Monday, October 21, 2019

The Trivialization of Impeachment

Andrew C. McCarthy

It has consequences that threaten liberty.

. . . "To build their political case, Democrats frame every dispute with President Trump in dire terms: proof of his unfitness and the imperative of removing him. No misstep is too trivial. The president’s supporters, to the contrary, are incentivized to defend the president, even when they should be trying to convince him to change course. They do not want to be seen as implicitly supporting the impeachment effort, so every misstep, even ones that are serious though not egregious enough to warrant impeachment, must be defended rather than corrected. And the president — especially one with Trump’s persona, which is always to attack and never to confess error — is encouraged to double down on his mistakes, lest his changing course be seen as an implied admission of misconduct that strengthens the impeachment case.

"The Democratic base demands impeachment. Recently, Speaker Nancy Pelosi has come around to the conclusion that it can be done quickly and with minimal political damage to Democrats who hold seats in pro-Trump districts. It thus appears highly likely that the president will be impeached in the coming weeks." . . .

"By this point in the 2016 Democratic primary, in contrast, a huge bloc Democratic governors, senators and representatives had chosen a candidate, Hillary Clinton."

Anyway, things were different then. There were "superdelegates," and the elite had reason to think they could control things. Here's a WaPo article from September 2018, "The DNC voted to strip superdelegates of their powers. Will it matter for 2020?":

Ann Althouse " 'But this cycle, the overwhelming majority of congressional Democrats and Democratic governors are still on the sidelines. Indeed, the 2020 Democratic primary looks more like the 2016 Republican primary, when most GOP officials held their fire until deep into the race, than that year’s Democratic race.... Warren has two obvious problems with party elites. First, there is the perception among some of them that her left-wing stands, such as Medicare for All, are too risky for the general election and decrease the party’s chances of defeating President Trump.... Secondly, electoral considerations aside, there is a center-left wing of the Democratic Party that fundamentally disagrees with Warren’s more leftward positions... Warren also has a third challenge with party elites that is less obvious. The Massachusetts senator clashed with senior aides to President Obama for much of his tenure in the White House. She, like Sanders, isn’t quite in line with the party’s establishment. A Warren administration would probably be less likely to hire former Clinton (Bill and Hillary) and Obama aides in key posts than, say, a Biden, Booker or Harris one. So people connected with the party establishment (like many DNC members) may be fine with Warren but prefer other candidates for more self-interested reasons.... The potential danger for the Massachusetts senator is that 'party elites lukewarm about Warren' turns into 'party elites organize to stop Warren.' And perhaps Democratic voters care more about the views of their party’s elites than Republican voters did in 2016."

"From "Why Aren’t More Democrats Endorsing Warren?" (FiveThirtyEight).

"I wish there were some discussion of the way Democratic Party elites behaved in 2008, endorsing Hillary Clinton early and interfering with the rise of Barack Obama. Aren't they avoiding giving Biden what they gave Hillary in '08?" . . .

What has the California culture done to our once-great nation?

California culture has metastasized into our schools, politics, and entertainment media.

Is San Francisco the Future of America? . . . "I could hardly recognize this once-captivating city of breathtaking views, delectable food and cool jazz. Today it’s occupied by an army of homeless men and women who have turned Baghdad-by-the-bay into Bombay-by-the-bay with some of the dirtiest slums in America." . . .
"Then, most Americans agreed that the family is the basic bloc of society. Now, according to the rising generation, the nuclear family is disappearing, gay rights take precedence over every other kind of right, Washington is accepted as primarily responsible for our welfare, and socialism is the tidal wave of the future." . . .
. . . "Dallas, not San Francisco, is the future, unless the citizens of Baghdad-by-the-bay resolve to take back their city." . . .

American Education and INTELLECTUALLY BANKRUPT Schools

Parents strike back at California politicians who berated them for opposing drag queens

"October 18, 2019 (MassResistance) — In Chula Vista, CA, MassResistance parents forced two politicians on the City Council to reveal their ugly (and irrational) anti-family vitriol, resulting in parents getting even angrier at them.

"In Part 1 we described how outraged MassResistance parents and citizens angrily rebuked the City Council members at their Sept. 10 meeting over the Drag Queen event at the local library.

"During the Oct. 1, 2019 meeting of the Chula Vista City Council the openly homosexual City Council member and the Mayor went on a foul rant against MassResistance and the local parents who oppose the Drag Queen event — calling their statements about it "hate speech," "long discredited," and "disgusting."

"Parents reacted to the insulting remarks by coming back the following meeting and testifying with even more powerful rhetoric. (See video here or below.) . . .

