Rallies announced for the week before the midterms

 

Source: https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/10/fire-trump-force-one-president-trump-announces-campaign-rallies-pennsylvania-ohio-iowa-florida/

President Trump announced four rallies to be held in the closing days of the 2022 campaign: Iowa on Thursday, Pennsylvania on Saturday, Florida on Sunday and an election eve rally in Ohio on Monday. It is possible more rallies will be added. Holes in the schedule suggest a Western swing on Friday to Nevada and/or Arizona might happen. Saturday, Sunday and Monday may see rallies in Wisconsin, Michigan and/or Georgia. (Note: Daylight Saving Time ends on Sunday; rallies held after Saturday will be scheduled on standard time.)

President Trump listens to Michigan Republican nominee for governor Tudor Dixon speak at a rally in Warren, MI, October 1, 2022, photo by Kristinn Taylor

Trump Force One made its post-presidency debut at last Saturday’s rally in Robstown, Texas, just in time for the end of campaign season cross-country blitz.

The rallies announced so far by Trump’s Save America PAC:

Sioux City, Iowa:

Thursday, November 3, 2022, at 7:00PM CDT

President Donald J. Trump, 45th President of the United States of America, delivers remarks in support of his unprecedented effort to advance the MAGA agenda by energizing voters and highlighting the slate of Trump Endorsed America First candidates including Governor Kim Reynolds and Senator Chuck Grassley in the Great State of Iowa.

Last election, more Iowans voted for President Trump than any other presidential candidate in modern political history. President Trump’s visit comes as 73% of Iowans say the nation is on the wrong track under Joe Biden and the Democrats.

Sioux Gateway Airport 2403 Aviation Blvd. Sioux City, IA 51111

Latrobe, Pennsylvania:

Saturday, November 5, 2022, at 7:00PM EDT

President Donald J. Trump, 45th President of the United States of America, delivers remarks in support of his unprecedented effort to advance the MAGA agenda by energizing voters and highlighting the slate of Trump Endorsed America First candidates including Doug Mastriano for Governor and Dr. Mehmet Oz for United States Senate, in a state where the President’s 2022 endorsement record is undefeated, currently 8-0.

As Biden’s approval rating plummets, Pennsylvania crime spikes, and Pennsylvanians grapple with a 74% hike in heating oil, coupled with record inflation, just weeks away from winter. The America First Movement offers the Keystone State an alternative vision for America: safe streets, cheap gas, low inflation, and a thriving American economy.

Arnold Palmer Regional Airport 148 Aviation Lane Latrobe, PA 15650

Miami, Florida:

Sunday, November 6, 2022, at 5:00PM EST

President Donald J. Trump, 45th President of the United States of America, hosts a “Get Out the Vote Rally” in support of endorsed candidate and special guest Senator Marco Rubio in Florida, where his 2022 endorsement record is currently undefeated, 19-0.

President Trump delivered a historic red wave for Florida in the 2018 midterms with his slate of endorsed candidates up and down the ballot and molded the Sunshine State into the MAGA stronghold it is today. Thanks to President Trump, Florida is no longer a purple state; it’s an America First Red State.

Miami-Dade County Fair and Exposition 10901 Coral Way Miami, FL 33165

Dayton, Ohio

Monday, November 7, 2022, at 8:00PM EST

President Donald J. Trump, 45th President of the United States of America, delivers remarks in support of his unprecedented effort to advance the MAGA agenda by energizing voters and highlighting the slate of 16-0 Trump Endorsed America First candidates including Republican Nominee for U.S. Senate, J.D. Vance in the Great State of Ohio.

In 2020, more Ohioans voted for President Trump than any other candidate in the state’s entire history. President Trump’s visit to the Dayton area comes on the heels of record-setting 40-year high inflation in the Buckeye State, where nearly 70% of all Ohioans agree the country is heading “in the wrong direction” under Joe Biden.

