April 14-17, 2016
Apr 14 01:00 Trump isn't a great strategist Apr 14 05:03 Dahle-Jensen transportation op-ed Apr 14 11:29 Border battle brain drain Apr 15 08:13 Donald Trump's dishonest op-ed Apr 15 16:49 LFR Pledge Week Apr 16 07:06 Wisconsin's improving economy Apr 17 08:10 Bakk vs. accountability and transparency Apr 17 08:32 Trump disparages activists Apr 17 23:49 Pray for Erick Erickson
Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Trump isn't a great strategist
If there's anything that's becoming clear, it's that Donald Trump isn't a great strategist. Let me explain. It isn't a difficult argument to make that Trump didn't put a campaign organization together. If anything is becoming self-evident, it's that Donald Trump cut some corners, possibly because he trusted his press clippings a little too much. One thing that campaigns teach us is whether candidates make great decisions. One of the manifestations of making quality decisions is whether the candidate did a good job putting a top team together. There's no disputing the fact that Trump has put together a pathetic team of whining losers.
Another thing that's indisputable is the fact that Mr. Trump thought he could just steamroll his way to the GOP nomination. He thought he could criticize his way to the nomination. That isn't working for him, either. Again, there's no objective proof that Trump had a strategy. There's abundant objective proof, though, that Trump blames others for his not implementing a smart strategy. Colorado is a perfect example of this.
When Trump complained that "the Colorado thing was very, very unfair," the reality is that he didn't bother visiting the state. There's no reason why he couldn't have spent time there. It's impossible to believe that he wouldn't have won a couple of congressional districts had he campaigned there. Anderson Cooper nailed Trump when Trump started whining:
"You call them 'shenanigans,'" Cooper said. "Those are the rules. And didn't you know those rules?"
Though Trump said he knew "the rules very well", there isn't much to verify that statement. If he understood them, why didn't he try competing there? Then there's this story :
The candidates in California get to submit delegates from each congressional district. If a candidate wins a congressional district, his delegates get to vote. It took Cruz more than 5 months to find delegates in all of California's congressional districts. Cruz found 169 delegates and 169 alternates, which is a complete slate of delegates and alternates. Trump is just starting and the deadline to turn in his list is May 7th.
If Trump can't field a complete slate, even if he wins a congressional district he won't have delegates to vote for him.
That's sloppy. In fact, that's unforgivable. Voters shouldn't think that Trump has the skills, discipline or temperament to put a cabinet together, much less to put a coherent agenda together.
Posted Thursday, April 14, 2016 1:00 AM
No comments.
Dahle-Jensen transportation op-ed
This op-ed , co-authored by DFL Sen. Kevin Dahle and DFL Rep. Vicki Jensen, is mostly fiction. It's totally in keeping with the DFL's transportation chanting points. Mostly, though, it's a thinly-veiled attempt at a major middle class tax increase that isn't needed.
Dahle and Jensen start with a false premise, stating it "is well reported that Minnesota's transportation needs have reached a critical point." There's been no doubt that lots of stories featuring DFL quotes have been written. The question isn't whether Minnesota's roads need maintaining. One of the questions is whether Minnesota should focus on roads and bridges or if Minnesota should focus on transportation. Another question worth asking is this: if it's that well-documented, why didn't the DFL majorities in the House and Senate send a bill to the DFL governor that raised the gas tax in 2013?
The DFL legislature found time to spend $90,000,000 on the Senate Office Building. They found time to subject farm equipment repairs and warehousing services to the state sales tax, which Gov. Dayton eagerly signed into law. Then the DFL legislature found time to repeal those sales tax increases. Again, Gov. Dayton eagerly repealed the sales taxes that he'd signed into law the previous spring.
The question that hasn't been asked is why, if this was such a high priority, the DFL didn't act on it when they had full control of the legislature and had a DFL governor.
