Laura Hollis devoted a May 8 WorldNetDaily column to making “a few observations about the current state of things” for the midterm election cycle. Most of them are unsurprisingly partisan, like this:
1. Democrat policies produce chaos, and the media don’t call them out on it.
Virtually every major problem our cities are facing is a direct consequence of Democrats in power and the disastrous policies they push through: homelessness, open drug use, filthy, unsafe and failing downtowns, vandalism, shoplifting, violent crime, illegal immigration, fraud. But the legacy media rarely if ever confront Democrats about those consequences or any others. California Gov. Gavin Newsom hasn’t been pressed on the state’s high-speed rail boondoggle. It was supposed to cost $33 billion and be completed by 2020. But $15.7 billion has already been spent, there’s no train, and Californians are now being told that it won’t be done until 2032 and will cost $100 billion. Where is the outrage? The investigation? Crickets.
Hollis didn’t mention that right-wingers like herself have always been opposed to the high-speed rail project, and higher cost estimates are just one more cudgel she can use. She continued:
Billions of dollars were stolen from Minnesota taxpayers in the state’s fraud scandal under Gov. Tim Walz’s watch, but if independent journalist Nick Shirley hadn’t exposed it, Walz would be cruising to reelection instead of having to withdraw from his campaign in disgrace.
When Hollis says “independent,” she really means right-wing, and she won’t admit that her fellow right-wingers refuse to fact-check his claims. She continued:
2. Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt is a master of political media.
If you haven’t seen any of his ads, look them up online. A former reality TV star, Pratt and his wife, Heidi Montag, lost their home and everything they owned in the Pacific Palisades fires. The horrible political mismanagement that exacerbated the devastation of those fires spurred Pratt to throw his hat into the ring. His clever campaign videos manage to simultaneously skewer the inept and corrupt politicians responsible for the many crises facing Californians and make people laugh at them. This is a brilliant strategy; once your opponents are fodder for mockery, they are vulnerable. Pratt’s opponents – including Bass and L.A. Councilwoman Nithya Raman – are now very vulnerable.
In fact, Bass and Raman advanced to the general election, while Pratt finished third. Hollis then had a Mamdani meltdown:
6. The Democratic Party is anti-work, anti-entrepreneurship and anti-success.
With some notable exceptions like Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., the prevailing philosophy of the Democratic Party is to punish hard work and success, and reward crime, laziness and grift. Last month, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani went after Ken Griffin, the CEO of Citadel, a multibillion-dollar hedge fund. Mamdani mugged for the camera in front of Griffin’s expensive NYC penthouse and gleefully announced a new tax on the super-wealthy. Yeah, Ken, we’re coming for you and everyone like you. The irony, of course, is that Griffin started with nothing, while Mamdani is a nepo baby whose wealthy parents own expensive properties in Uganda, India and the United States.
Hollis didn’t mention that Griffin’s penthouse isn’t just “expensive,” it’s the most expensive home ever sold in the United States at $238 million — but it’s valued at just $9.4 million for tax purposes, which is an impetus behind Mamdani’s proposed tax on homes in the city which aren’t used as primary residences.
Hollis had a related freakout:
7. Nongovernmental organizations are perhaps the biggest perpetrators of fraud in this country.
What used to be means of providing charity have morphed into vehicles for fraud, theft, money-laundering and manipulation of public policy without any accountability. Congress should pass a law forbidding the transfer of any federal monies (via grants or otherwise) to 501c3 organizations. If they are doing good work, individuals can support them with their personal money.
Hollis offered no proof for any of this. She did, however, note that Trump’s war in Iran could be an issue:
4. Iran may be Trump’s Waterloo.
If the president is playing superchess in the Middle East, “5D” must stand for “5 Dollars,” which is what a gallon of gas now costs here in Indiana. Diesel is more than $6. It’s unclear what the president’s endgame or plan is. Iran’s despotic regime needs to go, but the Iranian people are the ones who need to rise up and take out the trash, and there’s no indication when or if that will happen. A protracted war that keeps gas and grocery prices high will sound the death knell for Republican control of Congress. And that will be very bad news indeed for Trump.
Credit where it’s due — Hollis recognizes that continued high gas prices will endanger Republican midterm prospects.