June 25-27, 2020

Jun 25 02:36 Biden's Flynn dishonesty problem?
Jun 25 09:38 Joe Biden's cognitive decline
Jun 25 16:02 Democrats sabotage JUSTICE Act

Jun 26 01:07 The new Minneapolis police force?
Jun 26 10:28 The threat of systemic racism
Jun 26 22:26 Joe Biden won't answer question on tearing down statues/monuments

Jun 27 09:38 JUSTICE Act debate, Sen. Tim Scott vs. Speaker Nancy Pelosi edition
Jun 27 20:02 Jason Lewis, Tim Scott & Lake Street
Jun 27 23:43 The Democrats' unity myth

Prior Months: Jan Feb Mar Apr May

Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Biden's Flynn dishonesty problem?

Gen. Flynn won a major victory in court today. On the other hand, this was a difficult day for Joe Biden. Peter Strzok's note is particularly troublesome:


Attending the meeting were Susan Rice, the National Security Adviser, Jim Comey, the FBI Director, President Obama, Vice President Biden and Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates. TRANSLATION: Susan Rice = NSA; Obama = P; Biden = VP; Comey = D & Yates = DAG

Remember that Biden was asked about what he knew about Gen. Flynn by George Stephanopoulos in this interview:
[Video no longer available]

Stephanopoulos: I do want to ask you about Michael Flynn, the former national security adviser to President Trump and the move by the Justice Department to dismiss the case against him for lying to the FBI. The President said yesterday that the move was justified because President Obama targeted Flynn. He called it, quote, the biggest political crime in US history. Your former Senate colleague Charles Grassley has added that Flynn was entrapped and asked on the Senate floor "What did Obama and Biden know? When did they know it?" So what did you know about those moves to investigate Michael Flynn and was there anything improper done?
BIDEN: I know nothing about those moves to investigate Michael Flynn, number one, and number two, this is all about diversion. This is the game this guy plays all the time. The country is in a crisis. We're in an economic crisis, a health crisis.

That's about 2 minutes into the interview. After Biden's full-throated denial, Stephanopoulos returned to the subject:

I want to press that. You say you didn't know anything about but you were reported to be at a January 5, 2017 meeting where you and the President were briefed on the FBI's plan to question Michael Flynn over those conversations he had with the Russian Ambassador Kislyak.
Biden: No, I thought you asked me about whether I had anything to do with him being prosecuted. I'm sorry. I was aware that they asked for an investigation but that's all I know about it and nothing else.

I'll bet most people didn't notice the fatal flaw in Biden's reply. Biden said "I thought you asked me whether I had anything to do with him getting prosecuted." The FBI interview with Gen. Flynn didn't happen until January 24, 2017, 4 full days after Biden became former Vice President Biden. As a private citizen, he wouldn't have had any influence to get Flynn prosecuted. Further, Biden's denial, which was categorical, was a lie. He knew much more about the investigation. According to Strzok's note, he's the person who brought up the Logan Act at the January 5, 2017 meeting as a way of investigating Gen. Flynn. Don't forget that FBI field officers with the DC Bureau had interviewed Gen. Flynn and wanted to drop Operation Crossfire Razor , the FBI code name for the Flynn investigation :

On Jan. 4, 2017, two weeks before the Trump inauguration, FBI agents at a lower level , where the real work is done, prudently tried to close the Flynn investigation , citing the absence of any derogatory information or other facts that would enable the bureau to keep the case open.

Before the now-infamous January 5 meeting, FBI field agents tried closing the Flynn investigation. That investigation was kept open by "the 7th floor", which is where then-FBI Director Jim Comey's office was.

Thanks to the investigation into the investigators, Jim Comey refused to renew his security clearance. He allegedly did that to avoid getting asked questions about classified information.

Vice President Biden's problem isn't that a hard-nosed reporter will ask him about his dishonesty. It's difficult to picture Biden's campaign staff letting him get within a mile of a hard-nosed reporter. That's if such a reporter exists outside of a handful of national security correspondents. Biden's problem is that he'll get pelted with this information by the Trump campaign in ads, by Trump-supporting PACs and by Trump himself during the presidential debates.

