The Terminal President

                                                The Terminal President

President Trump came to Washington with the best of intentions. The harsh reality he has confronted was not on the horizon when he set out to achieve the White House. Gridlock and obstruction have always been part of the liberal mantra. No one expected these impediments on the conservative end. Six months into Donald Trump’s historic term the left is falling all over itself attempting to finish Trump’s Presidency early. Utilizing Robert Mueller, as a special prosecutor to perform their dirty work, he is moving far outside the Russian probe for which he was engaged. In the event you cannot find ghost on your own hire a ghost hunter.

Media icons continue to push a theme that Trump’s legislative agenda is dead. Far from it. Mostly recently only three Republicans refrained from voting for a milder version of repeal and replace of Obamacare. Trump was able to corral the rest into his corner. Failure no, rejection no these three have a habit of voting in another direction. Nevertheless health care legislation has only been delayed.

Government operations now function more smoothly after Trump removed Obama era obstacles. Energy production is peaking after a cap placed on exploration was removed.  Military has been liberated from White House control leaving it to pursue its primary purpose, protecting American interests and people. One by one onerous Executive Orders from the past eight years are being nullified. Medias’ silence on these issues displays their imbued hatred for Trump and their left leaning bent.

Trump will triumph because the course he sets is focused, consistent with constitutional principles and is against those who want to see the nation fall. No matter how many roadblocks he encounters failure will not follow him.

Mark Davis MD

platomd@gmail.com

medicalboardusa.com

Donald Trump versus the Snake of Eden

With the artful movements of the snake in Eden former President Obama is bringing his venomous tones against Trump to whomever will listen. Charged with a single minded crusade to disrupt Trump, hence democracy, Obama’s deranged mind believes disorder and chaos work better in a world full of hate and religious intolerance. The inconvenience of order does not play well with someone who failed, in 8 years, to do little more than feed the coffers of his personal flock. Obama’s derangement does not stop at the frontiers of his mind it has infected many others. Slime never rises above the level in which it moves. Obama’s is exploiting his former position as he did when he held the presidency.  In neither case did it help the little girl with the lemonade stand on the corner or her father struggling to make the rent. When the political dust falls Trump will stand tall as history writes of a former President who was a shadow of the man who replaced him. God speed to Donald Trump for taking on the snake of Eden’s failures. Mark Davis MD. platomd@gmail.com speaker, media consultant, author and a true patriot.

War is Coming

President Trump's humanity was on the tip of each of the 59 Tomahawk missiles sent into Syria. Sadly Obama would have drawn another line in the sand and ignored that one as well. Hillary, had she become the Commander in Chief, would have been asleep somewhere, as she was during the Benghazi incident. More scary is the armada moving towards the waters near North Korea. This could set off a nuclear confrontation. Sounds far fetched, but it is not. Irrationality rules in North Korea. A powder keg ready to explode any moment. The United States should not light the fuse. Hopefully cooler heads will prevail.  As history tells its tales there will be war before peace. Mark Davis, MD manager of superbbookreviews.com platomd@gmail.com

DONALD TRUMP'S THREE VOICES

President Trump speaks in three voices; economic, political and personal. Each of these three voices conveys hope in a time of hopelessness. Donald Trump came along when specious rhetoric from the opposing party tried to fool a nation that all was well. Political opponents threw darkness in his path yet candidate Trump pushed back with a fervor not seen in a generation. America was coasting downhill with no fix in sight. President Trump’s strong hand, steady mind and voice of reason came along to repair the mess as he described the conditions left behind by his predecessor. The Trump effect has infiltrated the minds of everyone who hears his words. Pleasing to most his three voices direct a former sad populous in the right direction. Trump’s naysayers are anarchists, celebrity degenerates, paid agitators and a dumb down populous. Consider Donald Trump the wealthiest repairman who every visited your home. In office for under one month Trump has already undone the tragedies performed by former President Obama in 8 years with more improvements to come. As I stated before we need Donald Trump more than he needs us.  Mark Davis MD

Manager of Best Book Reviews and Editing. platomd@gmail.com and the news website onandoffthehill.com

Madonna F Bombs the Nation's Capital

Madonna F Bombs the Nation’s Capital

Meandering through the streets of Washington D.C., one day after Donald Trump’s inauguration, gaggles of women came to voice their concerns about our new President. Included in this group were the famous, infamous and the desperate. Stars of liberalism were sprinkled throughout the crowds. None was more ferocious than the queen of sexual deviancy than Madonna Louise Ciccone or simply Madonna.

Giving voice to tens of thousands whose lives are hidden behind commonality Madonna’s sharp tongue articulated the inexcusable. In an unintelligible rant fraught with the F word Madonna exhorted personal considerations to destroy the White House. This dissolute creature who pulled herself up from the gutter believes her wealth and fame should allow her to threaten anyone she is in disagreement with. Donald Trump is presently in the crosshairs of her less than insightful mind. Before he has had the chance to sign one piece of legislation into law this vixen of song wants him to meet his Maker by her hands. Normally when a person utters statements similar to hers the Secret Service would be at their door. Yet Madonna appears to have escaped government scrutiny for her verbal failings at least for now.

