Opposition Media Grades on a Strange Curve

Don’t you hate it when your optimism proves unfounded?

He entered the New Year riding a wave of what appeared to be unprecedented political support — the most for a Republican in quite a few years. And what happened? Legislative fumbles in the first 100 days, and the second 100 days for that matter, produced story after story in the Opposition Media claiming the legislative honeymoon was over before it began.

Then there was the unseemly internal bickering with other Republican leaders, again extensively covered by the OpMedia. Externally, there were high–profile failures to honor major campaign promises.

And don’t forget the politically tin–eared statements to the media that alienated independent voters and kept critical news coverage going during any lulls between major upsets. This resulted in a collapse in his approval rating with both base and swing voters — possibly a crucial setback to any chance of re–election.

Analyzing this collapse is where the OpMedia’s grading on a strange curve comes into play. This master of political disaster who’s frittered away a huge opportunity is not Donald Trump. It’s the Curator of the Senate, Mitch McConnell, currently a political dead man walking. And still the OpMedia treats McConnell like he’s the politician completely in tune with the electorate.

A recent Public Policy Polling survey discovered that McConnell’s strategy of keeping Senate rules dusted, lubricated and running smoothly until the Democrats take control again is a loser with voters that expected results. McConnell’s approval rating is a laughable 18 percent, while his disapproval rating is a stunning 74 percent.  And this isn’t a nationwide poll where voters know little regarding McConnell other than the fact he’s chairman of the Can’t Do Caucus.

This is a Kentucky poll in his home state!

Among GOP voters McConnell’s approval is underwater at 28 percent approve and 64 percent disapprove. Independent voters are even more disdainful. Only 4 percent approve and 81 percent disapprove of McConnell’s lack of performance.

Compare McConnell’s pathetic home state numbers with Trump’s Kentucky numbers. Overall 60 percent approve of Trump’s performance and 36 percent disapprove. Among Republicans Trump’s support is almost four times that of McConnell, 86 to 28 percent. Independents favor Trump over McConnell by a factor of 14: 56 percent for Trump and 4 percent for Mitch.

The news hook here should be McConnell blocks Trump agenda and his support collapses at home. Instead, we get warnings that it’s a dangerous strategy for Trump to confront McConnell and the establishment GOP in the Senate and House.

National Review, which remains a hotbed of Never Trumpers, contends that instead of making senators who oppose him pay a price politically, Trump should be grateful for any crumbs that fall from legislative pygmy McConnell’s table.

Both the National Review and the Washington Post have identified the problem, but refuse to consider any remedy that doesn’t involve appeasement. The WaPost says, “For some time, it has been apparent that members of Congress do not fear the president” and NR writes, senators “not sufficiently scared of the White House.” That lack of respect, combined with the political classes’ disdain and personal contempt for Trump, means the usual hearts–and–minds strategy won’t produce the results Trump promised his voters.

That’s why his visit to Arizona was so encouraging. Arizona is home to the serial betraying RINO Sen. John McCain and the disrespectful Sen. Jeff Flake, who is up for re–election in 2018. Prior to his visit Trump tweeted an almost endorsement of Flake’s primary challenger Kelli Ward. On the ground Trump met with two other potential Flake challengers.

That’s a great start, but if Trump really wants to defeat Flake and send an unmistakable message he needs to take two more steps. First he needs to fund his own political action committee and fund it with $50 to 75 million of his own money. Second, he needs to persuade Arizona conservatives to settle on a single Flake challenger. Once that’s done he can conduct an independent expenditure campaign on the challenger’s behalf.

Trump can consider adding Utah’s Orrin Hatch and Tennessee’s Bob Coker to the target list. Nothing motivates senate slugs like a threat to their self–interest. As on again, off again Trump advisor Roger Stone told the New York Times, “the GOP will fall in line once Trump has “taken a scalp” and starts “bumping off Republican members of Congress in primaries.”

Playing nice didn’t win the presidential primary for Trump and playing nice with a GOP senate, that holds him in as much contempt as Jeb Bush did, won’t either. Harry Truman ran against a “Do Nothing” Republican Congress and won. Donald Trump can run and win against another GOP Congress. Only now he demands it “Do Something!”

Let’s Revive Extreme Vetting for Politicians

It’s amazing the American public can be so right in general and so wrong in particular when it comes to evaluating Congress. The Gallup survey found the approval rating for Congress as a whole is currently a dismal 20 percent. This means our DC swamp denizens are tied with members of the opposition media, lawyers and car salesmen when it comes to the public’s general distaste.

