August is here... and with it, the election-year blues. It always seems, around this time, that Republicans have lost their chance at winning, as the Democrats and their media cheerleaders gear up for the fall campaign (and early voting).
Early voting and vote-by-mail are the death of democracy. Never mind the potential for fraud and rigging. There also is just a sense that the debates and campaigns are futile because the Democrats are simply running a machine.
Here are a few words of consolation.
1. Republicans never win, except by surprise. Given the extent of rigging, legal and otherwise, in our elections, the only way Republicans win on a large scale is when Democrats overlook something, as in 2016 with the upper Midwest. So if it feels like they are losing, that's not necessarily a bad thing, within reason.
2. Democrats won't expand the map. Kamala Harris is successfully pulling most of the Biden coalition together. But she's not going to attract any conservatives or new independent votes. So she's basically going to have to play defense.
3. That means there are opportunities. And the most important one is Pennsylvania. Republicans can win there, for a variety of reasons. Then Trump needs to win at least one, and probably two, additional states. But he can.
Pennsylvania + Georgia = Trump 270
Pennsylvania + Michigan = Trump 269 (tie, goes to House on January 6)
Pennsylvania + 2 or 3 others = various winning combinations
So hang in there. Something always changes.
I was saying last month that the Democrats weren't simply going to lay down and let Trump win. Not because they are power-hungry or whatever, but just because they are Americans (despite themselves). They don't just quit.
So this is the close race I envisioned -- and which the voters deserve. They are going to make mistakes and there are going to be opportunities for Trump. I think the choice of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz over Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was a mistake made for antisemitic reasons.
Wouldn't it be fitting if that's what cost Kamala Harris the election in the end?
I should have noted in my message about the weekly Torah portion that this week is Shabbat Chazon, the Sabbath of Vision. We are about to mourn -- but see through that pain to something better that lies beyond, on the other side.
Wishing you the best vision -- and an incredible reality to follow. It happens!
We begin the final speech of Moses to the people of Israel before they enter the Promised Land. He relates the ups and downs of the years of wandering in the desert, before, finally, the people have the merit to enter the land itself.
This Sabbath always precedes Tisha B'Av, the Ninth of Av, the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. It is the anniversary of the destruction of both of the Holy Temples, and a catch-all for many calamities that befell the Jewish people.
A word on Tisha B'Av. This year I am leaving for an overseas trip during the afternoon of the holiday -- in the middle of a fast day. Not idea, but there was no other choice. But my flight is in the afternoon, which is significant.
We relax some of the harsh, mournful customs of the day in the afternoon. We start to pray normally; we sit on regular chairs; we start to have hope again in the redemption that will, one day, lead us all back from exile to our home.
I'll be taking a trip to a land where an important part of ...
President Trump is in Scotland, playing golf and making big trade deals -- a major deal with the EU, in fact. Meanwhile, there is a global outcry about humanitarian aid to Palestinians (not about the Israeli hostages, mind you).
On top of that, Democrats are at their lowest polling numbers ever -- so they are trying to win control of the House by redistricting in the middle of a 10-year Census cycle. Oh, economic optimism is up, so they have a tough road.
And Tulsi Gabbard's revelations about the Russia collusion investigation make it clear that Obama's lieutenants lied to Congress. How deeply was he himself involved? The media continue to ignore the evidence, but we certainly won't.
Special guests:
Nick Gilbertson - Breitbart News White House correspondent, on EU deal
Frances Martel - Breitbart News foreign editor, on Trump abroad and Russia
John Spencer - urban warfare expert, on humanitarian aid and war in Gaza
Bradley Jaye - Breitbart News congressional correspondent, on the ...
