USA 2022 MIDTERMS:”WE THE PEOPLE” DELIVER

 

PRELUDE

In 2013 following Barack Obama’s second term victory, Reince Priebus, the then head of the Republican National Committee commissioned a “Special Report” which opined  that with the changing USA demographics, the Party could no longer be predominantly white and survive. In 2016 Donald Trump hijacked the party creating the MAGA “GOP” with the objective of one way or another creating a white autocracy. 

THE MIDTERMS

The USA 2022 midterm elections are ending with the best results in ninety years for the political party who has a first term Presidential incumbent. (Obama shed sixty five House seats and Trump forty). Against all odds -  the gerrymandering, the threats to poll workers and voters, the attempts at Republican State Legislation to suppress the African American vote, the poll predictions outrageously in favor of “Republican” big majorities with all the media going along and the supposed most important issues being rampant inflation and economy outstripping all the other election priorities. The Democrats emphasized that the midterms were a referendum on democracy itself and the the lives of women. The  Democrats won out. The divined Red Wave wasn’t even a Red Drip.

Whatever they were all saying they were ignoring the two elephants in the room, President Joseph Biden and Former President Donald Trump. Their two visions were front and foremost of this midterm race. Biden’s “Democracy and women’s rights were on the ballot” turned out to the big winner and Trump’s  autocratic “Only I can save America and was robbed in 2020” the big loser. Their alter egos former President Obama and Trump’s Stephen Bannon fared second best or worst as the case .

 Not to say that this imperfect aspirational Republic is not still divided but nevertheless over sixty to forty percent prefer democracy, The divisions in the “Republican” Party run deeper and are still to play out. A key futuristic factor - Trump is down but far from out. He will systematically bring the whole “GOP” House down or attempt another coup. His historically early announcement as a candidate for the 2024 Presidential race is testimony to that. His naked agenda is to avoid legal jeopardy. That is a task seemingly impossible with the appointment of s special counsel and the Georgia State case wrapping up

However there is much behind it all and much to follow so let Jay H. Ell begin.

 POLIITICAL STRATEGIES. AND OUTCOME - DEMOCRATIC PARTY

The bottom line is that the DP’s tiny majorities under the leadership stuck together, respecting the wings of the Party, from Bernie Sanders to Joe Manchin, the eye was on the ball. Just remember how every Presidential candidate  dropped out of the Primary in 2019 when Joe Biden emerged, still behind in delegates, as the obvious winner.

There is much second guessing going on as to how the Democratic Party, (DP), in particular spent its money. However even when in USA midterm elections enough money is spent to run a moderate size country for a year there have to be choices. In 2022 seventeen billion dollars was splurged crashing a previous record in 2018 by nearly four billion dollars. The “Republicans”, “GOP”, had more than half, most coming from big donors while numerically the DP outpaced them alarmingly.  As early as June 2022 the DP lead was sixty five million versus twenty seven million of contributions of less than two hundred dollars. The conventional garbage in all the media at the time was that the DP supporters were disengaged while the “GOP” voters were gung - ho. 

The DP for the first time in history spent more money on their “ground game” than on TV adverts and other media modalities. This resulted in the DP focussing on State races with the firm objective to deny the six swing States decision making power to change the result of an election. Notably in Wisconsin they avoided a super majority in the State legislative body that could override the veto of the DP elected Governor. (Wisconsin is an example of the gerrymandering and inequity of the districts in certain States. The “GOP” with only thirty percent of the electorate are sure fire winners in six of the eight House Seats in the legislature). 

The DP gamble paid off. Every decision making election denier who could reverse a voter outcome lost. Three Governorships changed hands to the DP as well as three State legislatures. The most sensational victory being in Arizona where Trump’s biggest supporter TV anchor Kari Lane lost in a photo finish. More tellingly the State gains were in the MidWest Rust belt of Minnesota, Michigan and Pennsylvania where Presidential elections are won and lost. 

The House of Representatives and the Senate.

