Continuing on the national topic – you may have seen my bellwether county video.
Here is the scorecard. Bellwethers are indicators. They come in county format and also in groups of states, which I’ll show shortly.
Some bellwethers die every year, especially in coalition shifts, but these 19 have all voted for the winner since 1980.
Trump won 18 of them. Most are in the working class regions, suggesting no loss of that base.
Bellwether states –
In 13 occurrences from 1896-2016, No candidate, regardless of party, has ever carried OH IA NC and FL and lost.
Until…
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A personal message from Seth:
I showed you two letters from my dad today.
I’ve shared this letter from my father on Twitter before. The purpose behind sharing it is to remind those who read it to cling to your core values as they guide you in our current challenges.
My dad was a three time Vietnam veteran, and retired a Lt. Colonel in 1988. He was an infantry officer and was exposed to the worst the jungle had to offer.
He was diagnosed with terminal cancer shortly before I deployed to Afghanistan in 2010. We had to say goodbye to each other when he still had 3.5 months to live. I missed his last birthday; he died 3 months into my tour but all the way to the end continued to write me, and pass his wisdom to me, all the way until his writing itself failed.
Read this excerpt from one of his letters – your attitude determines your altitude. Remember that the man or woman in the mirror is responsible for choosing your attitude.
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If you liked that last letter from dad – you’ll love this one, talking about what it meant to him to be an American.
A little more Army style, a little of the soldier coming out of him. Pardon the French, but this is the first I received from him when I made it into country.
I remember these things the most when I visit him in Arlington these days.
I remember taking this photo in December, just before Christmas time, in the midst of all this chaos – and I felt a peace. Like those who heard the call to stand in the gap for the nation were to be at peace in doing so.
“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” – Isaiah 26:3
Yeah, what can you say. What a great Dad.
Many heartfelt Thanks and Honors to LTC. Donald Jon Keschel and to Seth Keschel, for their great Sacrifices and extraordinary Service to our amazing United States of America, the finest and best nation to have ever been formed on this earth.
This is a memorable example of love and sage advice passed from a father to a wonderful, well-loved son. This kind of love was often shown from those of the “greatest generation” to their children, when they were young, and older.
Our tried and tested American Traditions of expressing courage, honor and comfort now seem to be a rare occurrence. Our Nation has too long been infiltrated by many ‘low level’ attitudes that have greatly marred our national Pride in our exceptionalism, our depth of understanding of who we are as a people, and has dimmed our firm belief in the Greatness that is the United States of America, over all other nations as a Nation Under the guidance of God.
This father’s words will live on because of his amazing love and honor of his Country, and his family. They are great and timeless words of advice as they speak Truth, Honor, Love, Pride, Sacrifice, and Great Courage. Both of these men were willing, without question as to where and how, to set aside their personal goals, wishes and needs to do whatever needed to be done to support and protect their family and Country. This is The American Attitude at its best and highest.
I will pass this on to Seth at his TELEGRAM page. Thank you for writing it!