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July 6, 2021
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How can we all be so connected, and our government be so disconnected?

One of the benefits of living in the 21st century is that thanks to jet travel and the Internet, I constantly talk to Americans from every state and every walk of life. And believe me, they are not shy about sharing their opinions. It gives me a perspective that I wish more of our politicians and media people inside the Beltway Bubble could experience.

According to a recent Reuters Institute and University of Oxford survey, America ranked last among 46 nations in public trust in the news media. If I had to explain that subterranean approval rating in one word, it would be “disconnection.” I don’t think there’s ever been a time when the people in the media were so out of touch with the people they’re supposed to be serving (you’d think the shock they experienced on Election night 2016 would’ve caused them to reflect a bit and make some changes, but they only doubled down on the demonizing of people they never talk to.) They apparently really believed in 2016 that when voters asked for “change,” they wanted bigger deficits and a bloated, more powerful regulatory state. Trust me, based on what they told me, they did not. And they didn’t think they were getting that when they voted for Biden, either. They’re angry now because many believe they’re the victims of a bait-and-switch con.

If you ask most Americans what they want from government, it’s not to have every aspect of their lives regulated and “transformed,” including those that worked a lot better before the government “improved” them. They don’t want 2,000-page bills nobody’s read, or bureaucrats telling them which doctor they can see or how much money they’re allowed to make. The list of what most Americans say they want from government is actually pretty short: national defense, secure borders, safe streets; smooth highways; health care for veterans, seniors, children, the disabled (all those who genuinely can’t help themselves); good schools, firefighters and (yes) police – now more than ever - and it would be nice if the trash were picked up on time. That’s about it.

Yet somehow, the government finds so many ways to meddle in our lives that federal, state and local government spending combined now equals about 40 percent of America’s entire gross domestic product. And in some big cities, they don’t pick up the garbage at all. They just let people live in it.

In poll after poll, despite claims that socialism is on the rise, most Americans say they want less government and less spending. Even those who say they want government handouts like “Medicare For All” abruptly change their tunes when told what it will do to their tax bills and quality of services. They don’t give a hoot what the talking heads or the endlessly-surprised economists or the “too-big-to-fail” Wall Street failures say: they want government out of their lives, out of their wallets and out of their way.

Sadly, whenever political candidates support that philosophy, their opponents and the media paint them as cold-hearted and uncaring. Compassion has been redefined as the willingness to spend limitless amounts of other people’s money. The media also devote almost no time to examining political philosophies and a lot of time to gotcha games, gaffes, fake news and who’s ahead in the horse race.

But the horse is now out of the barn. For eight years, Americans experienced firsthand the results of so-called “progressive” policies. Government out of control, a health care boondoggle two-thirds of us didn’t want, and the economy still struggling long after it should’ve roared back.

The Election of 2016 was not a surprise to me. I predicted it months in advance because, unlike so many people who claim to represent or report on the American people, I actually talk to – and more importantly, listen to - people. Things were turning around quite well before a pandemic artificially shut down the economy and people let the media bamboozle them into blaming Trump and thinking they’d be bringing back moderation and “normality” if they elected Biden.

Now, they find themselves stuck with a combination of Obama and Jimmy Carter times 10. This isn’t what they voted for, but they’re getting it good and hard.

I predict that, despite the media’s best efforts to bamboozle us, politicians who try to sell Americans on socialistic, big government policies will eventually fail, for the same reason that a used car salesman has a hard time selling a lemon to the same customer twice. I think those politicians know it, too; hence their desperation to take over elections so they can control the results. I also predict that politicians who were elected on a promise not to “fundamentally transform” America will remain in office only as long as they remember that Americans did not elect them to turn the United States into Venezuela.

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Comments 1-25 of 37

  • Carolyn Moore

    07/22/2021 09:22 AM

    Governor Huckabee, for some reason I am no longer receiving your newsletter. I haven't seen one in several days.
    I appreciate what you are doing.
    God bless you.

    Carolyn Moore

  • Robert Wrucke

    07/12/2021 06:17 PM

    I'll just be real quick! I see the problem as being a lot of people that voted got exactly what they voted for. There are so, so many voters that have already been indoctrinated into Socialism.

  • Nancy Jones

    07/11/2021 01:31 PM

    Thank you so much for your honest, candid and sometimes humorous comments about what our fake media and politicians are trying to sell the American citizens. It is laughable that there are still people out there that believe the crap the democrats and the media are trying to sell us, even as they see inflation quickly rise. President Trump (yes, he is still my President) loves his country and could have done so much more to Make America Great Again if the misled democrats and media had not tried to derail him at every turn. Keep up the great work!