Of course the focus of the world was on the those that make up the central legislative bodies. House of Representatives and Senate. For the first time since 1914 the DP were the only political party in any election midterm or presidential not to lose a single member. In the process they also turned a Senate seat in crucial Pennsylvania. The House losses were kept to a minimum. The “GOP” needed five victories to wrest control and there were already eight constituencies that had been “altered" to turn Democratic held seats to a strong "GOP" bias. Furthermore there were another eight that Trump had won in a landslide that the DP were occupying. That giving the "GOP" sixteen pick ups before the race was off. The DP reduced that gain by turning six “GOP” into their column. So far with a number of results still outstanding it appears that the final tally will look like “GOP”. 213 - 222. With Democratic gains they have basically kept gains down to the redistricting.

The Future

There is tremendous positivity around what is to come. The DP are quietly talking about getting as much done as possible in the lame duck session ending on January 6 2023 when the “GOP” takes over the House. They will attempt to pass legislation on the basis of Roe versus Wade. The DP with bipartisan support have enshrined marriage rights immediately post election. The latter were threatened for extinction by Justice Thomas. (The “GOP” got one message from the electorate where in exit polls over seventy percent supported the gay rights). They are also looking to pass the debt raising limit which Kevin McCarthy the current “GOP” leader of the House has threatened to block unless Medicare, Social Security and Ukraine funding are re examined.

They also will tout the impact of the Bipartisan Infrastructure and Job Act as the bridges and roads get built while the rural areas receive broadband… What jobs are lost as a result of the Federal Reserve fight on inflation will be replaced by that endeavor. In addition drug prices can now be negotiated by Medicare, insulin has been capped, and out of pocket medical expenses for an individual will be limited to two thousand five hundred dollars. In addition Biden is able to axe Trump’s tax cuts for the rich. Notice has been served that the highly effective January 6 Committee report will be out. 

On the leadership question probably the most effective political leader of this era, Nancy Pelosi, has at the age of eighty - three stepped down as have the entire trio of House leadership  including Steny Hoyer and the remarkable Jim Clyburn. There seems to be unanimity as to who will succeed them as a younger generation who have been schooled in that self same tradition. No - one is challenging Chuck Schumer DP leader in the Senate. However if he the time is ripe he will follow suit. Likewise everyone is behind President Biden who if he doesn’t stand there are a strong bench of charismatic contenders such as Governor Gavin Newsom, Gretchen Whitmer and Josh Shapiro. The previous contenders such as the sharpest tool in the shed Pete Buttigieg have also have to be in the mix.

It is fair to say that the DP are unified and ready for all that is to come.

POLIITICAL STRATEGIES. AND OUTCOME - “REPUBLICAN PARTY.

The bottom line is that the “GOP” went into this election disunited and with several strategies and tactics with attacks on individual candidates for their stances. There were the Trump faction, which ran on election denial, those led by Senator Scott who put forward an a one page agenda and those who rated crime, inflation, economy as the top issues. Finally, the “GOP” Senate leader McConnell ran on just attacking Biden’s alleged "disastrous record" putting no agenda before the electorate.

Notwithstanding the above there was no concerted effort even by the non Trumpists to take on Trump. 

The “GOP” relied largely on individuals or Political Action Committees to back their flavor of what the Party should stand for. They ensured that they won their Primaries and therefore became the candidates in the midterms. This turned out to be disastrous as they lost State legislature seats. Where they were priorities they were inflation the economy immigration and anti a woman’s rights. 

As far as money for the State elections the gaps were filled as referred to earlier. Interestingly but not unsurprisingly those “GOP” candidates who did not support election denial fared better than those that did. The problem that the State electors were saddled with was the supposed agenda they had to defend. This included axing Social Security and Medicare, two of the holiest cows in the American safety net. The latter were being threatened by various factions claiming that it should be reviewed from immediately, every year and every five years. The result was as reflected above loss of State seats all round and every decision maker in all swing states defeated.

The House of Representatives and the Senate.

The Republicans boasted of a red wave yet they are with a slim majority in the House and outright defeat in the Senate. Their elected national representatives are as diverse as they were before the election. The House of Representatives now contains one hundred and forty odd election deniers, an increase of about ten. There is no possible way they will be able to pass any meaningful legislation in the House which would be at least show their supporters that they will carry out the issues they ran on such as inflation, crime and immigration. Interestingly there was much about the candidates being Christian and some even implying they were G - d’s will. The crisp point is they never announced any details of any issues because they have no plans apparently.

