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West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, North Carolina primaries offer November clues, warning signs for Democrats

Tuesday’s Republican and Democratic primaries in West Virginia, Indiana, Ohio and North Carolina provided some clues about what to expect in the upcoming November midterm elections – including warning signs for Democrats.
In West Virginia, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey emerged as the Republican senatorial nominee in a contentious primary marked by the unusual candidacy of the controversial former coal executive Don Blankenship. Blankenship was convicted and sent to prison for a year for his role in a coal mine explosion that killed 29 workers in 2010.
The surprising popularity of Blankenship in pre-election polling – despite his loss Tuesday – demonstrated the continued appeal of anti-establishment candidates nationwide. Blankenship consistently and harshly attacked his own party's leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and very recently used derogatory language that some characterized as racist. 
Even President Trump urged voters not to cast ballots for Blankenship, despite the candidate's suggestion that he is “Trumpier than Trump.”

A Democratic Party campaigning simply on the premise of “resistance” to President Trump and the Republicans is not enough to maximize gains in this election and beyond.

In Indiana, meanwhile, three Republicans competed to face incumbent Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly, with Mike Braun emerging as the winner. The robust Republican primary may signal trouble for Donnelly and the Democrats in November, as President Trump carried the state by 19 points in 2016.
In terms of the results in Ohio, it appears the Republicans will most likely be able to also retain GOP Gov. John Kasich’s seat.
The apparent winner of the Republican nomination for governor in Ohio, Mike DeWine, is a former U.S. senator and current state attorney general. He already beat the 2018 Democratic candidate for governor Richard Cordray – the former head of the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – in the race for attorney general in 2010 and will likely be able to do so again for governor in November. 
Further, Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci's victory in the race for the GOP U.S. Senate nomination in Ohio poses a serious challenge to Democratic incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown.
There are, however, some promising takeaways from Tuesday's primaries that may provide a guidebook for the Democrats. 
For instance, there continues to be a fresh crop of exciting new Democratic candidates, such as Dan McCready, a 34-year-old Marine veteran and solar energy entrepreneur running for Congress in North Carolina’s Ninth District. He has drawn comparisons to some of the most promising and compelling young Democrats in Congress like Seth Moulton of Massachusetts and Conor Lamb of Pennsylvania.
For the Democrats to capitalize on broad disapproval of President Trump, they must support candidates like McCready and help produce a new generation of Democratic leaders with new ideas and effective policy alternatives to the Republicans, rather than relying on the same leaders who have served for as many as four decades.
Simply put, a Democratic Party campaigning simply on the premise of “resistance” to President Trump and the Republicans is not enough to maximize gains in this election and beyond.
Instead, the Democrats need to focus on fresh faces and fresh ideas. They must present effective proposals for inclusive economic growth, showing voters nationwide how voting Democratic will benefit them, their states and our nation. And they must shake off the ghosts of 2016, handing the gavel to new voices in the party.
If the Democrats are able to accomplish this, they stand a good chance of making significant gains in November. But if not, dreams of a blue wave returning control of the U.S. House and Senate and more governorships to Democratic hands may be nothing more than wishful thinking.

Douglas E. Schoen is a Fox News contributor. He has more than 30 years experience as a pollster and political consultant. His new book is "Putin's Master Plan". Follow him on Twitter @DouglasESchoen.

Haspel faces tough confirmation hearing for CIA as fellow intel officials rush to her defense

