Also underestimated
Another person vastly underestimated by the pundit and pol class, lucky for us, was Vice President Kamala Harris. At this writing, it is far from clear she will be able to halt the nation’s slide into a very dark place after November 5th, but quite unexpectedly, Harris had acted with an energy, subtlety, and skill that almost seems providential. Nobody understands this more clearly than The Donald himself. Since late July, he has been tossing his red ball cap to […]
Read MoreSomeone owes Dean Phillips an apology, and other campaign observations
Last winter, a long shot primary challenge to an elected incumbent president unfolded, the sort of challenge New Hampshire’s first in the nation primary has a history of being uniquely hospitable to. Gene McCarthy, Estes Kefauver, Pat Buchanan and others made history with such efforts, winning outright or exceeding expectations, often with important long term consequences. Alas, even the Granite State has its limits, and Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota stopped just short of his stated minimum goal of 20% […]
Read MoreLynch sucker punch was beneath him
Politics ain’t beanbag. The public is tolerant of a bit of excess in a high stakes political contests. They are savvy about it. They don’t think too much less of those who engage in it, provided the participants are otherwise shown to be decent and reasonable. Elections are about contrast, and it is necessary to explore such. It hardly shocks that ambitious and high performing people, folks who are not always afflicted with an excess of modesty, are capable of […]
Read MoreIs the DNC on Trump’s payroll?
For reasons detailed in an article in the GSO last month (It’s bad enough to betray NH, but for South Carolina?) the Democratic National Committee (DNC) has already set a kind of record for arrogance and colossal political stupidity with their heavy handed assault on the venerable grass roots First in the Nation (FITN) New Hampshire presidential primary tradition. Developed by the Granite State for a century, the NH FITN tradition has become law in NH, and made a unique […]
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Provide RFKJ with Secret Service protection
Pettiness is not new in American politics. It has seemed turbo charged in recent years. Standards of conduct are lower. More people in politics seem to equate gratuitous nastiness with strength. Challenges to the re-nomination of presidents, much like divorces, seem to make particularly bitter antagonists out of otherwise civilized people. Easygoing Gerald Ford never forgave Ronald Reagan for challenging him. Ford vanquished Reagan, and reconciled with the man who actually ousted him from office in 1976, Jimmy Carter, to […]
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