June 13-18, 2017
Jun 13 18:23 Mueller's travesty Jun 14 01:41 A turning point is reached Jun 14 15:05 The possibility of alternate theories Jun 15 02:57 The resistance movement must stop Jun 15 09:49 Terminate the Republican Party Jun 15 23:44 Thissen runs for governor Jun 16 08:53 The Democrats' resistance Jun 18 08:53 When will the retribution start?
Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Mueller's travesty
After reading Clarice Feldman's article , it's clear she's on the right track. Anyone that Mueller asks to testify should immediately demand to know what the underlying crime is that Mueller is investigating. If Mueller refuses to tell them that basic information, that person should immediately assert their Fifth Amendment rights.
Further, that person's attorney should tell Mueller that this pattern will continue until Mueller states publicly what the underlying crime is. That attorney should make this statement publicly, preferably on TV. That way, Mueller will be put on the spot. If Mueller doesn't state what crime he's investigating, then the people will know that he's conducting a fishing expedition. The minute that's exposed, he and Jim Comey become laughingstocks.
At that point, they'll also turn into discredited DC political operatives.
Why shouldn't they be exposed? Comey and Mueller aren't patriots. They're political hacks. They haven't earned and maintained that reputation. They might've been patriots at one point but they don't fit that description anymore. It's time they're put to rest.
Posted Tuesday, June 13, 2017 6:23 PM
No comments.
A turning point is reached
After watching U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions testify in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee, it's clear that the Democrats aren't interested in investigating their claims that the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government. For that matter, it's apparent that they aren't that interested in finding out whether President Trump obstructed justice. Finally, it's apparent that their goal is to attempt to play a game of gotcha.
Tuesday afternoon, Oregon Senator Ron Wyden got into a testy exchange with Attorney General Sessions. Saying that Gen. Sessions got upset is understatement. The exchange started with Sen. Wyden saying "The question is that Mr. Comey said that there were matters with respect to the recusal that were problematic and that he couldn't talk about them. What are they?" Sessions replied "Why don't you tell me? There are none, Sen. Wyden. There are none. I can tell you tell that for absolute certainty."
The Democrats can't pretend anymore that President Trump colluded with Russia to defeat HRC. With Alan Dershowitz and Jonathan Turley shooting down the Democrats' obstruction of justice arguments, there's nothing much left but rubble of that argument, either.
After Comey's testimony last Thursday, he exited looking like a pathetic wimp. After Tuesday's testimony, it's clear that this is mostly just a show produced by the Democrats. With people getting tired of the pure partisan politics played by the Democrats, they can't afford to play this game much longer. If they do, the Democrats will hurt themselves for 2018.
It's clear that this investigation is mostly rubbish from the Democrats. People were initially drawn to the claims like a moth to a flame. Now that we've had 2 witnesses, one pathetic (Comey), the other impressive (Sessions), people are questioning the validity of the collusion/obstruction of justice scandal.
Posted Wednesday, June 14, 2017 6:13 AM
No comments.
The possibility of alternate theories
This article , written by Slate's Leon Neyfakh, apparently shows that Mr. Neyfakh can't entertain alternate theories.
In the article, Neyfakh insists that Jeff Sessions is lying because he said that the reason why he recommended Jim Comey's firing was because he was "disgusted by Comey's handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation." Neyfakh insists that that's a lie because President Trump said his reason for firing Mr. Comey was because "When I decided to just do it,' Trump told Holt, 'I said to myself, I said, 'You know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story - it's an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they should have won.'"
Apparently, it hasn't dawned on Mr. Neyfakh that both statements could be true. I know with certainty that it's possible that Jeff Sessions wanted to terminate Jim Comey because he mishandled the HRC email investigation, aka HRC "matter." I'm equally certain that President Trump might've terminated Mr. Comey over the fake Russia scandal.
Later, Neyfakh wrote this:
He also said Comey had overstepped his authority as FBI director when he asserted that 'no reasonable prosecutor' would pursue charges against her based on the evidence available. 'It was a stunning development : a thunderous thing,' Sessions said, by way of explaining why he 'had come to the conclusion that a fresh start was appropriate.'
