Kathleen Rice
Kathleen Rice
Kathleen Rice
David Gurfein
David Gurfein
Bruce Blakeman, John Flanagan, and some erudite youngsters on the campaign trail  with Chris McGrath
Bruce Blakeman, John Flanagan, and some erudite youngsters on the campaign trail
with Chris McGrath
Todd Kaminsky
Todd Kaminsky
Anthony Eramo
Anthony Eramo
Missy Miller
Missy Miller

By Larry Gordon

Until a few days ago, it seemed that despite his rather mediocre efforts to achieve a different result, Donald Trump was destined to be just an unusual footnote in United States politics. However, over the last few days, with some seemingly odd but rather obvious Divine assistance, we may be destined to witness the most unpredictable result of a presidential race in our lifetimes and possibly in the lifetime of our republic.

It has been an arduous campaign for the White House and the Republicans’ stated aim of steering America away from an abyss that this country would have great difficulty ever climbing out of. Not only is there a Hollywood scriptwriters’ edge to the daily twists and turns of the Clinton—Trump race to lead this country, it seems that there are forces greater than any of us moving this thing along.

Next Tuesday is Election Day, and there are so many possible outcomes and combinations of results it is just staggering. Despite the personal vitriol and the most vicious and depraved campaign ever, which of these two ends up finally declared the winner, while important, may only be a small part of the result that America will deliver in next week’s elections.

At this point, Trump and Clinton look like they represent diametrically opposite views on a future vision for America. Regardless of which one is elected next week, those views will inevitably begin to be modified by the respective personalities once in office. For example, it is unlikely that Trump is going to build that wall on the Mexican border with the U.S.–at least not the kind that he has been promoting for more than a year. And though her detractors say that Clinton will be awful for Israel, you can rest assured that her past extreme views while in the service of Barack Obama will also experience adjustment, if not drastic change, if she is the victor and assumes office.

However you prefer to characterize this race to the finish, one thing is clear–we have probably never seen anything like this before. In retrospect, today it seems that almost any of the original Republican candidates might have had an easier time beating Hillary Clinton–considering the current circumstances–than Mr. Trump. But that is just an indulgence in wishful thinking, an irretrievable thing of the past.

Right now all that right-thinking Americans have is Donald Trump, and regardless of what you hear, this might just work out quite well for all of us. If Trump wins next week, it is not a matter of him besting Mrs. Clinton or winning a popularity contest. More than anything, it might be an expression of frustration with an immobile and paralyzed legislative mechanism in Washington that has targeted us all as victims. Trump is the jolt that America needs.

The Democratic Party led by the Clintons genuinely thinks they can doubletalk a majority of Americans into believing anything, and it looks like they are going to keep on pursuing that lineup until the polls close next Tuesday. They keep on doing this by making carefully crafted statements that are true only in minimal, technical fashion, if at all. All the latest blistering anti-Clinton activity, from Anthony Weiner’s computer to WikiLeaks revelations, still might be just a little too late to help salvage the Trump candidacy. But there is no question that Trump has the wind blowing at his back. If he can keep this up, he just might be propelled to victory.

Perhaps even more importantly, Trump’s upward movement is working wonders with down-ticket Republicans who two weeks ago thought they were being set up to take a beating in both the House and the Senate. But now that has all been reversed. Republicans are on the upward move. This is a result of both the FBI director’s decision to possibly reopen the investigation into Mrs. Clinton’s handling of classified information and the news that Obamacare premiums will be rising across the country anywhere from 30% to over 100%.

This is a classic pocketbook issue that everyone understands. Mrs. Clinton is supporting and protecting the fortification of a healthcare plan that is ineffective and will shortly cost average Americans much more than they can afford. No fanciful declarations can change this irrefutable fact. When Donald Trump says these days that his first order of business will be to convene Congress and repeal Obamacare, his message hits home and penetrates the hearts of the average man and woman who will have to bear the economic burden of an errant health plan that has just gone bad.

