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Trump was shot at a rally in Pennsylvania. Unlike other high profile shootings, I have not heard the democrats calling for a ban on guns. We should have seen this coming and wonder why it took so long to happen. The democrats have shouted long and hard that Trump was the second coming of Hitler and their main message this election season is that Trump was evil and a threat to democracy. I cannot recall another presidential campaign with this much vitriol and incendiary speech. The main stream media has been complicit with the democrats in trying to spread fear amongst the electorate. MSNBC, the New York Times, Washington Post, LA Times, USA Today and the rest have raised the temperature in this election. Much like when Chuck Schumer tacitly threatened Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh and there was an assassination attempt on Kavanaugh, I have been anticipating an attempt on Trump.

I am not giving Trump a pass either. Many times, his messages have been interpreted as xenophobic and racist. In fact, during his first campaign many of his comments led me to remark “I thought George Wallace was dead.” Hopefully, this shooting will cause the rhetoric on both sides to be toned down.

But here are a few choice comments by the democrats on Trump.

“We’ve done talking about the debate. It’s time to put Trump in a bullseye,” – Joe Biden

America faces an immediate future of military occupations, political executions and concentration camps unless millions of its citizens unite against “dictator” Donald  Trump” – Salons Chauncey DeVega

“There is one existential threat: It’s Donald Trump”  –  Joe Biden 

“Trump poses an existential threat to abortion rights in Pennsylvania” – Democratic US Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon

There is an extremist movement that does not share the basic beliefs of our democracy. The MAGA movement.”  Joe Biden

Those who stormed this Capitol and those who instigated and incited and those who called on them to do so held a dagger at the throat of America and American democracy. – Joe Biden

 “The last thing America needed was sympathy for the devil but here we are.” Colorado state Rep. Steven Woodrow

“Donald Trump’s campaign is obsessed with the past, not the future,” Biden said earlier in the speech. “He’s willing to sacrifice our democracy, put himself in power.” – Joe Biden

“Someone who vilifies immigrants, who promotes xenophobia, who stokes hate and who incites fear should never again have the chance to stand behind a microphone  and never again have the chance to stand behind the seal of the president of the United States of America.” – Kamala Harris

Do you think any of this might have prompted the shooter? On the other hand please look at this article on Vox to see how the left views Trump as the “accelerant.”

https://www.vox.com/21506029/trump-violence-tweets-racist-hate-speech

MSNBC’s Joy Reid said “I’d vote for Biden in a coma to avoid Hitler in the White House.” I guess she thinks that Trump is a bigger racist than Biden. That is debatable because Biden has been a racist most of his life yet gets a pass because he is a democrat. As to Hitler? Hitler was a Nazi and perhaps the greatest antisemite in history. Over six million Jews were killed under his watch. So is Trump a Nazi? No. The Nazis were socialists. Nazi stands for the National Socialist German Workers Party. Bernie Sanders and AOC would be proud. Trump is many things but he is no socialist. But Biden may well be a closet socialist adopting Bernie Sanders agenda. Hitler was antisemitic. Today’s Jew haters are on the far left and on the fringe right. Trump is neither. Biden however tries to walk down the middle of the road in a futile attempt to appease those on the far left who hate the Jews. I doubt if Trump would have slow walked the military assistance to Israel. Biden did. By the way, is Joy Reid pro Hamas or pro Israel? Who is the Nazi here? I wonder if Reid noticed a Nazi flag at a pro Hamas rally. BTW, the flag was not saying that Israel was Nazi – which is ludicrous – but was advocating extermination of Israel. So Joy Reid, who is the Nazi? As I have written before, isn’t it interesting that the far left and the far right are both antisemitic but somehow only the far right is being branded as “Nazi”?

In 2012, on my old blog I asked the retorical question “Is Joe Biden a racist?” Again in the Knoxville Focus on November 29, 2021, I repeated the question. The answer is a resounding yes and the only question being why do the “elite” black intellectuals and politcians ignore it? The payoff they get from the democrat establishment and the bribes and monies going to the black grifters must be worth their silence. Well in a video taken at a rally Biden passes over a young black woman after greeting a white man to hug a white woman. The young black woman looks as if she is going to cry. You can be for sure that Bill Clinton would have hugged her – but Joe Biden? Jim Clyburn should be ashamed of himself. Without him and the black voters in South Carolina, Biden would be convalesing at a nursing home.

