Open Thread

Mark Noonan66 Comments

Trump’s cabinet is starting to shape up and it is already more solid than his first – naturally, some people already have objections to this or that pick on varied grounds but, hey, its much better we’re complaining about Trump picks than watching in dismay as Harris picks one corrupt lunatic after another. Rubio at State surprised me but I think he’ll be fine. Noem at DHS is also a bit of a surprise but also fine. On and on like that.

Trump is also laying out some agenda items and his education reform proposals – to force colleges to actually teach rather than be mere indoctrination centers – are key to the long-term survival of the United States. I’ve said for decades that we have an American Left because it is taxpayer subsidized. There are massive numbers of people who are perfectly useless being paid big money ultimately from taxpayers to advance Leftist causes in spite of popular disapproval. Just forcing colleges to cut their bloated administrative staff will be a huge victory for sanity. Deportations of illegals by the million is definitely on the agenda and I hope Democrats try to stop it – the more they are perceived as defending illegals, the better for us long term. Nobody other than corrupt fools wants illegals in country…getting them out was one of the main issues decided by this election and the people want them out. Preliminary moves are being made to bring the Ukraine war to an end (shaping up as de-facto recognition of Russian territorial gains; the cost of trying to expel the Russians being just too high for such a marginal issue – most of the people who live in Russian-occupied territory are ethnic Russians; its basically returning Ukraine’s eastern border to where it had been under the Czars).

Our House majority is terribly narrow – and it is the result of Democrats getting a lot of really good gerrymandering…some of it forced by judicial decisions. Basically if we got this House vote in 2016 it would have been 250 GOPers…now it is, at best, going to be 222. The Red States were also screwed in the census redistricting…there are 8-10 House seats sitting in Blue States which should have been assigned to Red States after 2020. This does make it crucial that we win in 2028…we must control the head count in 2030 and ensure a legal distribution of House seats (and, of course, Electoral Votes…Trump could have won without WI/MI/PA if House seats and resultant EV’s had been legally distributed). We will naturally have some House RINOs try to screw us…but we do have the power of victory. Trump won, and decisively – even the most RINO GOPer is going to be terrified of crossing Trump, at least early on…and that is when most of the work has to be done.

The Senate battle right now is over Majority Leader – I would prefer Scott but that will very much be decided by the internal dynamics of the GOP Senate. I’m looking on it calmly because even if we get ultra-RINO Cormyn, the bottom line is that common sense dictates cooperation with Trump. In 2017, McConnell didn’t go that route because he and the rest of the GOPe were convinced that Trump was a flash in the pan and a mistake…nobody looking at election results can say that now. Trump represents a huge electoral constituency which the GOP will need to retain if they want to win going forward. Failure to back Trump at least on the crucial votes would be catastrophic for the GOP.

Just keep in mind that we’re only past the first step here – we won. But the task of reviving America is going to be a long and difficult one. It won’t be remotely completed during Trump’s term. All we’re really doing here is stopping the bleeding and laying the groundwork for the future. Keep faith, keep smiling and keep praying.

We Are All Americans (Even the Leftist Lunatics)

Mark Noonan51 Comments

Sure he’s trolling them – but it is also a grand and noble gesture. The hate in America all stems from the Left. They have spent decades dividing people. Saying this group has to hate that. Telling this group they are inherently evil, that other group they can do no wrong. Their lies have bred intense mistrust amongst the American people. But here comes Donald Trump after a decisive victory offering them the olive branch.

While they might end up taking the money, they will reject the peace offer with scorn. Already Democrats are gearing up for another round of #Resist drivel. That is both foolish and wrong of them – it is morally wrong because there is nothing to resist (we aren’t actually bad guys) but it is also foolish. However you may think of Trump, the American people gave him a decisive victory. After nine years of Democrats throwing everything they can at him, the American people considered every point of view and every assertion and awarded a majority of their votes and 312 of their Electoral Votes to Donald Trump. It is done. Over. Finished. Sure, Democrats, start laying your plans for 2026 – that is just politics. But if you go obstructionist on grounds the American people just rejected, you’ll find that the normal mid-term snap back against the ruling party doesn’t happen. The American people want peace and prosperity…not interminable political trench warfare.