"Public support for anti-Christian bigotry. The two officials, Council member Steve Padilla and Mayor Mary Salas, have publicly supported the vulgar anti-Christian LGBT activists who had "counter-protested" against the parents in September." . . .

But think what they can do for the US Olympic team!

Transgender Cyclist Wins Female Cycling World Championship, Claims Only Objections Come from ‘Losers’ . . . "Victoria Hood, a former cycling champion and manager of a British all-female cycling team, challenged McKinnon, telling Sky that “it is not complicated, the science is there and it says that it is unfair. The male body, which has been through male puberty, still retains its advantage, that doesn’t go away. I have sympathy with them. They have a right to do sport but not a right to go into any category they want.”

"On Saturday, McKinnon issued a press release denouncing Hood for having “an irrational fear of trans women.” . . .

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Joe Biden’s 2020 Campaign May be at the Beginning of the End

http://www.terrellaftermath.com/

Legal Insurrection

“Biden is confronting growing anxiety among would-be allies in the Democratic establishment”

"Joe Biden has been the front-runner in the race for the 2020 Democratic nomination for months, but cracks are beginning to show in his campaign. Now that Warren has lapped him, people are starting to wonder if he is ever going to recover.

"It’s a fair question.

"From the Associated Press:

With Warren’s rise, Biden faces Dems’ anxiety about 2020 bid

Joe Biden is confronting growing anxiety among would-be allies in the Democratic establishment about his ability to win the presidential nomination following underwhelming debate performances, lagging fundraising and withering attacks from rivals in his own party and from President Donald Trump .

The former vice president’s bank account is better suited for a city council race than a presidential election, warns Terry McAuliffe, a former Virginia governor and Democratic National Committee chairman. Democratic donor Robert Zimmerman describes group “therapy sessions” with some party financiers haranguing the direction of the race. And in New Hampshire, state House Speaker Steve Shurtleff is leaning toward backing Biden, but says “people wish he’d be a little more forceful.”

Their concern is heightened by the rise of Elizabeth Warren , a progressive long viewed by current and former elected officials, big donors and veteran strategists as too liberal to beat Trump in the general election. Warren and Biden are essentially tied at the top of the race with the rest of the field lagging behind.

"Biden hasn’t done much to help himself, and it’s more than just his tendency to be gaffe-prone. He seems too old and out of touch, he made the questions about his son’s dealings in Ukraine and China look worse, and his debate answers often sound like little more than word salad.

"His biggest mistake, however, may have been allowing his lead to falter. It now looks like he is trying to play catch up." . . .

Tulsi Gabbard: 'They will destroy you' if you stand up to Clinton

Hillary Clinton’s words are supposed to carry weight. She has made a charge that the Russians are meddling in the 2020 presidential election. If her statement wasn’t so batty, it should probably trigger an investigation – maybe another special counsel.

The Tulsi-Hillary show "Has Hillary Clinton finally lost it?"
" 'In what sounded like a sketch from “Saturday Night Live” or an episode of the old “Twilight Zone” TV series, Clinton used a podcast interview this week to throw out a bizarre conspiracy theory attacking struggling Democratic presidential contender Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii.

"Shocked by her stunning defeat at the hands of Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential race, Clinton and her supporters – including most of the media – concocted a Russia collusion hoax to explain Trump’s victory." . . .

Tulsi Gabbard fights back against Comrade Clinton’s smear attempts

. . ."Remember, Hillary is the one who signed off on selling Russian-connected parties 20% of the US uranium supply, after which the Clinton Foundation got more than $100 million in “donations” and Bill pocketed $500,000 cash for speeches to Moscow banks controlled by Putin-allied oligarchs.

"Why would the Russians have ever supported Donald Trump when they already knew that they could, uh, do business with the Clintons? They say Vladimir Putin is a gangster, and he probably is, so let me ask you: since when do gangsters want to replace crooked cops they’ve already bribed, and therefore own?" . . .

What the Framers Knew That Hillary Doesn’t . . . "Democrats have claimed over and over that Trump has some sort of mental illness, but a far stronger case could be made that it is Clinton who is clinically delusional. She remains unable to understand that she failed to gain an Electoral College majority because she was the less talented candidate and because of her obvious use of her governmental position corruptly to increase her and her family’s wealth."
. . .
"Clinton’s talent for fabrication, a talent also shared by her husband (a man once branded by a fellow Democratic politician, Senator Bob Kerry, as an “unusually good liar”) is also manifested by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and the other Democrats pushing for the impeachment of President Trump with the currently manufactured tale of misdeeds involving the Ukraine.". . .

Ah-HA! This proves it! MSNBC panel: Gabbard didn't 'deny being a Russian asset'

Try beating this panel, CNN!

