Follow The Hustings beginning late Tuesday for the latest election returns and send us your comments on the midterms to editors@thehustings.news.
Midterm Madness
UPDATE: ICYMI, Donald J. Trump told his Monday night rally crowd in Dayton, Ohio, he will make a “big announcement” at Mar-a-Lago on November 15. This jibes with the Axios scoop last week that he was expected to announce for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination the week of November 14. We have been warned.
Trump Teaser Update – Donald J. Trump may announce his candidacy for the 2024 GOP nomination for president as early as Monday night, according to Semafor, warning there is nothing definitive in its report based on sources apparently among his advisors. Key word according to the new global news website is the ex-president is “considering” an announcement you may or may not have heard about by the time you read this. Last week Axios scooped that Trump had planned to announce somewhere in the November 14-16 time frame and crow about successful midterm endorsees.
Upshot: As always, the ex-prez likes to keep everybody guessing, from his advisors to his adoring MAGA hatters to almost everybody else – who fear he will run again.
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We Are All Not Elon Musk – Twitter’s new owner said the platform will permanently remove anyone using his name from the social media site without clearly marking the account as “parody” after a series of celebrities did just that. Comedian Kathy Griffith is banned, while actress Valerie Bertinelli changed her screen name to “Elon Musk” and posted a series of tweets supporting Democratic candidates before changing her name back, the Associated Press reports.
Truthiness: Free speech absolutist Musk’s latest whim on how to improve Twitter is “to become by far the most accurate source of information in the world. That’s our mission.” Does that mean Donald J. Trump will not be welcomed back? The World’s Richest Man did not say.
He’s No Valerie Bertinelli: Musk took to his new toy Monday to address “independent-minded voters,” Forbes reports, to recommend “voting for a Republican Congress, given that the Presidency is Democratic … shared power curbs the worst excesses of both parties.”
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Can This Be Right?>>>
By Todd Lassa
Some conservatives and most modern Republicans might be confused by the appearance of Pundit-at-Large Stephen Macaulay’s column, “Something to Think About Before You Vote,” in our right column. Scroll down through the column and you’ll find a clear dissection of the arguments Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) and Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) make on why you should vote for their parties’ candidates in Tuesday’s midterm elecitons.
Shouldn’t this column appear on the left? Well, no. Macaulay has always expressed center-right opinions, including his absolute belief in fighting for American democracy. Since 2016, the GOP and along with it the notion of American conservatism has been overtaken by Donald J. Trump’s specific brand of MAGA-populism. This is not conservatism in the classic sense. There is, in fact, plenty of evidence of authoritarianism.
One Macaulay argument we can all agree with is to get out and vote this Tuesday (if you haven’t done so already).
Hit the Comments box in the left or right columns, or email editors@thehustings.news to express your opinion. As always, please back your arguments with facts, and keep it civil.