Frustration vs. Momentum – Top 3 Takeaways – May 19th, 2023
- Momentum. As we wrap up this week my top takeaway today could just as easily be frustration I suppose. Frustration because The Durham Report dropped which confirmed that Trump was right and that federal government agencies are corrupt – to which the FBI even agreed and yet nothing. As in no accountability for any of the bad actors. Frustration as in the IRS acknowledging that the Biden Department of Justice ordered the Hunter Biden investigative team, including the whistleblower, off the Hunter Biden investigation in what is as obvious a case of institutionalized federal corruption as there could be. Frustration because as we learned from the House Judiciary Committee and Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government yesterday – FBI whistleblowers outing the politicization of the institution (which again, even the FBI itself admitted to in the case of the Durham Report earlier this week) testified to having had their security clearances revoked and having been reassigned since at least some time last year. And for that matter frustration that the soonest we even have a chance of trying to do something about it is a year and a half away. There’s no doubt that the window of time we live in is frustrating for those who believe in this country, who love this country and who want to restore this country’s integrity. But as frustrating as it all is... It is, after all, the government people asked for, as ignorant as that and their votes may have been. The bigger issue over the longer term isn’t the extent to which the Biden Administration is corrupt – which is being evidenced as considerable. The bigger issue is enough Americans waking up to the realization that they’re being used by the corrupt actors within the government that they voted for. And that’s where there’s momentum. President Biden’s poor approval ratings, most recently at 38%, are somewhat regularly discussed and are generally known. That’s a good place to start. The first step in the personal recovery process is the acknowledgement by Biden’s voters that they were wrong. But where there’s currently momentum within the bigger picture. And it’s within that bigger picture that if you’re ready for a meaningful political change in this country there’s...
- Reason for optimism. Here’s a date for you: February 6th of 2005. What’s that seemingly random date? The last time there were more Americans who identified as or at least leaned towards Republicans as there are today. Something I keep tabs on, and occasionally report on when there’s a storyline, is Gallup’s monthly Party ID tracker. Gallup has kept tabs monthly on the political preferences of Americans for 32 years providing regular insight into the overall political leanings of the country. Most often over the course of the 3+ decades they’ve been doing this, Democrats have held an advantage. For that reason, anytime Republicans gain an edge – it's a potentially interesting development. But most recently, it’s not just a Republican edge that we’re seeing. In Gallup’s most recent sampling we’re seeing the largest Republican advantage in political leanings, eight points over Democrats, that we’ve seen since February 6th of 2005, or the third week of George W. Bush’s second term. Not even during the Tea Party lead wave of 2010, or Trump’s win in 2016, did we see margins as large as these with leaners factored in. Because we’re not in the midst of an election cycle there’s not a focus on this sort of thing, however it’s there and it’s been growing over the past three months. Three months ago, Democrats held an identification advantage of 3-points over Republicans. Two months ago, there was parity in party ID. Last month Republicans gained the eight-point advantage. Will it continue to grow? I don’t know. But what I do know based on this data is that there’s a growing, and historically rare, silent majority that’s fed up with the left and that is opting to break right. The last time Republicans held an ID advantage as strong as it is today there was a two-term Republican President with a Republican Congressional majority. Election Day is a long way away, but you’re far from the only person frustrated by our corrupt federal government. Most Americans are now with you. And that, more than any single politician, is the key to fixing the systemic issues and easing the frustrations. And speaking of momentum...
- Does DeSantis have it? The funniest thing about the national news media deciding all at once yesterday that Ron DeSantis is running for president next week, is that it was already a given, but one that they just figured out. On Tuesday, in my Top 3 Takeaways, I brought you this: Fresh off his not-so-random weekend in Iowa, Governor DeSantis’ campaign staffers on Monday began to settle into a new office in downtown Tallahassee that either indicates they were bored and wanted to hang out together in some new digs, or that Governor DeSantis will officially announce his presidential bid within the next two weeks. How do we know it’ll be within the next two weeks? Under federal election law, any campaign expense of $5,000 or more must be disclosed to the Federal Election Commission within 15 days. It’s safe to say opening a new downtown Tallahassee office replete with campaign staffers will top that. So, the official use of funds and the official purpose for the new office and the campaign staff will soon be disclosed. Which means that our governor’s intent to run for President will soon officially be disclosed. And given the constraints of the reporting window what was DeSantis going to do, announce he’s running for President on Memorial Day? Of course, he was going to announce it next week. The fact of the matter was and is that he’s still not received Florida’s new Election’s bill from the Legislature. A bill which he needs to first sign in order to run without having to resign. And as for whether DeSantis has momentum? We’ll soon begin to find out. That said, my inclination is yes. I think it began last weekend in Iowa.