Wednesday, November 6, 2019
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary Bauer
Some Needed Context
There's no denying that Democrats performed well in yesterday's off-year elections, especially in Virginia. But the liberal news narrative is that the election was a "rebuke" of President Trump is misleading and desperately needs some context.
For example, NBC News ran this headline last night: "Stunning Upset In Kentucky Elects Democrat Governor." To begin with, as of this writing, Gov. Matt Bevin has not conceded.
That said, over the past 70 years, Kentucky has had only three Republican governors. None have won reelection. So last night's results, if they hold, were more or less typical, and hardly "stunning." And the evidence is fairly overwhelming that Bevin's apparent loss was about Matt Bevin and little else.
Bevin's signature issue was reforming public teacher pensions. The move triggered protests that went on for over a year, driving his approval rating down and making him the most unpopular governor in America. Two weeks ago, polling showed Bevin trailing his Democrat opponent by double digits.
Again, it's hardly "stunning" that Bevin might lose. If anything, it is "stunning" that Bevin barely lost -- 49.2% to 48.8% in very heavy turnout -- to the current attorney general, Andy Beshear, the son of a popular former governor.
Meanwhile, Republicans swept every other statewide race by margins ranging from 5% to 22%. Republican Daniel Cameron, who won his race by 16 points, will become Kentucky's first black attorney general.
The Blue Dominion
Virginia, known as the "Old Dominion," is another story entirely. Last night, Democrats flipped control of the State House and State Senate, giving Democrats total control of the state government for the first time in a generation. Once again, a Blue wave swept over northern Virginia, wiping out Republicans at every level.
Over the last decade, the population of Virginia has changed massively. In Northern Virginia, there has been a huge wave of immigration, both legal and illegal.
When I moved to Fairfax County over 30 years ago, it leaned left, but it was competitive. Today, nearly a third of the county's residents were born in a foreign country. The area is also dominated by government workers and the "highly educated." Both groups vote heavily Democrat.
The progressive victory in Virginia is also notable because just a few months ago, the state's leading Democrats were all embroiled in scandals involving racism, allegations of sexual assault and pro-abortion extremism. (Here, here, here and here.) None of that seemed to matter yesterday.
The Blue wave was so strong it even swept into office a woman who was fired from her job for proudly giving the president the finger.
Other Results
- In Mississippi, Tate Reeves, the Republican candidate, prevailed in a relatively close race for governor.
- The voters of Tucson, Arizona, overwhelmingly rejected a sanctuary city ballot measure. This is an interesting result because Hillary Clinton crushed Donald Trump in Tucson three years ago. Illegal immigration and lawlessness are not popular issues.
- Voters in liberal Washington State rejected a ballot measure to reinstate affirmative action.
Leaker Outed?
The media are going nuts today because Donald Trump, Jr., tweeted a link to a Breitbart story about alleged CIA "whistleblower" Eric Ciaramella. The left is also outraged by growing demands that the Deep State leaker be identified.
Progressives insist that the whistleblower law protects the anonymity of government workers and it is a crime to release their names. As usual, this is a twisted analysis of the facts.
First, the whistleblower statute is primarily used to uncover the misuse of taxpayer dollars so Congress can fight waste and fraud. In this case, the president would be justified in holding up aid as an attempt to safeguard taxpayer money by not giving it to a country with a reputation for widespread corruption.
Second, the Deep State operative had no first-hand knowledge of the president's call. There are serious questions as to whether he's even covered by the statute.
Third, leaking classified material is a very different matter. There is growing evidence that the alleged "whistleblower" has leaked classified material before. He had reportedly left his White House post under suspicion of leaking.
Lastly, the whistleblower law does not supersede the Constitution, which guarantees every citizen the right to confront their accusers. The president cannot be impeached on the basis of anonymous allegations.
But the same progressives screaming now about efforts to identify the whistleblower are fighting tooth and nail to get all of Robert Mueller's secret grand jury deliberations. And they are also attempting to get their hands on eight years of the president's tax returns -- five years before he became president!
The ability of the left and their media allies to make completely contradictory arguments simultaneously is a tremendous advantage in the war for public opinion.
When it comes to Trump's taxes and the Mueller grand jury testimony, the left accuses the president of trying to hide something. But when it comes to the whistleblower, they accuse the president of trying to expose what should be kept secret.
With respect to the whistleblower's identity, the American people deserve to know what the left is hiding. But I think it is fairly obvious -- this entire impeachment effort is a raw partisan power grab orchestrated by the Deep State and its left-wing allies.
Kudos To Mike Pence!
Speaking of contradictory arguments, while the Trump Administration is being attacked for moving troops out of Syria, potentially making some Syrians more vulnerable, left-wing media outlets are attacking Vice President Mike Pence for making sure that Christians in the homeland of the faith are getting the aid they need.
ProPublica has a lengthy story headlined: "How Mike Pence's Office Meddled in Foreign Aid to Reroute Money to Favored Christian Groups."
Note how Pence is accused of "meddling" in "foreign aid," as if he is somehow knee-deep in the Ukraine hoax. I'm sure Maxine Waters will be demanding Pence's impeachment (again) before the day is over.
My reaction to the story: I hope it is true!
It would be a major policy change from the previous administration, which stuck its finger in the eye of Middle Eastern Christians while they suffered a genocide at the hands of ISIS. No religious group in the Middle East is more at risk than Christians!
It is laughable that this is a considered a major "investigative piece." When it was revealed that religious minorities were not getting the aid they needed, the president directed Mike Pence to fix this problem well over a year ago. Evidently, to the great frustration of many progressives, he has succeed. God bless him!
I don't know what the mood in the vice president's office is today, but my advice would be to take this story as a badge of honor.
More Judges!
The White House announced today that the president is sending ten more judicial nominations to the Senate for confirmation.
In fact, I am on my way to the White House this afternoon to celebrate President Trump's record number of judicial appointments and to plan our strategy for restoring balance to the federal courts.
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