The Unhistoric Corruption of Mitt Romney

The American Spectator  The cynical senator ignored Carter/Clinton/Obama pardons.
"So let’s get this straight.

"President Trump, in the style of previous presidents with names like Obama and Clinton, commutes the sentence of Roger Stone, a longtime Trump ally and ally long before Trump of presidents Nixon and Reagan.

. . . Full article here.

Toon added by TD

"Hello? As the WSJ points out, there was zero — zero — “unprecedented” in the Stone commutation. Presidents Clinton and Obama pardoned their political allies without blinking. Clinton’s pardons not only included, as the WSJ pointed out, political pal “Susan McDougal, who went to jail for contempt rather than tell prosecutors what she knew about Mr. Clinton’s Whitewater transactions.” But, as was later true of Obama, Clinton went out of his way to pardon outright terrorists. As Obama’s aide noted, the reason to do so was that it would be “fairly easy to accomplish and will have a positive impact among strategic communities in the U.S.” The latter, of course, meaning the Puerto Rican/Latino vote in various U.S. cities and states. As Gonzalez also noted, Democrat Jimmy Carter pardoned “three Puerto Rican terrorists who shot at members of Congress” while the number of pardoned Puerto Rican terrorists for Clinton would climb to 12 in number.

"In 2010, on the verge of his second run for president, Romney released a book titled No Apology: Believe in America. In which he mentioned not a word — not a solitary word — about the Clinton pardons for pals and terrorists. The Obama pardon of convicted terrorist Oscar Lopez-Rivera would not come until, but of course, Obama was leaving office. (Which raises the question: What did Joe Biden know about the pardon of a Puerto Rican terrorist and when did he know it? Not to mention does Biden support it now?)

"What Romney has displayed here — and not for the first time — is either a complete ignorance of this history of Democrats and pardons for pals and terrorists. Or, in view of his silence on Clinton and Obama’s pardons, a hate-Trumpism that is so breathtakingly cynical that he accepts that it was just no big deal when the two Democrat presidents did precisely this — and it was OK because they weren’t Trump. Which would explain why Romney never managed to speak up in opposition.

"This issue, in fact, goes far beyond the commutation/pardon issue. It goes straight to the heart of a weak-kneed GOP Establishment that is unbelievably feckless, if not corrupt." . . .

Portland Goes To Hell: The Death Of An American City

“I don’t think the majority of social-justice warriors are truly concerned with justice,” said Nick Zukin, who just closed the doors of his Portland restaurant, Mi Mero Mole. “I think they enjoy causing people pain and ‘social justice’ gives them an excuse.”

Issues & Insights

"Portland, Oregon, was once known as the quintessentially nice Northwestern city. Its nickname, “The Rose City,” was given to it by a Baptist group that held a convention there over a century ago. Sadly, today, riot-riven Portland smells like anything but roses.
"The city has been the locus of nonstop violent protests for 51 days and counting. And really, calling them protests is incorrect: They are acts of outright rebellion, with many participants openly calling for the dismantling of the United States.
"The Daily Caller described the mayhem and posted videos of it, which included the attempted torching of the Police Association building:

Portland has seen over 50 days of protests and rioting, and Saturday proved to be no different. Daily Caller reporters were at the scene where rioters squared off with officers after tearing down fencing and using it to barricade the federal courthouse. …Outside of the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse, hundreds gathered and immediately began removing fencing surrounding the park and courthouse that had been erected by officers. Some rioters barricaded the building and began to taunt officers by banging on the walls and yelling for them to come outside.

"While all this was going on, more “largely peaceful” protesters broke into the police union’s building and tried to burn it down. That’s called arson, and it’s a felony.

"Who’s behind all this? Antifa and Black Lives Matter, of course. But they aren’t the only ones. There are lots of other leftists of various affiliations agitating the crowds.

"One in particular who’s come to our attention is a so-called organizer of the violent protests. She describes herself in a viral Twitter video: “My name is Lilith Sinclair, I’m an Afro-Indigenous non-binary local organizer here in Portland, organizing for the abolition of not just the militarized police state but also the United States as we know it.”

"Just so you know, “abolition” in this context means “violent overthrow.' ” . . .

More...

Federal Troops to Expand Beyond Portland  "Trump says Homeland Security will deploy troops to cities struggling with surges in violent crime."