This paragraph is an outright lie:
Unfortunately, that's where our similarities seem to end. We are willing to look at all options on the table. However, we are unwilling to compromise on a plan for our transportation network that is worse for rural communities. By relying on local tax increases, one-time spending, and borrowing, the Republican plan does not provide the same level of support for those communities ? our communities ? that need it most.
Last spring, Rep. Tim Kelly, chairman of the House Transportation Finance Committee, presented a plan that raised revenues without raising taxes. Then he issued this statement :
Personally, I am happy to have had the opportunity to help put together the fiscally responsible Road and Bridge Act of 2015, which will do so much good for the State of Minnesota.
Under this proposal, the State of Minnesota would repurpose revenue that is already being collected from existing sales taxes on auto parts, the Motor Vehicle Lease sales tax, the rental vehicle tax and the sales tax on rental vehicles. By placing these revenue streams - estimated at $3.078 billion over the next ten years - in a newly created Transportation Stability Fund, Minnesota would not only provide new money for roads and bridges statewide, but also for small city roads, bus services in Greater Minnesota, suburban county highways, and metro area capital improvements.
Making this change would dedicate $1.44 billion for county roads, $583 million for municipal roads, and $282 million for roads in towns with fewer than 5,000 residents.
The DFL is clearly lying when Sen. Dahle and Rep. Jensen state that the "Republican plan does not provide the same level of support for those communities ... that need it most." That's in direct conflict with Chairman Kelly's statement that his plan would " dedicate $1.44 billion for county roads, $583 million for municipal roads, and $282 million for roads in towns with fewer than 5,000 residents ."
They do not provide any new funding for larger city local roads, and they do not provide enough investment for smaller cities.
The Republican-endorsed candidates for Dahle's and Jensen's seats should pepper them with questions about their dishonesty. I'd ask them why they're pushing for a major middle class tax increase, too. It's time to rip the mask off the DFL and expose them for the dishonest tax-hiking maniacs that they are.
Posted Thursday, April 14, 2016 5:03 AM
Comment 1 by Chad Q at 14-Apr-16 08:05 AM
What a bunch of BS. The only option the DFL has and has ever had is a tax increase on gas, diesel, wheelage, mileage, etc.
The GOP plan of "repurposing" revenue is pretty ingenious as it takes tax money from the sale of things that use the roads, and uses it to fix the roads! Brilliant! Of course the reason the DFL is against it is because it takes tax money they believe is there's to spend on social engineering projects.
If the DFL wants transit, start taxing the train and bus riders to help fund it instead of drivers who never us it.
Border battle brain drain
Is The Grass Really Greener Over There?
by Silence Dogood
On Tuesday, April 12th, 2016, Professor Tom Fauchald from the Department of Business Administration at Bemidji State University visited SCSU as the guest of the Faculty Association. Professor Fauchald gave a presentation on the budget and enrollments in the MnSCU system. One of the slides in his PowerPoint presentation showed the number of Minnesota students pursuing higher education in the 'border states' (North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin) as well as the number of students from the 'border states' pursuing higher education in Minnesota. Essentially what the data shows is the number of students applying for tuition reciprocity (i.e., to be able to pay instate rather than out-of-state tuition). Since there is a significant difference between instate and out-of-state tuition, one might expect the data to be quite accurate. The data in the slide was for each Fall Semester and was representative of the time period from 1985 through 2014. The slide is reproduced below:
In fall of 1985, the data shows that Minnesota had more students coming from South Dakota for higher education than it was sending to South Dakota. The in and out migration of students from North Dakota and Wisconsin show Minnesota losing higher education students to these neighbors. The overall net difference in 1985 was a loss of 4,649 Minnesota students to our neighbors. Over the next twenty years, the net loss of higher education students to the 'border states' remained fairly constant. In fact, in 2005, the net loss had even decreased to 4,215 students.
