Staging An Idiot?

Apparently, internal Democrat polling has shown that having K-baby Harris on the ticket is going to cost the Biden administration anywhere from 5-10% in the polls next November. That’s huge in presidential politics, and if Biden loses to say either Donald Trump or Ron DeSantis (the two frontrunners so far), then it would be logical to argue that the reason Biden lost, other than his age, is because of the Veep on the ticket.

So, what do you do? You can’t make Biden younger. Even Hillary Clinton has said that age is going to be an issue this time around. But you CAN try to make Harris more appealing. And how in the world do you take someone that has been a total trainwreck, and transform that person into someone that would be qualified to be the most powerful person in the world? Well, Biden thinks you can do it through “staging”.

Yes, staging. Like you do to your house when you’re getting ready to sell it. You bring in new furniture, redesign the living spaces, maybe paint the walls, or add new carpet. Do a total makeover. The problem is, it works when you’re talking about real estate. I’m not so sure you can take someone who has been a total buffoon and change them into someone smart in 18 months. But they are going to try.

So, K-baby Harris is going to be by Biden’s side as he campaigns. The question is, WHEN is going to campaign? Where is he going to campaign? How is he going to campaign? He’s only good for maybe 10 minutes or so before he starts talking about Pop Corn and having kids rub his legs. Or how he became the highest graduating member of his law school class, and had a free ride the whole time he was in college. This is going to be one hell of a makeover!

K-baby Harris has botched not just one or two jobs. She’s mishandled every single chore she has been given. She brought a new phrase into our lexicon. No one had ever heard of the term “word salad” before she came around, but she has the unique ability to take a word, and use it forty seven times in a sentence so that the sentence makes no sense at all. All the while smiling, and cackling like a hen that just laid the golden egg. Except the egg was fake.

Frankly I’ve learned in life people don’t change much. If you’re an incompetent boob at your job, the chances are you’re going to always be an incompetent boob, and there are plenty of them out there. If you’re a liar, you’re always going to be a liar. A tiger doesn’t change his stripes and become a zebra. So, I’m not expecting much out of this latest epiphany from Biden. K-baby Harris is always going to be someone that couldn’t achieve the second highest office in the land on her own or because of her accomplishments. She got it solely because her boss wanted a female of color and she fit that bill.

Somehow, I don’t see this working. At the end of the 18 months, Harris is still going to be a trainwreck, she’s still going to cost Biden 5-10% in the polls, and he’s still going to be an 80 something that is trying to shake hands with air. Maybe he needs to get Diane Feinstein to be his running mate? They can both shake hands with air!

Carry on world…you’re dismissed!

Knowing When It’s Time To Go

I don’t care if you are going to a dinner party, a rager, a bar-b-que, working at a job, or serving in the Congress of the United States. There is something that every person needs to know, regardless of what it is they are attending. You need to be aware of when it’s time to leave and do so on your own accord.

I have to give a little history to my thought process here. I was working in radio sales back in 1996 when Bill Clinton signed into law the Communications Act of 1996. Up until that point, you could only own seven AM radio stations, seven FM radio stations, and seven television stations. After that point, it was Katy bar the door! And that began a massive buying spree from corporate America. Before that, broadcast media just wasn’t big enough for most of the corporations out there to own.

So, it was a Tuesday morning, and I had gotten to work early because I had to do a remote broadcast from an optician’s business. The sales person was always there in case the talent needed anything or there were any problems. I got a phone call that said, “Get back to the station immediately!”, so I left.

When I arrived, I walked into our sales department, and the sales secretary was in tears. “Oh, you don’t believe what’s been happening! We’ve been taken over by another station’s owner and they are firing the sales staff. So far out of ten sales people, only one has made it. We don’t know about you…you’re supposed to go in and meet with the GM right now.

I walked in and learned I still had a job. The body bags continued to pile up that day. 34 people in all, lost their jobs in the consolidation. And I vowed as I watched my colleagues clean out their desks, that I would never fall prey to leaving that way. I would walk out on my own terms.

When I finally retired in 2011, they threw a luncheon for me (I really didn’t want anything special done). I stood up and addressed everyone and said, “I have had the honor of working with some of the greatest names in radio. I have watched as people have come and gone over the past 29 years. And today, I’m leaving because I decide to leave. Not one of you will stay here forever. My advice to you is simple. Know when the time is right for you to leave, and walk out on your own. Never be shown the door. You’ll feel much better for it.”

