SIGNIFICANT MIDTERMS

The US midterm elections do not normally get much attention, as the office of the presidency is not up for a vote.   This year has been quite different, with the election seen by many as a “referendum” on Donald Trump.   The country is very divided and there was a very high turnout.

The Irish Times, of all papers, got it right with the following comment on the midterm election.

“Many in the (US) had hoped that the first full electoral verdict on the presidency of Donald Trump would deliver a decisive repudiation of Trumpism.   The results do not bear this out.” — Irish Times.

In fact, Donald Trump’s legitimacy as president was confirmed by Tuesday’s election.   He emerged as a credible candidate for a second term in 2020.

This goes even further – populist parties around the world have received greater legitimacy.   Liberals and globalists will now have to accept that a significant percentage of the population does not want to continue in the same direction, but wants to put their own country first, over all others.

Brazil is the latest country to vote for a populist as president.   Brazil is the second most powerful nation in the Americas. President Jair Bolsonaro has said that he will follow Trump (and Guatemala) in recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.   He also plans a radical program similar to what the US president is trying to do at home.

At a press conference the morning after the election, an African-American reporter with PBS accused the president of advocating “white nationalism.”    Mr. Trump was quick to respond and point out that he is a “nationalist,” not a “white nationalist.”   He puts America first.   Most of the journalists present did not seem to understand the concept!

We are likely to see more evidence of this over the weekend when Mr. Trump joins European leaders for the centenary of the end of the First World War.   The celebrations are being held in France.   President Macron of France has already said that the war was a good example of how allies cooperating can achieve great things; he has also emphasized that the Europeans need to work together even more now that the US is less committed to Europe.

Another issue likely to arise is highlighted by this comment from the German newspaper Die Welt, following Tuesday’s election:

“. . . Trump is expected significantly to increase pressure on Europeans to invest the target of two percent of gross domestic product (GDP) on defense.   Above all, Berlin will face pressure to spend billions and billions of euros, because the federal government is far from achieving this goal.” — Die Welt

It’s easy to understand why the president of the United States is pressuring Germany on this issue, but many Europeans, including Germans, are not so keen on seeing a more militarized Germany.   Just because a nation has been a democracy for seventy years does not mean it will remain one.   Just look at history!

The press conference on the morning after the midterms was also significant and not just because the PBS and CNN reporters were  put down, for different reasons.

Nancy Pelosi was the Democratic Party spokesperson and, true to form, talked up her party’s gains on Tuesday, even though they were nowhere near as good as she herself had predicted.   She spoke of how the “monied power” had been defeated, a throw back to when the Republican Party was considered the enemy of the working man.

On the same day, I learned of a new book by Anthony Scaramucci, “Trump, the blue collar president.”   When I Googled the book, this blurb came up on “Google Books:”

“Anthony “The Mooch” Scaramucci tells the inside story of how Donald J. Trump, a billionaire living on Fifth Avenue, identified the struggle of blue-collar Americans, and won the Presidency.   TRUMP, THE BLUE-COLLAR PRESIDENT is the comeback story for America and Americans …”

It’s clearly not possible for Nancy Pelosi to claim the Democrats are the party of the working man when Donald Trump, a Republican, is the “blue collar president.”

The Dems’ enthusiasm for the “caravan” moving through Mexico, headed for the border, will only result in Americans at the bottom of the economic ladder losing their jobs, forcing down wages.   Trump’s promise to refuse them entry will help blue-collar workers far more.

Times have changed.   Populists across the world are the new parties of “blue collar” workers – they appeal to the grassroots.   But the liberal, intellectual parties fail to understand this.

Ms Pelosi, at 78, is out of touch with reality.

It was pointed out on the BBC the evening of the election that the average age of the three top Democrats in Congress is 75.   This contrasts with the average age of the three top Republicans in Congress, which is 48.   The new democrats entering Congress are not likely to want to be led by somebody who is so out of touch with the winds of change that are sweeping America.   The last election showed that the Dems are the wealthier party.   The Wall Street Journal last week said the midterms were a battle between college educated white women and non-college educated white blue-collar workers.   It’s all topsy-turvy!

A further change was also highlighted in the Wall Street Journal (and on TV), that 40% of African-Americans now support President Trump.   It’s not so long ago that only 4% voted for the Republicans!

Liberal news programs were enthused at the fact that the new House of Representatives is more diverse, with more women, including  the first two Muslim women.  But diversity is the opposite of unity and could do further damage to the political system.

One final thought comes from noted columnist Pat Buchanan who wrote this morning:   “The war in Washington will not end until the presidency of Donald Trump ends.   Everyone seems to sense that now.”  (“The War for the soul of America”)

Jesus Christ once said that ^”If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.”  (Mark 3:25).   A recent poll revealed that one third of Americans think the country is headed for a civil war.   This scripture was used by Abraham Lincoln on the eve of the last one, on June 16^th, 1858.

The times, they are a-changing, indeed!

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BREXIT

Britain’s decision in a referendum to exit the European Union is getting more and more complicated.   Today, Jo Johnson, the brother of the former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, resigned declaring that leaving Europe is “a terrible mistake.”   This will make it even more difficult for Prime Minister Theresa May to steer the whole process through parliament.   Others may resign as the Brexit deadline of March 29^th gets closer.

It’s a mess!

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ISLAM

1)   Pompano Beach, Florida, Friday Sermon By Imam Hasan Sabri: Palestine Must Be Liberated ‘Even If This Leads To The Martyrdom Of Tens Of Millions Of Muslims’.

2) Asia Bibi is a young Christian mother in Pakistan, who made the mistake of drinking out of a glass that had been used by Muslims.   For this, she was put on trial for blasphemy.   There were huge demonstrations calling for her death.

She was freed, but is going to have to leave the country as Muslim citizens still want her executed.   There have even been calls for other family members and her lawyers to be put to death.

Pakistan remains an ally of the United States.

3) Saudi Arabia is also an ally, in spite of the officially sanctioned murder of a US based journalist who worked for the Washington Post.

Jamal Khashoggi went to the Saudi Embassy in Turkey to get papers that would enable him to marry. He never left.   It seems that he was murdered in a gruesome manner, and then dismembered, his remains carried out in black plastic trash bags.

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GERMANY

Today is the centenary of the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany.   His resignation ended 400 years of Hohenzollern rule over Prussia and, after 1871, Germany.   Wilhelm is often blamed for World War I, though it’s a lot more complicated than that.   Two days after he fled to neutral Holland, the war ended.   World War II started a little over twenty years later.

Today is also the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass.   On this night, November 9, 1938, almost 200 synagogues were destroyed, over 8,000 Jewish shops were attacked and dozens of Jews were killed in Germany under the Third Reich.