I admit a bit of discomfort writing about the opinions of the Supreme Court justices. I am no legal scholar. I was pre-law as an undergraduate at the University of Georgia and opted to get a PhD rather than go to law school after my junior year. However, I did get some comfort on my observations regarding the Court in this piece in today’s Wall Street Journal. I never considered that Robert Bork would be the intellectual father of this court. I remember his hearing and the usual smear tactics employed abainst him. Since then the term “Borking” arose. That the confirmation process has become more about seeking to smear candidates rather than an evaluation of their expertise is a pox on the senate. Regardless, few if any of the senators on the judiciary committee have the knowledge to insightfully question the candidates. That Amy Coney Barrett did not get a single democrat vote when she should have been confirmed unanimously is testimony to senator incompetence.

Harold A Black

I got a call from a friend who is a “progressive” wondering what I thought of the Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity. I told her that I had no opinion. She was surprised. I have always felt that the justices on the Supreme Court should be legal experts and interpret the Constitution given their legal expertise. I am neither a legal expert nor a student of the Constitution. I may agree with a particular ruling. I may disagree with another ruling. But my opinions come from my personal beliefs, standards, morals and biases rather than a lifetime of reading the law. Few ask the question “why are there so many Christian denominations” or “why are there so many different interpretations of the Bible.” Is there only one correct religion? Is there only one correct reading of the Bible? Is there only one correct reading of the Constitution?

I always ask if a justice is consistent or does the justice wander all over the place? Clarence Thomas is the most consistent justice with regard to a literal reading of the Constitution. Sonia Sotomayor’s rulings appear to be based on emotion rather than on legal grounds. Look at the opinions of Justice Gorsuch. Few question his intellect or scholarship. But Gorsuch is a staunch supporter of Native American rights. He wrote the majority opinion in 2019 that the state of Oklahoma could not bring criminal prosecutions for crimes on Indian land without the consent of the Indian tribes. In 2022, the court modified the decision shifting the power to prosecute away from the federal government and back to the state. Again, this was a 5-4 decision. Gorsuch’s minority opinion was withering. Gorsuch recounted the Court’s decision in 1832 baring the state of Georgia from confiscating the land of 100,000 Cherokees. Georgia and the odious Andrew Jackson ignored the ruling, leading to the Trail of Tears. Gorsuch said that Native American tribes retain their sovereignty unless and until Congress ordains otherwise. Since Congress had not ordained otherwise, was Gorsuch right or was he wrong? Nonetheless, Gorsuch has been consistent in his reading of the Constitution.

What about the Chief Justice? Hard right critics have lambasted Roberts as being “wobbly”.  But is he?  Perhaps his most famous ruling was the vote that enabled Obamacare. Roberts said that if Obamacare funding were a tax then it was constitutional. Even the middle of the road Anthony Kennedy tried to convince Roberts that he was wrong but to no avail. 

When the three Trump nominated justices were installed, the press said that Roberts had been rendered ineffective and it was now Thomas’ court. They were wrong. If anything, Thomas appears to be increasingly isolated in his view of the Constitution. Even Alito at times votes differently. Rather Roberts seems to be in control of this court. But is he wobbly? Not according to some experts. Roberts is consistent in his rulings. Despite his opinion on Obamacare he has led in clipping the wings of the Administrative state and rolling back federal regulatory authority. He seems less interested in social matters and has been said to favor ideological cease fires through procedural rulings that leave hard choices for another day. 

Amy Coney Barrett has proven to be an intriguing justice. Even when she votes with the other conservatives which is 90 percent of the time, her opinions bear her own stamp. Coney Barrett has proven to be her own person. In her concurring opinions, she places less stock in history than do Gorsuch and Thomas. In fact, she has chided them on occasion for relying too much on the past. What is most enjoyable about Coney Barrett is seeing the confusion she sows amongst both the left and the right. Those on the left seem totally confused about her opinions. Those on the right say she is wobbly. However, she seems to be a solid conservative and her votes with the liberal wing have never – unlike Gorsuch – been in a deciding vote with the other conservatives in the minority.

What about Kavanaugh? Although many on the right thought that he would be the most likely justice to turn Souter, he has not. Many forget that Kavanaugh had perhaps the most experience on the bench than any other justice with hundreds of opinions. He has turned out to be pragmatic and consistent in his rulings and has been in the majority more than any other justice.