Wright Bros. Aero Inc. at Dayton International Airport 3700 McCauley Dr. Vandalia, OH 45377

Professionalism Deniers at Fox News

One might hope the anti-Trump partisans at Fox would be vetting the witnesses for their side with a bit more care. But that would require professionalism.

by Paul Gottfried for American Greatness

I have just listened, courtesy of Fox News, to Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson explaining “the threat to democracy” posed by “election deniers.” Benson and her host paid special attention to the MAGA crowd who still question the results of the 2020 presidential election. Fox anchors Eric Shawn and Bret Bair have often expressed annoyance that obtuse and malicious Americans are still contesting an election that, we are assured, has been thoroughly investigated and which shows no evidence of troubling irregularities. 

Although Benson is a very liberal Democrat and a confidant of Gretchen Whitmer, even she may be puzzled by the revulsion with which Shawn goes after Republican election deniers. Roger Kimball’s contention that such négationnistes are being deliberately compared to Holocaust deniers, an association that has also been attached to “vax deniers,” has become self-evident. For proof, one only has to look at how contemptuously Shawn and Bair deal with those who dispute the supposedly exemplary, hygienically pure presidential election that took place two years ago.

Unfortunately, these displays of contempt, together with the indulgent treatment accorded Benson, have not been conducive to airing certain questions—queries that would enrich this discussion. For example, why is Republican skepticism about the 2020 election more of a “threat to our democracy” than the repeated denials of unwelcome election results from leading Democrats? Did Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, or Kamala Harris threaten American democracy by contesting Donald Trump’s electoral victory in 2016? What about Democratic challenges to Republican victories in 2000 and 2004? Are Stacey Abrams and her defenders in the Democratic Party trampling on democracy by continuing to deny that she lost to Brian Kemp in the Georgia gubernatorial race in 2018? 

Why are these denials less menacing than when Republicans continue to ask questions about the 2020 presidential election? Perhaps Eric Shawn would like to put this question to Jocelyn Benson, although I won’t hold my breath until he does.

Shawn has also created the impression that the major area of suspicion about the 2020 election has been an unreasonable obsession with absentee voting and the use of drop boxes for depositing ballots. Why exactly is such questioning unreasonable? We certainly have seen evidence that mules were used to deposit votes; and ballots were sent to addresses without checking if registered voters were still living there. Whether or not such improprieties determined the election’s outcome remains an open question, but that they were committed seems indisputable. Even more critical was the rigging that went on behind the scenes, which Mollie Hemingway, Julie Kelly, and others have documented. Silicon Valley, the deep state, the FBI, and even the Chamber of Commerce ensured that Biden would win the presidential race, no matter what tricks had to be pulled to achieve that end.

Finally, one has to blink one’s eyes in wonder that the Michigan secretary of state should be interviewed as an objective source of truth about the last presidential race. This is a bit like asking Al Sharpton or Maxine Waters about what we can do to heal race relations in the United States. Benson was sued by the state Republican Party, in one case quite successfully, for not keeping honest voting rolls in her state. In several counties, there were more names on those rolls than the number of eligible voters; and it was suspected that these non-eligible voters were being enlisted to cast votes for Benson’s party. Although Benson stresses her devotion to voting integrity, I can’t find evidence that she supports even such a basic test of integrity as voter identification.

In March 2021, Judge Charles Murray of the First Michigan District Court of Appeals ruled against Benson for instructing Michigan clerks to register absentee votes without checking them against the state database. Perhaps the next time Fox anchors decide to invite the Michigan secretary of state to slam Republicans who question the integrity of elections in Democratic states, they might ask her about the charges she has had to face. It has also been revealed that Michigan, thanks to Benson, took the largest sum of money of any state from Mark Zuckerberg to set up absentee ballot stations. What exactly was the connection between Benson and Zuckerberg’s Center for Tech and Civic Life? One would have to be a fool or an NPR junkie (assuming there’s a difference) to think Zuckerberg and Benson were cooperating out of a sense of civic patriotism. Far more likely, they were collaborating to make sure Biden won Michigan, even if that required setting up special election arrangements.

Please note that I am less concerned here with Benson’s political games than I am with the anti-Trump zealots on Fox News. One might hope these partisans would be vetting the witnesses for their side with a bit more care. But perhaps I’m asking for too much professionalism. 