The Future

The “GOP” are hopelessly split as the blame game for the mess is on big time and the “GOP”’s future is very much tied with its present. The House says that its agenda is to investigate Biden through his son Hunter. That subject was seventieth in importance on the priorities of voters in the exit polls. Then Majorie Taylor Greene a luminary of the Trump cult is leading the charge to impeach Biden, Attorney General Garland and the like. See how much traction all that gets. Most have to answer for their support or non condemnation of Trump as the open and shut court cases proceed. They have the albatrosses around their necks of challenging the very existence of social security and medicare. They will be investigating Nancy Pelosi for the lack of security resulting in January 6 while the insurrectionists one by one get lengthy jail sentences and they will have to respond to the violence that Trump has threatened when his indictments arrive. They will continue to persist that attempted coups on Democracy are as same as the riots, “That black lives matter” following the airing of videos of the murder of George Floyd. 

As far as leadership is concerned the old are not peacefully making way for the new. There are open election fights amongst the losers. McConnell’s leadership was challenged and he won by thirty seven votes to ten with presumably three abstentions. The House leader McCarthy received one hundred and eighty eight votes with a determined right wing vote of thirty one dead against. There will be two hundred and twenty two “GOP” members at best and he needs two hundred and eighteen of them to be Speaker of the House. Here and now that can never happen. The DP two hundred and thirteen will hang tight and all they need is five other non Trumpists to elect a neutral Speaker that is not a member of the House. Or maybe they will just stick around and watch the chaos as vote after vote doesn’t reach two hundred and eighteen and the “GOP” go back into caucus after caucus.

With regard to the “GOP” nominee for President a totally lusterless Republican Governor de Santis, who has not taken a position on any significant national matter, has been touted as nominee but there are several other candidates putting their names forward. Trump still has to be favorite if the “GOP” hasn’t the discipline, which it patently hasn’t, to agree on one nominee thereby deny him winning the nomination with thirty five percent of the GOP primary vote.

THE LOSER IN MIDTERMS - TRUMP

Besides decisively losing the right to subvert the intent of voters via State elections, Phillip Wallach a Senior Fellow at the American Institute Enterprise has quantified the impact of Trump endorsement and election denying. He analyzed a hundred and fourteen races where the  margin of victory by either side was fifteen points or less ahead. The Trump endorsed candidates underperformed by five points whereas those that weren’t gained two point two above the 2020 Trump support. Wallach in his Washington Post article claims that this cost the Republicans at least five seats and a candidate such as Lauren Boebert only gaining a narrow victory. (Jay H. Ell believes that Wallach is being very conservative in his estimates). 

However just in case this creates a false impression of Trump’s overall support he overachieved by one point six basis points where the DP had next to nothing of a ground game in Trump territory. 

Trump is still very much a player although weakened. As the Mack The Knife song goes, “….and the line forms from the right dear now that loser Trumpie is still in town…..” The sell outs are in three groups, - the first, mainly the party’s intellectuals and organizers at nomination day up the 2020 election, a rush of mainly jurists, retired judges and a few politicians after January 6 coup attempt and finally the mad exiting following the 2022 midterms. From Chris Christie his chief election preparer, Pompeo and Esper his Secretaries of State and Defense respectively not to mention a slew of Governors, former members of his administration and finally his Vice President Mike Pence, who seemed to be running against himself for the “GOP” nomination all bolted for the door. Pence was so disingenuous that he could not explain why he could dismiss  Executive Privilege in his aptly titled best seller, “So help me God” BUT not under oath to the January 6 Committee. One just cannot forget Bill Bar, trump's personal Secretary of Justice who carried Trump’s water till it all hit the fan. He, McConnell and McCarthy occupy special places in hell. Then the unkindest cut of them all first daughter Ivanka and son in law Jared copped out. 

All this can be summed up by the fact that Nick Malvaney, one of his five former Chief of Staffs, claimed that Trump was the only candidate that could lose against Biden. And nobody but nobody of any “GOP” significance pitched up to his low energy candidature for Presidency At the same time all the big donors fled. The only bright spot was that Elon Musk in an attempt to save his forty - four billion ill gotten gains invited him back to Twitter which is in opposition to his, Trump’s own company, under investigation of course, “Truth Social”. But his biggest media backer Murdoch ditched him as well cutting of his national microphone.

