US may end aid to Ukraine after midterms – Axios

 The Biden administration says it’ll keep working with Congress to support Kiev regardless of the outcome of November’s vote

Axios  "The extensive assistance provided by Washington to Ukraine amid its conflict with Russia may be cut if the Republican Party takes control of Congress in the midterm elections on November 8, Axios has reported.

"Even the harshest critics of Vladimir Putin among the Republicans now acknowledge that there’s been a “noticeable shift away from what was once a broad bipartisan consensus” on providing aid to Kiev, the outlet reported on Wednesday.

"It cited House minority leader Kevin McCarthy, who told Punchbowl News earlier this week: “I think people are gonna be sitting in a recession and they’re not going to write a blank check to Ukraine. They just won’t do it.”

"Ukraine might be important, but it can’t be the only thing on the agenda of the US administration, he insisted.

"Republican Congressman Don Bacon also said he’d “noticed” a decline in support for Ukraine. “You see it a little bit on social media, you see it with some of our members,” he said.

"Bacon’s colleague Kelly Armstrong told Axios that the mood swing was likely a result of the feedback that the lawmakers had been getting from their constituents. “When people are seeing a 13% increase in grocery prices; energy, utility bills doubling... if you’re a border community and you’re being overrun by migrants and fentanyl, Ukraine is the furthest thing from your mind,” he pointed out.

"The website also cited a senior House Republican, who claimed that “after the $40 billion [in aid package in May], there were a lot of Republicans saying: ‘This is the last time I’m going to support Ukraine funding.’” 

"In a comment to Axios, Congressman Jim Banks, who chairs the Republican Study Committee (RSC), pointed out that his party is going to focus on domestic issues after the midterms.". . .

We Need To Stop Calling Ourselves Conservatives

 The Federalist

The conservative project has failed, and conservatives need to forge a new political identity that reflects our revolutionary moment.

"Given the state of America in 2022, conservatives should stop calling themselves conservatives.

"Why? Because the conservative project has largely failed, and it is time for a new approach. Conservatives have long defined their politics in terms of what they wish to conserve or preserve — individual rights, family values, religious freedom, and so on. Conservatives, we are told, want to preserve the rich traditions and civilizational achievements of the past, pass them on to the next generation, and defend them from the left. In America, conservatives and classical liberals alike rightly believe an ascendent left wants to dismantle our constitutional system and transform America into a woke dystopia. The task of conservatives, going back many decades now, has been to stop them.

"In an earlier era, this made sense. There was much to conserve. But any honest appraisal of our situation today renders such a definition absurd. After all, what have conservatives succeeded in conserving? In just my lifetime, they have lost much: marriage as it has been understood for thousands of years, the First Amendment, any semblance of control over our borders, a fundamental distinction between men and women, and, especially of late, the basic rule of law.

"Calling oneself a conservative in today’s political climate would be like saying one is a conservative because one wants to preserve the medieval European traditions of arranged marriage and trial by combat. Whatever the merits of those practices, you cannot preserve or defend something that is dead. Perhaps you can retain a memory of it or knowledge of it. But that is not what conservatism was purportedly about. It was about maintaining traditions and preserving Western civilization as a living and vibrant thing.". . .

Dead Dog Receives Register To Vote-by-Mail Application From The Democratic Party – The Homeowner’s Response Is Priceless

 USA Supreme  "In an order that illustrates the bizarre views of controversial Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a federal court has turned down Benson’s motion to throw out a lawsuit filed against her for refusing to remove almost 26,000 dead voters from Michigan voters rolls.

"In mid-September 2020, the Public Interest Legal Foundation sent Benson a list of all of the deceased registrants who remained on the state’s voter rolls less than two months before the presidential election.

"Of those nearly 26,000 Michigan residents, 23,663 had been dead for at least five years, 17,479 had been dead for at least a decade and, astonishingly, 3,956 had been dead for at least two decades, yet they were still listed as registered voters in the state.

"That shows just how inadequate Michigan’s procedures are for safeguarding the accuracy of its voter list.

"Is a dead dog an “eligible voter?". . .

. . ."At the bottom of the invitation to register the homeowner’s dog to vote but what is strange is the fact that the outside of the envelope shows the return address at the MI Democratic Party."

President Gaslight speaks: Joe Biden gaslights over soaring energy prices

He thinks we're stupid. He claimed that his release of the strategic petroleum reserves was nothing political because Putin did it. What a handy guy.  

Monica Showalter  "Joe Biden always manages to disgust, and yesterday's thrashing performance on energy prices was no exception.". . .