The newest justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson may turn out to be the most interesting. Seemingly ignored is her voting with the conservatives in two cases. She voted with the conservatives (excepting Coney Barrett) in ruling against the Justice Department’s novel application of the obstruction of justice law regarding January 6. In her concurrence she wrote “Our commitment to equal justice and the rule of law requires the courts to faithfully apply criminal laws as written, even in periods of national crisis and even when the conduct alleged is indisputably abhorrent.” We would never see such a statement from Kagan or Sotomayor. She also voted with the majority of the conservatives against a nationwide opioid settlement. But that was an interesting decision with Gorsuch, Thomas, Alito, Coney Barrett and Jackson in the majority with Kavanaugh, Roberts, Kagan and Sotomayor in the minority. Yet I have heard no one accuse Jackson as being wobbly.

Overall, despite all the gnashing of teeth about selected rulings from Biden, Schumer and those on the left there is no MAGA court or else there would be less whining from the right. I think that reasonable people should be pleased with the Robert’s court and impressed with the deft hand of the Chief Justice who now seems to be firmly in control.

Jamaal Bowman lost his primary to George Latimer. I am glad. Bowman was an embarrassment raising the question of how did he get elected in the first place? He defeated Elliot Engle a 16 term representative. Maybe Engle just hung around too long. Bowman was an progressives stating “I cannot wait to get to Washington and cause problems for the people maintaining the status quo.”Well cause problems he did. He got into shouting matches with conservative republicans, most notably Majorie Taylor Green and Thomas Massie. Recall he triggered a fire alarm to prevent a republican vote on a government shutdown. He was a proud card carrying member of the Democratic Socialists of American and a member of the “Squad”. He was also virulently anti-Israel in a district with a significant Jewish population. Latimer was endorsed by the old democrat establishment including Hillary Clinton. Although the democrats in the house made obligatory clucking noises for Bowman, only members of the Squad were enthusiastic in their support. AOC hyperventilated at a Bowman rally with her usual shrill vocalizations. For some strange reason, that rally – which also featured Bernie Sanders – was in the South Bronx which is not even in Bowman’s district. At the rally, Bowman continued to embarrass himself with several f-bombs. House democrat leader Hakeem Jeffries made a lukewarm perfunctory statement but did not shed any tears over Bowman’s defeat. Jeffries, significantly, supported moderate democrats over progressives in local races in New York, drawing the ire of the far left.

I suspect that there will be scant difference in how Latimer votes and how Bowman voted. But the rhetoric will be toned down, civility may actually raise its head and even compromise may occur.

Bowman attributed his loss to AIPAC – the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and the over $14 million spent on the race. AIPAC’s next target is the caustic and equally embarrassing squad member Cori Bush (I wonder if she hates her last name). Bush is running against the more moderate progressive Wesley Bell in an August 6 primary. Bush is the squad member who used $70,000 her campaign money to pay her boyfriend (now husband) for private security while advocating defunding the police. She is also in the anti-Israel pro-Hamas camp. She is also one who can’t define a woman, using the term “birthing people”. She participated in a sit in at the Capitol to protest an extension of the eviction moratorium. Bush also supported a mob that went to the home of the McCloskey’s protesting their pointing guns at Black Lives Matter demonstrators at their St Louis home. Bush’s latest rant is a condemnation of the Supreme Court. Consider “The Supreme Court will do anything to embolden and empower dangerous extremists threatening communities like St. Louis. This far-right majority on the Court does not serve the people of this country—it serves Donald Trump and his MAGA cult, and wealthy corporations exploiting our communities.” So much for the “rule of law.” 

AIPAC is supporting Bush’s opponent but only giving $320,000. Bush has seized on that support stating “AIPAC, and their extensive network of far-right billionaires, anti-abortion extremists, and GOP megadonors have been promising to spend millions in their effort to defeat me ever since they first bribed my opponent to enter this race. Unfortunately for them, organized people beats organized money, and our community is ready to show that St. Louis is not for sale.” Here Bush is reading from Jamaal Bowman’s failed playbook by invoking the dreaded MAGA and far-right extremists. Both have accused their opponents of being republicans even though Latimer is a long term democrat and Wesley Bell is a progressive. I hope she loses. As to other members of the squad, Summer Lee, Pressley Tlaib and AOC are in safe districts. Omar is facing Don Samuels who she defeated in 2022. The primary is August 13 and the polls have them tied. Not surprisingly, Omar is openly anti-Semitic and is probably best known for being accused of marrying her brother in order to get him into the United States legally. Regardless, I hope she loses too. Again, I don’t expect Bell or Latimer or Samuels to vote any differently than Bowman or Bush or Omar. But it would be nice to tone down all the vitriol. BTW, I am no fan of the equivalents on the other side of the aisle either.

