Day: December 9, 2023

Post-Debate Poll Delivers Good News For DeSantis Following Fourth GOP Showdown

MICHAEL CANTRELL | 8:11 AM ON DECEMBER 09, 2023
AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
A brand new post-debate poll delivered some much needed good news for Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis following the fourth GOP showdown held earlier this week, naming him as the candidate that "performed best" on stage out of the four total individuals who qualified for the event. However, while this is definitely something to write in the "win" column, it's critical to note that DeSantis is still way behind former President Donald Trump in national polls. The other three candidates are even further behind. 

DeSantis was literally center stage during the event, surrounded by former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, pharmaceutical executive Vivek Ramaswamy, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, all vying for the coveted honor of representing the Republican Party during the 2024 presidential election. 

Now, one can ask the question why the other three — aside from DeSantis — are still running given the fact that they stand almost no chance at all of catching up to Trump. It's a valid inquiry, especially when you take into consideration only a million people even tuned in to watch the debate. People already know where these candidates stand on the issues and how they differ from each other. Nothing new is being said and as a result, nobody really cares to hear them bicker with each other. The debate was pointless. Most folks already know whom they are supporting in the primary. 

According to the Daily Wire:

Of those who watched the NewsNation debate in Alabama, 30% said that DeSantis performed the best, followed by Haley, 23%; Christie, 19%; and Ramaswamy, 16%.

While 7% said that DeSantis did the worst, 9% said Haley, 31% said Christie, and 37% said Ramaswamy.

There was not a lot of movement in the poll in terms of candidates rising or falling in voter’s minds on who they would consider voting for.

Of those on stage, a higher percentage of voters were considering voting for DeSantis than any of the other candidates at 56%. Former President Donald Trump, who did not participate, received 61%

Popular conservative podcast host Megyn Kelly stated on Thursday that she, too, believed DeSantis to be the victor in the debate, going to say the biggest loser of the evening was Haley. I think the whole "girl boss" messaging of Haley is hurting her far more than its helping her. It's the kind of attitude we already get beaten over the head with from the radical left and it's off-putting. 

We already know that she's a strong, independent woman with a lot of success under her belt. There's no need to be obnoxious about it. It's not a good look. That being said, it's also annoying when a dude steps up and acts like he's the Lord's gift to the rest of the world. You can be confident while maintaining humility. 

“I mean, with all respect to her, I thought Nikki Haley lost last night because she shrunk away like she was not really a presence, and she’s been increasing her poll numbers by getting out there and being pugilistic, and that version of her did not appear on stage last night,” Kelly remarked during an interview.

“I thought Ron DeSantis had his best debate yet,” she continued. “And so I think you could probably say he’s the winner because he’s in the best poll position of the four.”

While it most certainly seems like Trump is all but assured to be the Republican Party nominee, anything can happen between now and the primary. Trump is tackling four indictments at the moment for a wide variety of different — and dare I say "trumped" up — charges, which could result in his being disqualified from the election. 

I don't foresee that happening, but it's a possibility. Which means it's also possible DeSantis could end up being the man to take on Biden next year. The others have a much bigger mountain to climb before anyone considers them serious contenders for the nomination.

Israel warns: If we lose the war with Hamas, Europe is next, ‘as well as the US and Canada’

  BY 

SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2023/12/israel-warns-if-we-lose-the-war-with-hamas-europe-is-next-as-well-as-the-us-and-canada;

Republished below in full, unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

Eylon Levy is 100% accurate. Those who do not see Western interests in Israel’s war on Hamas are clueless about what normative Islam is all about: a global caliphate. Israel is in the foreground of a classic jihad. It stands as the only unconquered country in the Middle East, while jihadis continue to try to obliterate it. Meanwhile, Islam expands violently in Africa, and stealthily in the EU, UK and North America. But it should be observable to all by now that jihad violence is now escalating and expanding in the West. People are being tricked and lied to as Israel is set up as the aggressor; never mind the copious evidence of 1,400 years of jihad. Hamas Political Bureau member and former Minister of the Interior Fathi Hammad recently spelled out the plan HERE.

“Israel Warns: If We Lose the War with Hamas, Europe is Next,” by Hana Levi Julian, Jewish Press, December 5, 2023:

Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy warned in a briefing to the Jerusalem Press Club on Tuesday that the destruction of Hamas is a “vital national security interest” for the nations of Europe as well as for the Arab world.

