What cost the GOP the midterms? – politicians weigh in from all quarters; Prominent priest asks if we get the leaders we deserve; Victor Davis Hanson gives his take on the Republican Party, MAGA and 2028; Decision Desk HQ calls LA mayor’s race for Nithya Raman; Atheist group denounces President Trump’s All Saints’ Day message honoring Catholic saints; Virginia bishop responds after Commonwealth voters choose abortion up to birth, pro-lifers vow battle not over; Jesuit magazine rejoices: “The religious Left is back’; Flashback – Rush Limbaugh: ‘I’ll let you know when it’s time to panic’; Nicki Minaj has a ‘couple’ (15, actually) things to say post-midterms; Today Catholics honor Sts. Elizabeth and Zechariah, the parents of the great prophet and martyr St. John the Baptist; and more —
VANCE: THE IRAN WAR COST US THE MIDTERMS by BRIANNA LYMAN [ARTICLE]
“The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night,” Vice President J.D. Vance said in a post-mortem of the midterm results in an X post on Wednesday.
Democrats flipped seven Senate seats in Iowa, Kansas, Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, and Texas. Both Alaska and Mississippi Senate races remain uncalled, though Democrats currently hold razor-thin advantages. Democrats are projected to have nearly 260 House seats, though many races have yet to be finalized.
“The main problem is not turnout. The main problem is that many people who voted for Trump/Vance in 2024 voted for Democrats in 2026,” Vance said. “The real reason we lost is obvious to almost everyone.”
One pollster told Vance that voters who supported Trump in 2024 but were planning to vote for Democrats in Tuesday’s elections said the only thing that would cause them to return to the Republican Party is if the war in Iran is ended and the administration focused on the cost of living and inflation, “put America First” and “change[d] our relationship to Israel.”
Read more at The Federalist
REDSTATE SAYS VANCE’S TAKE TOO FACILE [POST]
See @RedState
HMMM … A PAUSE FOR THOUGHT [POST]
See @spencerpratt
IRAN NUKED US AFTER ALL by KYLEE GRISWOLD [ARTICLE]
Regime-change adventurism on the other side of the world caused a devastating regime change here.
The sandy dunes of Republican midterm prospects just turned to glass, and President Trump and his neocon handlers are desperate to blame the electoral A-bomb on everyone else. But the fundamental cause and effect are clear: In a misguided bid to disarm Iran, Iran nuked us after all.
Warmongers, establishment Republicans, and Trump’s most ardent defenders will blame “candidate quality.” They’ll say this was expected because midterms are traditionally rough for the party in power. And, of course, some of the blame falls on worse-than-useless Senate Republicans, who failed to deliver on even widely supported legislation such as the SAVE Act despite a GOP trifecta.
But while most Republicans expected a beating, this was a bloodbath. Democrats not only flipped the House of Representatives and the Senate, but they did so with candidates such as James “God is nonbinary” Talarico in Texas and Muslim Brotherhood-connected Abdul El-Sayed in the Midwest. Too many red states saw major upsets, including Kansas, South Carolina, and, most disturbingly, Texas — three states that haven’t had a Democrat senator in decades. Not even Republican Gov. Greg Abbott could hold onto his seat in the Lone Star State. Ohio flipped blue, as did North Carolina, Georgia, and Iowa.
Read more at The Federalist
POLITICAL PUNDIT: WE’LL NEVER KNOW WHAT WAS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF NOT STARTING IRAN WAR [POST]
Watch @Knesix
NICKI MINAJ HAS A ‘COUPLE THINGS’ TO SAY POST-MIDTERMS [POST] (continued below)
Read @NICKIMINAJ AND @NICKIMINAJ
DECISION DESK HQ CALLS LA MAYOR RACE FOR NITHYA RAMAN [POST]
Watch @nicksortor
FLASHBACK: RUSH LIMBAUGH TELLS LISTENERS HE’LL LET THEM KNOW WHEN IT’S TIME TO PANIC – AIRED NOVEMBER 6, 2020, SHORTLY AFTER THE 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION [VIDEO]
Rush: I’m never gonna run away from the United States of America. I may die, but I’m not gonna run away from the United States of America. I’m not gonna give up. I am not gonna tell you to give up. I’m not gonna tell you to walk away. I’m not gonna tell you it’s time to panic. You can keep asking if you want, but I’m always gonna tell you no.
Watch at Rush Limbaugh Clips
JESUIT MAG: ‘ON ELECTION NIGHT RELIGIOUS LEFT IS BACK’ [POST]
Read @americamag
VICTOR DAVIS HANSON ON GOP, MAGA AND 2028 [POST]
Watch @JanJekielik
VA BISHOP RESPONDS AFTER A MAJORITY OF VIRGINIANS VOTED FOR LIMITLESS LEGAL RIGHT TO ABORTION [POST]
See @CatholicArena; read Bishop Burbidge’s full statement here
VIRGINIA JUDGE WILL HEAR CASE IN 9 DAYS TO OVERTURN ABORTIONS UP TO BIRTH [ARTICLE]
The battle to stop abortions up to birth in Virginia is not over.
