Apocalypse Now: July 13, 2020

[Guest Contributor - Donald G. Mutersbaugh Sr.]

I can’t help but to think about the Democrat Convention this summer. I might be wrong but I believe that there has been another paradigm shift in the electorate. I predicted one before, and I’m predicting another one now: the candidate of choice is going to be based on emotions, feelings and about who can beat Trump – but not qualifications.

I predicted in an earlier writing that neither Biden nor Sanders would get the nomination. This was based on Biden’s performance and Sanders – always the bridesmaid with his socialist programs. Further, I predicted that two women may head the ticket. While this may still come to pass (I believe that Elizabeth Warren will lose consideration because of her untruthfulness), I’m going to propose a different scenario for consideration: a brokered convention. While this hasn’t happened in either party since 1952 and despite all of the rewrite of the rules, the Democrat party may have no choice but to wrest its way through one this summer. The hatred of Trump is overwhelming.

The old monkey wrench seems to be the Democrat establishment; despite the popularity of Bernie, they do not feel his progressive socialism will win the hearts and minds of the people – therefore, he’s got to go. And poor old Joe, he’s caught up in a maelstrom of family problems and political gaffes. Plus: “Here’s something ‘everybody knows' that is almost certainly true. The two most widely respected figures in the Democratic Party — Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi — are worried that a Sanders nomination could be disastrous for the party in the fall, increasing the likelihood that Trump is reelected or that enough marginal House Democrats lose their seats to turn congressional control back to the GOP. Of course, the reason an outsider like Trump took over the Republican Party is the same reason a socialist like Sanders might take over the Democratic Party: Party leaders simply do not wield the same levers of power in an era of online ideological movements. But that doesn’t mean they have no leverage.” https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/25/why-bernie-sanders-might-not-lock-democratic-nomination-117339

“Imagine that Sanders comes into the convention with a weak plurality, far short of 1,991 delegates. When he asserts that the candidate with the most delegates should be awarded the delegation, and rails against the establishment, he is confronted with his comments from 2016 like this one.

“The responsibility that superdelegates have is to decide what is best for this country and what is best for the Democratic Party,” Sanders said. “And if those superdelegates conclude that Bernie Sanders is the best candidate, the strongest candidate to defeat Trump and anybody else, yes, I would very much welcome their support.”

“His brand is suddenly tarnished – he looks like every other self-serving politician.” (Ibid) Oops! So, everybody has to consider what other likely strategies could come from this.

Remember: this is an emotional election and not a qualification election. So, qualifications aside what would be the most popular ticket (it is evident that one candidate alone is not going to shift this).

In a previous article that I wrote, I predicted that Michelle Obama would run for the presidency in 2024 – and that the interim time period would be spent grooming her for that event. What if the establishment proposed a ticket that had her as the vice president and the next most eligible candidate at this time for president? Bloomberg and Obama? Or how about Buttigieg and Obama? 

Even more outrageous – despite her record – could be Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama be the most reasonable compromise at this time? I believe that any ticket like this basically decided by the superdelegates could possibly cause Trump a problem especially if it were presented with an outstanding cabinet of people – perhaps, those no-Trumpers that have recently received the boot from the Trump administration.

This action by the establishment would obviously all but destroy the Democrat party. It would be a political calculation of how many of Bernie’s people would leave the party and how many would rejoin the party because of the excitement generated with this ticket. I have not seen any polls that have attempted to project these numbers – either coming or going. But over the long run, if the strategy were successful, I think the Democrat party would heal very quickly. I’m sure as part of this deal, all horse-trading aside, Bernie would be taken care of with some type of a political plum and indebtedness from the party leaders for his part in taking down Trump – however indirectly this may have occurred.

Now to return to the part about this being an emotional election. The Democrat party is going to have a hard time dislodging an incumbent president whose accomplishments and current popularity are so high. 

“Americans are more positive about the state of the nation than they have been in over a decade, and Trump and the GOP appear to be benefiting. Still, in this era of extreme party polarization, that puts his approval rating at 49%, as Republicans' already high ratings have risen further while Democrats' negative opinions of him aren't budging. Independents' ratings of Trump have improved, but they are still more likely to disapprove than approve of the job he is doing.

“The significance of the trend is clear. An approval rating near 50% greatly increases Trump's chances of being re-elected, a prospect that seemed unlikely with his approval stuck near 40% for most of his term.” https://news.gallup.com/poll/286280/trump-job-approval-steady.aspx 

There was one other poll taken recently that maybe speaks volumes to Trump’s reelection prospects: “New High of 90% of Americans Satisfied With Personal Life” https://news.gallup.com/poll/284285/new-high-americans-satisfied-personal-life.aspx When you examine the individual cohorts of this poll, the Democrat party faces a daunting task indeed! 

This will be an interesting election to see which matters most to the American people: emotions or results!

Donald G. Mutersbaugh, Sr. earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Maryland and his Master of Business Administration degree from Mary Washington College. He is the former Associate Administrator of Information Resources for the U.S House of Representatives under Speaker Newt Gingrich.

REPUBLICAN DEATH WISH - ELECTION 2018

Also published on Newsmax.

Campaign losses are more “suicides” than “homicides”.

