Monthly Archives: November 2022

After the election 2022 – kind of…

Nell Gwyn – “Protestant Whore” – has little to do with this post, but see “voter suppression…”

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Welcome to the “Georgia Wasp…”

This blog is modeled on the Carolina Israelite. That was an old-time newspaper – more like a personal newsletter – written and published by Harry Golden. Back in the 1950s, people called Harry a  “voice of sanity amid the braying of jackals.” (For his work on the Israelite.)

That’s now my goal as well. To be a “voice of sanity amid the braying of jackals.”

For more on the blog-name connection, see the notes below.

In the meantime:

My last post – Before the election – 2022 – hearkened back to 2010. In that election Republicans won control of both houses of Congress, which most pundits said would happen again in 2022. But after the 2010 elections – when Republicans won both houses of Congress – they proceeded to ignore the economy, threatened to default on the national debt, “and did shut down the government.” The negative reaction was such that in 2012 Democrats regained control of the Senate and President Obama was re-elected to a second term.

But first a word about the painting of Nell Gwyn. For the life of me I couldn’t figure out what lead image to use for this post. I searched images for “predicting the future,” “prophecy,” looks of “surprise” and even images for “You could have knocked me over with a feather.” (The phrase that came to mind about how I felt the morning after the election.) Finally I searched past posts, and found one from last January, on the issue of voter suppression. There’s more detail in the notes, on the topic of what I feared might impact the outcome of the election. But fortunately that didn’t seem to be an issue, at least this time. Besides, Nell does present an attractive image, which may be why she was the favorite mistress of King Charles II of England.

Getting back to Before the election, I predicted that if “2010” happened again, that might lead to a Blue Wave in 2024. (With Joe Biden getting a second term.) The problem? In 2022 Democrats retained control of the Senate, though the results aren’t yet all in. A Georgia run-off between Warnock and Walker is set for December 6. (“Oh boy! More negative political ads!”) But the 2022 results clearly disappointed Republicans. (See 2022 Election results: Some Republicans blame Donald Trump, and Graham, Cruz admit election results ‘not a Republican wave.’)

The flip side is that Republicans did get control of the House of Representatives. That means they can still: 1) ignore the economy and inflation, 2) threaten to default the national debt, and 3) shut down government. On the other hand, if they impeach Biden – as threatened – the result will likely be a no-vote whitewash, courtesy of a Democratic Senate. (Not unlike the one Trump got from the Republican Senate.) That could result in Joe Biden ending up more popular, like what happened to Bill Clinton. (Poll: Clinton’s approval rating up in wake of impeachment.)

The bottom line is that after many long months of hearing predictions of a Red Wave, I woke up the morning of November 8 with a sense of gloom. Not that I oppose principled conservatives. The problem comes when one of two necessary parties becomes a cult of personality.

I could just see Donald Trump – in the days after November 8 – basking in the glory of “his” candidates taking over Congress and paving the way for his re-election. (Which would become more of a bloodbath of retribution rather than responsible government.) Which brings up the phrase “You could have knocked me over with a feather.” According to The Free Dictionary, it’s an  expression of “great or utter surprise, bewilderment, or astonishment.”

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In the meantime, I learned something new just after the election. That was prompted by members of the House Freedom Caucus saying Kevin McCarthy wouldn’t have the 218 votes needed to become Speaker of the House. (When Congress re-convenes next January. The link is to Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Worst Nightmare Could Be Coming True, dated November 15, 2022, which assumed – and as happened – that Republicans would win back the House.)

Based on such threats – “McCarthy doesn’t have the votes” – I did some research. I learned that to become Speaker a candidate needs 218 votes from any and all House members. I assumed it required only a majority vote of the new party in power. So for example if a few Republicans voted “present,” that would lessen their majority and could – theoretically – lead to a Democrat elected Speaker. (And vice versa.) Go figure. 71 years old and still learning new stuff. (Thus the “old dogs” image.)

And speaking of ‘Strange Bedfellows,’ just after the election Marjorie Taylor Greene broke with conservative allies and pledged to support McCarthy. That lead Matt Gaetz – the Congressman Under Federal Investigation For Sex Trafficking – to turn on Greene Over McCarthy.

“Whatever Kevin [McCarthy] has promised Marjorie Taylor Greene, I guarantee you this at the first opportunity, he will zap her faster than you can say Jewish space laser,” he said … referring to a conspiracy theory the congresswoman has promoted and been criticized for.

