Dec. 9, 2022
Permission to republish original opeds and cartoons granted.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year… for the Washington, D.C. establishment
By Rick Manning
It is Christmas season. The decorations are hung or need to be. Gifts are being purchased. The Advent Week of peace is being celebrated. Parties are being thrown. And Americans wind down from a long, stressful year.
Unfortunately, while most Americans refocus, the rest of the world doesn’t stop, but in many cases looks at this time as an opportunity to exploit.
While you’re spending time with your families, the establishment in Washington, D.C. in Congress and the White House have visions of sugar plums dancing through their heads as a lame duck session of Congress is meeting and seeking to make major changes in our nation’s laws, using the post-election lull to try to advance radical ideas with the votes of Senators who won’t be coming back on January 3rd.
The proposed omnibus spending bill that is being pushed has millions of taxpayer funds going to groups celebrating the homosexual lifestyle and the transgender agenda, it almost makes one long for the innocent days of earmarks for Harry Reid’s favorite cowboy museum.
The Republican establishment cheers Hershel Walker’s loss in Georgia, which they facilitated, by blaming former President Donald Trump, and express hope that all those nasty flag waving people who support him will go away and leave them alone.
In the sports world, the Biden administration makes the world less safe by trading a convicted Russian arms dealer who sells death and destruction to those in the world who seek to take down American interests to Moscow in exchange for a woman basketball player who knowingly entered Russia with drugs.
On the international front, Chinese government police stations have been discovered in both New York City and Los Angeles. Their mission – keep people of Chinese origin who are citizens of the United States or are legally residing here under the long arm of Beijing’s control through intimidation, kidnapping and arrest. I guess when the U.S. government decides as policy that our borders don’t matter what else should you expect.
Speaking of China, fentanyl, China’s most deadly export, continues to kill record numbers of Americans as it is being laced into other drugs in an attempt to murder as many as possible. The CDC reports that more than 150 people die each day due to fentanyl poisoning. Tragically, more than 100,000 families will be sitting down to Christmas dinner this year mourning loved one’s who have died due to opioid overdoses including the fentanyl chemical attack .
On the presidential election fraud front, Senate Minority Leader McConnell promises to fix election fraud by passing legislation during the lame duck session which will take away state legislatures Constitutional role in determining the validity of their state elections. Only in DC could institutionalizing and denying recourse against fraud be considered reform
In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the new criminal first legal system has resulted in twenty percent of the homicides being committed by people who have been released on bail. Who would have thought that releasing criminals out on the streets in a turnstyle justice system would result in more crime and murder?
The Biden administration, under something called ‘climate reparations, plans on giving $10 billion to third world governments who opt to subject their people to energy poverty rather than develop a stable electricity generation system to build their economies, to support the United Nations climate change grift.
The Iranian government faces a citizen revolution to overturn its murderous decades long imposition of Sharia Law, while the Biden administration still is propping up that the Mullahs who run Iran by providing them cash flow and promising even more money in exchange for their word that they won’t make a nuclear bomb as fast.
Europe continues to suffer under self-inflicted energy shortages due to their political decision to become reliant upon Russian natural gas supplemented by wind and solar energy sources. And the Biden administration is moving heaven and earth to follow in their footsteps.
And finally, the state of California is considering a proposal to pay black residents $223,000 each for reparations. So, a state that never had slaves, is proposing to give almost a quarter million dollars each to people who never were slaves, simply due to their ethnicity. Let the 2023 California gold rush begin.
Yes, it is Christmas season but unfortunately stupidity and evil don’t stop in this season of joy because those intent on doing harm know that the best time to act is when the watchdog is asleep.
Rick Manning is the President of Americans for Limited Government.
To view online: https://dailytorch.com/2022/12/its-the-most-wonderful-time-of-the-year-for-the-washington-d-c-establishment-as-the-lame-duck-congress-convenes/
Cartoon: Quest for Fire
By A.F. Branco
Click here for a higher level resolution version.
To view online: https://dailytorch.com/2022/12/cartoon-quest-for-fire/
Market Research Foundation: GOP Loses Another Key Race by Bleeding More of Their Own Vote
Thank you to Jim Crumley, a good friend of MRF who contributed to this analysis.
Anemic GOP turnout was once again the defining factor of another GOP loss with Herschel Walker coming up over 90,000 votes short against Raphael Warnock in the Georgia senate runoff.
Much like Kari Lake’s unnecessary loss in the Arizona gubernatorial race in November, the GOP failed to secure a substantial share of their own voters.
Democrats didn’t even improve on their votes in order to win in Georgia, as Warnock earned 131,276 less votes this time than he did in November. Democrat’s turnout game was down compared to 2021 as well. Warnock won 1.8 million votes and Walker got 1.7 million last night compared to 2021 when Warnock got 2.3 million and Loeffler got 2.2 million. This was a race that did not need to be a decisive Democrat victory but because of weak GOP turnout, it became one.
Jim Crumley, a friend of Market Research Foundation who follows the Republican Party’s efforts – or lack thereof – put it like this:
“The real story is the Dems had to spend $300 million to save an incumbent senator who not only was forced into a runoff but got fewer votes that he did when he first ran. Had the Republicans simply turned out the people who voted for Loeffler in her runoff against Warnock, Walker would have won. They seemed to have really fallen flat in the types of exurban areas Youngkin did so well in.”
Analysis of the turnout last night compared to the November election shows a substantial drop off in GOP support for Walker in exurban areas. The largest declines in support for Walker included Fulton, where GOP support lagged significantly. Walker achieved just 83% of his November vote to Warnock’s 91%.
Another region Walker failed in was Gwinnett, where he achieved just 87% of his November vote to Warnock’s 94%.
Walker also failed to achieve the same levels of turnout in mid-sized Muscogee where he achieved just 90% of his November vote compared to Warnock’s 96%.
Walker also suffered in smaller rural regions that he should have been able to clean up in, including Atkinson, where he achieved just 89% of his November vote to Warnock’s 97%, Bryan, where he achieved 92% of his November vote to Warnock’s 96%, and Telfair, where he achieved just 93% of his November vote to Warnock’s 100%.
Below are the top regions where Walker suffered the largest drop-offs in support from November. As is evident, Warnock was able to retain substantially more of his votes.
What is clear is the GOP continues to expel as little effort as possible in maintaining their voter base, let alone adding new voters, and if they continue this playbook they will lose perpetually.
Youngkin in Virginia used an entirely different playbook, and managed to not only turn out a significant amount of rural Trump supporters, but build inroads with suburbanites, lower income voters, and minorities.
As Market Research Foundation demonstrated after Youngkin’s victory in 2021, Fairfax county urban tracts that shifted the most toward Youngkin were overrepresented with Asian and Hispanic voters and significantly lower-income compared to tracts that shifted toward Democrats.
If the GOP does not add new voters and cannot maintain its vote base, they will continue to lose as they did last night, and as they did a month ago.
To view online: https://marketresearchfoundation.org/2022/12/07/gop-loses-another-key-race-by-bleeding-more-of-their-own-vote/