Secretary Hillary Clinton gave what many felt was a graceful exit speech the morning after her election loss. For his part, then President-elect Donald J. Trump said that he felt differently about going after her for the various allegations of corrupt and illegal activity. He would let that part of the campaign rhetoric go…
But within days of the election outcome becoming known on November 9th, Democrats have been working on a variety of efforts against the winner of the Electoral College – builder, business mogul, beauty pageant, and reality TV star, Trump.
Flashback, Then Flash-Forward
Daily Business News readers may recall that there were weeks of efforts – including threats of violence and intimidation – against Trump electors. That effort to derail the Trump presidency before it began failed.
Numerous marches, billionaire George Soros and other funded protests, leaks and various efforts attempted since the inauguration have not yet stopped the new 45th president.
Some argue that there are signs that the Democratic #resistance slowed the president’s and the GOP agenda. But there has been no ‘smoking gun’ proof of collusion with Russia, nor any of the other claims made against the White House or the Trump Campaign.
In fact, there’s been a video from conservative activists Project Veritas featuring a CNN producer saying the Russia-Trump campaign collusion story is a bunch of BS – a witch hunt – and exists for ratings, thus making that network more money.
There have been four special elections this year. The GOP has won each of those – including the most expensive race in the history of the House – that report with numerous quotes from manufactured home industry professionals, is linked here.
Then there’s the two major parties checkbooks since the election.
The Washington Examiner reports that, “Republican National Committee is trouncing the Democratic National Committee when it comes to raising money, especially from small donors. The numbers are striking. In June, the RNC raised $13.5 million to the DNC’s $5.5 million.”
While the Clinton campaign raised mountains of money – far more than then candidate Trump – not so for the Dems since the election.
“As of June 30, the RNC reported $0 in debt. The DNC reported $3.3 million in debt,” the Examiner said, adding, “A look inside the numbers is even worse for the DNC. Looking at collections from small donors — that is, those who contributed less than $200 — the RNC raised $10.5 million in the months of May and June. The DNC raised $5.3 million from small donors in the same time period. The RNC’s money total is a record — more than was raised in any previous non-presidential election year.”
All of which explains the DNC’s efforts to rebrand.
“The Better Deal”
The DNC’s new image campaign resembles many of the points of the also ran in the Democratic primary last year. Enter the views of independent, self-proclaimed democratic socialist-candidate, Bernie Sanders.
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) fought for – and still advocates – proposals such as:
- the fight for a $15 minimum wage,
- fully socialized medicine (also known as single-payer healthcare) reform
- and other policies which all sound great to millions of his voters and grass roots supporters.
But as a review of those policies here on the Daily Business News in recent months reveals that what may sound great to millions of voters, isn’t so effective or sustainable, regardless of party brand. For example, GOP President Richard Nixon tried wage-price controls, and it failed.
Deep blue California wanted to do single payer healthcare for all in their state. But they backed away due to an estimated $400 billion dollar annual price-tag.
While not as scientific, perhaps, but using a straight extrapolation of the estimates above for California and applying it to the U.S. population – which is about 8 times larger than the Golden State’s – would yield a staggering $3.2 trillion dollar annual price tag for single payer healthcare. That plan would make health care alone about 80 percent of the entire current federal budget.
So ‘the better way deal’ – which has been focus group and poll tested – may draw voters, but that doesn’t mean it would work in practice.
Growing Cloud over the Sanders Family’s
Vermont’s firebrand Senator – who fights for a popular agenda publically – might have his stature tainted with what numerous sources say is growing evidence of a scandal.
According to NBC News, Washington Post, Fox News and many other news sources – there are allegations that the senator used his influence to help push a loan. That loan was for the school his wife Jane was then president of in 2010, Burlington College.
After that loan was approved, the donations needed to cover the debt proved thinner than claimed. The payments proved unsustainable.
The bottom line? The college has since closed.
Sander’s Rivals
Senator Sanders says that the charges have been pushed by Republicans.
That’s true enough. The investigation into Jane Sanders began with a letter, sent from the Vermont chairmen of now President Trump’s campaign, Brady Toesing, back in 2016.
“The loan transaction involved the overstatement and misrepresentation of nearly $2 million dollars in what were purported to be confirmed contributions and grants to the college,” Toensing wrote in the letter, which he provided to NBC News.
He also accused Jane Sanders of abusing her “privileged status as the wife of a powerful United States Senator,” which, he said “seems to have inoculated her from the robust underwriting that would have uncovered the apparent fraudulent donation claims she made.”
‘‘She was working to take the college to the next level with the land purchase,’’ said Jeff Weaver, the campaign manager for Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential run. ‘‘People can Monday morning quarterback it if they want, that’s for sure. But what her intent was was to turn Burlington College into a world-class liberal arts college in Burlington for the benefit of the community.’’
Considering who had pushed the initial investigation, and the timing – while Sanders was running for president – Weaver and Sanders both then and now have attempted to brush off the situation as nothing more than a political tactic.
“It’s a political tactic, it creates a cloud that sits over you for months,” Weaver, the campaign manager for Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential run, told NBC News.
“This was a story that just, amazingly enough, came out in the middle of my presidential campaign, initiated by Donald Trump‘s campaign manager in Vermont,” Sanders said in an interview.
His statement was made between rallies in Pennsylvania and Ohio, organized to defeat the Senate Republicans‘ health-care bill. “That’s about it. I don’t think it’ll be a distraction.”
Now, when Sanders is working towards a healthcare ‘reform’ of ObamaCare – that may be as harmful to the nation as those loans were for Burlington College – the issue has been spotlighted in the media again.
The Sanders’ have retained a lawyer to handle the situation.
‘‘Are you supposed to wait for (U.S. Attorney General) Jeff Sessions to knock on your front door before you talk to a lawyer?’’ Weaver said in a statement.
When asked about the investigation, both Bernie and Jane Sanders have been quick to blame politics, or they change the subject.
“That’s one of the things that’s very sad about our politics today,” Jane Sanders told The Washington Post this month when asked about the Burlington College probe. “The Sanders Institute will not be taking any potshots at people.”
But hasn’t Sanders taken pot shots of his own at the president, his policies, and his administration?
Politics, Economics and Manufactured Housing
The manufactured housing industry is one that benefits millions now, and could benefit millions more.
But economic drags such as regulations, health care, taxes and other issues can depress pay, the number of workers, and more.
A truly “better deal” must be found to make a growing and thriving economy possible.
That’s what America has traditionally promoted, free enterprise and a constitutionally limited federal government. Leave more money in the hands of the people, and let their creativity and enterprise create solutions…such as manufactured housing.
Sanders is widely admired by millions, notably among millennials.
But when the realities of his proposals – which have clearly influenced the Democrats and their new Better Deal plan – are examined, the lessons of Democrat Daniel Patrick Monaghan may arise again.
Monaghan famously quipped, “You are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts.” ## (News, analysis.)
(Image credits are as shown above, and when provided by third parties, are shared under fair use guidelines.)