As ongoing testimony to Trump’s negative effect look no further than Georgia.  In the midterms “GOP” Kemp, who refused to overturn the 2020 election result, beat a rising star of the DP, Stacey Adams, by eight points but Trump’s nominee for Senate, Walker lost to DP’s Warnock by a percentage point. Warnock’s first ad in the run off to follow was Trump speaking at a rally supporting Walker!

THE WINNER BY A DISTANCE - BIDEN

Biden achieved in spades what he set out to do - make this a referendum about democracy with Trump the poster child for autocracy. It was not about him but Trump and of course Trump obliged. The President spent election night congratulating winners and losers of both parties. He said democracy had worked. He declared victory didn’t even wait for all the results and cleared off to shore up the coalition for Zelensky at the same time averting World War III. He was doing what USA President’s are supposed to do. If the polls were right are his approval number of forty odd percent a true reflection of reality?

What evidence has  Biden have that democracy won. (He has plenty of support for DP initiatives as exit polls showed). The DP did not lose one case in the courts which involved unfair limitation of the franchise. The turnout was a record and early voting went unimpeded. There were no riots and revolutions by people or candidates. The overwhelming number of Trumpists conceded when they lost. The notable exception was Trump’s newest best friend Kari Lane, TV Star, and defeated “GOP” candidate for Arizona Governor. She even pitched up to Mar - a Lago to cheer him on. 

AT THE END OF THE DAY

Democracy has far from won the day conclusively. In the words of Churchill this could merely signify, “The end of the beginning”

It is a sad state of affairs but not too surprising how dependent America is on money for the their democracy.

The American electoral system is not reflecting the democracy it purports to represent.

When Trump gets indicted Jay H. Ell bets that violence won’t break out as predicted. 

The scandal ridden Supreme Court with its lowest approval rating in history better right its ship. The only way Chief Justice Roberts can have any legacy is to resign and give Biden another pick to make up from the three stolen from the Democrats.

At the end of the day there were enough individuals with integrity and the institutions stood firm. 

A new dawn is breaking. 

ILL FATED APOCALYPTIC POPULISM: FIRST RECORDED IN HEBREW BIBLE THREE MILLENIA AGO.

Populism or variations thereof are the fore runners of genocidal dictatorships. In the twentieth century, alone, between Stalin, Mao and Hitler over a hundred million people were slaughtered. However the phenomenon is a recurring scourge since time immemorial. Today in an interconnected world it has once again reared its threatening genocidal head. While there are many lesser populist lights the three that dominate and even threaten the planet’s survival are Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Donald J. Trump. The latter’s culpability is as much for the fact that he has abandoned the USA’s value system and the responsibility of being the leader of the fight against democracy. 

The urgency of the situation is highlighted by the very war that is being fought over this issue in Eastern Europe where the populist Putin has ignited a neo colonialist take over against a neighbor Ukraine in order to prevent the latter from becoming a democratic society. The USA’s leadership position may well be resolved in the midterm elections which for several reasons have assumed an extraordinary significance. An election in which Trump with his populism and post truth dominates. 

For a host of reasons, which will become evident, Jay H. Ell is returning to historical references to remind all that this threat has always existed. It is now exacerbated by the Interconectivity of the world and the threat of Armageddon from nuclear arsenals. While life survived the earlier retrogressive assaults on society the danger of extinction exists with the current crisis.

IN THE BEGINNING AND NOW

Whether or not you believe in the monotheistic religions and their texts or not, “populism's” first literary appearance was in the Hebrew Bible, (HB), also known as The Old Testament, written over three millennia ago. Populism has again taken over as the policy of several former right wing parties most of whom had originally ascribed to fiscal conservatism with varying emphasis on providing societal safety nets for those who were not wealthy. Ironically, the last rites of the death of this so called “trickle down” Conservative Reagan/Thatcherism was executed by the Capitalists in the British markets with the sensational drop in the pound following the naive former Prime Minister Truss announcement that the holy grail of Conservatism - no taxes, would be the UK’S answer to their current fiscal mess. 

Many right of center political parties world wide are adopting “populism”and post truth as the themes of the day as their monetary strategies have failed in the light of modern day challenges including pandemics, illegal immigration and a full scale war and escalating inflation. This has resulted in a growing gap between those, the one percent who are rich and the rest. The latter are racked with mistrust and anger at the establishment and yearn for "the good old days". The cynical demagogic "populists" seize on the moment which bolsters their innate authoritarian tendencies claiming they and only they can fix it.

