Dum Spiro Spero

 

Friends, this week's Newsmaker Show includes a reflection on the fate of Spiro Agnew, Richard Nixon's Vice-President, who, like Nixon, won reelection in an unprecedented landslide, but was then ruined by a craftily executed campaign of what amounted to a 70s version of lawfare.  The lesson: when the Deep State wants you "out", you're out!  Possibly that was truer in the 70s than it is now, though?  The survival of DJT suggests as much.  Brian and I also consider France's exit from Vietnam in 1954, and the bombing of St. Paul's Cathedral in October 1940.

 

When we turn to current events, Brian and I ponder the turnaround in the betting markets, with Trump regaining the advantage over Kamala Harris, Harris's massive spending edge over Trump and what it portends, the prospect that Google could be broken up as part of the government's anti-trust case against it, Trump's latest Butler rally, Liz Cheney's nothingburger endorsement of Kamala Harris, as well as the political fallout from Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

Bottom line: this week's show is bearing down on you like the Category 5 radio hurricane that it is!!!  Batten down the hatches and enjoy.

https://rumble.com/v5i6efn-wlea-newsmaker-october-10-2024-dr-nick-waddy.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawF1Ml5leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHYBxmKKS4wsW5XnmttXEOeeX1aazzJnF0g6Y2Ka1j7dx3_AoOyvOCsRBIQ_aem_qzuxUt68l8qIA2_UW0Z0Jw

 

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In other news, the latest polls, and the updated betting market odds, show continued movement towards Trump, and you're starting to see glimmers of panic on the Left.  I'm not saying Trump has anything in the bag, but, if you're a Trumper, hope springs eternal, and you're decidedly NOT grasping at straws!

https://www.realclearpolling.com/latest-polls

The Harris Machine

 

Friends, on one point Kamala Harris has every reason to smile, and maybe even guffaw: money.  She's raised more, and she's spending more.  Billions upon billions will be expended by the party representing the political, social, and economic establishment to ensure that it is protected from the ravages of Donald Trump and his legions of bloodthirsty, insane, fascistic Trumpers.  Will it work?  Money matters in politics, to be sure, but Trump was outspent in 2016 and 2020 as well, and it didn't stop him from exceeding expectations in both cases.  Note that Trump, a billionaire, has never invested much of his own money in his political (mis)adventures.  One might reasonably ask: why not?  That's especially true this year, when it's fairly clear that, if Trump loses, he stands a very good chance of ending his life in prison.  In any case, neither Trump nor any other deep-pocketed Republican or conservative seems motivated to spend the money necessary to close the gap with Kamala and her wealthy supporters.  Will Trump and Trumpers ultimately regret this lapse?  We'll see.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gl013w4e8o

In a hopeful sign for Trump, he's retaken a small lead in the betting markets, and you're beginning to see faint indications of panic on the Left.  Of course, everything remains closer than close!

https://www.realclearpolling.com/betting-odds/2024/president

Finally, the DOJ is keeping the pressure on Google, and there is even talk of breaking up the company.  I say: DO IT!!!  Google is an anti-competitive behemoth and its dismemberment would make this country, and this world, a better place.  I have a sneaking suspicion, however, that the DOJ isn't serious.  Lawsuits like these may just be shots across Google's bow, i.e. a gentle reminder not to the bite the hand that feeds them, and is in turn fed by them.  Ultimately, the government and Google are in a symbiotic relationship.

https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2024/10/09/doj-considers-asking-judge-to-break-up-google-over-search-monopoly/

A Dark Shade of MAGA

 

Friends, the transition of Elon Musk, from conventional techie progressive to ebullient Trump supporter and free speech activist, has been remarkable to witness.  He completed his journey today by appearing onstage with Trump in Butler, PA, as both men recalled the failed assassination attempt against Trump in July, and as they exhorted Trump backers, and the undecided, to vote en masse for DJT as though the future of American democracy depended on it, which it very well might.  Say what you want about the phenomenon of Trumpism, but it sure has produced some monumental realignments in our country's political life.  And Musk's, lest we forget, is a voice that many young people and highly educated types listen to.  Let's hope they listen intently.

https://www.breitbart.com/2024-election/2024/10/05/elon-musk-declares-im-not-just-maga-im-dark-maga-at-trumps-rally-in-butler-pa/

 

https://x.com/breeadail/status/1842699525321842697 

Papal Infallibility

 

Friends, this week's Newsmaker Show with me and Brian O'Neil reaches way, way back to the 1990s as we recall Sinead O'Connor's imprudent critique of Pope John Paul II on a little program known as Saturday Night Live.  People didn't react well to that, for you see John Paul II was a man commonly regarded as almost as holy as me!  Brian and I also tackle the reunification of Germany in 1991, and the strong American support for the IRA back in the 1980s.

