Brazile Blowback: Democrats Circle the Wagons and Defend Their Party

Jonathan S. Tobin

"They’re focused on their main goal: the ‘resistance.’ Republicans should emulate their discipline."

 "Donna Brazile probably wasn’t seeking to start a revolution in the Democratic party when she wrote her new book Hacks, whose excerpts published last week in Politico unleashed a bitter controversy about the 2016 presidential election. In telling her story, perhaps she was, like most authors of political memoirs, mostly interested in settling scores and making money. But the blowback from her dishing on the Clintons provides some important lessons for both Democrats and Republicans. 

"By revealing how the Democratic National Committee sought to steer the nomination toward Hillary Clinton at Bernie Sanders’s expense, Brazile set off a storm of bitter commentary about the 2016 race. Left-wingers such as Senator Elizabeth Warren were ready to accept the notion that the party establishment had cheated liberal insurgents and “rigged” the nomination process. At the same time, President Trump was happy to proclaim Brazile’s book as yet more proof that Hillary was “crooked,” as he has long described her. 

"Brazile’s willingness to further damage the already tattered reputation of her party’s 2016 nominee is rightly seen as proof that the Clintons are finished as a force to be reckoned with in American politics. But anyone who thought the story was going to lead to serious strife in the Democratic party was bound to be disappointed.  . . .   More...

Inside the Texas church, she thought it was her turn to die. Then outside, a man appeared.

 SF Gate

"As Farida Brown lay on the floor in the last row of pews in Sutherland Springs First Baptist Church, the 73-year-old woman felt certain she would be the next one killed.

"And she almost was.

"The gunman had fired numerous rounds into her legs. She was shot four times, but they all struck soft tissue. None of her bones were broken, and no arteries were hit, her son said. But the man was revisiting those he had shot to make sure they were dead and if they weren't, he was shooting them once more.

"Brown's recollections of the horror that she and others in the church experienced, as told to her son, are among the first offered by one of the 20 wounded Sunday in the rampage that killed 26 churchgoers. The son, David Brown, told her story to reporters Monday, including CNN and The Washington Post." . . .

Liberals' reaction to the Texas church shooting is not about gun control

Earick Ward

Democrats are framing the narrative.  They are the good guys.  We are standing in defense of guns and killers.  Neither the merit of their subsequent proposals nor the merit of our argument in opposition will mean a hill of beans.  Perception (that they craft) is reality.

"The current clamor for sensible gun control legislation is not about gun control.

Don't get me wrong – the left will take any and all advances against the Second Amendment, and our constitutional right to bear arms, but that is not what is advancing the current narrative.

"No, division and deflection are fomenting the current gun control narrative.  By getting out in front of the narrative, and the facts, leftists are attempting to secure the moral high ground.  They, and they alone, care about these victims. 

"Republicans, by deduction and assertion, are responsible for the deaths.  This is a despicable political ploy, but sadly, we need to come to terms with the fact that nothing is below the Left.  Nothing.  (See this story, for example.)

"Within minutes of the church shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas, Chelsea Handler tweeted:

Innocent people go to church on Sunday to honor their God, and while doing so, get shot in killed. What country? America. Why? Republicans.

. . . "The (real) reality, though, is, as evidenced by this shooting, Steve Scalise's shooter, Rand Paul's attacker, and almost certainly the Las Vegas shooter, that the divisive narrative itself and not guns is what is motivating these almost exclusively leftist shooters to target those they've been convinced (by the media) are the enemy of the people.  Aren't these activists justified if Republican policies are killing people?" . . .

Poll: Views of Democratic Party hit lowest mark in 25 years

Trump's record unpopularity, now down to just 36% approval, also bleeds into the midterm elections: Roughly the same number, 35%, say they'd be more likely to vote for a candidate who supports Trump over one who opposes the president, down from 41% in April.

CNN  "Washington (CNN)Favorable views of the Democratic Party have dropped to their lowest mark in more than a quarter century of polling, according to new numbers from a CNN poll conducted by SSRS.

"Only 37% of Americans have a favorable opinion of Democrats, down from 44% in March of this year. A majority, 54%, have an unfavorable view, matching their highest mark in polls from CNN and SSRS, CNN/ORC and CNN/USA Today/Gallup stretching back to 1992.

"The rating includes low favorable ratings from some core Democratic groups, including nonwhites (48%) and people under 35 years old (33%). The numbers come amid recent feuds and divisions in the Democratic Party, as former interim chair Donna Brazile's new book has unveiled new questions about infighting during the 2016 presidential campaign.

