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2022 Elecctions

What Do Putin and Trump Have to Look Forward to?

November 13, 2022
by Peter Feinman

What do alpha male Putin and alpha male wannabee Trump have to look forward to? The two losers are forever linked by the dual frontpage headlines above the fold on the print edition of the New York Times, November 10, 2022. Across the top, headline read “those who passed the litmus test to become approved Trumpican candidates lost in key states.” Just below, the headline read “In another major retreat in the special military operation, Putin withdrew his forces from the city he had just proclaimed annexed by Russia forever.”

At this point, the two men have an aura of loser surrounding them. What do they have look forward to in Ukraine or in the American political arena?

PUTIN

How many strategic retreats in a special military operation can one have before admitting defeat?

Putin failed in the effort to capture the capital.

Putin was pushed backed in the northeast.

Putin was pushed back across the river at Kherson.

Putin has had one partial mobilization.

Putin has scraped the bottom of the barrel to find bodies to throw into the battle.

Putin searched the globe for additional bodies so desperate is he for cannon fodder.

It is getting to the point where he could not defend Russia from an invasion by the Baltic States!

We are used to Russia absorbing the invasions from the west by Napoleon and Hitler before turning the tables. Now it is the Russian military forces which have reached their limit and have begun pulling back. Do you think there is going to be a second land offensive into Ukraine by Russia? Do you think the withdrawal of forces from Kherson is the last Russian withdrawal? Quite the opposite. It will be Ukrainians who will be pressing their momentum this winter.

More and more Russian families want to know what has happened to their loved ones. The task of hiding the truth will become more and more challenging.

The hope that European unity will collapse over the winter seems like wishful thinking. The American arms pipeline to Ukraine will continue. At some point the combination of sanctions and the spending on the war will take a toll on the lives on the Russian people.

Could what is happening in Iran also happen in Russia?

How many shoulders does Putin have to look over?

The course of events in Russia does not loom well for Putin because the course of events in Ukraine do not either. Since the Kremlin is far from transparent, it is hard to say what will happen. Putin could keep renewing his term in office until 2036 when he will be 86, but somehow it is hard to imagine him lasting that long. Putin’s “savvy” move to fulfill a Peter the Great destiny may turn out to be the dumbest thing he ever did. The moment of truth will occur when Putin no longer can maintain the illusion that he is Peter the Great, that he is restoring, that he is winning in Ukraine. When that moment comes, he my go ballistic.

What will happen then? He cannot just push a lever, turn a key, or press a button. Other people will have to carry out his orders. Will they?

Once before, an American President had to show the skill, foresight, and patience to let the Iron Curtain fall and the Soviet Union collapse in what Putin regards as the “biggest geopolitical catastrophe of the century.” Now another American President may have to do the same for the collapse of Putin.

TRUMP

Even as everyone in America is caught up in the election on 2022, life still goes go in the legal arena for the Loser. In one case, a judge ruled that Trump lawyers had to pay fines and receive sanctions for a frivolous lawsuit about a vast conspiracy of perceived enemies arrayed against him. Although I am not a lawyer and have not read the ruling, I get the impression that the judge had had it with the complete and total nonsense of Trump lawyers abusing the legal system for the political agenda of an immature child with the emotional maturity of a three-year old.

The case delivered a doubled message:

1. MAGA means “Make Attorneys Get Attorneys” meaning lawyers accept Donald Trump as a client at their own financial and legal peril.

2. Pay attention to the little case that don’t get much attention.  For example in case against the Trump Organization involving former Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg, we already have seen the Trump lawyers show their willingness to throw him under the bus – it was all Weisselberg. Now Controller Jeffrey McConney has testified about the mechanics behind the financial skullduggery behind the payments to avoid taxes. One wonders exactly who is going to defend the actions of the Trump Organization. One wonders if other people are catching on that no matter how loyal they have been to him, he will not be loyal to them as Michael Cohen has been saying for years.