The Republicans were poised to beat the odds during the 2018 “Mid-term” election, then everything went wrong. Trump’s last minute targeting of key Senate races recovered some, but not all, of the opportunities for Republican gains. The House was another matter.

History was on the Republicans’ side - Trump’s 2016 victory did not extend to House or Senate races. Democrats gained two Senate seats and six House seats. The absence of “coat tails” meant there was a dearth of “at risk” Congressional Republicans. At the same time, ten Democrat Senate incumbents, who had benefited from Obama’s 2012 trouncing of Romney, were potentially easy targets in states where Trump won handily.

Enter the Lemming Factor. 

It did not take long for media pundits and liberal pollsters to declare that Trump’s behavior and policies would generate a “Blue Wave” overwhelming Republicans in 2018. The prevailing wisdom was that dozens of Republican incumbents in Districts won by Hillary Clinton were going to be decimated. Easily spooked Republicans bought into this analysis. They overlooked the fact that the Republicans who won in 2016 Hillary Districts were the strongest, not the weakest going into 2018. 

Facts did not matter. On November 9, 2017, Rep. Bob Goodlatte, Chair of the House Judiciary Committee and an incumbent who consistently won re-election by over 60%, announced his retirement. Other Republican incumbents soon opted to leave. By early 2018, 26 safe Republicans, who had weathered Hillary’s best effort, had retired, creating potential for Democrat gains. Surprisingly, more than enough for Democrats to retake the House.

Republicans actually began losing the House in February 2017. Speaker Ryan and his leadership team determined their best course of action was to distance themselves from their new Republican President. 

Ryan missed the opportunity to coordinate with the Republican run Executive Branch to open and re-open investigations against Obama, Clinton, and all their minions. This could have included delivering the Comey Report on Hillary Clinton’s email abuses to a Grand Jury and inevitable indictments. Every witness who refused to testify under Obama could be forced to testify. Every document refused under Obama could be released. 

Aggressively exposing Obama/Clinton misdeeds 24/7 would have build the case for Republican government and crippled Democrat candidate recruitment and fundraising for 2018.

Ryan and his committee Chairs blew it, and paid the price. The Democrats caught their breath and rebounded from 2016. Unfortunately, starting in January 2018, House Democrats will show Republicans how total war is waged - 85 subpoenas are already being prepared. 

Trump also contributed to Congressional losses. He laid the ground work for defeat in March 2016 when his inner circle chose to ignore advice and offers for help from Reagan alumni. Trump and his team embraced Washington functionaries from Bush, Romney, and Never Trumper networks to plan and run his Presidential Transition. 

In 1981, the Reagan Transition and early White House relentlessly tracked down and removed every Carter operative and all Democrats who had careered into the bureaucracy. Every possible threat to Reagan’s revolution was marched out the door, stripped of their security clearances. By March 1981, Reagan had a clear path to greatness.

Thanks for bad, possibly malicious, advice Trump left large swaths of Obama/Clinton operatives in place, along with their security clearances and access. In the name of austerity, Trump’s slow, and in many cases nonexistent, insertion of loyalists into key Executive Branch positions left him open to being blindsided, undermined, and outmaneuvered. Chief of Staff, Reince Priebus, filled White House and Agency slots with “RINOgators” from among his Republican National Committee associates. This meant countless opportunities were lost to make Trump’s revolution a lasting operational reality beyond Executive Orders.

Trump’s final error was not declassifying, unredacting, and releasing all documents relating to the bogus Russian collusion probe. Starting months before the election, Nunes and a small band of Congressional Trump loyalists, along with conservative pundits, pleaded for Trump to release these documents. Exposing “sources and methods” was not an issue. The “Deep State” wanted to avoid embarrassment and convinced Trump to do the wrong thing. 

The documents, as characterized by Nunes and others who had actually read them, would have destroyed the Democrats, the Mueller Probe, and the liberal media. A pre-election release would have eviscerated the opposition and possibly saved the House.

The one hope America has is that House Democrats will excel at “jumping the shark” and overreach well beyond the Senate Democrats’ fraudulent attacks on Justice Kavanaugh.

Democrats’ desire for investigation not legislation will not bring down Trump. Pursuing their revenge fantasies will only prove they are not ready to rationally govern. 

November 3, 2020 will be another day of reckoning.

When Is a Narrow Victory a Victory?

[Guest Contributor - Donald G. Mutersbaugh Sr.]

I want to open this article by saying I’m very proud to be an American! I am not so comfortable with many of my fellow Americans who just don’t get it: there is one nation (under God); one flag; one national anthem; and one President. News flash: Trump won; Hillary lost; get over it.

I have to say that this post electoral period has been the most politically venomous time in my life that I have had the misfortune to experience. It has been hateful and destructive to the nation. I cannot believe the “seemingly” large number of people who would rather destroy our country than accept the results of the election. President Trump, his family, his supporters – basically anybody who is not a liberal – have been and continue to be treated terribly by the media. To the MSM there just doesn’t seem to be anything about this administration to report in a positive fashion – it’s as if they can do no good even though Mr. Trump has many, positive post inaugural accomplishments.

