The Counting Continues, Macron's Bad Behavior, Israel At War

Gary Bauer

by Gary Bauer, Contributing Author: The Counting Continues - Now a week past Election Day, Democrats continue to run up the score. Here's how the Associated Press puts it:

"As vote counting presses on in several states, the Democrats have steadily chalked up victories across the country, firming up their grip on the U.S. House and statehouses. The slow roll of wins has given the party plenty to celebrate."

I am hard pressed to think of any situations in which late votes reversed an election in the GOP's favor. Perhaps conservatives wouldn't be so skeptical if they occasionally came out on top in these disputed contests. But it seems like the left prevails virtually every time when a race goes beyond Election Day.

Messaging in these situations is critical. When the left cries, "Count every vote!" the clear message the marginally involved person hears is that Republicans are trying to suppress the vote.

Conservatives can't respond with paragraph-length answers. Our slogan should be, "Count every legal vote once."

I am still flabbergasted that in Florida of all states, the GOP was seemingly caught flatfooted by the shenanigans in Broward County. It needed to win not just beyond the margin of error but beyond "the margin of lawyer."

I am hoping for the best, but this looks like an attempt to see just how far the left can push the envelope until law enforcement is brought in. It appears that the left hasn't found the line yet.

Left-wing Hypocrisy - The left-wing media and its progressive allies are now attacking President Trump for calling into question the legitimacy of the election process in Florida. That's rich!

These are the same people who convinced many Americans that the 2016 elections were illegitimate because Trump supposedly conspired with the Russians. There is zero proof of that.

Now after spending the last two years undermining the public's confidence in Trump's election, the left is furious that he has questions about what is happening this year.

Macron's Bad Behavior - Over the weekend, President Trump joined European leaders to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I. To the surprise of many, French President Emmanuel Macron used the opportunity to fire a broadside at America's leader. He said:

"Patriotism is the exact opposite of nationalism. Nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism. By saying, 'Our interests first, who cares about the others,' we erase what a nation holds dearest, what gives it life, what makes it great and what is essential: its moral values.

"I know there are old demons which are coming back to the surface. They are ready to wreak chaos and death. History sometimes threatens to take its sinister course once again."

Macron's distinction between patriotism and nationalism is absurd. The Merriam-Webster dictionary definition of patriotism is, "love for or devotion to one's country." The definition of nationalism is, "loyalty and devotion to a nation."

His offense to his guest, the leader of the free world, is outrageous. More than 100,000 Americans died in World War I. Far more died in World War II. Without any fear of contradiction, I can say that without that sacrifice, there would be no France today.

But even before Trump arrived in Europe, Macron said that Europe needed a "true European army" because, "We have to protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia and even the United States of America."

What a joke! Europe already refuses to fully fund NATO. Macron's comments are historically and politically obscene.

There are no words to express my contempt for the globalist leaders of so many western countries. They are young, sophisticated, and fashionable. They are also utterly clueless. And their ingratitude is why so many Americans feel it's time to address our own challenges rather than rushing to the aid of everybody else.

President Trump expressed his frustration with Macron and other European leaders in a series of tweets yesterday. Here's an excerpt:

"We pay for LARGE portions of other countries military protection, hundreds of billions of dollars, for the great privilege of losing hundreds of billions of dollars with these same countries on trade. I told them that this situation cannot continue. . ."

The president is absolutely right. Neo-cons who argue for a more aggressive foreign policy should be working with President Trump to get other nations to step up. There is no stomach among the American people for the U.S. being the world's policeman when we are running trillion-dollar deficits.

Israel At War - Over the past 25 hours, Israel's enemies have fired more than 460 rockets and mortars from Gaza toward Jewish communities. Israel's Iron Dome defense system has intercepted about a quarter of the projectiles. At least one Israeli has been killed and scores have been injured.

Yesterday, Palestinian terrorists fired an anti-tank missile at a bus, severely wounding an Israeli soldier. It could have been a far worse tragedy. Just moments before the attack, dozens of Israeli soldiers had gotten off that bus.

The Israel Defense Forces responded by striking 160 Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets.
There are reports of a possible ceasefire, but the Israeli security cabinet authorized the IDF to "continue its operations as needed."

Ceasefire or not, Israel is at war. These barrages have become more frequent and more intense. Israel's enemies are not interested in peace with Israel or even a piece of Israel. No nation should be expected to tolerate these attacks.

I find it amazing that when Israel protected its border from an invasion, when a mass of people was the weapon, the media gave us mass condemnations of Israel. But now that thugs in Gaza are firing massive numbers of rockets at innocent Jews, it barely makes the news.

Jason Greenblatt, President Trump's Special Representative for International Negotiations, tweeted yesterday:

"Terrorists in Gaza are again attacking Israel with tools of war. These rocket & mortar attacks on Israeli towns must be condemned by all. Israel is forced once again into military action to defend its citizens. We stand with Israel as it defends itself against these attacks."
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Gary Bauer is a conservative family values advocate and serves as president of American Values and chairman of the Campaign for Working Families

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