And so it is in the United States Senate. Diane Feinstein is 89 years old, has served 30 years in the US Senate. She has gotten to the point where her memory is shot. She can’t remember what she is voting on, where she is, where she needs to be, and her staff has to orchestrate her entire day, and keep reminding her what it is she is supposed to do. Without her staff to support her, Feinstein would sit in her wheelchair unable to do anything. Her time to leave has come and gone. She’s now at the point where everyone is calling on her to resign. That’s not a good thing. And it’s the only thing she’ll be remembered for in the long run.

The lesson to learn from Feinstein is, don’t overstay your welcome anywhere. When the time is right to leave, then gracefully bow out. You’ll be happier up the road. With Feinstein though, she probably would never remember that she left. And that’s just sad.

Carry on world…you’re dismissed!

Will It Be A Disaster?

I actually had to look this one up. I could not believe the fact that a CNN poll said that two-thirds of all Americans said it would be at the very least would be a setback, and at worst, would be a disaster if Joe Biden got reelected. That was on CNN, and Jake Tapper, in unveiling the poll, not once but twice used the word “horrible” to describe the situation the current president is in.

It’s taken me a few days to actually wrap my head around this one. We all know that Biden’s numbers are in the toilet as far as approval ratings go. Currently, a whopping 18 months before the election, Donald Trump beats Biden by 3 or 4 points depending on the poll, while Ron DeSantis is faring slightly worse and would be in a toss-up. That’s without the aid of much if any campaigning on DeSantis’ part.

When you think of a sitting president, who has announced intentions to run for a second term, and has an approval rating of only 36% you have to wonder what is going thru his head. When two-thirds of the nation says that this could be a disaster? You have to wonder why he would even consider staying in the race.

I’m not so sure he’s going to

My hunch is, Biden is going to pull an LBJ somewhere between now and the end of the year. He’s going to realize that this isn’t going to end well for him, and rather that go out with his tail between his legs and get whitewashed, he will most-likely pull out of the campaign. That would leave Democrats who already have a very short bench looking at someone, anyone really, to step in and try and compete with a Republican field that is much deeper, much more qualified, and is battle tested.

Let’s face it. No president has ever gone up for reelection with numbers as bad as Biden’s. Of course, no president up for reelection had the highest marks ever (90%) that George HW Bush had, and then lose the reelection to a virtual unknown like Bill Clinton back in 1992. But a lot can happen in a relatively short period of time in this race.

You have Donald Trump facing charges in New York over paying off Stormy Daniels for their sex romp. You have him facing three more investigations, any number of which could end up being indicted on charges, some of them felonious in nature. And you’ve got Biden looking frail, and hasn’t begun to campaign yet outside the Rose Garden. And that’s all before the Hunter Biden fallout takes hold. Most people feel that Biden is crooked, and is lying to the American people regarding how he got all of his money, and that he had never discussed Hunter’s business practices with his son. Something just isn’t adding up there.

But let’s say something happens to Trump and it’s more than a slap on the wrist. There is still a whole slew of candidates that could step up and take the lead in the GOP primary. I don’t know if you could say that with the Democrats.

The mere fact that a whopping two-thirds of the people CNN questioned mentioned that it would be a disaster to have Biden win reelection tells me that he has a very long way to go to even have a chance. Of course, I didn’t think that Biden had much of a chance of winning in 2020. Only time will tell!

Carry on world…you’re dismissed!

New Immigration Bill: Nobody Wins

You may not have heard of this one yet. But apparently, there is a new bill that would “fix” the immigration system that is being introduced in Congress. It’s a bi-partisan bill written by María Elvira Salazar (R-FL) and Veronica Escobar (D-TX), And I don’t think there are many on either side of the aisle that are clamoring about this passing.

And maybe that’s the way to get things done.

What the bill tries to do is tackle the problem of asylum, as well as what to do with the 12 million illegals currently in our country. But while the 500 page bill says it strengthens border security, it doesn’t close down the borders to the illegal hordes of people that have invaded our country. It does, however, have something in it for both sides.

