Miscellaneous

The Father of the Constitution was not a demigod, and Madison made a few missteps in Philadelphia. The Convention’s failure to include a Bill of Rights almost doomed ratification by the necessary nine state conventions. But the delegates were exhausted by September of 1787. They’d been at it for four long hot months, and they were ready to head home. They ran out of gas, and declined to consider the Bill of Rights that George Mason demanded. This failure wasn’t really Madison making a mistake, it was the whole convention’s decision.

But Madison, himself, screwed up, big time, on Article 1, Section 4. It starts out fine: “The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof . . .” They should have left it there. Let each state decide on its own elections.

But Madison didn’t trust the state legislatures. During the Revolutionary War, these legislatures refused to provide the funds necessary to prosecute the war. And during the years of the Confederation they had refused to fund it, as well. So when this provision was brought up for debate on August 9th, Madison argued, at length, in favor of this additional language, ” . . .but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such regulations . . .”

So Congressmen get to write the rules about how they get elected. Are we surprised that they’ve rigged the system in favor of their own reelection?

To correct Madison’s mistake we just need to remove the language he added to Section 4, Article 1. You’d think that state legislators would be in favor of this manner of empowering themselves. If they use Article V to get this amendment, they would get to decide how Congressional elections are conducted in their own state. Members of Congress would be subject to their rules and regulation. If I’m a state legislator, I’d like that.

If he were alive today, Madison would be in favor of correcting his mistake, if I know Madison.

California Governor Newsom was losing next weeks’ recall election until he brought Trump into it. He’s running as the anti-Trump, and it’s working. The level of loathing for Trump in California is astonishing.

Trump hasn’t been in the state, and the leading Republican, Larry Elder, never mentions him. But the Democrats and their anti-recall campaign, with huge media buys, have made Trump the centerpiece of the election. He is the key to turning out the apathetic Democratic voter.

The LA Times nails it –if it’s this hard for Newson, how hard is it going to be for Democrats in swing districts? As a result, they will try to repeat the Newsom strategy. Make the 2022 election about Trump

For Democrats in ranked choice voting states, like Alaska, their senatorial candidate will probably come in third, behind liberal Murkowski and the Republican. How does Murkowski motivate Democrats to vote for her in the final round? Paint the Republican as a Trump clone, and run against Trump.

This has been her strategy from the start. This is why her supporters, heavily funded from the lower 48, put Prop. 2 on last year’s ballot. They had to do away with primaries. And they had to have ranked choice voting.

This is why Murkowski was the only Republican in the Senate, up for reelection in 2022, who voted to impeach Trump. She was showing off to Democrat voters back in Alaska.

This has never been done successfully, at least in modern times. Democrats couldn’t run against Goldwater in 1966, for instance. But then this country’s never seen any thing like Donald Trump, one of the most divisive figures in American political history.

If Trump can be used to save Newsom in California, can he save Murkowski in Alaska?

It seems like long ago, but it’s only been eleven years since the last Republican wave election. In 2010, Republicans won seven Senate seats, 63 House seats, six governorships and 20 state legislative chambers. The big issue was Obamacare, a classic case of Democratic overreach.

There was a sign of what was to come from a deep blue state — Massachusetts. In August of 2009 Sen. Ted Kennedy died, and in January of 2010 an unknown Republican, Scott Brown, was elected to replace him. It was a warning to the Democrats, but they ignored it, ramming through Obamacare two months after Brown’s shocking win.

Next month a similar warning may emerge from the bluest state of all, California. If Gov. Gavin Newsom is recalled, it will be the portent of another Republican wave election. The Senate, the House, Governorships and state legislatures will all fall to the Republicans.

Elections are decided by who shows up to vote. Republicans, generally, are angry (about a whole lot of things) and will vote in droves. Democrats, other than the radical fringe, are dispirited. They came out in force in 2020, but only because they hated Trump. He’s not on the ticket in 2022, and, if they’re smart, Republicans in close races will do all they can to distance themselves from a man half the country despises. Not from Trump’s policies, but from him.

Naturally, Gavin Newsom is trying to inject Trump into the recall election. If he succeeds, he’ll motivate enough Democrats to win. If not, he’s toast.

Keep your eyes on California. As it goes, so goes the nation. If we can win in California, we can win anywhere.

Recent events have fortified my belief that Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida is the favorite for the Presidential election of 2024. He’s holding the line against Covid hysteria, and should win reelection next year in a landslide. When serious presidential polling begins 2023 he should leading Biden/Harris by a large margin.

I don’t think the numbers for former President Trump will look nearly as good. Half the country hates him, and always will. There are just too many people in this country who would never vote for him under any circumstance. DeSantis doesn’t have that problem, and would be an effective MAGA President. The Trump agenda without the Trump baggage is the winning combination.

Trump certainly doesn’t help himself by complaining that Republicans in Congress are making a mistake by giving Biden a win with the infrastructure bill. He looks impotent, and whining. In contrast, DeSantis as Governor of the third largest state in the union, can actually do things, instead of just talking about them.

DeSantis is a smart man, and he fully understands his situation. He’s emerging as the point man in opposition to the Covid madness. I expect him to take full advantage of the situation.

The Biden/Harris years are going to be depressing, but, thankfully, I see light at the end of them.

Years ago in northern California a white couple hired a black cleaning woman, and asked her how she she would like to be addressed. She said ” bah ma ‘nitials”, or “by my initials”. They didn’t understand her, but rather than ask what she was saying they called her “Bamanishuls”, and did so for 20 years.

I can just imagine this black lady telling the story to her friends, and getting a big laugh. Crazy white folks and their curious ways.