Another thing Trump announced as a desire to revive the New York City subway system. After all the evil things NY Democrats have done to Trump, this is something he cares about. Why? Because all patriots want things like the NY subway system to be first rate. If we never, ourselves, set foot in it we want the world to see the vitality and strength of America in our greatest cities. We don’t want it the breeding ground of rats and the abode of lunatics. The majority of the people of New York City voted directly against their own best interests last Tuesday. They are still our fellow Americans and even if they hate us, we want good things for them.

That is the difference between us and our opponents – we don’t hate. It takes too much energy and is a waste of time. We stand amazed at liberals putting up Instagram videos ranting and raving about how much they hate Trump and MAGA. Seriously, you got nothing better to do today? One of the rants becoming common is liberal woman raving about how they won’t have sex with us. This would be a serious threat if most of us weren’t married – and the women in question didn’t make their fashion and makeup choices at the I’m a Raving Nutter Feminist Boutique. I don’t like to comment on women’s looks as it is a sensitive subject: default is that all women are beautiful (and they all are, just by existing). But, woof, some of these liberal chicks would have been passed over at 2 am before the ship has to pull out for a six month deployment. For all I know, they might be pretty girls…but the purple hair, piercings, tattoos and foaming at the mouth kinda blocks that perception.

Yes, we do want our revenge – in fact, we must have our revenge. But not like the Democrats going after Trump and MAGA. We don’t want to falsely accuse people of crimes and drag them through a rigged judicial system. We want miscreants punished. There was a story yesterday about how staff at the Department of Defense is conferring about ways and means of thwarting Trump after he takes office. All of them must first be fired and then, for military, court martialed while the civilians face whatever criminal charges can be made. You can’t do this – that is, you can’t conspire among yourselves to develop the ways and means of undermining the Constitutional authority of the President. We only elected one person to hold Executive authority in the USA – Trump. You might not like it. You might think it was the worst decision ever made – but it was the decision. From 1/20/2025 to 1/20/2029 Donald Trump will be the only person with Executive power in the federal government. All others in the Executive branch can only act on Trump’s authority and may not in any way, shape or form thwart the will of Trump. If he does wrong, blow a whistle. If you can’t agree on the policy, resign. But you can’t refuse to carry out orders.

But that is not the only thing we need to correct. The J6 defendants were one and all unjustly prosecuted. At worst, a few of them should have faced fines or maybe jail sentences up to six months. This is in line with whatever actual law breaking was done that day. The Democrats ginned it up like it was an attempt to overthrow the government – that was just a lie and as the basis of prosecution was false, all convictions are false. Trump has pledged to pardon the J6 defendants and I’m sure he will – but every last person involved in prosecuting them needs to be punished. Everyone involved was engaged in a conspiracy to deny civil rights and everyone involved should go to jail…to sit in the cells they unjustly consigned people to for political purposes. This is done not just to give us satisfaction but because the only way to ensure justice is to make sure that the malicious know the axe comes for them, even if delayed.

We go on: those who organized spying under FISA. Those who thwarted Trump’s orders in his first term. Those who orchestrated social media censorship. People who got a rake off from all the Biden Administration spending. There are very many people who need to be brought into court and punished. This isn’t looking back – it is laying the groundwork for the future. A future in which all Americans know that those who abuse power will not forever get away with it.

But, still, we mostly want to do the joyful things. Securing our border to end the abuse of foreigners in the new slave trade the Biden Administration orchestrated. Sending home those illegally in country. Reviving American manufacturing and energy production so that jobs can become plentiful while prices go down. Returning to the Moon and fostering Musk’s program to get to Mars. You know: start doing the grand, hopeful, American things again.

And we’ll do them for all Americans – including the haters and losers on the Left.

America, 2.0

Mark Noonan55 Comments

First off, it wasn’t even close.

I did a search of my X account and found a post I did 9/18/2024 where I figured that Trump was going to win 312 Electoral Votes with a 50/50 shot at a popular vote win. Keep in mind that I didn’t know. It was a guess – a rather sophisticated guess but I was talking about the future. But ever bit of factual data I could see on September 18th suggested a significant Trump win.