The bottom line? We’re in for an interesting few months. (And beyond?) For one thing, we’ll see if Democrats have a 50-50 Senate majority, or more solid 51-49. We’ll see if House Republicans ignore the economy, default on the national debt, or shut down the government.” And we’ll see if Kevin McCarthy really zaps Marjorie Taylor Greene with a Jewish Space Laser.

Stay tuned!

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Red real laser beam on black backgroundRed real laser beam on black background
For more on “Jewish Space Lasers,” see the notes…

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The upper image is courtesy Nell Gwynne – Image Results. I borrowed the image from the January 27, 2022 post, An update on Nell Gwynn – “Protestant Whore.” Among other things It addressed the issue of voter suppression, as that suppression might impact the 2022 elections. As it turned out, that was not necessarily an issue in this last election. The issue focused on the different number of black people in Iowa, compared to that number in Georgia where I now live.

According to Iowa Population demographics 2020, 2019, African-Americans make up two percent of Iowa’s population. (Which is 91% white, with “Hispanic or Latino” as the second-largest racial group.) Compare that with Georgia – where I’ve lived for 10 years now – which has a black population of 32.6 percent. (While “Non-Hispanic Whites” make up only 50.1 percent of the population – a bare majority – compared to Iowa’s 91 percent white population.)

The problem was that the “nice lady” who asked about voter suppression came from Iowa, meaning I had to frame the issue in a way that made sense with someone from a “lily white” state like Iowa. Eventually I dropped the topic, but did enjoy revisiting Nell Gwyn. (See also a post featuring her from March 2015, “When adultery was proof of ‘loyalty.”)

On suppression, see Republican Voter Suppression Could Win the Midterms. From October 29, 2022:

THANKS TO REPUBLICANS, it will be harder for certain people to vote this year, courtesy of an array of new voting restrictions passed in the wake of the 2020 election: 56 new voting restrictions passed by Republican-led legislatures in 20 states.

Again, that didn’t seem to happen, at least as much as feared this time around. See also Voter suppression in the United States – Wikipedia, all of which may merit a new post on the subject.

Re: “Red Wave.” See also Conservative Pollster Who Predicted ‘Red Wave’ Says GOP Can’t “Strategize.”

Re: Freedom Caucus. According to Wikipedia it’s considered “the most conservative and farthest-right bloc” within the House, and “formed in January 2015 by a group of conservatives and Tea Party movement members, with the aim of pushing the Republican leadership to the right.

On the election of a Speaker of the House see How the House Elects Its Speaker – Congressional Institute, and Election of the Speaker Overview – US Constitution – LAWS.com.

The “Old Dog” image is courtesy of Old Dogs New Tricks – Image Results.

Re: ‘Strange Bedfellows’: Phrase Meaning & History.

The lower image is courtesy of The Building of the Jewish Space Laser | JewishBoston. Subtitle: “The Jewish space laser as a Talmudic parody.” An interesting read, but “Are you serious?” Sample quote:

On the Kosher Use of the Space Laser. The construction must be overseen by a rabbi. Each component … must be blessed individually. If any components of the space laser are found to be with blemish, the project is to be declared treif and must be started over.

For a more serious view see A ‘Jewish space laser’ sounds funny. But Marjorie Taylor Green’s Anti-Semitism is no laughing matter. More sample quotes. “Jewish Twitter had a field day — because, of course! Making jokes out of virulent anti-Semitism has been our shtick for time immemorial.” “Basically Greene is a callous bigot who hounds mass-shooting survivors, and I haven’t even made it to the part where she helped incite the deadly riots at the Capitol on Jan. 6.” And this:

The fact is, anti-Semitism is on the rise in this country, and a much of it is fueled by baseless theories like the ones espoused by Greene. It’s a jarring dissonance that a state that elected its first Black and first Jewish senators, both Democrats in a typically red state, also gave us this, a reflection of the most dangerous forces in our country.

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Re:  The Israelite.  Harry Golden grew up in the Jewish ghetto of New York City, but eventually moved to Charlotte, North Carolina.  Thus the “Carolina Israelite.”  I on the other hand am a “classic 69-year-old “WASP” – White Anglo-Saxon Protestant – and live in north Georgia.  Thus the “Georgia Wasp.”    

Anyway, in North Carolina Harry wrote and published the “israelite” from the 1940s through the 1960s.  He was a “cigar-smoking, bourbon-loving raconteur.”  (He told good stories.) That also means if he was around today, the “Israelite would be done as a blog.”  But what made Harry special was his positive outlook on life.  As he got older but didn’t turn sour, like many do today.  He still got a kick out of life.  For more on the blog-name connection, see “Wasp” and/or The blog.