"But the Republican Party isn't doing any better, with just 30% of Americans holding a favorable view. That's essentially the same as September, when the rating hit its lowest point in polling back to 1992, but down from 42% in March. A broad 6 in 10, 61%, have an unfavorable opinion.

"Read the full poll results

CNN Publishes Op-Ed Over Racist Fear-mongering In Virginia Race, Targets Only Republicans…

 Weasel Zippers  "Of course they did. When the Democrats have been guilty of a ridiculously offensive race-baiting ad.

"Via Daily Caller:

A CNN op-ed lambasted Virginia Republicans for “fearmongering” during the state’s gubernatorial election Tuesday, but offered no criticism of Democrats for doing the same.

Author S. Karthick Ramakrishnan, a public policy professor at the University of California, railed against Republican candidate Ed Gillespie’s campaign for airing ads about MS-13’s gang presence in Virginia, but he had no criticism for Democrat candidate Ralph Northam. While supposedly critical of “fearmongering,” the op-ed was devoid of any reference to the infamous pro-Northam ad which portrayed Gillespie supporters as confederate-flag-toting Nazis who want to run over minority children with trucks.

Gillespie has centered his campaign on Virginia’s violent crime and high number of members of Latino gang MS-13. And while it is true that police in Virginia’s wealthiest county are equaled–if not outnumbered–by MS-13 members, Ramakrishnan nevertheless pounced on the ads, claiming Gillespie was actually pushing hatred of Mexicans and residents of South America.

Keep reading…

Fox cancels Steyer 'Impeach Trump' ad

Rick Moran  "Fox News canceled an ad by Democratic mega-donor Tom Steyer that called for the impeachment of Donald Trump, citing negative viewer reaction to the ad."

"The Hill:

"Due to the strong negative reaction to their ad by our viewers, we could not in good conscience take their money," Fox News told Stelter.

Steyer said Friday in a statement that Fox News informed him on Oct. 31 that it was refusing to air the ad entitled "Join Us."

Steyer said the decision "shows no respect for democracy."

Steyer launched his $10 million "Need to Impeach" ad campaign in late October, drawing the ire of Trump, who called Steyer "wacky & totally unhinged."

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Sunday downplayed the idea that Democrats will seek to impeach Trump if they take back the House in next year's midterm elections.

She suggested Democrats will allow the various investigations of Trump to play out in an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union."

"I believe that whatever we do, we have responsibility first and foremost to unify the nation," she said. "Second of all, you can't go down any path without the facts and the law. If that's there, perhaps it will come out in these investigations."

"Democrats like Steyer and Rep. Maxine Waters who have been beating the drums to start impeachment proceedings against Trump appear to have forgotten one vital ingredient to successfully remove the president.

"We call it "evidence."

"You need more than hatred for a president to kick him out of office.  This makes Steyer's charge that Fox News has "no respect for democracy" laughable.  The Constitution says you can remove a president only after proof of "high crimes or misdemeanors."  Steyer wants to forgo that small detail and kick Trump out anyway, in direct contravention of the Constitution." . . .

Sutherland Springs church shooting victims identified

Entire Statesman article quoted below:
"Some of the 26 people killed in Sunday’s shooting at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, including family members spanning three generations, have been identified in multiple media reports.

Here are some of their names:

• Annabelle Renee Pomeroy, 14, daughter of Frank Pomeroy, First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs pastor, and Sherri Pomeroy, who were out of town at the time of the shooting, according to the Associated Press. Pomeroy was a seventh grade student at Briesemeister Middle School in the Seguin school district,according to district’s superintendent.

“ We have had a long night with our children and grandchildren we have left,” Frank Pomeroy said during a news conference Monday.

Sherri Pomeroy said that the church was a close-knit family. “As senseless as this tragedy was, our sweet Belle would not have been able to deal with losing so much family yesterday,” she said.

• Bryan Holcombe, associate pastor at First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs. According The Washington Post, he was filling in for Frank Pomeroy and about to lead the congregation in worship when Devin Kelley started to shoot. Holcombe also participated in prison ministry where he would sing and play the ukulele for prisoners, according to the AP.

Bryan Holcombe’s Facebook profile picture shows a faded photo of him when he was young, holding hands with his wife Karla, perhaps sometime around 1972 according to a comment by Bryan. His previous four profile pictures boast his grandchildren.

“ We knew when he was born, that he was going to be a preacher,” his father Joe Holcombe told the Post. “His first word was ‘God.’”

