The Impossible Elegance of George Will

What do conservatives seek to conserve? “We seek to conserve the American Founding.” George Will

National Review

If progressives studied his latest brilliant tome, we’d have fewer progressives.

"George Will saved me from two unfortunate habits: overwriting and the Democratic party
"I model that remark after my favorite of Will’s many witticisms: “Football combines the two worst things about America: It is violence punctuated by committee meetings.” Will is rightly praised for his erudition. The Conservative Sensibility, the summa he has just published, is a tour de force. He is the dean of conservatism. But I don’t want to praise him for that, or not only for that.
. . . 
"Will’s writing style is more like Cary Grant’s suits: all dazzling simplicity. He is sober yet delightful, restrained yet vivid. In a word he is smart. It would be as shocking to come across a superfluous phrase or a turgid passage in Will as it would be to spot Grant looking like Bluto Blutarsky. . . . 

"Some Will gems from the past: 
“The nice part about being a pessimist is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised.” 

“Being elected to Congress is regarded as being sent on a looting raid for one’s friends.” 

“Freedom means the freedom to behave coarsely, basely, foolishly.” 

“A politician’s words reveal less about what he thinks about his subject than what he thinks about his audience.” 

“The future has a way of arriving unannounced.” 

After Her Shredding of Kamala, Drive-Bys Call Tulsi a Russian Puppet!

Rush Limbaugh  . . . "And no sooner did I give you the analysis that the media is claiming Russia is behind Tulsi Gabbard, here we have a story. This is from Breitbart. “Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA)’s campaign press secretary suggested Russia was behind Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) after she landed an effective blow on Harris’ record as a prosecutor during the Democrat debates on Wednesday night. Her press secretary, Ian Sams, tweeted shortly after the attack an NBC News article from February 2019 claiming the ‘Russian propaganda machine’ was promoting Gabbard.”

"Now, look at what’s happening. This, folks, is such a teachable moment, such an exciting moment. For three years — actually longer than that — but for three intense years the Democrats attempted to overturn the 2016 election with a bogus silent coup. It consisted of Obama DOJ and FBI people, intelligence, you know the drill. They all make up this story about the Russians stealing the election, colluding with Trump."

. . . "Tulsi Gabbard destroyed Kamala Harris. I don’t know if it’s gonna affect the primary, but just in terms of an attack it was effective. She just rip filleted her. And so what’s the retort? “The Russians are working with Tulsi Gabbard.” Russian bots are flooding Twitter today with likes and retweets of Tulsi Gabbard."

Kamala Harris Campaign Blames Russia for Humiliation by Tulsi Gabbard  . . . "Her press secretary, Ian Sams, tweeted shortly after the attack an NBC News article from February 2019 claiming the “Russian propaganda machine” was promoting Gabbard:

“ 'Reporters writing their stories with eyes on the modern-day assignment desk of Twitter, read this: ‘The Russian propaganda machine that tried to influence the 2016 election is now promoting the presidential aspirations of a controversial Hawaii Democrat,'” he tweeted. He later retweeted his tweet." . . .

Heaven help us when these people run this nation and anyone dares to speak out against them.

Tulsi Goes for the Throat: 'People Suffered' Under Kamala's 'Reign'  . . . " 'The people who suffered under your reign as prosecutor," said Gabbard, "you owe them an apology." It's fair to say that Harris received a major wound last night and it's likely that her easily-verifiable record will continue to dog her throughout her campaign." Gabbard Calls Harris's Flailing Response to Attacks 'Pathetic'

A Women’s Rights Group Is Enraged After After Biological Male Wins Women’s Weightlifting Match

Defiant America

Yay, Cece! You go, girl! But who's going to make her wear a Burkha in Saudi Arabia?

"A top-ranked runner in NCAA women’s track is dominating the competition and setting records one year after competing as a man at the same level.

"Cece Telfer. a biological male (transgender), won the women’s 400-meter hurdles last month and beat the second place competitor by over a full second.

"Transgenders continue to dominate women’s sport as Laurel Hubbard won three medals, two gold and one silver, in women’s heavyweight weightlifting competition in Samoa this month, Fox News reported.

"Women’s rights groups say that Hubbard, who competed for New Zealand in men’s weightlifting before her transition in her thirties, is having an “unfair” advantage against women and shouldn’t be allowed to compete in the Olympics in the women’s category.

"New Zealand-based lobby group “Speak Up For Women” called on the country’s Olympic committee and sports minister to “defend women’s sport,” Reuters reported.

