The High Stakes For America In The Midterm Election

 click on graphic to enlarge

 

Over the past several months I have winced every time I heard or read a column by a conservative pundit saying that Democrats have nothing to run on in the November midterm elections.  These pundits feel victorious because under Trump the economy is booming with 4.2% GDP growth in the second quarter & an initial estimate of 3.5% growth in the third, unemployment is down to a near 49 year low, Black, Hispanic, & Asian unemployment rates are @ all time lows, women's unemployment is @ a 65 year low, the tax cuts & regulation reduction have produced a much better business climate for sustained growth, two excellent Supreme Court justices have been appointed, peace may be @ hand with North Korea, defense build-up has been revivified, the ISIS caliphate has virtually been eliminated, & the U.S. officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel & relocated our embassy there. 

 

Now that is an impressive record & the Democrats fought all of the above accomplishments every step of the way with near unanimity.

 

So why do I wince? 

 

It is not because I don't appreciate the above list of accomplishments because I do think they are marvelous; but because the conservative pundits then go on to recite most of the Democrat-Socialist planks as if they have been dismissed by the voters.

 

In fact, there is substantial evidence that socialism in America has gained momentum (mass times velocity in politics just like in physics) to the point that American-socialists do not care about the state of the economy or any of the items on the above list.  These people would rather have a rotten part time job & benefits from a government welfare program or two with plenty of time off.  The goal of democrat socialists is to eliminate capitalism because they see capitalism as an infringement on their freedom & leisure time that requires them to go to work to earn a living.

 

Hillsdale College recently wrote that our young people don't understand our nation's heritage of liberty – nor what is required to preserve it.  I add that millennials don't care about this since they take the freedom they have in America for granted, assuming with no thought, that they would have it no matter where they go or what system of government is put in place in the U.S.

 

In the 2016 presidential primary, Bernie Sanders, an avowed socialist, was the choice of 72% of Democrat primary voters aged 17 to 29, & 45% of his total votes came from college graduates.  Hillsdale reports that twenty thousand of Bernie's followers who share his vision for America have already committed to running for political office @ all levels – school boards, city councils, state legislatures, & Congress.

 

And Socialists are winning.  In 2017 the Democrat Socialists Of America (DSA) backed candidates who won 21 of 32 local & state elections in Minnesota, Tennessee, Montana, & Virginia.  In 2018 four candidates backed by DSA won their local primary races in Pennsylvania & of course 28 year old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez came from out of nowhere last June 26 to beat the powerful ten term incumbent Joe Crowley in a NYC primary in an extremely low turnout election.

 

But its not just millennials - the Democrat Socialists have offered plenty of planks that anyone of any age attracted to the 126 government welfare programs identified by the Cato Institute will find appealing.

 

Democrats can run on single payer universal healthcare, or any of its current sister forms – Medicare for All or just defending & keeping ObamaCare with its coverage of pre-existing conditions requirement, free college, or $15 per hour minimum wage demands.  These could certainly be winning issues in America's mixed economy that has been more than 50% socialist for decades.

 

But Democrats also have a visceral hatred for President Trump caused by the fact that Trump's election in November 2016 made Democrats realize they are fish on a hook fighting for their politically correct lives.  Saving their progressive statist hides, @ the expense of everyone else, is the cause they are really fighting for.

 

Democrats are willing to propose the preposterous in hopes of making their points.  For instance prominent Democrats have proposed abolishing the electoral college, the Supreme Court, the Senate, ICE, private schools, the police, student debt, the Department of Homeland Security, the first & second amendments, & capitalism.

 

Now if Democrats are finally in a mindset to cut some government let's @ least do it constructively so that we get a real benefit out of it. 

 

Several years ago Ann Coulter recommended the elimination of the Departments of Health & Human Services, Education, Commerce, Agriculture, HUD, Transportation, the EPA, the National Endowment of the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, & the progressive income tax & instituting a flat tax.  At the time, I seconded Ann's recommendation except I recommended eliminating the progressive income tax & replacing it with the FairTax.  I also recommended 1) replacing the current Medicare system (parts A, B, & D) that is  75% funded by the federal government with one of premium support where the government provides a nominal dollar demogrant for beneficiaries to purchase private insurance; 2) reducing the initial benefit of Social Security so that the initial benefit is calculated based on the CPI instead of the wage rate thereby effectively dealing with the Social Security solvency problem meaning the elimination of the inevitable 23% reduction in benefits coming in 2034; & 3) implementing the "cut, cap, & balance" plan in which federal spending would be controlled so that projected borrowing is cut in half next year (not 10 years from now), federal government spending would be capped @ 18% of GDP (it was 24% in 2012), & under a balanced-budget amendment the president would be required to submit a balanced budget within the foregoing guidelines that call for super congressional majorities to raise future debt limits or tax rates.

 

All predictions are that this midterm election will shatter voter turnout records for a midterm – raising turnout from a typical 40% midterm rate to over 60% – a rate only seen in presidential elections or the Tea Party route of 2010.

 

But please look @ the graphic above to get a grasp on the dynamics @ play.  The turnouts for the categories of Democrats, Women, Hispanic, & Ages 18 - 34 are all way up from the turnouts in either the 2010 or 2014 midterms.  All of these categories have historically voted Democrat.  The turnouts for White, Black, & Ages 65 or over are up somewhat while Men & Republicans are actually down from their high points.

 

While we should only expect the Democrats high interest in the midterm election to be for the purpose of reversing all of the accomplishments listed above there is a chance that Women, Hispanic, Ages 18 – 34, Black, & Ages 65 or over will realize the benefits presented above & vote to keep the Trump agenda for America going forward.  Trump has approval ratings with Blacks of 29% compared to 6% who voted for Romney & 29% for Hispanics compared to 27% who voted for Romney.  The question: is this increase in Black & Hispanic support for Trump what is driving the high interest in the midterm election - this is the unknown tug of war that will culminate on November 6.

 

But the stakes are greater than GDP growth versus $15 per hour minimum wage jobs, or Black unemployment versus free college, or defense buildups versus single payer healthcare.

 

The high stakes for America in this midterm election entail changing the politically correct mindset that is ruining America unless it is reversed – & quickly.  Items like eliminating the fallacious destructive anchor baby claim to birthright citizenship, settling the incompatible relationship of Muslims who follow Sharia law taking a U.S. citizenship oath, banning people from Muslim countries prone to terrorism from entering America until we know that immigrants & refugees from these countries are not terrorists, ending sanctuary cities & states, & restoring the enforcement of immigration laws – are all bedrock matters that must be settled before issues like tax reform, healthcare, climate change, the national debt, the budget deficit, or even adequate national defense are addressed. 

 

Without Trump none of the politically incorrect issues listed above would have ever been brought up @ all by any other person running for office & for this every lover of America should thank Trump whether or not they hate him for any or every other reason.