The GOP is demanding that the border be secured first and foremost before anything else gets done, including redefining who is eligible for asylum in our country. They are getting some beefed up security at the border, but it really doesn’t go far enough. Democrats have wanted to start at the Biden plan which basically makes every illegal in the country a prospect for citizenship almost immediately. The bill put forth by Salazar and Escobar says that there has to be a $10,000 fine paid before anyone would be allowed to become a citizen.

The other thing that the bill does is establish campuses where people would be housed for up to 60 days while their asylum hearings are heard. Then a decision could be made, and they would either be allowed into the country as an asylum seeker, or they’d be deported.

Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans are very happy with this bill however. Democrats don’t like the fact that it is going to slow to a trickle the number of people that are allowed to cross illegally. Republicans aren’t happy with the fact that it tackles the asylum problem before anything gets done with shutting down the border to illegals altogether and making the border secure.

I’m not happy with the bill, personally, because it doesn’t go far enough. First and foremost, as you’re well aware if you read this blog with any consistency, I’m for not allowing anyone into the country just by crossing the Rio Grande, or trapsing across a desert. There needs to be something to deter that from happening. It must be secure and it must work or nothing else should happen. Second, there needs to be an asylum hearing at the border within a reasonable time before the illegal is allowed into the country. They can have the hearing in the US, and then they must go back to Mexico before the hearing decision is made. They’d stay in Mexico until the decision is reached.

I’m also not happy with the path to citizenship that the two ladies decided on. I think there should be several additional hurdles to cross. These people did not come here in the normal or legal way. That means they need to pay for their penalty, and it needs to be steep. It’s the only way that we can insure and send the message to those still in Central America that you can’t just show up at the border and expect to gain entry in our country.

I have said all along that the first thing is there should be a fine. It shouldn’t be just $10,000 though. Let’s talk about starting in the $50,000 range, and the money will be used to pay down the federal debt. Second, you must be proficient in English. Third you must have your hearing, and if allowed in, you must not a) get governmental assistance of any kind for the first 10 years, and b) you need to keep a clean criminal record. Failure to do either is an immediate deportation. You also must do community service of some kind. That could be serving in the US Army for five years, or doing some other type of community service, like sending doctors where there aren’t any currently, or teachers to inner city schools. You need to atone for the sin of crossing the border illegally. You also, during that time, must check in on a regular basis with ICE and let them know where you are and what you are doing. If you don’t, deportation awaits.

Then and only then are you able to apply for citizenship, and then and only then do you follow the same route that people that are applying for citizenship follow.

Anything else, is unacceptable.

Carry on world…you’re dismissed!

Something To Remember Today

I know I do this every year. I do it because it’s important. Not just to me, but to America. We need today. We need a day to thank the 1,185,586 men and women who have given their lives, the ultimate sacrifice, so that you and I may enjoy the freedoms that we enjoy in this country. It IS that important.

My wife and I recently traveled to Texas for our eldest granddaughter’s high school graduation. We drove through El Paso, and peered across the Rio Grande into Mexico. I can only think of the hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people that would love to be living on this side of that river. No, we didn’t see any of the illegals on our trip, we mainly got through El Paso as quickly as possible. But I wasn’t lost to the fact that people all over the world, even in the weird and troubled times our country is in right now, they still long to live here. And we all should be grateful to be given that choice by God!

I’ve told many stories over the years of people I’ve known in the military that didn’t come back from God forsaken places like Vietnam, and Afghanistan, and Iraq. Friends, neighbors, high school and college students that left the safe confines of our country and went off to do battle with the forces of evil. And they were unselfish in their sacrifice. That’s why I’m totally in favor of giving the military pretty much anything they want. That’s why I think every single service man and woman should receive free healthcare for life. Not from the VA, but from anywhere they want to go, the highest “Cadillac plan” out there. They’ve earned it.

And I know that most of us are thinking of today as a day to spend at the beach getting sun burned, having cookouts, and eating a dozen hamburgers and hot dogs. It’s a day to relax by the pool, or to go to a ballgame. It’s a day off of work for most of us. And yet, like most other holidays we celebrate in our country, we’ve seemed to have lost the true meaning of why it is you get the day off work. It’s because those 1.2 million people gave up their lives so you and I could live ours. Today is a day to remember them. It’s a day to think about those that we knew that never came home. And it’s a day to think about those that we didn’t know, for they were just as important to the cause as the ones we did.

