Category: Republicans

Ed Morrissey says that he is done with the GOP

This is big news, because Ed Morrissey has been a Conservative Republican for years.

Here is Ed writing at HotAir.com:

In the wake of the trauma of the last two months, two inescapable questions emerge. First, what does it mean to be republican? And second, does the Republican Party represent those values at all any more?

The answers to both have led me to disaffiliate myself from the GOP after the disgrace that took place in Congress last week, with not just tacit but explicit cooperation from party leadership. Granted, in Minnesota, it’s easy to disaffiliate as the state does not have any affiliation attached to its voter registration process, so the only action necessary is to just tell people you’re no longer a member of the party. Still, at this point it’s impossible to act as though Republicans are republican, especially while its leadership makes clear that it doesn’t care one whit about the party’s own foundational principles.

[….]

What we have seen from Republicans over the last two months — but especially on Wednesday — has violated every single one of these principles of republicanism and federalism. In our federalist system and as established in the Constitution, the states have full jurisdiction in elections, even those for federal office. Their certifications have always been accepted as proper unless challengers produce explicit evidence of specific fraud in a large enough number of ballots to where it calls the results into question. The burden of proof to overcome state certification rests with challengers to prove the fraud, not on the states to prove a negative, as is proper in American jurisprudence more broadly. And even then, the forum for those challenges are in state courts, not Congress, if one abides by republican and federalist principles.

Instead, what we saw on Wednesday were Republicans, including their House leadership, pandering to a mob by pretending that Congress had any authority at all over the certified results of elections in the states. They did so on behalf of a president who appears incapable of relinquishing power in an orderly and lawful manner, as though power was his birthright and any election results to the contrary were ipso facto invalid. Republicans in both chambers justified these actions not from any principle, but by explicitly citing the mobs of people that prefer to believe in conspiracy theories stoked by this president and his advisers. Rather than standing on republican and federalist principles, they lied to these supporters and led them to believe that Congress could actually change the results of these elections — and stoked the fury of the mobs when it didn’t happen.

[……]

Before this, questions had already arisen as to how republicanism could coexist with populism. This goes waaay beyond that question. The disgrace in Congress, even apart from the mobs, severed the connection between Republicans and republicanism in any meaningful American sense. They aren’t republicans now, but instead a radical form of small-D democrats whose only aim is gin up outrage in sufficient quantities to “own the libs.” That’s not just on Donald Trump; it’s now on the entire party and its leadership.

That’s their choice; my choice is very clear. I don’t choose to participate in such a nihilistic political party. I’ll stand on my own as an independent, ready to vote for responsible conservatives but under no obligation to vote for or support anyone else. Until the GOP comes to its senses and returns to true republican and federal principles, I will not be back.

I have to say that I agree with the assessment. I too, watched in disbelief, as the Capital Building was sacked by a bunch of pissed off Trump supporters, which was, as we know know, was aided by law enforcement and workers in the building itself.

I must say, that the GOP that I remember, that my Mom voted for in the 1980’s, when President Ronald Reagan ran for President; simply no longer exists. It was replaced, first of all, by Neoconservatives, like George H.W. Bush and then his son, George W. Bush.  Then because the candidate that ran after Bush, was basically a joke and President Obama was elected and the so-called “Tea Party” movement happened; which was really a sideshow that ended up being co-oped by the Republican Party —- We ended with a hyper-populist; who was, in reality, a egotistical jerk, who was a borderline fascist.

As with Ed, I too, live in a State where one does not have to declare one’s political party and I have in the past and did this past election, vote Libertarian.  I know they never win anything, at least nationally. But, I will be darned, if I will for someone, that I dislike.

So, to end this, I will simply say, Welcome to club, Ed. It’s nicer over here. I wish Ed luck, because if the comment section at HotAir.com is any indication; Ed’s going to have a long row of corn to hoe. (So to speak.)

Stalking of a Trump Law Office is just wrong

You know I’m no fan of Donald J Trump, but this here is totally ridiculous.

This story comes from Powerline Blog, with a Hat Tip to InstaPundit. Who are Pro-Trump Bloggers, but I think this is totally wrong. Check this out: Law Firm’s Withdrawal Reflects Chilling Reality [Updated]

“Porter Wright is a mid-sized law firm with offices in eight cities across the country. But apparently it lacked the courage to stand up against the Twitter mob. The ‘Lincoln Project’ doxxed the two Porter Wright lawyers who signed the Pennsylvania complaint, tweeting their pictures, addresses and telephone numbers, and encouraging leftists to harass them.”

