Hall of Fame baseball player Reggie Jackson was one of the premier power hitters in the history of baseball. He hit an amazing 563 home runs in his career. He was also known as one of the best playoff hitters of all-time, earning the nickname “Mr. October”. He also holds an infamous record, one that many may not know. He is the career leader for strikeouts with a whopping 2,597 whiffs. In his defense, he played twenty-one years, so that allowed him many more opportunities to fan than some other players. Still, he averaged 149 strikeouts per 162 games and struck out once every 3.8 at-bats. He was the biggest strikeout hitter during his era, and he led the league for that dubious honor a record five times in his career.
Baseball season is heating up across the country and, being a fan of both the national pastime and politics, I couldn’t help but notice how many strikeouts the left is racking up regarding President Trump. Since his inauguration, there have been multiple attempts by the left and those who’ve always hated Trump to bring him down; to force him out of office; to invalidate an election whose results they cannot stand. As we near the midterms, just how are those on the left doing regarding hitting Trump?
Russia, Russia, Russia — The Mueller probe has indicted 20 people (including 13 Russians who will likely never see the inside of a US courtroom), but not one person regarding collusion with Russia from the Trump campaign. House Republicans investigating foreign interference in the 2016 election reported that they saw no evidence that Russians colluded with any members of the Trump campaign. Meanwhile, Democrats are finding that the Russian storyline is not selling. The liberal publication The Guardian in February of this year headlined an article noting, “The Trump-Russia collusion story might be the talk of Washington, but it’s not the case in the rest of the country.”
Why is that, you ask? I think it’s pretty easy. Regular people see through the political shenanigans. According to a CBS News poll in May of this year, “Approximately 53 percent of Americans say Mueller’s investigation is politically motivated.” This was the “big swing,” “the crushing blow” that would knock Trump from office. So far, it’s nothing more than a huge whiff. STRIKE ONE!
He’s a terrible person — Various forms of this swing at Trump have been attempted. The attacks on the Trump administration’s immigration policy are a big part of this. Liberals continue to rail that Trump is an awful person for how he separates kids and parents at the border. Who can forget the picture of children in cages that was widely disseminated by left-wing bloggers. It was intended to show how inhumane Trump is, only the picture was from the Obama era! Regarding this practice, Rich Lowry of The National Review, on May 28th of this year, reports,
The Trump administration isn’t changing the rules that pertain to separating an adult from the child. Those remain the same. Separation happens only if officials find that the adult is falsely claiming to be the child’s parent, or is a threat to the child, or is put into criminal proceedings. It’s the last that is operative here. The past practice had been to give a free pass to an adult who is part of a family unit. The new Trump policy is to prosecute all adults. The idea is to send a signal that we are serious about our laws and to create a deterrent against re-entry.
Another facet of this attack is to say Trump is racist. It’s a hollow argument. Unemployment for African-Americans under Trump is lower than it has ever been. As Robert L. Johnson, founder of BET said in an April interview this year, “Black Americans should be encouraged by the growing economy under President Trump.” In the same interview, he sent shockwaves through the left when he said, ““Why shouldn’t we, as Black voters, reject the notion that we are locked into one party which undoubtedly limits and dilutes our voting power?” Trying to smear Trump as a deplorable person, the left has swung and missed. STRIKE TWO!
He’s Incompetent — Paul Begala, the former Clinton White House aide, said of Trump, “He lacks, by most accounts, the broad curiosity, the policy depth, the healthy skepticism of his own positions, the attention span, the appreciation of nuance, and most of all, the intellectual humility that successful presidents must have.” This swing is, in some ways, the most laughable attack of them all. While the Left has burst their creative vein to ridicule and minimize our president, Trump continues to do things no other president has. Dealing with Syria and Russia, dismantling ISIS, re-establishing relationships with Israel, challenging the regime in Iran and meeting Kim Jong-Un are just a few of the amazing things President Trump has done on the international front. In their effort to crush and smash the Trump presidency, they Left has, once again, fanned. STRIKE THREE!
Growing up, I liked Reggie Jackson. I got his autograph once in Kansas City. He was fun to watch. I didn’t care that he led the majors in strikeouts. I suspect it didn’t bother him, but if it did, he can take heart. The Democrats may just pass him on the all-time list.
Image: Excerpted from: United Press International – Desert Sun, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60396015
