Leland Vittert’s War Notes: Kamala’s New Shoes

NewsNation Chief Washington Anchor and On Balance host Leland Vittert was a foreign correspondent for four years in Jerusalem. He gives you an early look at tonight’s 7 p.m. ET show. Subscribe to War Notes here.

Kamala’s New Shoes: Is She Ready to Be President?

The White House trades access like kids trade candy after Halloween, thus a Reuters article about Kamala Harris’ new brave role should raise a lot of questions.

Trevor Hunnicutt (@TrevorNews) lays out her new billets:
- “Hosting rapper Fat Joe at the White House to talk about reforming marijuana laws. Visiting an abortion clinic. Calling for a ceasefire in Gaza at the historic Selma bridge in Alabama. Walking the bloodstained crime scene of the Parkland, Florida, school shooting.”

All focus is on securing the left wing of the Democratic Party angry over Gaza, disenchanted with the Biden administration’s lack of success on promised issues for the Black community and obsessed with abortion.

Zoom out: The more Harris hits the campaign trail, the more regular voters (not political junkies) will face the hard question of whether they want or even can see her as president.

That’s not necessarily a question Democrats want swing voters asking.

Look back: Harris utterly failed with these people as a candidate herself in 2020.

The very people she’s now trying to secure the support of (progressive Democratic primary voters) basically ignored her presidential campaign.

Lots of work: James Carville, inventor of “It’s the economy, stupid,” warned on his podcast, “It’s horrifying our numbers among younger voters, particularly younger Blacks, younger Latinos … younger people of color. Particularly males.”

Read the write-up here from the New York Post, including the numbers Carville was referring to.
- “Last year, 66% of black adults leaned or identified as Democratic while 19% said they leaned or were Republican, according to a Gallup survey released in February. The 47 percentage-point spread is the lowest in at least 25 years — and down 19 percentage points from 2020, when 77% of black adults identified as Democrats and just 11% identified as Republicans.”

The World is a Safer and Better Place

Axios’ morning newsletter headlined Barak Ravid’s story about Israel killing Iran’s top terror general yesterday with “New fear of wider war in Middle East.”

Yes, there is a new fear, namely by the people who have so badly screwed up the past six months of Middle East policy.

Iranian protesters are shouting anti-Israeli and anti-U.S. slogans while holding up portraits of the former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Quds Force, General Qassem Soleimani, during a protest gathering to condemn the Israeli air strike against the Iranian consulate in Syria, at Palestine Square in Tehran, Iran, on April 1, 2024. Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds force, and his deputy, Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, were killed in an Israeli air strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus. (Photo by Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Ground truth: The Biden administration continues its misguided policy of nonescalation at any cost.

Much like we (correctly) predicted Hezbollah would hold its fire in Israel’s north … we predict Israel’s strike will force Iran on its heels.

Ravid reports, “The U.S. told Iran that it ‘had no involvement’ or advanced knowledge of an Israeli strike on a diplomatic compound in Syria that killed a senior Iranian general, according to a U.S. official. The big picture: The rare message shows the Biden administration is deeply concerned that the Israeli strike could lead to a regional escalation and the resumption of attacks by pro-Iranian militias against U.S. forces.”

Fact check: The Biden administration continues to get the Middle East wrong.

Iran is the root cause of problems in the region, not Israel.
The Arab world is privately thrilled Israel took Brig. Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi off the field.
- He largely filled the shoes of Qassem Soleimani, who ran the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps and controlled, armed and directed Iran’s proxies in the religion.

Look forward: After its groveling statement of noninvolvement, the Biden administration will now only appease Iran more. The results are as predictable as they are terrifying.

Look back: After Trump ordered the assassination of Soleimani, the same types speaking today warned of World War III. Rather than lashing out, Iran realized it was in trouble and went back to its cave.

Big picture: The world has been without a policeman for the past three years, and Israel just put on a uniform.

If there is “wider war in the Middle East,” it is because Iran does not fear America rather than anything Israel does to protect itself.

Bottom line: Places with cops are safer.

The politics: The Wall Street Journal highlights how supporting Israel the way Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn., do makes them outliers in the Democratic Party.

Quick thought: The Israelis’ accidental bombing and killing of workers for Jose Andres’ World Central Kitchen is a tragedy, but the anti-Israel crowd, including those in World Central Kitchen, will spin it as proof of Israel’s brutality.

In fact, it’s proof war is hell and proof of the extreme lengths Israel goes to protect civilians and aid workers so that more don’t die. Not to mention, Israel takes responsibility when they accidentally kill civilians, unlike Hamas, which bombs its own hospitals and blames Israel.
If the world doesn’t want civilians and aid workers to die and wants to end the suffering in Gaza, it needs to tell Hamas to release the hostages and lay down their arms.

The British Warning

The new dystopia: Misgendering is a crime, and swastikas need context.

A new law in Scotland could put people who misgender transgender people in jail. Yet according to the police in the United Kingdom, swastikas need context.

