Montgomery County Report from Peter Huessy of Potomac, Maryland
Week of October 28th, 2024 
Why are so many illegal aliens settled in key battleground states?
High Speed Rail and California Follies
We definitely have a banana head as Secretary of Transportation. Otherwise known as Mayor Pete of South Bend, Indiana, the home of Nore Dame (Go Irish!) Mayor Pete was telling us recently how great it is that children born today will benefit from high speed rail. Well, here is the actual story vs the progressive fairy tale and indeed it all starts and finishes in the great state of California Dreamen!!
Here are the most recent facts on the most expensive high-speed rail program (in California) from Senator Ted Cruz and Rep. Sam Graves (the top Republicans on the committees of jurisdiction), in a recent letter to Mayor Pete: Voters were promised that the California High-Speed Rail project would cost the state $33 billion and be completed by 2020.Fifteen years later, the California High-Speed Rail project under the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) still has not completed a single segment of the system, the total estimated cost has ballooned to $128 billion and counting, and there is no expected completion date. CHSRA has recently focused its efforts on completing a 171-mile segment between Merced and Bakersfield. This segment alone will cost more than $35 billion to serve about two million riders annually. That comes to a cost of $17,500 per person who will ride the trin annually. The big project would be for 484 miles and that would cost $64,000 per rider.
UPDATE ON THE ELECTION
The news this late October is that vast majority of polls are showing a decided movement toward President Trump both in national polls and battleground state polls, although many of the polls are very close, often within a single percentage point. In one national poll, President Trump leads 52-47%. The VP has 42% approval and 58% disapproval, while Trump re his 2017-20 Presidency is favorably viewed at 52-48%. And 70-80% of those polled believe the country is going in the wrong direction.
US Senate News
The PA Senate race according to the Cook report has shifted from “lean Democrat” or toward incumbent Senator Casey to “toss up” as challenger David McCormick has reached a tie in the polls. Senator Tester (D-MT) is losing to challenger Tim Sheehy I Montana. If the Senate seat also flips in West Virgina, the R party would have 51 seats, Dems 47 and independents (King of Maine and Sanders of Vermont). Now in Wisconsin, Arizona, Ohio and Neveda, D incumbents are on the ropes. That would give the US Senate to the R party by 55 seats. That is the number President Reagan won in the 1980 election.
The Climate Crisis and Carbon Free World
Who would run the show on energy in the Harris Administration? Well Bernie Sanders top climate specialist Ms. Thorndike is now working for VP Harris and had this to say about fossil fuels: Thorndike,
- "The fossil fuel industry's ecoterrorism is still great birth control."
- "The fossil fuel industry is a death cult and Congress is haunted by the innumerable good ideas it quietly murders every day."
- "I spoke about political and cultural change to overcome the individualism, white supremacy + toxic patriarchy that fossil fuel co's weaponize against affordable solutions we already have for rapid decarbonization."
Harris Plagiarism Circa 2007
Remember that Joe Biden has a problem with plagiarism. Apparently, that virus is contagious with members of his administration. Back in 2007 VP Harris testified before the Senate when she was DA in California. Here is the story: When then-San Francisco DA Kamala Harris testified before the House Judiciary Committee in April 2007, she delivered a pragmatic argument in favor of a bipartisan student loan repayment program for state and local prosecutors. Her testimony about the bill ran 1,500 words. All but 300 of them were copied verbatim from another district attorney, Republican Paul Logli of Winnebago County, Ill. Logli had testified in support of the program two months earlier, in February 2007, before the Senate Judiciary Committee. "Both statements cite the same surveys, use the same language, and make the same points in the same order, with a paragraph added here or there," reports the Free Beacon's Aaron Sibarium. "They even contain the same typos, such as missing punctuation or mistaken plurals. One error—a 'who' that should have been a 'whom'—was corrected in Harris's transposition
The Biggest Issue Facing the USA and Its Allies
As a foreign policy specialist, I am most concerned with the security of the country. Four nations—China, Russia, Iran and North Korea—have declared unrestricted war on the United States which I addressed this morning in a National Institute for Deterrence Studies (NIDS) Seminar broadcast with nuclear expert and former DOD and White House official Franklin Miller, now with the Scowcroft Group. I know Mr. Trump is 100% in favor of doing what is necessary with the urgency required. I do not have any such faith in the alternative leaders.