Biden can hide in his basement a little while longer but he'll have to do real campaigning sooner rather than later. Last weekend, the MSM criticized the Trump campaign for only having 6,000 people in the arena. The story that they didn't tell is that 7,700,000 people watched the rally on Fox and another 5,000,000 watched on C-SPAN. That's before factoring in the people who watched the livestreaming via YouTube. Trump's message is getting out and, as Charlie Hurt said this weekend, there's nobody better at putting people on the defensive than President Trump.

Posted Thursday, June 25, 2020 2:36 AM

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Joe Biden's cognitive decline

Anyone who's paid attention to Joe Biden can't dispute the fact that he's in cognitive decline. John Hinderaker's post on the subject includes a hard-hitting ad paid for by "The Committee to defend the President." As John says, this won't be the last ad on this subject:
[Video no longer available]
A little over halfway through the ad, they show Biden struggling, straining to recited the Pledge of Allegiance. Here's what Biden said:

All men and women created by the -- you know the thing.

John's commentary is right, too:

The Democrats have also announced that Biden will participate in three presidential debates. Frankly, this surprises me. I question whether he can survive them. The problem with presidential debates, for the Democrats, is that reporters can shield their candidate only so far. At some point, he has to try to answer questions. Biden can't do that.

This is one of several reasons why I think current polls are meaningless.

The other thing that's certain to work against Biden is what's happening with the Defund the Police movement. While I don't doubt that the "CHOP" zone will cause Washington State to flip from blue to red, it's quite possible the BLM-Antifa rioting and looting in Minneapolis will make Minnesota much more competitive than normal. One thing that won't fly is lawlessness in the streets. Big city after big city is facing that type of lawlessness. The problem isn't a bipartisan problem.

Let me repeat that. The problem isn't a bipartisan problem. It's the Democrats' problem. Let me repeat that. It's 100% the Democrats' problem. Chicago, where over 100 citizens were shot this past weekend and 14 citizens were killed this weekend, hasn't had a Republican mayor since 1932. There isn't a Republican on the Chicago City Council. Minneapolis hasn't had a Republican mayor since 1978. Their City Council is 100% Democrat. Seattle's mayor is nuttier than a warehouse filled with fruitcake. Republicans will ram that point home endlessly the rest of the campaign.

That issue won't play well for Democrats. People naturally want to feel protected, their families safe. When people see fires burning in neighborhoods, they don't feel safe. Tweets like this don't make people feel comfortable, either:


Thus far, Joe Biden hasn't said a thing about the rioting, looting, violence and killings. With AOC and others pushing dismantling or defunding the police, this won't make people feel safe. Biden has looked like a tower of mush throughout this. His impotence in the face of all this violence and his clear cognitive decline aren't the characteristics people are looking for in a leader.

Posted Thursday, June 25, 2020 9:38 AM

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Democrats sabotage JUSTICE Act

Republican Sen. Tim Scott has lived with racism all his life. Since entering Congress, he's worked on race-related issues. He was the chief author of the Opportunity Zones section of the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act. He's worked hand-in-hand with HUD Secretary Carson to bring economic opportunities to minority neighborhoods. Frankly, he's got more credibility on race-related issues than any politician, including President Obama.

Democrats are losing credibility on race-related issues because they're constantly thinking of how this or that event can be converted into a political advantage. That isn't how normal people think. They just think about doing the right thing, then making it happen. Yesterday, Democrats ripped the mask off. They exposed themselves as interested in race-related issues only in the context of winning control of the Senate majority.

Yesterday, Senate Democrats exposed themselves of putting a higher priority on partisanship than on doing the right thing when they voted to not even start debate on Tim Scott's JUSTICE Act. Democrats voted to not start debate on the bill. Democrats voted to not let the amendment process start . Minnesota senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith are constantly touting their bipartisan record. They voted against starting debate. Think about that.

