Sad: Ben Carson jokes about his campaign staff’s incompetence (or worse)

By joking that his campaign staff may have intentionally sabotaged his campaign, Dr. Carson opens a door he should not want to go through.

Thomas Lifson  "Dr. Ben Carson’s presidential campaign is reaching the joke stage, and it is painful to see for those of us who admire his character and achievements so deeply.  His previous campaign finance filings have revealed that, while he has been able to raise large amounts of money, a large portion has been spent on fundraising.
"Yesterday, in an interview on CNN, Dr. Carson may have revealed more than he intended:

Ben Carson jokingly wondered Tuesday if former aides intentionally undermined his campaign by bleeding it of money.  . . . 

"The challenge of building a campaign organization is the first test of a candidate’s administrative and organizational abilities.  Alas, Dr. Carson may be able to put together a surgical team, but he is clearly not up to the task of political organization and financing.  A man of tremendous dignity and integrity, Dr. Carson should move on and contribute to the nation in other ways than running for president."

Ann Coulter is less than impressed with the talking head pundits on the news shows

Ann Coulter  "The cluelessness of the GOP pundit class is infuriating, but may ultimately be our salvation. Nothing they say about anything is ever right, even accidentally. 
"This is making the TV news shows resemble Monty Python's "Upperclass Twit of the Year" contest. The twits don't notice the starting gun, run into one another, fall down, run themselves over with their own cars and, then, the remaining contestants all shoot themselves in the head. 

"Anyone who talks about politics on TV isn't going to win them all, but when your horse takes a dump in every single race, week after week, why should we listen to you next time? 
"If you tuned into ABC'S "This Week" the morning after Trump's tremendous victory in South Carolina, you'd find George Stephanopoulos promising analysis from a "powerhouse roundtable," by which I assume he was referring to the table itself. 
"He then turned to the sort of clueless morons who have gotten everything wrong for the past seven months so they could tell viewers "what's next." 
"I've picked these two "Republican strategists" at random for reasons of efficiency, but it could have been any of the Karl Rove-Matthew Dowd-Steve Hayes-Hugh Hewitt-George Will-Rich Lowry dream team. 
"Prepare to be dazzled by the analysis! " . . .

VIDEO: Senator crumples up Obama’s Gitmo proposal, throws it in the trash

The American Mirror  "There’s nothing subtle about Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts’ reaction to President Obama’s idea to close the terrorist detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

"Roberts literally threw it in the trash."

Video at the link.  “This is what I think of the president’s plan to send terrorists to the United States,” Roberts said before balling up the papers and throwing them into a garbage can.

CNN reports Obama sent his plan to Congress earlier today — seven years after proposing it.“  . . .

Obama Reveals Plan to Bring Most Dangerous Gitmo Terrorists to U. S.  . . . "If this sounds familiar, it should.  Obama planned on moving the most dangerous Gitmo terrorists to the U. S. in 2009; however, public opposition and bipartisan pushback ensured that it didn’t—and won’t—happen.
"The response from the Congressional leaders to today’s proposal has been swift and strong." . . .

On the contrary – close Guantanamo and the terrorists will present it, rightfully, as a huge victory over the United States. That they forced us to close Guantanamo.

"Lt. Col. Ralph Peters had a lot to say about Obama’s proposal to close Guantanamo Bay."

Ask Czechoslovakia what they know of leaders like Obama. Just don't ask one of their millennials whom I'm sure are just as ignorant of history as ours. TD

Hillary will take a hit on Obama’s Gitmo plan  . . . "President Obama continues to insist that the facility at Guantanamo Bay is a recruiting tool for ISIS, al-Qaeda, and other terrorist groups.  Although I have heard a (very) few senior military officers reiterate the president's claims, I have yet to hear one cite a single case where an ISIS or al-Qaeda fighter claims to have joined the cause simply because of our detention facility.  I haven't even heard of an instance where it was the tipping point for such a potential recruit who had heretofore been on the fence about it.  It's a bogus argument, and the president knows it, and the senior officers, who are supposed to be apolitical, know it"

Rush calls Obama's plan a "crock".   . . . "Because we know what the number one terrorist recruitment tool is. It's Islamic supremacy, Islamic superiority, Islamic ideology, the imams, the mosques. That's where the recruitment happens. Are you kidding me that Guantanamo Bay is the number one terrorist recruitment tool in the world? That's no different than Obama saying, "The United States defending itself and protecting itself is the number one terrorist recruitment tool in the world.' "

"Just more proof that when it comes to threats to the nation, this president lives in the land of make-believe."

White House Won't Say if Obama Can Close Gitmo Without Congressional Consent   . . . "There are about 91 terrorists at Guantanamo that no other country will take and that are so dangerous, we can't let go. And we can't put them on trial in a civilian court (and perhaps not even a military tribunal) because the evidence was obtained either illegally, as in the case of torture, or through very sensitive and secret means." . . .

Andrew C. McCarthy: Why Closing Gitmo Is Still a Terrible Idea   . . . "The rest of his case is as preposterous as it ever was. Or worse, actually. The president claims that our allies in the fight against “violent extremism” are dismayed by Gitmo’s continuing operation. Really? Does anyone really believe that the French are worried about Guantanamo Bay when they have suspended their own civil-liberties protections to deal with the prospect of more mass-murder attacks? How about other European countries grappling with the fallout of “migrants” overrunning their territories? Think Gitmo is at the top of their list?" . . .

Ignore Obama’s Grandstanding and Keep Gitmo Open   . . . "The release of Guantanamo detainees has proven calamitous. As The Weekly Standard’s Stephen Hayes has reported, of 653 released detainees, 117 have returned to the fight against the U.S., and 79 more are suspected of doing so — a recidivism rate of almost one-third. Meanwhile, the Obama administration is committed to releasing another 35 detainees already approved for transfer. The president has never addressed the high recidivism among terrorists, and his plan offers no way to mitigate the risk." . . .