Jay  H. Ell owes the historical insights to the late Rabbi  Jonathon Sacks who believed that the HB, has to be re interpreted constantly in terms of the times. Accepting that trust in society has broken, he made an appeal to all the religious groups and secular humanists to return to morality. Democratic society is broken. it cannot function with an unregulated market economy and the naked unchecked power of the State. There has to be trust and a societal commitment to those less fortunate than the achievers at the top end of the game. There are billionaires with more income than countries as well as companies who dictate society. But more of Sacks later.

Conventional economics too has taken a dive. Raising interest till there is unemployment to bring down inflation is simply not going to happen. In spite of the USA Federal Reserve’s punishing array of tax hikes the number of job openings is over close on eight million. With turmoil everywhere the “populists” should learn from what is going on around them and what has happened to previous populist movements that have ended in the dustbin of history. Populist autocrats are a short step away to becoming dictators.

 Frances Fukuyama the renowned political scientist predicted the end of political history in 1989 with the fall of the Berlin Wall. Liberal democracy had won out. He argued in a recent Atlantic piece that while the Democracies are experimenting with the same populism that are the staples of the dictatorships of the world, they are ignoring that the latter are experiencing unprecedented turmoil. This in spite of the fact that the protestors face draconian consequences yet find a way to register their desire for freedom. 

Antagonists of the rejection of the purveyors, “I alone can fix it” abound - just look at Russia, China and Iran which are experiencing this backlash. Meanwhile the West is flirting with populism. Italy, for example has just elected an unashamed neo fascist as leader, while America is far from giving up on Trump. Fukuyama emphasized the crucial role America plays in this regard.

This column has repeatedly focussed on the America midterm elections being of inordinate significance. The “Republicans” are running on conspiracy theories, rank populism and post truth. There is denial of the already evident ravages of the populist cult like behavior which has become the mantra of the former fiscal low regulatory "Republican" Party.

OXFORD DICTIONARY MAKES POST TRUTH WORD OF THE YEAR AND SACKS 

But back to Sacks who started in earnest in 2017 to reinterpret the HB in the current climate. His sounding of the alarm occurred when the Oxford Dictionary included the definition of post truth for the first time making it the word of the year in 2016. He referred to the earliest description in the literature of post truth in the Prophets specifically Jeremiah. (Sacks made no secret of his favoring of the leadership of the prophets, “Who spoke truth to power”).

It is not easy to become the Word of the Year. The decision is not a subjective judgement but based on extensive data and research. In the year 2016 the usage of the word increased exponentially. It was associated with politics. The definition was simple:

“Post truth is an adjective relation to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief”.

The Oxford dictionary initially associated the frequency of the word with Brexit and the 2016 USA Presidential election. Rabbi Sacks went one step further and said it did influence Brexit and probably the 2016 USA PresidentIal 

But more interesting is his alluding to a not often referred to section in the HB when Moses’s leadership was challenged by what today can be defined as a populism.

THE FIRST  LITERARY DESCRIPTION OF POPULISM.

The first serious attempt at toppling Moses transpired when the wandering Israelites learn that they would not see the Promised Land and would sojourn in the desert for forty years. There is mistrust, anger and a sense of hopelessness in the air - the ideal time for a populist to attack the establishment and create an alternative truth. Korach the leader of the populists desires power for himself. The comments are in effect Sack’s interpretation and warning of the impending threat the world is facing. He entitled this interpretation, “When Truth is sacrificed for power”.  Korach is the First Populist in literature.

Korach: You have gone too far. All of the community is holy everyone of them and the Lord is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the Lord’s people… Why do you set "yourself above the people”. KORACH DOESN’T CONCEDE THE ELECTION". THE BIG LIE In fact Karoch voted for the Lord three times at Sinai. Moses states his legitimate appointment for that time, namely G-d, but for a job he didn’t want. But to no avail.

Moses is accused of nepotism notwithstanding that he did not make the appointments. Korach comes from the tribe of Izhar and had aspirations to be Chief Priest. He is joined by surrounding tribes who also are resentful for one reason or another. The tribe of Reuben was also angry that no leadership positions had been allotted.  Sacks claims that this is nothing but a naked bid for power outside the system that the society operated. It also involves collective responsibility as other leaders and their followers join in. 