X22, And we Know, and more- Oct 26

 

Meh day. Here's tonight's news:

No, Affirmative Action In The Military Doesn’t Boost National Security, It Erodes It

Warfighters deserve the best-qualified leaders available, 

regardless of race. Providing them is a 

moral and national security imperative.

by Gen. Ronald R. Fogleman & Claude M. McQuarrie III for The Federalist

The Supreme Court will soon consider Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard/UNC. The court’s decision will determine whether our military’s future leadership will consist of the “best-qualified” individuals instead of simply those “qualified” as defined by an ever-moving standard meant to accommodate political and cultural goals. 

Affirmative action, in the form of racial preferences, pervades today’s military despite federal law that, if enforced, would prevent it. Section 601 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits racial “discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”  Racial preferences in the military also violate our Constitution’s Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause.  

Department of Defense (DOD) surrogates speciously have argued to the Supreme Court that the DOD’s use of racial preferences in service academy admissions is “mission critical” and “indispensable to” national security. That strategy was contrived only because of the legal framework courts must use when examining practices that violate the Constitution. Evidence must clearly prove a “compelling state interest” sufficiently strong to justify the drastic measure of suspending the constitutional provision that prohibits such practices.

DOD’s surrogates made their preferences-are-essential-to-national-security argument first in 2003 in Grutter v. Bollinger. Unrebutted, that far-fetched claim misled the Grutter majority into a falsely predicated, 5-4 decision authorizing the limited, narrowly tailored use of racial preferences in college admissions for the sole purpose of gaining the “educational benefits of diversity.” The DOD thereby gained some of the judicial cover it sought for its racial preferences practices in service academy admissions.  

Veterans for Fairness and Merit (VFM), an organization that has 627 members, 21 Medal of Honor recipients, 45 POWs, 119 general officers (12 four-stars and 25 three-stars), with 934 combat tours, 476 combat leader positions held, and more than 900 combat valor awards to its name, filed an amicus brief in Harvard/UNC to correct the record based on their first-hand experiences.

Our military most assuredly can defend America without resorting to extra-constitutional practices that require suspension of the Equal Protection Clause and Section 601. To claim otherwise is disingenuous. Officer-enlisted racial demographic parity – if that’s what DOD surrogates’ term “critical officer diversity” means – is unnecessary for our military to be combat-effective.

Our warfighters respond to their leaders regardless of race. Sub-group identities are inconsequential to the selfless servant, “colorblind” warrior. Mission accomplishment, however, requires the best-qualified leaders.

DOD’s race preference practices far exceed the limited use Grutter envisioned. At West Point,     to fulfill “class composition goals,” marginally qualified applicants are admitted, displacing better-qualified Asian and White applicants. Substantial differences in attrition/graduation rates and performance measures predictably result. Because of this, our warfighters are denied the “best-qualified” officers.

DOD’s brazen use of preferences to pursue parity is “racial balancing,” a practice the court has repeatedly held “patently unconstitutional,” regardless of the “diversity” label.

Like VFM (which condemns all forms of racism), a substantial majority of Americans oppose the use of racial preferences in college admissions. Pew Research found that 74 percent of Americans, including 59 percent of blacks, polled in March 2022 agree that race should not be used in college admissions.

DOD further dilutes quality by using racial preferences in some assignment and promotion activities. DOD denials notwithstanding, these practices weaken merit and, over time, reduce leader quality, erode morale, undermine unit cohesion, and compromise combat effectiveness.  

Preferences also demean high-performing minorities, whose self-esteem demands confidence that the recognition they receive is earned, not bestowed in pursuit of social justice. In an affirmative action environment, they are also deprived of the presumption of competence that should accompany selection: Their peers and subordinates don’t know whether a promotion was earned or the result of preferences.

Unity in our pluralistic society has been our strength. What unites us, most fundamentally, is our Constitution, the “rule book” that citizens and officers alike agree to follow. Losing that focus, and eroding military leader quality, would invite our potential adversaries to calculate that we can be defeated, increasing the risk of being drawn into conflict. We do so at great peril.

Warfighters deserve the best-qualified leaders available, regardless of race, always. Providing them is a moral and national security imperative.

DOD’s disingenuous claim that racial preferences are essential to national security and its costly failures always to choose “best qualified” leaders violate the American people’s trust. We can do better. Following the Constitution and Section 601’s plain wording would be the right place to start.

