Choosing bad candidates: Just how educated are Democrat voters these days?

Rich Terrell

Democrats Need To Bounce Rep. Ilhan Omar Off The Foreign Affairs Committee, Stat   "Democrats wanted to shake things up in Washington, and they have. This new Congress has raised all sorts of questions I never knew I needed to be answered, such as: How many blatantly anti-Semitic comments can a Democratic rising star make before members of her own party criticize her? And how many such statements can she make before Democrats take any action?

"Minnesota’s Rep. Ilhan Omar has helped answer that first question. Apparently, a member of Congress must find herself at the center of not one, but two anti-Semitic tweet controversies in the course of three weeks. It wasn’t Omar’s 2012 tweet charging that Israel had hypnotized the world, but her alleging that members of Congress support a strong U.S.-Israel relationship because they’ve been bribed that summoned a strong response.

"The House Democratic leadership issued a statement denouncing the relevant tweets the following day. Notably, however, there was no mention of Omar resigning her seat on the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) in that text. Nor did any Democrat on HFAC choose to respond on the record after those incidents, when I sought comment. Top Jewish groups just this morning demanded that Omar be removed from the committee." . . . 
Melissa Langsam Braunstein, a former U.S. Department of State speechwriter, is an independent writer in Washington DC and a senior contributor to The Federalist. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, National Review Online, and RealClearPolitics, among others. She has appeared on EWTN and WMAL. 

From Lartu Vox:

Thomas Lifson: Embarrassing interview admission shows that Kamala Harris is not ready for prime time  . . . "In an English Language interview on Univision last week (hat tip: Weasel Zippers), she demonstrated utter political incompetence, revealing her reliance on platitudes, and her negligence -- a failure to go even an inch deep on a scandal that has rocked her candidacy." . . . 

Another poor Rolling Stone cover choice  "Socialists and Islamists, don’t they ever learn?"

Getting the Party of Infanticide on the Record  "Democrats have always been the party of abortion. For a while, the mantra was “safe, legal and rare.” But in the era of the progressive Left, they have turned that slogan on its head. As of last Monday, Senate Democrats have confirmed that their party is now for unrestricted, unregulated, and unlimited abortion.

"Last week, 44 Senate Democrats voted against legislation that would have required doctors to give the same care to infants who survived abortion procedures as they would give to any other infant. So radical is this new Democratic Party that 44 of them in the “world’s greatest deliberative body” would not even consider protecting a baby who, far from being in utero, has kicked and screamed its way into the world.

"Rather, they hid behind unsubstantiated claims that allowing unwanted infants to die after birth somehow constitutes a form of women’s health care." . . .

AOC’s List Sees Her Chasing Down Something That Doesn’t Exist: “Moderate” Democrats

. . . "Chattering classes would see Democrats siding with Republicans as sheer politics.  AOC spotted it as another opportunity for advancing the theory that’s she’s “boss”." . . .

Tlaib Compares Omar to ‘Civil Rights Icons’ After Latest Anti-Semitism Controversy 

. . . "Tlaib and Omar, the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, are often heralded as leaders among the freshman class of House Democrats pushing the party to the left. They both support the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) has condemned as anti-Semitic for singling out Israel." . . .

Dumb And/or Dishonest Liberals Insult Your Intelligence

       Obtuse: "The definition of obtuse is someone who is slow to understand things. 

An example of obtuse is someone who listens to a joke but doesn't understand the punchline.

Kurt Schlicter

"Who is the guy who really believes that Donald Trump thinks Kim Jong Un is a cool dude? Who is the guy who imagines that Donald Trump really believes that the roly-poly mass murderer had nothing to do with the murder of Otto Warmbier? But if you listen to the elite and their panting puppy media, you would get the distinct impression that Donald Trump actually considers this clown a pal.

"This raises an important question – is the elite itself transcendently dumb, or does it imagine us Normal people are so unfathomably dense as to be unable to conceive that maybe Donald Trump’s flattery of a sketchy guy who has nuclear weapons hanging over the heads of 28,000 Americans (not to mention over the noggins of tens of millions of our South Korean and Japanese allies) might not have been totally sincere? Could it be that, perhaps – and I’m just speculating here – that maybe a successful New York real estate developer, who these very same geniuses have been screeching about being a liar for nearly four years, might not be totally honest about his true feelings toward the pudgy freak he is negotiating with?

"Might not that be it? Nah. He’s gotta love KJU. Yeah, that’s the ticket.

"Either the elite is stupid, or it thinks we’re stupid.

"Call it the “New Obtuseness,” this willful refusal to attribute to a statement, position, or policy the most obvious and manifest intent and, instead, to deliberately fold, spindle, and mutilate it into something unreasonable, unlikely, and unrecognizable that nevertheless conforms to the liberal elite narrative." . . .

Effort to Abandon Electoral College Gains Steam. Here’s What It Would Ruin for America.