The Georgia Senate runoff scheduled for December 6 means any indictments either by the DOJ or in Georgia or both will be pushed back until after that time so as not to interfere with vote. Assuming the Democrats lose control of the House by no matter how small a margin, the House Select committee will be issuing its report shortly thereafter as well. In other words, it will not be “Happy Holidays” for the Loser.

It’s hard to see what Trump can do to escape the taint of being a loser. We know that stigma was something he has strove to avoid at all costs practically since childhood. We know that he made he made his loss the 2020 the litmus test for receiving his blessing in 2022. We now know that even though he is name was not on ballot in 2020, he is the President who is being blamed for being the loser while Joe Biden is taking victory laps.

On November 15, he will try to assert his power in the Republican Party. He will be meaner. He will be more insulting. He will be nastier. He will dare any wannabee from running against him. He will demand fealty. He will make the lives of McCarthy and O’Connell a living hell. The new litmus test will be supporting his candidacy in 2024 right now or feel his wrath.

While the Freedom Caucus has been garnering all the attention, what about the Real Republican Caucus. There were ten who voted for impeachment in the current Congress. How many will there be in the new Congress? Republicans who have had enough and are ready to move on? We may know soon from some votes.

Did anyone think he would appear before the House Select Committee on November 14? As expected, he is trying to run out the clock so his red wave can rescue him and on his income taxes. But there is no red wave. What happens if despite his ranting and raving, the House Select Committee recommends the House holds him in contempt for not compliance?

They are not afraid of the Loser anymore

At times, it is starting to look like “Murder on the Orient Express.” Everyone is coming out of the woodwork to castigate Trumpty Dumpty’s failure.

He is not used to being the ridiculed figure of failure from his own supporters. He lacks the maturity to deal with a situation where Republicans are eager to make fun of him and to talk about moving on.

Like Putin, Trump will have a moment when goes ballistic. However when that moment comes it means he will implode and become even more deranged. Even as we prepare for his announcement of his candidacy for 2024, he just may be a loser spouting hot air.

 

Civil War Update: The Battle of Gettysburg 2022 Elections

November 9, 2022
by Peter Feinman
(https://www.wctrib.com)

In the battle between Donald Trump and the Constitution, the 2022 elections may be considered the Battle of Gettysburg. The current Civil War is being fought differently than the last one. That Civil War was fought at National Park Service sites. This one is being fought through the voting at all levels and the occasional violence on January 6 and with a hammer.

It is easy at this point to be caught up in the details of individual elections and not see the forest for the leaf. The Battle of Gettysburg 2022 Elections is a critical one in the determination of who will win the overall war. This midterm election was an anomaly because, as previously stated, there were two Presidents were on the ballot. Although neither one was actually on the ballot, the vote in part was a referendum on both 45 and 46.

Under normal circumstances, one would expect 46’s party not to fare well. In the past there have been tidal wave shifts against the incumbent President. Everytime a voter saw a gas price while driving or food prices while shopping, the voter was reminded that a change was needed.

On the other hand, when an 82-year old grandfather was struck with a hammer, the voter was reminded what was disgusting and repulsive about 45 and his followers. To watch Tumpicans take joy in and make fun of the hammer attack was a bridge too far for many Americans. Are these the type of people you want in charge of the country?

Fortunately for Trumpicans, many voters still vote local, the price of gas or my party. But others worry about the threat to democracy.

BATTLEGROUND

The time immediately prior to the Battle of Gettysburg 2022 Elections represents the high water mark for the Trumpican forces. Just as Napoleon and Hitler were going great guns for a while, eventually they reached their limits and it was all downhill from there. Similarly, for the Confederacy, Robert E. Lee’s campaign into Pennsylvania marked his deepest penetration into the North. Once the Union prevailed at Gettysburg, it was back to the South. Similarly, Trump’s sally into Pennsylvania led to a double defeat of his two-handpicked candidates. Republicans already debate the squandered opportunity of the nomination of two Trumpicans.

