ELECTION REFLECTIONS
Much prayer went into this election as those who are informed on the issues recognized we were at a permanent tipping point. I asked for a clear victory and that occurred, as many were dreading a drawn-out period that would allow for a lot of fraud and controversy. These are my takeaways in brief, as I only have about 90 minutes to devote this morning to that effort. I wanted to summarize some thoughts to help bring us all together:
Kamala Harris did not come off as authentic.
Many people found it hard to actually believing what she said about being a uniter given her tone in person and in her ads. She ignored Red States in contrast to Donald Trump who had rallies in NYC and in California. I do not believe she flipped even one state in her favor. She did go to battleground states, but the energy was not there and her vote tallies there were less than expected. Her margins in blue states were much lower such as in Virginia. Even in deep blue Philadelphia, Trump increased his percentage by over 30% from last time. Whether you agreed with Trump or not, he gave the same message whether in a deep Red State or a deep Blue State. You know where he stood. Kamala’s message kept changing. She said she agreed with every Biden policy, which of course would include his on-again off-again support for Israel and his sheer hatred for Bibi Netanyahu. She also said she was her own person and had a new way forward. Ambivalence is not a winner. She tried not to alarm the traditional Jewish Democrats, perhaps being aware that in a poll in Israel, it was a landside for Trump at 62% support, but she also pandered to the significant and deeply anti-Semitic part of her base. Seeing the inconsistencies, Rashida Tlaib, a Congresswoman from Michigan and part of "The Squad," refused to endorse Harris while Jewish support in NYC rose by 25%. Harris’ duplicity was rather obvious. Harris also had a “hate Trump” theme with ads repeating endless lies and could bring no cogent policy platform to the table because she needed to remain "flexible." People want strong leaders. I do not believe she could have stood up to any world leader in tough negotiations.
She is a woman, but since Hillary ran before, this was not ground-breaking.
I saw a friend at the polls with a big homemade sign with fairy dust and all reading, “Every Little Girl Needs to See a Madame President.” If the woman running was Esther, Ruth, or Deborah, I believe that would have had a lot of traction. But if Jezebel or Athaliah which was closer to the truth, that would not resonate. I heard nothing attacking her gender but also less student voices to vote for her only because she was a woman and it was "her turn."
She made a dismal VP pick.
Her ability to judge character was clearly lacking, with the goofball detracting from her campaign with Bidenesque gaffes. Vance, on the other hand, stepped up to the plate, even under hostile questioning, and made his case as a smart pick.
She could not run from illegal immigration issues.
Trump had a wise policy, Biden/Harris did not. Plain and simple. The impact in the southwest in terms of crime, the Fentanyl pandemic, and the influx of military-age single men, even from Red China, scares the daylights out of any observant person. Trump will likely never be able to repeat what Eisenhower did in terms of mass deportation in the 1950’s, but if he seals the border, deports criminals or is able to get an expanded death penalty which would be most difficult to do, it would be a good start. Many do not realize that being an illegal immigrant often involves identity theft in terms of getting a Social Security Number. Any limited amnesty has to address the real issues, and I believe US assistance to Panama and Guatemala which are trying to cut off the immigration trails would be welcomed as a sound investment. As the husband to two different immigrant wives, he is hardly anti-immigrant, and neither are most Americans, many of whom are immigrants themselves. We need to also reform legal immigration, because the Dems tilted it to bring in many people from nations with totally different value systems, while those who would prize and advance American freedoms are shunted to the back of the line.
People are tired of a bigoted media.
One watchdog report showed that MSM coverage of Harris was 85% positive, but coverage of Trump was over 95% negative. Americans do prize fairness, and their trust of the media is very low. They have turned to Newsmax, the Epoch Times, and other media which actually report news in depth. The MSM used to be able to control every narrative, but that has declined. I dare say that if CBS, NBC, ABS, CNN, MSNBC, and others were actually fair and factual for just two weeks, Trump would have had between 60-65% of the vote. There are always some who will never change, just like so many of the scribes and Pharisees who would not believe even after Jesus was raised from dead. The resignation of so many writers from the Washington Post over Bezos’ bold decision not to endorse anyone and the canceling of subscriptions by a quarter million liberals indicates that Democrats are not about fairness, Democracy, or anything else. In fact, everything they accuse the right of, they do as a matter of course.