Remember, the alleged goal of the “Lincoln Project” is to return America to its pre-Trump decency. They should instead call themselves the McCarthy Project.

Plus, from John Hinderaker: “We can imagine a future, someday, when law firms will be able to represent Republicans without having to explain or apologize for it. Just like the law firms that represent Islamic terrorists.” I believe he means, “just like the law firms that represent Islamic terrorists for free.”

The thing is, like most institutions in America, big law firms are run by people who care more about the opinions of their social peer group than about their institutional or civic responsibilities. Unfortunately, not only are the people who run most of our institutions garbage, but so are the peer groups they let guide them.

Okay, this is where I step off of the anti-trump train for a Moment of clarity. You may dislike Trump in a big way as do I. However, when you go around doxing people who are simply doing their jobs, you have a serious problem and it’s not with Trump.

The last time I checked in this country every United States citizen and that includes the President of the United States has a right to bring grievances to a court to get a decision made that they feel will bring them Justice.

Not to mention the fact that, the last time I checked in this country revealing someone’s personal information with the intent of causing them harm; whether that be physical violence or otherwise, is basically a federal crime and is a felony. There are many people that have gone to jail in this country for doing just such a thing.

Again I am no fan of Donald J. Trump I think he was the worst president that we’ve ever had since possibly Bush. But the doxxing of people who are simply doing their jobs, by an organization who simply does not like Trump and wants to engage in Internet terrorism to get their job done; is no better than Al Qaeda, Isis and the mafia.

Thoughts on Trump, His covid-19 diagnoses and reelection

Before I begin here, I just wanted to inform my readers that I did vote Libertarian this time around and it was, I felt for a good reason. I was not about to vote for Trump this time around. When I voted for him in 2016;  I thought he would do a much better job than Obama and I was wrong and I apologize to everyone for even remotely thinking he was going to a decent, honorable and a statesman type of President.  This was my error and I own it.

On Trump’s COVID-19 diagnoses:

I am truly sorry that Trump caught COVID-19. I hope that he fully recovers and serves out his term. I have seen the posts wishing that Trump dies; and I find that to be reprehensible. The worst was here, I will not comment on it, just go read. It is truly awful.

On Trump’s reelection chances:

Good luck with that. Let me show you something.

This was a map, made up of a composite of Trump votes in 2016 in Michigan:

Click here to see polling results here in Michigan.

It’s going to be bad.

Till next time,

-Pat

 

Tucker Carlson 2024? Nope, Won’t happen.

I honestly had to chuckle when I read this…:

Tucker Carlson in 2018

Tucker Carlson’s audience is booming — and so is chatter that the popular Fox News host will parlay his TV perch into a run for president in 2024.

Republican strategists, conservative commentators, and former Trump campaign and administration officials are buzzing about Carlson as the next-generation leader of Donald Trump’s movement — with many believing he would be an immediate frontrunner in a Republican primary.

“He’s a talented communicator with a massive platform. I think if he runs he’d be formidable,” said Luke Thompson, a Republican strategist who worked for Jeb Bush’s super PAC in 2016.

While practically every Republican eyeing a 2024 presidential run is professing loyalty to Trump the person, Carlson has become perhaps the highest-profile proponent of “Trumpism” — a blend of anti-immigrant nationalism, economic populism and America First isolationism that he articulates unapologetically and with some snark. At the same time, he’s shown a rare willingness among Republicans to bluntly criticize Trump when he believes the president is straying from that ideology.

In another twist, Carlson has established a friendship with Donald Trump, Jr., according to a source familiar with their relationship. Trump Jr. has drawn his own share of presidential buzz.“Tucker Carlson Tonight” is currently the most watched cable news program in history, according to the second quarter ratings released this week. And on Fox News’ YouTube channel, Carlson’s segments from the past quarter have drawn well over 60 million views and are among the most popular videos in the eight years since the network began posting on the platform.

His popularity with the base would instigate a debate over the future of the party — essentially whether Trump was an aberration or a party-realigning disrupter — a fight that will be all the fiercer if Trump loses in November.

“Let me put it this way: If Biden wins and Tucker decided to run, he’d be the nominee,” said Sam Nunberg, a former top political aide to Trump who knows Carlson. But Nunberg said he doesn’t believe Carlson will run because “he’s so disgusted with politicians.” — Source: Tucker Carlson 2024? The GOP is buzzing – POLITICO

Now here is why this would never work. Tucker is an ideologue and he is quite hardcore with his beliefs. He would never appeal to anyone ever remotely anywhere near the center. I personally find his commentary and speaking style horrifyingly annoying. Personally, I think he sounds like a smart aleck rich kid, who thinks he knows everything.  Don Imus summed him up, by calling him a “bow tie wearing faggot.”