Democrat senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, who theoretically represent Minnesota, the state where George Floyd was allegedly murdered, voted against the JUSTICE Act, aka police reform. Minneapolis is the city where Floyd lost his life. Their city council wants to "dismantle" the Minneapolis Police Department, aka the MPD.

This pair should be leading the fight for the JUSTICE Act. Instead, these Democrats voted against it. That isn't a sign of bipartisanship. That's proof of bad faith negotiating. If I lived in Minneapolis, especially in one of those minority neighborhoods that were looted, then destroyed, I'd take it out on the politicians that didn't protect me.

This is typical Democrat thinking:
[Video no longer available]
This is typical GOP get-positive-things-done thinking:
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That's quite a contrast. Republicans want to fix existing problems. Democrats want to stoke racial fears ahead of their next campaign. It isn't that Democrats want to fix things. That isn't part of the Democrats' recent history. Democrats used to be dealmakers back before they lost their minds. Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Bill Clinton were dealmakers. By the way, where is Bill Clinton these days? We see Hillary too often. Ditto with President Obama. Bill Clinton is nowhere to be found. That isn't difficult to figure out. Bill Clinton doesn't want his legacy tarnished by today's Democrats.

Things aren't working too well for the anti-police Democrats:

A progressive Minneapolis neighborhood that pledged not to call the police in the wake of the death of George Floyd is now dealing with a 300-strong homeless encampment in a local park, according to reports. Traffic has reportedly increased in the neighborhood around Powderhorn Park, as drug dealers seek to meet their clientele displaced during the civil unrest, rioting and looting following Floyd's death at the end of May. At least one person overdosed inside the park and was brought out by an ambulance. Prostitution has also been reported in the area. Residents though have agreed to 'check their privilege' and 'protect people of color' by not involving law enforcement to report instances of property damage, according to the New York Times.

By checking their privilege, there's been an upsurge in prostitution and drug overdoses. Isn't that lovely? Thanks to the Democrats' bad faith and their unwillingness to negotiate during this historic opportunity, major cities are falling apart. Needless to say, these cities are run by Democrats.

If you think that Democrats care about crime, you're kidding yourself. There's no proof that Democrats are willing to do the things that are required to maintain a civil society.

Posted Thursday, June 25, 2020 4:02 PM

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The new Minneapolis police force?

There's a good chance that this will replace the current Minneapolis Police Department, aka MPD, when the DFL City Council dismantles the MPD. According to the article, " If anyone is put in physical danger, they instead vowed to seek help from the American Indian Movement , which was founded in Minneapolis in 1968 to address systemic issues of poverty and police brutality against Native Americans and has been policing their own communities for years."

Earlier in the article, readers find out that "traffic has reportedly increased in the neighborhood around Powderhorn Park, as drug dealers seek to meet their clientele displaced during the civil unrest, rioting and looting following Floyd's death at the end of May. At least one person overdosed inside the park and was brought out by an ambulance. Prostitution has also been reported in the area. " Then there's this:

A progressive Minneapolis neighborhood that pledged not to call the police in the wake of the death of George Floyd is now dealing with a 300-strong homeless encampment in a local park, according to reports.

Thank God that this neighborhood checked their white privilege instead of calling 9-1-1. I'm betting that's making life easier for the drug dealers. That's probably high on this neighborhood's priority list. This is what it's come to:
[Video no longer available]
According to this segment on KARE11 News, the community organizers demand the city present a plan to help with the homeless problem. The neighborhood invited them into the park. The neighborhood's invitation makes it the neighborhood's problem. Frankly, I'd tell them to take a hike.

This is what happens when pacifists and appeasers run a city:

Residents in the neighborhood historically known for its far-left politics and activism intervened last week when park police gave campers 72 hours to dismantle their tents and leave. The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board has since passed a resolution not to evict people from any city park and has called for increased funding for longer-term housing for campers, according to the Star Tribune.