"Tulsi Gabbard: 'They will destroy you' if you stand up to Clinton"

2020 presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard claimed the Democrat establishment will end a politician's career if they stand up to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

'An agile pivot': Buttigieg refuses to defend Gabbard from Clinton attacks

Ben Garrison

CNN Democrat Van Jones Slams Hillary Over Her Atrocious Attack Of Tulsi

. . . "Here’s what he had to say Friday night:

“If you’re concerned about disinformation…that is what just happened, just throw out some information, disinformation, smear somebody. She is Hillary Clinton. She’s a legend. She’s going to be in the history books. She’s a former nominee of our party, and she just came out against a sitting U.S. congresswoman, a decorated war veteran, and somebody who’s running for the nomination of our party with just a complete smear and no facts.”

. . .

The Russians are coming! Is Hillary drinking again?

Her hunt for Red November, 2016.

Hillary in 2018: The Russians are coming! . . . "Hillary Clinton thinks the Russians are so dangerous that her State Department approved the sale of 20% of our Uranium reserves to the Russians after the Clinton Foundation received $145 million dollars from many people connected to the Uranium deal." . . .
. . . "The left has now shifted the narrative since the Russian collusion hoax is unraveling; they want Trump to put sanctions on Russia over the online trolls.
"Hillary Clinton and the delusional left just can’t admit Hillary was a horrible candidate and was rejected by the American people; she lost because of the Russians." . . .

Hillary sounds the alarm . . . "We now have a clearer grasp of where the Democrats stand as regards accusations of scandal among their own. They won’t talk about Hillary’s emails (that was Bernie in 2016). They won’t talk about Joe and Hunter cashing massive checks from Ukraine (that was everybody the past couple weeks), but they will talk about Tulsi Gabbard chasing moose and squirrel.

"It’s quite a commentary on the state of the Democrats when the two kookiest old girls are the only sensible candidates.

"But it still doesn’t explain why Comrade Hillary, she of the scarcely modified Mao jackets, the penchant for total surveillance, and the under-the-table deals with Russia, Ukraine, and China, took on the Jack D. Ripper persona to tear into Tulsi and Jill Stein (as forgotten today as Cyndi Lauper) as agents of the Kremlin.

"What Hillary has adapted, of course (though nobody’s willing to admit it) is the ancient persona of the demented red hunter of the early days of the Cold War. The irony is that this slander was deliberately developed by the Democrats themselves, for whom it proved extremely useful long after the Cold War ended. But until now, it was only used against Republicans.

"Or was it?" . . .

http://stiltonsplace.blogspot.com/

Put Up or Shut Up on These Accusations, Hillary

National Review

In Gabbard’s worldview, the preeminent priority of the United States is avoiding terror attacks and avoiding getting sucked into wars triggered by terror attacks. While she rarely says so explicitly, her experience suggests she sees the the best option to pursue this difficult goal is to reach deals with the brutal but non-Islamist dictators and monarchs who will keep order. Assad, King Abdullah, the Saudis — in the end, as long as they keep their extremist lunatics from blowing up Americans, we should give them a handshake and let them rule as they see fit.

"Look, one 2016 candidate being prone to wild and baseless accusations is enough. Appearing on Obama campaign manager David Plouffe’s podcast, Hillary Clinton suggested that 2016 Green Party candidate Jill Stein was a “Russian asset,” that Republicans and Russians were promoting the Green Party, and insinuated that Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard was some sort of tool of the Russian government.

“ 'They’ve got their eye on someone who’s currently in the Democratic primary and are grooming her to be the third-party candidate,” Clinton said on the podcast. “She’s the favorite of the Russians. They have a bunch of sites and bots and other ways of supporting her so far.”

"This is bonkers. You don’t have to look at Tulsi Gabbard’s record on foreign policy for long to find areas for fair criticism, perhaps most infamously her meeting with Bashar al-Assad at the height of the Syrian Civil War, and exhibiting a strange reluctance to criticize the dictator upon her return to the United States. She’s still not willing to say she thinks Assad is a war criminal.

"Gabbard’s foreign policy views may well be wrongheaded ones. But she’s direct and honest about them, and it’s highly unlikely that she’s been bribed, brainwashed or coerced into these positions." . . .

If only Ms. Gabbard would stop using the term "warmonger" against the US. In my day we were called that word by the propaganda of Iron Curtain leaders who wanted to control America.

Gabbard Responds to Hillary’s Russia Attacks, Challenges Her to Join Dem Primary

. . . "The staunchly non-interventionist Gabbard has been consistently dogged by suggestions that her campaign panders to the alt-right and Russia. During Tuesday night’s Democratic debate, she accused CNN and the New York Times, who were co-hosting the event, of smearing her with “completely despicable coverage.”