• Karla Plain Holcombe, Bryan Holcombe’s wife of about 40 years, according to The Washington Post. On Facebook, Karla Plain Holcombe posts pictures of her grandchildren baking in the kitchen. Her last post shared First Baptist Church’s Fall Festival event. Strangers have begun to comment on the post giving their condolences to the Holcombe family.

"The Fall Festival was the last time family friend Jenna Brown saw Karla Holcombe, Brown told the Daily Beast.

“ She was joking and just as happy as always,” Brown told the Daily Beast.

• Marc Daniel Holcombe, 36, Bryan and Karla Holcombe’s son

• Crystal Holcombe, Bryan and Karla Holcombe’s daughter-in-law and wife of their son John Holcombe; she was pregnant. She home-schooled her five children, The Washington Post reported.

• Noah Holcombe, 1, Marc Daniel Holcombe’s daughter

The Holcombe Family

• Emily Hill , Crystal Holcombe’s daughter

• Megan Hill , Crystal Holcombe’s daughter

• Greg Hill , Crystal Holcombe’s son

• Joann Ward, survived by her husband and two children who were in the church.

• Brooke Ward, 5, Joann Ward’s daughter

• Emily Garza, 7, Joann Ward’s daughter

Lula White

• Lula White, grandmother-in-law of shooter Devin Kelley, according to CNN. The network reported that White volunteered frequently at the church.

• Tara McNulty, attending church with her children, who were injured, according to a Facebook post about a fundraiser in her honor.

Kevin Koenen, manager at The Aumont Saloon, told the American-Statesman Tara McNulty worked for him for three years.

“She was a great person – a great mother,” Koenen said. “She just had a big heart. She was willing to do anything and everything.”

• Haley Krueger, 16, loved babies and wanted to become a nurse in a neonatal intensive care unit,according to a GoFundMe page.

• Dennis Johnson

• Sara Johnson, Dennis Johnson’s wife.  The Johnsons’ son-in-law confirmed their deaths on social media." End quote.

Former NRA Instructor Used AR-15 To Shoot Texas Church Gunman As He Was Reloading His Weapon

Weasel Zippers   Video at the link.   Via KBHS:

Stephen Willeford shot and chased the man who killed 26 people in a Texas church on Sunday. He spoke to 40/29 News in an exclusive sit-down interview on Monday.

Willeford was at home when his daughter came into his bedroom to tell him she heard gunshots at the First Baptist Church nearby.

Willeford, a former NRA instructor, got his rifle out of his safe while his daughter looked outside again. She ran back in and told him she saw a man in black tactical gear shooting up the church.

“I kept hearing the shots, one after another, very rapid shots – just ‘pop pop pop pop’ and I knew every one of those shots represented someone, that it was aimed at someone, that they weren’t just random shots,” Willeford said.”

Willeford loaded his magazine and ran across the street to the church, not even taking the time to put on shoes. When Willeford saw the gunman, he exchanged gunfire.

“He saw me and I saw him,” Willeford said. “I was standing behind a pickup truck for cover.”

“I know I hit him,” Willeford said. “He got into his vehicle, and he fired another couple rounds through his side window. When the window dropped, I fired another round at him again.”

The gunman then sped down the highway.

Willeford spotted a pickup truck at a stop sign. He ran to the truck and asked the driver for help.

“That guy just shot up the Baptist church. We need to stop him,” Willeford told the driver.

Willeford and the driver chased the gunman down the highway. On the way, they called 911 to give a description of the gunman’s vehicle and where they were.

Eventually, they caught up to the gunman’s truck. The gunman slowed down before speeding up and hitting a road sign. The gunman’s truck flipped and went down into a ditch.

Keep reading…

Both photos from Stephen Willeford, 55, embraced Johnnie Langendorff, 27, in an emotional hug on Monday night at the vigil for the victims of the tragic shooting at First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs.

CNN, others hyperventilate over President Trump’s perfectly fine fish-feeding

WaPo  "President Trump makes all kinds of news on his overseas trips. This is a fellow, after all, who’ll nudge a foreign leader aside for greater visibility. Who’ll skip a walk with his fellow Group of 7 leaders and wait for a golf cart. Or who’ll say whatever occurs to him.

"So, by all means, watch his every move.

"That’s apparently what CNN was doing when it published a story Monday under
the headline, “Trump feeds fish, winds up pouring entire box of food into koi pond.” How is that newsworthy? Well, it’s newsworthy if Trump acted like a boor and pounded the precious koi with an overabundance of food. Such appears to be the case if you look at the video below, which starts with a shot of Trump, alongside Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, flicking spoonfuls of food from a wooden box into the koi pond below. Then the shot narrows to Trump himself, and he empties the entire box." . . .

