Another Week of Political Potluck – “The Sunday Political Brunch” April 28, 2024

Sunday, April 28, 2024

Mark Curtis, MINDSETTER™

 

View Larger +

Former President Donald Trump PHOTO: GoLocal

We are just over six months before the November election, and a lot of states are also still holding primaries. Then, there are court cases and all kinds of other political and legal maneuverings in play. Plus, President Biden says he’s willing to debate for President Trump. It’s a political “buffet,” so let’s “brunch” on all of that this week!

 

“The Trump Holding Pattern” – We’ve had a full week of the Donald Trump “Hush Money Trial” in New York City, so far with no smoking gun. We anticipate porn star Stormy Daniels will claim a sexual affair with Mr. Trump, and his ex-attorney Michael Cohen will testify to his alleged pay-off to Daniels for her silence. We’re not there yet, but I wonder how many people actually care, unless it crossed the line into illegal activity. I think of other alleged presidential indiscretions, such as Bill Clinton, Paula Jones, and Monica Lewinsky. In that case, the impeachment was not about sex but rather if the president lied under oath before a federal judge about it. He did, but not enough people (nor Senators) cared to remove him from office. I await Daniels and Cohen!

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

 

“Will Immunity Reign Supreme?” – Former President Trump claims immunity for his actions as president but opposing lawyers don’t see it that way. After two-and-a-half hours of arguments, I got the sense the U.S. Supreme Court was looking for a middle ground. Perhaps giving him clear immunity for most presidential actions, but no immunity for personal matters while serving as president. Without knowing when the high court will decide, this could push new trials until after the election.

 

“My Free Press Concerns” – Folks, you can’t just walk into a mainstream media newsroom and buy yourself good coverage or buy yourself out of bad news coverage. It just doesn’t work that way, nor will it ever. I find it offensive that a supermarket check-out aisle rag, such as the National Enquirer suggests it speaks for all of us. The former publisher’s name is David Pecker. Yes, “pecker,” make your own jokes. You can’t make this stuff up. He was the first key witness in Trump’s trial this week, in the “hush money” case. He’s tabloid, but those of us in the mainstream media are not for sale. If you show up with actual facts and documents, we’ll consider your story. We have to check out with real people every day, not just at the check-out line. Yes, maybe the Enquirer thrives on “checkbook journalism.” Honest brokers don’t!

 

“IDEA Issues Will Rule the Day’ – I LOVED fun acronyms when I was a reporter in Washington, DC. Yes, the FBI, CIA, and NASA were easy to remember. But among my forever favorites were BIRP, the Beverage Industry Recycling Program, and SHHH, the Self Help for the Hard of Hearing. I say this because my new acronym for the key issues in 2024, is my IDEA campaign, standing for Immigration, Defense, Economy, and Abortion. Border breach and inflation make immigration and economy obvious issues. But let’s talk about some subtleties of defense and abortion.

 

“Defending Defense” – National security has rocketed to the top of the issue list, especially since Iran chose to lob missiles and drones at Israel, and U.S. forces joined in shooting them down.

Still, aid to Israel and Ukraine got bogged down in Congress, before barely passing in a bipartisan effort. But in the process, some rebel House Republicans called for the ouster of their Speaker Mike Johnson, who just took the job. A Johnson backer, Rep Carol Miller, (R) West Virginia, told me, "Speaker Johnson is a fine, gentleman. He is a constitutional scholar and an attorney. He's a first-generation college graduate. He's a humble man from a humble beginning, and he loves this country. He didn't ask for this job, but by golly, he's doing a good job and he's leading us the best way he possibly can. And it would be a mistake to try to oust him."

 

“Abortion Rockets Ahead Again” – I have been preaching this for a few months. The abortion and reproductive rights issue as a whole has been quickly inching up the political barometer, where now I believe it’s a “final four” issue in 2024. The most recent hotspot is Arizona, where the House narrowly voted this week to repeal a Civil War-era ban on all abortions. The vote was 32-28 and only passed as three Republicans bolted the party and voted with a unanimous Democrat block. The bill moves on to the Senate, where there could be exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother. Regardless of what happens, there may also be a voter ballot initiative in November.

 

“Abortion Cuts Both Ways” – I am surprised that more states have not chosen the ballot initiative, which on the surface gives many politicians political cover to say, “Well, I oppose abortion, but I believe in letting the people decide. Legislators in red states such as Kansas and Ohio, can say that, as they let voters choose to keep many abortions legal. But as I’ve pointed out, Arizona is a “purple” state, and could be the lone state to decide a close election as Florida did in 2000, and Ohio did in 2004. Control of the U.S. Senate, which approves or rejects Supreme Court justices, may also be based on this issue.

 

“Energy Now Emerging in Campaign 2024” – My main geographic coverage area is the six states of Central Appalachia. All of them are major coal and fossil fuel producers. Three states trend red: West Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky. Two of the states lean blue: Maryland and Virginia, and Pennsylvania is decidedly purple. I say this because on Thursday, the EPA, the Environmental Protection Agency, issued new pollution rules that could eventually shutter every coal-fired power plant in the nation. But it’s not just an energy story, it’s also highly political.

 

“The Energy Combatants Weigh In” – U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D) West Virginia is one of those middle-ground people on energy. Yes, he believes in climate change and the transition to more clean, green energy, but he says it still needs a balance with fossil fuels in his state with nine coal-powered plants. Manchin said, "Oh I think it is an election issue, and I keep telling the White House, if you're just catering to the far left and environmental activists, you've got to be a realist. People want their energy. But they want it cleaner than anywhere in the world. We can do that, and we are. They think elimination is the way to make everybody happy. I think it could put President Biden's election very much in peril." He’s not wrong.

Mark Curtis, Ed.D., is Chief Political Reporter for the seven Nexstar Media TV stations serving West Virginia, its five neighboring states and the entire Washington, DC media market. He is also a MINDSETTER™ contributing political writer and analyst for www.GoLocalProv.com and its affiliates.


 

Related Articles

 

Enjoy this post? Share it with others.

 
 

Sign Up for the Daily Eblast

I want to follow on Twitter

I want to Like on Facebook