Looking at the last ten years of data, a radically different picture emerges. Net loss of enrollment to the 'border states,' is shown in following plot:
Without a doubt, a growth of 231% from FY06 to FY15 in the net number of students 'lost' to our neighboring states is pretty impressive. And what's worse, based on the trends, it doesn't look like the net loss in students to higher education in 'border states' is going to end anytime soon. If someone in Minnesota were 'responsible' for this growth in the exodus of higher education students, they should be ashamed and possibly fired! Unfortunately, we can't find any one person who is responsible. But that doesn't mean that there aren't candidates for a share of the blame. Unless, of course, you think that this mass exodus of brainpower from Minnesota is a good thing.
An interesting factoid shows that from recent data it appears more of the students attending North Dakota State University come from Minnesota than from North Dakota.
Close inspection of the data shows that in the fall of 2014, Minnesota lost students to all three of its neighbors and the net loss had increased to 13,968 students. Considering that the FYE enrollment at Minnesota State University - Mankato in FY15 was 13,861, this means that more students left Minnesota for higher education in Wisconsin, North Dakota and South Dakota than enrolled at MSU - Mankato, which is the largest university in the MnSCU system! Just as a point of reference, the FY16 budget for MSU-Mankato totaled $239,788,000.
Essentially none of these students going to the 'border states' for their higher education are going to two-year schools. As a result, the vast majority of these students would have attended a MnSCU university or one of the University of Minnesota system schools. Given the current breakdown of students, if these students were not leaving the state, the majority of these students would have attended a MnSCU university.
Let's just assume that 50% of these students would have attended a MnSCU university (the actual percentage would likely be significantly higher). If the average tuition at a MnSCU university is $7,500, this would amount to lost tuition revenue totaling $52,400,000. However, it is important to remember that tuition is only a part of the expenses for attending college. As a result, if the other expenses were included (room and board, books, gas, clothing, entertainment, etc.), the financial impact for these 'lost' students on MnSCU and the surrounding communities where the universities are located might exceed $150,000,000.
The following plot shows the total FYE enrollment at MnSCU universities from FY06 through FY15 (data from MnSCU):
In FY06, the FYE enrollment at the MnSCU universities was 54,215 and in FY15 had dropped to 53,564 for a decrease of 1.3% over the ten year time period. In FY11, the enrollment peaked at 58,799. The decrease in FYE enrollment from FY11 to FY15 amounts to a decrease of 9.1%.
The interesting thing is that if half of the students lost to higher education in 'border states' are added to the FYE enrollment at the MnSCU universities, the following plot is obtained:
From the data in this plot, it is clear that the MnSCU universities would have grown from FY06 to FY15 by 7.5% (instead of decreasing by 1.3%) and the decline in enrollment from FY11 to FY15 would have only been 5.4% (instead of declining 9.1%). As a result, MnSCU's financial situation would be far better than it is today. It would have also likely eliminated the need for MnSCU officials to appear before Minnesota Legislative committees on Monday, April 11, 2016 to ask for an additional infusion of $21,000,000 to its base allocation.
Given the financial impact from the exodus of higher education students to 'border states,' an impact that could easily reach a figure greater than $300,000,000, one might wonder who is responsible. If someone running a company told you that they had lost $300,000,000 to their competitors, I'm sure the next question they would be asked is how they were able to keep their job? Clearly, in order to solve a problem you have to know it exists. The data clearly shows the trends and it doesn't take a Noble prize in economics to determine the economic impact. What MnSCU officials have not yet presented is a plan to decrease this 'brain drain' from Minnesota. Instead, it seems like they are willing to take the easy approach and ask the Minnesota Legislature for a bailout. The financial situation for MnSCU is pretty bad and getting worse. It is clear that MnSCU needs the money or significant and perhaps irreparable harm is going to happen to the system. However, the leadership that guided a path that has led the system to this financial emergency needs to be replaced. Unless this happens soon, the existence of many of the MnSCU universities are in jeopardy. Additionally, unless the new leadership in MnSCU can develop a plan to convince Minnesotans that the grass is actually greener in Minnesota, the financial woes of MnSCU will only increase.