Women and others claiming to be women protested in the time honored tradition allowed by the Constitution. They came to Washington by the tens of thousands to deride the new President in media created belief that Trump believes women are beneath him. A small percentage of this motley group stepped over the line by displaying disgusting physical representations of female body parts. Reflecting Madonna’s sentiments many utilized threatening gestures and words in a mindless attempt to derail a new government. Part of the conversation concerned Trump’s personal morality. If there were comparisons to be made with the new President the morality of the provocateurs should be questioned.

Donald Trump, in his usual style, tweeted the following concerning those who descended on the Capital: “Watched protests yesterday but was under the impression that we just had an election! Why didn't these people vote? Celebs hurt cause badly.” His words were not ones of dissension but of observation. President Trump believes in the right to gather, protest and let off a little verbal steam. He questions the motivations of celebs who want to capture the limelight for one more spin around the block before going into oblivion. Distraught that America now has an alpha male in power instead of a gamma liberal minds seek to undermine the legitimacy of this new President. Their failures only strengthen the new Presidency which displayed enormous reserve in not constraining and containing these reprobates.

Donald Trump’s First Amendment beliefs were on display this weekend. Unlike Nixon, who I also admired, our new President could have ordered harsher tactics upon those who threatened the nation’s central seat of power. He did not. In doing so Trump set the tone of toleration for his term in office with one caveat: he will call out anyone who denigrates him. Celebs should be placed on notice the people are back in power. While Trump is clearing out the mess Obama left if you want to see the former denizen of the Oval Office make a left, head towards the left coast and follow the signs to la la land.

Mark Davis, MD platomd@gmail.com Book reviewer extraordinaire.

Moving forward, with the election of 2016 in the rearview mirror

Commentary by James Shott

Tuesday, November 8 was a stunning repudiation of the eight years of Barack Obama’s presidency. It was a revolution. The media and the left are in a daze; they don’t understand what happened. They didn’t notice that the people were unhappy with the direction of the country, and the people showed them that they are in charge.

With a Republican president and Republican majorities in each House of the Congress, the stage is set for needed change, and the by-word for Republicans is: Restoration.

That is a tall order; given the deep slide the country has been in for so many years. Among items badly needing attention:

* Gain control of the borders and restore immigration laws and policies so that they benefit and protect the people of the United States. There is no obligation to accept immigrants or refugees, and if we choose to accept some, they must be carefully vetted to select those that will help America the most. Do away with sanctuary jurisdictions in the U.S.

* Reverse many/all of Obama’s Executive Orders that are either unconstitutional, attempts to circumvent Congressional treaty authority, or just bad ideas.

* Revitalize and build up the American military to its former strength and effectiveness.

* The IRS, EPA, DOE and other executive departments are staffed by many who, instead of serving the people, are serving political/ideological masters. Replace these people with true public servants.

* Repeal or heavily modify the Affordable Care Act to increase private sector insurance coverage and encourage more choices and more competition among providers of insurance and health care, and to lower prices. Get the government out of healthcare as much as possible.

* Simplify the tax code and adjust rates, and reduce regulations. These things impair business development, stifle job creation, and that make moving jobs and companies overseas more appealing.

*Restore the constitutional balance of power and reverse Congress’ unconstitutional transfer of law making through regulations by executive agencies and departments.

* Vacancies on the Supreme Court and other federal courts must be filled by people who not only understand the original language and intent of the Constitution, but will honor it. Changes to the Constitution must occur through the process outlined in the Constitution itself, not through unelected activist judges.

* The election process has many weaknesses that allow the dead to vote and other problems that can be utilized for illegal purposes. Furthermore, there is simply no legitimate reason to not implement a photo ID requirement to vote in federal elections. A photo ID is required to buy alcohol or cigarettes; open a bank account; apply for food stamps, welfare, Medicaid/Social Security, unemployment, a mortgage or a job; drive/buy/rent a car; get on an airplane; purchase a gun; adopt a pet; rent a hotel room, and many other things. But not to vote. Clean up voter rolls, be more vigilant and punish cheaters.

* A balanced budget is not immediately possible, but begin to decrease the size and cost of government and start reducing the gargantuan National Debt.

* Congress was not intended to be, and should not be, a career, and lengthy Congressional service has produced an unhealthy culture. The Framers envisioned citizen legislators, people who did their elected job for part of the year and worked their jobs at home the rest of the year, and after a term or two returned to civilian life. We need to move toward that environment.

* And last, but certainly not least: Uphold the Rule of Law; eliminate the double standard: Government workers at all levels must be held to the same legal standards as the people who pay their salaries. This includes such folks as the IRS’s Lois Learner and, yes, Hillary Clinton. It is true that the defeat in the election was a true blow to her, and yes, that can be taken into account. However, as Secretary of State, Clinton breached security and put at risk sensitive national security information, destroyed evidence, and lied to Congress about it.

Others who have done similar things have suffered criminal penalties for their wrongdoing; retired Army General David Petraeus and active-duty Petty Officer First Class Kristian Saucier, and many others were punished through the legal system for security breaches. So, too, must Clinton be.