It’s the “unofficial start of summer”, but in reality, it should be a sad day, and a happy day rolled into one. Sad because who knows what those individuals could have accomplished had they come back home. Sad because without them, we wouldn’t be as free as we are today, and I know that doesn’t necessarily seem like we’re all that free anymore. But it’s also a happy day. Because we can look at the fact that we ARE free to a greater sense of the word than most countries on this blue marble. We should be happy that there are people living among us who freely give of their time, treasure, and talents to put their lives at risk, so that we can enjoy those hot dogs and hamburgers today. For as many people that have given their lives during the course of our country’s existence, even more, 1.3 million continue today to risk their lives for us. And let’s never forget the 18 million Veterans that did indeed come home and are with us today. Let’s not forget they also sacrificed for our country. If you are among that number, I humbly and sincerely want to thank you for all you’ve given me and my family.

Today is not a day for cookouts and beaches. It’s a day to remember those we’ve lost. Let’s promise never to lose that thought. And by chance, if you happen to go to a Memorial Day parade today, or you happen to see a man or woman in uniform, or even if you know a Veteran, thank them for their service somehow. Buy their lunch, shake their hand, let them know that what they gave up for us meant something more to us than just a day in November. They are all special people. They deserve the best, and with that…

Carry on world…you’re dismissed!

Debt Ceiling Comopromise?

Apparently, there has been a deal struck between Joe Biden and House Speaker, Kevin McCarthy on the debt ceiling. And as I’ve said many times, it is something neither side is going to like, but knows they must accept to avoid the US defaulting on it’s debt on June 5th (the new date Janet Yellin said was the drop dead date).

Now the question becomes, will there be enough votes to get the bill through Congress? It contains a Biden demand that the debt ceiling last for two years, not less than one that the House bill Republicans passed. It does not set a specific spending limit to the debt ceiling, more of a timeline. It freezes, or has small cuts in spending for 2024’s budget that starts October 1st, rolling back to the 2022 budget and will only increase by 1% for the following six years according to a one-page GOP memo.

For the GOP, they got a couple of things they wanted too that Democrats will hate. The agreement increases the age in which food stamp recipients must work. Currently you must seek employment if you’re on SNAP and 49 years of age or under. That has been increased to 54 years of age. However, homeless and Veterans are exempt from the age increase. The deal does not effect spending on Medicaid, which the White House said the “MAGA Republicans” wanted to do away with (not true). And it keeps in place Biden’s student loan program (for now…until the Supreme Court releases it’s decision on the matter next month).

In the long run, is the bill good for the country? I’m wondering. I know we don’t want to default on the debt, that would be a huge catastrophe. But it seemed to me like the GOP gave much more than it got in these negotiations. Initially, the spending cuts were to total three times the amount of the debt ceiling increase. That will stay in place with little reduction next year, and will limit increases in the budget to 1% a year for a total of six years. However, according to someone that has seen the actual proposed bill, there are no “non-enforceable appropriations targets” after 2025, so even though they say the 1% increases are going to last six years, that doesn’t mean it’s written in stone.

One thing that the GOP wanted and got was a cutting of the full $80 billion in IRS additional spending over 10 years. That means that the IRS probably won’t be hiring those 57,000 additional agents to come and audit you. And the White House caved on a major energy permitting reform, making it easier for oil companies to drill for oil in this country.

McCarthy said last night that there were no new government programs added to this bill, and there were no new taxes included in it either, both of which should make the GOP folks rather happy.

Now the question becomes, will this pass muster in the House and Senate? It most assuredly will have to be a bi-partisan piece of legislation because the Freedom Caucus is already saying that it’s dead on arrival. Democrats aren’t at all happy with the fact that the spending is frozen at current levels with a slight reduction in certain non-defense programs next year, and they only get a 1% increase in 2025 (inflation will be more than that!).

I think passing the Senate will be a lot easier than passing the House, but I’m sure there will be enough Democrats that will join the non-Freedom Caucus folks and vote for it. There will be some Democrat dissention. I can imagine the Whack Job group that AOC heads up is going to most likely vote no on the deal. But this should pass the House as well, with some lubricant to various lawmakers.

McCarthy will post this today so that the members can take a look at it, and a vote will be scheduled for Wednesday. Once again, the government runs right up to the last possible moment before making something happen. I’m just surprised they didn’t kick the can down the road again…of course, you can say that they did when you look at what each side got. Spending won’t decrease, and the debt ceiling did increase.