Here are my remarks this morning on the nuclear deterrent landscape facing the United States.
The catalyst of a breathtaking acceleration of Chinese, North Korean and Russian nuclear force modernization has pushed the United States into reviewing its security policy and defense strategies, especially with respect to nuclear weaponry. In addition, two recent congressional mandated commissions have both unanimously warned of the necessity of significant new investments in the USA military budget for both conventional and nuclear forces.
This is taking place within the context of a series of parallel developments with the overarching reality that Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran are increasingly joining forces to up end international norms and law, engage in armed aggression and terrorism, while raking in billions in criminal cartel behavior.
These four nations are pursuing a coordinated campaign of unrestricted warfare including:
- Attacks against the United States and its Allies in the Middle East from Iran and its terror proxies,
- Attacks by China on the Philippines and Taiwan in the South China Sea;
- Threats by North Korean multiple missile launches toward ROK and Japan,
- Disruption of ocean borne freight traffic by the Houthis in coordination with China, Iran and Russia.
- Russia’s lethal and criminal attacks against Ukraine’s civilian society and infrastructure.
The massive nuclear build by all four currently provides the cover for this coordinated campaign against the United States and the West.
All of which must be reckoned with for the United States and its Allies to successfully restore deterrence.
Most worrisome are five ongoing nuclear developments:
One, the Russian initiated war against Ukraine now in its third year, has been accompanied by multiple dozens of reckless threats by Moscow to use nuclear weapons, threats that have come to be viewed as bluff.
Two, an apparent change in Russian nuclear doctrine to allow for the early use of nuclear weapons in a conventional conflict with Ukraine should a nuclear power assist in the conventional conflict has heightened nuclear dangers.
Three, there is also a growing tendency by the United States to advocate restraint and negotiations during a conflict, including carrying out only a proportionate response to enemy aggression, and an avoidance of escalatory actions, especially the use of nuclear force.
Four, pressure from both the far left and far right to jettison Americas long-standing policy of extending its conventional and nuclear deterrent over its allies in Europe and Asia is growing. Most particularly, the narrative is growing that any retaliatory use of nuclear weapons by the United States in defense of its allies would quickly escalate to all out nuclear war.
Five, this calls into question whether US nuclear deterrent policy will be taken seriously. Especially as parallel pressure grows to denigrate the role of nuclear weapons in USA security policy and unilaterally reduce USA force levels toward the goal of zero nuclear weapons.
On the other hand, there is some good “nuclear” news that may help the United States.
One, large bipartisan majorities, in both houses of Congress, support significantly increasing the capability of America’s nuclear forces, in particular cruise missiles, overall warhead levels and the nuclear Triad.
Two, an equally strong bi partisan majority in Congress supports significantly increasing the capability of America’s conventional forces deterrent including long range, prompt conventional strike at hypersonic speeds;
Three, senior deterrent experts are advocating a robust US response to armed threats, including escalation with the aim of winning even should the use of nuclear weapons be contemplated. In short, taking deterrence seriously.
Four, both USAF and US Navy leaders are seriously committed to building a new nuclear deterrent, even while sustaining a very old legacy deterrent .
Five, the end of the New START agreement may, according to some analysts, finally remove the fiction that Russia is complying with the terms of the agreement and allow the US to build the required deterrent force without relying on Moscow’s consent.
Finally, while there exists a myriad of interpretations as to what China’s nuclear strategy entails, ranging from a requirement to have an assured, retaliatory capability, an escalate to win theater nuclear capability, a no first use posture, a response to US missile defenses, or a coercive nuclear force capability including a pre-emptive first strike stance, the overall direction is toward Washington undertaking a serious assessment of China’s hegemonic ambitions.