Gina Haspel, President Trump's pick to run the CIA, is expected to field tough questions Wednesday during her confirmation hearing before the Senate intelligence committee, as many officials in her corner provide glowing endorsements of the woman who spent decades as a career undercover spy.
Haspel, 61, is expected to say that if she is confirmed by the Senate, the spy agency will not restart a detention and harsh interrogation program like the one used to get terror subjects to talk after 9/11 -- and generated controversy worldwide.
She will say: “Our strategy starts with strengthening our core business: collecting intelligence to help policymakers protect our country and advance American interests around the globe. It includes raising our investment against the most difficult intelligence gaps, putting more officers in the foreign field where our adversaries are, and emphasizing foreign language excellence. And, finally, it involves investing in our partnerships — both within the U.S. government and around the globe.”
In other excerpts, Haspel pledges to work closely with the Senate oversight committee. And, she says there has been an outpouring of support from young women at the CIA who hope she becomes the first woman to run the agency.
Many former top intelligence officials also praise her 33-year tenure at the agency in foreign and domestic assignments.
“She has served in some really tough places, high-risk hardship posts, and has performed some extraordinary operations,” former CIA official Henry “Hank” Crumpton, who was Haspel’s boss in the agency’s National Resources Division, told The Washington Post.
As The Hill reported, 36 former CIA chiefs, intelligence community leaders and lawmakers signed a letter of endorsement to the Senate Intelligence Committee, calling her “a critical asset for our nation at this time in our history... when our intelligence community is under significant pressure at home and abroad.”
The letter reiterated that although “Haspel was often called upon to make tough choices and to work on matters that some find deeply controversial... she did so with dedication and commitment to the cause of freedom, democracy, and the rule of law.”
Meantime, dozens of defenders from both parties have pulled out the stops to support her nomination process, as Fox News previously reported.
The White House released talking points Tuesday night ahead of the confirmation hearing insisting that “Haspel has served her nation honorably and acted legally,” and that any objections were putting political interests ahead of national security and her tenure of defending Americans.
Quoting her backers from the intelligence community, the White House called Haspel the best choice to safeguard the U.S. — ”a woman of integrity” with a “high moral character,” who is “unfailingly honest” and “committed to the rule of law.”
“She’s never lobbied for a job,” one of her former CIA bosses said in The Post. “The jobs searched for her.”
At the hearing Haspel is expected to face a grilling from senators who want details of her connections to the controversial “enhanced interrogation” program, which critics have called torture.
Critics have argued that while U.S. military personnel had been punished for human rights abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and elsewhere, few intelligence professionals during previous administrations were reprimanded for their activities with the detention and interrogation program that had been approved by the White House and reviewed and approved by the Justice Department.
Last month, the CIA released a memo showing Haspel was cleared of wrongdoing in the destruction of videotapes at a covert detention site in Thailand, after her boss dispatched the order in 2005. The memo, written in 2011, summarizes a disciplinary review conducted by then-CIA Deputy Director Mike Morell. He said that while Haspel was one of the two officers “directly involved in the decision to destroy the tapes,” he “found no fault” with what she did.
As the hearing nears, Haspel’s critics have stepped up their opposition, arguing that anyone who willingly participated in one of the CIA’s darkest chapters should not be at the helm of the spy agency. They've argued that having Haspel as the face of U.S. intelligence would undercut America’s effort to champion human rights.
A confirmation of Haspel could be interpreted overseas as implicit approval of a harsh detention and interrogation program, Robert Ford, former U.S. ambassador to Syria and fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington, said.
Republican Sen. Tom Cotton refuted oppositional claims in a commentary in Fox News. “Instead of demonstrating a troubling tendency to go rogue, Haspel’s tenure shows a fierce dedication to the CIA’s mission and to keeping this country safe,” the Arkansas senator wrote.