Carry on world…you’re dismissed!

Piling On DeSantis?

The Hill wrote an interesting piece the other day on why the Republican front-runners (or at least those that have already declared their desire to be President), have been piling on Ron DeSantis rather than Donald Trump. They were rather illogical in their conclusions as to why, but I had some thoughts on this.

In fact, I’ve been thinking about this for a few weeks now.

DeSantis is getting burned by Democrats, burned by the media, burned by people like Nikki Haley, burned by Donald Trump who has been relentless over him for the past several months, calling him “Ron Desanctimonious”. It’s not a very good attempt, but you get the idea.

Here’s what’s really happening.

I think there are a couple of reasons the lower tiered candidates are jumping on the “Crush DeSantis” bandwagon. The first is that if they bring him down to their level, they have a better chance of hanging around longer. I don’t think any of them, Tim Scott, Nikki Haley or Vivek Ramaswammy or even Asa Hutchinson are able to win the nomination. It’s a two horse race right now. By eliminating one of them, it becomes clear, and these folks can then start vying for their post-election jobs in a Trump administration.

Yeah, that’s right. It’s not about those also rans winning the nomination. It’s about them getting a slot in a new Trump administration should be beat Joe Biden. Recent polling, which as I’ve said before, doesn’t mean anything this far out, shows Trump ahead and DeSantis tied with Biden. No one else was even talked about. So, they need to see if they can become Trump’s VP, or grab a cabinet position somewhere.

The media isn’t on DeSantis side, and that should tell you something. They aren’t afraid of Trump. They are afraid of DeSantis. Trump has a slew of problems coming up. He’s already been indicted by Alvin Bragg for those phony charges in paying off Stormy Daniels after a sexcapade. And, seeing how it’s going to be a New York City jury, where 85% of the participants are most likely liberal and Democrat, do you think he has a chance in hell of escaping with a Not Guilty verdict? He’s also been hit with a $5 million suit from E. Jean Carroll. She’s actually filed a second suit against him after he trashed her in his CNN Town Hall. And then there are the other investigations going on like the one in Georgia, where Trump allegedly tried to “find votes” to win the state. That one seems to be heading toward another indictment.

So, the media isn’t really scared of Trump at this point. Democrats feel that Biden beat Trump once, he could certainly do it again, especially with all of the legal troubles The Donald is facing.

And Trump himself is hitting DeSantis hard because that’s what was in his 2016 playbook. He totally dismantled every single one of the 17 people that were running for the nomination by singling them out, and riding them until the weren’t a factor any longer. That’s what he’s doing with DeSantis. The others are like gnats at a picnic. He’s not the least bit concerned about them. And, as I mentioned, they don’t want to attack Trump because it could cost them a job in his administration.

If DeSantis can slide through the next few months unscathed, and actually cut into Trump’s sizable lead in the polls, he has a better than even chance to win the nomination. If not, he’s going to be down at the bottom with the rest of the wannabees.

Carry on world…you’re dismissed!

Was It Smart To Announce On Twitter?

Ron DeSantis is already getting a heap of complaints from all sides over his decision to announce his run for president on Twitter and do it with Elon Musk. It wasn’t necessarily the fact that Musk was involved, it was more of a fact that it was on the Twitter platform that Musk owns.

It really didn’t go very well.

Instead of doing the traditional announcement with balloons, and people of all races and creeds in the background, all cheering and holding DeSantis For President signs, it was an audio-only announcement and a Q&A with Musk. And it didn’t go very well, not because DeSantis or Musk screwed up. The Twitter servers couldn’t handle the business of all of the people wanting to get on to listen to the announcement. It crashed the servers. Oops. Not what you want when you are looking at a novel way to get your message across.

So, why Twitter in the first place? I think it was done for a couple of reasons. First off, it was a slap in the face of Donald Trump, who loved to use Twitter to communicate with his minions throughout his campaign, and his presidency. He hasn’t done a lot there lately, because until Musk came along, he was banned from the site, and because he started Truth Social, and sunk a ton of money into it. So, it makes sense Trump would want to be there. The other reason DeSantis decided to go online rather than have a more traditional announcement was his disdain for the mainstream socialist media. If you’re not taking questions from leftist reporters, you don’t have to answer gotcha questions.

