DeSantis, Florida, The Future Of The GOP
Four days after delivering his "Oasis of Freedom" versus the "Yoke of Oppressive Lockdowns" speech at CPAC-2021, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told the Sunshine State's lawmakers why it has the moniker, "Oasis of Freedom."
During his Tuesday State of the State address, he observed that Florida is open for business and open for education.
Ford O'Connell, a political analyst, Republican strategist, and regular Newsmax TV contributor, agrees that following the Florida blueprint will open the door to future GOP victories.
"The key to Republicans taking back our country is simple: Continue to make Florida a conservative model of governance for the rest of the nation," he tells Newsmax.
Just as following California's example may lead to the Democratic Party's demise, evidence is mounting that Florida could become be the GOP's future — and its savior.
O'Connell concludes that "if Republicans [follow the Florida model] in 2022, trust me when I tell you, 2024 will take care of itself."
This Is What America Would Be Like Under President Kamala Harris
Late last year, rumors surfaced that if elected, Joe Biden told aides he would serve only a single term. Although he later denied those claims, the fact remains that if elected, he'd be older entering office than President Ronald Reagan was leaving it.
In addition, given Biden's recent memory lapses, some observers wonder whether the former vice president would complete a single term, prompting voters to give his running mate greater scrutiny than they gave previous vice presidential candidates.
Biden is generally perceived as a slightly left-of-center moderate, despite being pushed further leftward throughout the last year. The same can't be said of Sen. Kamala Harris, a California Democrat and Biden's running mate.
Newsmax reached out to Republican political pundits on what a Harris administration might look like. Lawyer, businessman, and Republican strategist Ford O'Connell says it would amount to the "Californification of America." He added that "she is an opportunist that will be an easy target for the far left to manipulate."
Addressing specific issues, O'Connell, a frequent Newsmax TV contributor, says that "abortion? It's simple — on demand, at will."
O'Connell says, "As for healthcare, we already know the answer to that one: It's a universal right." He adds that for all Democrats, "not only is it the number-one job of the government, it's a universal right whether or not you're a U.S. citizen."
Ford O'Connell To Newsmax TV: SCOTUS Appointment Top Election Issue
The fight over filling the Supreme Court vacancy will become "the top issue of the 2020 election," according to GOP strategist and lawyer Ford O'Connell on Newsmax TV.
O'Connell said it is important to have nine justices on the bench because the "Democrats have already said they're going to challenge the election results if Donald Trump wins."
He said if there is a challenge on election results that winds up at the Supreme Court for a decision, "you need to have nine justices on there."
He ripped Democrats who are threatening to pack the courts and even impeach Trump for selecting a justice ahead of the election.
"They never accepted the 2016 election results," he said of the Democrats, adding they are "resorting to extortion" to change the rules.
West Wing Celebrates Mueller's 'Very Painful' Performance
West Wing denizens breathed a collective sigh of relief Wednesday as Robert Mueller’s long-waited testimony before Congress was widely panned by commentators on both sides of the aisle.
Politico.com characterized Mueller’s performance as flat, saying he offered “clipped, monosyllabic responses and repeatedly asked lawmakers to repeat their questions.” One source described the reaction in the White House to the hearings as one of “euphoria.”
Former Bush White House presidential adviser Bradley Blakeman confirms White House staffers were “extremely pleased” with Mueller’s appearance.
GOP Strategist Ford O'Connell tweeted Wednesday afternoon: "Who would have thought the #MuellerHearings would be exponentially worse for the Dems than the #MuellerReport?"
Many Democrats had a similar, if more subdued, reaction.
Jeff Sessions Should Enter AL Senate Primary, Defeat Roy Moore
Former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore is like a bad penny. He keeps showing up at the most inopportune moments, and he just did it again for the second time within two years.
He announced Thursday afternoon that he’s going to run again for a U.S. Senate seat against the Democrat who defeated him before.
Pundits agree that the most vulnerable 2020 U.S. Senate seat will be that held by Alabama Democratic Doug Jones. He won it in a 2017 special election to fill the vacancy left By Jeff Sessions, who was appointed as President Donald Trump’s first attorney general.
Jones squeaked past Moore by fewer than 22,000 votes, winning a seat that had been solidly Republican for two decades. A year earlier Trump won 62 percent of that state’s voters to his side, versus the 34 percent Hillary Clinton won.
So far three other Republicans have declared their intention to run for the seat: U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne, State Rep. Arnold Mooney, and Tommy Tuberville.
Pundits and strategists say that 2020 may bring as many as 10 more Republican candidates.
2020 will be a different ballgame than the 2017 special election. President Donald Trump will head the ballot and bring more GOP candidates along with him. On the minus side, however, Jones is not the typical Democrat, especially when considering the party’s hard turn to the left.
For that reason, coupled with the fact that he’ll be running as an incumbent, Republican strategist Ford O'Connell tells Newsmax that the Alabama race will likely be a tossup.
12 Senate Races More Important Than The Presidential Election
Many Americans are focusing on the 2020 presidential but the Senate races could be more important as Republican control is up for grabs. The party is seeking to hold onto its slim majority with 12 key seats being tested in this cycle.