. . ."Telling detail: The reserves will be good for getting the U.S. through December .... just enought to get midterms safely in the rearview window.

"Money quote: "Right now, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is more than half full, with about 400 million barrels of oil. That's more than enough for any emergency drawdown."

"Any emergency drawdown?

"Didn't he just say that his release was indeed a legitimate emergency, a Putin emergency? Why does he need oil for an emergency when he just claimed he was in an emergency?

"Seems this isn't -- except to Democrats looking at a shellacking at midterms as gasoline prices climb sky high. He inadvertantly exposed his hand in that bumbling explanation.". . .

Biden: "Let's debunk some myths: My administration has not stopped or slowed U.S. oil production."pic.twitter.com/XcocoplSO3

— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) October 19, 2022 

Democrats' Third World Media Law Must Be Stopped

Democrats' Third World Media Law Must Be Stopped (breitbart.com)  "The attempt by Senate Democrats to define who is, and is not, a journalist is only the latest assault by the left on the First Amendment during the Obama era. From their attacks on free speech in opposition to the Citizens United ruling, to their assault on religious freedom in the Obamacare mandates and gay-marriage fight, Democrats–once the party of civil liberties–have now added press freedom to their list of targets." . . .

Narrative backfire: 'Mainstream media' most widely feared threat to democracy in new poll  . . ."The investigation is one of numerous ongoing efforts to prosecute political opponents of the Biden administration.

"Just the News has previously reported on growing outcry among legal experts and civil libertarians over what they described as the Justice Department's strong-arm tactics targeting Trump allies and critics of the Biden administration.

"Polling in recent months has indicated voters, including a majority of independents, believe the Biden administration has crossed a line in pursuing political opponents."

Pelosi’s ‘Winning’ Message To Voters: Quit Griping About Inflation

Issues & Insights "To all those suffering from skyrocketing prices, struggling to make ends meet, going to food kitchens to feed their families, breaking the bank just to fill up their tanks, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has a message for you.

Quit your griping and vote Democratic.

"That is the “new and improved” messaging that Pelosi thinks will win over voters in November.

"And no, we are not kidding. In an interview with Punchbowl News published on Wednesday, here’s what she said:

Inflation’s an issue, but it’s global. It’s global. … What’s [the Republicans’] plan? They ain’t got nothing. When you bring down unemployment, inflation goes up. … So, in any case, [President Joe Biden] brought unemployment [down], cut it in half. Inflation is there but it’s global and not as bad as it is in some countries. We’ll have to message it better in the next three weeks ahead. I think we’re in great shape. Other people don’t want to believe that.

"Let’s break that down.". . .

"In any case, telling people “everybody’s suffering, so don’t feel so bad,” is not what we’d call a winning message.

“When you bring down unemployment, inflation goes up.” That’s flat out false.

Under Trump, the unemployment rate dropped from 4.7% to 3.5%, while inflation remained steady. In fact, every sustained decline in unemployment since 1980 shows unemployment and inflation declining. (See charts below.)

The lengths they go to protect Stacey Abrams

“It has been 20 months of misery and vexation and Homer Simpson goes to Washington."

Sen. Kennedy: "I'm not going to buy a car just to get the cupholders"

Abrams: You can fight inflation by aborting more babies, you know   "Er … what?

"Just how desperate are Democrats to sell abortion in this midterm cycle dominated by inflation and crime? Stacey Abrams demonstrates here in an exchange with Mike Barnicle this morning on Morning Joe. Barnicle points out that Democrats’ attempts to use abortion to distract from the issues that matter most to voters in the cycle have flopped.

"Abrams responds by claiming that abortion is a solution to inflation. And I’m not kidding:". . .

Joe in Wonderland  "Yesterday, President Biden said this:  

Biden vowed, if more Democrats are elected to Congress on November 8, he would push for legislation that will codify abortion rights into law. 

'Congressional Republicans are doubling down on their extreme positions,' the president said. 

"He went on to say:   

'The first bill that I will send to the Congress will be to codify Roe v. Wade. And when Congress passes it, I'll sign it in January -- 50 years after Roe was first decided as the law of the land. Together we'll restore the right to choose for every woman in every state in America.'

"And he ended his remarks with a call for people to vote.". . .

 . . ."Abortion will not play a major role at a time when most women are alarmed every time they are buying groceries for their families.

"So President Biden's magic carpet ride will take him back to The White House and the reality that most Democrats don't want him to run in 2024."