Then corruption is on the agenda to which Moses responds: “”I have not taken aa much as a donkey from them, nor have I harmed any of them. 

Then back to the past

- MAKE THE JEWS GREAT AGAIN

There has to be an alternative narrative so its back to the glorious past that never was. The populists talk about the good old days was when they lived as slaves in Egypt. Make America Great Again

Datan and Aviram two other protestors deliver the fundamental Post Truth: “It is not enough that you have brought us out of a land flowing with milk and honey, (return to the fantasy world that never was) to kill us in the desert, that you insist on lording it over us. What is more: you have not brought us to a land of flowing with milk and honey, nor given us an inheritance of field and vineyards  (It is important to note that Moses promised nothing of the sort).  Do you think that you can pull something over our eyes? We will not come up!” The gauntlet is thrown down. Will they storm the Sanctuary?

Moses response is to have the Lord swallow them into the ground to prove he is right. An approach that Sacks challenges as force resolves nothing and angers the survivors as well.

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE 

Martin Luther King was famous for repeating the quote, “The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice”. President Obama had the words embroided in a carpet in the Oval Office. He was much more sanguine about the bumpy road to equality. And so he should have been. There is little doubt on a rational level progress has been made but the attitudes and behavior of the human race in the face of fear and uncertainty have not. The prejudices are deep seated while the solutions are simplistic cruel xenophobic and even genocidal. The attempts to respond with reason, facts and truth are met with an alternative reality - it is not democracy stupid it is inflation and crime. This is a recurring theme in the short aspirational story of America which needs no repetition here. The current American saga will have to play out in the midterms where either America will take one giant step backwards for mankind or cling onto justice by the skin of their teeth.

There is another reason Jay H. Ell would like to set the record straight on the late Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks.

SACKS IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

Rabbi Sacks while lauded and honored in academic, philosophical, social scientific as well as inter religious faith groups also has been subject to criticism or outright attack within his own faith, political groups, and of course some fundamentalists. The central gist has been his failure to involve himself in Party politics specifically Israel. For the record he has consistently supported a two state solution to the current crisis and called for greater incorporation of the minority Jews in Israel as well as the Arab citizens. 

On a more global scale he genuinely reinterprets, from his frame of reference the HB. While a vigorous supporter of the free market and democracy, he believed that without morality they are meaningless. While originally recognizing the Free Market unconditionally as it created jobs and raised literally billions from poverty, he attacked the unregulated concept. He argued, that it was an excellent device for creating capital but useless at distributing it equally - Reagan and Thatcher had unleashed chaos. He quoted the financier Ray Dalio who claimed that the inequity in distribution was the greatest threat to society at the moment. Needless to say he had endless Biblical references - the widows, the orphans and the poor. 

 Jay H. Ell disagrees with many of Sack’s positions. His gneral response to good faith challenge was that the HB is a commentary on arguments with God starting when Abraham demands, “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked”. Jay H. Ell wonders what his reaction would  have been to the coalition populists Netanyahu and the racist Ben - Gvir who wants to throw Arab citizens out of Israel? 

Sacks will go down in his history for his paradigmatic changes not only interpretation of the HB, but for his general philosophy which has been articulated in many publications included his latest best seller, “Morality”. For those many skeptics who have twelve minutes to spare listen to his Ted talk on YouTube “How we can face the future without fear, together to sample his unique mind. Two years ago this column attempted to do justice to Prince Charles statement ‘That he was a light unto the nation” in an Obituary. November marks the second anniversary of Sack's passing.

AT THE END OF THE DAY

Populism never ends well. At worst there is genocide at best repression and suppression of human rights.

The response of just a few of the “Republican” Legislators to the attack on Paul Pelosi is rich bearing bearing in mind their whitewashing of the attack on the Capital on January 6 coupled with the violent rhetoric and post truth  2020 election denial. Nancy Pelosi who was the intended victim has been demonized on the election trail with more money spent on attacking her by the "Republicans" than any other "policy" matter. As for the rest they have been calling it a false flag operation 

Would Elon Musk given Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin an opportunity for free speech on Twitter?

It is interesting that the “Republican” Party who claim to be arbiter of family values and morality believe that these values don’t apply to members of their own party.

The conventional wisdom is that the midterms are trending Republican. Anyone who claims to forecast the midterms is clairvoyant. It depends on turnout as to which America survives for the moment.