Up until Election Day, it was full speed ahead for Trumpicans. Republicans were purged from the Party either through retiring or by being primaried. Occasionally, some would win, but in general all those who favored impeachment were gone. Instead, people who supported the claim that the election had been stolen were the nominees.

Laws had been passed to suppress the votes of Democrats.

Candidates had been selected to ensure the vote count be favorable in 2024.

Supreme Court cases had been filed so only gerrymandered state legislatures could decide who had won.

An army of vote suppressors had been recruited and trained.

The only thing left was the actually vote.

THE BATTLE IS ENGAGED  

The same person who predicted a red wave in 2018, predicted one in 2022. He was so sure of the results, that a week after the election on November 15 he was prepared to announce his candidacy for2024. Apparently, he is becoming more and more ballistic about his not being in the White House now and more and more difficult to be handled. Perhaps old age is beginning to affect his mental necessities where he increasingly obsesses over his lost past. The White House has become his Rosebud except it never was his to own in the first place.

The Battle of Gettysburg 2022 Elections expose him as a loser. Sure he can influence who wins a Republican primary. Sure he can “endorse” who wins in a Republican district. But once a candidate has to venture out into the state electorate, the results are not as favorable.

2024 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

45 the Loser has direct significance for the 2024 elections.

Previously I had suggested that DeSantis would wait until 2023, before issuing a challenge. That timetable needs to be speeded up. 45 already was fuming about DeSantis long before the 2022 Election Day. Then he decided to fire the first formal shot by giving DeSantis one of those clever junior high school nicknames. He further sought to undermine any potential presidential bid by DeSantis by threatening to smear him and his family. Now DeSantis is a big winner with a huge financial stockpile and 45 is again a loser.

The future does not bode well for 45. Two trials already are underway in New York related to the Trump organization that no one will defend because they are too busy taking the Fifth. It is only a matter of time before he is indicted for Mar-a-Lagogate and vote tampering in Georgia. The House Select Committee will issue its report further documenting 45’s effort to overthrow Constitutional rule in the United States leading to further legal complications. As people lose their fear of retribution, even more of them may be willing to come forth. In short, he has nothing good to look forward to legally in the next two years. His legal woes will be like those gas signs, a constant reminder to the voters why it is time to move on.

How many people are going to run in 2024 with a call to relitigate 2020? Just some old guy puttering around in his luxurious nursing home surrounded by his souvenirs… and he won’t even have them anymore either.

Then what happens when Russia loses in Ukraine. On Election Day, the Russians announced a major pullback. More to come. This smart savvy invasion of no cost is leading to the defeat of Russia. What are the implications of an Ukrainian victory? What are the ripple effects of a Putin defeat in Russia, in Iran, in China, in Syria, and elsewhere? What are the kudos that will be extended to the supposedly near-death Biden when it turns out Brandon prevailed over Putin?

TRUMPICAN AGENDA

Election Day 2022 burst the bubble of the 45 Loser. He reached the limits of power the day before the election. Even if Republicans take control of the House and Senate, they are well aware that the red wave did not materialize. They are well are of who should be held responsible –  the same person who was responsible for January 6. Republicans in the House and Senate know that if they came out of box in 2023 with guns blazing to relitigate, investigate, and impeach the past, that the American voting public has no interest in it.

Americans looking at those gas prices aren’t interested in a retribution agenda. If the only goals of the Trumpican Party are to help rich people get richer and squeeze the benefits of the little people that they are not a winning formula.

In the meantime Donald Trump will be fuming constantly on Twitter or some other social media platform. Even Foxhub is ready to move on. As of right now he may the leading candidate for the 2024 Republican Party presidential nomination. By the time the actual campaign comes around he will just be an immature child with emotional maturity of a three-year old fighting to stay out prison. It will even be safe to be a real Republican then and he may be an afterthought will no role to play.

Give credit where credit is due. He completely disrupted the American political system and put democracy at risk. Now what is at risk is his own freedom. His November 15 announcement, if it happens, is likely to be pitiable compared to the escalator ride a mere seven years ago.