Overall, it was something I think DeSantis thought would be different and having Musk by his side on the announcement showed he had his backing, at least on the surface. But it harkens back to 2015 when Hillary Clinton had how many announcements that she was running for president? I think there were two but there may have been more. She did the rollout online while she and her entourage were enroute to Iowa in a van on I-80/90, stopping at a Maumee, Ohio Chipotle to get one of their “bowls”. It didn’t go over very well. Primarily because they never do. Those things always look over-rehearsed, and ridiculous. Then she decided not enough people clamored to the announcement, so she scheduled a second one. This one was on Roosevelt Island, smack dab in the middle of the East River. Not a lot of people could attend that one either, as the island was shut down to “normal people”. Only Hillary supporters were allowed to show up. It looked super-staged, and awkward…and that was something Hillary never was able to get away from.

DeSantis doesn’t need to do another announcement. I think the whole world probably was well aware that he was running for president months ago. He needs to focus on the future, not try to fix something that went wrong in the past. Politics is all about downplaying the stuff that goes wrong and accentuating the stuff that goes right. DeSantis needs to pivot from how he’s helped the state of Florida, to how he’s going to help the United States. And he needs to be specific. He needs to be friendly. He needs to be approachable. One of the knocks on him is that he isn’t a very nice person because of his treatment of some mouse in Orlando. Frankly, I don’t care if the president is a nice person or not. Donald Trump was successful in a lot of areas, and he’s far from being a “nice guy”. He’s a total ego-maniac.

But for DeSantis to win, he has to stress that he’s got all of Donald Trump’s ideas and none of the excess baggage. He isn’t under indictment anywhere. He hasn’t been sued for $5 million with another lawsuit already filed by the same lady. He doesn’t have any top secret documents hidden anywhere in his home, like Trump, Biden, or Mike Pence. But he’s got the ability to turn the country around. He needs to have another “It’s morning in America” theme, like Ronald Reagan had.

Can he do it? The jury is still out on that one, but we’re going to see if he can muster the campaign muscle to get the job done in the coming weeks. There’s some 64.5 weeks until the election. He’s got time. He just needs to watch his steps because there are a lot of landmines out there!

Carry on world…you’re dismissed!

DeSantis Is In! Now What?

Ron DeSantis made it official yesterday and threw his hat into the presidential politics ring. I think it was probably the least exciting announcement that could be made. I mean, everybody and their brother KNEW this was going to happen right? The only thing that was a little askew was the fact that he said he wanted to wait until his legislative session was over, which doesn’t end until next month. Apparently, the wait was too much for him!

So, what does that really mean for the political landscape on the GOP side? Does it mean that those that have waited this long to decide to get in (I’m looking at you, Mike Pence!) have decided to sit this one out? If so, that means we have what? six people that are going to run? That’s a far cry from the 17 or so that took it on back in 2016. And really, at this point with DeSantis just getting in, and no polls taken so far since he got in, he trails Donald Trump by 37 points according to Real Clear Politics. No one else is within 50 points of Trump.

Does that make this a two person race? And there are indeed a lot of things that could sway this one way or another. Does New York District Attorney and socialist, Alvin Bragg’s indictment of Trump have anything to do with the way the Republicans are going to vote in the primaries next year? It could chase some independents away, but it could also steal the will of waffling Trumpers, and get them mad at the left so they back him anyway.

Does it mean that DeSantis probably won’t catch Trump being down that much? Not a bit. If Trump stumbles at all, DeSantis is there, and we haven’t really seen him actively campaign yet. What’s he going to say about the issues that matter most to the GOP? What proposals regarding the terribly weak Biden economy can he bring to the table? How will he differ from Trump in the southern border issue? How far do you go in tackling crime? Do you blow up the FBI and the DOJ and start over? It seems obvious to me that Christopher Wray would be on his way out.

And does DeSantis do with those agencies what he’s doing with Disney? Disney seems like they want to fight, but when you look at it, they can’t be that healthy of a company right now. They have after all slated to can about 7,000 of their employees. They are advertising “new lower rates” at their theme parks, and I’m hearing from several places that Disney World is almost vacant right now. DeSantis certainly has to be having an impact on their company. Their stock is trading near it’s 52 week low at less than $90 a share! That’s the world’s largest media giant we’re talking about here!