  • Allegra Kitchens

    07/07/2021 04:04 PM

    The media did learn from the 2016 election, but what they learned is that they have to lie more and bigger to try to bamboozle the American people. The majority of the American people are connected to each other and to the U. S. Constitution. Unfortunately for us, due to the dumbing down of America's schools for the last 30 years, the Communist brain-washing done in our colleges, the lying Socialist media, and election fraud, we have a large number of Socialists in Washington, D. C. who are disconnected to us. God help us, as HE is the only way back.

  • John Pankratz Sr

    07/07/2021 02:32 PM

    Beyond Excellence - First class - KEEP GOING
    Your daily report is very much appreciated
    Thank you very much

  • Patricia Slyter

    07/07/2021 01:17 PM

    The goal of socialism is to demoralize the people, convince them they are broken and only the socialists can fix them. This is the only way they can gain control because there are more of us than there are of them! We must remember we can’t give them control because they are wrong! We have to stop believing their lies! We are a good country with loving, caring, compassionate people! We need to get this message out! If we weren’t good people, why is our country so generous? Socialists want destroy that belief! They want control over us! None of this is for us no matter how many lies they tell us! It is only for them. They want power and control over all and we will be their slaves! That’s their goal and we must fight them with information!

  • Manuel Junco

    07/07/2021 01:00 PM

    The comment I would like to make is that as a Cuban immigrant to was blessed to come to the greatest country on earth in 1967, most Americans do not realize that there is a great scheme (plot) to circumvent the will of the people. Even though I was a child, I witnessed how Cubans started waking up to the reality of communism, but it was too late. The insidiousness of what is going on, will catch the country by surprise and it may be too late. Many in Cuba took to the hills snd fought against Castro (principally small farmers who had their land confiscated), but to no avail. When I read that the electorate will wake up and reverse the damage, I hope and pray it happens, but I give it a very low probability, as it may be that it will be too little and too late. We have been brainwashing entire generations since the 60s…

  • Edie Faylor

    07/07/2021 11:35 AM

    Until parents take responsibility for their children and their education, nothing will change. Home school if you can, or at least supplement their education with conservative values, the real history in order to offset the lies they get in public school.

  • Debbie DePaul

    07/07/2021 09:57 AM

    Thought I would share with you why my progressive partner is happy he voted for President Biden (although he would have preferred to have Senator Sanders): I am a conservative who was born in NYC and grew up on Long Island. Half my neighborhood was white Jewish and the other half were black Christians. I was the almost non-existent white Christian. My grandparents all came here at the start of the 20th century. I resent being called a racist by people who know nothing about me and want reparations from me for something neither I, or my ancestors did to their distant relatives centuries ago. My partner, on the other hand, grew up white in Illinois and has tremendous white-guilt; he is a progressive liberal. The only news show we watch is Brett Baier on Fox; everything else is from reading many different sites and research. Contrary to your comments, my partner has doubled down on his progressivism as have all of the members of his very liberal church. They completely buy into the argument that capitalism is the root of all evil in the USA and that a more socialistic society is more compassionate and equal. Thought you should know.

  • Patricia de la Tejera

    07/07/2021 09:54 AM

    Basic truths: Stop using drugs. Stop legalized abortion.

  • Suzann Shallenberger

    07/07/2021 09:02 AM

    Gov. Huckabee, my husband and I watch your television show every week and read your articles. You are an amazingly good man who exhibits Godly values and uses common sense. You are able to articulate your thoughts in a way that everyone can understand. Thank you for all you do to keep this country great.

  • B Gail Edmonson

    07/07/2021 08:44 AM

    Unfortunately I feel election fraud and their ability to change votes goes too far and deep. We may never have free elections again.

  • Thom W Schotanus

    07/07/2021 08:43 AM

    Rush Limbaugh started talking about the dumbing down of America decades ago. Now that we have a younger generation that is deficient in knowledge of history and science and filled with fear by the media, it is only fear that drives their decisions and unfortunately, their politics.

  • Kari Heimer

    07/07/2021 07:12 AM

    I completely agree with you! Farmers are the salt of the earth-well most farmers, there are those that prefer money over compassion. I think it’s fitting to suggest that we need compassion in leadership in the United States of America. Compassion for hard working people that keep this country alive. Donald J. Trump has compassion, he promotes others that have this quality. The people need to know they’re being listened to and not ignored. We had that for 4 years. Promises made and kept under the Trump administration. Will we ever get an administration like that again? Probably not until we fix the voting system in this country.
    Thank you for giving us your compassionate opinion everyday-twice a day! I appreciate your ability to deliver an opinion that rouses our ability to think for ourselves. God bless you and your family

