National Republicans
Blue Moon Elections: Who Votes
Two years ago, just before the election, when early voting started, a surprising trend appeared out of thin air. Fewer African-American Democrats were voting than had voted in the 2012 Presidential election. And the impact was profound. Before the 2016 election polls showed Richard Burr running even with, or a couple points ahead of, Democrat…
Read MoreMcCain and Trump
Both were part of the Vietnam generation. One served; the other didn’t. One was shot down over North Vietnam, imprisoned for over five years and tortured so brutally he couldn’t even comb his hair. The other had five draft deferments and bone spurs. And spends a lot of time combing his hair. One dedicated his…
Read MoreBlue Moon
The first time I ever laid eyes on a ‘blue-moon’ election was thirty-six years ago, after Ronald Reagan was elected. What’s a blue moon election? It’s the first election after a new President takes office, when there’s not a Senator or Governor on the ballot running statewide. Back in 1982, Jesse Helms’ political organization had…
Read MoreDon’t impeach!
Democrats: Don’t impeach Trump. Don’t talk about it. Don’t even think about it. Think this through. We want every Republican officeholder and candidate to spend every day of the next 27 months, all the way through Election Day 2020, defending, rationalizing, apologizing for, agonizing over and tiptoeing around Trump. When a Democrat in Congress gets…
Read MoreIt’s not about Trump, stupid
“It’s the economy, stupid.” (Sign in the 1992 Clinton war room.) For Trump, it’s always about Trump. For his acolytes, it’s all about Trump. For Steve Bannon, 2018 is all about Trump (so he can get back into the game, the news and the money). Democrats, don’t take the bait. Voters, real people, have strong…
Read MoreDogging Trump
A reader offers this suggestion: If I were a Democratic pundit I would, henceforth, refer to our President as “Putin’s Poodle.” In the first place, it’s true. He respects and trusts Dictator Putin more than he respects and trusts American intelligence services. In the second place, Trump can sure dish it out. You remember —…
Read MoreTrump’s character counts
Elections are usually about issues. But sometimes character overwhelms issues. Like with Trump. The Gallup Poll asked: “Thinking about Donald Trump as a person, do you have a positive or negative opinion of him?” Only 36 percent of voters – just over one in three – said positive; 55 percent said negative. Among Independents, only…
Read MoreLies
The ABC News reporter asked Steve Bannon if Trump ever lied and Bannon said ‘never’ then the reporter asked, Never? and Bannon quipped, “Except when he called me Sloppy Steve.” Politicians telling tall-tales is an old story but, like insults and boasting, in days past lying was a taboo – Democrats, Republicans, Liberals, Conservatives all…
Read MoreBoasting
The same way people once frowned on insults and name calling, there was a time in our country when people frowned on bragging. Ronald Reagan never bragged about winning the Cold War and Obama didn’t boast about how many times he’d been on the cover of Time magazine. But those days are past. A reporter…
Read MoreRepublicans we love
Trump has accomplished one thing. He’s made Democrats love Republicans we used to loathe. Remember demonic warmonger George W. Bush? Now he’s lovable, artistic George, a goofy but compassionate conservative. George H.W.? A veritable statesman. John McCain, the hateful Palin-picker from 2008? A true American hero. Mitt Romney, the 47 percenter from 2012? A fine…
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