A Virginia judge will hear arguments in 9 days on a lawsuit seeking to block certification of a newly approved constitutional amendment that writes elective abortion through all nine months of pregnancy into the state Constitution.
Virginia voters approved Ballot Question 1 on Tuesday, which adds a so-called right to abortion to the Constitution, along with Ballot Question 2, which redefines marriage and introduces “gender” as a category distinct from sex. The Family Foundation said the fight now moves to the courtroom and the Capitol.
“We won’t sugarcoat what happened tonight. Writing elective abortion through all nine months into our constitution is a wound to the Commonwealth, and the Virginians who will bear it most are the ones who had no vote: unborn children, some of whom will be full term when they are aborted,” said Victoria Cobb, president of The Family Foundation.
Read more at LifeNews
FREEDOM FROM RELIGION FOUNDATION REBUKES TRUMP FOR TURNING PRESIDENTIAL MESSAGES INTO CHRISTIAN SERMONS [ARTICLE]
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is calling out President Trump for using the presidency to promote Christianity and perpetuate the false narrative that the United States is a Christian nation.
In two official presidential messages issued just one day apart, Trump celebrated Christian religious holidays while repeatedly portraying Christianity as the foundation of American identity, morality and national greatness. The messages, issued on Oct. 31 for Reformation Day and Nov. 1 for All Saints’ Day, are the latest examples of the administration’s troubling efforts to blur the constitutional separation between state and church.
“Donald Trump is president of the United States, not pastor-in-chief of a Christian congregation,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “His constitutional responsibility is to represent all Americans, not to use the White House as a platform for Christian evangelism. Our government derives its authority from ‘We the People,’ not from Jesus Christ.”
In his Reformation Day message, Trump declared: “From the earliest days of our republic, prayer and faith in Almighty God have stood as the foundation of our strength, the source of our unity, and the fount of our greatness.” He went further, explicitly connecting his administration’s political agenda to Christian religious doctrine: “Guided by an unwavering faith in Jesus Christ, my administration is working to restore the moral and religious foundations that have sustained our republic for generations.”
Read more at Freedom From Religion Foundation
OBAMA-APPOINTED JUDGE ORDERS IOWA TO ALLOW SATANIC TEMPLE HOLIDAY EVENT WITH KRAMPUS CONTEST AT STATE CAPITOL [ARTICLE]
In the past week, the Trump administration has come under attack for a State Department video narrated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio celebrating America’s Christian heritage, and an atheist group denounced President Trump’s All Saints’ Day message honoring Catholic saints. Meanwhile, a federal judge sided with The Satanic Temple on free speech grounds and ordered Iowa to open its state Capitol to the group’s holiday event.
Chief U.S. District Judge Stephanie M. Rose of the Southern District of Iowa ordered the state on Nov. 2 to allow The Satanic Temple to hold a holiday event in the Capitol rotunda on Dec. 12, after state officials denied the group’s applications three years in a row. Rose granted a preliminary injunction against Mark Campbell, director of the Iowa Department of Administrative Services. President Barack Obama nominated Rose in February 2012, and the Senate confirmed her that September.
The Satanic Temple (TST), a group based in Salem, Massachusetts, describes the gathering as “a family-friendly holiday event in the Capitol Rotunda” in its lawsuit announcement. According to local station WOI, the program includes “Satanic holiday carols, ornament making and a Krampus costume contest.” Krampus is a horned figure from Alpine folklore who traditionally punishes misbehaving children during the Christmas season. The ACLU of Iowa represents TST and its Iowa congregation leader, identified in the filing as “Mortimer Adramelech, Minister of Satan.”
Read more at the Gateway Pundit
70 YEARS AGO SOVIETS QUASHED HUNGARIAN REVOLUTION [POST]
See @EmeseinBudapest
DO WE GET THE LEADERS WE DESERVE? [VIDEO]
In the aftermath of the election, Fr. Chris Alar, MIC, offers Catholics a serious reminder: our responsibility does not begin and end at the ballot box. For Catholics, God guides us through Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the teaching authority of the Church. Political decisions therefore should not be based only on personal interests, party loyalty, economic concerns, personalities, or political promises. Catholics are called to form their consciences in the light of the Gospel and the moral teachings of the Church, asking before every important civic decision: Am I seeking only what I want, or am I sincerely trying to understand what is good, just, and consistent with God’s law? In a time when Scripture itself can be invoked in confusing or contradictory ways, Catholics must know their faith, pray for clarity, and refuse to allow political rhetoric to replace authentic Christian teaching. … The election may be over, but the Catholic mission is not. Pray. Learn the faith. Form your conscience. Defend human dignity. And stand faithfully with Christ and His Church.
Watch at Divine Mercy
TODAY IS THE FEAST OF STS. ELIZABETH AND ZECHARIAH [POST]
See @FriarMario; read more about Sts. Elizabeth and Zechariah (Zachary) at Catholicism.org