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Before the election – 2022

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It’s November 8, 2022, Election Day. The pre-election polls have been all over the place, but the general consensus is that Republicans will take over Congress. (House and Senate.*) The consensus is also that voters want Republicans to fix the economy and lower inflation. But here’s a prediction, one I’ll check some time after the election. Those Republicans will ignore the time-honored “it’s the economy, stupid” and spend their time and political capital on other things.

Like threatening to shut down the Government, threatening to default on the national debt, pressuring Biden to abandon Ukraine, spending time and money investigating Hunter Biden, and wasting even more time and money impeaching Biden. (With scant chance of success, requiring 67 votes, and which might lead to the first directed verdict in impeachment history.) And if Republicans do impeach Biden, he might end up more popular because of the impeachment. (Like what happened when the Republicans impeached Bill Clinton back in the 1990s.)

For another example, back in 2010 the Republicans also got control of both houses of Congress. But they then ignored the economy, and threatened to default the national debt, and did shut down the government. Result? In the 2012 U.S. elections, the Democrats regained control of the Senate – and gained seats – while President Obama was re-elected to a second term.

Then there was the election surprise of 1948. It happened two years after Republicans took over Congress for the first time in 14 years, and started creating headaches the Harry Truman, the Democratic president. Nobody gave Truman a snowball’s chance in hell of being re-elected, but he came through, largely by attacking the “Do Nothing” Republican Congress. (“Truman ran more against the 80th ‘Do Nothing’ Congress than he did against Dewey.”)

All of which could end up being good news for Biden.

So much for predicting the future. How have I done making such predictions in past posts?

In August 2019 I posted “Why it might be better…” (Gasp!) As in, why it might have been better if Trump had won the 2020 election. One big reason: He wouldn’t be eligible to run again in 2024. On the other hand, if he lost, in the intervening four years – with a Democrat as president – “he might just wreak more havoc to American democracy than he could as president.” (And some would say that prediction came true.) Another reason? Why not get it over with? If he did get re-elected in 2020, he would immediately become a lame duck. “The official is often seen as having less influence with other politicians due to their limited time left in office.”

Then too, if he had won in 2020, he would now be facing the challenges that are giving Biden such fits, and it would be the Democrats threatening to sweep Congress in the mid-terms. (Come to think of it, that might have been a whole lot better all around.)

But getting back to Election Day. As always, the best course – for either party, in any election, and for life in general – is Hope For The Best, Prepare For The Worst. And for this scenario, let’s make two assumptions. First that the Republicans will take over Congress, and second that that would be “the worst.” (Purely to illustrate and explain the idiom, you understand.)

For one thing, we may see a rise in Christian nationalism. Which could present a problem: “nationalist governments tend to become authoritarian and oppressive in practice. (What Is Christian Nationalism? | Christianity Today.) See also Christian nationalism isn’t Christianity. It’s spewing hate in ‘the name of Jesus’ “Christianity is grounded in Christian scriptures where Jesus teaches love, peace, unity and truth. Christian nationalism preaches hatred, violence, separation, and disinformation.” Which – again – could present a problem.

I’ve written that there’s now more than ever a very good reason for more Americans to read and study the Bible: Political self-defense. Today’s Christian Nationalists get a lot of political power from the fact that their pointy-headed Liberal opponents just don’t know the Bible. They can’t tell when those on the Far Right misquote, misuse or abuse the Bible.

So in preparing for the worst, I plan to do a lot more Bible-citing – on Facebook, my blogs and elsewhere – in an effort to keep Christian Nationalists and the like on the straight and narrow. Citations like Matthew 5:43-44, “What part of ‘love your enemies’ don’t you understand?” Or 1st John 4:20, “if we say we love God and don’t love each other, we are liars. We cannot see God. So how can we love God, if we don’t love the people we can see?” To simplify it even further:

Play the Jesus Card. It’ll drive “those people” crazy!

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The upper image is courtesy of Predict Future Images – Image Results. See also The best way to predict your future is to create it, including “If you want to predict your future, then start dreaming. You can invent your own future if you can live your dream. Start dreaming and make it your reality. Remember one thing your dream can be a reality in the future if you start working for your dreams.” But see also, FACT CHECK: Did Abraham Lincoln Say, ‘The Best Way To Predict, etc. The verdict? False: “The first known instance of the saying appeared roughly a century after Lincoln’s death.” Which is a reminder: Check your sources!

