RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/democrats-have-no-biden-backup-plan-for-2024-despite-age-concerns/ar-AA1kOhSF

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Democratic Party has no Plan B if President Joe Biden decided for any reason to halt his 2024 re-election campaign, and a sudden need to replace him as its standard-bearer would spark a messy intraparty battle.

Despite weak poll numbers and questions, including from some Democrats, about his age, Biden has stuck to his plan to seek a second term after clearing the field of serious Democratic primary challengers when he announced in April that he was running again.

Even if more Democratic candidates were to jump in now, the path forward would be unclear as deadlines to get on the primary ballot in critical states such as Nevada, South Carolina and Georgia have already passed.

Biden loyalists, citing his record in office, argue that the party does not need a backup plan to defeat probable Republican nominee Donald Trump, who Biden beat in the 2020 election.

Among the possible scenarios if the president, 81, did drop out: Democrats could pick another nominee next August at their convention, or even later, in line with party rules.

Reuters spoke to multiple current and former officials who, while making clear they want Biden to succeed, acknowledge the party could face upheaval should the oldest president in U.S. history encounter a health issue or step aside for other reasons during the White House contest.

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/top-takeaways-real-winner-of-desantis-newsom-debate

Against all expectations, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis absolutely destroyed California’s Gavin Newsom in Thursday night’s Red State-Blue State debate moderated by Sean Hannity on Fox News.

Yes, the governor of Florida had a stronger hand – his state has seen a massive inflow of residents attracted to the better quality of life offered by the Sunshine State, while people have been fleeing California. On issue after issue raised by Hannity, DeSantis could roll out statistics that prove the success of the conservative common-sense policies he has implemented in Florida. 

But the surprise was in his strong and persuasive presentation. DeSantis is generally perceived to be a wooden speaker and campaigner; maybe his run for president has made him more effective. Newsom, on the other hand, is reputed to be the Democrat’s smooth-talking, politically clever president-in-waiting, the likely successor to Joe Biden should the president drop out of the 2024 race.  

The California governor was glib, to be sure, but he turned out to be all fluff — unable to answer questions that he surely saw coming, like why people are fleeing his state or why gasoline prices are $4.85 a gallon compared to $3.17 in Florida and $3.25 nationwide.   

Newsom embarrassed himself by disputing indisputable facts presented by debate moderator Hannity; he had no answers. The California governor could not explain why 750,000 people left his state in the past two years, while 454,000 people moved into Florida, why violent crime is almost twice as high in California as it is in Florida, why taxes are so much loftier, or why homelessness is over three times greater than in Florida. (He actually tried to suggest that the homeless issue had begun under Ronald Reagan’s governorship.). 

Asked about these issues, Newsom mostly skirted the questions, denied the facts or pivoted to talking up President Joe Biden’s record. For instance, he resorted to White House talking points on the large number of jobs added nationally under the Biden administration rather than explain why unemployment is so much higher in California than it is in Florida. On our open border, Newsom blamed Republicans for not backing Biden’s plan for comprehensive immigration reform, rather than admit that the millions of people pouring into our country illegally pose a security threat.

Sometimes, Newsom made up completely non-credible statistics of his own. He claimed, for instance, that more people had moved from Florida to California in the past two years than the other way around. People watching immediately debunked that idea, posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, actual numbers that disproved the governor’s claim.

http://www.swtotd.blogspot.com

Donald Trump is like a battery-operated Hyper Pet Critter Dog that runs helter-skelter around the floor. As long as its battery is charged it will annoy most everyone except its owner. Trump’s battery life appears inexhaustible, but is it, and who or what is responsible?

Since January 6, 2021, it has become common for Democrats to claim democracy is under attack, with Donald Trump as prima facie evidence. In a speech on November 2, 2022, shortly before the midterms, President Biden said: “In our bones, we know democracy is at risk.” Just over two months ago, and citing the January 6 attack, he repeated the warning: “We know how damaged our institutions of democracy – our judiciary, the legislature, the executive – have become in the eyes of the American people, even the world, from attacks within, the past few years.” It is a message that resonated with voters in 2022. Will it succeed again in 2024? In that same 2023 speech, he warned that democracies “can die when people are silent – when they fail to stand up or condemn threats to democracy.” While he did not refer to him by name, he was speaking of Donald Trump.

