Source: Rutherford Institute
by John & Nisha Whitehead
“After a midterm election that saw billions of dollars spent on political advertising and a Democratic wave sweep Republicans out of power in Congress, Americans have once again been promised a new direction for the country. The voters have spoken. The balance of power in Washington has shifted. A new Congress will have the opportunity to rein in an imperial presidency and hold the government accountable for its abuses. But the question that must rightfully be asked is: what comes next? Will Congress finally rein in the surveillance state, the militarization of the police, the detention machinery, the endless wars, the government spending spree and the corporate interests that profit from the American police state? Or will the politicians settle back into their comfortable routines while the government machine keeps right on running? This is where Hollywood’s dystopian warnings become disturbingly relevant.” (11/04/26)
“The party in power typically loses seats in a midterm election, but the president has to do something catastrophically stupid to provoke a backlash this large. In Trump’s case, it was his decision to start an illegal war of aggression against Iran that destroyed his presidency and wrecked his party. The party running proudly antiwar candidates prevailed, and the mindlessly pro-war party was routed. While there were several reasons for the extensive Republican losses, this was above all a great antiwar victory. … Voters want an end to the war and accountability for the government’s destructive policies. Americans are giving the Democrats a chance to rein in the president’s open corruption and abuses of power. Once the new Congress is in session, the priority has to be forcing an end to the war using the power of the purse.” (11/04/26)
“When Russia designated the Human Rights Foundation as ‘undesirable’ earlier this year, the New York City–based nonprofit knew what was coming next. In September, the HRF received a notice demanding it block Russians from accessing its signature Tyranny Tracker. But the notice did not come from Russia; it came from WP Engine, a web hosting company headquartered in Austin, Texas. … The Guaranteeing Rights Against Novel International Tyranny and Extortion (GRANITE) Act aims to stop this. Introduced in the House by Rep. Michael Rulli (R–Ohio) in August and currently sitting in the Judiciary Committee, the bill would confirm in statute that U.S. courts will not enforce foreign censorship orders, and would allow individuals to sue foreign censors for attempting to restrict the protected speech of American citizens. The former is the shield; the latter is the sword.” (11/04/26)
“With another election season behind us, we should revisit some of the great economic and political debates about the merits of voting and electoral politics. While majorities successfully elected candidates and passed referenda across the country on Tuesday, they will likely not be happy with all the effects of their choices on society. Or, to put it another way, the majority got what it wanted, but it is not going to like it.” (11/04/26)
Source: The American Conservative
by Luke Nicastro
“We have now entered the ninth month of an asinine and unwinnable conflict prosecuted by the White House in open defiance of the Constitution—which, for those who have forgotten, sagely reserves to Congress the power to declare war. And for all the casuistry and careful word-games of executive branch lawyers, for all the attempts by cabinet officials and congressional leadership to cloud and complicate the obvious, for all the recent protestations of the president himself—usually admirably forthright about the essential warrishness of the war—that this is ‘not a war’ or a ‘soft war,’ it is, in fact, a war. Its commencement without congressional authorization was unlawful; its termination by congressional action is essential if our legislature is to regain its constitutional role (not to mention its institutional self-respect).” (11/04/26)
“Within minutes of the Democrats retaking power in the House of Representatives, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), the expected chair of the House Oversight Committee, just posted a menacing two-word message: ‘Lawyer up!’ Across the country, far-left politicians and pundits immediately demanded a spasm of investigations and impeachments as soon as they assume control of both houses. Like a nation of Madame Defarges, activists are eagerly knitting the names of targets into the lists of the walking dead, starting with Haley Stevens, who decided to test the ‘big tent’ claims by splitting her ticket to vote against Abdul El-Sayed. The conditions on the Hill are only likely to make such rage politics more appealing with the new Congress. Despite the large margin secured in the House, it is not enough to overcome a veto requiring two-thirds of both houses.” (11/04/26)
Source: The Erick Erickson Show
by Erick-Woods Erickson
“In 2024, Donald Trump assembled a multiracial and multiethnic coalition of voters who bristled at the progressivism of the Democrats and the wreckage of the economy. By 2026, Trump and his White House acolytes set that coalition on fire to cater to a group of hyperonline grievance mongers who have confused Twitter with real life. Last night, the American constitutional system worked as designed and worked so well and so thoroughly that the party that lied to itself in 2020 that it had lost only because the election was stolen is now lying to itself that it lost only because of gas prices and war. Last night’s drubbing was too complete to be theft.” (11/04/26)
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by John Coleman
“Fifteen years ago, the Supreme Court in Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association struck down a California law barring the sale of violent video games to minors. The Court held that the state’s legitimate power to protect children does not include ‘free-floating power to restrict the ideas to which children may be exposed.’ It also rejected the idea that the interactivity of video games made them legally different from books, plays, or films. Today, California is again overreaching to block access to an interactive medium in the name of child safety.” (11/04/26)
“Perhaps the best result of America’s midterm elections was that President Donald Trump quickly accepted the results, contrary to his usual tendency to claim he always wins. On Tuesday night, he told The New York Times that he is ‘absolutely willing’ to honor the Democrats’ taking control of Congress. ‘We’ll … look forward to working with them,’ he said. The Republican Party in general was indeed humbled in a surprisingly high number of electoral contests, whether for Congress or statehouses. In their concession speeches, several losing GOP candidates took the time to express a measure of decency and civility about their defeat. ‘It’s important to win with humility and gratitude and lose with grace and dignity,’ said Ohio Sen. Jon Husted, a Republican who lost his seat to Sherrod Brown, a Democrat. ‘No matter whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican, I want you to succeed.'” (11/04/26)
“Joe Biden’s Washington set out to slow China’s march toward technological dominance. Instead, it may have handed Beijing one of the best incentives imaginable to build its own semiconductor industry. Now, as President Donald Trump pursues a different approach to win the AI race, a Congress controlled by his own party is considering provisions that could lock America into a more rigid export-control regime just when strategic flexibility matters most. The irony is hard to miss. Huawei chairman Xu Zhijun reportedly credited American pressure with helping China’s semiconductor industry grow. Washington wanted to make it harder for Chinese companies to obtain advanced chips and the equipment needed to manufacture them. Beijing’s response was to double down on domestic alternatives. When the world’s second-largest economy decides that it can no longer depend on American technology, it has every incentive to throw money, talent, and political muscle at building its own.” (11/04/26)