In reality, Don Imus was not referring to his sexuality, he was referring to what he was, which was and still is, an entitled white rich kid, who is a bit of a smart aleck. The problem with that perception of him is, that the perception of him is rooted in reality. See here from Wikipedia:

Carlson was born Tucker McNear Carlson in San Francisco, California. He is the elder son of Richard Warner Carlson, a former “gonzo reporter“[3] who became the director of the Voice of America, president of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the U.S. Ambassador to the Seychelles.[4] Carlson’s paternal grandparents were Richard Boynton and Dorothy Anderson, teenagers who placed his father in an orphanage where he was adopted when he was two years old by the Carlsons. Richard Carlson’s adoptive father was a wool broker.[5][3][6]

Carlson’s mother was artist Lisa McNear (née Lombardi). He also has a brother, Buckley Peck Carlson (later, Buckley Swanson Peck Carlson), who is nearly two years younger.[7]

In 1976, Carlson’s parents divorced after the nine-year marriage reportedly “turned sour.”[7][8] Carlson’s father was granted custody of him and his brother. Carlson’s mother left the family when he was six, wanting to pursue a “bohemian” lifestyle.[4][9] She eventually split her time between Beaufort County, South Carolina and Cazac, France, where she had little contact with Carlson’s family and later married artist Michael Vaughn.[10][11][12][13]

Dick Carlson was said to be an active father who had a specific outlook in raising his sons:

I want them to be self-disciplined to the degree that I think is necessary to find satisfaction … you measure a person on how far they go, on how far they’ve sprung. My parents, the Carlsons, they instilled a modesty in me that, at times, gets in my way … I know it’s immodest of me to say it, but it’s difficult sometimes when you want to beat your own drum and say what you really think.

In 1979, Carlson’s father married divorcée Patricia Caroline Swanson, an heiress to Swanson Enterprises. Swanson is the daughter of Gilbert Carl Swanson and the niece of Senator J. William Fulbright.[4][14] This was the third marriage for Swanson, who legally adopted Carlson and his brother.[12][14]

When Carlson was in first grade, his father moved him and his brother to La Jolla, California and raised them there.[15][16] In La Jolla, Carlson attended La Jolla Country Day School and grew up in a home overlooking the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club.[17] His father owned property in Nevada, Vermont, and islands in Maine and Nova Scotia.[17][3]

Carlson attained his secondary education at St. George’s School, a boarding school in Middletown, Rhode Island. He then went to Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, where he graduated in 1991 with a BA in history.[4] After college, Carlson tried to join the Central Intelligence Agency, but his application was denied, after which he decided to pursue a career in journalism with the encouragement of his father.[18][4]

So, to say that he was typical kid from the city; would be a very bad statement to make. To be absolutely clear, I do not hate Tucker Carlson, I just happen to know that he is simply a product of his environment, as am I. We could have some very different outlooks on life, the World as a whole and so forth.

So, in closing, let me say this; While Trucker Carlson might be good for the Conservative wing of the Republican Party, he would be a disaster in an general election. I just hope that Tucker or some of his people, and someone from the GOP reads this.

Others: (click at own risk) Washington Post, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Week, Raw Story, No More Mister Nice Blog, Alternet.org and Business Insider

Mary Elizabeth Taylor, assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs resigns in protest of Trump’s actions

This is not going to be good for the President at all.

Mary Elizabeth Taylor approaches the lectern before Supreme Court Justice Neil M. Gorsuch makes a keynote appearance at Trump International Hotel in September 2017 in Washington. (Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)

A senior State Department official who has served in the Trump administration since its first day is resigning over President Trump’s recent handling of racial tensions across the country — saying that the president’s actions “cut sharply against my core values and convictions.”