FBI Director James Comey introduced a new element into criminal law when he decided Clinton should not be indicted for her wrong doing because he was unable to establish the intent to breach security. She thus escaped justice where others did not. However, when lawyers for Saucier told the court their client did not intend to breach security, as Comey asserted about Clinton, the judge rebuked them for using that defense.

She should not be pardoned; the legal system exists to find and punish criminal behavior. If appropriate for her deeds, she should be charged, and absent a guilty plea, tried. If guilty by plea or by trial, a large fine and/or probation would be appropriate. It’s only fair: equal justice under the law. Otherwise, it will be a huge statement that some are above the law.

There is much to be done. Let’s get started.

Cross-posted from Observations

SHERIFF TRUMP AND HIS POSSE ARE COMING TO TOWN

SHERIFF TRUMP AND HIS POSSE ARE COMING TO TOWN

Eric Arthur Blair, better known as George Orwell, could not have written a darker scenario than America presently confronts. Government actors including but not limited to; the President of the United States Barack Obama, the Attorney General Loretta Lynch and membership of the FBI have colluded with Hillary Clinton’s campaign to alter the outcome of the presidential election.  Their actions include obstruction of justice, misuse of classified information, destruction of classified information and other offenses against this nation. Congress stands by as the Executive Branch pummels a nonpolitician who wants to “Drain the Swamp” of corruption in our Capital. Our nation has been compromised by a rogue government which puts itself before the people. Not to worry a new sheriff is coming to town.

Donald Trump is no paragon of virtue or saint. His origins are derived from the hard streets of New York City. His father, Fred Trump, built residences for those in the low and middle income brackets. In this environment our next President became intensely interested in real estate. Building an expansive company Donald Trump has developed numerous skills, lacking in most politicians, which could benefit the entire nation. The wall of skepticism generated by the left concerning Trump’s abilities and lifestyle were designed to take him down. They failed miserably. Instead media outlets pushing this adulterated garbage have been rebuked by Trump and his followers. Ratings of left wing news outlets have tanked and some Hillary co-conspirators have lost their jobs. With that stated the cleansing process has already begun.

Universal stupidity has brought the present government into power. Promises made were not promises kept. Degenerate thought processes have driven governmental departments to destroy whatever good government could do for us leaving behind a barren frontier to rebuild. Trump is the correct person to initiate this building process. Every institution, tradition and industry has been touched in some form or manner by the overreach of incompetence. As bad as this sounds there is worse. Intimidation of American citizens on a level, not seen in one human life time, has emerged as a norm for the Obama Administration. Payoffs, kickbacks and bribes have accompanied the current President’s tenure in office received by those who lather praise on him. Imagine for a moment that a Republican was in office involved in the same actions. Special prosecutors would be invoked and indictments would flow. Will this Teflon President jump ship and avoid his day in court? Not likely. With the new sheriff a few days away from appointment there is no place in the foothills or valleys to hide. Come clean Mr. President the American people and your soul need a lift from 8 years of your reign.

Mark Davis, MD platomd@gmail.com  Author of Demons of Democracy and Obamacare: Dead on Arrival, A Prescription for Disaster.

Evangelicals face a difficult but clear choice on Nov. 8th

Commentary by James Shott

Of all of us are struggling with the difficult task of selecting from four candidates for President of the United States, with the two leading candidates having shown themselves to be highly flawed. But perhaps evangelical Christians have the most difficult task.

Since NBC “Today” co-host Billy Bush released the 11 year-old recording of vulgar “locker-room” banter between himself and Donald Trump, and since the recent accusations of Trump making inappropriate sexual advances to several women years ago, Christian’s face the question of how to react to the moral infractions that have been shown, and alleged.

Andy Crouch, the executive editor of Christianity Today magazine, expressed the general displeasure of evangelical leaders to these things, writing, “Indeed, there is hardly any public person in America today who has more exemplified the ‘earthly nature’ … that Paul urges the Colossians to shed: ‘sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry’ (3:5). This is an incredibly apt summary of Trump’s life to date. Idolatry, greed, and sexual immorality are intertwined in individual lives and whole societies.”

Those who have been around for more than a few years remember a similar situation involving President Bill Clinton and then-First Lady, and now presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton from the mid-1990s. In both cases religious folks had plenty to object to on moral grounds.

Bill Clinton’s affair with a White House intern led to his impeachment by the House of Representatives, not for his immoral conduct, but for lying about it under oath to a federal grand jury. Despite this, Clinton was able to finish his second term as President.

While nearly everyone agrees that such conduct is wrong, not everyone agrees on how important these kinds of things are in terms of whether they should disqualify someone from becoming or remaining President of the United States. It obviously was not considered important enough to remove Bill Clinton from office.

But that was then and this is now, and today Christians and Christian activities are being criticized as never before. A faction of the public wants to ban public Christmas scenes, and to malign religious institutions in general.

Donald Trump’s political enemies think evangelicals must focus on the she-said/he-said of the recent allegations of inappropriate sexual advances on women, and believe that if these allegations are true he should be disqualified from the presidency.