. . . "Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf referred to Portland as a city “under siege,” saying that “each night, lawless anarchists destroy and desecrate property, including the federal courthouse, and attack the brave law enforcement officers protecting it.” 

A sprinkle of irony can be found in the fact that Bonamici is making a case for protecting the First Amendment rights of “peaceful” protesters in the midst of Portland’s millions of dollars in property damage.

The brats can now rest easy; your moms are here to protect you  
"PORTLAND protesters were protected by their moms who formed a human wall during a face-off with Trump's federal officers.

"At least 30 parents linked arms with one another on Saturday chanting "feds stay clear, moms are here!" and "leave our kids alone.' " . . .

Police SLAM Democrats For Supporting Leftist Riots, Trump Announces MORE DHS Agent Deployment

You may dislike President Trump, but we must all fear the Democrats. TD

Whatfinger   "Police SLAM Democrats For Supporting Leftist Riots, Trump Announces MORE DHS Agent Deployment. Nancy pelosi herself slammed Trump’s use of DHS officers to protect federal property. Police are furious with Democrats over their consistent support for the violent riots sweeping the nation and the dramatic rise is specific violent crimes. Trump has heard the call from police unions to send in more federal officers but Democrats at the local and federal level are outraged. In what can only be described as a satire-esque move Democrats have decided to support the violent riots instead of law and order because the orange man is bad."

When the Sensible Take Leave of their Senses

George Will publicly despised the Bushes, regarded Bill Clinton as “a sociopath,” and was suitably unimpressed by Barack Obama. I understand how such an academic gentleman finds Donald Trump unsuitable as president, but it is discouraging that he gives him no credit for eliminating unemployment prior to the COVID-19 shutdowns, oil imports, and 90 percent of illegal immigration. Similarly, Trump gets no credit from Will for causing a general western recognition of the Chinese threat, for stalling the Iranian and North Korean nuclear military programs; for rebuilding the armed forces, or for causing the lower 20 percent of income-earners to enjoy a larger percentage increase in income than the top 10 percent, the first serious beginning anywhere to address the income disparity problem.

Conrad Black
More worrying than the abrasive groupthink of the national political media are the failings of today’s commentariat. The downfall of once-great thinkers like George Will is particularly disheartening.

"Almost all observers of the current presidential election campaign, regardless of their leanings, recognize that the national political media is overwhelmingly hostile to the president. The results of this election will determine whether their determination to evict Donald Trump from the White House will enhance the reputation of the national political press corps for invincibility when united, or whether they are brought into severe disrepute as a monolithic paper tiger. Historians of both the presidency and of the American media will opine for many years on why this overwhelming partisanship developed.

"My own supposition has been that when Trump announced his candidacy in the spring of 2015, and made clear that he was running to drain the Washington swamp—specifically including what he identified as the rot in the national political media—they all saw him first as a joke, and then as a threat. 

"It is piquant that Trump, to this point, has outsmarted them largely by recourse to talk radio and to social media, even though the corporate heads of the social media companies are ostentatiously anti-Trump limousine liberals. It is hard not to admire, at least to some degree, someone who has analyzed the complex political system of the country intensively for many years, changed parties seven times in 13 years, and who—looking for a channel where he could transform his great fame as a businessman, reality television star, impresario, and social figure, into the highest political office—outwitted and completed an end-run against the whole system; a system whose shortcomings were the motive and the basis of his campaign. He is a pioneer.

"Most of the Washington press corps are accustomed to presidents and presidential candidates who show greater deference to them and avoid ill-tempered direct exchanges with random members of the public such as those in which this president regularly engages through his nearly 200 million social media contacts. And even the president’s supporters, who find his bluntness and his informality a refreshing change from the evasions and pomposity of much of recent presidential history, will acknowledge that there is sometimes a gap between the dignity expected of his great office and this president’s conduct of it.

"But that does not make the relentless professional dishonesty of most of the national political media in the United States any more acceptable. 

"The New York Times, appropriately to its status for over a century as the country’s leading newspaper, led the way with a 2016 declaration that its goal was not to report impartially on national affairs, but rather to contribute to Trump’s defeat. 

"In some respects, the Times’ candor is welcome and commendable, but it is also disgraceful. It has been followed by virtually all of the influential traditional media, all of whom are guilty of unprofessional conduct. Whether they win or lose their war with this president, all polling indicates they have forfeited the credibility that the sound functioning of a democracy requires the press to retain. 