I get why the Democrats are in this crowd. I get why the main street media is in this crowd. But it is like they are living in a little bubble world of their own, oblivious to what’s going on outside. The media is becoming irrelevant; in fact, I believe that there is no media anymore. Fake news is everywhere, but it is being presented as news. The MSM are using gaslighting (“…a form of manipulation that seeks to sow seeds of doubt in a targeted individual or members of a group, hoping to make targets [i.e., the electorate] question their own memory, perception, and sanity. 

Using persistent denial, misdirection, contradiction, and lying, it attempts to destabilize the target and delegitimize the target's belief”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaslighting). They use muckraking to try to influence public opinion. Let me expand a little bit on this term: “In British English the term muckraker is more likely to mean a journalist (often on a tabloid newspaper) who specialises [sic] in scandal and malicious gossip about celebrities or well-known personalities and is generally used in a derogatory sense. The term is a reference to a character in John Bunyan's classic Pilgrim's Progress, ‘the Man with the Muck-rake’, who rejected salvation to focus on filth. It became popular after President Theodore Roosevelt referred to the character in a 1906 speech; Roosevelt acknowledged that ‘the men with the muck rakes are often indispensable to the well being of society; but only if they know when to stop raking the muck...’" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muckraker The last sentence (my italics) of this quote pretty much says it all!

I believe several things are true about the American people. For one thing they are tired of this hysterical, biased reporting. I believe that most people still watch and listen to the news, but they tune out or change the channel when political news, campaign ads, etc. come on because voters do not trust nor like the media. It is because we realize that these people are not journalists; they are not news people: they are opinion writers and entertainers who are competing for ratings, not accuracy and journalistic integrity. When all of their articles say: "If…"; “According to unnamed sources …”; “Supposedly...”; “Allegedly…"; “Insiders tell us…”; “Our understanding...”: how are you to believe anything is true?  Overall, there is this fact: “Americans' confidence in the media has slowly eroded from a high of 55% in 1998 and 1999 [to 40% in 2015]. Since 2007, the majority of Americans have had little or no trust in the mass media. http://www.gallup.com/poll/185927/americans-trust-media-remains-historical-low.aspx

I want to close with a couple of examples of biased reporting. Does anybody remember Montana’s special election – before the election and how important it was to the Democrats? Funny,  after the election, this is what they had to say: “Republican Greg Gianforte claimed a narrow victory [he won by roughly 7 points] in Montana’s closely watched special election for the state’s at-large congressional seat, defeating Democrat Rob Quist in a race that is likely to be mined for clues about how the voting electorate feels about the political turbulence of Donald Trump’s young presidency heading into next year’s midterm elections…. Though their candidate lost, Democrats still tried to claim a moral victory in the race… [even though there was a misdemeanor assault charge pending against Gianforte!]” https://www.yahoo.com/news/gianforte-wins-montana-special-house-election-despite-charged-assault-044756860.html 

“Republican Ron Estes defeated his Democratic rival in a high-profile special congressional election in Kansas Tuesday that had been seen as a referendum on President Donald Trump. But the narrower-than-expected outcome [Democrat James Thompson finished behind Estes by 7 points]  may worry Republicans across the country as they try to decipher how much Trump's low approval ratings might hurt his party's candidates.” http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/democrats-vs-trump/republican-wins-kansas-election-seen-trump-test-n745396

How about the upcoming special election in GA? “Ossoff [the Democratic House candidate] “…focused his campaign on a promise to ‘Make Trump Furious.’” How is that for a politician who is going to represent you? Trump’s tweet: “With eleven Republican candidates running in Georgia (on Tuesday) for Congress, a runoff will be a win [the result was a runoff]. Vote ‘R’ for lower taxes & safety!”  “http://www.euronews.com/2017/04/19/georgia-democrat-puts-donald-trump-s-popularity-to-the-test-in-congress-vote

Bottom line: I hope the MSM and Democrats continue this strategy! They continue to poke the bear (i.e., the American people) to challenge our intellect: they think we are unable to understand the media bias and misdirection – and that makes us angry! They will continue to lose national elections because of this; in fact they have only won a handful of state and local elections since the inauguration. However, they have lost two congressional elections and they are about to lose a couple more (GA and SC). I hope that all Americans continue to realize how dishonest the media is being in trying to unduly and inappropriately influence our elections instead of providing information to help us select the best candidate to represent us.

Donald G. Mutersbaugh, Sr. earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Maryland and his Master of Business Administration degree from Mary Washington College. He is the former Associate Administrator of Information Resources for the U.S House of Representatives under Speaker Newt Gingrich.

TRUMPING THE ISSUES

[Published at http://www.newsmax.com/ScotFaulkner/d-c-washington/2016/11/07/id/757502/ ]

The fundamental question of this election is do we really want Obama’s third term?  Do we really want a President who will push Obama’s agenda even further to the left?

In 2008, America was facing a terrible economic downturn.  Does anyone really believe that Obama’s trillion dollar “shovel ready” public works, gave America anything close to a real recovery?  Does anyone really think the unemployment numbers are more relevant than the record number of Americans no longer in the workforce?  Does anyone really believe that America’s anemic recovery is the new normal?  Hillary supporters are people who think they and their fellow citizens are economically better off today than 2008. Trump’s message is that America must end the regulations and taxes that have crushed its economy.