I did a bit of another search and on X as early as 8/22/2022 I was suggesting that Pennsylvania was the next Florida – that is, the next Purple State to go Red. Why did I think that? Because really since 2016, all voter registration trends in Pennsylvania favored the GOP. You can’t ignore crucial data like that – not if you want to understand American politics. The major political parties invest huge amounts of time and money registering voters and they don’t do it for fun: power and money are at stake at the end of the process. It is a crucial aspect of political power in the United States…and the Party that is gaining voters is the Party getting ready to win…if not now, then soon. Pennsylvania is still not Red…but if the GOP keeps up the effort, then by 2032 it will be – that is, a State where Democrats will find it increasingly difficult to win anything, let alone the State’s Electoral Votes.

I’m not some super genius. I know that lots of political pundits like to make it seem like they are possessed of esoteric knowledge, but it is really no more than checking a Secretary of State website. It is right there for anyone to see…and you really don’t even have to do your work here because there are data nerds all over the place – Left and Right – who handily collect the data and provide it in easily read graphs. What I saw in September – and in 2022 – was something anyone could see. And yet all through this election cycle, almost the entirety of the MSM and the pundit class was telling you the Democrats had the advantage. They were just lying. Nothing more. They were serving the Democrat Narrative.

Which turned out to be a pretty bad idea. As was once famously said: C’est pire qu’un crime, c’est une faute. It is worse than a crime: it is an error.

You know how many times I have said that they lie, they lie all the time, they lie about everything, they lie when the truth would work better? Well, this was definitely one of those cases where the truth would have served them better – had they simply told the truth, that Trump was doing well right out the gate, they might have ditched Biden earlier, or found a better replacement, or run a very different campaign. But, the thing about liars is they’re rather stupid – they mostly only get away with it as long as nobody calls them out on it. Trump called them out.

What will the new Trump term look like? No idea, really. MAGA covers a lot of ground. My biggest concerns are reigning in the Deep State – especially America’s law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Firing lots of people. Hiring patriots. Making strict laws and rules about how such agencies must have as their first duty obedience to law and protection of the rights of the American people. It really is better that a hundred guilty men escape than one innocent be jailed. Right now, any American coming up against federal law enforcement is essentially guilty unless the federal government decides to let them go. That has to change. Those who enforce the law must be most committed to restricting their own activities and only acting against an American citizen when they have iron-clad proof of law breaking.

Everyone else will likely have different primary concerns but to me the first goal is to make certain that if we lose in 2028 or later, the federal government will simply lack the capacity to oppress me.

This is, no matter how you slice it, just the first of very many steps. A very long process. It took a century for the American Left to destroy Law and make the Constitution a dead letter. It will take us a while to restore it all – and restore it in the face of an American population which doesn’t fully understand the reason for certain Constitutional requirements. But they do understand basic justice – and that is the pivot we can use to advance our reforms.

I feel proud to be an American today. My people proved they are still free – not serfs in waiting. We can save our nation.

Election Day Open Thread

Mark Noonan45 Comments

I fell asleep on the family room chair last night at about 9 pm – just been doing a lot of running around of late and got a bit worn out. Normally, I can never fall asleep any place outside a bed. But I woke up at near midnight and got myself into bed and then slept soundly until 5:30 am. I woke up. Brushed my teeth. Put on some coffee. Opened up X…and then saw this:

He goes on to note that every metric of the election is more favorable to Trump than in either 2016 (when he narrowly won) or 2020 (when he narrowly lost). Which is pretty much what we’ve been saying here. Still not a done deal, of course; it is just the start of election day and maybe a Blue Tsunami suddenly shows up here to alter this…but I have my doubts such a thing will happen.

Not much to say, now. Go vote if you haven’t! Drag a friend with you! Unless its a liberal friend.

UPDATE: LOL at Selzer and her Harris +3 Iowa poll.

UPDATE II: I think Casper’s prediction of 350 EV’s for Harris will fall a little short.

WE DID IT!!!!

WE WON!!!

Are You Ready?