  • Jai Jacobia

    07/07/2021 04:08 AM

    To publish a statement implying that Biden was elected by now regretful voters is to be complicit in the media cover uo of what was obviously the theft of the 2029 election which is the greatest source of media distrust and dislike.
    Only the non thinking unintelligent American sees the injection of communist misery into our country as coming from a vote for Biden and only those few see "their" vote for Biden, you are living under a rock.
    The attacks on our country from within come, not from any "vote" for Biden, but from the Chinese/Iranian Terrorist regime lead by Obama.
    And the source of the current attacks of communist misery on our country comes from the combined efforts of China and Iran organized by Obama and his Muslim terrorism brotherhood and delivered by Biden's Chinese employers on whose payroll Joe and his entire family have developed extreme wealt.
    Our distrust of the media, comes directly from the unreported and lied about THEFT of our vote for Trump by Communist Democrats supported by the Chinese and Iranian government represented in our country by Barack Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
    The uninvestigated and unprosecuted election theft was the culmination of a series of uninvestigated and unprosecuted crimes against America and her citizens.
    To imply that the few Americans who voted for Biden now regretting their "vote" is the source of the plummeting trust in the media is to imply that the communist lies though softened, are correct and that he was actually voted into office. That blatant cover up is the apex of America's distrust and the whole world's loss of respect for what was once regarded as the world's light of hope.
    The world knows the 2020 presidential election was stolen and the world no longer trusts the media that covers it up.

  • Janice Montalto

    07/07/2021 12:21 AM

    Governor Huckabee, I just heard the President of one of the largest Teachers' union saying her union will pay the legal fees for any teacher who is prosecuted for teaching CRT. What in the world is happening and how will we ever fight against CRT with the Unions fighting us ?? I'm hoping hundreds of parents, and other civilians, will run for their local school boards and hopefully vote against any CRT being taught to our kids. Please keep talking about it and telling parents how important their input is. Thanks for reading my notes to you. I hope everyone does. I try to write to you and Senators, and Reps often.
    Thanks for all you do Governor.

  • Susan Cornwell

    07/07/2021 12:15 AM

    Thank you for these sane and reasonable thoughts and opinions. My husband and I feel exactly the same way!

  • Cindy Braddock

    07/06/2021 10:55 PM

    I blame voters. Politicians in power are evil. But the voters are the ones that keep rehiring them! I wish people in the media would talk about the ignorant and lazy voters.

  • Linda Kurgan

    07/06/2021 10:44 PM

    Even DeSantis went to Yale and Harvard....

  • Tommy sentelle

    07/06/2021 10:37 PM

    I have never seen politicians that were not greedy but the worst are today.I was born six years before 1950.Almost all people who live in large cities have lost the ability to care and do anything to help.Trump was the first one who cared and gave his paycheck away.go figure! Nice red dots .I do not see much help coming from people younger than 38.keep up the good work.all of the media are on LEFT side of the street!

  • Stewart Dall

    07/06/2021 09:47 PM

    You’ve probably seen the following before. Hopefully you’ll appreciate the reminder.
    My wife and I really appreciate your comments. Hopefully before my time is done the silent majority will have spoken, been heard and the appropriate steps taken.

    William John Henry Boetcker (1873–1962) was an ordained Presbyterian minister. His worldview is very much up-to-date. Unlike so many ministers today, Boetcker believed that it was important to engage the culture, not only with action, but with memorable rhetoric. Here are his The Ten Cannots:
    * You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
    * You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
    * You cannot help little men by tearing down big men.
    * You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
    * You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
    * You cannot establish sound security on borrowed money.
    * You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
    * You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn.
    * You cannot build character and courage by destroying men’s initiative and independence.
    * And you cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they can and should do for themselves.
    In addition to The Ten Cannots, Boetcker developed a list entitled Seven National Crimes, possibly patterned after the Seven Deadly Sins, that if committed would inevitably lead to the end of everything the United States was built to be:
    * I don’t think.
    * I don’t know.
    * I don’t care.
    * I’m too busy.
    * I leave well enough alone.
    * I have no time to read and find out.
    * I am not interested.

  • Robert Louis Harrison DC

    07/06/2021 09:15 PM

    Well stated Sir; keep up the good work for in the long run you are benefitting America.
    I listen to your radio show every morning in Western Michigan ( 106.9FM) .

  • Gerald Miller

    07/06/2021 09:13 PM

    Agree 100% Governor. If I look at the news in the sidebar I can pick up on the slant by reading the headlines. I’m guessing that the majority aren’t fooled

  • LA Huston

    07/06/2021 09:01 PM

    Disconnect Disconnect
    Nonsense. Conservatives are many times to nice and use the same talking points over and over.
    There is no disconnect.
    Because they have a lot of money and can live high on the hog so to speak, the truth is they don’t give a damn about anyone but themselves and continuously lie and pile on the propaganda.

  • Steven Mate

    07/06/2021 08:58 PM

    I hope your assessment is correct. I too have had the same conversations as you with people I associate with, but get a different feeling when talking to my neighbors. The neighbors communicate their feelings as everything from “Orange Man bad” to we need to help the unfortunate. In my friend circle, the subject of the silent majority keeps coming up. I hope we’’re right along with your assessment.