People reacted to Lawfare.
The coordinated cases by Joe Biden against Trump began just days after the 2022 election and people see through it. Even Democrat Andrew Cuomo said it was purely political (and he ought to know) and NY Governor Kathy Hochul placated NY Real Estate Investors by saying Trump was the only target. No fair person likes this, or the IRS targeting Conservative and Christian groups, or government employees campaigning on the taxpayers’ dime, or the slow-walk on at least TWO attempted assassinations of Trump.
DEI is in decline.
Colleges and corporations are walking back unfair practices which ignore merit and perpetuate identity politics. Kamala clings to these policies which actually harm minorities. I have extensive experience in design and construction issues, and people and companies hired because of race and gender seldom can compete in the open market, making them dependent on government largesse. A better policy would be asking big tech and other major employers to expand college and training programs for their employees – such as Google, Apple, Amazon, etc. to allow hourly workers to climb the ladder based upon merit, work ethic, and character alone. I believe fairness on a level playing field is the best way to eliminate any remaining racial or gender animus not pandering and endless broken promises.
Americans are tired of both race and religion cards.
Winston Churchill famously said we need to judge people on their actions, not on their words. Any platitudes mean nothing. Actions mean everything. As Jesus said, bad trees produce bad fruit, good trees produce good fruit. Harris is part of a Marxist-leaning Baptist Church and Trump belongs to a Presbyterian Church, though neither appears particularly serious about any faith. I remember back in 2020 when Trump was criticized for saying “Two Corinthians” but I have heard pastors use the same less conventional nomenclature. The comparisons with Cyrus are apt here – he never became a Jew but he supported them. Christians know Trump supports most of what is important to them. I was personally disappointed in his running from the abortion issue, as 92% of Americans reject the abortion for any reason at any stage position of Harris and Walz, but of course she always focused on the 1-2% of abortions due to rape or incest, which are STILL wrong in God’s eyes. When he was POTUS 45, I wrote to Trump several times on my issues with some of his policies and I always received a polite and thoughtful response. I did the same with Biden and Senator Bob Casey, and the difference could not be more dramatic or more telling.
At the Emmanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ in Detroit, Presiding Bishop John Drew Sheard, who also holds the man-given title of Chief Apostle: “Victory is ours, oh God. We thank you for this sister. We're asking that you anoint her afresh. Keep her, oh God, in the center of your will. And God, we will thank you on Tuesday,” he continued as Harris lifted her hands during the prayer and appeared to pray along as he anointed her. We will thank you on Wednesday. We'll thank you on Thursday. We'll thank you. We'll say that you did it, oh God, and it is so, in Jesus' name.” Donnie Swaggart commented: “When the leader of the largest African American Pentecostal denomination stands up and said he endorsed that woman, he was saying: I endorse murder, I endorse homosexuality, I endorse lesbianism, I endorse transgenderism, I endorse every evil that Hell could prosper or bring up to be right. That's wrong, folks.” I am not a Swaggart follower, but his sentiment was spot on, as Kamala had no issue going to a RuPaul Drag Queen show, agreeing with Biden to mandate biological men in women’s locker rooms and on women’s sports teams, in college dormitories, and in prisons, which is absurd and often resulting in severe sports injuries. Her support of gender transition surgeries behind the backs of parents hardly resonates with parents already overwhelmed with raising young people in often toxic educational and cultural environments. Europe has backed off these destructive practices and we MUST as well. The COGIC has its own issues with homosexuality and adultery. MLK said that it is not the color of one’s skin but the content of one’s character, and her entry into politics courtesy of an adulterous relationship with Willie Brown did not go unnoticed. Black support for Trump, especially among younger men, was dramatically higher than in the past even though many if not most predominantly black churches are totally in the pocket of the Democrats.
There could be much more, but that is all for now – add your reflections as comments, please!