Sessions is right. Comey overstepped his authority by making decisions traditionally left to the AG. That offense alone is grounds for immediate termination.
Yesterday, Sen. Wyden challenged Gen. Sessions. That was a mistake:
Suffice it to say that Sen. Wyden didn't win that exchange.
Posted Wednesday, June 14, 2017 3:05 PM
Comment 1 by eric z at 18-Jun-17 09:18 AM
I read that Pence is lawyered up now.
Jarad has Jamie Gorelick, proving what? A Clinton insider during Bubba time; and a rubber stamp on the 9/11 Commission. An interesting choice on lawyering up for Jarad.
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 18-Jun-17 09:21 AM
Kushner's given name is spelled Jared, not Jarad.
The resistance movement must stop
It's time for the Democrats' Resistance Movement to die. It's time for the Evergreen College intolerance to stop. Both movements are built on intolerance and hostility. Bret Weinstein, the professor at the heart of the Evergreen protests, was reviled for telling Tucker Carlson "They imagine that I am a racist and that I am teaching racism in the classroom. And that has caused them to imagine that I have no right to speak, and that I am harming students by the very act of teaching them."
The truth is that it's time to set aside disagreements while elevating the debate on both sides. This is a teaching moment for both political parties. For instance, Republicans need to learn when to accept three-fourths of a loaf in negotiations rather than insisting on the entire loaf.
The Democrats have a tougher task. They've lost the ability to make rational policy arguments. The other problem that the Democratic Party has is that their most amped-up activists think people who don't agree with them essentially as infidels. They don't see conservatives as just wrong on policy. The hard left that James T. Hodgkinson was part of thinks of conservatives as evil. Hodgkinson himself was part of a far left organization that called for violence against Republicans, including President Trump.
These speeches, by Speaker Ryan and Minority Leader Pelosi need to be the starting point in changing the culture in DC:
This has to stop, too:
An upstate New York congresswoman already in shock at the shooting of her colleagues at a baseball practice also received a chilling email entitled 'One down, 216 to go.' Claudia Tenney, a freshman representative from the Utica area, received the message Wednesday in the hours after her fellow House Republican Steve Scalise, from Louisiana, was shot in Alexandria, Va.
It's time to declare a zero-tolerance policy on speech advocating violence. (Think hollering fire in a crowded theater.)
Posted Thursday, June 15, 2017 2:57 AM
Comment 1 by eric z at 18-Jun-17 09:52 AM
Evergreen College is relatively new, dating to the 1960's and former Washington Governor Booth Gardner [R] was instrumental in its founding. Gardner was in the Weyerhauser family, a multimillionaire, who died in 2013. He was a global trade negotiator after being Washington's governor. GATT it was then; initials change, aims stay more constant.
I know of one Evergreen alum who holds a professorship, I forget where. It from the beginning was an experimental institution. If the Weyerhauser clan still backs it, it survives; if not, it likely will lose enrollment and join Gardner as deceased.
As to "resistance" as you write, do not forget, Gary, McCarthy and Roy Cohn were voices of intolerance and speech/association/belief challengers; with Cohn in his New York lawyering years being a mentor and crony of Trump. Intolerance and bias will persist as part of the human spirit; often in so-called Christians who want to raise a stink over bathroom usage and other dumb distractions from what's truly wrong with the nation.
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 18-Jun-17 03:40 PM
I won't deny that Christians have been intolerant, though I'll argue that it's been because of Biblical principals, not political goals. Progressive intolerance has happened mostly because they don't want to discuss issues. When progressives shut down conservative speakers, it was an act of fascism. When Christians disagreed with progressives, Christians didn't try shutting down speech.
That's a major difference.
Terminate the Republican Party
The opening paragraph of Daniel Henninger's article , starts by saying "James T. Hodgkinson, who on Wednesday shot Republican Rep. Steve Scalise and four others, posted this on his Facebook page March 22: '"Trump is a Traitor. Trump Has Destroyed Our Democracy. It's Time to Destroy Trump & Co.'" It's past time to differentiate between policies and emotional responses.