Voters in both parties snub fringe candidates as they look toward November

Tuesday's GOP primary results showed both Republicans and Democrats moving toward the center as voters look ahead to this fall's midterm elections.
Republicans are looking to increase the party's Senate majority and maintain control of the House, while Democrats snubbed progressive candidates in favor of moderates -- including one who backed Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Patrick Morrisey, West Virginia's attorney general, came out the winner of the state's contentious GOP Senate primary, defeating controversial former coal executive Don Blankenship.
In Indiana's GOP Senate primary, businessman Mike Braun, who mostly self-funded his campaign, won against U.S. Reps. Luke Messer and Todd Rokita.
Jim Renacci won the GOP Senate primary in Ohio.
The Ohio results were attributed to the influence of President Trump, who endorsed Renacci over businessman Mike Gibbons.
Trump also made a last-minute appeal to West Virginia voters to reject Blankenship in a bid to avoid the repeat of December's Senate race in Alabama, where Democrat Doug Jones turned the deep-red state blue -- for the first time in decades.
"To the great people of West Virginia we have, together, a really great chance to keep making a big difference. Problem is, Don Blankenship, currently running for Senate, can’t win the General Election in your State...No way! Remember Alabama. Vote Rep. Jenkins or A.G. Morrisey" Trump tweeted Monday.
But Tuesday's results also seemed to vindicate Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the subject of multiple personal attacks during the primaries. Blankenship branded McConnell "Cocaine Mitch" and referring to his Asian-American in-laws as "his China family."
The McConnell team could not hide its glee after the results. They taunted Blankenship with a photo of a smiling McConnell, with the caption reading, "Thanks for playing, Don."
McConnell has long sought to put the Republican house in order before the midterms, admitting that the party faces some tough fights in November.
"This is going to be a challenging election year,” McConnell told Kentucky Today in April. “We know the wind is going to be in our face. We don’t know whether it’s going to be a Category 3, 4 or 5.”
But as Republicans show signs of getting serious and choosing candidates that can appeal beyond the Trump voters, Democrats on Tuesday -- much to the chagrin of the progressive base -- favored blue-collar, middle-of-the-road candidates.
In West Virginia's 3rd District, state Sen. Richard Ojeda clinched the victory in the Democratic primary. The win was a defeat for progressive supporters of the party, as Ojeda famously said he backed Trump over Clinton in 2016, the Washington Post reported.
Democrat Richard Cordray, meanwhile, was declared the party's nominee for Ohio governor after he defeated former congressman and ex-Cleveland Mayor Dennis Kucinich.
Kucinich had criticized Cordray as a "Republican-lite" candidate who was too moderate on key issues concerning most Democrats, and was once backed by the National Rifle Association (NRA). Kucinich ran on a platform of single-payer health care, gun control and criminal justice reform.
But Cordray, who once ran the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under President Barack Obama, fought back and pointed out that Kucinich accepted $20,000 from a group with links to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
“Kucinich bothered me because of the whole Assad thing,” voter Robert Halpin, 57, told the Post. “I didn’t like Cordray because of the NRA. But in the end, weighing it, I don’t like Assad more [than I don’t like the NRA], so I went with Cordray.”
In Indiana's 2nd District, former Republican and health care executive Mel Hall cruised to victory against candidates advocating for universal health care.
Moderate Democrats also won Tuesday in two North Carolina districts, defeating far-left challengers.

Iran's ballistic-missile spending will continue, official says after Trump's nuke-deal pullout

 John Bolton on Iran deal exit, North Korea

National security adviser weighs in on 'The Ingraham Angle.'

The head of Iran's parliamentary committee on national security said Wednesday that the country is preparing to continue spending on its ballistic missile program, a direct response to President Donald Trump's decision to pull the U.S. out of an Obama-era nuclear deal.
"With America's decision, Iran's missile program will not change at all," Alaeddin Boroujerdi said.

"With America's decision, Iran's missile program will not change at all."

Iranian lawmakers in parliament on Wednesday set fire to a paper American flag after Trump's announcement that the U.S. was pulling out of the 2015 nuclear accord, which the president said was “defective at its core.”
Ali Larijani, the parliament speaker, called Trump’s move a “diplomatic show.” He said it is “obvious that Trump only understands the language of force.”
The state-run IRNA news agency referred to Trump as “the troublemaker.” The hard-line daily Kayhan wrote: “Trump tears apart the nuclear deal; It is time to set it afire!”
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani sought to calm nerves inside his country, smiling as he appeared at a petroleum expo. He didn't name Trump directly, but emphasized that Iran continued to seek "engagement with the world."
He called Trump’s decision “unacceptable” and said Iran could restart enriching uranium “without any limitations” within weeks.