Mark Noonan55 Comments

There’s really not much to say now, is there? I mean, what is going to happen is pretty much set – we’re either going to win a magnificent victory for sanity or we’re going to find ourselves much further down the road of totalitarian insanity. I believe we’re about to win – I just can’t look at early voting numbers after the surge in GOP voter registration and figure we’re going to flop on Election Day turnout. We could! The Electorate could also be 55%+ women just waiting to get out there and sweep Harris into office. But that is a very unlikely outcome, in my opinion. Why? Because the Democrats are bragging about how many millions of doors they’ve knocked and it just hasn’t shown up in the early voting. They’ve shot their bolt – they’ve done everything they can to generate enthusiasm for Harris and it doesn’t seem to be working. Not really much chance it’ll suddenly work on Tuesday. But as in all things of the future, we don’t know until it happens.

Do keep in mind that Harris wasn’t inserted into the nomination as some super brilliant, 3-D chess move…it was a desperate stop-gap after Biden fell apart and placed at risk downballot Democrats. Gotta remember the situation – back then, pre-debate, it looked like Joe had an even money chance of winning while the Democrats chance of taking the House were better than 75%…all along it looked as though the Senate was out of reach (West Virginia being gone before the cycle started and Tester facing his first Presidential-year electorate since Obama won his second term in 2012, there just wasn’t much chance of him surviving; he only won in 2012 by about 18,000 votes out of 476,000 cast). But the House looked solid for the Dems and Joe looked ok…once Joe fell apart then the White House became a vanishing prospect with a good chance that a Biden poll collapse would not only cost the White House but also drag House Democrat candidates down with him. Enter Harris: who was supposed to generate enough enthusiasm to save the House, limit Senate losses and only after about 3 miracles win the White House for the Democrats.

Also remember that the day Biden dropped out, Trump’s campaign issued a memo indicating that they knew this was a possibility (there are no actual secrets in DC, after all) and were prepared to run against Harris. They also pointed out that the MSM would be awash in pro-Harris polls and reports to boost her up and make it look like she was the Second Coming, and the Trump people were ready for that and to counter it. Overall, I think they were ready and clearly had a plan – the most obvious aspect of it being to tie Harris to Biden as much as possible, play to her inability to win anything in 2020 and then just smoke her out – the Democrats wanted to basement her as much as they did Biden in 2020 but Team Trump goaded her into going public, with disastrous results for the Harris campaign.

However Tuesday comes out, Trump has definitely fought the good fight. He even took a bullet for us. We owe him an undying debt of gratitude. The GOP will never go back to the way it was. We are done trying to please the Chamber of Commerce while Democrats destroy everything that made America both good and great. We are now firmly set on a populist, America First path and we will win – the nation will turn to us. I firmly believe that America will turn to us on Tuesday but no matter what happens Tuesday, our time is coming. The whole global ruling class is collapsing under the weight of their lies and stupidity. If we don’t win now, we will win eventually. We are right. We are the good guys. We are the actual diverse coalition of voices who just want liberty and justice for all – this will prevail, in God’s good time if not in ours.

Like a lot of people, I had the jitters but they started to calm in the last week and on Sunday, during Mass, a complete feeling of peace came over me. We’re going to be fine. And, heck, we’re doing pretty well – if I would have told you in, say, May that Trump would have banked a lead in Nevada early votes, you would have shouted for joy at the prospect. Post-facto attempts by Democrats to spin this – and Doomers to downplay it – don’t change the fact that it happened and it is a stunning reversal of the norm.

Anyways, lets have at it. It has been an enormously fun and interesting election cycle, we’re poised for our biggest victory since 1988…and maybe since 1980.

Open Thread

Mark Noonan87 Comments

The Republican Statewide early voting lead in Nevada ended up last night at 44,500. That is a lot. That is unprecedented. In 2020 Democrats had an 87,000 vote lead going in and Biden ended up winning the State by 33,000. Today is the last day for early voting in Nevada and if the Democrats don’t have a massive turnout then Trump is going to win this State and its 50/50 on Brown beating Rosen.

Republicans lead in North Carolina early voting.

Democrats aren’t allowed to look at Florida early voting totals because it will make them cry.

Jobs report came in at 12,000+…and you know that will be revised down to show job losses. Inflation also remained high. Employment and income are rather important election-drivers. Perhaps even more than the desire of a blue haired middle aged lady to get an abortion.