While it's legitimate to question the quality of a person's policies, it isn't legitimate to ascribe emotions to those policies. What, for instance, would make Hodgkinson think that President Trump is a traitor? The definition of political treason is "a person who commits treason by betraying his or her country." The definition of treason is "the offense of acting to overthrow one's government or to harm or kill its sovereign." These things haven't happened. Period. Donald Trump hasn't proposed to overthrow the U.S. government. He's proposed to clean up the corruption found in many of our government's agencies.
An organization titled "Terminate the Republican Party" is a title intended to incite violence. It isn't a stretch to think that a member of such an organization would attempt to shoot Republicans. Unfortunately, that's just part of the violence being proposed against Republicans. Here's more:
Some thought the apotheosis of political derangement had been reached when celebrity Kathy Griffin posted a video of herself holding the bloody, severed head of Donald Trump.
But that wasn't the end of it. We may assume that as Ms. Griffin was creating her video, the artists at New York's Public Theater were rehearsing their production of 'Julius Caesar,' the one in which Central Park audiences watch Caesar as a blond-haired Donald Trump, who is pulled down from a podium by men in suits and assassinated with plunging knives.
The reality is that the Democratic Party is filled with violent thoughts and actions.
As I said in this post , the Democrats need to clean up their act. Charles Krauthammer is right in this video in that this is a Democrat problem, not a political problem:
Posted Thursday, June 15, 2017 9:49 AM
Comment 1 by eric z at 18-Jun-17 09:16 AM
Did not read the post; but I do like the headline.
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 18-Jun-17 09:24 AM
It's the name of the organization the Alexandria shooter belonged to. BTW, the shooter had a list of Republican congresscritters he wanted to assassinate. Still think it's a great name? I think it's disgusting.
Thissen runs for governor
In one of the least surprising tidbits of news, former Speaker Paul Thissen announced that he's running for governor . This isn't surprising. The only surprising part about it is that it took this long. According to WJON's article, "Thissen plans to formally launch his campaign Thursday to replace Gov. Mark Dayton, who decided against a third term. He's in his eighth two-year term representing southwest Minneapolis."
The truth is that the DFL lost its majority in the 2014 election, then lost more seats in the House in 2016. What's more interesting is that Rep. Thissen announced that he wasn't running for House Minority Leader at the start of this session. That signaled to me that he was planning on running for governor.
Furthermore, it isn't likely that the DFL will retake the House until they stop catering to the environmentalist wing of the DFL. Thissen has decided that it isn't likely for him to become speaker again. Further, Thissen likely thinks his best chance of becoming governor is when he's still a household name, which is today.
This paragraph is telling, too:
Thissen became speaker in 2013 when the DFL had a lock on state government with the Legislature and Dayton in control. But House DFLers lost their majority in 2014 and additional seats in 2016, leaving party leaders concerned about the 2018 election.
DFL party leaders have a legitimate right to be worried about the 2018 election.
Posted Thursday, June 15, 2017 11:44 PM
Comment 1 by eric z at 18-Jun-17 09:26 AM
I think the AG contest, so far two declared GOP candidates, is interesting. I know Harry Niska. Quite an active Republican, bright and quick. A Christian. Jen Niska was close to Emmer, both Jen and Harry, and at the time I thought that a fault. Emmer has not been as bad as I'd anticipated. Certainly an upgrade from Bachmann. Then there is Wardlow. The other GOP candidate.
Have you or any of your regular readers thought about the GOP side of that contest? Or, for that matter, the DFL side? It is a statewide position, not down-ballot strictly local.
Do you find Wardlow a strong or impressive candidate for the AG duties? And if so, why? If not, why?
He was a one and done MN House legislator; which does not impress.
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 18-Jun-17 03:45 PM
Harry Niska isn't my choice for the Republicans' endorsed candidate for AG. Wardlow is a constitutionalist, whereas Niska is a political operative. I've actually talked with Wardlow and find him to be an impressive candidate for AG because he's a man of integrity and he's faithful to the Constitution. I'm not that certain Niska would be consistently faithful to the Constitution.