Alaeddin Boroujerdi, head of Iran's parliamentary committee on national security.  (Reuters)

Iran's economy and unemployment sparked nationwide protests in December and January that saw at least 25 people killed and, reportedly, nearly 5,000 arrested.
"I have ordered the foreign ministry to negotiate with the European countries, China and Russia in coming weeks. If at the end of this short period we conclude that we can fully benefit from the JCPOA with the cooperation of all countries, the deal would remain," he said.
Shortly after the Trump announcement, Syrian state media accused Israel of launching missiles at a target near Damascus, which put Israel on high alert, Reuters reported. Israel did not comment on the report.
The Iran nuclear deal, signed under President Barack Obama, came with time limits and did not address Iran's ballistic missile program or its regional policies in Syria and elsewhere.
Obama issued a rare public criticism, saying trump's withdrawal would leave the world less safe.
Trump has repeatedly pointed to the accord's omissions in referring to the accord as the "worst deal ever."
Proponents of the deal have said the time limits were meant to encourage more discussion with Iran in the future that could eventually address other concerns.

Senator Kamala Harris Cartoons

Sen. Kamala Harris backs out of commencement speech at UC Berkeley

APRIL 5: Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., holds a town hall meeting in Sacramento.

U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., is heeding a boycott call by striking University of California employees and announced Monday that she will not be commencement speaker at UC Berkeley ceremonies.

Harris said she "regretfully" won't attend Saturday's spring commencement due to the labor dispute and the call for a university-wide speaker boycott. Instead, UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ will deliver the keynote address.

Harris says she wishes the estimated 5,800 students "success for the future."
Thousands of UC custodians, security guards, gardeners and other service workers began a three-day walkout on Monday to address gender pay inequalities and demand higher wages.
The Associated Press reported that officials at UC Davis Medical Center were forced to reschedule more than 100 cancer exams and 150 radiology exams.
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299 called for the strike, according to The San Francisco Chronicle. The union includes 25,000 service workers.

Senator Kamala Harris to miss UC Berkeley’s spring commencement due to ongoing labor dispute: https://t.co/V2zEmTybDT @SenKamalaHarris @KamalaHarris

— UC Berkeley (@UCBerkeley) May 7, 2018

The report said medical workers sympathetic to the strikers are set to join walkouts set for the next few days. Essential patient care will be provided, the report said. Hundreds of surgeries, however, were rescheduled.
Claire Doan, a spokesman from the UC system, said the service workers are already paid at or above the market rate and now demanding an almost 20 percent pay increase over three years.
"A disruptive demonstration will change neither UC's economic situation nor the university's position on AFSCME's unreasonable demands," Doan said.

Newt Gingrich: The ‘experts’ were wrong in 2016; they could be wrong in 2018 too

As you watch the 2018 campaign being analyzed by pundits on TV, in newspapers, and in blogs, just remember how wrong they all were in 2016.
They were wrong about candidate Donald J. Trump all through the primaries.
They were wrong about the impact of the Republican and Democratic conventions.
They were wrong throughout the fall campaign – and they kept telling us why each new headline signified the end of Trump’s candidacy.
Finally, they were wrong on Election Day, up until the actual results gave them no alternative but to accept the reality that Trump had won as a total outsider and defeated the ultimate insider – a former first lady, U.S. senator, and secretary of state.
Since then, the national media have remained ignorant of political realities. Their thinking is clouded by their hostility to the Trump presidency, their incestuous and incessant gossip about what they define as important, and their isolation from the Americans who voted for and continue to support President Trump.
At the end of last year, the elites told us there was going to be a blue wave in 2018 and that the GOP could lose the House and might lose the Senate.

Democrats unanimously voted against the tax bill. As the economy improves, they look more and more like the party of food stamps, welfare, and higher taxes.