Free speech descends to new lows in Vermont

 American Thinker  "In another twist in the twisted tale of a Vermont girls' volleyball team ejected from their own locker room due to conflicts with a trans-identifying student who allegedly ogled them, the father of the girl who blew the changing room whistle was dismissed as soccer coach when he refused to publicly apologize for calling the trans student a "boy."  Aside from issues of privacy or gender identification, this raises important questions about government infringement of fundamental free speech rights under the United States and Vermont Constitutions.

"The father's sentiment was not that extreme.  In response to a comment by the mother of the trans student on social media, Travis Allen wrote:

"I am the father of the girl you claim 'made up a story for attention,'" Travis Allen wrote in a Facebook reply to Sivvy. "The truth is your son watched my daughter and multiple other girls change in the locker room. While he got a free show, they got violated."

The father added: "You think this is fine and dandy. I wonder how you would feel if I watched you undress?"

"Free speech is undoubtedly an important liberty.  The Vermont State Constitution recognizes this in Article 13:

That the people have a right to freedom of speech, and of writing and publishing their sentiments, concerning the transactions of government, and therefore the freedom of the press ought not to be restrained.. . .

Kari Lake May Be the Greatest Thing to Happen to Republicans This Year

PJ Media

Kari Lake has been a bright ray of sunshine here in this already sunny state. In the short period of time that she’s been the nominee she’s proven that, should she win, she’ll be an asset not only for Arizona but for the national GOP as well.

. . ."Kari Lake — the Republican candidate for governor here in my native Arizona — has been the biggest surprise for me in this most important of election years.

"I was skeptical of Lake during the primary, as were many of my conservative friends. She seemed rather new to conservatism. After a conversation with my good friend and colleague Kevin Downey Jr., I was reminded that not everybody comes out of the womb a conservative as I did.

"My skepticism quickly disappeared as soon as Lake won the primary and hit the campaign trail. Her career behind enemy lines in the mainstream media gives her an advantage that even veteran Republican politicians don’t enjoy. Lake knows how to handle them because she was them.

"In the past six years, only two prominent Republicans have known how to handle hit jobs from the enemy of the people media: Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis. Trump does it with his natural combativeness, DeSantis honed his craft under relentless assault beginning in the early days of the pandemic.

"Kari Lake showed up armed with insider information that she uses to lay traps that idiot reporters keep walking into.

"Recently, a faux journo type hit Lake with the “ELECTION DENIER” talking point, obviously hoping for a “Gotcha!” moment. He no doubt ended up regretting that.

Matt has the story:

During a campaign stop on Monday, Lake was asked her thoughts about her name being linked to denying election results, and she really let the reporter have it.

“I’m actually shocked you asked that question,” she said before she called upon a young campaign staffer named Anthony to present 150 examples of Democrats denying election results. She took the stack of paper from him and went to town. “Is that an election denier?”

She then cited Hillary Clinton calling Trump an “illegitimate president” and a Los Angeles Times op-ed titled, “Was the 2016 election legitimate? It’s now definitely worth asking the question.”

“So it’s okay for Democrats to question elections, but it’s not okay for Republicans. It’s a crock of B.S. Every one of you knows that,” Lake continued. “We have our freedom of speech and we’re not going to relinquish it to a bunch of fake news.”. . .

 Trump-Backed Kari Lake confronts CNN’s Dana Bash

One such instance came when Lake, confronted with the usual “election denier” comments, blasted Bash for not labeling Georgia’s Stacey Abrams an “election denier” despite Abrams’ past claims about her 2018 loss to Georgia Governor Brian Kemp.. . .

Weaponized Governmental Failure: A Primer

The American Spectator

Democrats rule over a ruin, but they rule.

This is why the leftists keep insisting that the Electoral College needs to be scrapped and a national popular vote would be better. They want the handful of largest cities - dysfunctional under Democrat mismanagement - to decide for the nation.- From a reader's comment to this article 

"The simple definition of Weaponized Governmental Failure is this: it’s the deliberate refusal to perform the basic tasks of urban governance for a specific political purpose.

"The crime and the graft and the potholes and the bad drainage, not to mention the spotty trash collection or nonexistent snow shoveling, aren’t incompetence. In fact, none of what you see in the American public sector is incompetence. The people responsible for it are quite highly educated and well-trained in their craft. You just need to understand what their craft is.