Explaining Hillary Clinton's feud with Tulsi Gabbard . . . "So why is Hillary so focused on Gabbard? During the 2016 Democratic primaries, the party had rigged the process against Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). It was clearly Hillary's effort to ensure her nomination. Tulsi Gabbard found this unacceptable and supported Sanders after resigning her high-level position within the party. Clinton carries her grudges, and this is payback. " . . .

Hillary is loved by Colbert and his audience Perhaps with the help of the studio "Applause" sign, if they have one?

"Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton got a rousing ovation on Monday's Late Show. "These are people who are big fans of the alternate timeline we're not living in," Stephen Colbert explained to Clinton and her daughter, Chelsea. He quickly got down to business. "We learned about the Trump-Ukraine call, the private server — is it time to, dare I say, lock him up?" he asked mischievously. "What do you make of it?"

" 'We have started an impeachment inquiry, which will look at the evidence, and I think that's exactly what should be done," Clinton said." . . .

Project Veritas in 2018: Teachers Union President Will Cover Up Child Abuse, Protects Drug-Using, Shoplifting Teachers

PV demonstrates the same skills as used in their expose' of CNN. Come to think of it, Dr. Perry could have a great future with CNN as an anchor.

Project Veritas . . . "Project Veritas undercover journalists blanketed the state of New Jersey visiting dozens of teacher’s union offices. We wondered, how union leaders would react to claims that teachers were physically and verbally abusing students?
"What you’re about to see is a man who is a union president, with a PHD, A LEADER; not working for children like the sign above his head says, but working to what he calls, “Bend the truth” and hide a potential crime.
"In this undercover investigation, Hamilton Township Education Association President David Perry details the steps the teachers union would take to protect a teacher who physically abused and threatened middle school students from losing their job."

In the video, let's hope the woman is trying to speak like an uneducated millennial. If so, she seems spot on. TD

"Dr. Perry says he would misrepresent the events of altercations between teachers and students by back-dating reports and instructed the teacher to not tell anybody about incidents with students.

"The union president also stressed that a teacher who abuses his students needs to come to the union after any incident so that they can create a report that would best protect them from students that come forward about abuse."

Trump campaign sues CNN

Let's hope CNN has journalistic malpractice insurance.

First this: The Democrat objective? Absolute power

Thomas Lifson

The Lanham Act (text here) is a 1946 law mostly about protection of trademarks but also including false advertising, so I assume that CNN allegedly is representing itself as a news source when it is in fact shown to be a propaganda operation by the Project Veritas videos, would be the basis of the lawsuit. The harm that the Trump campaign experienced from CNN's false reporting, misrepresented to the public as "news," would be the basis for damages.

"Trump War Room : BREAKING: Trump campaign lawyer notifies CNN of intent to file legal action against the network.

‏erified accountBREAKING: Trump campaign lawyer notifies CNN of intent to file legal action against the network.

"Your actions are in violation of the Lanham Act, among other applicable laws, by constituting misrepresentations to the public, to your advertisers, and others."

Michael GlassnerVerified account @michaelglassner

See letter by attorney Charles Harder sent to @CNN President Jeff Zucker and EVP David Vigilante on behalf of Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. 

Hysterical reaction to AG Barr's landmark speech at Notre Dame

Chuck Donovan "Attorney General William Barr is much in the news lately for his alleged role in the political contretemps over impeachment and Ukraine. But thanks to an address the Attorney General gave at the University of Notre Dame Law School last weekend, stories on that subject have been displaced by a round of bitter denunciations of Barr for going to South Bend and delivering a “histrionic” speech that shows him as being “neck-deep in extremist Catholic institutions.” . . .

. . . "The Nation magazine went so far as to attack General Barr’s involvement with The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, scorning the group for its role in defending the family-owned company Hobby Lobby for its stance opposing health insurance for abortifacient drugs and devices. No accusation could better encapsulate the fundamental flaw in the activist assault on religious freedom. Supporters of the Becket Fund know well that it is not interested in defending the rights of only a narrow swath of religious Americans. They have defended and will defend the liberties of Sikhs and Muslims, Protestants and Catholics, Mormons and Native Americans, of people of every creed or none, on one and the same First Amendment foundation: that our Constitution permits neither an establishment of religion nor limits on its Free Exercise.

"In the modern era, Notre Dame has been the site of major addresses by Catholic leaders, from Mario Cuomo to Henry Hyde to Mary Ann Glendon and now to Attorney General William Barr. This latest address takes its place among the others as a must-read for every thoughtful American."