Now, we are seeing the blue wave may be shrinking to a blue ripple. The generic congressional ballot has tightened, and the leads Democrats averaged in the December polls have been cut nearly in half. One national expert told me last week that if the election were held now, the GOP would keep control. His research indicated the GOP was leading the generic ballot in seven of the 12 Senate races.
As the benefits of the Republican tax cuts, deregulation, and growing business and consumer confidence have taken effect, approval of President Trump and support for Republicans has grown. When combined with the president’s successes in both foreign policy and trade, Americans have significantly increased their support for his presidency and agenda.
With African American unemployment at a historic low, Trump’s approval among black men jumped from 11 percent to 22 percent in the last week of April. While 22 percent is still a minority, it is a huge improvement over traditional Republican support in the black community. As the facts and the conversation continue, do not be shocked if President Trump’s reputation as the “jobs President” drives his support among African Americans significantly higher.
A lot has been made of Republican House retirements (43 at this time) but ironically, as a percentage, the Senate has a higher retirement rate among Republicans this election. Three out of eight (or 37.5 percent of) Republican senators in seats up for re-election are retiring. In fact, 88 of the 235 current GOP House members would have to retire to meet the Senate GOP percentage. At the same time, the huge number of vulnerable Senate Democrats (10) means they are also in worse shape than House Democrats (who have three leaders with a combined age of 233 years –-78-78-77).
The developing patterns reflect Democratic weaknesses as well as Republican strengths.
Democrats unanimously voted against the tax bill. As the economy improves, they look more and more like the party of food stamps, welfare, and higher taxes. Furthermore, as Hillary Clinton describes a substantial part of her party’s base as socialist, it is important to remember the Venezuelan nightmare of deprivation, the Cuban economic decay, and the deterioration of the British government-run health system are all creating a burden for advocates of socialism.
The Democratic National Committee Deputy Chair, Keith Ellison, has been associated with the openly anti-Semitic activist, Louis Farrakhan.
Other Democratic House members have launched what is essentially an atheist caucus, which will further marginalize their party. As Democrats become increasingly anti-gun, anti-male, anti-white, anti-Christian, and anti-work, it gets increasingly harder for them to build a majority.
The current, obvious Democratic Senate strategy of putting partisanship above patriotism and blocking a substantial number of Trump appointments ultimately makes most Americans very uneasy.
The hostility of the left is so extreme that it pushes people away. After the vicious attack on White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, a friend of mine commented “they are becoming the movement of hate and the party of hate.”
In California, the Democrats have passed a $0.12 gas tax increase even though they have a budget surplus. They also declared the entire state a “sanctuary state,” starting an open rebellion by a number of counties and cities. The California Democrats may be on the edge of rebuilding the state GOP through their extremism.
There are also signs of unique local Republican strengths.
The most popular governor in the country is Massachusetts Republican Charlie Baker. In fact, all of the top ten most popular governors are Republicans.
Barry Casselman, a shrewd observer of midwestern politics, has been writing for months that Minnesota is becoming competitive and former Governor Tim Pawlenty’s decision to run for his old office may create a Republican wave in the state. You can follow Casselman’s analysis here.
Under President Obama, the Democrats lost over 1,000 state and federal posts, which included congressional and state legislative seats, in addition to governorships, and of course, the presidency. That has dramatically weakened the Democratic base at the state and district levels and given Republican incumbents advantages for re-election.
This may be an amazingly volatile year.
No one knows how North Korea, Iran, or Syria will work out.
No one knows if the economy will continue to set records.
No one knows if the deep state legal assault on President Trump will end with a bang or a whimper.
Just remember this: None of the confident “experts” know either.
My sense is that Republicans will gain four to six seats in the Senate, keep control of the House, and continue to pick up governorships. This is only a guess, but one that could very much turn into a reality.
Newt Gingrich is a Fox News contributor. A Republican, he was speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. Follow him on Twitter @NewtGingrich. His latest book is "Understanding Trump."