Via manipulated data, the Administration has tried to make out they’ve been an economic success and we, sadly, know that this propaganda line works to a certain extent – but only with people who are not having a hard time. And people are hurting out there. My bet is that we’ve had no real economic growth at all since COVID. And it will be reality that will ultimately drive this election result – you can hide this in this stats month by month, but it is real:

If you attend to social media, do keep in mind that there will be Dooming. It is infectious and we GOPers have been conditioned to accept it. None of us are immune to the propaganda no matter how wise we are…and deep in our hearts has been set the notion that we just can’t win. Doomers – most of whom are paid by Dems – play to that. To discourage…to, if nothing else, save a couple marginal seats downballot for the Democrats. Don’t fall for it! Bolt a smile on your face, say your prayers, vote and lets see what happens.

Are You Ready to Rumble…Nervously?

Mark Noonan101 Comments

Nervous? I think most of us are – but it is time for calm. Most of the early voting is either wrapping up now or will very soon. Do keep in mind that early vote estimates are just that: estimates. Sure, we can roughly assume 95%+ of GOP and Dem votes will go to the Party…and while we have polling of Indys, we don’t know how they’ll actually vote. On balance, I’d rather be GOP right now than Dem…but until those votes are counted, it is all just guesswork, some more sophisticated than others.

Heard that Harris is moving money from North Carolina to Virginia – if so, then she’s got to draw an inside straight to get to just 270. What such a move means is that AZ/NV/GA/NC are out of reach and so she needs all of WI/MI/PA and can’t lose VA (or NH/MN/NM). And if this is the case then any of WI/MI/PA (or reach States VA/NH/MN/NM) gets Trump to victory. Trump as of this moment appears to have far more paths to victory than Harris.

The Senate looks solid for the GOP – with GOP pickups in MT and WV getting the GOP to 51 (presuming we don’t lose TX – I think Cruz will be fine, but Dems are talking it up as a chance). But the GOP has real opportunities for upsets in WI and PA – with both Baldwin and Casey running desperately away from Harris and the Democrats. NV and AZ? Very much long shots – with Brown in NV having a much better chance than Lake in AZ.

House? Your guess is as good as mine: though I expect a Trump win to drag sufficient over the finish line to get a GOP House…a Harris win doing the same for Dems but with a slightly higher chance that Harris would come in with a GOP controlled Congress if it goes that way.

Naturally, right after I wrote that about Lake, we get this:

It is very much an outlier – everyone else shows Gallego comfortably ahead. But if it is like this, then a Trump win would drag Lake over the finish line. The trend line on it is interesting. And it is in line with the general thrust of polling which shows a shift to the GOP increasing over time.

And that is where we can get to dare to dream big – there is a chance (call it 25%) that we’re heading to a 1980-style result for the GOP. But we’re just going to have to wait and see!

10 Days Left!

Mark Noonan19 Comments

Just had a Sam Brown door knocker to remind me to vote – this is the first time I’ve ever been so knocked by a GOP candidate. If Brown loses, it won’t be for lack of trying. Can he win? Polls say he’s still down…but the GOP is leading early vote by about 29,000 as of last night. Dems will naturally do all they can to erase that this weekend…and I do expect the GOP lead to drop a bit as Dems go flat out…but the bottom line is that the Dems need somewhere around a 30,000 early vote lead to have a State-wide shot (not a guarantee: just a shot – the chance that they won’t be overwhelmed by rurals). It simply isn’t looking good for them.

So, Harris pushed her Texas rally via an appearance by Beyonce’…and the placed was packed. Because, of course, they were expecting at least a bit of a show by Beyonce’…who ended up speaking for a couple minutes and then leaving. Look, I’m not sure that having a bazillionaire entertainer on your side is all that much an advantage to begin with…we’re worrying about the price of food. But to have her just come in and say “yay Kammie” is an insult…witnesses say there were some boos after Beyonce’ bailed out.

Early vote in Arizona can only be described as a Democrat collapse. Sure, both GOP and Dem overall votes are down from 2020 and everyone expected that – with Covid out of the picture, more people will vote on election day…but I’m seeing 16 point shifts to the GOP in early voting. This is catastrophic if it holds through to election day. The latest Dem Hopium is that huge numbers of the GOPers are actually voting Harris and Dems – who have been strong early voters – are now deciding to do election day. This is a theory and it is possible…and if so then we’re all going to be surprised. But I really don’t see any indication that Harris is securing a large number of GOPers nor that Dems are really just waiting until the 5th.