So, we know Trump has an impact on society when he wants. He’s proven that, and it seems he thinks the right way a lot of the time. DeSantis also follows in those footsteps. And the media hates him as well, because they are trying to hold them down.

In the end it’s going to come down to whether Trump gets the nod for the nomination or whether DeSantis does. I think either could beat a weakened Biden, especially if the economy continues to stumble along, or if the debt ceiling debate falls apart and we end up defaulting on the debt. Even if the debt payments are made, if Socials Security or Medicare/Medicaid payments don’t go out in time, Biden is going to be the one this time to feel the blame of the American people. After all, 57% of America likes the House plan to cut spending by three times the debt limit increase. Of course, that’s not going to happen, but it’s a good starting point when over half the country wants to see a smaller government!

Carry on world…you’re dismissed!

The Race Keeps Getting Hotter!

When you look at the presidential sweepstakes race that’s just getting started, you have to ask yourself if this is going to be the nastiest, most hotly contested race of all time. I mean, I know if you go back throughout our history, you’re going to find some that probably were worse than what we’re in for, but you have to wonder. Take the election between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. It was as contentious as it could be. The two didn’t speak for years afterward.

And yet, this year’s political battles are just now starting to heat up. You’ve got the media going whole hot against Ron DeSantis, who, as of this writing hasn’t even announced his candidacy yet. But that just shows how much the media is scared of DeSantis going up against Biden. The Florida Governor is young, energetic, on top of the issues, knows where he is at all times, and I’ve never seen him trip going up a set of stairs. Biden on the other hand looks weaker by the day. I really wonder how this guy is going to play defense on what he’s done over the past two years, and how America is better for it, when he spends three days a week in his basement in Wilmington, and the other four days dodging the press.

And then you’ve got Biden’s opponents. It’s kind of like Hillary’s opponents in 2016. No, Bernie Sanders isn’t going to run. He’s finally learned that he’s going to be too old for the job. And he can pull whatever puppet strings he can with Biden. I mean, he’s been pretty successful doing it so far, right? But you’ve got Bobby Kennedy Jr., who has never been elected to any office anywhere. And he gets in and immediately jumps to 20% in the Democrat primary polls just on name recognition (even though most of the “new” Democrats weren’t even alive when his dad ran for the office!)

And then you’ve got the alien being from Venus in the form of Marianne Williamson. I swear, every time I hear this woman speak, I think she’s from another planet. She’s so far left wing, I don’t think AOC or the Whack Job five or six or however many there are these days look at all liberal standing next to her. She’s in it like Martin O’Malley was in 2016. She’s there to round out the ticket and make it look like Joe has some competition.

On the Republican side, you’ve got some quality candidates to be sure. Tim Scott is certainly qualified. He’s young (comparitively at 57), energetic, and an African American. He’s conservative as the day is long. He was appointed to the Senate to fill an unexpired term by yet another candidate, former Governor and former UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley. Then you’ve got Ron DeSantis, who hasn’t even announced as I write this, but will this week. Vivek Ramaswammy is another one that has impressed me. At 37 he’s the youngest in the field and would run circles around Biden. He’s high tech all the way and has been a CEO of a finance company. We did pretty well with business people in 2016, so why not again? Oh, and then there’s Asa Hutchinson, who has as much chance of winning the nomination as I do.

What’s interesting is not necessarily the people in the race, but the ones NOT in the race (yet). Mike Pence hasn’t decided yet. Glenn Youngkin, the Governor of Virginia has bowed out, but word is his top donors are pressuring him to reconsider, and he might. John Bolton, Chris Sununu, Chris Christie, and Kristi Noem, are all sitting on the sidelines waiting. I doubt we are going to get some 17 or 18 candidates like 2016, but there will be a handful to choose from.

And the Democrats say that they don’t want Biden to run again, while the Republicans don’t want Donald Trump to do the same. Yet, when asked that if Biden WERE the candidate, most Democrats say they’d stick with him. I guess that’s also true for Trump seeing how he has the majority of people supporting him in the primary…at least today. That can always change. But how does Biden win reelection if he can’t even get more than 65% of his own party to say they want him?

It’ll be an amazing year and a half to be sure…and yes…I’ve just ordered a 50 pound bag of popcorn from Amazon. It’ll be here in two days.

Carry on world…you’re dismissed!