In 2008, Americans enjoyed one of the best healthcare systems in the world.  Does anyone really like their current health plan?  Do Americans like paying ever higher premiums and higher deductibles?  Are Americans ready for a completely national healthcare system like Canada or England? 

In 2008, America was the world leader.  Do Americans like the fact that Russia is challenging the U.S., and poses more of a threat, now than at any time since the USSR fell in 1991?  Are Americans willing to watch China consolidate its hegemony in Asia?  Are Americans willing to remain silent as China peels away U.S. allies, like the Philippines, while extending its reach throughout Africa and Central America?

In 2008, the Middle East was dangerous, but at least the major extremist forces were contained.  Are Americans willing to overlook Obama’s refusal to help liberal democratic forces in Iran (the Green Revolution) in 2009 in order to promote Iranian ascendancy ever since?  Are Americans passively accepting that the “Arab Spring” brought peace and freedom to the region?  Are Americans willing to applaud Hillary for her tearing apart Libya, Syria, and Iraq during her time as Secretary of State? Are Jewish Americans really willing to let Hillary continue undermining Israel, the only true democracy in the region? 

In 2016, America is facing a world that is slipping back into 17^th and 18^th Century trade wars.  The promise of a “flat earth” without policy, technology, or logistical barriers to moving goods, services, and resources has been exploited by China and other state run economies.  America is adrift in how to compete in this “back to the future” trade environment.  Americans are grappling with how to earn a living when robots at home and sweat shop labor abroad obliterate opportunities. 

In 2016, Americans are facing dual invasions that will ultimately destroy our culture and country.  One is illegal immigrants who increase crime and burden social services. The media has been highly successful in deleting “illegal” from any discussion of immigration in order to cast Trump and his supporters as racists or 19^th Century “know nothings”. The other invasion is Islamic militants who want to supplant America’s Constitutional freedoms with Sharia law. 

Finally, in 2016, Americans are fed-up with the arrogant unaccountable political elite whose only agenda is to line its own pockets and those of its cronies.  Americans want a real revolution that ends the reign of those who thumb their noses at the law. 

Trump asserts that immigration is a privilege not a right.  Those who America welcomes should be people who will enthusiastically embrace our hard won civic values and bring skills that will revitalize America’s economy.

Trump will drain Washington, DC’s swamp and usher in ethical and accountable government.

TRUMPING THE POLLS

Also published at: http://www.newsmax.com/ScotFaulkner/gore-quiniipiac-nbc-realclear/2016/10/24/id/754994/ #TRUMPING #therealgame #draintheswamp

Objective evidence is pointing to Trump winning on November 8. This may come as a big surprise to those already jockeying for Hillary Inaugural tickets.

There are major disconnects between the evidence and the polls.  Are polling companies accurate, biased, or clueless?

Most major news outlets feature national and state polls with Clinton maintaining a five point lead that is slowly shrinking.  However, the Investor’s Business Daily, Rasmussen, and LA Times tracking polls are showing Trump pulling ahead. 

All liberal, and many “Never Trump”, pundits have used these polls to declare Hillary the winner.  On its Saturday morning show, National Public Radio shifted to discussing how a Hillary White House would operate.  The media is hailing Hillary as the embodiment of 2016 as a “change” election.  Of course, the media means changing the sex of the Oval Office, not the policies.

What is real?  What is fantasy?

Polling is supposed to be a scientific sampling to achieve accurate insights predicting future results.

2016 seems to be more about fabricating samples and insights to shape future results.  Not since the Harris Poll secretly inflated Humphrey’s support to show him leading Nixon by three points just before the 1968 election has polling been this partisan.

It is all about weighting turnout.  How many registered Republicans and Democrats will vote in 2016?  Most pollsters are assuming 2016 will have the same voter turnout ratio as 2008 and 2012.  They are asserting that November 8 will witness participation by 45 percent Democrats and 36 percent Republicans, just like the two highest Democrat turnouts in recent history.  Quinnipac, Fox, Bloomberg, NBC-Wall Street Journal, and the RealClearPolitics average, all embrace this assumed Democrat dominance.

This assertion automatically gives Hillary an Obama-sized victory.  This is promoted by the “mainstream media” as their narrative is that Americans are just as enthusiastic about electing the first woman as President as they were electing the first African-American.

The facts invalidate this narrative.  This year’s primary battle saw a 35 percent increase in Republican participation, while Democrats fell by 26 percent. 

Votes are generated as much from enthusiasm as inclination.  The “fervor factor” for voter turnout manifests itself in crowds, yard signs, and social media following. 

The media is hiding the great enthusiasm gap in the way they are covering, or covering-up, the candidate rallies. Trump’s crowds have totaled 342,955 as of a week ago.  Hillary’s rallies have attracted only 13,970 during the same period. 

This is where fantasy takes flight.  The media creates the impression of equal enthusiasm with tight shots of both candidates surrounded by supporters.  The reality is that Hillary’s crowds, even for special events with former Vice President Al Gore, are counted in the 100s. Other Clinton rallies have been cancelled for lack of turnout. Trump’s crowds are counted in the tens of thousands. A keen eye sees the Clinton banner peeking-out beyond just four rows of supporters.  A sharp ear knows Clinton’s applause and shouting sound like a small crowd.  Clinton is not using the sound amplifiers that faked enthusiasm at her convention.  The media rarely pulls back to show Trump filling stadiums and field houses with zealous fans.

