Month: October 2018

Last Minute Election Surprises?

~ Mr. Rantastic ~ 1 Comment

It is a week before election day and one wonders whether there will be some sort of last minute surprise. Like in 2016 when the FBI Director announced 11 days before the election that Hillary Clinton’s emails were again under investigation, only to say  ‘nevermind’ a week later.

  • Will there be a leak from Robert Mueller’s office or any of the attorney generals investigating Trump, Inc?
  • Will Hillary Clinton say something stupid? (And why is she still in the public eye?)
  • Does Michael Avenatti have another client in the wings ready to spill?
  • Will the Russians get caught red handed?
  • Will extreme Trump supporters try to kill more people?

The odds are at least 50/50 on something happening. If it does, which side will it help? The last minute Kavenaugh kerfuffle turned out to be a great motivator for Trump’s Republican base. Is there anything that will get more millennials or Hispanics to the polls for the Democrats without firing up the other side as well?

We will know soon enough.

 

Pssst: Wanna Genuine Middle Class Tax Cut?

~ Mr. Rantastic ~ Leave a comment

Donald Trump recently proposed a new tax cut for the middle class. The pundits have noted that he did this because the big tax cut that the Republicans passed last year does not seem to be resonating with the voters, at least the middle class ones.

They are missing the point.

Trump is openly admitting that last year’s tax cut was really for the corporations and the wealthy.

It should be an easy point for the Democrats to make. “Hey middle class, Trump promised you a tax cut but pulled a bait and switch. He admits it. Listen to him. Now he says he’ll make it up to you with another “middle class” tax cut. He’s hoping you’ll fall for the bait and switch again so he and the wealthy can do more to help their kids at the expense of yours.”

Will the inept Dems, who are sliding in the polls, figure that message out? Not likely.

Media Faces Up To Trump’s Lying

~ Mr. Rantastic ~ Leave a comment

Over the past week or so we’ve seen a real turnaround in the mainstream media. They are using the word ‘lie’ to describe Donald Trump’s pronouncements. As in “Donald Trump Is Lyin’ Up a Storm” (New York Times) and “Trump’s Lies Are Becoming Exponentially More Brazen” (Vanity Fair) or simply “Donald Trump Lies.” (CNN).

This is new. Until now, the media used words like “misstatements” and “falsehoods” to describe the President’s lies. For organizations that consider themselves objective reporters of the facts, it is amazing that it has taken them this long to call Trump a liar. He’s been lying all along.

Trump does it because it works. So why shouldn’t he? His opponents tear their hair out when he lies, and Trump and his supporters love watching them go nuts trying to prove that he’s wrong. It is like watching an old Saturday Night Live sketch of Jon Lovitz’ pathological liar. If you were in on the joke it was hilarious, and Trump’s supporters are definitely in on the joke.

The only time Trump doesn’t lie is when he is testifying in court. Which he did sometimes in his business career, but the truth is that he mostly settled legal challenges outside of court so he wouldn’t have to go under oath and tell the truth. And now that Brett Kavanaugh is on the Supreme Court, the chances of Trump having to testify under oath for the remainder of his presidency are very slim. And that’s no lie.