Election-week Hot Takes
This week's Election has real-life implications - Signal Gate leaves the stage this week
Does Signal Controversy Fade this week?
The short answer is. yes.
Look no further than Snopes to see the democrat talking points down-graded, once again, to “non-public information.”
This is pretty incredible. When this controversy started, and before the facts were publicly known, democrats called the one-Signal text in question:
Multiple texts of “Classified War Plans.”
Then it morphed to “Top Secret military communications.”
Oops, that went too far, so it downgraded to “Sensitive Material.”
And now, it is “non-public information.”
Democrats should just stop talking or it will be downgraded to “a couple of school kids passing notes in math class about what their parents said at the dinner table.”
Changing the accusation to “non-public information” isn’t without its own set of hurdles because this is strategic on the part of democrats because the Biden Administration rule was that “non-public” information could not be shared via messaging apps. This is splitting hairs and the public won’t buy that “non-public information” is as egregious as “Classified war plans.”
Look for democrats to continue to call for resignations and firings, but there is no way either happens unless at least three republicans in the U.S. Senate who voted to confirm Hegseth or Waltz start calling for their resignations, and that simply isn’t going to happen.
The reason why democrats will not be successful getting a resignation or someone fired is because once that official is no longer in the administration, their phones are no longer protected by national security protocols and democrats are signing in unison, “we must inspect their phones for malware!”
We have a saying in the South, “Don’t p*ss on my leg and tell me it’s raining.”
And, that’s all democrats do….They try to hide their true intentions by trying to sound reasonable, after all, it’s reasonable to inspect phone for malware, right?
Democrats in the U.S. Senate don’t need to be in charge of that “inspection” that’s for sure. Maybe that’s a job for, let’s see…, tech geniuses? Where can we find one of those? Oh yeah! DOGE.
My guess is the second DOGE is in charge of checking for malware, democrats will say that isn’t sufficient, it must be them. They want to spy on all the information on these phones for political, not national security, purposes.
No. Nothing is sufficient for democrats when they are on a witch-hunt. If Pres. Trump capitulates at all, it will stall his second term as much or more than the illegal 2017 impeachment hamstrung his first term.
Furthermore, if Pres. Trump asks for one resignation, he might as well rebuild his Cabinet because democrats will not stop until each and every person on that text chain resigns or are fired.
So, what does Pres. Trump do from here? This is crisis communications 101.
This was an embarrassing mistake. Admit that and apologize (Waltz has already done this).
Implement a new “messaging app” protocol.
Have all senior officials sign new “messaging app protocol agreement”
Communicate to the American people that this will never happen again and that all involved have agreed to the new and improved procedures.
Of course, if this has faded in the rear view mirror for the public due to tariffs and special elections, then let the public move on without giving the story legs for another week.
Finally, Pres. Trump was never going to ask for resignations or fire anyone due to the political nature of this week and the special elections in Wisconsin and Florida.
Speaking of special elections…
Florida Special Elections
The story of these special elections is the amount of money democrats are spending compared to republicans. In Florida, democrats are outspending republicans by about $16 million to $4 million in the two seats combined.
It is important to know that special elections are just different. Too many people start with a baseline of these races being 30+ republican districts.
That may be true during a presidential election when there is 80 percent turnout, but in a Spring special election where there will likely be 30-40 percent turnout?
Simple math would suggest that these races would be 8-15 percent GOP districts at best. Quite frankly, the democrats in these districts don’t really matter. These races are 100 percent about Pres. Trump and the GOP candidates in the race.
While Pres. Trump’s endorsement guarantees a primary win in GOP primaries, candidates must pivot to a general election and ensure voters that they are their own candidate who will support the president, but also be the voice of the district in D.C., not just an echo of Pres. Trump.
Of course, democrats are running as anti-Trump come heck or high-water. Should a democrat win one of these races, they won’t, they most assuredly will lose in Nov.. 2026 when turnout returns to normal. The only thing the democrats have going for them is the amount in which they are outspending their republican opponents. That too is a double-edged sword.
Congressional District 1
This is the seat formerly held by Matt Gaetz. Jimmy Patronis, the twice-statewide-elected Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for Florida is running as a republican and is being outspent by, at least, four to one.