"We are not going to kick the can down the road, push people out of public spaces when they have nowhere else to go," Park Board President Jono Cowgill told the Tribune. "This is not a sustainable, dignified solution for folks who are experiencing homelessness right now, and the state needs to step up . "

The state better not step up with funding. Minneapolis created this crisis with its irresponsible policy-making. That's their problem. It's one thing to say that the entire state should pay to fix MNLARS. That program serves the entire state. It's another thing when Minneapolis makes a stupid mistake that affects only them.

Minneapolis created the problem by inviting these vagrants into this park. Then they said that they wouldn't protect their citizens because they were checking their white privilege at the edge of the park. That's their right. It's their city. If they want state money to pay for this problem, then rural taxpayers should get a say in setting Minneapolis's policies. If Minneapolis Democrats want the money, just not the lecture, that's fine. They just shouldn't get the money in that scenario.

PS- Good luck to the Minneapolis DFL. If they're relying on AIM to protect them, they'd better buy lots of guns .

Originally posted Friday, June 26, 2020, revised 16-Jul 3:00 AM

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The threat of systemic racism

Last week, Joe Biden insisted that "the moment has come for our nation to deal with systemic racism." How does Biden know that there's systemic racism across the nation? Coming from a guy who's spent the last 40+ years of his life inside the Washington, DC echochamber, I'll question how much he knows about what happens outside the DC echochamber. Remember that Biden's alleged specialty is foreign policy.

I say alleged because former Defense Secretary Robert Gates once said "I think he has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades." Remember that the last time Biden got involved with major domestic policy was with the 1994 Crime Bill. That's the bill that started mass incarceration of minorities. That's the bill that President Trump started fixing with the First Step Act.

There is racism in this nation. There always will be because we're a nation of sinners. There's racism in every nation on earth because all nations are nations of sinners. South Africa's population was majority black. There was a white minority government. That's the definition of systemic racism. There's nothing like that in the United States. There never will be.

The system that's repeatedly let minorities down is unified Democrat governance in major US cities. Nancy Pelosi's father, Thomas D'Alesandro Jr., was once Baltimore's mayor. While mayor, D'Alesandro " spoke at the dedication of a monument to honor Confederate Gens. Robert E. Lee and Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson." That isn't proof that Pelosi or her father were racists but it says that Democrats lecturing Republicans about racism better prepare for some stiff pushback.

Racism isn't systemic as much as it's individual. Each person individually is responsible for dealing with the issue. Saying that it's systemic let's the individual off the hook and invites government intervention, too.

When Democrats voted against opening debate on Sen. Tim Scott's JUSTICE Act, they sent the message that they aren't interested in fixing the problem. In each of the cities that had major race riots after the murder of George Floyd, Democrats could've fixed the problem before the murder. That's because each of those cities have been run by Democrat mayors for decades. Most of those states have had Democrat governors for years and years.

Since they're the ones in-charge, Democrats should've fixed the problems. Instead, they played politics with the issue. Since real police reform comes only at the local level, these Democrat mayors and Democrat governors should've fixed their problems long ago. The thing that's important to notice is that Democrats don't fix things. Democrats let things fester, then use them as campaign issues. Doing what's right the first time isn't part of the Democrats' thinking.

That leads me to an old cliche about Democrats. It goes something like this: Democrats will always do the right thing -- when it's the only option left. I'd argue that this is only true part of the time. This is the Democrats' solution to white privilege and systemic racism:
[Video no longer available]

Posted Friday, June 26, 2020 10:28 AM

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Joe Biden won't answer question on tearing down statues/monuments

Joe Biden came out of his basement bunker yesterday to deliver a speech. Redstate.com has that part of the story here . The heart of the story, though, belongs to the Daily Caller. First, the Daily Caller was the only media outlet to ask Biden a question. Next, the Daily Caller "reached out to the Biden campaign and asked them if the former vice president agrees with the Democrats who want to tear down statues of George Washington, Ulysses S. Grant, Theodore Roosevelt and some depictions of Jesus. The campaign was given over 24 hours to respond to the inquiry. They did not do so ."