“Arab capitals, even those nations that are unable to speak openly in support of Israel’s campaign against Hamas, understand that this war has to end with the total defeat of Hamas. They understand Hamas within the Arab world as being an extension of the Iranian imperialist project together with Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen and the other militias in Iraq and the Assad regime (in Syria). They understand that it is part of Iran’s strategy of entrenching itself across the region, projecting its power and aggression.

“They also understand Israel has to end this war with defeat of Hamas in Europe as well as the United States and Canada. These nations understand that as grim as the images are on our screens right now from the fighting – fighting in a war I am surprised sometimes that I have to keep reminding people in every interview that Hamas STARTED the war, that Hamas has chosen to fight from densely populated areas. We didn’t choose the war. We didn’t choose the timing of the war. We definitely didn’t choose the battlefield.

They understand that the consequences of inaction would be much worse. That an army of terror cannot perpetrate an atrocity like it did on October 7th and get away with it because if it does that it emboldens Islamist extremists and terrorists all around the world to think that they can attack democratic states with impunity and get away with it…..

Profiles in Pusillanimity: Brown University President Christina Paxson Cuts Denunciation of Antisemitism From Speech

  BY 

SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2023/12/profiles-in-pusillanimity-brown-university-president-christina-paxson-cuts-denunciation-of-antisemitism-from-speech;

Republished below in full, unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

Omer Bartov, a professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Brown University, has publicly denounced Israel as being responsible for the attacks carried out by Hamas on October 7. More on Bartov’s grotesque remarks can be found here: “‘Genocidal Intent’: Brown University Holocaust Professor Blames Israel for Hamas Terrorism,” by Alec Schemmel, Washington Free Beacon, December 6, 2023:

One day after the terror group slaughtered scores of innocent Israelis—including women and children—a Brown student group during an “emergency meeting” argued that Hamas’s attack was “justified violence” and “in fact a victory,” the Washington Free Beacon reported. Brown students have also sympathized with Hamas on Sidechat, a popular app on Brown’s campus that allows students to share anonymous thoughts with their classmates. Students have taken to the app to share comments such as “There is no such thing as an innocent Israeli.”

The Brown students who think that the atrocities committed by Hamas constituted “justified violence” and a “victory” have lost all moral sense. There is no reasoning with them. They should, however, be punished — all the way up to, and including, expulsion from the university — for defending, and even praising, what are clearly war crimes. There is, alas, no way to find the authors of the anonymous comments on Sidechat, where Brown students have been justifying the October 7 murders of civilians in such terms as “there is no such thing as an innocent Israeli.” They are, every one of them, including a three-month old, ten-month-old, two-, four-, and six-year-old children, guilty of war crimes and deserve to be punished.

Brown president Christina Paxson has also faced criticism for abandoning Jewish students—during a recent event, Paxson cut from her speech a planned remark denouncing anti-Semitism after pro-Palestinian students heckled her. A university spokesman said Paxson merely “abbreviated” her remarks in an attempt to wrap up her speech….

Profiles in Pusillanimity: President Paxson, apparently fearful of pro-Palestinian students who heckled her, succumbed to their menacing behavior, and cut from her speech a section that did nothing more than denounce antisemitism. Apparently even that proved too much for the pro-Palestinian crowd, that was unwilling to hear a word in defense of harassed Jews on campus and against antisemitism. Instead of sticking to her script, Paxson — not wanting to endure chants and catcalls — simply dropped her condemnation of antisemitism. If you were a Brown alumnus or alumna, would you want to support the university that is now being run by people unwilling to condemn antisemitism?

Bartov in his op-ed also urged Israel’s government to “define a clear political endgame that will create conditions to end this conflict.” While the Jewish state has identified that “endgame” as the destruction of Hamas, Bartov in the op-ed said the removal of “Hamas’s political and military control … may not be entirely feasible.”

