End Of Day - 11/8/2023 - A Disappointing Night, The Leftist Narrative, Debate Night

Wednesday, November 8, 2023
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary Bauer

A Disappointing Night

Last night was another disappointing election night. Looking at the results from a macro level, you can make the argument that it was essentially a “status quo election.” Very little changed.

Incumbent governors won in Kentucky and Mississippi, one Democrat and one Republican. Democrats won the election for an open seat on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, so the liberal majority there remains unchanged.

In Rhode Island, there was a special election for a Democrat-held congressional seat. No one expected the Republican to win, and he didn’t.

Nevertheless, the disappointments were huge, including in my home state of Kentucky.

Kentucky

Gov. Andy Beshear (D) has been a popular governor. The Beshear family name is also very popular in Kentucky. His father spent decades in elective office, including stints as attorney general and governor.

In recent years, the state was hit by two major disasters – flooding and tornadoes. Beshear’s response was well choreographed and he connected well with people during those crises.

I know Attorney General Daniel Cameron personally. We have spoken at events together in Kentucky. He is an articulate young black conservative. He is pro-life and pro-family. I believe he has a bright future ahead of him. And that’s why the left was so determined to defeat him.

Cameron won a hotly contested primary, which sapped his campaign of resources. But just last month, polling showed he was going to lose by as much as 16 points. Cameron campaigned hard. Donald Trump came in at the end to help him. And he closed the gap to just five points.

Democrats ran an ad in Kentucky describing a pregnant 12 year-old girl who was raped by her stepfather, and portrayed Cameron as an extremist who would not allow her to get an abortion.

According to press reports, the Republican Party of Kentucky and Cameron’s campaign chose not to aggressively respond to the ad. If that’s true, it’s political malfeasance. You can’t let something like that go without a strong response. You’ve got to hit back just as hard.

Ohio

One of the biggest disappointments of the night was that the pro-life movement in Ohio was buried by millions of dollars in deceptive TV ads. The result was that the pro-life movement was branded as “extreme.”

The reality is that the pro-abortion constitutional amendment is extreme, but it passed 57% to 43%. A ballot initiative legalizing marijuana also passed by the same margin.

This is really significant for 2024. The Democrats are already in the process of getting similarly extreme pro-abortion referenda on the ballot in several swing states, including Arizona, Florida, Missouri and Nevada.

Virginia

Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s election in 2021 held out the hope that Virginia’s lurch to the left could be stopped. Youngkin and grassroots conservative groups worked hand-in-hand to boost turnout in Virginia this year. He raised millions of dollars and campaigned hard to flip the state Senate.

Not only did Republicans and Youngkin fail to pick up the Senate, they lost control of the House of Delegates. Youngkin’s governorship is essentially over.

To be fair, Republicans were always underdogs in the Virginia elections. Redistricting after the 2020 census resulted in new maps that were drawn to elect Democrat majorities.

Last night, Republicans were surprisingly successful in several Democrat-majority districts. But, ultimately, the gerrymandered maps proved to be decisive and too much to overcome.

Bright Spots

There were some signs of the Democrat coalition unraveling. The most notable examples were in New York.

A Republican easily won the county executive position in Suffolk County for the first time in 25 years. And in Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s district, a female Hispanic Republican won a seat on the New York City Council, shocking the political establishment. The borough had long been a Democrat stronghold.

In Loudoun County, Virginia, left-wing, Soros-funded prosecutor Buta Biberaj appears to be headed for defeat.

And voters in one Michigan town defeated multiple elected officials who had approved a new battery plant backed by the Chinese Communist Party.

A Final Point

This Politico analysis on ad spending is revealing. Democrats swamped Republicans financially in every major race but one. And they won all those elections. The one race where Republicans had the financial advantage was the one race we won – the Mississippi governor’s race.

Yes, votes win elections. But money does matter.

If conservatives don’t figure out a way to neutralize the left’s financial advantage, we will continue to remain at a significant disadvantage.

The Leftist Narrative

Virtually every day, we get more evidence how the leftist media are lying to us in order to control certain narratives. A perfect example of what I’m referring to is the tragic story I shared yesterday of Paul Kessler, the Jewish man who was attacked and killed in Los Angeles simply for exercising his free speech rights.