Clinton enthusiasm, outside of the media, is nonexistent.  One observer recently mused “how can Hillary charge $250,000 for a speech, when no one turns out for her free ones?” 

Contrast the microscopic Clinton crowds to the 100,000 people who turned out to hear Obama on October 18, 2008 in St. Louis, Missouri.  There is a definite disconnect.  If Clinton is so far ahead, where are the Obama-sized crowds?    

On social media Trump’s 10,951,235 Facebook “likes” bury Hillary’s 6,597,785.  On Youtube, Trump’s videos attract 90.8 Million to 24.9 Million views for Clinton.

Drive anywhere in non-urban America and you see thousands of Trump signs.  Many of these are in parts of states not known for Republican sympathies.  Many others are in locations that have never displayed Presidential preference - until now. 

Something very special is happening in our nation.  November 8 could shame many pundits and pollsters. 

Unfortunately, they have no shame.

TRUMPING THE DEBATES

Published at http://www.newsmax.com/Insiders/ScotFaulkner/id-376/   #trumping #therealgame

Donald Trump is the disruptor Americans have been seeking since the Reagan Era.  He is the Establishment’s worst nightmare. 

The second Presidential Debate displayed all the elements of the epic struggle between Trump and his movement versus the Clinton-Liberal-Media forces arrayed against him.

Starting in 2008, Presidential Debates have been ritualized slaughter of the Republican nominee.  Think of a Bull Fight.  The Republicans, McCain, Romney, Trump, are the bull.  The Democrats, Obama, Clinton, are the Matadors.  The ultimate destruction of the Republican is never in doubt.  Opportunities are given for the Republican/bull to charge around the arena.  This provides the audience with some suspense and builds the reputation of the Democrat/Matador as a brave fighter.

The media moderators are the Picadores.  They are mounted on their dais/horse with dazzling finery.  Their elaborate maneuvers are designed to distract the Republican/bull.  They are armed with questions/lances to wound the Republican/bull.

Once in each debate cycle there is a “town meeting format”.  This is where supposedly undecided voters ask unscripted questions of the candidates.  In fact, these forums bring in Banderilleros who plunge sharped barbed sticks into the Republican/bull to prepare for the Democrat’s/Matador’s final assault. 

The second Presidential Debate was a classic display of Banderilleros.  You had the sympathetic sounding female Muslim asking about tolerance.  You had the sympathetic sounding African-American female asking about unity.  You had the white guy asking about how to balance energy needs with the environment.  All were designed to place Trump/the bull into awkward positions while giving Hillary/the Matador maximum opportunity to pander within her comfort zone.

Trump is not your ordinary Republican/bull.  In the first debate, he fell victim to the Matador and Picadores.  He stormed and charged the Matador’s cape and was wounded by the Picadores questions.  Only because Trump was stronger than previous “bulls” did he survive to fight another day.

Unlike previous “bulls”, Trump adjusted his game plan.  He was not going to play the “Bull Fight” game under the Establishment’s rules. The second “Bull Fight” had Hillary, the Matador, conducting a preemptive wounding with the “leak” of Trump’s off-putting “hot mic” audiotape.  The Establishment’s goal was that Republicans would do what they do best, flee from the fray.  Trump was supposed to spend the forty eight hours prior to the debate in disarray with falling polls, pundit assaults, and everyone abandoning him, including his running mate and campaign team.

Trump outwitted his assailants.  The day of the debate, he called a news conference, not to withdraw, but to open his own barrage against the Clintons. For the first time in decades, a Republican unmasked the Establishment’s hypocrisy.  The media has protected Democrats, and championed counter culture, since the 1960s.  Trump embracing the women who were abused by the Clintons was a game changer.  How can the media and Hillary say every abused women should be heard, when they were the ones who silenced these women?  How could the media feign indignation over Trump’s “hot mic” comments when they defended Bill Clinton’s affairs by asserting people should  look at the public record not the private one?

Then came the debate itself.  Trump wisely did not try to shake Hillary’s hand.  He assumed she had a well-rehearsed moment of ostracism coordinated with the moderators.  Then Trump did the equivalent of the bull pulling out an Uzi and opening fire on the Bullfighters.  For most of the ninety minute debate, Trump indicted Hillary, Bill, the moderators, and the Establishment.  Trump tore off their masks.  Liberal lies and misdeeds of the last twenty years spilled into the public record.

No Republican Presidential nominee has ever assaulted the Democrats and the media with such a sustained onslaught.  Years of passivity vanished.  The bull was not going to slaughter without first taking out the Matador, the Picadores, and their fans. Chaos ensued.

Whether Trump’s high stakes gamble changes the campaign enough to win the Presidency remains to be seen.  Trump exposed the game.  Trump eviscerated the gamesmen.  For at least one amazing moment the bull won. Trump changed the game.

