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NOVEMBER 7,  2021

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT: 

THE AFTERMATH – FROM THE HILL:  Democrats are bracing for the possibility of a coming wave of retirements as the party comes to grips with a series of ominous electoral losses in Virginia and other states that portend trouble in the 2022 midterms.  Fourteen House Democrats have already announced that they will not seek reelection in 2022. But the painful string of defeats in Tuesday’s off-year elections is stirring speculation that more of the party’s incumbents may be eyeing the exits ahead of the midterms in hopes of avoiding brutal reelection campaigns or being relegated once again to the minority.  Republicans, emboldened by their recent victories, are already firing warning shots at House Democrats. In an interview with The Washington Post on Wednesday, Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), the chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), gave vulnerable Democratic incumbents an ultimatum: “Retire or lose.”  It's a solid strategy.  Incumbents have certain built-in advantages, like name recognition.  The more newcomers the Democrats have to run because of retirements, the easier it will be for Republicans. 

November 7, 2021       Permalink

OH THOSE NUMBERS – OVERNIGHT:  Well, you've got a choice.  You could either be Joe Biden or the captain of the Titanic.  What'll it be?  From RedState: 

Republicans probably wish the midterms were tomorrow, with the results of the elections this week, and now with the results of a latest poll on Joe Biden.

It’s not looking good for old Joe and the Democrats.

According to a USA Today/Suffolk University poll, taken Wednesday through Friday, many of the 1,000 registered voters contacted by pollsters delivered a very bad message to them — following up on the rebuke they got on Tuesday in the elections.

Biden has the worst approval rating of anyone at this point in his term, 38 to 59 percent, except for President Donald Trump who was constantly being assailed by the leftist media, while Biden has been largely praised.

Nearly half of those surveyed, 46%, say Biden has done a worse job as president than they expected, including 16% of those who voted for him. Independents, by 7-1 (44%-6%), say he’s done worse, not better, than they expected.

Nearly two-thirds of Americans, 64%, say they don’t want Biden to run for a second term in 2024.

That includes 28% of Democrats.

Vice President Kamala Harris’ approval rating is 28% – even worse than Biden’s. The poll shows that 51% disapprove of the job she’s doing. One in 5, 21%, are undecided.

Sixty-six percent say the country is going in the wrong direction.

While many in the poll supported the infrastructure bill, only one in four believe that Build Back Better would be helpful for them; more believed it would hurt then help their families, 30-26 percent. We saw in a prior poll that Americans were not enamored of Biden’s bills, despite what Biden claims.

But beyond the indictment of Biden, here’s the money shot: If the election were held today, they would vote for the Republican candidate over the Democratic by 46 percent to 38 percent.

COMMENT:  Kamala Harris is at 28%?  That's what you get when you put someone on a national ticket who had to drop out of presidential nomination contention before the first vote was cast because she was doing so poorly.

Look, things can change in the year before the midterm elections.  But it's hard to see how a Democratic Party run by the loony left would be willing to change in a way to attract more support.  The people who control the party today are fanatics, the American political equivalent of kamikazes. 

Republicans have golden opportunities.  If they seize them, America can start to recover from this ridiculous age of wokeness.

November 7,  2021     Permalink

NOVEMBER 6,  2021

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT: 

ET TU, PIZZA? – FROM THE NEW YORK POST:   You’re gonna need more dough for that slice.
The price of pizza is soaring in the Big Apple thanks to a dyspeptic recipe of inflationary food costs, a global supply-chain crisis and national labor shortage.  The sticker shock is hitting pizza-passionate Gothamites right in the gut.  “It’s a little bit scary at times,” said Slone Elias, a customer at 2 Bros. Pizza on Eighth Avenue in Chelsea. “Eventually it’s going to reflect in rising food prices at every restaurant.”  Elias savored slices on the sidewalk this week with friends amid a true sign of the times — the shop advertises $1.50 pizza slices on a sidewalk menu board, right beneath its iconic bright red marquee boasting “$1 Pizza.”  “Inflation is affecting every single ingredient, every single item we use. Flour, cheese, tomatoes, gloves, paper goods, paper plates, napkins. Everything. Labor is definitely up, as well,” Oren Halali, the 2 Bros. Pizza co-founder, told The Post.  This is a real crisis.  Where is Kamala Harris?  Where is AOC?  Where is Terry McAuliffe?  We are abandoned.

November 6, 2021     Permalink 

A STUNNING REMINDER – OVERNIGHT:  While we examine our election results and decide how quickly to spend our nation into bankruptcy, China is quietly building a military force that will make all our domestic concerns irrelevant.  This is a reminder that there's a real world out there.  From the Jerusalem Post and Reuters: 

The Chinese navy is the largest maritime force on Earth, boasting a total of 355 vessels, the US Defense Department revealed in a recent report.

China's navy, known as the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), has 355 ships and submarines, with an estimated 145 major surface combatants.

The navy is also readying its ability to carry out long-range precision strikes against land targets and enhance its anti-submarine warfare, further strengthening China's global power projection capabilities, the report noted.

And this number is only expected to grow in the future, with the Defense Department anticipating the Chinese fleet to grow to 460 ships by 2030.

In addition to the world's largest navy, China also possesses the world's largest standing army and the third-largest air force. This is in addition to the country's noted nuclear capabilities.

The report is significant as it comes amid tensions between China and nearby Taiwan, which has long claimed independence as its own state, though this independence is denied by mainland China.

For over a year, China has made numerous incursions on Taiwanese airspace, culminating in the largest one ever on October 1. Later that month, the US and Canada sent warships into the Taiwan Strait, an act condemned by China.

On Friday, China went further in fighting against Taiwanese independence, stating that anyone who supports Taiwan's independence would be criminally liable for life. This is the first time that China has spelled out concrete punishment for people deemed to be pro-Taiwan independence.

COMMENT:  China is on the march.  The United States, by contrast, has just suffered a humiliating setback in Afghanistan, and is governed by a weak, pro-socialist, pro-appeasement administration.  The situation is precarious, to say the least.  Our policy on defending Taiwan is not clear, raising the grim possibility that a terrible misunderstanding can launch us into another war.  Does anyone in Washington care?  Maybe Biden can name Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as special adviser to the President on Wisdom.  That's pretty much where we're at.

November 6,  2021     Permalink