Mary Elizabeth Taylor, assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs, submitted her resignation Thursday. Taylor’s five-paragraph resignation letter, obtained by The Washington Post, serves as an indictment of Trump’s stewardship at a time of national unrest from one of the administration’s highest-ranking African Americans and an aide who was viewed as loyal and effective in serving his presidency.“

Moments of upheaval can change you, shift the trajectory of your life, and mold your character. The President’s comments and actions surrounding racial injustice and Black Americans cut sharply against my core values and convictions,” Taylor wrote in her resignation letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. “I must follow the dictates of my conscience and resign as Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs.” — Source: Top State Department official Mary Elizabeth Taylor resigns in protest of Trump?s response to racial tensions in the country – The Washington

I believe that is quite obvious, that this woman; who by the way, is a lifelong Republican, is basically beginning to feel the same way, that a lot of conservatives probably are feeling or Republicans are feeling about this president… that he is not a Lincoln Republican. But rather someone who has taken the stance of the alt right.

Between this and what John Bolton has published, I believe the president of the United States is going to be soundly defeated in the November election.

It is sad to too, because I honestly thought that this president really had good potential. I thought maybe that his whole ego thing would be shoved aside and the good of the country would be put first and it started out that way; he did promise to get tough on trade, which he did. However, he ended up reneging on the promise and turns out, he was doing it simply for his reelection chances.

So truthfully, the only thing that Donald J trump was honestly interested in doing and that was making himself look good. Which is what happened after the George Boyd protests began. This is why he did the photo op and this is why the peaceful protests in front of the White House were basically gassed, because Donald Trump tried to put an appearance on of being tough to try and salvage his reelection in November.

Of course, this is turned out to be nothing but a futile mistake.

I hope everyone who is a conservative or Republican has enjoyed, especially the trump loyalists — what we got in the past 4 years. But. sadly I think it’s all going to end and it’s going to be sad to watch.

Because, I believe what’s going to happen at the convention is going to be a sad display and it could be like what happened with Richard Nixon or what happened in 1968 at the Democrat party convention

Others: Associated Press, TheGrio, Axios, New York Post, KEYT-TV, The Hill, Raw Story and The Week

Is the GOP becoming the stupid party?

Now, why would I say that? Because of this douche canoe right here:

Ladies and Gents, I present the stupidest woman on the planet — Idaho state Rep. Heather Scott

Via Raw Story:

A Republican state lawmaker compared Idaho Gov. Brad Little (R) to Adolf Hitler because she said that stay-at-home orders during the coronavirus pandemic are akin to Nazi extermination camps.

During an interview with a Texas podcaster last week, Idaho state Rep. Heather Scott called the economic shutdown “no different than Nazi Germany.”

“And when you have government telling you that your business is essential or non-essential, yours is non-essential and someone else’s is essential, we have a problem there,” Scott explained. “I mean, that’s no different than Nazi Germany where you had government telling people either you were an essential worker or a non-essential worker, and non-essential workers got put on a train.”

“You can’t take away people’s lives and property without compensation, and that’s exactly what he would be doing,” she later added. “I mean, they are already calling him Little Hitler — Gov. Little Hitler.”

“And so I think people will start educating others, and people will be more and more vocal until they will say, ‘Enough of this,’ and put the pressure — hopefully political pressure — on him,” Scott added. “That’s what I would hope for.”

The Video:

Oh Yeah, That’s weapons-grade stupid right there and I believe she will be resigning soon.

DOJ seeks to Suspend Certain Constitutional Rights During Coronavirus Emergency

This is worse than what Michigan’s Governor is doing!

Via Politico:

The Justice Department has quietly asked Congress for the ability to ask chief judges to detain people indefinitely without trial during emergencies — part of a push for new powers that comes as the coronavirus spreads through the United States.

Documents reviewed by POLITICO detail the department’s requests to lawmakers on a host of topics, including the statute of limitations, asylum and the way court hearings are conducted. POLITICO also reviewed and previously reported on documents seeking the authority to extend deadlines on merger reviews and prosecutions.

A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment on the documents.

The move has tapped into a broader fear among civil liberties advocates and Donald Trump’s critics — that the president will use a moment of crisis to push for controversial policy changes. Already, he has cited the pandemic as a reason for heightening border restrictions and restricting asylum claims. He has also pushed for further tax cuts as the economy withers, arguing that it would soften the financial blow to Americans. And even without policy changes, Trump has vast emergency powers that he could legally deploy right now to try and slow the coronavirus outbreak.

The DOJ requests — which are unlikely to make it through a Democratic-led House — span several stages of the legal process, from initial arrest to how cases are processed and investigated.

In one of the documents, the department proposed that Congress grant the attorney general power to ask the chief judge of any district court to pause court proceedings “whenever the district court is fully or partially closed by virtue of any natural disaster, civil disobedience, or other emergency situation.”