My NextDoor account was suspended because I posted a link to the Accidental Speaker. Seems that NextDoor does not like musing on national politics. I thought that the readers needed a break from postings on lost dogs and lousy plumbers. My bad. But how do they explain their embrace of Black Lives Matter?

If Bill Clinton was the first black president then Joe Biden said that he was the first black woman to serve with a black president. Does that mean he is a black cross dressing, transwoman passing for white? Who knew.

Biden and his surrogates have only one warning against Trump – that he is a “threat to democracy.” But what about the FBI and the Steele dossier? What about the Russian conspiracy hoax? What about the 51 intelligence gnomes lying about Hunter’s laptop? What about lawfare and the “Justice” department actions against Trump and his allies? What about the expansion of the administrative state? What about ignoring the rulings from the Supreme Court? Aren’t all these “threats to democracy Joe?”

Isn’t it interesting that the democrats are losing their minds over the Supreme Court ruling of limited immunity for the president? Consider that Biden said that the decision was a “treat to democracy”. Can’t they find another pet phase? Biden said that there are now “virtually no limits on what the president can do.” He apparently does not realize the irony of his statement. He should now be happy for if Trump is elected, won’t Biden be shielded from retribution since all of his acts were conducted in his official capacity as president? Biden ended his lament with “May God help preserve our democracy.” Indeed.

By the way Joe (and all the folks on the left) we do not have a democracy to preserve. We have a representative republic. We elect politicians to represent our interests. The senate is surely not a democracy with two senators from each state, regardless of population. Neither is the House of Representatives. The average population per member is 760,000. But Delaware has one representative and 960,000 residents. Why don’t those “threat to democracy” folk demand that we jettison both the senate and the house and have a national vote on every bill? These wailers also want the Supreme Court expanded but I have heard no one wanting the House of Representatives to be expanded to “better represent democracy.” And by the way, haven’t they learned their lessons with regard to the Supreme Court? I guess they haven’t heard that what goes around comes around.

What ever happened to “We will build the wall and Mexico will pay for it”?

Someone wrote that this may be the first election where the majority of people voting for one candidate are doing so because they detest the other candidate. I guess they forgot about Hillary Clinton. BTW, has anyone associated with the Clintons turned up dead lately?

Trump needs to pick a VP who will be an outstanding two term president. If Biden had picked another black woman, say Val Demmings, there would not be all the gnashing of teeth about succession. I still fault Reagan for naming George Bush rather than Jack Kemp as his running mate. Kemp was a solid conservative with strong support in the black community. A President Kemp would have carried on Reagan’s legacy and paved the way for a stronger less partisan America. Instead we got George Bush.

Biden is on a string of loses. First there was the disastrous debate. Now everyone wants him to abdicate – except his family and Biden himself. Second, the courts keep stopping his tuition debt pandering. Third, Chevron has been repealed, limiting the administrative state. Fourth, the courts have ruled against regulatory overreach by the FTC and the SEC. Fifth, Biden’s pause on liquid natural gas exports has been overturned. Six, Biden’s rewrite of Title IX which changes the definition of sex to include gender identities has been blocked. Thank goodness for the republican AGs for their suits targeting regulatory overreach. Of course our “representatives” in congress have been doing nothing but sitting on their thumbs.

Previous, I listed some of the Biden initiatives. Here they are again:

1. Climate change: no new pipelines, restrictions on drilling, encouraging financial institutions not to lend to gas and oil producers, cited climate change as an essential element of national security and foreign policy. Shutting down liquid natural gas exports.
2. Embracing “green new deal”
3. End of energy independence
4. Equity plans for all federal agencies 
5. Inflation
6. Weaponization of the Department of “Justice”
7. Open borders: ended funding for the border wall, rescind the “Stay in Mexico” policy
8. $1.9 trillion Covid “relief” bill: Only 9% allocated to public health issues
9. $2.2 trillion “infrastructure” bill
10. Support of Critical Race Theory
11. Rewriting Title IX to include transgenders
12. Support for the teaching of gender identity to K-3 students
13. Ending ban on transgenders in military
14. Woke military
15. Raised minimum wage for federal contractors to $15 an hour
16. Established a White House gender policy council
17. Stops withdrawal from World Health Organization
18. Restart Iran nuclear agreement
19. Pauses student loan repayments
20. Extending the foreclosure moratorium
21. Rejoins Paris climate accord
22. Rescinds Trump’s 1776 Commission that was established as a counter to the New York Times 1619 Project
23. Including noncitizens in the Census
24. “Build Back Better” progressive wish list
25. Soft on crime
26. Attempts at rescinding the Second Amendment
27. Federal takeover of elections
28. Commission to study the packing of the Supreme Court
29. Universal pre-K, free community college, expansion of child tax credit
30. Increased regulatory burdens at a cost of $100 billion annually

Did I leave out anything?

