Mark Mitchell, a pollster who works for the conservative Rasmussen polling organization, warned Thursday that recent surveys show that American voters are “less likely” to vote for a Republican candidate than they were just a year ago.
During an appearance on former Trump administration adviser Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast, Mitchell noted that President Joe Biden’s poll numbers had risen considerably over the summer and Democrats have also made up significant ground in the generic congressional ballot. Once down by as much as 10 points, the two parties are almost even.
Mitchell also told Bannon:
“Look at the question. If the midterm elections were held today, would you vote for the Republican candidate or for the Democrat candidate for Congress? And, you know, when somebody loses a lead like that, it’s a referendum on the party. Right?
“So, people are very concerned about all these topics. They look around and they see a lot of problems with the economy and they’re worried about being able to make their rent payment or whatever.”
The pollster added:
“But they are less likely to vote for Republicans — I think that’s a very clear signal — than they were a year ago. Much less likely than they were a year ago.”
Remember that “red wave” the GOP was promising at the beginning of the year? The wave now seems to be turning blue and could be disastrous for Republicans because Americans know they cannot be trusted.
Things are not going well for ex-White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, who had to surrender to authorities in New York for allegedly defrauding investors to the “We Build the Wall” campaign, which was supposedly going to help build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border before millions raised for that purpose somehow wound up in pockets of those who had organized the fundraising effort. In other words, Scam City, USA.
Bannon’s indictment contains six counts and could result in him being sent to the proverbial Big House for 25 years.
The best part of the day, however, was video of the perpetually unwashed looking Bannon being led away in handcuffs as he ranted like some sort of modern-day prophetic Sibyl, only much less credible and much more mentally unstable, not to mention odiferous.
In the video, Bannon exclaims:
“They will never shut me up! They’ll have to kill me first. I have not yet begun to fight!”
Already facing a two-year prison term in federal prison after being found guilty for contempt of Congress, Steve Bannon, a former political strategist for failed ex-president Donald Trump, will surrender to New York authorities on Thursday for his role in an alleged scheme to defraud contributors to a $25 million fundraising effort for building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
The precise details of the state case could not be confirmed Tuesday evening. But people familiar with the situation, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sealed indictment, suggested the prosecution will likely mirror aspects of the federal case in which Bannon was pardoned.
In that indictment, prosecutors alleged that Bannon and several others defrauded contributors to a private, $25 million fundraising effort, called “We Build the Wall,” taking funds that donors were told would support construction of a barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Shortly after news broke of the latest indictment against Bannon, he lashed out in statement which reads in part, “The Soros-backed DA has now decided to pursue phony charges against me 60 days before the midterm election because WarRoom is the major source of the MAGA grassroots movement. The SDNY did the exact same thing in August 2020 to try to take me out of the election. It didn’t work then, it certainly won’t work now.”
Full statement from Steve Bannon on WaPo report Bannon will surrender to NY prosecutors: pic.twitter.com/ipsySFdQzb
Ironically, Bannon was pardoned by Trump on federal charges connected to the “We Build the Wall” fundraising scheme, but that pardon doesn’t protect him from being indicted and put on trial in New York. Bannon pleaded not guilty to those charges, which included allegations that he had personally pocketed $1 million of the donated funds.
Bannon may also be in further legal jeopardy for his role in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. His name has come up frequently during the public hearings being conducted by the House Select Committee investigating Jan. 6.
Here’s more on Bannon’s contempt of Congress conviction:
Even though he was handed a bill of almost $50 million last week for defamatory comments he made about parents of the children killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is now spreading a new lie to eager right wingers: Former President Barack Obama is probably going to launch a terrorist attack inside the United States right before the midterm elections in November.
Appearing on Steve Bannon’s “War Room: Pandemic” podcast, Jones was asked by the host:
“Are you concerned about the Nov. 8 elections? Are you seeing things out there that are concerning you as to whether we’ll have a free and fair election?”
Jones replied:
“I’m worried that the Biden controllers, the third administration of Obama — I’m worried that Obama and his people may provocateur some type of big terror attack. They might launch a cyber attack and blame it on the Russians. They might start a major war.”
Jones then added:
“I mean, they’re going to have an October surprise or a group of October surprises. You can bet your bottom dollar on it.”
Alex Jones warned Steve Bannon to expect a terrorist attack from "Obama and his people" before the midterms. pic.twitter.com/YeLLRiz4BG
The exchange between Bannon and Jones tells us two things:
Republicans are worried they’re going to lose in November, despite their long-predicted “red wave” on Election Day.
Conservatives and right-wing nutjobs are already laying down the predicate for what they’ll claim if Democrats keep control of the House and Senate.
It’s also interesting to hear Jones and his ilk talk about terrorism when it was their shock troops who carried out the most recent domestic terror attack in this country on January 6, 2021.
If there is any terror attack before votes are cast on Nov. 8, the first person to be questioned should be Alex Jones.
After only three short hours of deliberation, a jury in Washington, D.C. convicted former Trump administration senior political strategist Steve Bannon on two counts of contempt of Congress, according to the Washington Post.
Stephen K. Bannon, the right-wing podcaster and longtime confidante of former president Donald Trump, was convicted Friday of contempt of Congress for his refusal to provide documents or testimony to a House committee probing the Jan. 6, 2021, attack.
Bannon, 68, is the closest person to Trump to be convicted of a crime amid the fallout from the attack on Congress, which occurred as lawmakers met to formally tally the 2020 presidential election result. The contempt case involved legislative efforts to investigate the Jan. 6 violence and what led up to it, however, rather than the actual events of the day.
The trial, which lasted a week and only featured two witnesses, tested a rarely used criminal statute meant to ensure people comply with congressional subpoenas. The verdict, after 2½ hours of jury deliberations, sent a message to other potential committee witnesses, the panel’s chair and vice-chair said in a joint statement.
After the conviction, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the Jan. 6 committee’s chairman, and Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), the vice chair, issued a statement that was clearly aimed at failed, one-term, twice-impeached former president Donald Trump:
“The conviction of Steve Bannon is a victory for the rule of law and an important affirmation of the Select Committee’s work. As the prosecutor stated, Steve Bannon ‘chose allegiance to Donald Trump over compliance with the law.’ Just as there must be accountability for all those responsible for the events of January 6th, anyone who obstructs our investigation into these matters should face consequences. No one is above the law.”
Throughout the committee’s hearings, there have been reminders that no one is above the law, and that includes Trump, who may have had a certainly level of security from prosecution while in office, but no longer enjoys that privilege.
Earlier this week, Attorney General Merrick Garland also seemed to be sending a message to the ex-president when he told reporters:
During a press conference, a visibly animated Garland twice said that “no person” was above the law when pressed specifically about Trump, whom Democrats say incited the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection over his unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud in 2020. Democrats also cite Trump’s larger, months-long campaign to try and reverse his election loss. (Trump insists he did nothing wrong.)
“There is a lot of speculation about what the Justice Department is doing, what’s it not doing, what our theories are and what our theories aren’t, and there will continue to be that speculation. That’s because a central tenant of the way in which the Justice Department investigates and a central tenant of the rule of law is that we do not do our investigations in the public.”
Attorney General Garland: "No person is above the law in this country."