However, many or most evangelical Republican leaders are sticking with Trump, saying that despite his lewd comments there is no other real option for them. They generally say they will not abandon Trump, as quite a few Republicans in Congress have already done.

“It’s not like this is new,” said Family Research Council President Tony Perkins. “That’s why I aggressively supported another candidate in the primary, Ted Cruz, who I share values with. But we only have a choice between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump now.” And Franklin Graham conceded that while Trump’s comments on the recording are troubling, they are not sufficient to abandon him, and that the “godless progressive agenda of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton likewise cannot be defended.”

Evangelicals face criticism for not walking away from Trump and his immoral behavior, but they realize that one of the two flawed candidates will win the election, and they must support the one that has the best plan for the country and the most favorable view of the place of religion in their lives. Trump may fail the first test, but he passes with flying colors on the second one.

American Values President Gary Bauer believes that if Hillary Clinton becomes president, religious schools will be forced to do things that are against their religious principles; she will appoint liberal justices to the Supreme Court; religious displays in the public square will face bans; and Clinton has expressed hostility for Second Amendment rights. Donald Trump takes the appropriate view of these things.

“A Christian who cannot see the difference between a candidate who has sinned and yet promises good policies, and a candidate who has sinned and promises bad policies,” he wrote, “has been failed along the way — either by our educational system, our political leaders or our faith leaders.”

“And, he wrote, “voters should do everything they can to make sure Crooked Hillary never steps foot in the Oval Office!”

Basically, most evangelical leaders seem to offer this rationale: We are not voting to fill a vacancy among the Seven Archangels; we are voting for the President of the United States. They realize that Trump’s views on the Supreme Court, the flawed tax system, the dangerously high National Debt and deficit spending; the severely weakened military; our weakened relations with foreign nations; the stagnant economy and lack of good jobs; the immigration problems; and liberal attacks on guaranteed rights are the most important considerations in who to vote for in this election.

Christian leaders are displeased with Trump’s actions, but recognize that as imperfect as he may be as a human being, he is a vastly better choice for President of the United States for them than Hillary Clinton, who will win the election if more people abandon Trump for morality reasons.

Cross-posted from Observations

What's really important in this election

Commentary by James Shott

Almost everyone agrees that this is the most unusual election in his or her lifetime. We have two major party candidates with the highest disapproval ratings that anyone can remember. And each candidate’s supporters ignore the negatives and continue to support the candidate.

Democrat Hillary Clinton comes from decades in the political sphere as the wife of a governor, the wife of a president, a U.S. Senator and Secretary of State. Republican Donald Trump comes from decades in the private sector as a businessman and entertainment show producer, having first entered political life for the 2015 Republican primary.

Both have a long list of negatives their political enemies hope will disqualify them in the eyes of voters. However, there are important differences between them.

It wasn’t Donald Trump who for personal convenience as Secretary of State flaunted the rules and established procedures, taking the unprecedented step of evading the official secure government email system in favor of a private email server for government business, including classified information, then had the server scrubbed, destroying thousands of messages that were not only government property, but evidence, and then couldn’t provide a credible excuse for any of that.

It wasn’t Donald Trump whose possible-criminal situation caused untold irregularities in the operation of the State Department, the FBI and the Justice Department, including a “chance” meeting on an airport tarmac between the Secretary of State’s husband and the Attorney General of the United States, putting dozens of public servants in the position to destroy their credibility and trustworthiness to save Secretary of State’s backside.

It wasn’t Donald Trump whose vast experience in government in the U.S. Senate and the State Department resulted in neglecting dozens of requests for increased security prior to the terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya resulting in the death of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other brave Americans, and then tried blame a clear terrorist attack on an obscure Internet video, resulting in jailing the video’s producer.

And it wasn’t Donald Trump whose frequent profanity-laced tirades insulted and denigrated Secret Service agents and White House staffers.

But that was a long time ago, and since all of that was a long time ago, it probably isn’t relevant that it also wasn’t Donald Trump who worked for the Congressional committee investigating the Watergate cover-up many years ago, and was fired for lying.

But it was Donald Trump who took some money from his father, invested it in business and created hotels, casinos, golf courses and television shows. Some of his creations didn’t work out, as is not uncommon in the world of business. Luminaries such as Henry Ford, Walt Disney, F.W. Woolworth, Albert Einstein, and Bill Gates also sometimes failed. The best major league hitters fail to get a hit six or seven out of ten times.

It was Donald Trump who claimed business losses of nearly a billion dollars on tax returns many years ago, cancelling an equal amount of income over several years, using provisions in the tax code to reduce taxable income, just as most every American that pays taxes does, through deductions for such things as dependents, mortgage interest and charitable giving.

For taking legal tax deductions Trump has attracted mountains of criticism from his betters, who somehow twist this into meaning he doesn’t care about the country, or the military and dozens of other things. But the hundreds or thousands of people that work in his businesses do pay taxes, and that is significant.

