kamala-harris

Changing Times

Dave Davis Commentary, Policy, Uncategorized , , , ,

In line with my efforts to see all sides of an issue, I keep up with ideas on both the left and the right. CNN and Washington Post (WP) columnist Fareed Zakaria usually provides good insight into establishment thinking, especially on foreign affairs. His latest  WP column is an eye-opener. He calls into question the left’s efforts to benefit the working class.

Most noncollege graduates in Red states voted for Trump and Republicans, even though the Biden administration made significant efforts to provide job-producing projects there. Instead of appreciating their benefactors, the ingrates voted for the opposition.

Zakaria feels the left’s prevailing theory is to move away from a market-oriented economy to one with sweeping government interventions. “It passed massive infrastructure and climate spending bills, explicitly designed to help noncollege educated Americans.” Zakaria points to two congressional districts, one in Texas and the other in Mississippi, that received the most significant government-backed projects but still voted increasingly Republican.

Attributing the continuing working-class Republican migration to race, identity, and culture issues among noncollege-educated whites, he thinks the Democrats should concentrate on their “solid base of college-educated professionals, women and minorities,” and strive to add moderate swing voters. He observes, “Biden keeps touting his pro-union credentials but is increasingly speaking of a bygone era. In 2023, only 6 percent of private sector workers belonged to a union.” The votes to win are elsewhere.

Shortly after reading the Zakaria article, I read Peter Suderman, Reason Magazine’s features editor, “Biden’s Legacy: He Didn’t Build That,” “…over and over again, that’s what happened under Biden: Vast sums were spent or authorized, but nothing came of it.” Maybe that’s why the people in Texas and Mississippi aren’t thrilled if there is no lithium refinery or battery factory. Because of red tape, opposition, and slow-moving bureaucracies, building things in the U.S. takes forever or never gets done.  

Continue reading →

And So It Begins

Dave Davis Commentary, Policy, Uncategorized , , , ,

Like many others, I’m still in a quandary after the election. While the media gushed over how Kamala Harris is a great candidate, her history said the opposite. The election confirmed what most already knew: she was awful.  

Of the seven battleground states, six also had high-profile senate races. Democrats won five out of the six, even though Trump swept those states. This outcome shows people were willing to split their ticket to vote for a Senate Democrat. Maybe some didn’t vote for Harris or Trump. It shows it wasn’t Democrats per se that people didn’t like; it was Kamala Harris. The question remains: why trade the declining Biden for the dead weight of the vice president?

It may surprise some, but Trump plans to fulfill his campaign promises. All the people he has appointed are loyal to him and his agenda. This realization inspires fear and joy, depending on where you stand on the issues. I’m experiencing one and the other.

Continue reading →

And So It Ends

Dave Davis Commentary, Uncategorized , , , , , ,

I hope to live long enough to read the definitive book explaining how the powers in the Democratic Party brilliantly executed their plan to win the 2024 presidential election up to the end game. Faced with an administration with failing policies led by an increasingly physically failing President, the plan was to secure the weakest opponent. Once accomplished, replace Biden with a bright new face unattached to the administration to carry them to victory. A complaint media would partner in the endeavor.

The planners secured the Republican nomination for the weakest possible opponent, Donald Trump. They focused media attention on Trump by hitting the former president with several novel indictments. It is suitable to punish even political opponents if they break laws; we punish other citizens.

However, most of the cases were questionable rather than airtight. Republicans reacted as intended, with anger and sympathy for their former president. The planners also tried to keep him off the ballot in several places. The obvious unconstitutionality further enraged many in the G.O.P. All the focus on Trump’s court cases sucked all the air out of his primary opponents. Only Nikki Haley lasted through Super Tuesday.

Continue reading →

Time Waits For No One

Dave Davis Commentary, Policy, Uncategorized , , , , , ,

While we await the election, the world moves forward. Wars keep spreading. The administration continues its mission to prevent this, but we have the opposite. Ukraine seized Russian territory. In the Middle East, Lebanon is aflame, and Iran is taking blows.. Now, North Koreans have entered Russia, apparently to bolster the Ukrainian front. The conflict containment policy has failed.

Kamala Harris says she wouldn’t change anything. Are we looking at the same wars? While we wait for direction from whomever wins the Presidency, our friends have suffered. At every step of the way, the U.S. put obstacles in the way of the Ukraine, and Israel to deal their foes attitude changing blows. Aggression is best met by a solid and painful response. If it isn’t, the attacker has no reason to desist. When we forget this simple fact, we promote more bad behavior. Lawbreakers paying little price or no price leads to more crime.

Now we have Turkey bombing the Kurds. Remember them? They are the ones who filled the combat role in our victory over Issis. A terrorist attack on military base caused the Turkish action, even though there is no proof it was the Kurds.

Continue reading →

Decision Time

Dave Davis Commentary, Policy , , , ,

Well, it’s crunch time. Ballots have gone out in Arizona, and I’ll soon be looking at mine. At 86, waiting to vote isn’t an option. Decisions: Dececions. Over the past weeks, I’ve examined several issues to determine the right course and where Trump and Harris stand. I explored the economy, abortion, and Education.

Surprisingly, both candidates advocate industrial policies bordering on mercantilism: tariffs, subsidies, and tax breaks for the favored. With each announcing new expensive policies almost daily, knowing which will ultimately add the most to our staggering national debt is impossible. Trump stands to retain a business-friendly tax structure. In the long run, an effort to rein in regulations may do more for an economy that increasingly finds itself unable to complete anything. Harris continues piling on rules at a record pace, advocating making the rich “pay their fair share,” whatever that means.

Trump is punting the abortion issue to the states to decide. Harris selected a running mate who signed a bill in Minnesota allowing elective abortions up to birth. No one cares about the little living human. By the second trimester, we certainly know they’re living humans. Some people want to give more rights to octopi than these little people. Neither has dealt with abortion’s future issues affecting gays, autistic, and others.

While a massive problem, Education receives little or no attention from Trump or Harris. Why do we have a Department of Education if this isn’t a national issue? If the children are our future, the outlook is grim.

The last area to examine may be spiraling out of control. Readers know I have agreed with very little the present administration has done on the world stage. From the relatively quiet world the Biden administration inherited, its actions in Afghanistan, Ukraine, and the Middle East have created spreading conflicts. In addition to our loss of position in places such as Africa and South America, I see a need for immediate reappraisal, which will lead to coarse corrections.

Continue reading →