SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2016
Today’s Good News And Bad News
From Our Local Political Junkie We’ll Call “Cincy Dave”

NO TRUMP NEWS TODAY
Yesterday was a day like many days – nothing happened. At least nothing unusual happened. Grass still grew and paint dried, dogs barked and wild bears still pooped in the woods. And a couple of more women claimed that they had been groped by Donald Trump. Trump, of course, denied it all, blaming a conspiracy of the liberal media, Mexicans, international bankers and the Clinton crime family. Everyone but himself. The growing number of women accusing him of doing exactly what he bragged about doing were all liars. Even the video tape of him ogling a ten year-old girl was lying, and the tapes of him bragging about his sexual exploits on the Howard Stern show were lying. The Donald was emulating the great Julius Marx (Groucho) when he said, “Who are you going to believe, me or your own eyes?” One of Trump’s more interesting defenses was that one lady was too ugly to try to do anything to. Considering that the alleged story happened about 30 years ago, she might have looked a bit better back then. Didn’t most of us look better 30 years ago? The Donald needs to look in the mirror more often, in more ways than one. Altogether, it was a regular day in the current election season. They used to call this the “silly season” but it needs a better name. Perhaps the soap opera season. Maybe next time the Republicans can run Arnold Swartzenegger and Bob Packwood and the Democrats can put up Hugh Hefner and Gary Hart. They would all be more respectful and well-mannered, without as much dirt in their past.

NO HILLARY NEWS EITHER
Just another day of Wikileaks leaking a few thousand more emails hacked from John Podesta’s email account. Try as they might, muckrakers couldn’t find anything in them to make a lot of noise about, although a few tried. What they did find was that the Hillary campaign makes a lot of political calculations about what she should do and what positions she should take on various issues. The fact that politicians decide a lot of things based on what they think will get them elected isn’t a surprise to most people, except the ones that think that the outcome of elections is just dumb luck or else pre-ordained by God. For her part, Hillary is saying little and doing little. Why should she? Her opponent is doing her work for her and she isn’t going to get in his way. Her biggest worry right now is that Wikileaks may report that she has a secret agreement with Putin sell him the entire U.S. Fleet or to let him move into the White House in late January. That, and trying to avoid premature exhilaration.

DEMS WIN EXTRA 5 DAYS TO REGISTER IN NORTH CAROLINA
A State judge has ordered an extension of 5 days to the registration deadline in North Carolina and a Federal Judge has extended the deadline for one county in Georgia due to the effects of Hurricane Matthew. North Carolina’s Republican governor was, of course, not happy. He is up for reelection and wants to have as few people voting as possible. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-north-carolina-registrat-idUSKBN12E24E

BAD NEWS FOR 8 BIG SHOTS
CNN has a an interesting metaphor about 8 big names on the red team whose careers have been sent into distant orbit by the Trump explosion. Here’s the way they put it: “Donald Trump’s star has entered the supernova phase of this cosmically weird campaign season.” It says that the shock waves could vaporize the future plans of at least eight of his prominent Republican supporters:

Ted Cruz – After failing to grab the brass ring himself, Cruz began planning his 2020 campaign immediately. At first he refused to endorse Trump, and was lauded by many conservatives as a man of principle. But Trump’s gravitational pull was too much for him, and he was sucked into Trump’s orbit. Now that Trump is imploding, Cruz has the worst of both worlds. He is not respected by conservatives and is tied to someone falling like a stone.

Paul Ryan – After reluctantly endorsing Trump, Ryan called him the “textbook definition of a racist.” Now he is not defending him but also not unendorsing him. If someone ever updates John F. Kennedy’s Profiles in Courage, Ryan is not likely to make the cut.

Reince Priebus – He dreamed of leaving his post as Chairman of the Republican National Committee with the White House, Senate, House, and Supreme Court safely in Republican hands. Alas, it is not likely to be. After Mitt Romney’s 2012 loss, he commissioned an autopsy report that said the Party had to become more inclusive. Instead, he got a candidate who daily criticized women, Latinos, blacks, and now “international bankers” (which his followers understand to mean Jews). He could have laid down the law and perhaps prevented Trump from being nominated and once he was nominated, he could have condemned him vigorously and publicly said that his top goal was keeping Congress Republican as a counterweight to President Clinton. He didn’t.

Mike Pence – The Indiana governor is a deeply religious Christian, but when it became clear last week that the other guy on the ticket had behaved in very un-Christian ways, he could have thunderously damned Trump in Old Testament terms and resigned from the ticket, thus making him Governor Integrity for the 4-year run-up to 2020, when he would have been the establishment’s enormous favorite. Instead, history will recall that his loyalty was to Trump.

George P. Bush – Jeb Bush’s son was elected as Texas land commissioner, a not unimportant job considering how much land Texas has that he must manage. He clearly aspires to higher office. His toadying to the man who humiliated his father is not going to play well down the road.

Chris Christie – He started out as the popular governor of a blue state and ended as Trump’s manservant, whose main use seems to be fetching Donald’s orders from McDonalds. Even if he isn’t in jail in 2020, he is dead meat, well done. Would you like fries with that?

Pam Bondi – She twice was elected attorney general of Florida and was a potential future governor until she begged Trump for $25,000, got it, and then dropped the fraud case against Trump University. For abandoning her gubernatorial dreams, she should have asked for half a million, at least.

Rudy Giuliani – When he left office as “America’s mayor” (a term he thought up himself), he was seen as a moderate, competent Republican who could be a model for how Republicans could win blue states down the road. He has since become one of Trump’s nastiest defenders, often defending the indefensible. No more “Mr. Nice Guy” and no more political future. The Full CNN Story is Here: 

TODAY’S STATE POLLS
A wee bit of a bright spot for The Donald. For now, he is still holding on to Indiana, a state once won by Barack Obama.

— More Good News And Bad News Tomorrow —