Joe Biden won't answer that question in 24 hours or 24 months. After telling Charlamagne The God that he "ain't black", he can't afford to get the African-American community upset with him. He's already skating on thin ice.

This isn't about improving the lives of African-Americans. This is a continuation of President Obama's promise right before the 2008 election. That's when he said "We're just 5 days away from radically transforming America."
[Video no longer available]
This isn't about racism. It's about Marxism. That isn't a right wing talking point. That's what Patrisse Cullors, the co-founder of Black Lives Matter, said in this article :

Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors said in a newly surfaced video from 2015 that she and her fellow organizers are "trained Marxists", making clear their movement's ideological foundation, according to a report.

This is a major part of the Democrat Party:

"The first thing, I think, is that we actually do have an ideological frame. Myself and Alicia in particular are trained organizers," she said, referring to BLM co-founder Alicia Garza. "We are trained Marxists. We are super-versed on, sort of, ideological theories. And I think that what we really tried to do is build a movement that could be utilized by many, many black folk."

It isn't surprising that Biden won't comment about Black Lives Matter. He needs them to turn out and vote but he doesn't dare say that. If Democrats admitted that, they'd lose sane voters.

This election isn't about right vs. left. It's about Marxist haters vs. capitalist problem solvers. It's about people whose heart is filled with hate (BLM) vs. people who want to positively change the U.S. Anyone that thinks that Joe Biden will stand up to AOC, BLM and the Congressional Black Caucus is kidding themselves. This is how radical Black Lives Matter is:

In 1968, Mann was a coordinator for Students for a Democratic Society, from which a more radical wing, the Weather Underground, was splintered the following year. It was led by Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn, who called for "direct action" over civil disobedience, seeking the overthrow of the US government. In 1969, the FBI classified the group as a domestic terror organization.

SDS and the Weather Underground were the heart of the anti-war movement. These, along with the Black Panther Party, were the nastiest of the nasty organizations. This is what the Weather Underground was about:

When SDS collapsed in 1969, the Weather Underground stepped forward, inspired by communist ideologies and embracing violence and crime as a way to protest the Vietnam War, racism, and other left-wing aims. "Our intention is to disrupt the empire ... to incapacitate it, to put pressure on the cracks," claimed the group's 1974 manifesto, Prairie Fire. By the next year, the group had claimed credit for 25 bombings - including the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon, the California Attorney General's office, and a New York City police station.

Joe Biden wants these organizations' votes but he doesn't want to be tied to these organizations publicly. The SDS, Weather Underground and BLM hate America. This isn't about statues. BLM New York leader Hawk Newsom told Martha MacCallum that he might be kidding or he that he might be talking literally when he talked about burning America down:
[Video no longer available]
/if Joe Biden isn't willing to state emphatically that BLM won't have any influence on his administration, black voters should vote Trump. I can't state this firm enough. BLM stands opposed to everything that the US was started upon. Any idiot that thinks that pre-Civil War US is worse than Marxism isn't paying attention .

Posted Friday, June 26, 2020 10:26 PM

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JUSTICE Act debate, Sen. Tim Scott vs. Speaker Nancy Pelosi edition

When Nancy Pelosi, the Democrats' Speaker of the House of Representatives, said that Republicans were "trying to get away with murder, actually, the murder of George Floyd", Democrats sat silent. Not a single House Democrat expressed outrage over Pelosi's statement. Some might've said something in official statements but nobody got on the morning shows and lit her up like a Christmas tree. The lack of outrage is disgusting.

Saying that Mrs. Pelosi is heartless isn't news. That's something we've known since 2006. I'll say this without any political correctness. Mrs. Pelosi is the biggest bitch in the Democrat Party, including Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren. Clinton, Harris and Warren are back-benchers compared with Pelosi. She is to bitchiness what Adam Schiff is to leaking and outright corruption. But I digress.