Democrats Cling to Their New Election Cope, but the Red Flags Grow More Plentiful

Bonchie reporting for RedState 

As we headed into mid-October, I sent out a warning to conservatives, telling them that the preferred cope of the left was about to change. After months of poll watching and suggestions that Democrats were resurgent, the generic ballot had finally settled in exactly where most expected it to, showing a modest Republican lead.

That meant that a new cope had to be instituted, and the early voting season has provided it. If you pay attention to leftwing election bro Twitter, you’d be under the impression that Democrats are killing it with early voting, pointing to an overperformance come November 8th.

Of course, as I’ve explained, early voting data is highly dubious given its record of not being predictive and the fact we have no idea who has actually voted for who. The entire point of projecting a change in power is the idea that persuadable voters could be persuaded. You can’t simply tally up “Republican” and “Democrat” ballots and come to any reasonable conclusion, never mind that early voting trends (i.e. how much each party utilizes it) vary wildly by cycle.

By comparison, some of us have been consistent all year about how this election is going to go, not because we have some secret insight, but because we are grounded enough to not dismiss the fundamentals that are staring everyone in the face. It has been clear for a long time that this was going to be a tough environment for Democrats. They are not only facing historical headwinds in dealing with a first mid-term for a new president, but the kitchen table issues are also not in their favor. Shouting about abortion was never going to be enough.

With that said, more red flags are emerging in the final stretch, and if you want an idea of how bad things are going for the Democrats, pay attention to those who are throwing millions of dollars around to influence the vote. It’s easy to make posts on social media pumping out the hopium. It’s a different thing when decisions are being made about how to spend large amounts of cash.

Case in point, Democrats are abandoning a heavily blue district in Oregon in an attempt to save an even bluer district in Oregon.

That is not something a party that is contending for the House majority does. If there was any chance of Nancy Pelosi remaining Speaker of the House, both of those Oregon districts would be safe. That they aren’t safe tells us a lot about the electoral environment Democrats are facing as voters are already heading to the polls. Not the electoral environment being spun by pollsters and election analysts to generate clicks and likes, but how things are actually going on the ground.

On a broader level, projections of a larger GOP majority are entering the chat as well, another thing some of us said would happen. These pollsters and analysts all try to tailor their results closer to reality in the final weeks because they don’t want to be accused of being non-credible. Never mind that they spewed misleading trash all summer, but I digress.

Fox News has now shifted its model to show a 230+ seat majority for the GOP. And to be clear, Fox News has consistently been one of the most friendly pollsters to the Democrats all cycle, showing a threadbare GOP majority until recently.

Still, some are going to keep obsessing over early voting returns from Clark County and mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania. Perhaps we’ll see some surprises on the margins, but the overall fundamentals remain the same and have never changed this entire cycle. The Republican Party is in the driver’s seat, and you can get ready for a GOP majority in January.

Arizona Governor Candidate Kari Lake Responds to Hypothetical Threat of NFL Superbowl Boycott for Securing the Border

During an Arizona media gubernatorial Q&A with Republican candidate Kari Lake, the pundit asked Mrs. Lake about hypothetical backlash from the NFL toward her campaign promise to secure the border.

The continually impressive Kari Lake handled the question forthrightly. WATCH:

The full question and answer session is below.

A Constitutional Crisis Is Brewing in Pennsylvania Over Mail-In Ballots

Bonchie reporting for RedState 

With just two weeks left before the mid-terms, Pennsylvania has become ground zero, with perhaps the most hotly contested and important US senate race in the nation occurring. But while both sides are eagerly attempting to garner as many votes as possible, a major constitutional crisis is brewing that almost no one is talking about.

As RedState previously reported, the Supreme Court vacated a state court decision requiring Pennsylvania to count un-dated mail-in ballots. The plain letter of the law requires that a mail-in ballot must be filled, signed, and dated in order to be counted. Despite that, Democrat state officials have pledged to defy the law, giving guidance to counties that they not only should un-dated ballots be counted, but they aren’t even required to be sequestered pending further legal action.

Their reasoning? That voters shouldn’t be disenfranchised based on a “technical violation.”