But at the same time, when rating their individual member of Congress, the public gives that representative a much better grade of nearly 50 percent. Somehow the fact their representative is part and parcel of the entire wretched institution escapes voters.

On Election Day the situation is even worse.

We’re told in most cases familiarity breeds contempt. In politics familiarity evidently stupefies, because an absolutely stunning 98 percent of the incumbents up for re–election in 2016 were returned to office.

Members of Congress are evidently as hard to fire as employees of the Veterans Administration.

Re–elect numbers at the sure thing level only serve to make Republican cowardice when faced with the daunting prospect of keeping their promises that much more repugnant. Sending the same people back election after election only guarantees voters will get the same lack of results election after election.

What’s the solution? Strange as it may seem Mexico may have a suggestion and I don’t mean revolution or cartel government. Find out by clicking the link below and finish the column at Newsmax:

https://www.newsmax.com/MichaelShannon/constitution-military-tlaxcallan/2017/08/15/id/807832/

 

Is a Shortage of Brownies Next?

What a man considers a crisis tells us a lot about his character. In the past governors have declared a state of emergency for hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, droughts, riots, epidemics, crime waves, Trump rallies and earthquakes.

Evidently in Nevada Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval thinks those problems are too 20^th Century for him. He’s declared a state of emergency because Nevada is running out of marijuana! Maybe Sandoval had a severe case of the munchies that clouded his thinking or maybe his priorities are just different, but mobilizing the state government because of a “wacky tobaccy” shortage breaks new ground in emphasizing trivialities.

Nevada has legalized the sale of mota for “recreational” uses (are there truthfully any other?) and just two weeks after the chronic crop went on sale retailers began warning their supply is almost down to seeds and stems.

Personally I question the need for a state of emergency. I was under the impression maryjane users were a calm, mellow lot more prone to expressing outrage if stores ran low on Cheetos after a “bake sale.”

While it was the sellers who were more prone to violence.

Yet blaming the governor for the laughing grass shortage is probably unfair, since he didn’t support dope legalization in the first place. The blame rests on a supposedly “conservative” Republican legislature that let crony capitalism get in the way of the competition they allegedly support.

So what did the legislature do? How could it foul up something as simple as legalization? Why do I feel strangely lethargic and uncompelled to post the Newsmax link?

Okay, I’m better now. Complete details available at:

https://www.newsmax.com/MichaelShannon/marijuana-mary-jane-yerba/2017/08/08/id/806537/

 

Collusion Isn’t A Crime Even If You’re Caught

An extensive investigation operating quietly outside the limelight of round–the–clock news coverage on Capitol Hill has conclusively vindicated the Opposition Media. There WAS official government interference in the 2016 presidential contest that elected Donald Trump.

It’s a story that has everything: Secret coordination, baggy uniforms with funny hats, lists of hand–picked operatives embedded in the campaign and nationwide scope. Even worse, these blatantly illegal activities involved official collusion at the highest level of government.

Only it wasn’t the Russian government interfering in the democratic process. It was Democrats in the Obama government!

In a story that must have caused much anguish at the Washington Post, we discover “the US Postal Service engaged in widespread violations of federal law by pressuring managers to approve letter carriers’ taking time off last fall to campaign for Hillary Clinton and other union–backed Democrats.”

A total of 97 “dedicated public servants” were given time off from delivering the mail to try and deliver the country to Hillary. And we’re not talking about closing a few extra customer service windows on election day and taking some time off to hand out sample ballots at the polls.

These government workers were going door–to–door, where your mailbox used to be. They were also making phone calls and participating in other activities associated with Hillary’s massive and expensive “ground game.” Ground game in this instance doesn’t refer to preventing Hillary from collapsing on the ground. It means “Get Out the Vote.”

You’re probably thinking first the IRS becomes an arm of the Democrat party and now the post office! How did the plot work? Where were the operatives placed? Of course I have all the answers and you can have the answers, too, IF you click on the link below and finish the column at Newsmax.com:

https://www.newsmax.com/MichaelShannon/usps-postal-service-national-association-of-letter-carriers-hillary-clinton/2017/08/01/id/805155/

 

Now We Know Where Barack Got the Design for Obamacare

Where have you heard this before? There’s a federal insurance program designed to protect citizens from catastrophes that can devastate families. A program fashioned by experts who employed “best practices” as they formulated and priced this vital insurance protection.