‘Social Justice’: What Khmer Rouge And Bernie Sanders Share. Trigger warning, snowflakes; head for your safe space!

Investor's Business Daily

Cambodian Meo Soknen, 13, stands inside a small shrine full of human bones and skulls, all victims of the Khmer Rouge, in Cambodia. The horrors of Khmer rule, part of a campaign of brutal "social justice," still finds apologists today among the left. 

. . . "Much has been made of the signature economic failures of the Democratic candidate’s professed socialism. The ongoing economic collapse in Venezuela is Exhibit A. But going hand in hand with socialism is “social justice” a concept that sounds noble for its presumption to level “the distribution of advantages and disadvantages in society,” in the name of equality. “My run for office was a manifestation of commitment to social justice,” Sanders said as he began his presidential run.

"And “social justice” made another appearance, this time, in the form of what they did in Cambodia after the last helicopter lifted off from the U.S. embassy roof in Saigon in 1975, an act explicitly sought by Sanders’ anti-war left." . . .   Via Lucianne

Leading to the horrors of The Killing Fields and the mass graves of the millions slain by the Khmer Rouge.

Rob the Rich

HopeNChangeCartoons

"Although Hope n' Change usually turns a deaf ear to celebrity political endorsements, we have to give serious consideration to beloved centenarian Dick Van Dyke's endorsement of the marginally-younger Bernie Sanders.

" 'Bernie has lit a fire," said Van Dyke, while cracking open walnuts and staring fixedly at their strange, glowing contents. "He's caught the eye and minds of young people. We've got to put him in the White House." And perhaps get him a nice bowler hat.

"Asked if he's joking about the endorsement, an unusually sober Van Dyke admitted to reporters that "I seem to have lost my sense of humor" about politics. . . "

Let's really be able to say we considered Mr. Trump, shall we?

Ron Fournier: My Love-Hate Relationship With Donald Trump  . . . "I hate how he exploits the media’s lust for ratings and clicks, trading access for softball questions. I hate how almost every interview is an autopsy of the horserace rather than a test of his mettle. I hate how he bullies opponents and plays footsie with the truth. God, I hate how he lies." . .    Via Lucianne

I’m having trouble expressing my disdain for Trump without appearing to cast aspersions upon his supporters, or to be a defender of the establishment. So let me be clear. I loathe him. I respect his supporters. And I hope that after Trump is finished grinding the gears of the political machine in 2016 Americans find a better vehicle for change.

UPDATE: Trump threatens owners of Chicago Cubs  "Earlier this month, Donald Trump called for a boycott of Apple products if Apple didn’t unlock a terrorist phone for the feds, even though the case is in the courts.

"I made this comment at the time:     

What, me worry about him in control of the IRS, FBI, DOJ, CIA, NSA, EPA, and Park Police?

"Senator Ben Sasse made a similar comment on Twitter yesterday, after Trump threatened the owners of the Chicago Cubs for spending money against him in the campaign:" . . .

With GOP nomination looming, Trump is slated to take witness stand in fraud trial   . . . "This spring, just as the GOP nomination battle enters its final phase, frontrunner Donald Trump could be forced to take time out for some unwanted personal business: He’s due to take the witness stand in a federal courtroom in San Diego, where he is being accused of running a financial fraud."
This must go back to when Trump was a Democrat. He can always run as a Democrat and be admired as Hillary and Bill still are.

"In court filings last Friday, lawyers for both sides in a long-running civil lawsuit over the now defunct Trump University named Trump on their witness lists. " . . .

Trump is accused of financially threatening woman during secret deposition  . . . "The accusation was made in a motion by the woman . . .  to withdraw as lead plaintiff, asserting she has been “put through the wringer” by Trump and his lawyers and forced to “suffer daily with the fear that she could be bankrupted by Trump.”

William Kristol: Against Trump Fatalism  . . . "And this is all before further debates, before any sustained television advertising assault on Trump, while the other candidates are still (foolishly) sniping at each other instead of taking on Trump. And in a circumstance where the frontrunner has unusual vulnerabilities." . . .

NRO: Trump Is Not Leading a Conservative Revolt  . . . "But it should be obvious at this point that Cruz and Trump are tapping into very different sources of voter energy, and Trump’s source — a decidedly non-conservative populist movement — is far more potent and dangerous." . . 

Dear Republican Sirs: It’s Up to You to Save the Republic

 

Walter Shapiro:Roll Call   . . . "Candidate Trump represents something that goes far beyond pedestrian fears of damage to the Republican brand or the loss of Senate and House seats. He is the embodiment of the authoritarian temptation that has imperiled liberty since the days of the Roman Republic.

"At every stage of the campaign, he has thumbed his nose at democratic norms. Start with his admiration for Vladimir Putin. Instead of position papers, Trump offers the voters fact-free assertions about the Mexicans paying for a wall and the Chinese knuckling to his superior negotiating ability.

"Never in modern history has a serious presidential candidate displayed such contempt for responsibilities that come with the Oval Office and custody of the nuclear codes.

"His ignorance of the nuclear triad and his claim that he gets his foreign policy expertise from watching TV talk shows symbolizes something larger — an ego that makes Napoleon seem self-effacing." . . .

Shapiro is covering his 10th presidential race. A fellow at the Brennan Center at NYU, he is lecturer in political science at Yale and is the author of the coming in June ‘Hustling Hitler: The Jewish Vaudevillian Who Fooled the Fuhrer.’ Follow him on Twitter at @MrWalterShapiro