Politics

• Dems reserve the right to riot if they don’t think Trump won fairly: Remember how the Democrats impeached Donald Trump for “peacefully and patriotically” fomenting that January 6 insurrection? So do we. So it seems a bit rich right now that one of those House Democrat impeachment managers, Maryland’s Jamie Raskin, couldn’t commit to Bill Maher that he and his fellow leftists would accept the election results if Trump wins on Tuesday. “When I say we will support a free and fair election,” said Raskin to Maher, “no, we we’re not going to allow them to steal it in the states, or steal it in the Department of Justice, or steal it with any other election official in the country. If it’s a free and fair election, we will do what we’ve always done. We will honor it.” Setting aside the difficulty of Trump being able to “steal it in the [Biden-Harris] Department of Justice,” Raskin’s position is precisely Trump’s position on free and fair elections. But somehow, the latter is an “insurrectionist” and an “existential threat to our democracy.” It’s a republic, of course. If we can keep it.

• NY Gov. Hochul bewails “anti-American” GOP voters: First, the bitterly clinging Joe Biden stepped on Kamala Harris’s closing message with his deplorable “garbage” comment, and now New York Democrat Governor Kathy Hochul is getting into the act. “If you’re voting for these Republicans in New York,” she ranted on MSNBC, “you are voting for someone who supports Donald Trump, and you’re anti-women, you’re anti-abortion, and basically, you’re anti-American.” Got that? If you disagree with Democrats, you’re “anti-American.” These comments didn’t sit well with New York Republican Congressman Mike Lawler, among others. “Governor Hochul has once again disgraced herself and the state of New York by calling supporters of some of the most bipartisan members of Congress ‘anti-American,’” he said. “It’s shameful and wrong and shows exactly how much of a partisan hack Kathy Hochul really is. She must be voted out in November of 2026, but only after Republicans hold the House thanks to our New York GOP delegation.”

• New York man allegedly beats up stranger for wearing pro-Trump hat in supermarket (Fox News)

• Harris’s last-second SNL cameo violates FCC’s equal-time rule: Kamala Harris doesn’t have the guts to do a three-hour free-form interview with Joe Rogan, but a quick, tightly scripted appearance with the not-so-funny friendlies on “Saturday Night Live” is apparently just her speed. Too bad it was illegal. Not that anything will come of it, but FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr notes that it violates the Federal Communication Commission’s decades-old “equal time” rule. “The purpose of the rule,” Carr said, “is to avoid exactly this type of biased and partisan conduct — a licensed broadcaster using the public airwaves to exert its influence for one candidate on the eve of an election. Unless the broadcaster offered Equal Time to other qualifying campaigns.” Apparently, it wasn’t enough that Kamala Harris has outspent Donald Trump by an astounding four-to-one in advertising over the course of the campaign. Apparently, she also needed an in-kind contribution from one of the major television networks.

• Almost $1B spent on political ads in the last week: Elections are big money for ad agencies, as nearly $1 billion was spent on ads over this last week of the 2024 election. Unsurprisingly, the presidential election campaigns and PACs led the way in spending, forking out a combined $272 million on ads. Donald Trump narrowly outspent Kamala Harris $43.4 million to $40.7 million, with super PACs for both parties spending a combined $187.5 million. Meanwhile, spending on Senate contests totaled $227 million, and House campaigns totaled $208 million. In terms of ballot measures, Florida saw $19 million spent on ads for the abortion referendum, and an additional $18.5 million was spent on a referendum to legalize marijuana. Gubernatorial races across the country totaled $18 million in ad spending.