Re: “Republicans will take over Congress.” As of Thursday, November 10, they may still do so, but the results for Republicans have been underwhelming. See What Happened to the Red Wave in the Midterm Elections? And What Happened to That Red Wave? The Midterms Will All Make Sense – In Hindsight. The short and sweet post-mortem? I woke up Wednesday to a pleasant surprise, to be discussed further in my next post.

Citations used in the main text: Republicans are making no secret of their plans to shut down, Bullish on a House takeover, GOP’s investigative plans on Hunter Biden and others pick up steam, Opinion | Republicans will impeach Biden in 2023, and Republican gains in Congress would pressure Biden on Ukraine and Iran. For a more optimistic view, see When Republicans took over Congress, they promised to govern, from 2015.

Also on a Biden impeachment, see What would a Republican Congress look like? A lot of investigations and maybe impeachment (Detroit Free Press, 11/7/22): “Such a move would garner high media attention and could backfire if voters disapprove. Several [Republicans] were in office during the 1990s, when the GOP impeachment of Bill Clinton led to the loss of some GOP congressional seats and boosted the president’s popularity.” Also, “Even if Biden were impeached, the Senate would hold a trial that would require a two-thirds majority to convict Biden, a near-impossible task.”

And more about that waking up Wednesday morning to a pleasant surprise. I had all kinds of smarmy remarks to share in the next two years, such as “Looks like the voter suppression worked!” And “I guess that gives the lie to the vast conspiracy that ‘stole’ the 2020 election. If it was so powerful, why didn’t it help in this election?” But after further thought, I’m glad I don’t have to use them. Also, I considered saying something about Democrats storming the Capitol to overturn the 2022 results. Which brings up point of clarification about January 6, 2021. Various sites including Fact checking claims January 6 say the events that day were not – technically – an insurrection, as some Democrats claimed, but was rather a riot. “The Cambridge Dictionary defines ‘insurrection’ as: ‘an organized attempt by a group of people to defeat their government and take control of their country, usually by violence.'” (Can you say hypertechnical?) Instead the rioters – most agree on that term – were more like a dog chasing a car. (No idea what to do if they caught up to it.) See also How Many Died as a Result of Capitol Riot? – FactCheck.org. Answer: One source said at least seven people “lost their lives in connection with the Jan. 6 attack.” The seven included Rosanne Boyland, who died “in a crush of fellow rioters during their attempt to fight through a police line, according to videos reviewed by The Times.” (Boyland — “an avid Trump supporter who subscribed to Q Anon conspiracy theories —  had collapsed while standing off to the side in the Capitol rotunda.”) USCP Officer Brian Sicknick “suffered two strokes nearly eight hours after being sprayed with a chemical irritant during the riot.” Four other police officers committed suicide in the days and months after the riot.

The full “isn’t Christianity” cite: Ahrens: Christian nationalism isn’t Christianity. It’s spewing hate in ‘the name of Jesus.’

The 1st John 4:20 quotation is from the Contemporary English Version. See also the GNT: “If we say we love God, but hate others, we are liars. For we cannot love God, whom we have not seen, if we do not love others, whom we have seen.” Traditional translations use the word “brother,” which could enable Christian Nationalists to try and wriggle out of Jesus’ command. The word “brothers” clearly includes “enemies.”

The lower image is courtesy of The Election of 1948 | Harry S. Truman (Truman Library).

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Here are some other notes I considered using but didn’t put in the main text. A post from January 10, 2021 – right after January 6 – “You DO understand that Trump is temporary.” (Or maybe not?) Which featured one ostensibly positive note: That the reaction to Trump’s presidency “can provide the foundation for an era of democratic renewal and vindicate our long experiment in self-rule.” (See GOP Rep. Mace: Trump’s legacy ‘wiped out’ by Capitol riot.) 

Later, in November 2021, I posted Donald Trump – the newest “Undead Revenant?”

So, assuming a Republican sweep in this election, a lot of Trump supporters will be asking why others don’t like him. I’ve struggled with how to answer that question, beginning with the fact that he thinks he is above the law. But in dealing with those supporters, you have to keep it simple, like they do. (Put another way, you need to dumb it down.) The answer I finally came up with, as to why I don’t support Trump: “He doesn’t follow Jesus!” From there you can cite the words and actions of Jesus, then compare and contrast them with Donald Trump.

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