"In systematically destroying the believability of their craft, the press is undermining democracy and reducing the likelihood of an electorate adequately informed to vote as sensibly as the national interest of a great nation requires. Trump gains considerable support for holding his own against such a barrage of malicious disinformation from the media." . . .    Full article...

Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich expected to speak on Biden’s behalf at DNC

Just the guy CNN wants to interview, the mailman's son

"And my dad was a mailman"

Fox5, Ohio  " In the four months since Joe Biden effectively won the Democratic presidential nomination, he has focused on consolidating the party’s divergent and often warring factions. As the closing stretch of the campaign nears, that effort will expand to include Republicans disaffected with President Donald Trump.

"Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican and frequent Trump critic, has been approached and is expected to speak at the Democratic National Convention on Biden’s behalf next month, according to a person with direct knowledge of the plans who insisted on anonymity to discuss strategy.
"Kasich is among a handful of high-profile Republicans likely to become more active in supporting Biden in the fall.
"Trump, meanwhile, is doing virtually nothing to expand his appeal beyond his most loyal supporters. Some GOP operatives believe the suburbs are lost while a contingent of high-profile Republicans are openly questioning the president’s reelection message. In an acknowledgment of the mounting challenges, Trump named a new campaign manager last week.
"With about 100 days until Election Day, there’s time for sudden developments that could shift the trajectory of the campaign. The Friday announcement that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s cancer has returned was a reminder of the potential volatility ahead. In 2016 Trump effectively used the prospect of Supreme Court appointments to win over conservatives who otherwise found him distasteful." . . .

Mailman's son and Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich says he’s now for impeaching Trump 

Democrat-sanctioned riots  "It would be less than accurate to say that rioters have taken over Portland, Oregon. Democrat Mayor Ted Wheeler turned the city over to rioters. They are his shock troops.
"Democrat Governor Kate Brown, and Democrat Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum now are protecting Wheeler's violent mob from federal officers.
"The media is complicit in this, insisting on describing the takeover by looters and rioters as a protest." . . .

Charges filed against St. Louis couple who pointed guns toward protesters

After court costs, even if the McCloskeys win, they lose.

KSDK 5 On Your Side   "St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner has filed charges against a St. Louis couple who confronted protesters with guns in June, 5 On Your Side has learned.

"Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the Central West End couple who confronted protesters June 28 with a rifle and a gun in Mayor Lyda Krewson’s neighborhood, have been charged with unlawful use of a weapon/flourishing.

"The unlawful use of a weapon charge is a class E felony, which can carry a sentence of up to four years in prison and a fine of $10,000. Sources tell 5 On Your Side Gardner's office will be issuing a summons for the couple to appear in court." . . .

St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner Has a Long History of Outlandish Behavior and Dangerous Policies Before She Started Harassing the McCloskeys  

"Far left billionaire George Soros has been systematically targeting district attorney races throughout the United States for several years now. Several of his candidates are already in office creating havoc.

"In St. Louis City George Soros was Kim Gardner’s biggest donor in her race for Circuit Attorney.
. . . 

"Kim Gardner (pictured, left) may be the most radical Soros-funded Circuit Attorney in the nation today.

"Kim Gardner is so intolerable that two dozen attorneys and more than one-third of the trial lawyers left the office when she was hired. And this is a Democrat dominated office!

"In August 2018 Kim Gardner announced her attorneys will no longer accept cases from 28 different St. Louis City police officers. Gardner called it her “exclusion list.”

"Gardner did not tell the officers what they did to get on her list but they were being censored." . . .

What must be the favorite source of news for CNN people, the Guardian worded the story thus: "Criminal Charges for White St. Louis Couple who Pointed Guns at Protesters"

Soros-Funded St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner Refuses to Charge Killer of 7-Year-Old Child Despite Suspect’s Confession

Hawley Asks Barr to Launch Civil Rights Probe into Prosecutor Targeting McCloskeys  Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) submitted a request to the U.S. Justice Department for a civil rights investigation into Gardner, arguing that she is targeting the McCloskeys out of political motives. Writing to Attorney General William Barr, Hawley argued, “There is no question under Missouri law that the McCloskeys had the right to own and use their firearms to protect themselves from threatened violence, and that any criminal prosecution for these actions is legally unsound.”