As Gil Scott-Heron said in “Winter in America”, “four more years of that?”

The left does not care about reducing emissions. It has other objectives being accomplished through the draconian measures being mandated by the Biden Administration. If they cared about emissions they would embrace nuclear, clean coal, low carbon fuel development and other measures instead of being obsessed the with impossible goal of zero emissions.

How can a group named Black Lives Matter be pro-abortion?

What does President Biden have in common with an electric car? Neither can go very far without a rest.

A new survey finds that 57% of American millennial electric-vehicle owners say they are likely to switch back to a gasoline-powered car. 

I don’t give money to able bodied panhandlers. With all the now hiring signs, apparently they can make more money begging than by going to work – and it is tax free too!

However, I do give money often to those physically disabled and if they have a dog, almost 100 percent.

Universities are bringing back the SAT and ACT because although test scores are going down, GPAs are going up.

California is still talking about reparations. Are the blacks going to have to prove that they are descended from slaves? Are immigrants, Native Americans, Mexicans and Asians going to have to pay reparations to black folk?

Is there any evidence that blacks descended from slaves are worse off than blacks who are not?

Even if Trump wins, there won’t be much change in business policy regarding climate. They have invested too much and been bribed too much with all the trillions from the government to go back.

Trump is a short timer and he is likely to prove as unpopular as Biden.

The republicans need to make abortion cease to be an issue. Of course no matter what they do, the left with try to keep the issue on the front burner because it gets them votes from suburban white women and black women. The republicans should endorse all forms of birth control. Polls show that the vast majority of voters are not opposed to abortion within the first six weeks. However, the majority – even democrats – oppose abortion after that. The republicans in their national platform should not oppose early abortions, oppose a nationwide ban on abortions and leave it up to the states.

During the celebration of Juneteenth, there was the usual wasted discussion on what should actually be emancipation day for black Americans. Some pointed to January 1, 1863 when Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation rather than June 19, 1865. However, the slaves were not freed by that action which proclaimed that the slaves were “forever free” in those states at war with the Union. Slaves were not therefore not freed anywhere. My great grandmother said that they knew of the proclamation and did not throw down their shackles and run off the plantation shouting “Lawdy, we is free!” Rather, they went back to work. Juneteenth marked when the last slaves were notified of their freedom. However, that means that the others were already free. Some have pointed to the 13^th Amendment which was ratified on December 8, 1865 when slavery was abolished de jure, even though all the slaves had already been freed de facto. My point is that it really doesn’t matter. What matters is that the abomination that is chattel slavery was ended in the United States.

Drain the Swamp?

Trump wants to “drain the swamp” mainly because the vast majority of federal workers are democrats. He won’t succeed. Trump feels that lower level federal employees work against his agenda and effectively sabotage his agenda. He wants to attack mid level employees by instituting something called Schedule F which makes it easier to fire federal workers. However, Schedule F would only affect 50,000 of the 2.5 million workers. Any effort to impose it would be tied up in court and not adjudicated until long after Trump had left office. Moreover, just like Biden who rescinded Trump’s prior Schedule F orders, any democrat president would also rescind it. So Trump is wasting his time. More effective are the Supreme Court actions to disable Chevron – the Supreme Court ruling that empowered the regulatory agencies to write regulations somewhat implied by enabling legislation. Recently, the republican AGs have sued the Biden Administration claiming that the regulators have been exceeding their legislative authority. It is curious that the republican House of Representatives has essentially sat on its thumbs allowing Biden to run roughshod over the economy.

Recently the Supreme Court has ruled on cases that affect Chevron. The first case involved New Jersey fishermen being forced to pay for third party on board monitors by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The fishermen contended that this was done without authorization from Congress. The Supreme Court agreed. In so doing, the court overturned Chevron. Chief Justice Roberts wrote “Perhaps most fundamentally, Chevron’s presumption is misguided because agencies have no special competence in resolving statutory ambiguities. Courts do.” The second blow to the administrative state came in a ruling that the Securities and Exchange Commission cannot bring a charge of a violation and then prosecute it in house. The court ruled that defendants have the right to have their case heard by a jury. The government had argued that it was enforcing a “public right” created by Congress and given to the administrative state. Of course, the vote was 6-3 with Justice Sotomayor lamenting that court was dismantling the administrative state. Would that be true.

