Cross-Examination

• RNC’s self post-mortem: With the midterm elections failing to generate the anticipated red wave, the Republican National Committee decided to hire outside help to determine what went wrong and how to remedy it for the future. The RNC has formed the Republican Party Advisory Council to accomplish this task. “As we assess the midterms and plan for 2024, we are gathering a diverse range of respected leaders in our movement to join together and help chart a winning course in the years to come,” explained RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel. “I am thrilled that this talented group of Republicans will be shoulder to shoulder with us as we work to grow our party, hold Democrats accountable, and elect Republicans.” Among the group of outsider advisers the RNC is bringing together is Family Research Council president Tony Perkins and former Donald Trump White House adviser Kellyanne Conway. Another adviser is recently defeated Arizona Senate candidate Blake Masters, who lost a tight election to Democrat incumbent Mark Kelly. Masters advised that Republicans need to avoid “one-size-fits-all strategies,” arguing, “Our party needs to modernize. We’re fighting against Big Tech, the media, and now, the Democrats’ GOTV early voting machine.” The council is expected to deliver its findings and recommendations early next year. In the meantime, Mike “MyPillow Guy” Lindell is also running for RNC chair.

• Senate passes marriage redefinition bill: Twelve Republican senators crossed the aisle to side with Democrats in passing the disingenuously named “Respect for Marriage Act.” The legislation seeks to codify the Supreme Court’s Obergefell v. Hodges ruling that redefined marriage to include homosexual partnerships. Several Republican senators sought to include religious liberty protections amendments to the bill, but those amendments failed to gain the needed majority to be included. The Heritage Foundation’s Roger Severino observed, “Members of Congress who voted for this bill and claim to support religious liberty are either naïve or don’t understand the laws they are passing.” He also warned, “As a result, the tax-exempt status of religious schools and nonprofits is now up for debate. Additionally, the Left will try to use the bill to sue faith-based adoption agencies and contractors to drive them out of business as they have done in multiple states and localities already.” The legislation now heads to the House, where Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy vows to oppose it because it would “betray our country’s commitment to the fundamental right of religious liberty.”

• Fraudulent voter sentenced to 15 years: A Georgia man, William Chase, was recently convicted of voter fraud, as he illegally voted twice in the same election, and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. The 62-year-old was caught when a voter who had requested an absentee ballot contacted the county elections office after noticing that her husband’s ballot had been received but hers had failed to arrive. It was soon discovered that her absentee ballot had in fact been sent in but the signature on the ballot was not hers. Following an investigation, which included fingerprint analysis, it was conclusively determined that Chase had intentionally stolen her ballot and cast her vote while also casting his own during the 2021 Senate run-off election in Georgia. What this serves to show is just how vulnerable mail-in balloting is, and especially so when ballots are sent to voters without their request. The problem of voter fraud is exponentially increased with mail-in voting, and if this voter had never followed up with the election board regarding her ballot, it is likely that Chase would have gotten away with fraud.

Headlines

• Rep. Hakeem Jeffries expected to be elected Democrat leader (CBS News)

• Senate passes Respect for Marriage Act, bill heads to House (Daily Signal)

• Congress prepares to take up bill preventing rail strike (Associated Press)

• Democrats have doubled GOP spending on Georgia runoff ads (NBC News)

• Hollywood bombs at box office over Thanksgiving weekend; worst non-COVID since 1994 (Daily Wire)

• Chinese police tracking down COVID protesters after days of unrest (Washington Free Beacon)

• China Used Botched Afghanistan Withdrawal to Score Propaganda Points, Pentagon Finds (National Review)

• China on pace to match U.S. nuclear stockpile by 2035, Pentagon warns (Washington Times)

• Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin dies at 96 (Fox News)

• Netherlands to close up to 3,000 farms to comply with EU climate rules (Telegraph)

• Missing Texas toddler reunited with family 51 years later (The Hill)

• Humor: Tim Cook says he’s ready to pull Twitter from App Store once President Xi gives the order (Babylon Bee)

For more editors’ choice headlines, click here.