The proposal would also grant those top judges broad authority to pause court proceedings during emergencies. It would apply to “any statutes or rules of procedure otherwise affecting pre-arrest, post-arrest, pre-trial, trial, and post-trial procedures in criminal and juvenile proceedings and all civil process and proceedings,” according to draft legislative language the department shared with Congress. In making the case for the change, the DOJ document wrote that individual judges can currently pause proceedings during emergencies, but that their proposal would make sure all judges in any particular district could handle emergencies “in a consistent manner.”

The request raised eyebrows because of its potential implications for habeas corpus –– the constitutional right to appear before a judge after arrest and seek release.

“Not only would it be a violation of that, but it says ‘affecting pre-arrest,’” said Norman L. Reimer, the executive director of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. “So that means you could be arrested and never brought before a judge until they decide that the emergency or the civil disobedience is over. I find it absolutely terrifying. Especially in a time of emergency, we should be very careful about granting new powers to the government.”

Reimer said the possibility of chief judges suspending all court rules during an emergency without a clear end in sight was deeply disturbing.

“That is something that should not happen in a democracy,” he said.

The department also asked Congress to pause the statute of limitations for criminal investigations and civil proceedings during national emergencies, “and for one year following the end of the national emergency,” according to the draft legislative text.

And….:

Another controversial request: The department is looking to change the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure in some cases to expand the use of videoconference hearings, and to let some of those hearings happen without defendants’ consent, according to the draft legislative text.

“Video teleconferencing may be used to conduct an appearance under this rule,” read a draft of potential new language for Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 5(f), crossing out the phrase “if the defendant consents.”

“Video teleconferencing may be used to arraign a defendant,” read draft text of rule 10(c), again striking out the phrase “if the defendant consents.”

I have always suspected something like this might happen, irregardless of which party is in power. Now, it does say that the Democrats likely will not allow this to happen. But, you never know. I just find it amazing that a Republican lead Justice Dept. would do such a thing.

As Rick Moran at PJ Media said:]

Regardless, I’ll stick with Ben Franklin: ” They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

Indeed.

Others: Outside the Beltway, Letters from an American, PJ Media Home, Raw Story, Redstate, Daily Kos, The Hill, Reason, The Moderate Voice, Rolling Stone

 

Video: Idiots React to Coronavirus

This….is….excellent: via Paul Joseph Watson on YouTube:

 

God Bless David Harsanyi

Never though I would ever write that headline here…. Especially seeing Harsanyi is an atheist.

But, when he’s right, he’s right.

Mr. Harsanyi is responding to this:

Harsanyi had something to say about that, seeing he is Jewish. He writes at National Review:

When fellow Hungarians came for my grandfather — he was one of the first to be deported from the country — they sent him to sweep mines on the Eastern Front before handing him over to the Germans at Mauthausen and then Gunskirchen.

At some point he perished, no doubt, in a vile and undignified manner, perhaps succumbing to starvation or typhoid or dysentery, or maybe he was shot in the head and left in a shallow unmarked grave. We don’t know. His wife and son, the latter of whom he would never meet, would never find out how he died, despite decades of trying. His loss, like the deaths of millions of other powerless and now anonymous victims of that age, would have repercussions that reverberate today.

When “they” came for James Comey, on the other hand, he landed a massive book deal, made millions on the speaking circuit, wagged his finger at his former boss through social media to his million followers, and spent some quality time with family. He never once had to worry about state-sanctioned violence. Comey, a man powerful enough to oversee a cooked-up investigation into a presidential candidate, merely lost a job.

Like Comey, all the alleged victims on Wittes’s ludicrous list served at the pleasure of the president and could be fired by Donald Trump for almost any reason he desired, just as they could have been fired by Barack Obama or Jimmy Carter or FDR. Many of the people on the list, in fact, have been investigated by the inspector general, who found that they acted either incompetently or potentially illegally.

Government bureaucrats aren’t endowed with a God-given right to work in the executive branch of the United States government. Most of these “victims” will find lucrative work elsewhere. None, I confidently say, are going to be thrown into camps. If you don’t like who Trump fires, or how he fires them, you can always vote for another candidate.

It might come as a surprise to those who, through hyperbole, demean the real victims of history, but Nazi Germany didn’t hold impeachment hearings for their leaders in 1938, there was no institutional anti-Hitler media in 1939, and most people in 1940 did not publicly accuse Hitler of being a seditious criminal and madman. Those who did, such as Martin Niemöller, ended up in Sachsenhausen and Dachau, not the green room at CNN.

God bless him. It is about time that someone spoke out against that sort of nonsense.