"Hubbard, who competed for New Zealand in men’s weightlifting before her transition in her thirties, won two golds and a silver in three of the women’s heavyweight categories at the Games in Samoa earlier this month.

"She topped the podium ahead of Samoan runner up and Commonwealth Games champion Feagaiga Stowers in both categories, triggering outrage in the Pacific island nation.

"Fight on ladies; you have a lot of support! It is so totally unfair! It’s time to come back to reality—males were created with more strength and stamina!!!"

The 20 Strongest Arguments For and Against A Single Payer Health Care System

Business Pundit  "There’s hardly a faster way to turn a family dinner sour than by bringing up single-payer health care (“single payer”). Often known as universal health care, single payer has been an extremely polarizing topic for decades. Some of the basics of the debate include the fact that single payer is a method for organizing health care financing through the government. Single payer is primarily financed through taxes and pays the costs of essential health care for all residents of the state.

"The issue of whether or not the United States should adopt a single payer health care system has been at the forefront of national elections for decades. Common throughout the rest of the industrialized world, opponents of single payer often cite the differing needs, the role of America, and preferences of the American people as rationale against single payer. Add to that the fact that a majority of Americans are happy with their health care. Not to mention America’s current multi-payer health care system is the center of the world’s most cutting edge biomedical research. For many reasons, single payer is far short of a clear conclusion.  

"With that said, the United States is the only very highly developed nation without universal health care. That’s over 50 countries of diverse size, values, economic stature, and cultures. And many of these nations have implemented single payer successfully.  Add to that that many health outcomes in America aren’t getting better, and that Americans spend by far the most money on health care of any nation in the world. For many, the rationale for drastically changing our healthcare system is strong. With solid arguments on either side, we leave it to you to decide.  Is single payer health care really the right move for American health care?' . . .

Don Lemon as CNN debate moderator! Not a trace of shame from CNN

CNN does ‘disservice to voters’ by naming Don Lemon debate moderator, critic says
. . . "The New York Times reportedly forbids its reporters from appearing on both Maddow and Lemon’s programs, because they are considered too partisan even for the Times – which is often criticized for leaning left itself. Conservative strategist Chris Barron told Fox News that CNN’s decision is “a disservice to voters all across the political spectrum” because Lemon is so open about his own views.
“ 'They are more interested in the political version of a church revival than an actual debate,” Barron said.
"The far-left Maddow was front and center during NBC’s technical-issue-plagued debateand conservatives critics condemned her performance. BlazeTV White House correspondent Jon Miller told Fox News that Maddow “served up questions about her favorite conspiracy theories” that were “unbefitting of a news organization.' ” . . .

Hannity also blasted CNN's Don Lemon for comparing Trump and Adolf Hitler Tuesday night while arguing that such "bad people" shouldn't be given a platform.
. . . " 'You let your 'journalist' Don Lemon say this on your network last night? You should be ashamed of yourself," Hannity told CNN boss Jeff Zucker." . . .

We Called It: Don Lemon’s Lefty Questions from Last Night’s Debate  . . . "On Tuesday, NewsBusters asked how anybody could take Don Lemon seriously as a debate moderator, since the CNN host has used his show to relentlessly promote lefty policies and politicians, and launch invectives against Donald Trump and his supporters. 

"That rage against Trump was on display at Tuesday night’s Democratic debate when Lemon actually asked Congressman Beto O’Rourke: “President Trump is pursuing a reelection strategy based in part, on racial division. How do you convince primary voters that you’d be the best nominee to take on President Trump and heal the racial divide in America?' ”

Cummings, the Baltimore Rats....and Trump

https://www.conservativedailynews.com/author/afbranco/

Trump Exposes the Real Rats  . . . These sanctimonious crybabies can call “racism” all day long.  But the truth prevails.

"Baltimore ranks among the top ten most rat-infested cities in America, according to an annual nationwide study done by Orkin Pest Control.   Of course, all of the top ten, including Dallas-Fort Worth, are run by Democratic regimes.

"I have witnessed piles of garbage, dead animals, old furniture, and rotting food in these neglected ghettos.  Part of the rat problem stems from the lack of sanitation services provided in Baltimore and other inner-city neighborhoods.  

"Even Baltimore’s former mayor said her city smelled of rats and dead animals in front of TV cameras.  Catherine Pugh (no pun intended) would later have to resign for corrupt behavior. The current mayor of Baltimore, Jack Young, challenged Trump to send federal assistance.  Instead of funds, Trump should send a federal investigation. 