And, yes, it was Donald Trump who managed to anger his primary opponents and many Americans with his petulant personal attacks of those who opposed and challenged him. His far-from-perfect manner leaves much to be desired, and his locker room vulgarity, spoken in private 11 years ago, really got people fired up. But if some rapper had used those same words as lyrics, it’d be #1 on Billboard.

Apparently, it’s a more serious offense to say things that offend someone than to put national interests at risk, to lose $6 billion of State Department funds and generally fail to competently run the agency you’ve been entrusted to run, and make millions giving $250,000 secret-content speeches to Wall Street banks that you publicly criticize. By virtue of merely having been elected a U.S. Senator and appointed as a cabinet secretary, you are thus qualified to be president, even if the best you did in those positions was inconsequential or harmful.

Strangely, people are more offended by Trump’s words than Hillary Clinton’s vicious attacks on her hubby’s numerous sexual victims and conquests, her position on coal mining and the Supreme Court, and her comments supporting open borders, spoken in a private $250,000 speech.

What Trump said that hurt someone’s feelings or shocked their sensibilities is worse to many than that Clinton put personal convenience ahead of national security and failed to protect State Department personnel who were in harms way.

Voters must put their hurt feelings aside, adjust their perspective and focus on the serious issues confronting the next president. They must understand that Clinton’s hubris already put national security at risk, and she will continue Obama’s dangerous, destructive, and unconstitutional policies.

Cross-posted from Observations

R.I.P. GOP?

Commentary by James Shott
 
The Republican Party is a mess. It has:
    •    Lost its way as a political force;
    •    Largely abandoned American traditions and founding principles;
    •    Become “Democrat lite,” because Republicans nowadays so often think and vote like Democrats;
    •    Failed to listen to its members.

With the GOP disintegrating there is little to halt or slow the devolution of the United States into just one more failed socialist state, something Barack Obama has worked tirelessly to achieve, and which either Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders would continue.

Donald Trump leads conventional Republican candidates in the primaries and caucuses, which surprises and confounds the party elite, who thought he would be a flash in the pan, and would soon fade away, leaving them to continue abandoning their party’s role in protecting the American way of life, and ignoring the concerns of their voters. This effectively demonstrates how badly they have misjudged the level of anger and disgust with the current state of their party that rank and file Republicans feel today, as well as the high degree of dissatisfaction they and a host of non-Republicans have with the federal government.

Trump’s behavior is at once energizing and destructive. It has won him a large following, and at the same time has exaggerated the party’s fracturing, pitting candidates against him and against each other in an elementary schoolyard brawl. But his tactic of saying things others are afraid to say, and ignoring the stupid but daunting rules of political correctness, has energized millions of dissatisfied Republicans, and has attracted non-Republicans, including blacks and Hispanics, to his campaign.

The “establishment” Republicans – those whose weak-kneed perspective has transformed the party to Democrat lite – are working to subvert the primary process, disenfranchising the Republican primary/caucus voters. The establishment’s behavior over recent years is precisely why things are as they are, and hardly anything could be worse than ignoring the plain message sent by the voters in the primaries and caucuses that substantial change in the GOP is needed. It is difficult to imagine that the Republican Party will be able to survive if it betrays the loud voices of those who make up the party telling them to man up, and still remain a viable political entity.

A perfect example of the tone-deafness of the party elite is the blistering condemnation of Donald Trump by 2012 GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who turned backflips to make Trump seem like the Devil incarnate. If that doesn’t seem strange, consider that during the campaign four years ago, following Trump’s endorsement, Romney effusively praised him, and then proceeded to lose the election by failing to be as strong in his opposition to Obama as he was in his praise of Trump.

It is another tribute to the failure of the GOP establishment that it regards Romney’s foolish trashing of Trump more highly than the candidate now leading the party’s nominating process.

Peggy Noonan, who was Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan and now a political columnist for The Wall Street Journal, wrote last week, “I think we are seeing a great political party shatter before our eyes. I’m not sure I see a way around or through.” Of the spectacle of last Tuesday’s debate in Detroit she noted that the current GOP crisis is “something bigger than 1976, that traumatic year when a Republican insurgent almost toppled the incumbent Republican president. Bigger too than 1964, when Goldwater conservatism swept the primaries and convention and lost the country.”

She asserts that what is happening now is more serious and less reparable because it is not about political philosophy. But it seems that the party’s abandonment of conservative principles is precisely what this is about.

By ignoring the increasing frustration of the rank and file over Republicans in Congress failing to stand up against liberalizing of government policies and recent executive branch excesses, the party elite set the stage for Donald Trump’s stunning dominance among those seeking the party’s nomination.

Where Trump is concerned the party elite is damned if they do and damned if they don’t. If they allow the process to play out and he wins the nomination, someone believed by millions to be neither a Republican, a conservative or suitable to be president will carry the Party banner into the election.

If they continue the plot to subversively prevent Trump from getting the nomination, they will alienate millions of otherwise dependable Republican voters.

It seems likely at this stage that the Republican Party will endure, but not as a meaningful political force equal to the Democrat Party. The Republican establishment will be left holding the tatters of a once-Grand Old Party while conservatives move on to greener pastures.