Posted Thursday, April 14, 2016 11:29 AM
Comment 1 by Patrick-M at 14-Apr-16 12:18 PM
Very well researched and written. Too bad Steve and Earl are so busy patting themselves on the back and giving each other high fives that they don't have the time to put plans in place to fix the drain. Then again I have read over the years that one of the main reasons students select a school is the program offerings....Aviation comes to mind. ND, SD and WI all offer 4-year aviation degrees.
Comment 2 by Crimson Trace at 14-Apr-16 11:34 PM
Silence Dogood did an outstanding job using the data to clearly show that MnSCU is in trouble. The loss of Minnesota students is extremely alarming. Rosenstone should have been fired long ago. The amount of damage created by President Potter at SCSU may possibly be well beyond the point of no return. The MnSCU board of trustees: epic failure. Where is the legislature and Governor Dayton?
Donald Trump's dishonest op-ed
When I saw Donald Trump's op-ed in this morning's Wall Street Journal, aka WSJ, I wrote this 500-word article to respond to Trump's deceptions.
I won't rehash all of the arguments I made in the article. Instead, I'll focus this post on some of the most intentionally dishonest statements in Mr. Trump's op-ed, starting with the statement where he said "We must leave no doubt that voters, not donors, choose the nominee."
That's breathtakingly and intentionally deceptive. Apparently, Trump's goal is to prey on the gullibility of his supporters. Trump's tactic is to insinuate that the RNC, DC lobbyists and Wall Street fat cats picked Colorado's delegates, which they didn't. They were picked by people that did things differently than Trump.
Unlike Trump, the people that picked the delegates participated in the political process. Mr. Trump didn't complain about the rules in Nevada or Iowa. Both states are caucus states. In fact, the rules at the Iowa Caucuses are infinitely more complicated than they are in Colorado.
We know that Trump won the Nevada Caucuses and finished second in the Iowa Caucuses. Further, we know that he didn't complain about the rules in those states. He did well in those states because he actually campaigned there. That's the key difference between what happened in Colorado and what happened in Iowa and Nevada.
It's important that we turn Trump's complaint against himself. Colorado shouldn't award him any delegates because he wasn't interested enough in Colorado to even campaign there. Sen. Cruz, by contrast, worked hard in the state. Instead of campaigning in Colorado, Trump apparently is intent on complaining about Colorado.
This statement is disgusting, too:
A planned vote had been canceled. And one million Republicans in Colorado were sidelined.
In 2012, the GOP ticket won 1,185,000 votes in the general election. Activists know that turnout for primaries and caucuses never come close to the turnout in general elections. Saying that "one million Republicans in Colorado were sidelined" is dishonest in the extreme. Further, the vote Trump is referring to was a straw poll, which wouldn't have effected who got picked as delegates. The rules didn't change.
People started the process by attending precinct caucuses. Those participants picked people who participated in the congressional district conventions and the state convention. Minnesota's caucus system is somewhat different in that the delegates to the Republican National Convention get picked at the state convention. The difference is that Minnesota doesn't award delegates by congressional districts.
I, for one, am not interested in defending a system that for decades has served the interest of political parties at the expense of the people. Members of the club - the consultants, the pollsters, the politicians, the pundits and the special interests - grow rich and powerful while the American people grow poorer and more isolated.
It's disgusting that Trump's argument isn't hinged to anything resembling reality. Then again, Trump is unhinged in more ways than one. The Colorado legislature, which was elected by the people, passed legislation that created their state's caucus system. Next, Colorado's governor signed that bill into law.
At no point do "the consultants, the pollsters, the politicians, the pundits and the special interests" get involved in voting on delegates. Trump knows that. It's that he can't resist dividing people. In fact, if there weren't a zillion candidates this year, he'd have about half of the delegates he has now.
The dirty little secret that Mr. Trump wants to distract people's attention from is the fact that he's had a terrible time since the finalists became Trump, Cruz and Kasich. Mr. Trump wants the rules to benefit him. When he fails to campaign places, then he starts whining about how unfair everything is. The GOP nominee shouldn't be a narcissist that's constantly whining.