Now it looks like the wretched naysayers were correct. The entitlement is plagued by users, with pre–existing conditions, who repeatedly cycle in and out of the program. These frequent flyers drive up costs and their premium dollars don’t begin to cover the government’s outlay.

Combined premium income from the entire coverage base falls short year after year forcing the program to run a deficit that won’t ever be reduced.

The combination of an unfavorable cost structure and unrealistic coverage requirements have forced private sector insurance companies to abandon the market, leaving the feds as the insurer of first and last resort.

Now you’re thinking you’ve seen this movie before. You know that under Obamacare limited government dies a lingering death.

But this isn’t Obamacare.

So now you’re wondering: What is it?!!! What obvious lesson have the professional politicians in DC overlooked that would have warned the nation, yet again?

I’ll tell you, but you’ll have to click the link below and finish reading at Newsmax.com:

https://www.newsmax.com/MichaelShannon/nfip-flood-insurance-obamacare/2017/07/18/id/802399/

 

Donors View GOP Leadership as “Sunk Costs”

It’s begun to dawn on GOP donors that the millions they’ve poured into the Republicans are a bad investment. So far during the Trump administration what they have is a Bernie Madoff situation without Bernie’s return on investment.

Call it a “Promise Scheme” where Mitch and Paul promise great returns in the future if you will invest money so they can hold office today.

Lifezette reports moneymen who attended “a gathering of Koch network donors…are more than a little restive. Dallas donor Doug Deason declared his “piggy bank” is closed until the GOP leadership “produces results on health care and tax reform.”

I’m not rich myself, but Deason’s thinking mirrors mine: “[Republicans] control the Senate. “[Republicans] control the House. “[Republicans] have the presidency. There’s no reason you can’t get this done. Get it done and we’ll open it back up.”

Deason does not appear to be one of those donors in awe of GOP political “leadership.” Some of the more gullible and easily flattered will come around after a private tour of the capital dome and a meeting in one of the secret Senate hideaway offices.

Deason rejected his invitation. He refused to meet with Curator of the Senate Mitch McConnell. Instead he urged Mitch to “grow a pair” and pass Obamacare repeal and tax reform first. Unfortunately, I’ve got bad news for Deason. A change of that magnitude on the part of McConnell will probably require an organ donor.

How can people so smart in business be so naive in politics? What should their criteria be for backing political leaders? All your questions will be answered by clicking on the link below and hypering to my Newsmax.com column for the stirring finish.

https://www.newsmax.com/MichaelShannon/doug-deason-republican-party-healthcare-tax-reform/2017/07/11/id/801062/

 

 

I Would Rather 7–11 Privatize Healthcare than the Government Nationalize

Occasionally circumstances force me to eat lunch in the swamp. This time I was in Fairfax County, VA, formerly a reliably conservative county that has lately been invaded by swamp employees, swamp contractors, swamp lobbyists and other refugees from Washington, DC.

The county is now reliably Democrat and gave Hillary a 68 to 32 percent victory last November. Call it a pilot project for the entire country after illegals get amnesty.

During lunch I couldn’t help but overhear the conversation between a man and a woman I assumed were business associates. Most of it was background noise, “Grumble, grumble, TRUMP, mumble, mumble, TRUMP, Hitler, Hitler, TRUMP” and so on.

Then a comment concerning Obamacare “repeal” almost caused me to choke on my curry, “Health care is one–sixth of the entire economy and they are crafting a bill in total secrecy!” one complained.

There is precedent. Democrats wrote the entire Obamacare takeover without any input from Republicans and then forced it through the Senate by a single vote before Scott Brown — elected specifically to defeat the bill — could take his seat and vote against it.

What struck me though was not the fact two sides could play the secrecy game. It was the realization those two diners knew healthcare encompassed a sixth of the economy and yet neither was asking the obvious question: What makes Congress think it can run that huge portion of the economy better than the market?

Both implicitly accepted that an organization filled with people like John McCain, Mitch McConnell, Chuck Schumer, Maxine Waters and other swamp lifers is qualified to manage healthcare. There’s not so much as an EMT certificate or economics degree among the lot of them. You’d have a better chance of success asking an Uber driver to pilot an Airbus.