"It’s a choice to do a poor job with the more mundane tasks of running a city, and an educated and purposeful choice at that. If you do those things effectively, after all, what you will get is middle-class voters moving in. Middle-class voters tend to choose to live in places where they can expect to get actual value out of their tax dollars — good roads, safe streets, functional drainage, decent schools, a friendly business climate, and a growing economy, among other things — and those things are hard to produce when you govern the way the Left does.

"Put a different way, middle-class voters are a pain in the ass.

"They want lots of things that make for unrewarding grunt work for a mayor, and a Democrat blowhard like a Mitch Landrieu or Ted Wheeler of Portland would rather spend his time on vacuous cultural aggressions like “social change” and offering wealth redistribution and excuses for the bad personal habits that cause so many people to be poor.

"Not to mention tilting at bronze statues of better men long dead and nearly forgotten as a means of “making a difference.”

"For a Landrieu, or a Kwame Kilpatrick, Marion Barry, Bill de Blasio, or Lori Lightfoot, it is no great loss if those middle-class voters declare themselves fed up and decamp to the suburbs. Their exodus simply makes for an electorate that is a lot less demanding and easier to control.

"That “white flight” is a feature. It’s not a bug. And it isn’t all that white either. Those suburbs the folks are leaving for? Their minority population share usually increases as their population does. Why do you think that is? Simple: the black middle class has no more use for these woke urban Democrats than the white middle class does.

"And it’s quite a mutual sentiment, to be sure.". . .

Biden is Still a Political Albatross

 

What Does Albatross Around One’s Neck Mean? - Writing Explained   "Definition: A heavy burden one carries, especially one that accompanies significant guilt.  The idiom albatross around one’s neck refers to a heavy burden someone carries, especially a burden that torments someone incessantly. This idiom comes from the 19th-century poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner."

Opinion | Biden is Still a Political Albatross - POLITICO  . . ."The reality is that he is persistently unpopular and an enormous drag on his party, with little obvious upside potential. And despite his protestations, he may end up declaring that he’s not running for reelection a year or so from now.

"Credit to him for snagging his party’s nomination in 2020 amid widespread skepticism he could still connect with primary voters. But ultimately he won the presidency by default, as the one major-party presidential candidate not named Donald Trump, and he could prove a parentheses in political history between Trump presidential terms or the brief, forgettable bridge to much-younger, more contemporary Democrats like Kamala Harris or Pete Buttigieg.

"Usually, a president needs to be above 50 percent approval to significantly reduce midterm losses and in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll, he’s below 40, at 39 percent. He’s higher in other polls, but a spate of recent surveys have him at 40 or 41. He is getting crushed on the issue every poll shows is most important to Americans, the economy. The POLITICO/Morning Consult poll has him at 35-61 percent approval on his handling of the economy, and the ABC/Washington Post survey shows people trust Republicans more on the issue by 16 points. Democrats’ slim lead in the generic ballot is now coming despite their feelings for Biden, not because of him.". . .

Americans Might Just Vote Every Dem out After Nancy Pelosi's Latest Remarks

 RedState

Pelosi further stepped in it, claiming part of what caused inflation was Biden created millions of jobs. This would be laughable, if this ignorance/lie/spin wasn’t so wrong on every level. No, Biden didn’t create any jobs; people went back to work after the pandemic — that’s not creating jobs

"I’ve reported on a lot of polls now about what the most important things are to the American people in this election. The answers are always the same: inflation, the economy, and crime. Poll after poll says it. Everyone that gets interviewed on the question says the same thing.". . .

. . .This benefits the Republicans because that’s what they are focused on.

"Yet, what are the Democrats focused on?

"According to a recent Harvard-Harris poll, voters think the Democrats are focused on Jan. 6, women’s rights, and climate change — none of which even crack the top numbers on concerns for Americans in this election. In the face of all the economic problems, that’s what the Democrats are focusing their time on, in addition to being divisive and demonizing Republicans. They’re more focused on climate change than solving our energy problems–which, ironically, they created because of their focus on climate change.

"Andrea Mitchell had House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on MSNBC, and after basically kissing her feet, saying that she, Pelosi, and Joe Biden had done so much for the American people, she asked about the voters’ concerns about inflation and rising crime.". . .

.@SpeakerPelosi: "I don't agree" w/ polls showing Americans care about soaring crime & inflation pic.twitter.com/IMyHx4dNHd

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) October 18, 2022

. . . Imagine this privileged take from Pelosi. Likely the inflation is not hitting her very hard, and she has no problem getting her designer ice cream. But not everyone has been able to get rich off the government teet as she has for the billion years that she’s been in office.