The impetus for his remarks was January 6, and the “attack” on the Capital by Trump supporters. But in both remarks Biden failed to mention that democracy did survive – that the only fatality was that of Ashli Babbitt who was shot dead by a Capital policemen and that Vice President Michael Pence certified the election results, which made Joe Biden President. Nor did he acknowledge that the people were not silent – that the “attack” was condemned by Democrats and Independents – and by many Republicans – and all of mainstream media. More than 1,100 rioters have been charged with close to 300 having been given prison sentences, ranging from six months to eighteen years. The people have not been silent about January 6.

https://pjmedia.com/paula-bolyard/2023/11/30/desantis-dominates-in-red-state-vs-blue-state-debate-with-newsom-n4924384#google_vignette

I was not among those who said a debate between the governors of Florida and California—Ron DeSantis and Gavin Newsom, respectively—was a bad idea. I’d actually like to see more debates—more good debates, that is, not the bread-and-circus shows we’ve seen on network and cable television in recent years. If it were up to me, we’d switch to a Lincoln-Douglas debate format. Back then, there weren’t TV executives rigging the debates to ensure maximum eyeballs, profits, and mud-slinging. They’re designed to make money, not reveal what the candidates would do if they were elected.

This brings us to tonight’s Red State/Blue State debate in Alpharetta, Ga., moderated by Sean Hannity on Fox News. 

Hannity promised at the beginning of the debate that he would not tip the scales in favor of one candidate, but the questions he asked and the graphics he displayed definitely favored DeSantis. He debated Newsom several times, which I wish he hadn’t done. DeSantis proved more than capable of handling Newsom on his own. In fact, he wiped the floor with Newsom, who wouldn’t know a truthful statement if it hit him in the head. Over and over again, the Florida governor used facts to back up his claims and called out Newsom for saying things that were not true. 

The first question was about net migration from California to Florida. DeSantis explained why people are leaving and coming to Florida. “You almost have to try to mess California up,” he quipped. 

When it was Newsom’s turn to answer, he completely ignored the question and rambled about all the great things California has, like Silicon Valley (which no doubt carts a truckload of cash over to Newsom’s campaign every other month). 

https://issuesinsights.com/2023/12/01/forget-the-red-v-blue-state-debate-this-was-a-great-debate/

Who won – and lost – Thursday night’s primetime clash between mega-Governors Ron DeSantis, Republican of the Free State of Florida, and Gavin Newsom, Democrat of the Golden State?

On this scorecard, the winners were the American people. And the losers: one and the same.Why was America writ large the winner? 

Because though the event was billed as Great Red State v. Blue State Debate, a nationwide audience was actually privileged to see a just-plain great debate between two attractive and transcendently talented politicians.

America took in more substance, more facts, more clear contrasts, more smart thrusts and parries, and more rhetorical skill, intellectual heft and displays of energy in the first five minutes of this MMA-quality cage match than in the entire series of Republican contests to date. 

The no-holds-barred, mano-a-mano square-off was the Thrilla to those debates’ Vanilla.

Your commentator will leave fact-checking to the “fact-checkers.” Because what mattered much more was the quality and skill of the participants.

Face it, folks. This Newsom guy is good. Surprisingly good, even to this jaded observer.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/gavin-newsom-ron-desantis-fox-news-debate-florida-california-239e637b?mod=opinion_lead_pos1

Gavin Newsom and Ron DeSantis are set to square off Thursday evening in a Fox News debate, and it should be instructive. Besides offering voters a look of the alternatives to Joe Biden and Donald Trump, the showdown between the California and Florida governors could provide a revealing policy contrast.

Sacramento has rushed to the left in recent decades while Tallahassee has moved to the right. Since winning election in 2018, Messrs. Newsom and DeSantis have advanced sharply different policies on Covid lockdowns, taxes, school choice and climate regulation, among other things. In case you’ll be keeping track at home, here is a scorecard of policy results.

• Employment. Since January 2019, employment has increased by 1,031,030 in Florida while declining by 85,438 in California. Amid Mr. Newsom’s prolonged Covid lockdowns, businesses and workers moved to places with a lower tax burden and cost of living. Florida’s population is 22.2 million and rising, while California’s is 39 million and falling.

https://townhall.com/columnists/betsymccaughey/2023/11/24/the-left-conspires-to-keep-election-fraud-quiet-wonder-why-n2631578

You can see it with your own eyes. But Democrats and their left-wing media allies call it a “fantasy.” What is it?

Election fraud.

A Lawrence, Massachusetts, voter who had been turned away from the polls on Election Day and told he had already voted found out he was the victim of fraud. He checked the footage on the video camera outside his front door and saw that a woman had removed mail-in ballots from his mailbox. He called the police.

It’s happening in many places. On Tuesday, Fight Voter Fraud, Inc., a nonprofit voter rights group, appeared in Connecticut Superior Court to demand the arrest of a woman allegedly caught on video committing mail-in ballot fraud in the 2019 Bridgeport Democratic mayoral primary and again in the 2023 primary. The group, protesting that city officials pretend there’s no problem, also called on the Connecticut legislature to appoint a special prosecutor.

According to Rasmussen Reports, a staggering 60% of likely voters nationwide consider election cheating a problem. Yet the Left denies it’s happening.

The Washington Post calls it a “myth” and a “fantasy offense.”

Worst of all, the federal government is suppressing the evidence and censoring anyone who complains about election cheating.