Disaffected Republican voters and others dissatisfied with the status quo that might have stuck with or joined a conservative GOP now will seek an organization that honors and defends the U.S. Constitution not only in word, but also in deed.

The question is whether without a viable opponent to Hillary or Bernie, or a split among those opponents, will it be possible four or eight years later to repair the damage likely to result from another liberal/socialist in the White House?

Cross-posted from Observations

Finding the way to Democrat and Republican nominees for president

We are currently knee-deep in political primary season, as the two major political parties and voters analyze and reduce the list of hopeful candidates to the eventual nominees. Most will probably agree that this particular cycle is a bit unusual, as one side has a candidate who expected a coronation, but instead sees her numbers falling dramatically in the face of a strong challenge, and a long list of candidates on the other side is being dominated not by an experienced familiar face, but by an outspoken and blunt outsider to the political process.

Businessman Donald Trump continues to lead the large Republican pack, defying the predictions of many political pundits who said he was a flash in the pan, and the former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton finds self-described “democratic socialist” and political independent Sen. Bernie Sanders nipping at her heels among Democrats.

Mr. Trump’s shoot from the lip style is heavy on bluster and self-confidence, but light on substance. Mrs. Clinton relies on comments in defense of her indefensible use of a private email server that are truly silly. "Looking back,” she said, “it would have been probably, you know, smarter to have used two devices" for her emails, as if you can’t access more than one email account on any “device,” and ignoring the server issue altogether.

And then there is Bernie Sanders. The Vermont independent is proposing an array of socialist programs, the cost of which that would likely be the largest spending program in American history, dwarfing the gargantuan spending spree of Barack Obama., who pushed the national debt up by more than $5 trillion in his less-than seven years in office, a debt that now totals more than $18 trillion. That enormous number has been growing for many years, and is something that neither Democrats nor Republicans in the White House and Congress have treated as a serious problem for far too long.

Sen. Sanders proposes to spend another $18 trillion over 10 years, including an estimated $15 trillion for a government-run single-payer health-care program covering every American, as well as more money to rebuild roads and bridges, make college tuition free, and expand Social Security. That ought to strike fear into everyone, and it has done just that even for many Democrats.

It will come as no surprise that the preferred way of financing this absurd plan is raising taxes, perhaps including a hike in payroll taxes on employers and workers. These tax increases, Sen. Sanders believes, will bring in only $6.5 trillion over the 10-year period, if it all goes as he plans. Maybe he doesn’t realize that when you raise taxes on an activity, you get less of it, and therefore less in tax collections than might be assumed.

Liberal Democrats and other socialist-leaning folks love giveaways like free tuition and healthcare, and seem either immune to, or not to care about, the negative impact on society so long as it helps them in the next election. But there are important negatives in this plan that threaten America’s future.

The marriage rate has plummeted since 1980 and out-of-wedlock childbirth has soared, weakening the most dependable stabilizer of society in history, the traditional family, consisting of a mother, a father and their children. A 2013 report noted that fewer than half of American households now contain a traditional nuclear family; that 40 percent of children are now born into households without a father; and non-married cohabitation is seven times higher than it was in 1970. Another report showed that 40.7 percent of all children born in 2012 were out-of-wedlock births.

The liberal/socialist tendency to support dependency actually encourages these dangerous behaviors by subsidizing non-familial living conditions, such as increasing welfare payments for having additional children, and cutting support payments in some cases when unmarried women get married and bring a man into the home. The message: Don’t get married; you will lose subsidies if you do.

The more people that live off the government, the fewer people will be working and funding the government and its destructive subsidies through tax payments. The system is simply economically unsustainable at the level Sen. Sanders proposes, and even at the current level damages the individual self-reliance that built and sustains the American idea.

So, Bernie Sanders expects this foolhardy plan to propel him to the Democrat nomination and to eventual victory over whichever of the Republicans survives this crazy primary process.

For socialists/liberals, more is never enough. Their problem is that, as former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher famously said, “at some point you run out of other people’s money,” the mother’s milk of socialism. They are handcuffed by what economist Dr. Thomas Sowell calls “stage-one thinking,” which involves grabbing onto an idea to solve a problem without projecting its consequences a few steps down the road. Failure generally ensues.

At this point Democrats must choose between the proudly socialist Sanders and the somewhat less socialistic Clinton. The Republicans have a broad and deep field, some who have proven they know how to run a government, create jobs, cut taxes, and grow their state’s economy. That mindset is what we need now.

The Trump Effect

The Trump effect

 

Collective efforts by 17 Republican candidates to energize the public in their direction have not caught fire except for one person, Donald Trump. Media programs that lean towards one side of the aisle or the other are endlessly discussing the Trump effect on the potential electorate. Core topics from immigration to national health care have been transformed by an outsider who has placed a new twist on these banal subjects. Donald Trump has codified his message with a simplicity that resonates across a gamut of the population. From state fairs to corner stores Trump appears to be everywhere willing to discuss his message with anyone willing to listen.