The senator made clear that Gardner’s true agenda is not justice or public safety, but politics: “The only possible motivation for the investigation, then, is a politically motivated attempt to punish this family for exercising their Second Amendment rights.”

‘What Happened to Kamala Harris’s Face?’ – Democrat Senator Kamala Harris Debuts New, Bizarre Cheeky Look (VIDEO)

The Gateway Pundit  "Democrat Senator Kamala Harris (CA) on Saturday night appeared on MSNBC to discuss late Congressman John Lewis.
"But everyone was talking about her *new* face.
"What happened to Kamala’s face?
"Kamala’s cosmetic work fueled rumors that she may be Biden’s VP pick.
"Or is the video warped? "  Video. Same old Kamala inside

Missouri Governor Says He Will Pardon St. Louis Couple if They're Charged

Missouri Governor Says He Will Pardon the Gun-Waving Couple Who Stopped a BLM Mob If They Are Indicted  "It was epic. A Black Lives Matter mob in St. Louis broke through a gate into a gated community, allegedly on their way to demonstrate at the home of the mayor, but trespassed on the property of Mark and Patricia McCloskey. Some of the mob was armed. A lot of it acted threatening. Rather than cower in their home and hope that the police eventually got around to caring, the McCloskey’s took he bull by the horns and exercised their Second Amendment rights: . . ."
"In a sane political climate, this would never have happened. " . . .
. . . "Though Parson’s announcement is totally correct, it points toward a scary trend of executive power being the only brake on politically contrived prosecutions. We’ve seen it with the Russia Hoax investigation where Mike Flynn is on the cusp of walking free only because the Attorney General knocked down the barriers the FBI and Department of Justice had thrown up to prevent Flynn from receiving a fair hearing. It took executive action by President Trump to keep Roger Stone from going to prison for the same offense that got Eric Holder made partner at a Blue Chip law firm. The left has weaponized criminal investigations to take vengeance on political enemies. They are weaponizing street violence as a way of aggrandizing power. They are now weaponizing the use of the legal system to protect their pet street hooligans from any repercussions from their actions. As a society, we cannot survive if this becomes business as usual." . . .

Missouri Governor Says He Will Pardon St. Louis Couple if They're Charged  . . . "Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) submitted a request to the U.S. Justice Department for a civil rights investigation into Gardner, arguing that she is targeting the McCloskeys out of political motives. Writing to Attorney General William Barr, Hawley argued, “There is no question under Missouri law that the McCloskeys had the right to own and use their firearms to protect themselves from threatened violence, and that any criminal prosecution for these actions is legally unsound.”

"The senator made clear that Gardner’s true agenda is not justice or public safety, but politics: “The only possible motivation for the investigation, then, is a politically motivated attempt to punish this family for exercising their Second Amendment rights.”

More at WJ

Conservative speaker Michelle Malkin beaten by BLM thugs . . .

. . . "and prevented from speaking at Denver pro-police rally"

American Thinker  "Conservative author and activist Michelle Malkin was brutally assaulted and prevented from speaking as she made her way to the speaker’s platform at a pro-police public rally in downtown Denver on Sunday. The patriotic event, the 6th Annual Law Enforcement Appreciation Day billed as “family friendly,” was advertised in advance on social media including at Malkin’s Twitter, where she has 2.2 million followers." . . .
. . . "On the video, which had been viewed over 150,000  times by early Monday, several individuals identifying themselves as Black Lives Matter accost Malkin as one or more of them unfurl collapsible batons and begin pushing and beating on Malkin. In the process, she loses a shoe and is eventually assisted in escaping to a waiting car by the event’s security volunteers, at which point the video feed ends. Malkin was understandably distraught at this unanticipated violent turn of events and expressed frustration that Denver police, who were visibly present in the area, did nothing to stop the attacks or to allow the peaceful pro-police rally to continue." . . .
. . . "Until recently, violence of this kind to suppress conservative free speech was largely limited to the nation’s leftist-dominated college campuses. Obviously, a new page has now been turned as many of America’s leading cities – all of them under Democrat party control – have abandoned enforcing laws big and small. The expression of free speech is now openly threatened off the campuses. Which one of the Bill of Rights will be next?"