Of course, we spend most of the show analyzing current events, including a deep dive into the nature and likely impact of the big Vice-Presidential debate.  We also consider the hostility between Israel, Iran, and Iran's proxies in Lebanon.  We ponder Elon Musk's argument that this election might be our last, Ukrainian President Zelensky's effort to mend fences with DJT, and the closure of Britain's last coal-fired power plant.

 

Not to put too much pressure on you, but my understanding is that anyone who listens to this week's show gets an automatic pass into heaven, so...you might want to check it out.

https://rumble.com/v5haw04-wlea-newsmaker-october-3-2024-dr.-nick-waddy.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawFsFv5leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHYkiTR6vLjpoiFtVvUa6RMkCokYLpgpxBwH8h_-ZpIEAAbUNYuD_tQYMww_aem_9IGheJ88cIu5xnACsuXYUg

 

***

 

In other news, Rep. Byron Donalds makes an argument here that I believe more Republicans ought to be making: he's tying our problem with inflation directly to Kamala Harris.  Indeed, you can argue that, on the vast majority of Biden-Harris policy initiatives, Harris played a minor role.  In the Senate, though, she personally cast the tie-breaking votes that massively expanded government spending at a critical juncture for our economy.  Without Kamala, in other words, inflation might not have been so extreme.  Food for thought (assuming you can afford food).

 

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2024/10/02/rep_byron_donalds_kamala_harris_cast_the_tie-breaking_vote_that_triggered_this_inflation.html 

Finally, this is a brilliant political argument by Republicans: they're claiming that the federal government doesn't have enough resources to help the victims of Hurricane Helene because of...illegal immigration.  In fact, this line of attack is rather questionable, but in an election year it sure could move some voters in a red-ward direction!

https://nypost.com/2024/10/03/us-news/feds-say-theres-no-money-left-to-respond-to-hurricanes-after-fema-used-640-9m-this-year-on-migrants/?

Van-tastic!

 

Friends, I invite your comments on tonight's debate between J.D. Vance and Tim Walz, but my initial reaction is that Vance lived up to his billing as an intellectually robust, articulate, and extremely affable Trumper.  He did, in my estimation, a much better job of selling the Trump record, and trashing the Biden-Harris record, than Trump did himself.  I doubt that any Vice-Presidential debate will ever prove decisive, but Vance reminded the American people that Kamala Harris has had three and a half years to solve all our problems, and instead she has only made them worse.  Enough said???

https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/vance-walz-vice-presidential-debate-election-2024?st=5j49iZ

Democracy at Death's Door?

 

Friends, Elon Musk recently tweeted at length about the stakes in this election, and he makes a persuasive case.  Basically, he asserts that Democrats are using mass immigration to alter the nation's demographics and turn it into California -- a deep blue one-party state.  I believe he's right about Democrats' intentions, but he may be mistaken about the ultimate outcome.  Florida has become extremely diverse in much the same way that California has, and it is moving from purple to red.  Likewise, DJT is earning record levels of support from Hispanics and Asians, which suggests that Democratic one-party rule may not be inevitable as whites recede into minority status.  Musk's argument may be speculative, therefore, but he's basically correct that Democrats are seeking to negate the competitiveness of American politics by changing the nature of the voters themselves.  And you have to hand it to them: their strategy has borne fruit in places like Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina.  Who's to say it won't work nationally, in the final analysis?

https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1840409051357696324?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1840409051357696324%7Ctwgr%5Ef3684bb99a7b8dab8f0a4631f21999f6ff40dc59%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediaite.com%2Fpolitics%2Felon-musk-d

Meanwhile, there's a lot of hubbub this cycle about how masculine Tim Walz and Doug Emhoff are, and the implication is that men ought to be flocking to the Dems' colors, because it's the macho thing to do.  Of course, the Democrats have ignored men and their problems for decades, so it's interesting that they're choosing this moment to play catchup.  Will it work?  Will all those stupid men fall for it?  Well, we are stupid, and violent, and smelly, and "weird", so maybe...  Anyway, if one asks the question: which gender has it worse in America, the answer is not necessarily clear.

https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/careers/young-american-men-lost-c1d799f7?st=4RfwSW

In Europe, the "far right" is celebrating a big election win in Austria, while in France Marine Le Pen and other nationalist, anti-immigration leaders are on trial based on what may be a European version of lawfare.  I wouldn't be shocked if Europe gradually took a more authoritarian approach to the suppression of the populist right, would you?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8rdygy5888o

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0jw967zg0eo

Finally, the U.K. has passed a singular milestone: it's closing its very last coal-fired power plant.  Now, if you know anything about the industrial revolution, you would be aware that it started in Britain and it relied overwhelmingly on coal.  Thus, the abandonment of coal is both a signal of Britain's commitment to fighting climate change, and a reflection of Britain's deindustrialization, as increasingly the hard, dirty work of "making stuff" is outsourced to countries like China -- which most certainly burn coal, and lots of it!  Anyway, it's a remarkable shift for Britain, and it comes with one major caveat: "sustainable" energy is proving a heck of a lot more expensive!