These ballots have been subject to years of litigation in Pennsylvania — much of it highly partisan. Republicans officials and politicians have generally argued that undated mail ballots do not comply with state law and should be thrown out. Democrats have countered that a minor technical violation should not disenfranchise a voter, and pushed for the ballots to be counted. Democratic voters have been more likely to vote by mail in recent years.

Who gets to decide what “technical violations” can be ignored? That would seem to be a dangerous road to go down in regards to simply shunning the law based on an arbitrary judgment by a partisan state official. Pennsylvania’s mail-in voting law isn’t ambiguous. It pointedly says that ballots must be dated to be counted.

It’s incredibly revealing (and somewhat shocking) that Democrats in the state don’t even try to pretend they have a real legal case. Instead, they simply claim that a technical violation of the law shouldn’t matter, which is an emotional argument if anything.

They make their claim by suggesting the existence of a legal gray area based on a non-binding ruling delivered by a single judge.

Joshua Voss, an attorney who frequently argues election cases on Republicans’ behalf, said he thinks Chapman’s new guidance is legally shaky.

Chapman’s guidance is based on May Commonwealth Court decisions made by a Republican judge. But the rulings are unpublished, meaning they are considered “persuasive” but not binding. This means that while courts can refer to these decisions in future mail ballot cases, they don’t have to.

The Wolf administration basing guidance on an “unpublished single-judge opinion,” Voss said, is “a remarkable position.”

That’s led to Republicans filing yet another lawsuit in an attempt to see the law enforced while counties splinter in different directions. Right now, five counties have voluntarily decided to separate off the un-dated ballots, though they will still be counted on election night so as to not defy the state’s guidance.

Ask yourself this, though. What happens when Republicans win the lawsuit and Pennsylvania’s defiance of the Supreme Court is struck down? With so many counties, including the bluest ones, having already counted and destroyed the un-dated ballots, there will be no way to right whatever wrongs occurred. That’s going to set off a firestorm of discussion over whether the election was stolen, assuming Democrats end up victorious, and that discussion would be completely justified.

On the other hand, what if Republicans win the night? Do they continue to push the ballot issue, running the risk of reversing their gains if those ballots actually helped them over the finish line? It’s an interesting question, and I bet the GOP itself doesn’t have an answer yet as to how it would handle such a situation.

Regardless, these are not issues that should exist. It is disturbing that Democrat officials in Pennsylvania would so brazenly violate the law, essentially trying to run out the clock on the court system. If un-dated ballots end up being counted and the election is close on November 8th, the nation will be staring at a constitutional crisis. The courts must step in and put a stop to this before things get any further.

Bidenomics – Home Values Continue Dropping Quickly, Especially on West Coast – Meanwhile Rents Continue Increasing

Sundance reporting for Conservative Treehouse 

As inflation bites the working-class hard, U.S. household savings rates continue dropping fast.  When combined with drops in home values the loss in home equity compounds the issue.  American families are getting poorer much more quickly under Joe Biden’s economic policies.

According to the Wall Street Journal home values dropped in August at their highest monthly rate of decrease since 2011 {link}.  In part this is driven by higher mortgage rates which are pricing home buyers out of the market.  However, the regional impact is worse on the west coast than east or southeast.

[…] The housing market has slowed abruptly this year due to a rapid increase in mortgage rates, which has raised borrowing costs for home buyers and pushed many prospective buyers out of the market. Existing-home sales fell for eight straight months through September. (link)

As noted in The Daily Mail review of a similar analysis: “It’s Northern California that leads the way, with San Jose experiencing a drop of 10.8 percent since September, followed by San Francisco at 8.5 percent, then it’s Seattle at 8.2 percent, Denver at 5.8 percent, San Diego 5.2 percent, Portland 5.1 percent, Las Vegas 4.8 percent and Phoenix at 4.4 percent.” (link)

What we are seeing is a confluence of events, generally brought about by the outcomes of larger Biden administration policy.  Massive increases in energy costs are the result of energy policy; those increases are fueling inflation from the supply side on food, fuel, electricity, home heating etc.  Simultaneously, Fed monetary policy is driving consumer demand down.  The recession debate continues amid the economic think-tanks while Main Street outcomes show we have been in a recessionary period all year.

