Dems More Disliked than Trump

The latest poll of registered voters from NBC News found that President Trump was viewed less unfavorably than the two leading Democrats contenders for the 2028 presidential nomination. Trump's percentages were 41% positive to 53% negative for a net -12%. Gov. California Gavin Newsom's were 27% positive to 45% negative for a net -18%. Former Vice-President Kamala Harris' were 34% positive to 51% negative for a net of -17%. Comparisons for the Republican and Democrat Parties were similar. Voters rated Republicans as 37% positive to 51% negative for a net -14%. Democrats were rated 30% positive to 52% negative for a net of -22%.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) pointed out that "this same poll showed that Democrats were more favorably rated than Iran, which had an 8% positive rating vs a 51% negative rating for a net -43%. I also want to remind you that Trump won't be eligible to run in 2028. So, his numbers are really irrelevant in comparison to Gov. Newsom and former VP Harris."

Schumer went on to add "this poll only surveyed registered voters and excludes the millions of non-registered folks who will still cast ballots. The Republicans want to block these folks from casting ballots by enacting a voter ID requirement to the process. This legislation was passed by a slim majority in the House, but will not be able to get past a Democrat filibuster in the Senate. Requiring voters to be identified before being allowed to cast a ballot violates the right to a secret ballot. Thirteen states--including California, New York, Illinois, and Massachusetts--do not require IDs. Long-term statistics show that fewer than 5% of the ballots cast are by persons ineligible to vote. To try to prevent this small fraction of invalid ballots, Republicans want to violate states' rights to conduct their elections as they see fit."

MS Now confirmed Schumer's arguments, saying "over the past two decades only 34 individuals were arrested for illegally casting a ballot. This conclusively proves that vote fraud is an insignificant problem. The Republican effort to require voter IDs is a fake 'solution' for a virtually non-existent crime."

Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar, the lone House Democrat who voted for the SAVE Act, disagreed with Schumer's position on the legislation, saying "an overwhelming majority of American citizens want to ensure their votes aren't canceled by fraudulent votes. Yet, in almost every election there are 'irregularities' like more ballots counted than there are registered voters in the jurisdiction, late arriving ballots without a verified chain of custody that overwhelm the results of verified votes, and post-election investigations that show obvious fraud--like 1,000s of mail-in ballots where the voter's address is a vacant building or a home too small for the number of votes supposed to have been cast from that address. That few arrests have been made doesn't mean our elections are 'the most secure ever,' as has been claimed by some. The citizens' faith in our democracy is undermined by these 'irregularities' and by my Party's adamant opposition to proper verification of voters' identities. We need honest voting and honest counting. The SAVE Act is an important step toward achieving this."

Virginia Redistricting Deception

In 2020, 65% of Virginia's voters approved a Congressional district map that resulted in the state electing six Democrats and five Republicans--a 55% to 45% split--to represent the state in Washington, DC. The Democrat majority in the state legislature is presenting a new map that is expected to result in the state electing ten Democrats and one Republican--a 91% to 9% split--to represent the state in Washington.

The ballot language asks voters: "Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to allow the General Assembly to temporarily adopt new congressional districts to restore fairness in the upcoming elections, while ensuring Virginia's standard redistricting process resumes for all future redistricting after the 2030 census?"

Republican Party of Virginia Chair Jeff Ryer complains that "Democrats are dishonestly and deceptively claiming that their scheme is about 'fairness,' when in reality it is specifically designed to disenfranchise nearly every Virginian who voted for President Trump. If we look at the recent voting for Governor, Democrat Abigail Spanberger received 58% of the vote and Republican Winsome Earle-Sears received 42%, this would argue for a 6-5 or 7-4 split of our Congressional delegation. The phrase 'to restore fairness' is a lie and should not be allowed to deceive voters."

Virginia House Speaker Don Scott (D) argued "Democrats are the majority in our state legislature. We have the power to adopt any ballot language we want. If a 10-1 split is irksome to Republicans they should remember that we could have easily arranged to make the whole state one big district where all the candidates run against each other with the top eleven going to Congress. Is there any doubt that they would all be Democrats? For more than 150 years almost every person sent to Congress to represent our state has been a Democrat. We are only seeking to restore this long-term historical norm."

NYC Mayor Announces Estate Tax Compromise

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is urging the state government to reduce the estate tax exemption from its current $7 million threshold down to $750,000 and raise the tax rate on estates from its current 16% to 50%. "Ideally, there would be no private property," he said. "Why should a person who has stolen millions of dollars from the collective be allowed to pass any of it to his heirs. In the Communist Manifesto, Marx called for the abolition of private property. When a person dies all that he possesses should be seized by the government so it can be used for the benefit of the collective."

