A Look at the Midterms and CNN's Jim Acosta

Not surprisingly, the mainstream media was so overjoyed at the prospect of a "blue wave" that they could barely contain themselves. After all, Trump just had to be stopped because of his "gross incompetence" and "troubling executive overreach" and his tolerance, even encouragement, of "corrupt behavior." So said the November 6 editorial of the USA Today, which was typical of other papers. "Gross incompetence?" Would that be having as much as a 4% growth rate in a single quarter? I recall Obama mocking the idea of being able to turn around his 2% growth rate, being the only President to never have an annual growth rate of 3% or more. Does the USA Today want to return to that "gross incompetence"?

After the election, this opinion by the LA Times was typical of the mainstream media. "...the results in the House of Representatives are a dramatic and deserved rebuke for the president," which "clearly constitutes a repudiation of Trump's reckless policies, his violation of political and ethical norms and his repeated falsehoods." It is true that the Democrats may have gained as many as 40 House seats.

But if you were expecting the media to give you any context, current or historical, well, c'mon now. As for current context, at least 38 Republicans decided not to seek reelection this year. That is the greatest number of Republicans retiring from the House since 1930. It is much more difficult for a party to hold onto a seat without the incumbent running again. Historically, even with 40 seats lost, that is less than Clinton's 54 lost seats in his first midterms, and far less than Obama's 63 lost seats in his first midterms. So, was the election a clear repudiation of President Trump? No doubt there was some element of rejection of Trump; but when looked at in context not really a "clear repudiation."

Who gets the money in politics? That would be the Democrats. According to the 11/9/18 Wall Street Journal, the "Democratic House candidates this cycle raised $951 million as of Oct. 17, the most recent reporting cutoff, according to figures from OpenSecrets.org" They tell us that is nearly 50% more than House Republicans raised. Billionaire Democrats? Michael Bloomberg, George Soros, and Tom Steyer. Another Democratic billionaire, J.B. Pritzker, became governor of Illinois.

I know. I'm supposed to be excited (my daughters told me) about the record number of women who will be entering Congress in January. At least 123 women. But I'm not there. I guess I should have been excited when we elected our first black president, but it was Obama - a leftist. Former Congressman Allen West or Senator Tim Scott or even Larry Elder, would be a different story. You see, I am just not interested in identity politics.

Here are four newly elected women - Ilhan Omar (Minnesota), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (New York), Ayanna Presley (Massachusetts), and Rashida Tlaib (Michigan). At least 3 are anti-Israel, with one having mixed reviews. Perhaps my Democratic Jewish friends can explain to me why I should be happy about the election of these women, when I consider myself a pro-Israel Zionist. Ilhan Omar said she "believes in and supports the BDS (Boycott, Divest and Sanction) movement..."against Israel. She has said "Israel has hypnotized the world," and has done "evil things." Rashida Tlaib has said she favors a "one state" solution in the Israel-Palestinian conflict. I suspect she hopes that the one state would be a Palestinian/Muslim state - making the 58th Muslim country and eliminating the world's one Jewish country.

Did you watch the White House press conference involving the exchange between President Trump and CNN "reporter" Jim Acosta. Acosta was quite rude and argumentative. It is expected that the White House press corps will ask questions. Instead, Acosta wanted to argue with the President by telling him the caravan was not an invasion, but just a group of migrants on their way to our border. Trump disagreed, and said he wanted people to come here legally, and through a certain process.

Acosta then wanted to move on to the Russia investigation, but the President told him "that's enough" several times. Acosta refused to yield the microphone. I missed the part where people who hold themselves out as reporters are supposed to make the news about themselves. Walter Cronkite was a newsman for many decades. Yet, it was not until he retired that we found out that he was a liberal Democrat. He did his job in a professional manner. Acosta has no clue, however. I agree with Trump's assessment, telling Acosta "you are a rude terrible person."

After Acosta had his hard pass to the White House taken from, he and CNN filed suit. Incredibly, a Judge ordered his pass be reinstated. Why any individual should have a right to access to the White House I will never understand. CNN certainly has other members of the White House press corps. If I was advising Trump, I would tell him to never call on Acosta again. And if the rest of the White House press corps refused to ask questions until Acosta was called on, I would walk out. There is no Constitutional requirement that the President hold a press conference.