Robert M. Levy’s Editorial: Will America vote to surrender?

Elections Have Consequences

Democracy is “alive and well” in America. We vote on everything. This Nov. is especially important. We will vote first on whether to win a war or surrender. The betting in the prediction markets suggests that on Nov. 3, 2026, most Americans will vote to surrender. Here is the way it will likely “shake-out”:

On Dec. 11, 2026, Americans will be preparing for Christmas. At the same time, the House and Senate will be preparing for their Christmas recess, scheduled to start about a week later. On that date, the federal budget extension will lapse and create another “shutdown scare.” Democrats will demand the elimination of all funding for both the Iran War and ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). Democrats will then predict a “Trump Saint Nicholas government shut-down” if their demands are not met.

The Democrat talking points will write themselves, “If ‘Abula’ (grandma’) has no Christmas, neither should Donald Trump or his “White, MAGA, bourgeois supporters.” So, Christmas parade disruptions will be legendary.

The Democrat strategy will be both nuanced and sophisticated. They will want a quick post-election victory; but, by Dec., they will not yet have organized or begun their Congressional majority. So, they will claim, the difficult issue of immigration will have to wait. Still, “left” in the “lame duck” Congress will be about a dozen anti-war Republicans. And that will be enough for the surrender Democrat voters want.

With the aid of some Republicans, Democrats will therefore first pass a “compromise continuing resolution”. That resolution will leave in place the current budget until after Democrats take control of Congress on Jan. 2, 2027. In return, Republicans will agree to a War Powers Resolution ordering the withdrawal of American forces from the Iran conflict zone. President Trump will sign the budget extension; but, simultaneously, he will veto the War Powers Resolution.

Democrats will say “A ‘resolution’ is not subject to a veto.” Translation: “The President needs to be both impeached and removed from office.” The media will call that a “Constitutional crisis.” The nation will be deadlocked in explosive anger.

In the middle of it all, the Iranians and their proxies will begin to sense a hint of victory. Yeah, Donald Trump will bomb Iranian physical assets and strangle Iranian fiscal assets as much and as fast as Pete Hegseth can load the explosives. But the leaders of Iran will hold on. They will martyr half their population awaiting the Christian New Year when anti-Trump Democrats take control.

Just after Jan. 2, 2027, Democrats will start impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump. More importantly, they will try to pass an anti-ICE and anti-war funding “reconciliation bill”. But, facing a certain Trump veto, they will suggest a “compromise.”

Democrats will concede that the immigration issue is difficult. It will require a “stand-alone comprehensive bill” later. The immediate bill will contain only minor ICE “reform.” In exchange, Republicans will have to agree to de-fund the Iran War. Republicans will pledge to override any veto of the surrender-focused budget reconciliation.

Funding for the Iran Conflict will then be cut off. That will make the vetoed war Powers veto moot. American forces will withdraw in defeat. And Iran will retake the Strait of Hormuz.

Of course, the surrender could be avoided. People could keep a Republican Congress. But that is not likely. It is more likely, although not much more likely, that President Trump, together with Israel, will overthrow the Iranian regime and “stand up” a new government before the expected Jan. surrender. But if the current Islamic government shoots, hangs and tortures enough civilians, that will not happen either.

Well, maybe I’m wrong. Maybe a Democrat victory in the fall will not translate into an American defeat in the New Year. But if Congress does surrender to Iran in Jan. 2027, the United States will be re-labeled the world‘s most powerful “paper tiger.” If that happens. America’s place in the world will be much different than it is today.

The withdrawal of the American Navy from the Strait of Hormuz will be favorably compared to the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. Just as England defeated Spain that year, Iran will have defeated the United States next year. And the consequences of the Spanish demise may be very similar to the inevitable consequences which America will suffer if our nation does not take its obligations more seriously than a $1 rise in a gallon of gas.

Oct. 4, 2026

Robert M. Levy

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RobertReports.substack.com

Robert M. Levy grew up in Moore County and graduated from Pinecrest High School. He earned a BA in history and sociology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where his honors thesis on the Wilmington Rebellion of 1898 became part of the university’s library collection.

Admitted to the California State Bar in 1978, Levy practiced law for 40 years in California and Maryland, focusing on family and criminal law, including work with juvenile offenders and abused children. His writing on affirmative action appeared in the San Fernando Valley Law Review, and he authored Divorce: A Cynical Experience. He later earned a North Carolina teaching certificate from UNC Charlotte and taught high school social studies across Moore County.

Levy has served as chairman of the Moore County School Board, president of the North Carolina Electoral College, chairman of the Moore County Republican Party, and a columnist for The Pilot in Southern Pines. He lives in Pinehurst with his wife, Linda, and they have three children and four grandchildren.

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