 

Pundits of all stripes continue to assault this political outsider noting his meteoric rise will crash and burn in due course. Extensive polls done pre and post the first debate continue to indicate Trump is firmly planted at the top of each one. With a finesse reserved to a polished few, the Donald as many call him, easily deflects questions that deteriorate from his message. From bankruptcy to his position on women’s issues he discusses the basics while directing the conversation on to the next subject before fully answering the first one. Consequently some have become suspicious of him for the profound lack of depth in his answers to issues others have algorithmically discussed. Nevertheless Trump has been able to jump over this hurdle by mesmerizing those who come before him noting his successes while deflating his failures.

 

In interview after interview most reporters have gingerly discussed his background and preparation to become Commander in Chief. As Trump notes he built a vast company which has tentacles that reach into many areas that a president should have knowledge of. He wastes no time inferring how poor our American leadership is compared to that of China, Mexico and other countries. Trump’s major theme is these countries dump their products here and we send our money there. On immigration he has echoed an array of proposals to slow the rate of new arrivals and a methodology to repatriate illegals to their home countries.  Many question whether Donald Trump has the staying power to remain in the race. For now he is on the top of the heap and continues to defy the logic of the pundits calling for him to fail. The road to the November 2016 election is long and treacherous. All eyes, presently, are on the street fighter from New York who does not plan to go down for the ten count.

Mark Davis MD, President of Davis Media and Writing Services.

www.daviswritingservices.com, platomd@gmail.com

Backlash: Fox dumps on Trump and fails

Backlash: Fox dumps on Trump and fails

 

Five days since the notorious Republican debate aired when the gang of three moderators from Fox dumped on Trump. A well-organized inquisition of the Republican leader was carried out with a ferocity that is usually reserved for leftist attack dogs. Megyn Kelly opened the barrage of questions aimed at unmasking Donald Trump’s weaknesses. Instead Kelly’s inquisitory style displayed Fox’s fair and balance moniker was in label only. Audience members, whether on location or watching from a distance, learned very little that night except Megyn Kelly does not know her right from her left. Days after this gargantuan failure for legitimate political dialogue Fox continues to revel in the large number of viewers to this so-called debate. Never acknowledging most tuned into to see and hear Donald Trump Fox hierarchy and its minimalist commentators defended their actions Thursday with a righteous indignation that has a stench all its own.

 

Donald Trump and most who were sensitized to the deliberate denigration of the debate process displayed their collective anger on an array of news shows afterwards. Fox set a new low for itself when displaying it went through Trump’s garbage in an attempt to debase him. His retorts, based on Kelly’s questions, were the themes of discussion. Trump spoke out harshly against those who orchestrated his downfall using words such as “weak and pathetic” to describe Republican operatives involved in this process. Excluded from a Red State forum in Atlanta Georgia by one of these people, Erick Erickson, everyone knew the game was afoot to debilitate the billionaire’s chances of moving into the Oval Office. Trump survived with a stronger footing than he had before the Thursday night debacle. Polls, several days later, indicated his position amongst voters strengthened. Fox not only failed to bring the reluctant candidate to his proverbial knees Trump now stands ten points higher than is closest rival.

 

Republican establishment along with their left wing buddies have abandoned the electorate and handed Obama whatever he legislatively requested.  Donald Trump came along to shake up the quiescent political structure simultaneously resonating with a population tired of the old guard in Congress. Their fear is he may succeed by taking Obama’s hope and change and giving this theme some real meaning. Trump will not go quietly into the night and why should he. Few candidates for the presidency have been so blatantly open about their intentions. Trump has set a new high in political rhetoric. His naysayers should watch their backsides because they may be bowing to a President Trump in the not too distant future.

 

Mark Davis MD, President of Davis Media and Writing Services. www.davis writingservices.com platomd@gmail.com  Author of Demons of Democracy and Obamacare: Dead on Arrival, A Prescription for Disaster.

Contenders and Pretenders to the Oval Office

Contenders and pretenders to the Oval Office

 

A dazzling array of personalities are chasing the Oval Office. Few will get beyond the fence of recognition to become viable candidates. Yet all have hopes and dreams of remodeling America in their minds’ eye. From the left Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are running far ahead of minor candidates such as Martin O’Malley and Lincoln Chafee. With fifteen declared and more to come the right is crowded with a field which runs the gamut from competent to window dressing. Conservative notables leading the pack are Jeb Bush, Donald Trump and Ben Carson. Day to day their favorable ratings vary based on the last word they stated. Trenchant but true commentary from some has aptly described why America needs a leader who will not back down or side step controversy. Most of the long list of potential hopefuls are political hacks whose daily beliefs are measured by the latest poll. A few, such as Scott Walker and Donald Trump, have platforms which resonate with the public on key issues that others avoid. Economics, immigration, international affairs and more have deteriorated under the aegis of our current leader. Hillary and Bernie offer more of the same. Unfortunately a large number of their opponents are middle of the road or shoot from the left. Many ask who in this herd has the drive, direction and the substance to elevate America to greatness once more?  The winnowing  process is underway.

