Political Junkie

The comedy movie “Black Sheep”, starring Chris Farley and David Spade, chronicles a fictional gubernatorial campaign in the state of Washington .   Farley plays one of the candidates for Governor’s eccentric brother while Spade plays one of the candidate’s staffers assigned to “babysit” Farley’s character to ensure that he stays out of trouble and does not cause damage to the campaign.      Early on in the film, a group of shady men set the Recreation Center Farley’s character works at on fire while another man takes pictures making it look like he caused the fire.   Later in the movie, the Governor’s campaign released the photos on Election Day in attempt to hurt her opponent’s campaign.      I hate to spoil the movie for those who have not seen it, but the incumbent Governor initially wins the election.   While watching the election returns come in, Farley notices that the number of people who voted in Garfield County exce...

With Veterans’ Day upon us, I would like to acknowledge the service of all of the Veterans across America ; especially my late grandpa who served in World War II.   Coincidentally, he would have celebrated his 101 st birthday this weekend.   My grandpa served his country with honor and distinction, unlike Bowe Bergdahl.   Sadly, I have a feeling that my grandpa, like many of his counterparts in the Greatest Generation, would not recognize or feel welcome in the America we live in today.   With my Grandpa’s death at the end of the last century came the birth of the PC culture.   Championed by the elites in Academia, the media and Hollywood , the inherently authoritarian PC culture seeks to undermine the provisions of the First Amendment that allow for freedom of speech.   The PC culture also has a beef with the First Amendment’s protection of Freedom of Religion but they gladly make an exception for the Muslims.   People who subscribe to PC ...

Election Day 2017 has officially come and gone.   Let’s take a look at the results.   Not surprisingly, Republican John Curtis won the special election in Utah ’s 3 rd Congressional district, the seat formerly held by Jason Chaffetz.   The results of the New Jersey gubernatorial race didn’t come as that much of a surprise either.   Democrat Phil Murphy won the open seat by a double digit margin. In New York City , Bill De Blasio won a second term as Mayor of New York City.   Although he received a slightly lower share vote than he did in 2013, he still won by a landslide; carrying every borough except Staten Island .        All political junkies paid close attention to the Virginia gubernatorial race.   Virginia used to vote reliably Republican but “ Virginia has been turned deep blue thanks to the locusts from DC and Maryland that invaded it”, as one person commenting on a Real Clear Politics article put it .   Virgin...

Happy Election Day eve!   While the elections tomorrow night will not affect the balance of power in Washington , they will have an effect on politics at the local level.   They also may serve as a referendum on the first year of the Trump Presidency.   That’s exactly what happened in 2009 when Republicans swept both gubernatorial races in left-leaning states won by President Obama in 2008.   Voters in those two states effectively gave Saint Obama a vote of no confidence.   Tomorrow night, two gubernatorial races and a special election to fill Jason Chaffetz’s old House seat in Utah will take place.   Chaffetz resigned in June after expressing disgust with “the swamp.”   A good night for Democrats requires that they sweep both gubernatorial races.   A terrible night for Republicans would ensue if the Democrats actually managed to pick up Chaffetz’s old House seat.   The two states holding gubernatorial elections this year, New Jers...

In the midst of the tax reform debate taking place on Capitol Hill, many who live in high-tax states such as New York , Illinois , New Jersey and California do not like one of the proposals that would eliminate the state and local tax deductions.   Those states, along with Connecticut , Maryland and Massachusetts , receive more than 50 percent of the value of the deduction on federal income tax returns for state and local taxes; according to the Daily Signal.       Eleven of thirty-five Republicans who represent these high-tax states in the House of Representatives voted against the Budget Resolution designed to clear the way for tax reform, citing their concerns over the abolition of state and local tax deductions as part of the tax reform package.   The resolution still managed to pass the House in spite of their objections.   Those in favor of abolishing the state and local tax deductions argue that the deductions encourage state and local gov...