Taken together, the future landscape still looks treacherous, at best. Although there is an emerging national sentiment that our nuclear forces and strategy must modernize, whether a path through these geostrategic landmines can be found remains in serious doubt. My colleague Frank Miller will now address what the US needs to do to sustain and improve and enhance our nuclear deterrent.
It's Close But the Signs Aren't Good for Harris
Sean Trende
With less than two weeks until Election Day, the publicly available data continues to suggest a closer race than any election I’ve covered.
Although our poll averages show Donald Trump winning by 312 electoral votes to Vice President Kamala Harris’ 226 electoral votes, this doesn’t tell the full story. In the key battleground states, four of Trump’s leads are under a single decimal point: As of this writing, 0.8% in Pennsylvania, 0.4% in North Carolina, 0.4% in Wisconsin, and 0.9% in Michigan. Another three races show a lead of fewer than three points: Michigan (1.2), Arizona (1.8), and Georgia (2.5). It wouldn’t take a significant poll error for Harris to win.
As I give pre-election speeches and talks, though, I’m discovering that people find that answer – “It is close” – strangely unsatisfying. One thing I’ve learned through years of doing this job is that people have a difficult time dealing with uncertainty. Read more
Democratic Senate Candidates Look To Set Themselves Apart From Harris
Adeline Von Drehle
All three “blue wall” Senate races are rated toss-ups by Cook Political Report, as Democratic candidates seek to help their cause by distancing themselves from an unpopular Biden-Harris administration. Read more
Will Republicans Keep Control of the House?
Jonathan Draeger
Over the last two years, the Republican-led House has been full of turmoil, primarily revolving around conflict between the Republican members of the House Freedom Caucus and Republican leadership in the House. Heading into the 2024 elections, this strife may cause some problems for Republicans, as even though Trump leads in swing states, Democrats are favored to take the House. Read more
The Conference Board Leading Economic Index:
Chairman Arrington Statement on
September Report
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Earlier this week, The Conference Board released its Leading Economic Index (LEI) report for September 2024. The report showed that the LEI for the U.S. declined by 0.5 percent, to 99.7, following a 0.3 percent decline in August. These declines are part of a disturbing, yearlong pattern. The LEI fell 2.6 percent over the most recent six-month period, between March and September 2024, which followed a 2.2 percent drop during the previous six-month period (September 2023 to March 2024).
House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX) released the following statement on the Leading Economic Index for September:
“While Harris continues to tout the Biden-Harris record, the Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index (LEI) demonstrates that our economy remains on a worrisome path.
The LEI fell by half a percentage point in September, a possible “Red Flag” in light of the simultaneous drop in Consumer Confidence, which declined by a staggering seven points in the same month.
Biden and Harris’s inflationary spending policies have placed unprecedented financial strain on working families throughout our country. The American people simply cannot afford another four years of the Democrats’ failed fiscal record.”
The Leading Economic Index (LEI) provides an early indication of significant turning points in the business cycle and where the economy is heading in the near term. The LEI is a predictive tool that anticipates—or “leads”—turning points in the business cycle by around seven months.
The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the US declined by 0.5 percent in September 2024 to 99.7 (2016=100), following a 0.3 percent decline in August. Over the six-month period between March and September 2024, the LEI fell by 2.6 percent, more than its 2.2 percent decline over the previous six-month period (September 2023 to March 2024).
Read Chairman Arrington’s statement on the sharp decline in consumer confidence HERE.
Read Chairman Arrington’s statement on BLS revising down its preliminary annual benchmark review of employment data by 818,000 jobs HERE.
Tax Warning
Pay attention folks. If they can do it in California, the clowns in Annapolis could figure out how to do it in the State of Maryland. California’s Unaffordable Housing Plans By The Editorial Board, Ballot measures would let localities impose rent control and evade property-tax limits.
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Peter Huessy is a Member of the Montgomery County Republican Central Committee. Since 1981 he has been President of Geo-Strategic Analysis of Potomac, Maryland. He was a former special assistant to the Secretary of the Interior and consultant to the US Air Force. He can be reached at [email protected]