The math seems to favor the Democrats. Twenty-two Republican seats are among the 34 up for re-election next year; 12 of those slots are in key states. If President Donald Trump loses re-election, Democrats need to flip only three seats to regain the Senate. If Trump wins, the party needs four.
With Trump as president and Democrats holding onto the House, and regaining the Senate, they are sure to stymie his agenda. But if a Democrat wins the White House — and the party controls both congressional chambers — they will undo Trump's record and push through their own legislative programs.
In many ways, the battle for control of the Senate is more important than for the White House, Republican strategist Ford O'Connell tells Newsmax.
"Essentially, Mitch McConnell is the last line of defense against socialism," he says, referring to the Kentucky Republican and Senate majority leader, who is also up for re-election next year.
"You block socialism if Trump wins," O'Connell adds. "If Trump loses, but McConnell's still in power, you still block socialism.
"It's an if-then: Trump helps McConnell keep the Senate. But if Trump goes down, then McConnell's got trouble."
Two other political observers, however, say 2020 will be a "top-down" contest, with the party winning the White House also taking Congress.
O'Connell tells Newsmax: "In Alabama, the Republicans should win unless [Roy] Moore's the nominee. Doug Jones is going to be out.
"A bad nominee can hurt you more than a good nominee can help you."
Joe Biden's Radically Liberal History Revealed
Former Vice President Joe Biden has emerged as the front-runner in the race for the Democrats' 2020 nomination for president, appearing to be more moderate than many of his socialism-loving competitors — but a deeper examination of his record shows a highly radical agenda, political observers tell Newsmax.
"He is no working-class hero who cares about protecting America abroad," says Republican strategist Ford O'Connell. "It's not just his support for the Iraq War or the Anita Hill hearings, he also supported job-killing trade deals like the TPP and NAFTA.
2020 Democrat 'Feeding Frenzy' Now Underway, GOP Pundit Says
A leading GOP strategist tells Newsmax a major “dog fight” and “feeding frenzy” among Democrats fighting for the party’s 2020 nomination is now inevitable.
In recent weeks, insiders say they’ve seen a growing number of negative stories about Democrat candidates popping up on left-leaning sites. Ford O’Connell says the reports appear to reflect opposition research by 2020 contenders directed at their colleagues.
Blue Wave Hits Red Wall
With GOP Senate candidate Mike Braun of Indiana declared the winner over incumbent Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly, and a stunning outcome apparently looming for Democrats in Florida, it looks like the vaunted blue wave touted by Democrats and the mainstream media has hit a red wall.
In Florida, in a potential shocker signaling Democrats could be in for a long night, GOP gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis jumped out to a 90,000 vote lead over charismatic Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum with 97 percent of the vote tallied.
Perhaps even more surprising: GOP Senate candidate Rick Scott, with 97 percent of the vote recorded, was leading incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson by about 58,000 votes.
A Nelson loss to Scott would flip the seat to Republicans and many analysts believe it would all but close the books on any realistic shot Democrats would have this cycle of retaking control of the Senate.
GOP strategist Ford O’Connell tells Newsmax: “It tells you that Trump is still popular in the state of Florida. It probably also tells you that Democrats probably shouldn’t have gone so far left with a candidate like Gillum, and try to encroach into the southeast.”
The larger issue for Democrats as the night goes on: If the polls were that far off in Florida, what can they expect as other races come in across the country?
O’Connell remarked: “Obviously the entire time they [the polls] were favoring Gillum and Nelson, no question about it.”
Read more at Newsmax
9 Reasons Why The Polls May Be All Wrong Again
For months now, pundits and pollsters have been predicting a political bloodbath for Republicans this election. The House, they said, was really a lost cause. The only question was whether the GOP could duck the “blue wave” just enough to hold onto control of the Senate.
Talk radio giant Rush Limbaugh has dismissed the polling this election as no more accurate than it was in 2016. In fact, “El Rushbo” suggested some negative polls were intended to depress conservative turnout.
In the past 48 hours, curiously, several mainstream pollsters and data analysts confessed this week that neither a red advance nor a blue wave would really surprise them. In other words, they agree there could be a systemic polling flaw in the run-up to this year’s election.
Soon, voters will find out whether the prognosticators will once again spend Election Night daubing egg off their faces. Here are nine recent indicators suggesting that they may:
6. Pollsters May Have Miscalculated the Turnout
Midterms results vary widely depending on turnout, and how many voters will turn out to cast ballots in midterms is difficult to predict. GOP Strategist Ford O’Connell tells Newsmax: “I agree with the uncertainty expressed by several pollsters and data experts this week, including Peter Hart and Nate Silver, who see the outcome of this election as especially unpredictable. “Polling is not an exact science,” O’Connell cautions. “A lot of it is art.”
O’Connell says there’s one demographic whose turnout will serve as the best indicator of how Republicans will fare Tuesday: Seniors. “I’m not even looking at those [MSM poll] numbers,” he says. “I’m looking at seniors. I’m more concerned about a drop in senior voting than I am about an increase in any other group, because seniors are just so reliably GOP, especially for the midterms.”