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y35qz73n8o

Courting Trump

 

Friends, many conservatives were disappointed with the performance of Donald Trump as president in his first term.  Specifically, he seemed unable to master the Deep State or to reverse the political fortunes of Democrats.  Quite the contrary, the Deep State and the Democratic Party are stronger now than when Trump took office.  Be all this as it may, few conservatives would argue that Trump did a poor job of selecting federal judges and Supreme Court Justices.  The leftist campaign to discredit the courts, and especially SCOTUS, is a testament to Trump's success in this regard.  This article, however, points out that not all Trump appointees have been in agreement on critical issues, and Trump might, in his second term, take over the selection process himself rather than farming it out to the Federalist Society.  Purely from a "progressive" standpoint, this prospect is more than a little terrifying, because it could yield a judicial branch that doesn't just lean right, but leans Trumpy!

https://www.vox.com/scotus/373084/supreme-court-trump-judges-federalist-society

Meanwhile, note that, anytime Trump supporters break the law or use violence, the media has a collective freakout, and they don't stop harping on the issue for years.  Note also that when leftists or Trump haters violate the law or start shooting up the neighborhood, the Left and the Democrats mouth the standard platitudes and then quickly memory-hole the incident.  Hey, nobody ever said life was fair!

https://www.nationalreview.com/bench-memos/threats-against-conservative-justices-dont-hold-the-medias-attention/

Frenemies

 

Friends, apparently efforts are underway to bring Trump and Zelensky together to deescalate tensions between the fellow who may soon be president again and "our man in Kyiv".  How nice.  Wouldn't want that flow of arms to be interrupted even for a millisecond!  Meanwhile, an extraordinary tete-a-tete occurred last night between Trump and the leftist U.K. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.  Starmer and his associates have demonized Trump, but now they want to butter him up, just in case he becomes leader of the free world again.  Can't say I blame them.  Prudence before progressivism is a wise approach.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2024/09/27/trump-looks-past-years-of-barbs-from-left-wing-british-pm-for-talks/

 

Here's a very perceptive analysis of what is, from a leftist perspective, an extremely puzzling and troubling trend: growing non-white support for Trump.  I mean, Trump is a Nazi, right?  Why would blacks, Hispanics, and Asians lend him their votes?  You have to give the people at Vox credit -- they put their invective aside for five minutes to examine the question...

 

https://www.vox.com/2024-elections/373535/3-theories-gop-donald-trump-nonwhite-voters-hispanic-black-latino-asian 

Finally, the failures of the Secret Service in Butler, PA are quite extraordinary, and the Feds' reticence to share information with the public even more so.  I'm not a conspiracy theorist myself, but I do question how high a priority it can be for a Trump-hating government agency (and let's be honest: all our government agencies are stacked with Trump haters) to protect Donald J. Trump from those who wish to harm him...

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2024/09/25/sen_johnson_local_police_believe_they_shot_trump_shooter_we_dont_know_because_his_body_has_been_cremated.html

It's the Economy, Stupid!

 

Friends, the latest Newsmaker Show is undoubtedly the answer to almost all of your prayers, except possibly the one for salvation, although some would say the jury is out on that one...  Brian and I take a hard look at the economy and Americans' darkening mood about it, and what that portends for the presidential election.  We also consider the escalating violence in Lebanon, the prospects for a resolution of the Russia-Ukraine War, the irrationality of TDS, the likely role of RFK, Jr. in a Trump administration, the future of the filibuster and Democratic court-packing schemes, and whether SCOTUS will be in the driver's seat this November.  Holy cow!  What a lineup.  The ghost of Rush Limbaugh must be green with envy...

https://rumble.com/v5gaj85-wlea-newsmaker-september-25-2024-dr-nick-waddy.html

Feeling Blue, Voting Red

 

Friends, today I bring you two signs that the mood of the public may be shifting in a way that's highly favorable to the Trump campaign.  The nunber one issue in this election, and in almost every election, is the economy, and in the past month consumers, who are the same thing as voters, are feeling much less optimistic.  In fact, consumer confidence is tumbling.  Is that "fair" or valid, based on objective economic indicators?  Well, who cares!  Economic perceptions have a much greater effect on politics than economic realities, and for this reason the lefties should be mighty nervous!  In related news, the Chinese government is getting increasingly antsy about the state of their economy, which they are trying to juice up with stimulus measures.  Lest we forget, a Chinese slowdown portends a global slowdown, which in turn portends an American slowdown.  It's all a rich tapestry, isn't it?  The Dems better hope that vacuous Kamalan "joy" is sufficient to beat back this wave of pessimism, or else their goose is cooked!

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/24/september-consumer-confidence-falls-the-most-in-three-years.html

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjd5xlv03jxo