The GOP presidential nominee should be the candidate that put together a campaign organization and who's campaigned hard to find every voter out there.
Posted Friday, April 15, 2016 8:13 AM
Comment 1 by eric z at 17-Apr-16 08:36 AM
I had a look at the other two items too, but isn't Trump's main worry really Paul Ryan? All this other stuff is diversionary. You can do a web search = Paul Ryan 17 million. It's illustrative.
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 17-Apr-16 08:41 AM
Ted Cruz will be the nominee so, no, Paul Ryan isn't Trump's "main worry." In fact, Trump should be most worried about Donald J. Trump.
Comment 2 by eric z at 17-Apr-16 09:17 AM
Well Gary, we'll see. Beyond that, Trump's item did truly state, "While I am self-funding, Mr. Cruz rakes in millions from special interests. Yet despite his financial advantage, Mr. Cruz has won only three primaries outside his home state and trails me by two million votes - a gap that will soon explode even wider. Mr. Cruz loses when people actually get to cast ballots."
You've given insufficient attention to who is funding Cruz, and that is in a way unfair. It seems more the heart of Trump's item that he has a record when the polls are open; and we in Minnesota have lived with the ongoing pros and cons of caucus vs primary, honoring the endorsement, and all that stuff. It's undecided six of one, half a dozen of the other. Dayton would not be governor if he'd not pushed a contested primary and McFarland was poised to push a primary but then got endorsed. Jury is still out, here, as well as elsewhere.
Response 2.1 by Gary Gross at 17-Apr-16 11:41 AM
First, Trump says he's self-funding. That's different that being self-funding, which he isn't. As for who's funding him, I don't care. He's consistently fought for the right policies & principles. If he stopped fighting for those policies & principles, like Tom Emmer has done, then I worry about who got to him.
Next, I'm unconvinced that Trump gives a shit about rigged systems. He knew the rules for Colorado months ago. That's been verified. Why didn't he complain months ago if this was something he was truly worried about? A: Trump is quoted as saying that he only complains when he doesn't win.
In other words, he doesn't care about the principle. He's just playing a game. That isn't what principled leaders do.
Finally, Trump had every opportunity to win Colorado's delegates. He didn't bother campaigning in the state. The delegates, on the other hand, participated in the precinct caucuses, the congressional district convention & the state convention. Now that the conventions are done, they're likely working to get conservative candidates elected. By comparison, Trump is back in Trump Towers, whining.
LFR Pledge Week
LFR Pledge Week starts today. If you've appreciated my reporting and/or commentary, feel free to click the Donate Button at the top of the right sidebar. If you don't want to donate electronically, just leave a comment to this post. I will send you an email with instructions on how to contribute to LFR the old-fashioned way.
In the past year, I've used LFR to advocate against a reckless school bonding initiative that was asking for $167,000,000 to build a new Tech High School ($113,800,000), renovate Apollo High School ($46,5000,000), improve security at the high schools ($4,200,000) and to pay for "technology ($2,500,000)." When the voters spoke, they didn't just reject the bonding initiative. They humiliated the School Board, rejecting the initiative by a 8,460-vote to 7,393-vote margin.
The day after the vote, a loyal reader of LFR told me that they "had a turnout strategy and tons of money. You had common sense and the ability to motivate 8400 people to vote." Honestly, I didn't have to be a great salesperson. I just had to tell people what was happening, then let the people make the right decision. They did that and then some.
Over the next few months, many important decisions will need to be made. We need to pick a president who will fight for conservative principles. We need to keep Kurt Daudt as Speaker of the House and Jim Knoblach as Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Not only are those priorities but we need to retake the majority in the Minnesota Senate and do our part to help Stewart Mills push Retread Rick Nolan into retirement once and for all.
Know that your support has humbled. I appreciate the fact that I have a loyal readership.
This post will be pinned to the top of the page through Friday, April 22.
