Throughout this election season, Donald Trump has been the newsmaker, in the sense that his verbal excesses, unscrupulous business practices, his lascivious attitude and treatment of women have driven the news cycles, sparked the conversations on the talk shows, and (often) arrested his momentum in the polls. It seems that every time Mr. Trump has a good day or two of polling, something he says or does (or said or did years ago) not only puts the brakes on any rise, it usually reverses it. But fear not, the mainstream media does not allow scandal to become the central force in this campaign. The proof of this is that Hillary Clinton’s verbal excesses, unscrupulous business practices, her defense of her husband’s lascivious attitude and treatment of women, get comparatively little play; and while Mr. Trump and his supporters are perpetually called to defend or explain his remarks and behavior, Mrs. Clinton and her supporters are given almost apologetic, pro forma questions, with little follow-up and no pressure. If Mrs. C. doesn’t want to answer, she doesn’t answer, and the mainstream media complacently accept it.
By John Shaffer Let's face it: Hillary Clinton is the least honest, most corrupt individual ever to win the Democratic nomination. Donald Trump is the least qualified, coarsest and least appealing candidate ever nominated by the Republicans. But, one of them has to win, so the voters must overlook those personal flaws and come to a decision. Hillary Clinton is a woman with a great resumé and few accomplishments. She was elected to the Senate from New York, but if her name was merely Hillary Rodham, she never would have been able to carpetbag her way into the seat in a state in which she had never lived. A mere detail, that – for Hillary Clinton has been above the law for her entire adult life. Most things she touches fall apart – from Hillarycare to the Russian Reset to Benghazi. She received millions of dollars of donations to the family foundation while she was Secretary of State (and probably while she was a senator, too). She has shifted her position on many major social issues, espousing the “traditionalist, family-friendly position” just long enough to win some votes for herself or her husband, and then moving inexorably to the left and, eventually, not only switching her positions on such things as traditional marriage, welfare reform, crime and punishment, to name a few, but also, once switching, becoming completely contemptuous of anyone who holds the very position she once held herself. If there ever was a candidate who does not deserve our vote, it is Hillary Clinton. We don’t know if Donald Trump will try to take advantage of women while President; but we know that Mrs. Clinton’s husband did. Mr. Trump’s character, integrity and behavior may well be every bit as weak as Mrs. Clinton’s. We are not happy with that. But his Supreme Court nominees will be superior to hers; his tax plan is superior to hers, he will correctly identify Islamic terrorism; he will defend American interests; he will build the Keystone pipeline; and he will respect the Constitution, including the Second Amendment; and he will not fall prey to the political correctness that has captured the American establishment. By John Shaffer Everyone is talking about the “Donald Trump hot mic” tapes from 2005, in which he makes crude, lewd, offensive and demeaning comments about some his desires toward a couple of attractive women. He probably didn’t realize he was being recorded, but no matter – he said the words and used the vulgar and offensive terms, and he has paid a price for it, as reflected in an appreciable drop in his polling numbers. Several prominent Republicans have distanced themselves from the candidate. And if the Republicans are upset, the Democrats are vicious in their denunciations of Mr. Trump. The Republicans were equally disdainful of President Bill Clinton, who not only said things every bit as bad as Mr. Trump’s tape but who also “had improper relations” with more than his share of females. The Democrats, you will remember, defended Mr. Clinton, made excuses for Mr. Clinton, downplayed Mr. Clinton’s behavior, and in the end failed to remove him from office when he was impeached And leading the defense of Mr. Clinton was the loyal, dutiful, stand-by-your-man wife of Mr. Clinton, Hillary Clinton, champion of feminism.
By John Shaffer The reasons that we so strongly opposed the Obamacare legislation was because we knew that it would be expensive and coercive, would limit choices, would interfere with the workings of the marketplace, would damage the healthcare delivery system, would empower government while reducing consumer choices . . .well, we could go on, but you get the idea. The reasons, by the way, were just about the same reasons that we opposed Hillarycare back in the 1990s. Well, all of those things have come true, and more besides. Almost all of the state “exchanges” have shut down or are on the ropes; insurers have stopped offering plans in many localities; deductibles have soared so out-of-pocket costs are greater for many millions of people; and many of the folks who were called “uninsured” still are – specifically those who chose not to buy health insurance because they were young and healthy and would rather spend their money on something else. They are still refusing to buy into Obamacare, even at the cost of the fine. (Yes – remember that important fact that the Obama administration has forgotten when it reports its supposedly glowing numbers for the increasing number of “insured”) Before Obamacare there was a free market. With Obamacare, if one does not have insurance, one is fined. So, the government is coercing people to sign up or be penalized. We have a hard time spinning that as a positive sign of Obamacare’s popularity.
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