The majority of consumers have stopped purchasing nonessential goods and services. As a result, the only thing holding the economy together is employment.  Sooner or later, as the natural lags in the economy bite down, the lack of consumer spending (noted in increased inventories) is going to result in lay-offs and unemployment.  It’s almost a guarantee at this point once the boxcar impact of the prior supply chain shortages straightens out.

The third wave of food price increases is now here, and we are all likely starting to see those price increases in retail food stores.  Depending on how much higher energy prices go this winter (gasoline, natural gas, home heating oil etc.) the middle class will again be making tough checkbook decisions on spending.

On a MACRO level (nationwide averages) I would not be surprised to see home prices drop to where they were in the beginning of the second quarter of 2021.  Home sales have dropped quickly, and home inventories are now climbing.  Home buyers are now in the position to negotiate for much lower prices as fewer home buyers are in the market.

If you did not purchase a home in the past year, you likely have stable equity.  Depending on region, those who did purchase a home this year will have to wait quite a while before the price level returns.  Meanwhile rents continue increasing as middle-class workers are stuck between diminishing real wages (Biden inflation) and higher home borrowing costs (Biden monetary policy).

Infuriating MSNBC Panel Calls Americans 'Nazis' - for Caring About Crushing Inflation

Nick Arama reporting for RedState 

Democrats and their fellow travelers are getting truly desperate at this point, with all the polls and the momentum pointing to a GOP win of the House in the midterms–and likely, the Senate as well. That’s even before any mention of them losing a host of other seats across the country.

So, what have they been doing? Resorting to claiming that Republicans are a “threat to democracy.” They’re bordering on hysterical at this point. We wrote earlier about Hillary Clinton’s crazy rant on the subject–that was fact-free and attacked the Constitution by going after the Electoral College. Then, there was this little piece of contradictory lunacy from “conservative” Max Boot.

“If the current trends hold up, Republicans are likely to take over at least the House and quite possibly the Senate, too, along with many state offices,” Boot frets. “This is how democracies die, both at home and abroad.”

Wait, I’m confused. A democratic vote is how “democracies die”? Translation: Anything that means Democrats can’t hold onto power equals a “threat to democracy.” Who’s the “fascist” here?

Chris Rufo and Elon Musk thought Boot’s take was hilarious.

Voting to kick out the people we think have failed us is the very essence of “democracy” and our Constitutional Republic.

But as nutty as those takes from Boot and Clinton were, the crown for the nutty take may just go to former Bush-Cheney Republican strategist–now a Democrat shill–Matthew Dowd. Why are the worst ones the establishment’s former Republican hacks? Dowd decided to see if he could combine the talking points with inflation, the top issue about which Americans are concerned. Add in MSNBC Joy Reid talking about Republicans being fascists, and it did not go well.

“I’m not going to say that the GOP are Nazis … but it certainly sounds very familiar to what happened in Germany, which is a bunch of citizens, Adolf Hitler gets a third of the vote … they went along because he said he would solve the economy & fix inflation.” The stupidity of this is hard to fathom, but there was Reid just nodding furiously in response. So, MSNBC is countenancing this attack on Americans.

First, Dowd breaks Godwin’s Rule — never compare anything to Hitler or Nazis, because you always end up looking like a fool. ‘I’m not saying they’re Nazis, I’m just saying they’re Nazis’ is such a boring take, at this point.

How are Republicans “Nazis”? Because they care about the economy and inflation like most of America? How silly do you look when you make arguments like this, that voting to stop inflation is being a Nazi? Hitler drank water, so if you drink water, you’re a Nazi too! But Americans are tired of this nonsense–when Democrats don’t care about the issues they care about, but instead push this divisive malarkey.

Is Dowd saying Democrats don’t care about the economy and inflation with this? Because if you care, you’re a Nazi. Biden passed the “Inflation Reduction Act.” So, does that mean he’s a Nazi? Or does he get a bye, because it was a lie and doesn’t truly reduce inflation?

On top of all that, Dowd is wrong historically as well, since Germany’s hyperinflation had been addressed by the time Hitler came to power; they were dealing more with depression at that point.

The Democrats can’t run on their wretched record, so all they can do is push division. This is what they think of you. But Americans have had enough of it.