The Daily Mail reports Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling could face criminal charges for her public statements that men are men and women are women. The police have since decided her statements weren’t criminal.

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND – DECEMBER 19: J.K Rowling (C) attends the memorial service for former Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling at St Margaret’s Episcopal Cathedral on December 19, 2023 in Edinburgh, Scotland. The Labour politician entered politics as a Lothian Regional Councillor in 1982 and represented Edinburgh as a Labour MP from 1987 to 2015. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer under Gordon Brown from 2007 to 2010 during the 2007-2008 financial crisis. A key figure in the Scottish independence debate, Darling was chairman of the ‘Better Together’ campaign, advocating to keep Scotland in the Union. He passed away on November 30, 2023, at 70, survived by his wife, Maggie, and their two children, Anna and Calum. (Photo by Euan Cherry/Getty Images)

The Daily Mail has excellent reporting on a Jewish woman complaining about a pro-Hamas march in London where people had banners with swastikas on them.

Context: British law (even without the new Scottish craziness) gives police broad powers to make arrests for speech or expression that threatens public order.

For those who say it’s just the U.K … things have a funny way of migrating across the pond.

Watch tonight: Victor Davis Hanson will talk about the growing power and influence of the transgender community, which represents a statistically insignificant percentage of the American population.

Florida In Play

In a Republican nightmare, Florida voters will now get an up-or-down abortion choice on November’s ballot.

The news from the Wall Street Journal: “On Monday, the state’s highest court issued a ruling that clears the way for a ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy to take effect next month. In a separate decision, the state court approved a ballot measure that, if successful this fall, would undo that ruling and restore the broad abortion access the state had before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022.”

Political reality: Think what you want about abortion; it’s a ball and chain politically for Republicans who keep getting shellacked on the issue.

Since the overturning of Roe in 2022, Democrats:
- Kept the Senate
- Severely limited Republicans’ promised majority in the House
- Beat a solid Republican gubernatorial candidate in Kentucky, a state where Trump won by 25% of the vote
- Won every single statewide ballot measure on abortion, including in red states Ohio and Kansas.

Warning to Democrats: Don’t pop the champagne yet

Trump is incredibly popular in Florida
DeSantis, who signed the six-week bill, won reelection by record double digits
Swing voters and even Trump supporters can vote for Trump and for abortion rights

Political reality: Democrats don’t have to win Florida for the issue to help them. Just putting Florida in play will force Trump and Republicans to divert precious resources, ad dollars and campaign stops.

From the Politico newsletter’s excellent coverage of Team Biden’s memo saying Florida is in play: “But even if Florida never comes into play for Biden, the deep unpopularity of the six-week abortion ban is a useful contrast. This line from former Rep. CARLOS CURBELO (R-Fla.) sums up things nicely. ‘Abortion is to Republicans what immigration is to Democrats,’ he told Kimberly. ‘If they’re talking about it, they’re losing.’”

“The Apprentice,” VP edition :

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem’s op-ed on abortion trying to redefine the field of play on abortion is Republicans’ only hope. She writes, “Simply put, the America First Conservative policies are proven to be successful — and represent the best hope for a healthy, happy, and prosperous life for Americans who are born and unborn. This is the fight, and if we’re going to win hearts and minds, we can’t be afraid to enter the ring.”

Thought bubble : It appeared in RealClearPolitics. No disrespect to Tom Bevan; I love his site, but did the Wall Street Journal reject it? For a woman who wants to be vice president, it says a lot that there wasn’t a fight for this piece.

Running out of Other People’s Money Take Two

The California exodus of wealthy taxpayers to Florida, Texas, and other low-tax states is finally hurting Governor Gavin Newsom where it counts: his pocketbook.

The Economist writes, “Last year California’s income-tax collection tumbled by 25%, similar to falls during the global financial crisis of 2007-09 and the dotcom bust of the early 2000s.”

Except this time around, the evaporating tax receipts come from a self-inflicted wound:

Those with means leave California. This leaves an ever-smaller group of taxpayers to support an ever-growing list of Newsom socialist entitlements and an ever-larger group of people who want, or feel entitled to, them.
As the Economist says, “Rising unemployment, a growing deficit and persistent outmigration are a painful trinity.”

The California cycle: To keep the People’s Republic of California solvent, Newsom will have to raise taxes on the rich, thus encouraging more people to leave and forcing him to raise taxes more.

Costa Mesa, CA – January 18: California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks during a news conference about the state’s Homekey program which transforms former office space, hotels, and other buildings into housing for those experiencing homelessness, at a former Motel 6 converted to apartments for the homeless in Costa Mesa on Thursday, January 18, 2024. Standing behind Newsom are from left: Kyle Paine, president of Community Development Partners; Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley; Costa Mesa Mayor John Stephens and Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris. (Photo by Mark Rightmire/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)

Look back: Britain faced a similar problem in the 1970s. Then in the opposition, conservative leader Margaret Thatcher famously said that the problem with socialism is that you always “run out of other people’s money.”