Why Republicans Continue to Lose

A shorter version was published at http://www.newsmax.com/ScotFaulkner/candy-crowley-establishment-Tip-ONeill/2016/10/10/id/752603/

Republicans always seem to fight the wrong battle, at the wrong time, the wrong way.  Republicans inevitably break ranks at the first sign of trouble.  Republicans shoot their wounded, even if the injury is just a sprain.

Democrats never break ranks.  Democrats will lock arms and deny, dismiss, and defend no matter what. Democrats will always rescue one of their own no matter the odds or how gravely wounded.

The “hot mic” tape of Donald Trump sounding boorish is now dominating the 2016 Presidential Campaign.  It is a safe bet that the Democrats, and their many media allies, have a Trump stockpile of embarrassing material ready to roll out in the coming weeks.

Trump and his supporters are confronting asymmetrical warfare.  His offensive words are considered more damning and any of Hillary Clinton’s misdeeds. 

The Democrats have always played dirty.  In 1980, Speaker Tip O’Neil withheld a Washington, DC police report on conservative Congressman Bob Bauman’s sexuality for eighteen months in order to release it five weeks before Election Day.  Its timing was designed for maximum damage with minimum recovery time.

Democrats want to win at all costs.  Democrats want to gain, maintain, and expand their power.  Democrats never waiver from these goals.  Democrat spokespeople coordinate their talking points and stay on message.  They will tackle anyone attempting to lift the curtain on truth.  They will destroy anyone challenging their hold on government.

The most infamous and extreme example from the Democrat’s “win at all costs” playbook is covering up Ted Kennedy’s misdeeds.  On July 18, 1969, Senator Ted Kennedy killed 28 year-old Mary Jo Kopechne in a tragic car accident on Chappaquiddick Island near Martha’s Vineyard. Liberals in politics and media suppressed the incident by ignoring Kennedy’s multiple lies and inconsistencies. Kennedy went on being a liberal icon. Media continued to dismiss and minimize Kopechne’s death, and Kennedy’s countless sexual affairs. Earlier this year, in the propaganda film about Clarence Thomas’ confirmation, Hollywood portrayed Kennedy as a defender of abused women.

The other side of the Democrat’s playbook is character assassination of Republicans.  In 2012, Mitt Romney was portrayed as a callous and clueless elitist.  Senator Reid (D-NV) bragged that he lied about Romney not paying taxes, boasting, “it worked didn’t it?  He lost!”  The facts never get in the way of a good attack.

Over the past few months, Democrats have never talked about the substance of the leaks damaging to Hillary Clinton.  In lock step, Democrats immediately attacked the veracity of the leaked material and then the leaks’ source.   By the time definitive proof was available, the media and the public had moved onto to other things.

In 2012, “bin Laden is dead and Detroit is alive” was the mantra that would defy the facts.  The Benghazi attack was drowned out with the bogus video story.  Candy Crowley did her duty by throwing a body block against Mitt Romney in the second Presidential Debate to maintain the lie.

In 2016, “America is safer and more prosperous than ever” is the Democrats' mantra.  Every terrorist attack on American soil is stifled or obscured with bogus alternative motives.  Economic reports are “cooked” or spun.  Nothing must stand in the way of Obama’s third term.

Some Republicans, and many of the conservative media, do their best to counter the Democrat onslaught.  However, they are constantly crippled by most Republicans who break and run when the first shots are fired in anger.

During Bill Clinton’s Presidency, Republicans bungled their investigation of Chinese campaign donations in exchange for trade concessions and ownership of a portion of the Port of Los Angeles.  That was true treason. 

Instead Republicans impeached Clinton on sexual issues and his countless lies. Even with overwhelming evidence, five Republicans voted “not guilty” on perjury and ten voted “not guilty” on obstruction of justice.

Republicans bungled impeachment by self-immolating over their own sexual affairs, including the resignation of Congressman Bob Livingston on the cusp of his becoming Speaker.  Republicans had hoped to shame Clinton into resigning or at least confessing.  They forgot that Democrats have no shame.

Republicans always seem to get it wrong.  They will shoot their wounded, like the current Trump conflagration, and then become hypocrites with favored members of their Washington Establishment.  Mark Sanford was welcomed into Congress after his lying to the public over being on the Appalachian Trail while he was actually with his Argentine mistress. Republicans rallied around re-electing Senator David Vitter after his prostitute scandal.  Where is the ire about them from Kelly Ayotte and Paul Ryan?

The stakes for 2016 are the greatest since the 1980 election.  A Clinton Presidency means loss of the Supreme Court for at least a generation.  A Clinton Presidency means open borders and open immigration, overwhelming America’s culture with third world entitlement and Islamic fundamentalism.  A Clinton Presidency means expansion of government spending and reach beyond even Obama’s wildest dreams.  A Clinton Presidency means American foreign policy continued disarray and continued decline in America’s ability to defend itself and its allies.  A Clinton Presidency means increasingly bolder confrontations of the West by Radical Islam, Russia, and China.

A Trump loss will tear the Republican Party apart.  Establishment and Faith-based factions will annihilate each other with “I told you so” arguments for Bush or Cruz.  Democrats will laugh as they prepare a Texas Castro brother to take the Presidency in 2024 with the slogan “time for a Hispanic!” from the same playbook that was used for “time for an African American!” and “time for a woman!”