"Shamefully, Democrats have maintained Cummings’ district since 1953 and nothing has gotten any better for black Baltimoreans." . . .

Branco Cartoon – Operation Defensive Shield "The Best Defense is a Good Offense"

https://www.conservativedailynews.com/author/afbranco/

Cummings Skips Tour Of HUD Facility In Baltimore  . . . "HUD invited Cummings to tour the facility with Carson on Tuesday, however Cummings rejected the invitation, the Daily Caller has learned.

"When asked about Cummings’ absence at a press conference, Carson said that he did not know why Cummings did not attend the tour but guessed there may have been a scheduling issue.

Rat Becomes Media Star, Photobombing Baltimore Reporter’s Coverage of City’s Living Conditions

1999: Elijah Cummings called Baltimore 'a drug-infested area' where 'people are walking around like zombies'  Video
. . . "Keep in mind that the term "racist" was used over 1,100 times by CNN and MSNBC discussing Trump's tweets.  And it was never applied to Cummings."

The Dangerous Invective against Trump

Victor Davis Hanson
The continued litany of threats to physically assault or kill a president will haunt the country long after Trump is gone.

"Former vice president and current presidential candidate Joe Biden has bragged on two occasions that he would like to beat up President Donald Trump.
"In March 2018, Biden huffed, “They asked me would I like to debate this gentleman, and I said no. I said, ‘If we were in high school, I’d take him behind the gym and beat the hell out of him.’”
"Biden’s tough-guy braggadocio was apparently no slip. A year later, he doubled down on his physical threats.
“The idea that I’d be intimidated by Donald Trump? . . . He’s the bully that I’ve always stood up to. He’s the bully that used to make fun when I was a kid that I stutter, and I’d smack him in the mouth.”
"Had former vice president Dick Cheney ever dared to say something similar of President Obama, what would the media reaction have been?
"Recently, Senator Corey Booker (D., N.J.), another presidential candidate, took up where Biden left off:
" 'Trump is a guy who you understand he hurts you, and my testosterone sometimes makes me want to feel like punching him, which would be bad for this elderly, out-of-shape man that he is if I did that. This physically weak specimen.”

. . . Actor Robert De Niro has repeatedly expressed a desire to physically assault Trump. A month before Trump was elected, De Niro said of him, “I’d like to punch him in the face.” Later, De Niro doubled down with a series of “F*** Trump” outbursts.

 . . . This is especially dangerous in the aftermath of progressive zealot and Bernie Sanders supporter James Hodgkinson’s 2017 attempt to assassinate Republican congressmen at a practice for a charity baseball game. Representative Steve Scalise (R., La.) was shot and nearly killed. Three other people were also shot and wounded.

. . . Representative Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.), just hours after she was sworn in, said at a rally that she had promised her young son that “we’re going to impeach the motherf***er.”

. . .  A few months later, comedian Kathy Griffin issued a video where she held up a bloody facsimile of a decapitated Trump head.

Actor Jeff Daniels On Colbert Show: We Need Someone Who Can “Punch [Trump] In The Face”   Video here.

How Did the Presidential Campaign Get to Be so Long?

Intellectual Takeout

"Four hundred and thirty-two days prior to the election and 158 days before the Iowa caucus, millions of Americans will tune in for the second round of Democratic debates."If this seems like a long time to contemplate the candidates, it is.

"By comparison, Canadian election campaigns average just 50 days. In France, candidates have just two weeks to campaign, while Japanese law restricts campaigns to a meager 12 days.

"Those countries all give more power than the U.S. does to the legislative branch, which might explain the limited attention to the selection of the chief executive.

"But Mexico – which, like the U.S., has a presidential system – only allows 90 days for its presidential campaigns, with a 60-day “pre-season,” the equivalent of our nomination campaign.

So by all accounts, the U.S. has exceptionally long elections – and they just keep getting longer. As a political scientist living in Iowa, I’m acutely aware of how long the modern American presidential campaign has become.

"It wasn’t always this way.

"The seemingly interminable presidential campaign is a modern phenomenon. It originated out of widespread frustration with the control that national parties used to wield over the selection of candidates. But changes to election procedures, along with media coverage that started to depict the election as a horse race, have also contributed to the trend." . . .

Rachel Caufield is Associate Professor of Political Science at Drake University.