Patronis lives on the border of Congressional districts one and two and some in this race may vote more “parochial” wanting a candidate from Pensacola. But, unlike Congressional District 6, Patronis is seen as a North Florida guy and District 1 is a North Florida district.
Matt Gaetz had the power of incumbency and won District 1 in Nov. 2024 by 32 points and 274k votes outspending his opponent by a large margin.
About forty percent of these folks will vote, and with the democrat with the financial advantage, you will likely see Patronis win with by about an 16-18 point margin.
Congressional District 6
Randy Fine is seen as a little bit more of a controversial figure due to his fervent support of Pres. Trump which has put him in the crosshairs of Gov. DeSantis as well as democrats.
No one doubts that DeSantis would not shed a tear if Fine lost. If the governor would shed a tear over a Fine win, he should keep the Kleenex handy.
Much has been made in this race about Fine moving north one district, like Patronis moved west one district, but again, it is much ado about nothing. District 6 is a north-central Florida coastal district just like the space coast Fine represents in the State Senate.
I don’t like to speak for other people, but I think Fine would likely agree that he is more of a lightning rod than Patronis in the panhandle.
Just like Trump, people who support Fine will support him because he will lead them through fire, even if he happens to set a fire or two himself.
Waltz represented district 6, was an incumbent in 2024, won reelection by more than 30 points, and like Gaetz, outspent his opponent.
Fine is being outspent by as much as six to one. Very few politicians overcome that type of financial onslaught.
On election night April 1, you will count Fine as one of those opponents which will make Fine undefeatable in this district for as long as he chooses to serve.
Fine may not win with as much of a margin as Patronis, but look for an 8-11 point win for Fine on Tuesday (10 points is considered a landslide).
What does this mean for democrats? In Florida, it will set the tone for a republican clean sweep for 2026 because local, low-dollar donors will fail to invest in the “fool’s gold” that is Florida for democrats.
Democrats from Florida are more likely to support a U.S. Senate seat or a local candidate in a swing state or a strong blue state than throw their money away tilting at windmills in Florida.
Of course, it’s a different story if democrats are able to win one of these seats, but don’t expect that to happen.
Tariffs Begin Wednesday
Much is being made about tariffs starting April 2.
Will there be economic pain? Possibly. But too many people are looking at and reporting tariffs like they are happening in a vacuum, and that is not the reality of Pres. Trump’s economic policy.
Tariffs are one part of Pres. Trump’s economic policy. The other legs of the stool include tax cuts, deregulation and a revitalized energy policy.
Taken as a whole, tariffs level the playing field with countries that have been taking advantage of the U.S. for far too long.
One difference here, and one reason people seem to be more concerned about these tariffs are that they are across the board applying to all imports from countries that unfairly place tariff on U.S. products.
A couple of examples:
The EU tariffs US agriculture products at 11 percent while the U.S. has tariffs on the EU’s agriculture products at 5.2 percent.
It is complicated, however, South Africa has 40 different tariff categories including a 60 percent tariff on bone-in chicken from the U.S. while the U.S. has a near-zero tariff on agricultural products from South Africa.
That does not include a 15 percent “Value Added Tax (VAT)” on nearly all products that are imported to South Africa.
EU countries have a VAT of 17-27 percent on top of tariffs.
VATs are not considered when discussing tariffs because VATs are added to both domestic and foreign products. VATs, however, put U.S. manufacturers at a disadvantage because VATs favor exporters from VAT countries because they can zero-rate exports while adding additional taxes to U.S. manufacturers when they export to VAT countries. Maybe that’s one reason countries that have been unfairly taxing U.S. products are protesting so much over reciprocal, fair, tariffs.
When all four legs of Trump’s economic stool are considered, the U.S. will have:
Lower Energy costs
Lower taxes
Fair trade
Deregulation
All four of these economic policies, working in unison, will create economic growth, grow wages, keep inflation in check, bring business and business investment to the U.S.
This week, people will look at tariffs like they are happening in a vacuum, but they will soon realize that the American Economic Renaissance is on the horizon.