ALABAMA: MONEY VERSUS ISSUES…

While I will agree that there was much to cheer about regarding the election results in Alabama last night, with the victory of Judge Roy Moore over Luther Strange, there was also much to be concerned about.  The good news is, of course, that the campaign of Judge Moore, while it may have been overwhelmed by a flood of GOP Establishment political cash, it was still able to come out victorious.  The bad news is that there were, quite literally, millions of dollars essentially flushed down the toilet in the effort to beat back Moore, millions of dollars that could have been put to much better use against the Democrats. 

Now the full accounting of just how much money was blown in the attempt to bestow the Republican nomination upon ‘Big Luther’ Strange will have to wait for weeks, as the campaign finance filings begin to slowly trickle in.  But it likely amounted to tens of millions of dollars, with some estimates going as high as $30 million, raised by the Chamber of Commerce, by Mitch McConnell’s political action committees, and by other political vehicles of the Republican political establishment.  And though it was all for naught there is little cause to cheer, because it was all a waste.  But as long as there some hope, the money continued to be spent.   

Because for all of that flood of campaign cash, Strange still lost in a landslide.  In fact, it couldn’t have been worse if not one dime had been spent to promote Strange’s doomed candidacy.  So why didn’t all that money work?  After all, for all those many years, money appeared to be the most important deciding factor in American politics.  Whoever raised the most and therefore could spend the most would win.  And, as a result, the donor class rose to power and was able to direct the Republican Party to adopt its positions on key issues, even when it was clear these positions were largely rejected by Republican voters.

I suppose the answer might be found in the ancient wisdom of the advertising industry.  Because where advertising spending has its biggest effect is in places where the contest is between products that are so similar that only the advertising makes a difference.  That’s why some of the biggest expenditures on advertising throughout the years have been by companies making products that would be interchangeable under white labels.  For instance, Coke versus Pepsi.  One brand of cigarettes versus the other.  One brand of beer versus another.  Come to this casino rather than the other one.  On and on, but you get the point, I’m sure.

And as long as the Republican Party saw fit to offer voters that which was nothing more than a lighter version of the standard Democrat Party platform, one that was slightly slower and a bit more profitable, campaign cash mattered.  It was about presenting an image, a message, a product rather than a genuine alternative.  No longer.  It began with the Trump campaign, which was outspent by its competitors by unimaginable sums of money.  Let’s call it the Schaffley Rule: When voters are offered an echo, not a choice, money matters.  When voters are offered a choice not an echo, policy and politics matter.

But before we get too carried away with this grand notion that by electing President Trump we have now begun the long painful process back to normalcy, we need to keep in mind that, whether it’s for four years or eight, Donald Trump represents only a temporary shift back toward that universe where up is up and down is actually down.  And we need to keep in mind that it’s going to be up to us to make sure that we keep things moving in the direction that we started with President Trump.  And I would argue that we should have already begun the search for those candidates who will maintain that which was started with his election. 

That said, I must admit that last November 8th was, for me, just as it was I would imagine for many others, more than a little bit of a happy day.  After all, it did my heart good to see that monster in human form, Hitlery, get her teeth kicked in, politically speaking of course.  It was, without a doubt, one of the most satisfying experiences I think I have ever known.  What so many still don't get though, is that Obummer and Hitlery, and the entire Democrat/progressive cabal, made the classic mistake that all totalitarian, dictatorship minded organizations and individuals invariably make when they think they can't lose, they got over-confident.

I think it safe to say that Obummer, the man who still never tires of talking about himself and how great he is, went one radical, anarchist, socialist bridge too far and thought he was the chosen one, you know, he whom we had all been waiting for.  The one to whom nothing would be denied, the one who would finally be able to show us all the error of our ways.  He said we could go on spending money that we don’t have and it wouldn’t be a problem because all that money was being spent on a worthwhile cause.  But we’re learning that there needs to be a limit to our generosity, and a point at which folks need to become self-sufficient.  

It was back in November that I wondered aloud if we should actually send Obummer a thank you note for the great public service he did finally outing himself and his party.  And I made mention of the number of voices on the left that were then claiming how it was that Obummer’s first inauguration would be heralding in what was then thought to be 40 years of sold Democrat rule.  But it was in pretty short order that their dreams turned into what was little more than a nightmare as the Democrats lost first control of the U.S. House, then numerous governorships and state legislatures, then the U.S. Senate and then finally the presidency.   

And now, while there is nothing that would give me greater pleasure than to say ‘RINO Season’ has officially begun, I fear it’s way too early to make such a claim.  For many years Americans allowed their voices to be usurped by the big-money donors because the politicians were clever at bait-and-switch.  Until alternative media emerged to do the job no American journalist was willing to do (hold politicians accountable to the people), there was not enough information available to the voter to really identify the liars for what they were.  All has changed and to the benefit of the American citizen over big money interests.

In order for money alone to be sufficient to win elections, first and foremost the voters have to be made and kept clueless.  And it has been a coordinate effort between the Democrat and their media allies to keep voters in the dark.  But the voters now know who ‘The Establishment’ is. The lies and treason against the voters by the Republican establishment is fresh in the minds of the voters.  We still don't have ‘The Wall’ and Obamacare hasn't been repealed.  Even the attempts at repealing Obamacare allowed 90% of it intact.  So from here on out, no more lies and broken promises from the Republican establishment. Throw them all out!