"Because I believe we cannot achieve this ideal in one swell foop, I am proposing that we use the well-accepted current tax structure and just modify where the liability will be imposed and the amount the state will need to take to move us closer to the ideal," the Mayor proposed. "Right now, the City needs money to implement our socialist agenda. There are grocery stores, transit, public housing, and welfare benefits that need to be funded. The rich can move out, but they can't take their homes and businesses with them. Taking a bigger bite out of their immobile wealth is the most effective way of bringing about total equality."

One middle-class resident complained "as an African-American homeowner, I think it's extremely unfair to most middle- and upper-middle-class New Yorkers to raise taxes, especially when incomes are not increasing in our current economic environment. The super-rich manage to skirt the tax by whatever means, and the middle-class continually carries the burden. It's the reason that so many have chosen to leave the State of New York and New York City."

Another resident asserted "I favor taxing the rich — the super-rich, but I'm not in favor of taxing middle-class working people. I own two properties, and I intend to give whatever is left to my children, not the government. We already pay more taxes now than what we should be."

Mamdani rejected these complaints, saying "by their own admission they show themselves to be too selfish. They have property. They have money. How can they justify not sharing it with a homeless person who has to sleep outdoors? I recognize that some homeless people are scary. That's why my plan to tax those who have more than they need and give the money to people who have less than they need is a safer, surer, and more convenient option than expecting individuals to be charitable. It is the obligation of those who have more than they need to fulfill the needs of those in want. It is the government's job to facilitate the transfer of this wealth through its power of taxation. I am the one who holds the moral high ground in this debate."

Flashback from Swalwell's Past

In 2012, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif) won election to Congress by ousting 20-term incumbent Democrat Pete Stark in the general election. During the campaign Swalwell mocked Stark, saying "Stark lives in Maryland--2,850 miles from the district he claims to represent. I live in the district. I will make sure that I commute to Washington and always stay connected with my district. That means driving the roads of my district, shopping the businesses of my district, and the basic requirement, sleeping under a roof in the district."

Swalwell, now the leading candidate in the race to replace the retiring Gov. Gavin Newson in this November's elections, is facing demands that he be disqualified on the grounds that he doesn't live in the state. Rival gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer has filed a lawsuit alleging "Swalwell appears to live in California on paper only, making him unlikely to meet the basic residency requirements to run for Governor."

Swalwell claims to have been renting a room in a 1350 square foot home with another family in Livermore, California since 2017. The rest of his family lives in Washington, DC. Lee Fink, an Orange County attorney, says "there's red flags all over the place — that his neighbors don't know he's there suggests that he's not actually there." Michelle Jeung, a campaign consultant for the gubernatorial campaign of former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, expressed concern "that Swalwell's disqualification could result in a Republican winning the Governor's race."

Swalwell admitted that "the California Constitution includes a five-year residency requirement for gubernatorial candidates, but the Secretary of State's office considers the requirement unconstitutional and hasn't enforced it in many years. This whole 'residency' thing is just a political 'hit job' by my opponents. They know they can't beat me on the issues. They know I'm the best man for the job. They're desperately looking for some other way to take me out of the race."

Cubans Beg Trump to Liberate Them

Cuban citizen Pedro Quiala Carmenate says "there's no food, there's no electricity and there's no medical care. Now that Trump has liberated the people of Venezuela from the brutal rule of Nicolas Maduro, we are hoping he will liberate Cuba from President Miguel Diaz-Canel's Communist tyranny."

Founder of the Patriotic Union of Cuba José Daniel Ferrer asserted "the majority of Cubans want the Americans to intervene because they are living through the worst period of the 67-year dictatorship. As we achieve a historic transformation in Venezuela, we're also looking forward to the great change that will soon be coming to Cuba. The Communist government has no money. They have no oil. They have a bad philosophy. They have a bad regime."

Ranses Mones Quintero, part of the 30th of November Revolutionary Movement, is also calling for the overthrow of the Cuban government. "It's hard for a father to see his child go hungry, but this is our situation. We need Trump's help."

"In Havana residents took to the streets during a blackout, banging pots and shouting 'Down with Communism!' If the United States works for the liberty of the Cuban people, the liberty of political prisoners, and comes up with a solution for the government of Cuba, they will ensure the security of the whole region," Ferrer predicted.

Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Az) expressed his opposition "to any attempt by Trump to 'liberate' Cuba. It was 67 years ago when Fidel Castro's revolution liberated Cuba from domination by the United States. I see no need for the US to try to undo that now. The poverty that the Cubans are suffering from now is largely Trump's fault. Everything was fine until Trump blocked the oil they were getting from Venezuela before Trump kidnapped President Maduro. The appropriate remedy isn't to try to set the people free. It is to send them the food, oil, and whatever else they need without any strings attached."