats' vehement hostility towards law enforcement and prisons.  They are now pushing a soft-on-crime agenda that, not surprisingly, reliably leads to more crime. 

For Buchanan, the comparison to the late 60s, when crime and unrest was mushrooming, is natural.  As he points out, Ronald Reagan was twice elected Governor of California as the "law and order" candidate.  Richard Nixon was elected President in 1968 partly by promising to restore safety and order to America's cities.  The "law and order" agenda was immensely popular in America from the late 60s until the 1990s, when tough law enforcement tactics and mass incarceration finally succeeded in turning the tide against the criminals, and crime rates and violence began to abate.

Slowly, though, Americans became complacent, and Democrats became positively brazen -- once again undercutting law enforcement and making excuses for criminals.  We're seeing the first fruits of their weakness on crime now, in places like Chicago and Baltimore.  We will, however, be seeing much more mayhem in the years ahead, because "progressive" Democrats are tying the hands of police and emptying out the prisons on an industrial scale.  Americans are about to experience a crime wave, the scale of which we can only guess at.  To be sure, the media will do its best to pretend that this crime wave doesn't exist.  It's only a matter of time, however, before Americans become anxious and afraid. 

The interesting political question is: will all this happen in time to be a major factor in the 2020 election?  That's hard to say.  But one thing is certain: American voters have always preferred candidates who take the side of the police, and they rightly disdain candidates who take the side of criminals.  In this regard, Trump is on the right side of history. 

Ironically, Trump may also have hit on one of the best ways to increase his share of the black vote.  Blacks, after all, want and need "public safety" just as much as whites.  It is Trump and Republicans who are promising a return to "law and order".  For many urban Americans, that will be music to their ears.  For Trump, it may even be the key to his re-election.

https://townhall.com/columnists/patbuchanan/2019/07/30/is-trump-capturing-the-law-and-order-issue-n2550839

It's Always About Race With These Democrats...

Friends, I'm back from my European vacation, and I'm ready once again to do battle with all America-hating leftists!  Bring it, Bolshies!

Now, you would think that a President who comes to the defense of federal law enforcement professionals who are smeared by an irresponsible Congressman would be praised for doing his duty, right? Well, no, the media and the Democrats instead have fallen back on the usual tired accusations of "racism", claiming that Congressman Elijah Cummings, as a Civil Rights icon, is beyond reproach. Moreover, they say that any suggestion that his district is dysfunctional, despite or because of his leadership, is "racist."  Well, all this is par for the course, and there will be plenty more of it before Nov. 2020.  Of that we can be sure.

What I would like to suggest, however, is that those who live by the (racist) sword can also die by it. The Democratic Party is full of people who reflexively believe that Republicans are racist, and they will reflexively (and largely ineffectively) accuse us of racism. So be it. The problem for the Left is that it is increasingly bedeviled by racism allegations itself. Leftists, jockeying for position within the movement, running for office, or just trying to set the liberal agenda, are increasingly using thinly-veiled and poorly-documented charges of racism against one another. Most recently and most famously, Kamala Harris implicitly accused former Vice-President Joe Biden of making common cause with racists in the last Democratic presidential debate. Biden was bewildered, as liberals often are when irresponsible charges of bias are leveled against them. They consider themselves above suspicion, naturally. I tell you, friends, the Left is addicted to a victimhood culture and to making unlimited and invariably false charges of bigotry. The potential for mischief that this affliction can cause within the liberal movement is vast.  We will undoubtedly see the disease manifest itself in the debates on Tuesday and Wednesday, and there's no telling how many Democratic candidates for President will be felled by racism or sexism allegations by the time the race has been run. None of this will enhance the credibility of the Democratic Party and its eventual candidate for President, needless to say, and none of it will make their constant assaults on President Trump for his "racism" any more compelling either. With any luck, in 2019 and 2020, we are seeing the last gasp of the Left's race-baiting politics. But, in the meantime, folks, it will get worse before it gets better. You've been warned!