   You may not be aware of this, but the federal government has been running a fully federalized pilot health care program for the past 205 years and the results are in! Find out how the test went by clicking the link below for the thrilling conclusion to my Newsmax.com column:

http://www.newsmax.com/MichaelShannon/single-payer-democrats-obamacare-healthcare/2017/06/27/id/798472/

 

 

 

Get Out of Jail Free

“Social Justice” might warrant a more positive reception among the general populace if it wasn’t such a moving target. Why sign up for societal upheaval and condescending advice from your betters when the country has no chance of reaching the Promised Land?

The campaign for “bail reform” is a perfect example. That’s because bail used to be the reform!

Prior to the advent of bail, suspects were held until their trial date. Release after posting bail was seen as a “progressive” reform to the system that kept the innocent and guilty in the hoosegow awaiting trial.

That may have been fine for the last century, but now enlightened thinkers consider being poor a pre–existing condition like cancer. And just as not bothering to sign up for insurance before landing in the emergency room shouldn’t subject one to financial penalties, not bothering to obey the law and landing in jail should be a cost–free experience, too.

Social justice warriors agitating for bail “reform” disparagingly refer to bail as being “money–based.” This overlooks the intent of bail. The goal is not to gouge victims for extra money, like Ticketmaster “convenience” fees. The goal is to protect the public. Which in this case means showing up trial.

Financial bonds may not be perfect, but it certainly beats the House Lannister system of holding family members hostage.

 So what do the SJWs propose and what hapless “victim” do they exploit to make their case? You guessed it! All will be revealed when you click on the link below and are transported to the rest of my Newsmax column:

https://www.newsmax.com/MichaelShannon/bail-bond-financial/2017/06/07/id/794739/

 

Montana Candidate Opens Can of Whup–ass

Rumor has it that like President–elect Trump, Congressman–elect Greg Gianforte is creating Montana jobs before he’s been administered the oath of office. The personal security industry is experiencing a mini–boom as reporters are said to be hiring bodyguards to accompany them on interviews.

Gianforte is the candidate who got all up close and personal with Ben Jacobs — a reporter for the biased, lefty British paper “The Guardian.”

According to the campaign, Gianforte was in the midst of a private interview with a Fox reporter when Jacobs opened the door and barged in. This is where the story becomes confusing for me. I formerly had honest work as a journalist. My career included small TV stations, large radio networks and the Dallas Morning News.

If I had arranged a private interview with a candidate in a race that had national attention focused on it, and another journalist butted in to my interview, the candidate wouldn’t have had time to do a thing.

I would have personally tossed the jerk out on his ear.

That’s not the way it works in today’s kinder, gentler media that reserves its attacks for conservatives. Which in this case includes the particulars of what happened. To find out details of the encounter and my insight into what probably happened, please click on the link below and visit the rest of the column at Newsmax (featuring another inexplicable headline).

https://www.newsmax.com/MichaelShannon/acuna-election-gianforte-jacobs/2017/05/31/id/793304/

Congress Can’t Be Bothered to Close 9/11 Security Loophole

Security–conscious citizens will be startled to learn that 16 years after Saudi Arabian jihadis crashed airplanes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the woman who approved visas for 11 of the 19 hijackers is still on the State Department payroll.

Even better, PJMedia.com reports, Shayna Steinger now works as a Foreign Service officer for the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation. There her crack diagnostic and investigative abil

ities will be put to use preventing “the spread of weapons of mass destruction.”

Something tells me both Iran and North Korea are lobbying to have her assigned as their nation’s senior case officer.

Steinger may a clueless cog in the machine who didn’t have the decency to resign, but her departure would have only been symbolic. The resignations we really need are the 535 members of Congress that allowed the visa loophole the Saudis exploited on 9/11 to remain open until today.

AP reports 740,000 foreigners overstayed their visa in the period from October 2015 until September 2016. And that only includes travelers that arrived by airplane or ship. It doesn’t include foot traffic.

That’s approximately 200,000 higher than in 2015. And it’s an incredible 314 percent increase over the number in 2001 when the US first learned cost of not monitoring those who begin their residence in the US by breaking the law.

 Is there a solution? Yes and it may involve people who answer to the name, “Dog.” To find out more, please click on the link to my complete Newsmax column:

https://www.newsmax.com/MichaelShannon/ap-loophole-visa/2017/05/24/id/792044/