The removal of Hamas as a military force looks more “feasible” every day. I was unaware that in addition to his work in “Holocaust and Genocide studies,” Omer Bartov had become a sudden expert in military strategy. I’d put my faith more in the IDF generals than in armchair warrior Bartov, as to what is or is not “feasible.” And all this talk about Israel “having to define a clear political endgame” is silly. Israel is in the middle of a most difficult war. Until that war’s goals are achieved — the destruction of Hamas as a military power and the return of all the hostages — Israel does not have time right now to come up with such a plan, which whatever it turns out to be, will depend for its adoption on the fractious Israeli electorate. Even if the current Israeli government has such a plan, it is not at all certain that it will remain in office once the war is over. And in any case, why would Israel’s government want to tip its hand in such a delicate matter? I suspect that Israel is hoping, with American help, to persuade the rich Arab oil states — chiefly Saudi Arabia and the UAE — to take control of day-to-day life in Gaza, and to contribute the tens of billions of dollars in reconstruction aid that Gaza will require. The Gazans will accept with better grace rule by other Muslim Arabs, especially if those Muslim Arabs are the very people pouring billions of dollars into the Strip. And the UAE and Saudi Arabia would have their agents right inside Gaza to make sure their aid money is not diverted or wasted. Both the UAE and Saudi Arabia hate and fear Hamas, which is part of the Muslim Brotherhood; the MB is a dangerous enemy of the Gulf monarchies. And both will be re ready to cooperate with the IDF in making sure that Hamas does not reappear in Gaza.

Biden Willing to Make ‘Significant Compromises’ on Border Policy for Ukraine Funding

RICK MORAN | 1:43 PM ON DECEMBER 08, 2023

Republished below in full, unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

AP Photo/Gregory Bull
Back in October when Republicans began to talk about tying funding for border security with funding for Ukraine, the White House dismissed the idea.

Today, in order to get his funding bill for Ukraine passed in Congress, Joe Biden is going to have to bite down hard and accept the prospect of limits on the U.S. accepting asylum claims.

“I’ve made it clear that we need Congress to make changes to fix what is a broken immigration system, because we know, we all know it’s broken, and I’m willing to do significantly more,” Biden said in remarks at the White House. “But in terms of changes of policy and to provide resources we need at the border, I’m willing to change policy as well.”

That's a long way from refusing to even talk about border security in the same breath as Ukraine aid.

“Republicans think they can get everything they want without any bipartisan compromise. That’s not the answer. And now they’re willing to literally kneecap Ukraine on the battlefield and damage our national security in the process,” Biden said. 

“I am willing to make significant compromises on the border,” he added. “We need to fix the broken border system. It is broken. And thus far I’ve gotten no response.”

That's not true. He knows exactly what Republicans want. He'd just rather not make the deal.

Swallow hard, Joe. 

Reuters:

The White House would be open to heightening the standard for initial asylum screenings, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters, requesting anonymity to discuss the talks.

The Biden administration also would entertain some form of a "safe third country" provision that would deny asylum to migrants who pass through another country en route to the U.S., the source said.

Another possible point of agreement could be expanding a fast-track deportation process known as "expedited removal." The authority would be employed nationwide instead of its current application at the border, the source said.

A bipartisan group of senators trying to reach a deal are also discussing a numerical limitation on asylum claims, the source said. The Biden administration position on such a cap remains unclear.

White House spokesperson Angelo Fernandez Hernandez said Biden has made it clear "the border is broken" and that Congress should take action to fix it.

Make no mistake. These are significant concessions by Biden to asylum rules. The "safe third country" policy was initiated by Trump as was "expedited removal." 

Numerical limitations on asylum applicants would be a fine goal, but Biden would never be able to get Democrats to go for it. Open borders advocates and immigration proponents are already screaming bloody murder about the possible concessions. 

But Biden is getting killed in the polls because of his border policies. 

NBC News:

So far, no one seems satisfied. Democrats have seen their advantage over Republicans on border and immigration issues vanish. NBC News polling shows the GOP now holds an 18-point lead when it comes to handling immigration. During Donald Trump’s presidency, the Democratic edge hovered between 4 and 6 points.

New polls suggest that Trump is eating into Biden’s lead among Latino voters. A survey conducted for UnidosUS and Mi Familia Vota showed Biden leading by 18 points among Latino voters. That margin shows considerable slippage since the 2020 election, when Biden won the Latino vote by 33 points, according to exit polls.

Rep. Dean Phillips, the Minnesota Democrat challenging Biden for the Democratic nomination, said that during his trips to the border, he found "an unmitigated, embarrassing, inexcusable disaster.”

I don't think Biden's flip-flop on the border will help him with most voters who see the border crisis as one of the major issues of the campaign. It's far too little and far too late. And the radical left open-border crowd won't let him go too far in reforming border or immigration policies.

Biden's downfall could easily be attributed not just to his border and immigration policies, but also to his entire morally smug attitude towards the border, a smugness that looks ludicrous now.