"Chuck Donovan is president of the Charlotte Lozier Institute, the research and education arm of Susan B. Anthony List. He was legislative director of the National Right to Life Committee more than three decades, worked as a writer for President Reagan, helped lead the Family Research Council for nearly two decades, and most recently was a senior research fellow in religion and civil society at The Heritage Foundation."

Saturday, October 19, 2019

CNN: the most busted name in news. Well busted.

Thomas Lifson: Trump campaign sues CNN "I have to admit that the lawsuit that the Trump campaign promises to launch against CNN seems like a long shot to me. Or, as the media like to say about lawsuits of which they approve, it is an "innovative" or "path-breaking" legal strategy.

"But winning a jury verdict may be beside the point. The prospect of examining internal documents and compelling testimony under oath promises rich material for political gain. The rules of civil litigation offer far more flexibility than government prosecution when it comes to gathering evidence.

"Paul Bedard of the Washington Examiner:

Outraged by secretly taped anti-Trump comments attributed to CNN President Jeff Zucker and others at the cable network, President Trump's campaign is vowing to sue the company for "a substantial payment of damages."

In a four-page letter to CNN, Zucker, and Executive Vice President David Vigilante, Trump attorney Charles J. Harder cited years of anti-Trump bias at the network and claimed the cable giant has broken its promise of "excellence in journalism."

Listing several examples from the just-released Project Veritas videotapes of CNN insiders describing Zucker's demand for "impeachment above all else," Harder wrote that they "are merely the tip of the iceberg of the evidence my clients have accumulated over recent years."

He added, "Never in the history of this country has a President been the subject of such a sustained barrage of unfair, unfounded, unethical and unlawful attacks by so-called 'mainstream' news, as the current situation."

. . ."Joe DiGenova, who knows roughly a million times as much as I do about the law, sees a strong case, in the Daily Caller (hat tip: Roger Luchs):"

CNN staffers were caught on tape admitting that their network "is totally left-leaning" while pretending that's not the case. The employees say it's an unwritten rule that conservatives and even centrists are not welcome at CNN, that they are well aware of how biased anchors such as Don Lemon are, and that CNN President Jeffery [sic] Zucker has a "personal vendetta" against the president of the United States. . . .

“They Sold Themselves to the Devil. It’s, It’s Sad.” Laments Floor Manager at CNN Mike Brevna.

Sorry Brits: UK’s First Chick-Fil-A Is Closing Thanks To The LGBT Lobby

Chicks On The Right "Chick-fil-A just opened its first UK location in Reading, England, on October 10. By the next day, the location had served over a thousand customers. Now, just over a week later, the location will be closing.
"Why? It’s not because the Brits dislike tasty chicken sandwiches. Nope – it’s because of the LGBT lobby. Gay rights activists called for a boycott of Chick-fil-A and Reading Pride has been protesting the location.
"As a result, the shopping center where the Chick-fil-A is located won’t renew the company’s lease:

A spokesperson for The Oracle shopping center told the BBC that “the right thing to do” was to prevent the fast-food chain from doing business in response to the LGBTQ outcry.“We always look to introduce new concepts for our customers, however, we have decided on this occasion that the right thing to do is to only allow Chick-Fil-A to trade with us for the initial six-month pilot period, and not to extend the lease any further,” said the spokesperson.

"The protesters and boycotters expressed delight over this news.
"Chick-fil-A has been embroiled with controversy since 2012, when the company’s president, a Christian, came out in favor of traditional marriage. Since then, LGBTQ activists have been calling for boycotts of the company across the U.S. However, the call for boycotts have largely backfired. Americans want that chicken.

Despite the efforts to harm the business, with college campuses and two city airports banning the chain from opening up shop, the chicken empire’s sales continue to climb and have only doubled since the boycotts launched in 2012.

"The company’s sales have increased from $4.6 billion in 2012 to $10.46 billion in 2018, making Chick-fil-A the third largest chain in the U.S., behind only McDonald’s and Starbucks.
"In addition to good food, Chick-fil-A is just a good company. Their employees are always courteous, and you always see Chick-fil-A willing to pitch in during a disaster – remember when a power outage stranded thousands at the Atlanta airport, and Chick-fil-A opened on a Sunday to serve the stranded passengers?
"Boycotting Chick-fil-A is a great example of (1) viewpoint discrimination and (2) virtue-signaling rather than fighting actual discrimination. The only thing Chick-fil-A has done wrong is employ a president with conservative Christian values. Chick-fil-A is not discriminatory: the company both employs and serves people of all races and orientations.
"But that doesn’t matter to the militant left."