‘People’s War’: Pro-China Communists Claim Credit for ‘Sparking’ US Riots  And George Soros?

What do we make of Joe Biden?

Strange Biden at the 2012 Ryan debate, assisted by Martha Raddatz

Tracking Biden’s Mental Decline . . . "Biden, who was first elected to the Senate 48 years ago, has been known for decades for his verbal gaffes. Democrats usually exploit this flaw to explain away their presidential candidate’s confused speech, claiming his lackluster abilities are evidence of a life-long quirk rather than a sign of cognitive decline.
“ 'It’s not a product of age; it’s just who he is,” wrote Paul Waldman in the Washington Post last April.
"But the real story is that Biden has not always spoken with such jumbled sentences. He was once a talented orator who spoke smoothly and emanated confidence. Yes, he made gaffes and shot himself in the foot with concerning statements, but that was far outweighed by his expressiveness and ability to connect with audiences. " . . .

The Strategies of Dementia Politics by Victor Davis Hanson  . . . ""The earlier career of a healthy Biden illustrates that he was not especially sharp even when in control of most of his faculties. We recall the former sane/nutty Biden of Neal Kinnock plagiarism, his “put y’all in chains” demagoguery, the studied racism of Biden’s riffs about a “clean” and well-spoken Obama, and the sane/insane Corn Pop stories. All are the trademark of a once fool Joe Biden, who was at least alert when compared with his current catalepsy. If Donald Trump can be ungrammatical, Biden is agrammatical — he simply streams together half-thoughts without syntax and then abandons the sentence entirely." . . .

Why Has Biden Hired 600 Lawyers?  . . . "Biden says he needs all these lawyers to fend off “voter suppression,” which he defines as any opposition by the Trump campaign to Democratic calls for a dramatic expansion of mail-in voting." . . .

Biden Staffer's Tweets Show Anti-Police Culture Has 'Pervaded' His Campaign  . . . "Sara Pearl, the supervising video producer for Biden's presidential campaign, tweeted anti-law enforcement messages that were supportive of defunding the police and against people referring to cops as “pigs” because that would be disrespectful to the animals." . . .
Even worse: 

. . . And, after several Dallas police officers were killed in 2016 by a sniper who "wanted to kill white people," Pearl dinged the National Rifle Association for tweeting its condolences in that case but not for prior shootings: "Of course they respond to the officers but not to the previous shootings :(" (Fox News)

Trump's Warning That Biden Would 'Abolish the Suburbs' Isn't Racist, and It Isn't Hyperbole, Either  "President Trump began highlighting Joe Biden’s horrific housing policy in a speech on July 16. The president is framing the policy in stark language by letting voters know that Joe Biden wants to “abolish the suburbs.” It would be great if this were hyperbole, but it is not." . . .

No, Trump Isn't Crazy. Joe Biden Poses a Threat to the Suburbs. Here's How.

Goya Boycott: Everything Is Political Now

Reason  "Politics are even in our soup."

"In Spanish, there is an idiom that refers to finding things "even in one's soup," when they are overbearingly ubiquitous. As U.S. politicians and activists enter day seven of a battle over canned beans and adobo seasoning, cancel culture and political point-scoring are undeniably hasta en la sopa.

"Speaking as a guest in the White House on July 9, Goya Foods CEO Bob Unanue praised President Donald Trump for being a "builder" and said Americans were "truly blessed" to have him as a leader.
"Faster than you can say "cancel culture," famous progressive Latinos took to Twitter, invoked the spirit of Roman Emperor Caracalla, and executed Unanue's and thereby Goya's damnatio memoriae.
" 'Oh look, it's the sound of me Googling 'how to make your own Adobo,'" tweeted Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D–N.Y.) about a popular Goya product. Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote that "we learned to bake bread in this pandemic, we can learn to make our own adobo con pimienta. Bye." Former Housing and Urban Development Sec. Julian Castro added that "Americans should think twice before buying their products," as he used the hashtag #Goyaway.
"As the boycott against Goya gained steam on social media, Unanue took to Fox News to claim his right to free speech was being constrained. This misses the point, since calling for an economic boycott also constitutes free expression. More troubling is when members of Congress like Ocasio-Cortez and former high-ranking bureaucrats such as Castro use their power and influence to punish a private business in order to score partisan points. " . . .