Looking at the current political landscape. [View all]

Smith has released his report. The left-wing media is going to be all over it, but it won't make much difference politically because the voters have moved on. They are concerned about making ends meet, getting thru with their lives. What will make a difference is what the policies and actions of Trump and the Republicans have on our society and economy. The two big issues being deportations and tariffs. One thing to keep in mind is you can't believe anything Trump says.

On the mass deportations, it looks like they are having problems getting the funding for now. As long as this is the case, the Republicans can blame the Democrats for whatever. If they ever do go thru with this to the extent that Trump portends, it will cause labor shortages in certain sectors and that will result in a rise in prices. The only way to avoid this would be if they took a gradual approach where legal immigrants are processed in as the undocumented are deported. I doubt they are smart enough to do that. The Republican base wants to see swift action. It's possible that it will never happen to the extent that Trump expresses, but he will just lie about it like he did on building the wall. Again, you can't believe anything he says.

On the tariffs, Trump doesn't have the same funding problem, apparently, he can do it without congress because it involves foreign policy. The immediate effect of raising any tariffs is a spike in prices. Tariffs can be part of an economic strategy, but you have to be careful. You have to give time for the economy to adjust. Once you have the situation with low wage countries flooding the market, , reversing it is like putting toothpaste back in the tube. Trump does not seem to understand that. It needs to be an incremental approach.

I believe that if Trump goes thru with these policies on tariffs and mass deportations to the extent that he conveys, it will throw the country into a recession. The big question is, how honest has been. How much has he been just playing to his base. To what extent is he really planning on going thru with all of this.

There are some issues where the Democrats have an advantage. On womans reproductive rights, the Republicans are viewed as hostile to many Americans with the GOP base eyeing a national ban. They take very little interest in expanding affordable healthcare to more people . Democrats need to push on these issues. They need to concentrate on the kitchen table issues that every family is thinking about.