Hamas Official: Jerusalem Will Be Caliphate Capital

CATHERINE SALGADO | 1:05 PM ON DECEMBER 08, 2023
AP Photo/Khalil Hamra
In the latest example of facts that woke Westerners refuse to acknowledge, a Hamas official stated on TV that its goal is to make Jerusalem the capital of an Islamic caliphate, as he called for war against Jews and Christians.

A Hamas official’s unsurprising but disturbing statement that Muslim terrorists want to conquer Israel because they want Jerusalem as the capital of a caliphate was uncovered by MEMRI TV. As JihadWatch noted, this statement is totally in line with years of stated jihadi goals, yet no amount of terrorist honesty can penetrate the woke understanding. After the recent heinous Hamas attack on Israelis, a different Hamas official announced that his fellow terrorists would commit these atrocities “again and again” to achieve the annihilation of Israel.

“The [Palestinian] people have been soldiers throughout history,” Hamas Political Bureau member and former Minister of the Interior Fathi Hammad said on Al-Aqua TV on Dec. 1. “They are now preparing to liberate Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and I am saying this loud and clear: [The Palestinian people] are preparing to establish the Caliphate, with Jerusalem as its capital city, Inshallah.” 

So much for the ridiculous theory that Arabs would settle for a two-state solution. “Jerusalem will not only be the capital city of Palestine as an independent state – it will be the capital city of the Islamic Caliphate,” Hammad announced.

He went on, “This requires the following: First, the Palestinian people must unite under the banner of 'There is no god but Allah'. The pathetic president, [Mahmoud] Abbas, must not have a monopoly over a part of the Palestinian people and have a hold on the weapons in the West Bank, where 70,000 AK-47s are pointed at our Palestinian people.” While Abbas’s PA dispenses large sums of money through its Pay-for-Slay program, thus financially incentivizing terrorism, more hard-core Hamas militants apparently despise Abbas and his party.

“We – as Palestinians – must rise up and get rid of these elements of treachery and collaboration. With whom does [the Palestinian Authority] collaborate? With the Jews and Christians who are killing your people. This must not be allowed. We must rise up. Palestinian unity is required quickly.” Notice that Hammad hates both Jews and Christians. 

Hamas is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, according to JihadWatch, meaning that it sees jihad as a religious obligation. After 1,400 years of bloody Muslim jihad to establish a global caliphate, attacking Jews and Christians alike, how has the West not learned the truth about radical Islam?

He called Palestinian Authority (PA) head Mahmoud Abbas a “traitor” and demanded that he surrender power. “As for the members of the [PA] security forces – what are you waiting for? I am not even talking in terms of being Muslims but in terms of being noble. Are you not noble? Are you not real men?” Hammad exclaimed. Because, according to Hamas, butchering Jewish women and children is the sign of a “real man.”

Hammad also demanded “Arab unity” in fighting Israel. “Where are the millions of Arabs? Where? Are you not noble? Where is your support? What about the people of Jordan? Four millions [sic] of you have Palestinian roots,” the Hamas official cried. “Jordan's border with the West Bank is 400-kilometers long. Where are you? Why are you still fettered with chains of humiliation, shame, and disgrace? You have to muster your power. What are you waiting for? Are you waiting for Gaza to be totally annihilated?”

Actually, many of the so-called Palestinians (that name was first used for a conglomeration of Arabs in the 1960s) are Jordanians. Jordan was the Arab state created out of most of the land that was originally set aside for a Jewish homeland; that is, the two-state solution already happened. It didn’t satisfy the Arabs, and it won’t.

“Some people say that we must be grateful to the Arabs and Muslims,” sneered Hammad. “Grateful for what? I do not want to thank the Arabs and Muslims. It is time for you to rise up and march forward for the sake of Allah. You deserve no thanks. You have no excuses. You must rise up, just as the Palestinians rose up with their children, women, and elderly, with everything that they have sacrificed and are still sacrificing – for the sake of Allah.” 

He added, "The Zionist enemy is negotiating with us under fire, whereas you are still living with disgrace.” Yes, Hammad wants every Muslim nation to help Hamas obliterate Israel. This is a call for genocide.

JihadWatch pointed out that the Organization of Islamic Cooperation pretends to have 57 instead of 56 members because it considers Palestinian-controlled territories as the “State of Palestine.” Note on the map below how tiny Israel is compared to the Muslim nations. This isn’t about Israelis supposedly having too much land. This is about Muslims wanting to take out the only Jewish nation in the area, no matter how small it is.

And if you think these jihadis will stop with the Middle East, think again. Radicals who believe it is their religious obligation to kill non-Muslims will never be satisfied until they have taken over the world.