Check out this article, which proves my point that the Left is eating its own:

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/07/29/cheri-bustos-democrats-diversity-1438867

And, speaking of race, the Democrats continue to listen to the siren song of reparations.  If we're lucky, this will be a big issue in 2020, because if it is it will be an electoral disaster for Democrats!

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/most-americans-dont-support-reparations-for-descendants-of-slaves-despite-it-being-a-hot-topic-among-2020-candidates-2019-07-29?siteid=yhoof2&yptr=yahoo

A Fond Farewell to Robert Mueller

Poor Bob Mueller.  He's looking awfully haggard these days.  Who can blame him?  Half the country was counting on him to undo the 2016 election, and he failed them.  The other half of the country expected him to undo the election, and despised him for it.  In the end, we can say that, to a point, Mueller acted like a true professional.  Despite immense pressure to do so, he didn't conjure a case for impeachment out of thin air.  No doubt many of the people on his staff wanted to.  On the other hand, he pursued Trump and his associates adversarially, and he never showed the slightest interest in investigating the Clinton camp's "collusion" with Russia agents via Christopher Steele.  Kind of a big oversight!  Be that as it may, Mueller came and went...and I wish him a happy retirement.  The country can now move on -- although we all know that a hardcore of liberals won't.  They will keep the flame of "Russiagate" and "obstruction" burning a while longer.  More's the pity for them.

In other news, Boris Johnson has achieved his life's ambition: he's Prime Minister of the U.K.  He rises to that lofty position at a particularly challenging time, for Britain and its government.  He's determined to take the U.K. out of the EU on October 31st.  Most of Parliament is determined to stand in his way.  Can these two facts be reconciled?  Can Boris thread the needle and find a way of getting Parliament, the EU, and the British people on the same page?  I sincerely hope so, because the alternative could be a complete political meltdown.  Godspeed, Prime Minister!

The Professor With The Pearl Earring: Stunning, Just Stunning...

Friends, today I have more to share with you than just my ethereal beauty (although surely that ought to be enough!).  Today I published an article with American Greatness that I'm especially proud of.  It's about the media's misrepresentations regarding what is happening at the border and with immigration policy.  I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

https://amgreatness.com/2019/07/22/smoke-and-mirrors-at-the-border/

Happy Birthday, Belgium!

On behalf of the American people -- and especially this American, who happens to be in Brussels -- I wish the plucky little nation of Belgium a happy birthday on this, its national day!  Belgium, for those of you who don't know it well, took it on the chin in both world wars, falling to Germany, but the Belgians didn't quit.  They persevered, and after their liberation became key members of NATO and the EEC/EU.  Despite the recent deeping of European ties and institutions, the Belgians clearly remain proud of their own patrimony and heritage.  I wish them all the best!

Trump is Making the Moon Great Again

Friends, as the media fixates on its misrepresentations of the President's tweets, the "real America" (I've come to appreciate that phrase) is recalling one of the greatest moments in human history: the first moon landings in July 1969.  We must not rest on our laurels, though, so the Trump administration is pushing ahead with a revitalization of our manned space program, and with a plan to put Americans back on the Moon within five years.  I couldn't be more supportive!  Of course, one assumes that, when the first Orion capsule puts an American in space next year, the media and the Democrats will denounce it as a fascistic stunt.  And the Moon?  Just one more planetoid for Trump to wreck, naturally.  But you and I know better: man's destiny lies in space, and it's America, first and foremost, that will take us there.  Trump and Pence are doing their part.  Bravo!