Originally posted Friday, April 15, 2016, revised 27-Apr 12:07 PM
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Wisconsin's improving economy
To hear the DFL tell it, you'd think that Wisconsin's unemployment rate is high and that economic growth is virtually nonexistent. That's just additional proof that the DFL isn't hinged to the truth. Th is article demolishes the DFL's arguments.
In the second paragraph in Collin Roth's article, Roth states "The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) announced new economic numbers Thursday that reveal an improving economy in the Badger state. The unemployment rate is down to 4.5% and the state added a statistically significant 13,100 private sector jobs from February to March. 4,200 of those jobs were in manufacturing."
Those aren't the only positive statistics from the article that prove Gov. Walker's policies are working. The article also states that "Wisconsin added 47,500 private sector jobs from March 2015 to March 2016, making it the best year-over-year growth since August 2004 ."
It isn't just that the unemployment rate is low. It isn't just that lots of jobs are getting created. It's that Wisconsin's workforce participation rate is high. According to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, "the labor force participation rate reached 68.8%, making it the sixth highest in the country and above the national rate of 63%. An estimated 3 million Wisconsinites are now in the workforce, an all-time high for the state."
Finally, there's this:
"Today's report shows that Wisconsin's employment was higher than ever in March, our unemployment rate dropped over the month while the national rate increased, and the state experienced the best 12 months of job growth since 2004," DWD Secretary Allen said. "All indicators show that under Governor Walker's leadership, Wisconsin's economy is expanding and adding jobs in 2016."
It's possible to lie with statistics. Still, it's difficult, if not impossible, to say that these economic statistics are deceptive. These statistics argue that Wisconsin's economy is healthy, that Wisconsin's economy is being built to last and that people are noticing the change since Gov. Walker straightened out Gov. Doyle's mess.
Posted Saturday, April 16, 2016 7:06 AM
Comment 1 by Chad Q at 16-Apr-16 08:13 AM
I don't remember where I saw it, but there was an article this week ranking each state's business climate and it had other factors in it also but Wisconsin ranked #9 and Minnesota ranked #45. Wisconsin is only a hop, skip, and a jump for a lot of Minnesota residents and businesses to stop paying high taxes and gain some freedom. I know I'm planning to head there in the near future myself.
Comment 2 by Gary Gross at 16-Apr-16 08:21 AM
You're not alone, Chad. People are leaving Minnesota for a variety of reasons.
Bakk vs. accountability and transparency
Last week, Senate Minority Leader David Hann wrote Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk a letter requesting that Sen. Bakk release the content of a threatening email Sen. Bakk sent to Cook County businessman Dennis Rysdahl. Predictably, Sen. Bakk refused to release that email , saying "You just can't do that."
After hearing Mr. Rysdahl's testimony and reading his quote in the DNT's article, I'd argue that it's imperative that Sen. Bakk's email be made public. Rysdahl testified at Cook County's County Commissioners meeting, saying "I got an email from Tom Bakk yesterday, and he's very concerned. He's already hearing, again, what's he's heard many times before that Cook County doesn't really belong in the Taconite Relief District, and if they're going to take an action like this, they don't deserve to continue to be involved."
After reading that quote, it's insulting that we read this opening paragraph of the Mesabi Daily News article:
Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk of Cook will not acquiesce to a Republican request to make public a personal email sent to a Cook County businessman regarding the Twin Metals lease issue.
That's BS. First, I'd demand to know which email address Sen. Bakk used. If he used his legislative email address or his IRRRB email address, that ends Sen. Bakk's argument that it's a personal email. Saying that you're using a government account to send personal emails is a nonstarter.
Further, I'd argue that any email that talked about potential action by an executive branch agency isn't personal. Based on Mr. Rysdahl's testimony, it sounds like the email relates directly to Sen. Bakk's responsibilities as a member of the IRRRB executive board. This paragraph indicates that the email was official:
But in Cook County, there is also an undercurrent of an Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation Board issue - should Cook County continue as part of the Taconite Relief Area and receive agency funding.