Here’s what happened:

There were two demonstrations across the street from one another. One was pro-Israel and one was pro-Hamas. The radical Islamists crossed the street and confronted the pro-Israel supporters.

Witnesses said Kessler was hit in the head. He fell to the ground, bleeding profusely, and died.

The medical examiner ruled his death a homicide due to blunt force trauma to the head.

Now, consider these media headlines:

“Man Dies After Hitting Head”

“California Man Dies After Suffering Head Injury”

“Jewish Man Dies After Altercation”

“Jewish Man Dies From Injuries Suffered In Israel-Palestine Rally”

You’re led to believe from the media reports that a man tripped and fell, and that there was no victim at all. Some headlines even did their best to disguise the fact that the victim was Jewish. The media narrative is essentially, “No hate crime here. Nothing to see. Move on.”

Meanwhile, hate crimes against the left’s favored victims are immediately embraced without any evidence. Jussie Smollett said absolutely insane things -- that two guys in MAGA hats attacked him at 2:00 AM in Chicago in subfreezing weather -- and the media believed it without question.

When Bubba Wallace reported finding a noose in his garage at an Alabama race track, the FBI dispatched 15 agents to investigate that “hate crime.” They later determined that the “noose” was a pull rope for the garage door and that it had been there for months, well before Wallace arrived for the race.

The concept of “hate crimes” has been weaponized by the left to smear conservatives. Just saying, “The border should be closed” is called “hate speech” and a “hate crime.”

When a Jew is attacked and killed by a Hamas supporter or when a transgender individual murders Christian school kids, the left and its media allies will bury the facts.

Wake Up, America

Today, there are reports that the Pentagon issued an alert to all Defense Department entities -- recruitment offices and military bases -- in the United States. They felt compelled to do so because the radical Islamic, far-left alliance declared a “national day of action” targeting the U.S. military and major American defense contractors.

Many of the people participating in this “day of action” are likely here on student visas studying at universities that many American families can’t afford to send their own kids to. Others came here recently in the mass migration / immigration of Muslims from around the world.

Last night, the House of Representatives voted to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) for publicly calling for a second Holocaust. She defended the genocidal chant, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” The end of that chant should be “free of all Jews.” That’s what they really mean.

Twenty-two Democrats joined 212 Republicans to censure Tlaib, while 184 Democrats and four Republicans opposed the resolution.

How could someone like Tlaib be serving in Congress to begin with? Well, her district is overwhelmingly Democrat. It includes portions of Detroit and Dearborn, Michigan. Tlaib is Palestinian American and Dearborn has one of the largest populations of Muslims in America, along with one of the largest mosques in America.

Before the vote, Tlaib was emotionally defended by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN). Omar represents “Little Mogadishu,” a district heavily settled by Somalians and virtually guaranteed to elect a Muslim to Congress.

Omar is the definition of an ingrate. She came to America as a teenager, after living in a Kenyan refugee camp for years, and she was welcomed here. But, being a product of the modern neo-Marxist educational establishment, Omar quickly established herself as one of the most anti-American members of Congress.

We need a massive “do over” of our immigration policies. The wall must be completed. Those claiming migrant status should be required to wait in their country of origin until their trial date.

Just as important, no one should be allowed to come to the United States unless and until we determine they actually believe in our founding principles and are free of hatred toward other faiths and ethnic groups.

March For Israel

Please make every effort, especially if you live in the greater Washington, D.C., area, to come to our nation’s capital on Tuesday, November 14th. Christians and Jews from all over America are coming together to march for Israel.

We are marching to free the hostages and to take a stand against the ancient evil of anti-Semitism.

The March For Israel is sponsored by the Jewish Federations of North America and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

Christians United For Israel and American Christian Leaders for Israel are also supporting Tuesday’s event.

Learn more at MarchForIsrael.org.

Debate Night

The third Republican presidential debate takes place tonight at 8:00 PM ET in Miami, Florida. Five candidates are participating:

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley
Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy
South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott

The debate is being moderated by NBC News anchor Lester Holt, “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker and radio show host Hugh Hewitt.

GOP frontrunner Donald Trump will be holding a rally tonight in Hialeah, Florida.

By the way, a new poll of Florida Republicans finds Trump dominating the Sunshine State with 60% to 21% for DeSantis. No other candidate received double digit support.