I mentioned the other day how a friend, who is a lifelong Democrat and always has been very anti-Trump, expressed complete disgust at the media, particularly the handling of Russia, Media overplaying its anti-Trump hand – statistics and an anecdote about a lifelong Democrat:
The conversation was with someone I’ve known for almost 20 years. He’s a lifelong Rhode Islander and Democrat who has expressed strong hostility to me toward Trump in the past. We speak every couple of months, and I’ve never heard him say a good word about Trump….He then volunteered how frustrated he was with the media, and how they “won’t let Trump do his job.” He said he still doesn’t like Trump, but was very angry at the media particularly the Russia coverage….
It was just an anecdote, meaningful to me because I know the person and how hard it was for him to offer any defense of Trump. It also suggested to me that the media and Democrat obsession with Russia may be backfiring.
More anecdotes, this time related to the economy.
The Second Quarter economic growth rate was solid. One Quarter could be an anomaly, but at least it was heading in a positive direction. The Hill reported on July 27, 2017:
The U.S. economy expanded during the spring as consumers and businesses picked up their spending.In the April–June quarter, gross domestic product grew at a 2.6 percent annual rate, up from a revised 1.2 percent pace during the first three months of the year, the Commerce Department said Friday.Charles Seville, senior director with Fitch Ratings, said, “One encouraging sign in this report is that the recovery in investment continues, while consumption is still growing steadily.”Consumer spending, which accounts for nearly 70 percent of the economy, grew at a 2.8 percent pace, up from a 1.9 percent January–March period.Business investment increased at a 5.2 percent rate, down from 7.2 percent in the first quarter but still one of the highest levels in three years.
That report is supported by two more anecdotes.
First, we’re planning to redo our seawall in Rhode Island. An excavation contractor stopped by a few weeks ago for a site visit to come up with an estimate. He said he was incredibly busy, more so than in years. He does a lot of public works projects and is busy on those projects. But he made a point to tell me that he’s seeing a lot more private money flowing into non-government construction projects, and that’s how he knows it reflects economic strength. He kept saying “something’s happening” out there.
Second, we’re doing some remodeling inside the house. One of the sub-contractors, who we’ve used before, told us that in the few hours he was at our house one morning, he got four calls from people looking to hire him. He’s already solidly booked. His words were, paraphrased, it’s incredible, things are just taking off.
These are just some anecdotes. Might be meaningful, maybe not. I think they are.
I think the media and Democrats are missing what’s happening on the ground. The media and Democrats are focused on Russia, Russia, Russia. The people I come into contact with are focused on the economy, and jobs jobs jobs.
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