HOW HILLARY MAY WIN

[Also published on http://www.newsmax.com/ScotFaulkner/conventions-establishment/2016/08/10/id/742929/ ]

Is our choice really between a crook and a madman?

The media is doing everything to deny and deflect issues surrounding Hillary’s sociopathic lying.  At the same time the media and the Republican Establishment are doing everything to portray Trump as a psycho itching to start World War III.

Evidence mounts that Clinton is not only corrupt, but is an inept and mediocre campaigner.  She also contorts over the internal contradiction of being Obama’s third term, while calling for change.

Why is Hillary winning?

First and foremost, she is being carried across the finish line by 95% of the national media.  The liberal media is pushing applications of hypocrisy into fantastical territory. Anything Hillary or Obama does outside the immediate news cycle is deemed “old news”.  Anything Trump did since puberty is deemed relevant. 

This hypocrisy was on full display during the National Conventions.  Grieving Republican mother Patricia Smith, whose son’s death can be linked to Hillary, was dismissed and ignored.  Grieving Democrat father Khizr Khan, whose son’s death happened twelve years ago and had nothing to do with Trump, became a media star and the main evidence for declaring Trump unfit to be President. Khan’s links to the Clintons are still drowned out by the media.

The liberal media also threw body blocks to protect Hillary and Democrats.  Imagine what the media would have done had the Republican Chairman resigned the day before the GOP Convention; Republican emails disclosed unseemly cynicism, derisive name calling of minorities, and a conspiracy to rig the system against candidates; and four top Party officials were forced to resign.  Standard operating procedure is for the media to divert attention from these real issues to fairy tales of a treasonous liaison between Trump and Russian President Putin.

The small community of conservative oriented media has tried to counter this bias.  However, they, like their Establishment Republican colleagues, have forgotten how to fight.  Friends in the conservative media privately shared stories on how the Democrats fabricated everything at the Philadelphia convention.  They documented the Democrats’ scramble for American flags, stripping hotels from thirty miles away and having to tape scraps of paper to the bases to keep track of their ownership.  They chronicled the walk out of over a thousand Sander’s supporters, the hiring of movie extras to fill seats, the thuggery and intimidation of convention security, the trashing of the small American flags after the performance, and the installation of sound generators to create enthusiasm that was not really there.  Little of this made the news.  There was little interest in probing below the surface of Hillary’s artfully crafted fraud.

As August unfolds, the media shows tightly framed shots of both Hillary and Trump rallies.  This creates a false equivalency when other photos of these same events show Hillary speaking to near empty halls and Trump attracting overflow crowds. 

The Republican Establishment has traditionally been ineffective in countering liberals.  Republicans break ranks at the first sign of trouble while Democrats lock arms to the bitter end.  If Republicans defended Nixon like the Democrats defend the Clintons, Nixon would have finished his second term.  If Democrats defended Clinton like Republicans defended Nixon, the Clinton era would have ended at the 1992 New Hampshire Primary or during any of scandals that plagued his White House tenure. 

Republican disarray is on full view this election cycle.  Their Washington-based elite are apoplectic that Trump might actually end crony capitalism and shut down their lucrative scams.  They are willing to risk Hillary packing the Supreme Court for generations to preserve their revenue stream.

Trump appeals to a spectrum of voters who are seething at the incestuous corruption permeating America’s governing elite.  The media is doing all it can to divert attention from this fundamental upheaval in the body politic.  For every Republican who defends Trump there are others conducting outright political treason.  Years of shadow boxing with Obama, and killing the Republican cause, have stripped the “Never Trumpers” of any right to invoke ideological purity.  Unfortunately, the other reason Trump’s message is being disrupted is Trump himself. 

Donald Trump built his empire and reputation in the rough and tumble world of New York City real estate development.  Trump mastered sparring with NYC tabloids. He now needs to realize that a larger audience requires different ways to promote his cause. Trump needs to ignore side issues and focus on two things: indicting Hillary/Obama and shaping a more detailed and relatable vision for “Trumpism”.

This election is ultimately about “message discipline”.  Hillary and her media allies have woven a tapestry made of “whole cloth”, which will unravel the moment anyone actually examines it.  Trump remains a scattergram tapping into deep concerns held by a majority of Americans. For Trump to overcome media bias and Republican dysfunction/disloyalty he needs to fixate on his goal – toppling the corrupt establishment. 

Trump needs to heed the words of Civil War Admiral Farragut, who seized Mobile Bay by ignoring Confederate diversionary tactics:  “Damn the torpedoes - full speed ahead!”

 

2016 Fantasy Election

[Guest Contributor - Donald G. Mutersbaugh Sr.]

This is a fascinating election! The people, the electorate, have basically forced the Establishment element of both parties to actually consider their input during this nomination process. I say that tongue-in-cheek because the people are clamoring, but the Establishment is not listening – and it is beginning to become more evident in both parties that this is true. It is a tragedy that big money has more influence over the process than the entire population of the United States of America.