Listed as reason #7,387 by Hillary for her loss to Donald Trump  (President Trump, that is)TD

Intellectual Takeout

. . . "While the Constitution, intentionally, gives wide latitude to states to create their own electoral systems, the law passed in Colorado, along with the rest of this effort, would be unprecedented. It would be the first time states potentially outsource their Electoral College votes to the will of the nation as a whole, rather than having elections determined by their own voters. The result of this, ironically, could be very undemocratic.

"For instance, if the people of Colorado vote overwhelmingly for a Democrat, yet the total popular vote of the nation goes Republican, all of the state’s votes would go to the Republican, essentially overturning the will of the people in Colorado.

"The Electoral College is already fairly democratic. Nearly every state switched to direct, democratic elections of electoral votes in the early 19th century, as opposed to selection by state legislatures. What the national popular vote would do is overturn the concept of federalism, which recognizes that states have unique interests that deserve representation in the electoral system. We are not just a nation of individuals, but a nation of communities and states.

"Some have dismissed the Electoral College system as outmoded and unjust. But they are mistaken—the Electoral College system remains highly relevant and necessary today. The 2016 election actually demonstrated that." . . .

"In 2016, states that had gone Democratic in presidential politics for a generation flipped to Republican, in large part because of a unique candidate who appealed to their interests. While one candidate capitalized on their support, the other took them for granted and focused elsewhere. The result was a startling upset that demonstrates why the Framers wanted an Electoral College." . . .

Keep in mind that many who want the Constitution changed are those who choose the current crop of Democrats such as AO-C, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Mazie (Men-shut-up!) Hirono, and Kamala Harris. TD

Takeaways from the House Democrats’ Cohen Hearing

Andrew C. McCarthy  "Lanny Davis Productions.” That should have been the credit on this week’s big Michael Cohen drama. It’s a better fit than “House Oversight Committee.” 

"Knowledge may be power, but electoral victory is subpoena power. That’s of more practical use when the objective, under all the chatter about “collusion” and impeachment, is to render Donald Trump unelectable. Expect another 18 months of this.

"The Democrats are entitled to the spectacle orchestrated Wednesday by Chairman Elijah Cummings and Cohen lawyer (and, not coincidentally, sharp Democratic strategist) Lanny Davis. They won the midterm elections, not just fair and square but going away. The spoils that go to the victor include the authority to compel the appearance of witnesses who will support the 2020 narrative: Trump as “racist, conman, and cheat,” the theme of Cohen’s opening statement — which we may suspect the rough-edged, ambulance-chaser-turned-wannabe-Trump-bullyboy had just a tad of Lanny’s help writing. Chairman Scorsese, um, I mean Cummings, gave Cohen an extraordinary half hour to read it to America without interruption.

"Republicans are not nearly as good at this stuff, mainly for reasons beyond their control. While in the House majority, they tried their best to put the Obama-legacy Justice Department and FBI under the microscope for politicization and abuses of power in the investigations that bore on the 2016 election. But the anti-Trump press didn’t care, which meant the public never heard much about it." . . .

UPDATED: Co-Founder of Greenpeace RIPS Ocasio-Cortez: “Pompous Little Twit… You Would Bring About Mass Death”

Update: Rick Moran's commentary on "Former Greenpeace Canada President: AOC is a 'pompous little twit'"  . . . "All of that is true. The former bartender turned congresswoman knows no more about the climate than your average 12 year old - maybe less. She is parroting talking points she gets from people who are pushing a political agenda, not science. Like many ignorant people, she has adopted the extreme rhetoric of global warming hysterics because she believes it makes her sound important and smart. She is neither.

"Because of her position in the Democratic party (she gets more press than any other Democrat) she is extraordinarily dangerous. She is pushing her party off a cliff and, like lemmings, many are following her. They believe they can ride global warming hysteria to power and riches - a misplaced hope based on their belief they can scare voters into electing them.

"Thankfully, most voters are far more skeptical than your average Democrat. But surveying the political landscape today, you have to wonder what tomorrow will bring."

@AOC on millennials and social media: "We’re, like, the world is going to end in 12 years if we don’t address climate change" "We're like"?

The Gateway Pundit   "Finally someone says what we’ve all been thinking…

"Patrick Moore, the co-founder of Greenpeace, lectured Democrat darling and chatterbox "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on the rules of life.

Moore opened up with the best line of the week… “Pompous little twit.” Then he went on to explain the impossibility of heating homes without fossil fuels."

". . . the U.N. told us we’d have ‘disaster’ by year 2000 ‘if global warming was not checked’"

"I must have slept through that event, thankfully, I’m still here. Global Warming zealots have been predicting doom for years, the latest being that we now have only 12 years left.

"But, back in 1989, we were told we have only 11 years left, till the year 2000. If we didn’t act, “entire nations could be wiped off the face of the Earth by rising sea levels“.