Now for the matter of the down-ticket impact. The Clinton tzaros have energized the Republican voter base, whether they are in favor of or cannot fathom the thought of a Trump presidency. It is becoming clear that in all likelihood the Republicans will be able to maintain control of both houses of Congress, which is vitally important, especially if Hillary is the winner on Tuesday.

As far as some of the local New York races are concerned, with a special emphasis on Long Island races for office, down-ballot Republicans everywhere are excited about the Trump resurgence. Some of the names that appear often in these pages are local Republican luminaries like Chris McGrath, Melissa Miller, and Elaine Phillips, as well as well-known Democratic names like Kathleen Rice, Todd Kaminsky, and Tom Suozzi. All are formidable candidates whose political fortunes are relying heavily on which way the electoral winds will be blowing–that is, in the Trump or Clinton direction.

In local congressional races, Republican David Gurfein is challenging first-term Democrat and former Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice. The former DA has, over a short time, become one of the champions of the Five Towns community. Congresswoman Rice has made a name for herself by standing up for what she believes is right and just, without figuring in Democratic Party or Obama administration calculations or political expediency.

Ms. Rice has demonstrated profound support for Israel in Congress, which this community and others are grateful for. It’s important to note that though she was a novice in Washington, she summoned the fortitude to oppose President Obama and Democratic leadership on the matter of the Iran nuclear deal. The pressure on her to support the deal must have been intense, but Kathleen Rice stood firm on this and on other issues that are important to Israel’s security. That is why we stand with her and urge that she be reelected.

Here on the South Shore of Long Island, you can’t drive more than a few blocks without seeing signs for candidates in the State Senate race featuring newly elected incumbent Todd Kaminsky and his previous special-election competitor, Chris McGrath. In April, McGrath lost to Kaminsky by about 800 votes. At the time of the election, Bernie Sanders was still in the running against Mrs. Clinton. It was, however, previously estimated that by the time of the April 19 special election, Sanders would have dropped out of the race and Democrats would not be motivated to turn out in any considerable numbers to vote. But that was not the case, and Mr. Kaminsky, the former assemblyman in the area, won.

As the readers know, the editorial orientation of this publication leans right, conservative, which translates to support for Republican candidates more often than not. As we have seen from the top of the ticket, this year’s election is about what direction this country will be following in the years ahead. Clearly, the Obama vision suffered a distorted view of what America is and what its founding fathers intended. Hillary and Bill Clinton’s deep dishonesty notwithstanding, their determination and proclivity to survive in spite of their deceptiveness is precisely where a line needs to be drawn. There is little question that Donald Trump is still behind even though he has demonstrated a burst of popularity and support over the last few weeks.

Now the McGrath election-campaign calculation is that even though it is impossible for Mr. Trump to win New York, record numbers of voters will turn out, particularly in areas like the Five Towns with a heavy conservative population, to cast their vote for Mr. Trump, with the down-ballot candidates like Mr. McGrath and State Assembly candidate Melissa Miller being the beneficiaries. In addition, there is a great deal otherwise at stake in these races, including tax and education policy–especially the vital issue of education tax credits for private-school families–that means so much to so many.

So even though Donald Trump is way out there, his candidacy will have important impact all the way down the line.

We just read in the Torah portion of Bereishis about G‑d’s satisfaction with His handiwork of creation as he created the heavens and earth, the light and the dark, the animal kingdom and mankind. In describing each day of creation, the Torah says that after viewing that day’s projects, “Hashem saw that it was good,” and in some instances went so far as to declare that it was “very good.”

At no point, however, did He say that it was great or perfect. So was He satisfied with just good, or was He leaving it to us to perfect the good that He created, charging us with the task of making it great? In the context of Mr. Trump’s vow to “Make America Great Again,” maybe making it good would be satisfactory, at least for now. v

Comments for Larry Gordon are welcome at editor@5tjt.com.

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