I can't wait to hear Sen. Bakk explain how threatening the Cook County commissioners with cutting off funding is "personal." As I said earlier, I don't doubt that Sen. Bakk wanted to keep his threatening email private.
I hope that Sen. Hann has another plan to force Sen. Bakk into producing that email. Private citizens shouldn't have to deal with threats from public officials. That's what Sen. Bakk did to Mr. Rysdahl and to the Cook County commissioners.
Posted Sunday, April 17, 2016 8:10 AM
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Trump disparages activists
Jim Geraghty's post , titled If You're Explaining, You Los- Eh, No, Wait, You're Doing Your Job., demolishes Donald Trump's fanatical rant that voters were disenfranchised. When Geraghty wrote "You vote for delegates at your precinct March 1; the delegates you elect vote among themselves for delegates to district and statewide conventions; at the district and statewide conventions, those delegates vote on who goes to Cleveland. Boom. Done." he gutted Trump's whining complaints with the greatest of ease.
Still, I'd add that Trump's done something much more disgusting than just lie about the process. By saying that " one million Republicans in Colorado were sidelined ," Trump essentially said that the 65,000 people that participated in Colorado's precinct caucuses on March 1 don't count as real Republicans. Shame on Mr. Trump. They did something he wasn't willing to do. They participated in the political process. They didn't just whine about how awful America is. They stepped forward. They offered solutions for fixing the mess left by 8 years of Barack Obama. By now, they're working hard getting legislative and congressional candidates elected.
By comparison, Mr. Trump has flown around the country, held rallies where he complained about being treated unfairly, told people that they should punch protesters if they acted up and bragged about how he's doing in the polls.
If saying outrageous things and lying are qualifications for being president, talk radio is filled with qualified presidential candidates.
Mr. Trump complains about the power brokers who've rigged the game in their favor while pretending to fight for working people. That's another myth worth dispelling. Trump is for Trump. Period. If Trump cared about voters, he wouldn't be disparaging them for their participation in the political process. Why isn't he working as hard as they are in getting conservatives elected?
If Trump wants to make America great again, here's a suggestion: don't contribute to Democrats like Hillary Clinton, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer. Here's another suggestion: stop supporting single-payer health care. Stop supporting tax increases. Stop supporting economic isolationism.
Comparatively speaking, Trump isn't a patriot. In fact, Trump doesn't fit the dictionary definition of patriot :
- a person who loves, supports, and defends his or her country and its interests with devotion .
- a person who regards himself or herself as a defender, especially of individual rights, against presumed interference by the federal government.
to snivel or complain in a peevish, self-pitying wayIt's stunning that a man who's received $2,000,000,000+ worth of free air time on TV and radio think that he's being mistreated.
When Trump isn't bragging about how good he's doing in the polls, he's complaining about getting mistreated. I can't wait until we don't have to deal with Trump's complaining.
Comparing the GOP activists in Colorado with Trump isn't fair. The activists work hard to make America the best it can possibly be. Trump complains, then passes the buck for his lack of leadership.
Posted Sunday, April 17, 2016 8:32 AM
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Pray for Erick Erickson
I was stunned when I read Erick Erickson's post on Erick's new blog . (If you haven't read Erick's new blog, make sure you do. It's a great combination of solid conservative thinking and the writers' Christian testimony. I like it because it isn't just about politics. It's about something more important. It keeps people grounded.)
But I digress.
Erick's latest post is actually a call to prayer. That thought came through loud and clear when Erick wrote "Over the course of the past few weeks my lungs have been filling with blood clots. The technical term in the medical report is that my lungs are "showered" with clots. My blood oxygen level cratered to the point of numb lips and the act of putting shampoo in my hair was leaving me out of breath."
Though Erick's health is improving, Erick still needs tons of prayers. James 5:16 says "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." Here's hoping Erick quickly (and fully) recovers so that he can torment liberals again.
Posted Sunday, April 17, 2016 11:49 PM
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