Comment 2 by eric z at 18-Jun-17 09:29 AM
An added thought. It is early, and in either party there may be more filings for AG. So Gary, at least keep the questions in mind even if not ready yet to judge.
Probably not needed to say, I support Swanson as representing an incumbency without any reason to change.
The Democrats' resistance
John Hinderaker's post doesn't mince words. John questions whether Republicans have acted as disgustingly as Democrats have. Here's a hint: they haven't. John writes "when has a Republican proudly displayed the severed, bloody head of Nancy Pelosi? Or Chuck Schumer? Or Barack Obama? When have Republicans thrown bricks through store windows or assaulted Democrats on the street? When have Republicans rioted to prevent Democrats from speaking on college campuses? When have Republicans accused Nancy Pelosi or Chuck Schumer of treason? When have Republicans sent provocateurs into Democratic presidential rallies to start fights? When have Republicans urged 'Resistance' against a Democratic president who they claim is a Nazi?"
The answer to John's questions is simple. It's never happened. Period . Everyone remembers Kathy Griffin's blood-drenched head. Some people have seen the video of Donald Trump being assassinated (as Caesar). How many people remember Alan Grayson's speech displaying the Republicans' health care plan:
Lots of youngsters don't remember Ted Kennedy's speech that started the term Borking:
That's before considering how nasty Harry Reid was on multiple occasions over several years.
Posted Friday, June 16, 2017 8:53 AM
Comment 1 by Lady Logician at 17-Jun-17 09:08 AM
While there were some instances of Republican SUPPORTERS acting in a less than honorable manner, none of them had quite the following as these Dem celebrities (Ted Nugent wishing Barack Obama were dead comes closest). That said, I think Erick Erickson hits the nail on the head with this article in the Resurgent http://theresurgent.com/a-broken-culture/
When will the retribution start?
In Salena Zito's article , she writes about "Marcia Wilson, who chairs the" Democratic Party in New Oxford, PA. She writes that sometimes "her biggest challenge in the process of winning over voters is not Republican elected officials or their supporters, but members of her own party."
That mission was made difficult when DNC Chairman Thomas Perez said pro-life Democrats weren't welcome in the Democratic Party. That drew Jeanne Mancini to write "Last weekend, Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez made it clear that this community, even the vehement Democrats among us, is not welcome within the Democratic party. As he demanded that unwavering support for abortion is 'not negotiable' for 'every Democrat,' Perez made the conscious decision to alienate the 23 percent of Democrat voters who identify as pro-life."
In 2016, Democrats did poorly with blue collar workers in America's heartland. Thomas Perez's initial solution to that problem was to tell pro-life Democrats, many of whom are blue collar workers, that they aren't welcome in the Democratic Party.;
At Evergreen College in Washington state, liberal Professor Bret Weinstein is being ostracized by students and faculty for voicing a slightly contrarian opinion. Calls for his termination are daily.
Zito writes that Jon Ossoff might win in the special election in Georgia because he hasn't talked about Trump. That's possibly true but it's also a short-term fix. The Democrats' biggest litmus test is on the environment, not the Second Amendment. They're still the pro-ACA party, too. Until the Democratic Party dumps those litmus tests, they'll still be a coastal party.
Posted Sunday, June 18, 2017 8:53 AM
Comment 1 by eric z at 18-Jun-17 09:36 AM
Perez is a tool of the Dem status quo. As such, you should love his winning the DNC chair against Ellison. If you've little positive to say about Tom Perez, Gary, I would not be the person to leap to his defense. Let John and Tony Podesta do that.
The Georgia special election is about money. It stinks of money, and money running politics stinks.
In a district that elected Price, showing little to like that way, but where Trump had a lesser margin than in Montana where the body slammer - job outsourcerer unfortunately won that special election.
Comment 2 by Lady Logician at 18-Jun-17 09:01 PM
Ossoff may have stood a chance at winning, if the far left fringes had not made Handle into a sympathetic figure by mailing that white powder and note to her and her neighbors. As soon as a quasi terroristic threat went out to people that weren't running......
LL