FAKE NEWS: Journos Eat Crow After Mocking Trump For Feeding Fish In Japan

"A number of journalists on Twitter lambasted President Donald Trump for pouring an entire box of food into a pond of precious Japanese koi, some even suspecting that amount of food could damage the fish.
As the meme spread through social media, other users joined in teasing Trump for improper conduct during the photo-op on his first state visit to Japan, until full video of the incident came out showing Trump was just following the example of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe."

You can be sure Keith Olbermann mocked the President.
Then this:
Keith Olbermann Calls Trump A “Pig” For Offering Prayers To Victims Of Texas Church Shooting…

NEW BIN LADEN DOCUMENTS: Obama Concealed Al Qaeda-Iran Ties to Save His Insane Nuke Deal

"The latest revelations confirm how badly Obama first misjudged and then deliberately misrepresented to the American people the continuing strength of the jihadist terrorist threat on his watch."

Doug Ross Journal  "The CIA released on Wednesday approximately 470,000 files of materials from the trove recovered during the May 2011 raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The materials include internal documents, practice reels for public speeches, audio correspondence, and imagery gathered or generated by al Qaeda for a variety of purposes.

"Today’s release of recovered al-Qaeda letters, videos, audio files and other materials provides the opportunity for the American people to gain further insights into the plans and workings of this terrorist organization," said CIA Director Mike Pompeo. "CIA will continue to seek opportunities to share information with the American people consistent with our obligation to protect national security."

"The newly released materials provide some additional insights into al Qaeda’s operations. They also expose the Obama administration’s misrepresentations regarding al Qaeda’s strength, which may be one reason Obama administration officials resisted a public release of this magnitude.

"Obama boasted regularly that al Qaeda was “decimated” and “on the run” during his 2012 presidential campaign. He made these claims despite having been informed privately by his intelligence team that al Qaeda was spreading into other regions, including in Africa, while still operating under a central leadership.

"In August 2013, Obama said that al Qaeda’s “tightly organized and relatively centralized al Qaeda that attacked us on 9/11 has been broken apart and is very weak and does not have a lot of operational capacity.” He went on to characterize al Qaeda as made up of “regionalized organizations.”

"When Obama made his claims, he had available to him contradictory information gleaned from a handwritten, 228-page journal kept by Osama bin Laden himself, which was part of the trove secured in the raid. That document has now just been publicly released." . . .

Obama hid al-Qaida threat, Iran link  . . . “ 'Second, the documents proved beyond any reasonable doubt that al-Qaida had an uneasy but mutually beneficial relationship with Iran, and Obama spent much of his second term laboring to convince Americans that the Iranian regime could be trusted.”

"President Trump and CIA director Mike Pompeo should get credit for “making good on their predecessors’ pledges – and prevailing over the bureaucratic inertia that would have kept the vast majority of these documents secret forever,” the editors said." . . .

Department Of No-Justice

Anomalous media  

"The Media claims that Trump is trying to corrupt the DOJ, but many say Obama beat him to it."

From my cold dead hands: Gun control calls in the wake of the Texas church massacre

Claire Hawks  . . . "The first thing the Nazis did was to disarm the citizenry, making it so much easier to shoot and kill people or force people into death camps.  The Second Amendment is in the Bill of Rights specifically to allow the citizenry to rise up against a tyrannical government, just as Americans did against the tyrannical rule of the king during the American Revolution.

"More and more recently, it seems as though liberals are trying not only to limit our rights, but to rewrite and bury our history.  Ask most people about the Constitution or the Bill of Rights, and you will usually be met with a blank stare.  All they know about Thomas Jefferson, it seems, is that he was a slave owner.  Now they have moved on to vilifying George Washington.

"Truthful American history should be part of the curriculum in not only high school, but college.  An additional requirement in college should be a basic class in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  Hillsdale College not only has this requirement for all students matriculating at their college, but offers numerous free online courses as well." . . .

Claire Hawks is an occasional contributor to American Thinker, retired from her nursing and I.T. careers and the editor of Black Lies Matter by Taleeb Starkes.

Dems and media rush to politicize Sutherland massacre   "Less than a week ago, when a Muslim winner of the absurd "Diversity Lottery" immigrant visa program committed jihad on a bicycle path on Lower Manhattan, Senator Chuck Schumer self-righteously warned us against rushing to politicize the incident.

I guess it's not too soon to politicize a tragedy.

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) November 1, 2017  . . .  Thomas Lifson