Seven responses to Don Lemon's obnoxious debate question about Trump

Christopher Paslay article posted in its entirety  "Don Lemon asked the following question during the first night of CNN's Democratic debate: "What do you say to those Trump voters who prioritize the economy over the president's bigotry?"

Here are seven possible responses:

1.  Yes, I know your 401K is up $75,000 since Trump took office, but he used the phrase "corrupt mess" when speaking of Elijah Cummings's home district in Baltimore.  These were mean words.  Now, Bernie Sanders said "third world country" when referring to Baltimore, which was much more sensitive and non-racist.  This is why you should vote for Bernie and his crazy socialist platform, and stop worrying about stupid things like your own retirement.

Lemon

2.  Sure, you saved $3,500 in taxes last year, but in terms of illegal aliens coming from Mexico and violating the law, Trump said Mexico is "not sending their best."  He said, "They're bringing drugs.  They're bringing crime.  They're rapists.  And some, I assume, are good people."  Unbelievable.  You should just let the government keep your $3,500 in tax savings and use it to pay off the student loans of some spoiled Ivy Leaguer who will speak about illegal Mexican border-crossers in kinder, gentler ways. 

3.  Congratulations: Your small business is really taking off.  I hear sales are up 200 percent!  Oh, but didn't you hear what Trump tweeted about The Squad?  He wrote, "Why don't they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime-infested places from which they came?  Then come back and show us how it is done."  What nerve — Trump telling his critics to put their money where their mouth is!  Better to vote for Elizabeth Warren so she can regulate your small business right out of existence.  

4.  Great news! I hear your daughter, who just graduated from Lincoln University — America's first degree-granting HBCU — just got a new job with health benefits!  Yeah, companies are really hiring right now.  And black American unemployment is the lowest in history.  Still, I'm not sure if you heard: Trump reportedly referred to Haiti, El Salvador, and African nations as "s---hole countries," or something like that.  Maybe your daughter shouldn't take that job after all.  Maybe she should just vote for Bernie Sanders and cross her fingers that her college loans will get paid by the government, and that his ludicrous "Medicare for All" will be better than the private health insurance she's getting from her new job.  

5.  You just bought your first home?  That's wonderful!  This great economy is really helping Americans make their dreams come true. Well, there is one downside: Trump said he doesn't believe Sharia law should supplant U.S. law, which is Islamophobic.  And you know how supporting the Constitution is a real drag on a person's finances.  Better to vote Trump out of office and bring in someone like Joe Biden, who will repeal Trump's tax cuts and tighten your wallet, killing your chance to own a home.

6.  You just hired five new workers for your landscaping company?  Excellent!  Sounds as though your business is booming.  Oh, but Trump did say he thinks "Islam hates us" in reference to the terrorist attacks by groups like ISIS and al-Qaeda, so you had better fire those new hires.  Better to tighten your belt in anticipation of Kamala Harris winning the election, especially when she implements the Green New Deal, which will bankrupt our economy and fundamentally transform our country forever.  As everyone knows, it's much more prudent to bankrupt our nation than speak so bluntly about terror groups like ISIS and al-Qaeda.

7.  Yes, coal production in places like Pennsylvania has stabilized, which is wonderful!  The state's coal industry even generated 17,770 jobs in 2017!  But I do have some bad news: when violence started to escalate during a white supremacy rally in Charlottesville, Va., Trump tweeted, "We condemn in the strongest most possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides. On many sides."  He didn't specifically call out the evil of the white nationalists until the next day!  Elizabeth Warren would never do such a thing.  She'd kill the coal industry with her suffocating environmental regulations, sure, but she'd never wait 12 long hours before specifically calling a white nationalist "evil" after a tragedy like Charlottesville.  So forget your terrible, climate-destroying coal-mining job, and get busy voting for the senior senator from Massachusetts, the socialist who's worth millions of dollars and is 1/1,024 American Indian, to boot."  

Christopher Paslay is a Philadelphia schoolteacher who writes a blog titled "Philly Teachers For Trump" at https://phillyteachersfortrump.home.blog.

His state falling apart, California's governor Newsom focuses on keeping Trump off the ballot

Monica Showalter  "Governor Gavin Newsom of California sits in the catbird seat.  His state is falling apart — with homelessness, medieval pestilence, millions of unvetted foreigners coming to claim services, stratospheric housing costs, choking greenie regulations, faltering electrical grids, out-of-control wildfires, and soaring crime — yet in his rigged blue one-party state, he hasn't got a thing to worry about.  The state will always be blue, right?  No need to improve anything to stay in office.  They've got it rigged.