Never-before-seen emails released by the House Judiciary Committee on Nov. 6 reveal that a government-sponsored task force is muzzling public figures, thousands of ordinary Americans, and media outlets like Newsmax and The Babylon Bee when they report election irregularities.

The emails show that officials within the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department — the deep state — organized the Election Integrity Partnership in 2020, recruiting academics at Stanford University and the University of Washington to question election honesty and then instruct social media companies such as Google, Facebook, and YouTube to label the postings as “misinformation” or take them down entirely.

Don’t be fooled by the name Election Integrity Partnership. This task force does the opposite, silencing concerns about election integrity

In 2020, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich objected when the state of Pennsylvania adopted new election rules during the COVID pandemic that, in his view, invited cheating. He tweeted, “Pennsylvania democrats are methodically changing the rules so they can steal the election.”

When Nicole Malliotakis ran for Congress in 2020 from Staten Island and southern Brooklyn, she posted on Facebook: “Be sure to vote tomorrow because we’re not only taking on Max Rose, Nancy Pelosi & Bill de Blasio. We’re taking on Dead Democrats too!”

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2023/11/campaign_kabuki.html

All the normal ways of analyzing election outcomes are a complete waste of time unless the issue of fraud is addressed. 

Less than a year to go until the 2024 election and the pundits are out in force with their analysis. There are whiteboards, videos, polls, graphs, and lots of posturing.

All the normal ways of analyzing election outcomes are a complete waste of time unless the issue of fraud is addressed. The sad truth is, that in many parts of the country, the voters really have no choice.

Take the case of the current president. He didn’t even have to show up in 2020. He was promised the win and he got it. The election was over before the voting began.

Then there’s the case of Lake vs. Hobbs in Arizona. Subtleties of computer malware weren’t even needed in Arizona when the strangely vague Katie Hobbs was declared the winner. Through the entire campaign season, she didn’t bother campaigning, she refused to debate and was rarely seen. Her opponent counted on people showing up at the polls on election day — so what could go wrong? The voting equipment was simply disabled in Republican-heavy precincts, resulting in long wait times, lost ballots, and ballots that were promised to be “counted later.” Subsequent investigations have shown video of tampering with sealed machines — mountains of evidence have shown the election was fraudulent.

Evidence of fraud was met with a big “so what.” The Arizona election tampering was so heavy-handed, one can easily assume the cartels were involved. Cartels were not about to have Kari Lake become governor of Arizona, and military-industrial types were not about to have a change in the U.S. Senate representation either. Neither of these parties care what voters want or what they do.

https://pjmedia.com/rick-moran/2023/11/18/a-flood-of-retirements-in-congress-threatens-to-upend-the-2024-election-n4924046

Less than a year before election day 2024, the number of retirements in the House and the Senate may break a record for this cycle.

Thirty-four members of Congress have already announced they were not seeking re-election, including Senator Joe Manchin whose West Virginia Senate seat has moved from “Leans Republican” to “Safe Republican” in the Sabato Crystal Ball ratings.

Few retirements in Congress will lead to that kind of a decisive difference. Since most Congressmen are already in non-competitive districts, a retirement won’t matter in many districts.

But there’s still the known commodity vs. the unknown candidate. The known commodity is a proven fundraiser and vote-getter. So even with a high partisan lean in a district carried by Joe Biden, there’s no guarantee a Democratic candidate will prevail.

According to Politico, out of the last 15 elections, the party with the fewest retirements has won 10 of them. Even with a partisan lean of 10, a district with a retired incumbent is still considered “in play” by the opposing party.

(FiveThirtyEight’ defines partisan lean “as the average margin difference2 between how a state or district votes and how the country votes overall. For example, if a state has a FiveThirtyEight partisan lean of R+5, that means it is 5 percentage points more Republican-leaning than the nation as a whole.”)

Currently, there are 27 Democrats not running for re-election while only 9 Republicans are declining to run. Some of those candidates are running for another office such as governor and senator. But why those 34 retirements are significant is because the cycle hasn’t hit its historic peak of announced retirements yet.

https://justthenews.com/government/congress/manchin-attacks-biden-vows-mobilize-radical-middle

West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin on Sunday attacked President Joe Biden for being too far to the left, and he vowed to “mobilize the radical middle.”

“Joe Biden has been pulled so far to the left, the extreme left, as far as liberal,” Manchin, told radio host John Catsimatidis in an interview Sunday on “The Cats Roundtable” show. “Makes no sense at all. It’s not the person we thought was gonna bring the country together.”

Manchin, who is not seeking reelection in 2024, said that Washington, D.C., wants “America to be divided because it’s a better business model,” and he “came to the conclusion” after 13 years in the Senate that he is “not going to change it from within.” 

After realizing that he could not change Washington as a politician, Manchin said, “I’ve decide[d] to go around and see if I can mobilize the radical middle.”

Meanwhile, last week Manchin alluded to a potential 2024 White House bid.