 

Characteristic of Hillary and others on the left is to promise their supporters a continuous flow of cash from the federal treasury. This winning strategy has placed many in 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Fortunately for the right the present redistributer-in-chief did not keep his fiscal promises, which opens even a wider door for conservatives in 2016. Donald Trump brings a refreshing scent to an otherwise putrid stench trailing many of the other candidates. Immigration is a hot button issue that has elevated Trump to the leader of the pack. Few others have come forth on this issue with such vociferous tones. With Hillary’s Messiah Complex in full view many are offended by her brash demeanor and curt style of campaigning. Failing in 2008 when Barack Obama showed up it appears once again she may go down for the count as others in her party start drawing attention away from her. Guaranteed at the end of this process every piece of garbage on those running from both sides of the aisle will be aired. America is starving for leadership. Those who are still standing at the end of this process may be the strongest candidates but not the best. Let us hope the wisdom of the people is better placed this go around because we may not get another chance.

Mark Davis, M.D. President of Davis Media and Writing Servives.

www.daviswritingservices.com platomd@gmail.com

Trump seeks the nomination, and it was a “good week for Obama”

Commentary by James Shott

Perhaps everyone should have known that Donald Trump threatening to enter the GOP nomination race would have produced so much negativity. First reactions were that he really wouldn’t follow through, wouldn’t take the steps necessary to become a candidate. But as he completed them, one after another, the criticisms only increased.

Love him or hate him (as most seem to) Mr. Trump – “The Donald,” as he is affectionately known – is a force to be reckoned with.

A poll by the Morning Consult online asked people “what they think of when they hear Trump’s name, [and] a majority of registered voters came up with a negative word. ‘Arrogant,’ ‘ego’ or ‘egomaniac’ and ‘greed’ or ‘greedy’ were the most common negative responses.” “Few offered purely positive descriptors; ‘good’ or ‘great’ only came up 14 times among the 1,306 respondents,” less than 1 percent.

With his “no holds barred” approach to life, Donald Trump upsets lots of folks, including fellow Republican candidates. He comes from a different world than the politicians do. In his world, you say what needs to be said, and it may not be the kind and gentle talk that the media and those in politics expect.

In politics you must be careful to never alienate a potential voter, and these days you must not offend anyone. Ever. Therefore, the comments in his candidacy announcement about illegal aliens coming across the southern border really set off a firestorm of criticism.

The Trump style may be blunt and not politically correct, but his points are valid: Our border is a sieve leaking who knows who into the country, among which we know are some criminals, rapists, and drug cartel members, and probably a few terrorists. Although a little later in those comments he said plainly that the bad folks aren’t just from Mexico, they are also from Central America and South America, but they do enter the U.S. from Mexico.

Donald Trump has been wildly successful in business, and you don’t accomplish the things he has accomplished without knowing what needs to be done, and doing it. That no-nonsense approach and plain talk is missing in many or most of our current and potential elected leaders on all sides, although they do have political experience, which he does not have. Political inexperience and his blunt talk likely mean he will not win the Republican nomination.

But you can count on Donald Trump to talk about things many other candidates would rather not talk about, and do so in a manner does not comport with the accepted style. This will provide the media with a great opportunity to distract the public by trying to trap Republican candidates into either defending or attacking him personally, and making the campaign all about Trump, instead of the important issues facing the country.

We have already seen some Republicans fall into that trap, and more of them likely will. Republicans are known for their proclivity to kill each other and themselves off, making the Democrats’ job much easier.

While Donald Trump is being skewered for something he said and how he said it, President Barack Obama is being celebrated for things he had nothing to do with, and for things of questionable value to the United States. 

“Wow! Is President Obama on a roll or what!”  trumpeted columnist Ann McFeatters. The country is just “watching in amazement at what seems like a kaleidoscope of change.” 

She believes that Mr. Obama has reaped benefits for some things he had nothing to do with, like:
A. “In rapid succession, we have seen the Supreme Court rule in favor of samesex [sic] marriage equality, and uphold the legality [of the] Affordable Care Act.” Advocates are unconcerned with the constitutional gymnastics needed to arrive at those faulty decisions.
B. “One hundred and fifty years after the Civil War, the Confederate battle flag, symbolic of racism and rebellion against the United States, is finally ceasing to be flown over public buildings.” She must not know that 57 percent of Americans in a recent poll see the battle flag as a symbol of history, not of racism.

And she gives credit for things of questionable value:
A. “And, now, relations with Cuba! ... For the first time since 1961 Cuba will have a U.S. embassy,” as if giving Cuba this gift really means anything without some substantive results for both the U.S. and Cuba. On the other hand, Americans may at last be able to legally buy Cuban cigars.
B. “Obama is trying hard to keep Iran from getting nuclear weapons. It may not be possible, but naysayers to his plan simply do not understand realpolitik in today’s complicated world.” Realpolitik must mean giving up sanctions on Iran and at the same time not blocking that rogue nation from producing nuclear weapons, as well as speeding up the process for the acquisition of nuclear weapons.

Mr. Obama’s legacy is apparently at the top of his priority list, as so many of his actions demonstrate. But just getting an agreement with Iran to burnish his image is a dangerous and foolish way to do that.

Cross-posted from Observations