When Tim Scott, the point person for Republicans on police reform, went on Guy Benson's show, he didn't hold anything back :

"I thought to myself that how in the world does this woman sitting, standing in front of a twenty four thousand dollar refrigerator have the sense to jump into the bottomless pit of race politics? Why in the world would she want to do that? There's only one answer, by the way. One answer. It's because she's lived so long in a state of privilege that she has forgotten. That is the Republican Party that voted more for the civil rights era legislation than the Democrats. It's because she's forgotten that it was President Trump and the criminal justice reform done in 2018 that made it for the Democrats 1994 crime bill. She's forgotten. That is the school choice movement that frees more kids in poverty from the poor education system brought to us by the Democrats and the teachers unions than they've ever seen. She has forgotten so much about reality that she spends too much time in an alternate universe. But the facts are simple. Why in the world would she stoop so low? And is simply this they believe. I truly believe this. They believe that campaigning on police brutality is more important than solving police reform."

When I said that not "a single House Democrat expressed outrage over Pelosi's statement", I said it because it's important to this discussion. If people aren't willing to set aside partisanship on this issue and do what's best, they aren't morally fit for office. Period. Full stop. Nancy Pelosi isn't morally fit for this debate.

That's before talking about the 45 Senate Democrats that voted against starting the debate on Sen. Scott's JUSTICE Act. Rather than debating and amending Sen. Scott's JUSTICE Act, Senate Democrats joined with Mrs. Pelosi. With their votes, they said that partisanship was infinitely more important than fixing a racial crisis. Think about that a bit. Democrats rely heavily on African-American votes but they won't vote for a bill that will improve African-Americans' lives.

That's the definition of moral depravity . That's what not having a soul looks like. This is what not having a heart looks like:


This interview is what it looks like when 2 thoughtful people of different political persuasions talk about fixing a crisis:
[Video no longer available]
We need more people who want to fix this nation, fewer people who want to play politics during a crisis. In that America, Tim Scott towers over Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats.

Posted Saturday, June 27, 2020 9:38 AM

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Jason Lewis, Tim Scott & Lake Street

Imagine Tim Scott campaigning with Jason Lewis on Lake Street during the Senate's August recess. Then imagine them holding an invitation-only townhall with residents who own businesses or homes where the looting, rioting and violence happened. Schedule it to last 2-3 hrs. if needed. Tell the audience that respectful questions will be accepted but that that agitators' taunts will be dealt with by security.

The point is that Lewis and Scott would be doing something that the DFL hasn't done in a generation or more. The DFL has listened occasionally , which is what Sen. Scott and Rep. Lewis would do. The difference is that, after listening to the respectful audience, Lewis and Scott would propose solutions to the problems that they'd heard.

Tim Scott could tell the audience how he'd dealt with racism, including while he's a US senator. Imagine Tim Scott walking into the room with Jason Lewis, then telling them that Sen. Scott has a bill that would fix the vast majority of problems the audience has cited. Imagine Tim Scott and Jason Lewis passionately embracing police reform and school choice.

During Sen. Scott's interview with Guy Benson, Benson said told Sen. Scott that the major networks didn't cover his historic speech after the Democrats voted against the starting of debate on Sen. Scott's JUSTICE Act. Imagine Tim Scott asking that minority audience why Tina Smith voted to prevent debate and amendments on Sen. Scott's bill.


What are Democrats afraid of? If their ideas are good, they should welcome this debate. That's why they don't want that debate. Democrats have a monopoly stranglehold on the African-American vote, which has led them to not compete for African-American votes with ideas. If Sen. Scott offered legitimate solutions, there's a legitimate chance that minorities, not just African-Americans, would withdraw their support from Democrats. That thought must frighten the daylights out of Democrats.

