August 27, 2020
What the GOP Is Promising for 2021
By Buck Sexton
Dear reader,
Vice President Mike Pence called into my radio show last week to answer the most important question of the day…
Why should the American people vote for President Donald Trump to stay in office for four more years?
A big part of his pitch was centered around the issue of law and order…
Pence believes that the Democratic party – at best – ignores the militant lunatics of Antifa and Black Lives Matter that comprise an important part of its base. And Pence shared his dismay about what wasn’t said at the Democratic National Convention (“DNC”) last week, telling me he was…
“Shocked that no speaker at the Democratic National Convention has spoken about the violence in our streets and major cities. You see Chicago, Seattle, New York City, literally at times in flames with violence against officers and peaceful citizens. And not a word, other than vague references to peaceful protests, has been uttered at the convention… We’re not going to defund the police. Not now, not ever.”
This is a problem that stretches beyond the DNC. The Democrats’ embrace of the most radical anti-cop element within their own party may be a turning point in the upcoming national election.
The “defund the police” movement initially appeared useful to mobilize the political Left. Both Marxist community organizers and CNN anchors were happy to pretend that the protests were “mostly peaceful”… and ignore the rioting and coordinated looting. Posing as a supporter of the revolution from your Hamptons mansion feels good and carries little risk.
Some even viewed the destruction of neighborhoods and terrorizing of everyday citizens under the banner of Black Lives Matter as some sort of penance for the racist sins of America past and present.
For example, Black Lives Matter organizer Ariel Atkins said that she “will support the looters ’til the end of the day” after the widespread destruction in Chicago earlier this month…
“I don’t care if somebody decides to loot a Gucci’s or a Macy’s or a Nike because that makes sure that that person eats. That makes sure that that person has clothes… That’s a reparation. Anything they want to take, take it because these businesses have insurance.”
But as the Democrats now move weeks away from an election that a handful of swing states will determine, it will become more difficult to convince soccer moms in Ohio and plant workers in Wisconsin that widespread arson, violence, and anarchy are the price America must pay for social justice. The Black Lives Matter movement and the riots that have followed have changed from Democrat virtue signaling to a political liability.
Republicans are capitalizing… Just in time for the Republican National Convention, Trump has released his Second-Term Agenda. It makes it very clear that while the Democrats’ rallying cry is to “defund the police,” the GOP will stand firmly behind its plan to “defend the police.” This resonates on the Main Street that Democrats claim to represent.
Some parts of the platform are vague. While prosecuting drive-by shootings as an “act of domestic terror” may be legally problematic, there’s no mistaking the GOP messaging: Trump will keep you safe. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, on the other hand, will give windy lectures about “systemic racism” while mobs burn down your neighborhood and the New York Times bends over backwards with think pieces on how the destruction of property by a vengeful mob isn’t technically violence.
Momentum is building behind Trump and the GOP. Part of this is thanks to the mistakes of their opponents.
Last week’s Democrat convention was well received mostly (and perhaps only) by those who would cheer if they were watching Biden read from the phone book in his pajamas. The production value was low, the messaging angry, dark, and hopeless. “Give us power now or your lives are ruined” isn’t inspiring… and when added to the waves of unrest from likely Biden voters trashing cars and throwing bricks at police, it becomes downright ominous.
On the other hand, the GOP convention has been effective so far…
The speakers are presented as patriots who want the best for their country. The pageantry of soaring orchestral music and wind rippling through flags is effective, if not conventional, at a time when the country is going through the worst pandemic in 100 years.
Virtual conventions are less likely to move the needle with voters than the frenetic mass gatherings of their predecessors. Nonetheless, the themes we see playing out – law and order versus the mob, optimism about America versus rage – do matter.
And while 2020 has been a brutal year for the country, we can hope that the American people see the difference between the two candidates and their platforms
Now here are some of the stories we’re reading…
Cops, store owners fume after alleged NYC looter freed after two-month search
A twenty-something terror accused of inciting riots and looting a Manhattan liquor store led cops on a two-month chase – only to be cut loose after his arrest to the chagrin of victims… [one] who said his shop has been looted three times and lost $250,000 in damages and merchandise.
The abandonment of New York City
Suddenly, the city that never sleeps is starting to feel eerily sleepy. Apartment vacancies are at a record high, more than 1,200 restaurants have closed, and Wall Street bigwigs are doing their jobs from Greenwich or the Hamptons.
Investors Hoard Gold, Bitcoin and Whisky to Soothe Inflation Fear
One case for hedging is that inflation would only have to overshoot that 1.7% by a percentage point or so to shock the system. “A rate of inflation at 3% is hardly hyperinflation, but 3% inflation per annum can erode your wealth by half in under 25 years.”
4 Life-Threatening Unintended Consequences of the Lockdowns
These dire unintended consequences of COVID-19 lockdowns are tragic, but frankly, they aren’t so shocking. We have long known that sweeping government interventions have ripple effects that extend far beyond their intended goals.
Read our latest issues of American Consequences by clicking here.
And let us know what you’re reading at [email protected].
Regards,
Buck Sexton
Executive Editor, American Consequences
With P.J. O’Rourke and the Editorial Staff
August 27, 2020