Thus, the court is a much more effective way of dismantling the administrative state, i.e. the swamp, than the clumsy use of Schedule F. However, this does not mean that Trump cannot do something about the administrative state. He can move the agencies out of Washington. He does not need congressional approval to do so. A case in point is my old agency the National Credit Union Administration. When I was there in the early 1980s the agency moved within DC. Twenty years later it moved to Virginia. It did not ask permission of the congress. It just moved. I believe that the credit unions benefited with the move. Although some credit union managers grouse about treatment from examiners, on the whole the agency has become more responsive to the needs of the credit unions and the millions they serve.

When I studied the Fed as a young economist, I found that the actions and recommendations of the reserve bank presidents on the Open Market Committee were starkly different from those of the Governors. The difference likely emanated from the reserve bank presidents being located around the country while the governors all resided in the DC MSA. The presidents work and live around people with real jobs while the governors live around those whose sole existence is due to the presence of the federal government. A reserve bank president is more likely to hear his neighbor talk about the local football game while the governor’s neighbor is more interested in the rate of inflation and interest rates. Also the reserve bank presidents get monthly reports from their directors who are nongovernment citizens – bankers, lawyers, academics, business executives – and those reports influence their decision making. I saw that first hand when I served on the Atlanta Fed’s branch board in Nashville. I believe that federal decision making would be less harmful if the agencies left the swamp and went where real people did real jobs for a living. So where should they go? I would leave Defense, Treasury and State in DC. As to the other cabinet agencies:

Homeland Security – Eagle Pass, TX (the epicenter of the illegal crisis)

Interior – Juneau, AK (large percentage of federal land ownership)

Agriculture – Ames, IA (second in agriculture production)

Commerce – Boston

Labor – Detroit 

Health and Human Services – Jackson, MS (the poorest state)

Housing and Urban Development – Philadelphia (part of the most urbanized area)

Transportation – Seattle (home of Boeing)

Energy – Houston

Education – Little Rock (I like Huckabee Sanders school choice initiative)

Veterans Affairs – Bedford, VA (site of the D-Day Memorial)

What about the Fed? Send it to Kansas City (middle America and great BBQ)

The winner gets an F.

The “presidential” debate was curious at best. First, calling it “presidential” is a stretch. I, for one, could not sit through 90 minutes of listening to either candidate so I watched a baseball game. I did manage to listen to clips from the debate later.  It was apparent that Trump’s strategy was to say cool and let Biden slobber all over himself. The question is why was anyone surprised of Biden’s incoherence? He has been stumbling, mumbling and bumbling for more than a year now. Why did the Biden camp agree to have the debate before the democrat convention? They knew he would be bad. The pundits knew it would be bad so they could all call for him stepping aside. As a matter of fact, was anyone surprised that he would be awful? So now the democrat operatives can publicly moan and groan and hope for a new nominee at the convention. Who? The most mentioned are Gavin Newsom, Gretchen Witmer and J. B. Pritzker who would all be worse than Biden. Imagine the harm that a young articulate leftist socialist democrat in the White House could do enacting their climate, DEI, border openness, illegal migrant citizenship anti-Israel agenda. What about Kamala Harris? Not nominating Harris would alienate black democrats and create even more turmoil in the party. But Harris is likely unelectable not because of race but because she has been a simply awful vice president – which is saying a lot. Isn’t it ironic that the only people now wanting Harris to be president are some republicans? Rick Scott and Mike Lee are calling for evoking the 25^thAmendment which would make Harris president. Perhaps they feel that if Harris were president now, then she would get the nomination and be beatable. Is there a democrat who would not be a disaster? Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania comes to mind.

What I find interesting is that there is very little analysis of Trump’s performance. Of course the New York Times would characterize it as “relentless attacks and falsehoods”. But wasn’t that how most others characterized Biden’s? But even Trump’s sympathizers conceded that he was light on substance and did not come armed with data and facts. Some pointed that he did not aggressively attack Biden’s climate policy and the economy but focused mainly on the border. It’s the economy stupid! Both Trump and Biden were given to hyperbole with Trump calling the border the most dangerous place in the world and saying that everyone wanted abortion returned to the states. However, even Trump’s critics who gave him an F admitted that Biden did even worse (F-?). I was in Washington and a dear friend said that she would vote for Sammy (her Labrador retriever) before she would vote for Trump. I said that I would vote for Sammy too but unfortunately Sammy was not running for president.