Last night in Game 1 of the World Series a lady wore a MAGA hat right behind home plate. First off: that takes guts. Los Angeles isn’t exactly Trump Country (though a ball game will have a higher percentage of MAGA than the general LA population). Secondly, Democrats melted down about it. They wanted that lady hounded out of the ball park! Meanwhile, Harris/Walz closing argument is that we need to end the politics of division…

Harris was invited on Rogan’s podcast and apparently demanded that certain topics be off limits. Trump went on their and chatted for hours without a note…last I checked, just on YouTube it was closing on 10 million views. I think we know who feels confident 10 days out.

Open Thread

Mark Noonan24 Comments

The election news is so positive for the GOP that you seriously start to wonder if its all too good to be true. All I can say right now is: get out and vote. Bring a friend. But not that blue-haired maiden aunt; leave her at home.

The Democrats have tried their October surprise – a claim that Trump praised Hitler. The story is entirely unsourced and even some MSM outfits are treating it as the garbage that it is. I doubt it’ll get any traction – Democrats have been calling Trump Hitler since 2015. You can only do that so long before everyone who’s not a Democrat fanatic just tunes it out. But I doubt this is the last of if – if things are as going as well for us as we think, then the Democrats will just get more desperate as we approach election day. There is no lie they won’t utter – no dirty trick they won’t engage in. Yes, they will cheat if they can – but they can only cheat if its close in crucial areas as it was in 2020. I suspect this won’t be close.

To digress for a moment here: the Democrats and the overall Left don’t even know why Hitler was bad. Even if Hitler had never carried out the Holocaust he still would have been someone who all decent people had to oppose. Hitler was bad because he thought that God didn’t exist and that the State stood supreme over all human considerations. In other words, the basics of Hitler’s evil was the same as the evil of Communism and Fascism…and, of course, the godless modern Left who want total control of our lives.

Harris took the day off yesterday and is mostly taking today off – just a bit of prep work for an interview. And yet her team is calling Trump exhausted. It is very strange how her campaign is being run – and some people are pointing out that Harris has pulled together some pretty bad people to run it. Like they just don’t know what to do. Sending Harris to campaign in Texas is just bizarre. Having her take days off with two weeks left to go is malpractice. If (when) Harris loses, the knives will come out – she will be chopped to pieces as everyone runs for cover and disavows any responsibility.

Anyways, I just hope this proves true: I’m tired of Nevada voting for the idiot every election.

Open Thread

Mark Noonan36 Comments

It does feel like a misprint. Mail is working a little better for Democrats…but not nearly enough. Even TDS-Ralston is conceding that the Clark County firewall isn’t nearly big enough for Democrats. Don’t bet the ranch on this…but, let’s face it, this sort of data is happening all around the country. You’d much rather be a Republican candidate right now than a Democrat.

In 2020 the Conservative Party in British Columbia – pretty much moribund at the time – got 36,000 votes. So far this year, they are just a hair under 888,000. The bad news? So far they are also just a hair under a majority of the seats (and, naturally, the commie ruling party – the NDP – is saying it may take a while to get final results…especially in the seat where they lead by 23 votes). The Conservative Party leader has already pledged to provoke an early election if NDP gets back in. Basically, after many years of British Columbia varying between Commie and Super Commie governments, it looks like people have had enough. Lets hope that translates here south of the border.

Elon Musk is pouring it on for Trump and the GOP. Do keep in mind that a lot of Elon’s basic views are Liberal. Globalist. Free Trade. All that stuff. But he sees, because he’s trying to build rocket ships, that government has become poison to effort. And he knows the only way out is to get Trump and the GOP in – not because they are totally in line with him, but because they aren’t insane against effort. This is the first time we’ve had someone like him really do this – the cool, tech billionaire guy on the GOP side. And it is driving the Democrats nuts! This is a beautiful thing.

Ireland continues to show that sending condolences over Hitler killing himself (they really did it!) wasn’t a one-off thing – Ireland will now impose a trade embargo on Israel. This is more than just now having Muslims in Ireland…this is a deep-seated bit of anti-Semitism that I really didn’t know existed in Ireland until lately. They just don’t like Jews.