Will The “Hail Mary” Find The Political End Zone?

What's a "Hail Mary"?  There are a couple of definitions, tied to each other .  The first is a Roman Catholic prayer to the Virgin Mary that consists of salutations and a plea for her intercession.  The second is a desperation move or maneuver that has little chance of success (thus needing a miracle or intercession) but appears to be the only possible course of action...such as long pass in football thrown to the end zone by the team trailing on the scoreboard with little or no time left to try anything else.

In short, it's a risky desperation play.

You may have heard republicans describe all the sexual assault accusations against Judge Brett Kavanaugh described as a "Hail Mary" move by the democrats.

That's how our businessman/blogger/consultant friend Tim Bryce sees it in a new column he calls "Chinks Appear In The Democrats Armor".

 In Tim's words, "We are now on the eve of the confrontation between Judge Brett Kavanaugh and Dr. Christine Blasey Ford at the U.S. Senate confirmation hearing in Washington, DC. Although nothing has been formally filed, neither in 2018 or 35 years ago, Dr. Ford accuses the Judge of sexual harassment when she was in high school. This is an eleventh hour “Hail Mary” pass made by the Democrats to delay the confirmation vote until after the midterm elections where they might possibly capture both chambers of Congress, and thereby negate the nominee.

     Undoubtedly, the Democrats will not believe the Judge’s testimony; likewise, the Republicans will see Dr. Ford as a willing pawn in their opponent’s strategy. Without some sort of tangible evidence or expert testimony, this will remain a “he said/she said” affair, and the Democrats will have successfully delayed the confirmation vote on the Judge by two weeks."

All of this is sadly predictable and demonstrates just how low American politics have sunk.  No wonder the public holds politicians in such low regard....but hold on.  There seems to be a slight change of opinion about republican?

 Tim Bryce points out, "In a new report, Gallup claims “Republican Party Favorability Highest in Seven Years” (jumping from 36% to 47%). According to the report, Democrats have historically had a higher favorability rating with Democrats and Independents, but this all changed this year as Independents gravitated to Republicans. As Gallup reports:

“The overall increase in the favorable image of the Republican Party is a result of a jump in the positive views of Republicans, including independents who lean toward the party. The percentage of Republicans and leaners with favorable views of their party grew from 67% last September to 85% now.”

This jives with another Gallup report, issued in June, stating Americans who are satisfied with the direction of the country has reached a twelve year high, going back to September 2005."

The question now -with the mid-term election less than two months away is -How will this all play with voters?  Will it be seen as a dirty trick desperation move by democrats or will the republicans lose whatever good will they have gained in recent months as they are portrayed as a party that abuses and is disrespectful to women?  I guess we'll know on November 7th.

Check out Tim's column here  timbryce.com 

Tim Bryce is a writer and the Managing Director of M&JB Investment Company (M&JB) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has over 40 years of experience in the management consulting field. He can be reached at timb001@phmainstreet.com