The truth is that Democrats love minorities -- for their votes. Anything beyond that, Democrats would rather ignore voters. These Democrats' agenda is purely ideological. Whether it's health care, climate change or police reform, Democrats would rather insist than listen to voters. Check this out from Glenn Reynolds:

Not only did the Democrats block debate on the bill, but Scott has been subjected to racial slurs - Sen. Dick Durbin used the word 'token' to describe Scott's bill, a racial code word that Scott called out. And Democrat-supporting callers to Scott's office are subjecting him to racial slurs and threats and calling him a 'sellout.' That for pushing a revolutionary piece of reform legislation.

So do Black lives matter to Democrats? Not if there are votes at stake, apparently. Bear that in mind between now and November.

Democrats are the party of racist remarks and no solutions. It isn't that these Democrats are do-nothing Democrats. It's that they're opposed to any solutions. It's their ideological wish list or it's nothing.

Posted Saturday, June 27, 2020 8:02 PM

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The Democrats' unity myth

Joe Biden insists that he'll unite the country and heal our political divisions. I'll believe that when he doesn't use a teleprompter or notes and strings 3 straight coherent sentences together. It's a myth to think that anyone can unite this nation from either political party. With Antifa, Black Lives Matter and other anarchists trying to end the US Constitution, why would anyone think that unity is possible?

I just spoke with a good friend of mine from the Twin Cities. He wanted my perspective from outstate Minnesota, which is fair because I wanted his perspective on Twin Cities things. I told him there wasn't much of an appetite in central MN for paying for the destruction in Minneapolis because this wasn't an act of God like a flood or tornado. This was preventable from a leadership standpoint. My friend said it isn't clear whether the failure was Walz's fault or Frey's fault but that it was indisputable that there was a major failure.

Eventually, we started talking about how divided our nation is. We agreed that there's some bumpy times ahead as the Baby Boomers get pushed aside and the next generation steps into leadership. The Boomers were known for their dealmakers. Alan Simpson, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Hubert Humphrey, Bob Dole, Newt Gingrich, Bill Clinton, Tip O'Neill and Ronald Reagan were great dealmakers.

I told my friend that I'm certain that there are dealmakers today, though I said that the dealmakers were mostly on the GOP side. I said that that Pelosi and Schumer weren't dealmakers. Neither is Omar or AOC. I said that it's indisputable that Trump is a dealmaker. Specifically, I cited how Kim Kardashian reached out to the White House on criminal justice reform. Trump listened to her ideas. The next thing you know, Ivanka is part of the discussion. Before you know it, the First Step Act is getting signed into law.

Ms. Kardashian didn't care whether Trump got a political victory. She just wanted to make life better for the Alice Johnsons of the world. That same mindset is present with Tim Scott, Lindsey Graham, Chuck Grassley, Steve Scalise and Kevin McCarthy. This video shows why Tim Scott is respected amongst moderate center-left Democrats:
[Video no longer available]
The last half of that interview is especially inspiring, though the entire interview is good stuff. Democrats will regret rejecting debating on Tim Scott's JUSTICE Act. According to Sen. Scott, they'll debate the House bill while adding amendments to the House bill. That will force Democrats to vote for each of the provisions in Sen. Scott's bill.

That eliminates the Democrats' ability to say that they didn't vote for Sen. Scott's legislation because they didn't like this or that provision. Each amendment will be a distinct provision. It's a straight up-or-down vote on each provision. Forcing Democrats to defend each of their votes on the various amendments puts Democrats behind the proverbial 8-ball.

Until Democrats develop a group of good faith dealmakers, their calls for unity will be mostly mythical. As a society, we need voters who emphatically insist that politicians fix problems rather than saving issues for the campaign. Here's what's really encouraging. My Twin Cities friend is an old-fashioned, center-left Humphrey-style liberal.

Within the course of our conversation, we figured out a path forward for fixing Twin Cities policing, education and homelessness. The key with us is that we're both low-key activists. It isn't difficult to get things done when your highest priority is fixing things rather than worrying about getting re-elected.

Posted Saturday, June 27, 2020 11:43 PM

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