It is amazing to read the myriad of articles disparaging Donald Trump. People calling him a carnival barker, a performer, hateful, loud mouthed, bigoted – the list goes on and on. The truth of the matter is that the electorate is ready to throw the nonperforming, nonresponsive, professional politicians out of office – and the Establishment is scared and crying like a bunch of babies. The main street media bears a lot of responsibility in this perception. A large majority of the population is having an adverse reaction to the continuous bias of the media who are ignoring journalism and writing opinions masquerading as journalism – and creating an atmosphere of entertainment rather than presenting real-world problems and asking for intelligent solutions. The pre-election season resembles more of a contest than an attempt to cull the nominees by setting criteria and selecting the most qualified candidate.

Poll after poll are presented in an attempt to sway people’s opinions to their candidate. People want to vote for a winner – not a loser. It makes sense except that the polls are so skewed and biased, that it is difficult – if not impossible – to really determine who’s ahead. Take this poll for example: “The study posited that voters, when interviewed by pollsters via telephone, are reluctant to admit their support for a controversial candidate whose critics have painted him as racist. In self-administered online interviews, on the other hand, they will be more likely to admit their support. And that will more likely reflect their eventual decision in the privacy of a voting booth…. Overall, the study found that Trump performs about six percentage points better in online surveys compared with those conducted by phone. In a sample of nearly 3,000 Republican voters, the Morning Consult study found that Trump garnered 38% support with online respondents, 36% with respondents who were robo-called, and 32% among live-interviewed voters.” http://finance.yahoo.com/news/theory-going-around-donald-trump-001457776.html  And this was not even an attempt to intentionally misrepresent a poll!

I labeled this article the Fantasy Election for a reason. I’m going to advance a scenario – just for the fun of it! The idea occurred to me when I read this article: “Donald Trump may have eased some Republican fears Tuesday night when he declared his intention to stay inside the party. But if their angst has been temporarily eased at the prospect of what he would do if he loses, they still face a far more troubling, and increasingly plausible, question. What happens to the party if he wins? …This is not the usual rhetoric of intraparty battles, the kind of thing that gets resolved in handshakes under the convention banners. These are stake-in-the-ground positions, strongly suggesting that a Trump nomination would create a fissure within the party as deep and indivisible as any in American political history, driven both by ideology and by questions of personal character. Indeed, it would be a fissure so deep that, if the operatives I talked with are right, Trump running as a Republican could well face a third-party run—from the Republicans themselves.” http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/12/donald-trump-2016-third-party-bid-213449  Can you fathom the arrogance of this action after all of the hoopla surrounding making Trump give a promise that he would not run as a third-party candidate? Unbelievable.

Now, let’s look at the Democratic side of the aisle. What was first thought to be a runaway nomination for Hillary Clinton now looks as if Bernie may not only catch her, but he might beat her! For example: “Did you know that there’s a Democratic presidential primary too? Sure, Hillary Clinton maintains a big lead in national polls and has all the endorsements. Sure, she’s almost certainly going to win the nomination. But if I were running the Clinton campaign, I’d still be a little nervous. Clinton’s lead in Iowa isn’t safe; Bernie Sanders could win the caucuses. And with expectations for her as high as they are, a Clinton loss in Iowa (or even an underwhelming win) would cause her campaign a lot of heartache.” http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/bernie-sanders-can-still-catch-hillary-clinton-in-iowa/

All of the aforementioned was a very small fingernail sketch so that I could present my main theme. What if, on November 8, 2016, the ballot looked like this: Republican Party: Donald Trump; Republican Party, third party candidate: Marco Rubio; Democratic Party: Hillary Clinton; Democratic Party, third-party candidate: Bernie Sanders. Assuming all of the normal constitutional processes have been met, all candidates are registered in every state, etc., what if this became the selection for the American people and what would it mean?

Almost assuredly it would go to the U. S. House of Representatives: “The Electoral College consists of 538 electors. A majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the President. Your state’s entitled allotment of electors equals the number of members in its Congressional delegation….Most states have a ‘winner-take-all’ system that awards all electors to the winning presidential candidate….After the presidential election, your governor prepares a ‘Certificate of Ascertainment’ listing all of the candidates who ran for President in your state along with the names of their respective electors. The Certificate of Ascertainment also declares the winning presidential candidate in your state and shows which electors will represent your state at the meeting of the electors in December of the election year.” http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/about.html

Now the big question: “What happens if no presidential candidate gets 270 Electoral votes? If no candidate receives a majority of Electoral votes, the House of Representatives elects the President from the 3 Presidential candidates who received the most Electoral votes. Each state delegation has one vote. The Senate would elect the Vice President from the 2 Vice Presidential candidates with the most Electoral votes. Each Senator would cast one vote for Vice President. If the House of Representatives fails to elect a President by Inauguration Day, the Vice-President Elect serves as acting President until the deadlock is resolved in the House.” http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/faq.html#no270

I have called this a Fantasy Election because Bernie Sanders will probably not run as a third-party candidate. What a shame – this could have been a very interesting race! (p.s., I won’t even discuss the possibility of a split-ticket for the vice president!)

Donald G. Mutersbaugh, Sr. earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Maryland and his Master of Business Administration degree from Mary Washington College. He is the former Associate Administrator of Information Resources for the U.S House of Representatives under Speaker Newt Gingrich.