"So instead of fixing things, he's focused on what's important to him: keeping President Trump off the state's national election ballot in 2020, by signing off on a bill requiring him to release five years of tax returns, something he knows Trump is not going to do.  Here's NPR's report:

. . . CA now requires those running for POTUS & Gov to release 5 yrs of tax returns to get on our primary ballot.

. . . "This is a dirty, slimy game he's playing.  One can only hope the lawsuit is swift, the smackdown is hard, and the effect is more Republicans than ever coming out of the woodwork in the next election as a result, desperate to halt vote repression and teach this clown a lesson."

Ann Coulter: Court to the Washington Post: Don’t Try Too Hard to Get It Right

First, see how CNN reports the episode:

Are no CNN reporters sick of this propaganda channel's demagoguery?

Ann Coulter  "Last week, U.S. District Court Judge William O. Bertelsman dismissed Nick Sandmann's $250 million defamation suit against The Washington Post for its stories about a mythical racist hate-crime allegedly committed by Sandmann, a Catholic schoolboy, against fake war hero and "Indigenous Person" Nathan Phillips. 

"This is why people of sound judgment and good character despise the press, and also the courts. 

"For three days running after the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., earlier this year, the Post published vicious hit pieces -- six articles and three tweets, along with a deceptively edited 59-second video -- portraying the teenaged boy as a Goebbels-level racist, who violently smirked at a hapless Indian. 

"Thus, according to the Post, while waiting with his classmates at the Lincoln Memorial for their bus to arrive, Sandmann: 

-- "accost(ed)" and "physically intimidated" Phillips; 
-- blocked Phillips, refusing to let him retreat; 
-- was part of a group chanting "build that wall," "Trump2020," and "go back to Africa" at Phillips and assorted other left-wing, America-hating activists; 
-- only relented in his taunting, "when Phillips and other activists walked away.” 

"This is "true" in the sense of being the exact opposite of the truth. 

"Switch the aggressor and the prey and you've got the picture -- as proved by a one-hour, 46-minute video triumphantly posted on Facebook by the Black Hebrew Israelites the same day as the Post's first article on the incident. (They were the ones screaming at the Covington boys, calling them "incest babies," "dirty ass crackers," and "future school shooters." Sounds like a nice school trip.) 

"As the video makes clear, Sandmann was standing in the same place the whole time, minding his own business, when Phillips made a beeline to him, planted himself in front of the teenager and began banging his drum and singing loudly inches from Sandmann's face.

Democrats just purged white party staffers, and it's a bigger deal than anyone wants to admit

But according to exit poll data, whites have been increasingly abandoning the Democratic Party in the last 20 years. They voted just four points more Republican than the median voter in the 1982 midterm election, but 18 points more Republican in 2018.

Washington Examiner  "The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the House Democrats’ powerful campaign arm, has just abruptly purged half a dozen staffers. Why? Because they are white.

"It appears that no one had anything against these particular staffers ... except for the color of their skin. Although roughly half the committee’s full-time staff (13 of 27) were nonwhite, this was not enough for some Democratic members of Congress. They complained DCCC Chairwoman Cheri Bustos of Illinois had brought in too many white staffers when she won the position. And they put enough pressure on her that she sacrificed her loyal staffers to the god of diversity.

"Even if all these staffers ended up with cushy lobbying jobs as a reward for their loyalty, this is still a lot more shocking than people perhaps realize.

"There are two possible interpretations of this mass-purge at the DCCC. Either a few Democrats are making a racial issue out of a patronage question, once again knifing each other under the cover of intersectionality, or Democrats are genuinely angry that half the staff at the DCCC are white. As often happens with the Democratic Left, it is difficult to tell just where the insincerity ends and the fanaticism begins.

"But either interpretation implies that this is not a party fit to govern.

"Nobody wants to see whites take up identity politics or demand a certain quota of jobs anywhere. But that isn't what this was about. This is about an organization that fires people from their current jobs because of their skin color. The insinuation that racist influences led Bustos to choose her staff and pass over better nonwhite candidates marks a continuation of what New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez started when she absurdly accused House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of racism and sexism.

"This firing, and that’s what it is, not a free resignation, sends a message to everyone, and especially to young people of any race who are interested in politics. If an organization is actually willing to fire you from your job just because you’re white, do you really want to be involved with it?" . . .