https://www.foxnews.com/science/apollo-11-pence-orion-capsule

The Dutch Connection: Dr. Waddy On the Loose

Greetings, friends, from the beautiful Netherlands!  This week's Newsmaker Show includes some reflections on the state of politics in Britain and Holland, and especially on European attitudes to America and President Trump (it ain't pretty!).  The U.S. mainstream media does us a tremendous disservice in informing the rest of the world that Americans are a bunch of racist troglodytes.  Be that as it may, Brian and I also discuss the first explosion of an atomic bomb in 1945, the Apollo moon landing in 1969, the Potsdam Conference, and other historical topics.  In terms of current events, we cover the brouhaha over Trump's tweet regarding "the Squad" and how they should "go back" to where they came from (my guess would be that it's basically toxic academia that spawned that lot).  We also talk about Brexit and Boris Johnson, plus other hot topics.  Don't miss a moment!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRxYENDdr7Q&feature=youtu.be

"You're a Racist!"...and Other Flights of Fancy

Friends, the incredible flexibility with which the Left uses the terms racism, sexism, homophobia, bigotry, and xenophobia has been obvious for several decades now, although the bar keeps getting lower and lower, and that's distressing, to say the least.  Now Trump is the victim of leftist smears, based on a recent tweet about AOC and her fellow travelers.  Let's be clear: Trump DID NOT say these Congresswomen "of color" should move back to their "home" countries.  He said that they should go there, learn about these countries' massive flaws, reevaluate their contempt for America, and only proffer advice about how to fix America once they understand its greatness in the proper context.  That's what he was driving at, although even I would admit that he might have made the point more elegantly.  His criticism of the anti-Americanism of some members of Congress, however, is neither racist nor xenophobic -- it's patriotic, and that's why we elected the man in the first place!

And let's not forget that the Left is shot through with both racism AND xenophobia.  Their reflexive vilification of white people is inherently racist, and their three-year-long diatribe against Russia is nothing if not xenophobic.  As always, the Left defines all pejorative concepts in creative ways that categorically eliminate them from consideration.  Don't be fooled!  They think that, by simply repeating their baseless claims over and over, they can get simple people to believe them.  They're right, as far as that goes.  But you and I are not simpletons, and we are NOT fooled!

In other news, here's my latest article, which is an analysis of some recent developments in the (virulently anti-Trump) music industry, and a call for the Trump administration to prevent the formation of an unchecked monopoly therein:

https://townhall.com/columnists/nicholaswaddy/2019/07/15/bill-barr-dont-give-the-trumphating-music-industry-special-treatment-n2550082

A Profile in Courage: Susan Collins

Friends, it's hard to find anyone in politics who merits the label "hero" or "heroine," but I believe Maine Senator Susan Collins qualifies.  Under intense pressure to reject the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh in 2018, Collins stood by the basic principle of American justice that a man, or a woman, is innocent until proven guilty.  Kavanaugh was by no means proven guilty, and so Susan Collins gave him the benefit of the doubt.  Imagine the damage we could have done to American justice if she (and Joe Manchin in West Virginia) had not stood up to the vitriolic Kavanaugh-haters...  She deserves credit, and she deserves to win reelection in 2020.  If you're so inclined, please donate to her reelection campaign.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/the-quiet-bravery-of-susan-collins

Also, take a gander at this excellent analysis of the controversy over the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 Census.  Such questions have been a fixture of many censuses, and many federal surveys, and only recently has the Left discovered that asking a simple demographic question is, in fact, "racist" and intimidating.  For some reason, asking a person their race, religion, or gender is fine, but citizenship?  Oh no!  Heaven forbid.  I sincerely hope that the President will succeed in adding a citizenship question to the upcoming Census.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/deroy-murdock-nervous-nancy-census

Finally, check out this good news about apprehensions at the border.  Mexico's actions seem to be bearing fruit.  We shouldn't become complacent, though.  We still need to build the Wall, and we need to keep maximum pressure on Mexico's government.  They can and will backslide, if we let them.  That's one more reason to reelect President Trump.  A Democratic President would undoubtedly let the border spiral totally out of control.  Donald Trump is our only protection from that miserable fate.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/migrant-apprehensions-along-the-border-plummet-28-percent-in-june-2019/