Power
“Weeheeheehee, deeheeheeheehee, ohwee om weem away.
In the jungle, the mighty jungle
The lion sleeps tonight.
In the jungle, the quiet jungle,
The lion sleeps tonight.
In the village, the peaceful village,
The lion sleeps tonight.
Near the village, the quiet village
The lion sleeps tonight.
A-wheem-a weh, a-wheem-a-weh, a-wheem-a-weh, a-wheem-a-weh.”
You may have heard that there is an election next week. Well, technically these days, there has been an ongoing election for about a month and it ends next week. Actually the voting ends next week but in dysfunctional places like the state of California “counting” said votes will persist for 30-40 more days.
In this missive, I will tell you where I see the election as standing as of this writing. And then, we will discuss what each candidate for president might do with their newly acquired power. This power shift is not being discussed much on the campaign trail.
First, let’s look at how things are shaping up. I have been telling you for months that Republican control of the Senate after next week is as close to a lock as there is in politics. West Virginia and Montana will make 51 votes happen for Republicans. Dems are trying hard in Texas and Florida but they will not win in either place. There are seven other seats that Rs have a chance to flip. At worst, they flip none. At best, maybe five? So, the Senate goes Republican with somewhere between 51 and 56 seats. The House, IMHO, will go with whichever party wins the presidency. That is not because either candidate has “coattails” in the traditional sense. I just think the House will go with whichever team gets their vote out enough (or in the case of the Dems gets their illegal or immoral vote harvesting out) to carry the presidency.
So, if Kamala wins, I think she faces a narrow Republican controlled Senate but regains the House majority. If Trump wins, I think he will have both Houses in Republican control just as he did in 2016.
Everyone can see that the polling, momentum and narratives out there are breaking Trump’s way here at the end. You have to say he’s the favorite at this point. But, Romney thought he was winning in 2012 and Hillary thought she was a lock in 2016.
In the words of that great orator, Yogi Berra, “It ain’t over ’til it’s over.”
Whoever wins, there has been a lot of focus on policies, or lack thereof. Fine. Obviously, the policies enacted or attempted as well as appointments to judgeships and in the cabinet agencies are very important. But political office is also about having power and what a given officeholder does in wielding that power.
There are other places in society in which great power resides. Centuries ago, the primary holder of that non-governmental power was the “church,” writ large. Not so much any more. But wealth has power, as it always has. Today, media, the education establishment complex, Hollywood, major corporations and technology all wield a degree of power in society today. These powers may be used in concert with or against the political power of the moment.
Arguably, political power is still preeminent because it has the ability to tax, regulate, permit, abolish, imprison and destroy. Whether it should possess such powers is a discussion for another day. The fact is that such power exists.
What will each candidate do with their power if they win? Here are my thoughts.
Vice President Harris is very unclear on many things. But what she will do with her power is actually very clear. She will use it to stifle dissent under the guise of controlling “misinformation” and “hate speech.” Inconvenient facts or opinions contrary to those of the ruling elites will not be allowed under a Harris administration. She and her running mate have made it clear that the 1st amendment is no obstacle in their quest to “control speech.” They want to shut down X, Daily Wire and all other conservative outlets. The current administration has had no problem in jailing or attempting to jail political opponents as they have done with Trump and many of his supporters as well as priests praying outside abortion clinics and gun collectors and owners. Some of these opponents have been killed or wounded in massive armed federal raids of their homes in the middle of the night for such crimes as administrative errors on gun forms or praying against abortion. You have already seen the state of California deny permits to Elon Musk expressly because of his “political views”. A Harris administration will find a way to jail him, I have no doubt.
Like all totalitarian regimes, they must quell dissent. We have already seen doctors and scientists who have views contrary to the “mainstream” of elitist thought lose their licenses and grants and livelihoods. This is a strong message. Agree with the government or you will suffer.
Former President Trump will also wield his power but in an entirely different way. His main objective will be to weaken the administrative “deep state,” which does exist. In his first term, these un-terminatable and unelected civil service employees did all they could to ignore, defeat and interfere with all of the actions of those elected and appointed to serve the president. Trump will want to stop them from being the 4th unelected branch of government that they are now. But, they will not go quietly.
He will also want to weaken the influence of some of the other sources of power like media, Hollywood and the educational elites. CBS “News” in particular will be in the crosshairs for their blatant efforts to expunge anyone who is not a hard Neo-Marxist from their ranks and for trying so hard to help Kamala under the guise of “news.”
Think of what a government that includes such iconoclasts as RFK, Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will want to do to radically change the current power structure? These are not linear go-along, get-along thinkers.
The vast majority of the power in the United States is currently in the hands of the far left. Today, they have the White House, the Senate, the media, Hollywood, technology, the vast majority of centi-millionaires and billionaires and the education establishment. On the right, we have the Supreme Court, the House, X, Fox News and a few other conservative outlets, a dozen universities, the oil and gas industry and some large state governments. Kamala will want to eliminate the conservative power structure so there is no dissent. Trump will want to weaken the leftist control over so much and make it more even.
Either way, institutions and individuals rarely give up power without a fight. I wish I could suggest this can be worked out and compromises achieved. But we are past that point. One side has to win and the other lose. If Trump wins, the leftist elite powers will go into overdrive to defeat his second presidency. Remember how bills to impeach him were authored by Democrats the day he was inaugurated for his first term? They won’t wait that long this time. If Kamala wins, the divide in America will widen even more as conservatives seek each other for solace and protection from a totalitarian state.
Starting November 6th, regardless of the outcome or how long it takes to count votes, it’s going to be a rough ride.
So what does the song I picked this week have to do with any of this? Many of you of a certain age were probably singing the “weeheehee” part in your head as you read it. This hit (from a two-hit wonder group) was adapted from an African Zulu tune about being safe when the lion is sleeping. The lions are sleeping during this election. But in less than a week, one lion or the other will wake up. And the village is unlikely to be quiet and peaceful.
I remain respectfully,
Congressman John Campbell
Drive Fast & Live Free