• Cheney pleads with Bush: Former congresswoman and Republican turncoat Liz Cheney has vociferously embraced and endorsed Kamala Harris for president, despite the fact that just four years ago she correctly identified Harris as a “radical liberal who would raise taxes, take away guns & health insurance, and explode the size and power” of the government and pledged to not “give her the chance.” Cheney, milking the phony “firing squad” controversy for all it’s worth, is now pleading with former President George W. Bush to join her in turning on her own. “I can’t explain why George W. Bush hasn’t spoken out,” she stated, “but I think it’s time, and I wish that he would." For his part, Bush said that he does not plan to endorse any candidate, which itself is a stab in the back to Donald Trump, the Republican Party’s current standard-bearer.

• White supremacist leader endorses Harris: Will Kamala Harris welcome the endorsement of white supremacist leader Richard Spencer, who threw his weight behind her election campaign over the weekend? The great irony is that Spencer, an avowed white supremacist and anti-Semite, took part in the infamous Charlottesville rally in 2017, after which Joe Biden and Harris repeatedly and falsely claimed that Donald Trump called neo-Nazis "very fine people.” Spencer said that he plans to vote for Harris and for Democrats down-ballot, explaining, “For better or for worse, [Harris] goes with the flow. And in my mind, that flow is going towards centrism, towards rational government, towards a sort of democratic hegemony … something that I can responsibly support. So, I’m happily voting for Kamala Harris.” Well, chalk up another “White Dude for Harris.”

• “A pure toss up”: Nate Silver says race now a coin flip (Mediaite)

• Kamala refuses to say how she voted on crime-fighting measure in California (Daily Wire)

• Biden spent billions to delay Medicare premiums spike, protect Harris campaign before election (Just the News)

• Arizona high court rules secretary of state must turn over list of noncitizens on voter roll (Fox News)

Policy

• Trump’s homeschooling tax credit: Donald Trump has rolled out his latest policy proposal, an annual tax write-off of upwards of $10,000 per child for families that homeschool their children. In a video posted on X, Trump announced his proposal, stating, “I will also work to ensure that every homeschool family is entitled to full access to the benefits available to non-homeschool students, including participating in athletic programs, clubs, after-school activities, educational trips, and more.” With homeschooling numbers booming since the COVID pandemic shut down schools and served to expose to parents much of what their children were being taught, this overture from Trump could be a cultural game changer. It would certainly help families by making it easier for one parent to spend more time at home educating their children. This is yet another policy idea that puts the needs of working-class Americans front and center.

Nanny State

• Peanut the Squirrel, RIP: Memes and messages regarding a pet squirrel named Peanut went viral this weekend as a rallying cry against totalitarian government after officials in New York confiscated and euthanized a man’s pet rescue squirrel. State wildlife officers raided Mark Longo’s home and seized Peanut after receiving complaints of “unsafe squirrel housing” and “wildlife gone wild.” Longo loves animals, and his nonprofit has rescued more than 300 animals, including Peanut and a raccoon he named Fred. Longo explained, “They treated me like I was a terrorist. They treated this raid as if I was a drug dealer. They ransacked my house for five hours. They asked my wife, who is of German descent, what her immigration status was. … They wouldn’t allow me to go to the bathroom without a police escort, who then checked the back of the toilet to see if I was hiding anything there.” People all over social media rallied for Democrats to be voted out of power, not just in New York but across the country. As one post reads, “‘How did you get radicalized, Billy?’ Billy: ‘I watched the state murder an adorable pet squirrel because of psychotic bureaucrats having too much power.’”

• Humor: Radicalized squirrels in MAGA hats begin uprising (Babylon Bee)

• Humor: Trump projected to win in 50-state landslide after appearing in squirrel costume (Babylon Bee)

Misc.

• Ex-officer Brett Hankison violated Breonna Taylor’s civil rights in deadly raid, jury finds (NBC News)

• Democrats are about to make California gas even more expensive (Washington Examiner)

• Texas sees 51% drop in border apprehensions after Operation Lone Star expands (Center Square)

• Jerry Seinfeld rips woke NYC private school for allowing “distressed” students to skip class day after election (NY Post)

• Taliban bans women from hearing voices of other women (Christian Post)

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