Insight

“Private property was the original source of freedom. It still is its main bulwark.” —Walter Lippmann (1889-1974)

Political Futures

“Donald Trump fired the first shot in his 2024 competition with Ron DeSantis by calling him ‘Ron DeSanctimonious’ at a Pennsylvania rally over the weekend. … Trump is not a party-builder. Yes, he’s a movement-builder, but he imagines that the movement is all about himself. … Trump has already shown once before that he can take a winnable national race and lose it, in part because he couldn’t conceal his personal flaws — he didn’t even try — and made himself repellent to too many voters for no good reason. (It’s one thing to be hated for fighting courageous fights; it’s another to be hated for idiotic tweets and pointless outrages.) … We can’t know how a 2024 fight will play out. We do know that the stakes will be enormous.” —Rich Lowry

For the Record

“Democrats: Election denial is so bad that you must vote for us. Also Democrats: If we lose, it will because of voter suppression (Stacey Abrams), Russian bots on social media (Amy Klobuchar), and ‘hanky-panky stuff’ (DNC chair Jaime Harrison).” —Ben Shapiro

“It’s unfortunate that a President who promised to unite America is now calling half of us threats to democracy. If you agree that we deserve better than this — vote!” —former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

Belly Laugh of the Week

“Across the board, what we’re seeing is enormous popularity for the Biden agenda.” —White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield

Freudian Slip

“We settle ‘em peacively [sic] at the battle — at the battle blox [sic] — the ballot box." —Joe Biden

Non Compos Mentis

”[Lee Zeldin] has been hyperventilating [on crime], trying to scare people for months, and New Yorkers are onto it. All the legitimate media organizations have called him out for what he is doing: fear-mongering.“ —New York Governor Kathy Hochul

"Other than murder, violent crime is not up. Did you know that?” —columnist Mona Charen (“Helpful tip when attempting to persuade: never begin a sentence with 'other than murder…’” —Greg Gutfeld)

Let Them Eat Cake

“I grew up in a family where, you know, if the gas price went up, the food budget went down. So by this time of the week, we’d be eating Chef Boyardee if that budget wasn’t going to change, right? So that’s what families have to do.” —Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) Chairman Sean Patrick Maloney

Dumb and Dumber

“We may not know all the winners of elections for a few days. It takes time to count all legitimate ballots in a legal and orderly manner. That’s how this is supposed to work.” —White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre

“In the private sector, Rick Scott oversaw the biggest Medicare fraud in history. So, don’t take my word for it. Don’t take our word for it. Let’s take PolitiFact’s. So with that, you know, you really can’t make things up.” —Karine Jean-Pierre

Village Idiots

“There’s 330 million people in the country. Maybe a good 80 to 90 million aren’t very bright. No offense to those of you watching who aren’t bright, but … you’re watching MSNBC, so I’m making an assumption that you know what’s going on.” —filmmaker Michael Moore

“The midterm elections are on Tuesday, and we have a tough decision ahead. On the one hand our democracy is being threatened by extremists who want power at all costs, even if it means burning us to the ground. On the other hand, gas is four dollars a gallon now.” —comedian Jimmy Kimmel

And Last…

“There may be some explanation as to why certain states take several days to tabulate all ballots, BUT there is not an acceptable explanation. It is simply outrageous and breeds enormous distrust, skepticism and cynicism. Does it happen in red states, BTW?” —David Limbaugh