"That date came and went. Yet here we are again, with the same old doom-mongering. 

When America gives up on Afghanistan, its women will pay

But we cannot stay forever; what can be done with these women short of regime change, which has not worked out well for America in the past? What if we bring about a liberal government and some Democrat like Obama gives it all back to the Taliban? TD

No, America’s departure will be a monumental tragedy for Afghan girls and women. The moment the last boot-on-the-ground departs,the Taliban and assorted paramilitary groups will torch every existing shelter for battered women and school for girls. Unrelenting fear will become the order of the day.

Fun in the sun: Jan (left) and Peg (right) Podlich at Paghman Gardens, which was destroyed during the years of war before the 2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan

Phyllis Chesler  "President Trump’s call for a withdrawal from Afgahanistan raises a troubling question: Is the West morally obliged to persist in a struggle that can’t be won? How much blood and treasure must we spend to save the victims of barbarism?
"No one, after all, has ever been able to conquer or transform Afghanistan. It’s a losing game. But once the United States leaves, young girls and women will be at the mercy of ruthless religious fanatics.

"I should know: I was once a bride, trapped in Kabul in the early 1960s. I saw great natural beauty there and experienced uncommon graciousness. But I also saw gender and religious apartheid up close.
"Although I lived in fairly posh purdah (seclusion) in a home with servants, I’d entered a medieval world of women in burqas, polygamy, child marriage, honor-based violence, honor killing, epidemic but denied pederasty, heartbreaking poverty, infidel-hatred and religious fanaticism. Back then, despite some extraordinary books about Afghanistan, Westerners knew virtually nothing about the country’s warrior culture, continuous feuds, vigilantism and woman-hatred.
"With the rise of the Taliban, particularly after 9/11, Americans learned that Afghan women were publicly beaten if their burqas slipped and an ankle or a strand of hair showed and stoned to death for alleged adultery when raped." . . .

1960’s Afghanistan Was Very Different Before The Taliban
Includes the photos at the top.

American Silliness, March 3rd, 2019

Ex-trans man now identifies as 'agender ALIEN'...

"A 33-year-old, who was born as a woman before transitioning into a man, has revealed that they think they belong to any gender, and is an alien.  

"Jareth Nebula, from Edmonds, Washington, transitioned from female to male and changed their name at the age of 29.

"The barber's shop receptionist, who also works as a model, has even gone as far as having their nipples removed in order to 'feel less human'. " . . . (Emphases mine, TD)  Did you notice the plural pronouns? You must refer to this person with the proper pronoun or face condemnation from this society.  What kind of oppression is this?

John Wayne, Frank Capra, and C.S. Lewis—Haters All!  . . . "Here’s what Hudson said about the Duke: “John Wayne was then the Hollywood legend, and I was on screen with him. The guy is an angel. He saved my life back then when no other filmmaker wanted to know me.” And Wayne, an avid chess player who would bring a board to the set for play between takes, said of Hudson: “Who the hell cares if he’s queer? The man plays great chess.' ” . . .

North Carolina Democrats want to change school grading scale so 40 percent is passing  . . . "Yes, all of the bill’s sponsors are Democrats. I checked for you." . . .
. . . "The Democrats’ solution? Change the definition of success so students who are learning less are labeled as learning more. Dumb it down, if you will."...(Herman Cain)

From the Babylon Bee:  Western Civilization Calls It Quits After Historic Run

Perhaps not as labeled, but it does illustrate the state of mind of many.TD

Socialism destroys prom: School officials ban kids from riding in limos because everyone can’t afford it  "Socialism invariably destroys everything it touches, including even proms.  

"Back in the day, some kids used to enjoy saving up enough money through the semester so they could rent a lavish limo for their year-end senior prom. But thanks to the socialist mindset of one New Jersey school’s officials, this tradition is no more." . . .

UMich prof adds one more anti-male complaint to already long list   . . . "According to The South End, a Wayne State student newspaper, the university held a “Black Girls Code” event designed for young women in the summer of 2018. The program “introduces computer coding lessons to young girls from underrepresented communities (and is) devoted to showing the world that black girls can code and do so much more.' ”

And the hate crime hoaxes just keep on coming  "First, the situation and the article, from Breitbart.com:  Prosecutors Charge LGBT Activist with Burning Down Own Home with Pets Inside. . . 

Michigan prosecutors say Nikki Joly, a longtime LGBT activist, set fire to her home and killed her pets due to resentment from subsiding controversy over the enactment of nondiscrimination legislation he advocated for.

. . . "Being a victim in 2019 carries with it not only a sense of martyrdom but that of massive entitlement and, truth be told, its very own awarded Badge of Courage by Leftists, Demorats and the American Media Maggots.

In the land of Leftists, now, you are nothing unless you are a significant victim of ____________. And you get to choose the grievance du jour, now “traditionally” involving an -obe, -ist or -ism at the end of the word." . . . Want proof? Here: