Archive for July, 2019

Based on this article, it’s pretty clear that the GOP is the only growth stock in American politics. I don’t know if it’s a bull market yet or not but it’s got the best yields thus far.

During the 2016 election campaign, President Trump inspired millions of Americans with the simple promise that he would “Make America Great Again” through “America First” policies. The media wrote that message off as a meaningless campaign slogan, but millions of Americans across this country knew better.

Since then, both the economy and the Republican Party have been flourishing, fueled by a president who is delivering on his promises for all Americans. Thanks to Donald Trump’s leadership, the Republican Party is now synonymous with freedom, economic prosperity and security.

The data shows that this movement is growing. President Trump’s rallies consistently draw well over 30,000 attendees, whether they take place in a remote airport hangar or a major sports arena. Just last month, his 2020 campaign kickoff rally in Orlando received more than 120,000 RSVPs for a venue that could accommodate 20,000. The same routine plays out at every rally: people start lining up days in advance to make sure they can get a seat, because they know that thousands of people will end up watching the president’s speech on jumbotrons from the parking lot once attendance reaches capacity. We’ve never seen the same level of enthusiasm or support for Democrats, especially for any of their 2020 presidential candidates.

Who knew that middle class Americans preferred prosperity over stagnation and microscopic unemployment rates over respectable unemployment rates? Who knew that blue collar workers would appreciate a candidate who kept their promises?

Actually, it was entirely predictable. In fact, I’ve been writing on LFR about the powerful effect keeping political promises would have for years. Democrats haven’t kept their promises. (See the ‘productivity’ of the Problem Solvers Caucus.) Rather than fixing things that are important to people, Democrats have engaged in a fishing expedition looking for that one piece of proof that will impeach President Trump.

This information should frighten Democrats:

The data also proves that this movement includes all Americans. Earlier this year, President Trump held a rally in El Paso, Texas at which over a quarter of those who registered had not voted in more than eight years and 27% were Millennials or younger. In Orlando, one-third of the registrants were not regular voters, and over 15% were 32 years of age or younger. In El Paso, over 70% of the registrants were Latino and 35% of them were registered Democrats. The president’s “America First” message clearly has broad appeal for Americans of every demographic.

Pandering doesn’t work. Period. Keeping important promises works like a charm. The proof is in the pudding:

One of those voters is a lifelong Democrat in Ohio. Scott Ford recently made a splash on social media when he announced that he will be attending the president’s next rally in Cincinnati on Thursday. Scott endured what he described as “complete torture” and “hate” from liberals over his defection, but he’ll be welcomed into the Trump movement with open arms.

Scott is far from the only Democrat to walk away. Americans experience the benefits of President Trump’s leadership every day in the form of the booming economy his policies created. Meanwhile, endless investigations and a “Squad” of radical Democrats are synonymous with the Democratic agenda. Instead of resistance, wouldn’t it be nice if the Democrats worked with Republicans to end the crisis at our southern border, pass the USMCA and rebuild America’s infrastructure?

Let’s crush the Resist Movement. Let’s get back to working with each other rather than constantly fighting.

The lede of Rep. Mary Franson’s e-letter update is the continuing crisis within the Minnesota Department of Human Sacrifices Services. In her e-letter, Rep. Franson wrote “There has been a lot of news swirling around the Capitol in the last few weeks about disarray and drama in the Department of Human Services. DHS has been in the news all session because of the fraud found by the nonpartisan Office of the Legislative Auditor, which led to the inspector general, Carolyn Ham, being placed on leave. We recently heard that as of July 12, the investigation had not even started yet. Meanwhile, Ms. Ham had been paid $42,000 while on leave.”

Rep. Franson continued:

Around the same time, two senior DHS officials handed in their resignations, with very little warning and no explanation. Several days after that, Commissioner Tony Lourey resigned, also with no warning or explanation. When Governor Walz announced Lourey’s resignation, he also said that the investigation into Carolyn Ham had started, meaning, once they were called out publicly, they quickly began an investigation.

The day following Commissioner Lourey’s resignation, his chief of staff resigned, and then the next day, the first two senior DHS officials rescinded their resignations and were hired back to DHS.

All of this drama has been met with no explanation from the Governor or his staff. For an agency the size of DHS, which controls almost 30% of the state budget, this level of upheaval and drama with absolutely no explanation is unprecedented and unacceptable. The Governor owes the people of Minnesota an explanation as to what exactly is going on in his largest agency.

Thus far, Gov. Walz gets an F in transparency. Thus far, he’s the worst governor in Minnesota history in terms of explaining why this crisis happened. In fact, Gov. Walz even suggested that this isn’t that big of a deal and that it’s likely just his political opponents latest attempt to attack him.

Clearly, the resignation spree at DHS (Department of Human Services) isn’t ordinary. It’s extraordinary. The suspension of the Inspector General (IG) is a big deal because the IG is supposed to inspect whether the Department is doing what it’s required to do. The fact that the IG was suspended with pay pending investigation is troubling enough. The fact that it’s been 4 months since that suspension without the start of the investigation screams utter ineptitude and corruption.

If Gov. Walz doesn’t start taking this crisis seriously soon, we’ll have proof that he’s just another bureaucrat in an executive position.

Anyone that thinks that Juan Williams isn’t living in a fantasy world just needs to read this article. The article is ostensibly about President Trump firing Dan Coats as his DNI, then appointing Rep. John Ratcliffe, (R-TX), to replace Coats full-time.

Williams takes Umbridge with the decision, saying “Coats fell out of favor with Trump for publicly confirming Russian interference in the 2016 election. The Trump appointee also raised eyebrows at a conference when he revealed Trump failed to consult with him before extending an invitation to the White House to Russian President Vladimir Putin.”

How dare the President invite a foreign head of state to the White House without first getting Dan Coats’ approval! Who does President Trump think he is, going over Dan Coats’ head?

Next, Williams expresses his indignation over this:

Trump will nominate Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) to fill the role. Ratcliffe is a pure political player. He is a direct threat to the nonpartisan reputation of America’s intelligence agencies and to their ability to protect the country by producing unbiased, first-rate information.

Notice that Williams didn’t mention that Ratcliffe is evidence-based because he’s a former US attorney and a damn good one at that. That’s irrelevant to Williams when he has the opportunity to unfairly criticize a nominee.

Further, what planet is Williams living on? He thinks “America’s intelligence agencies” haven’t been politicized? Seriously? Has he ever heard of people like Jim Clapper, Jim Comey, Andy McCabe, Peter Strzok and John Brennan? Or is Williams stupid enough to think that they aren’t political hacks?

Later, Williams wrote that Ratcliffe “auditioned for the role last week, when he subjected Robert Mueller to harsh questioning when the former special counsel appeared before Congress.” Here’s Ratcliffe’s questioning:

The Mueller Report is a one-sided report. Further, Mueller’s report ignored Special Counsel guidelines while writing Volume II. If that’s treating Mueller harshly, it’s because he deserved it. Mueller wrote an impeachment op-ed instead of writing a confidential report outlining the indictments and declinations of the Mueller team.

Patty Murray, the third-ranking member of the Senate Democrat caucus, just displayed how frighteningly stupid Democrats are. Yesterday, Sen. Murray said “I agree with my fellow members of the Washington delegation that, as we have learned about the gravity of the potential threats to our democracy identified in special counsel Mueller’s report, it has become clear that the House should begin proceedings to determine whether the president’s action necessitate impeachment.”

Huh? We’ve known about the “threats to our democracy” since 2014. Why would that make one iota of difference in whether to pursue impeachment? The only thing that should affect pursuing impeachment is whether there’s evidence that President Trump committed the crimes of “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”

The threats to our democracy happened during President Obama’s watch. They knew about the Russians’ attempts to infiltrate our election system and did nothing.

What’s interesting is that Jerry Nadler made an interesting statement in this interview:

Nadler said “When we get more evidence…” I didn’t know that the Judiciary Committee had evidence that an impeachable offense had been found. Simply put, it’s pretty clear that this is nothing more than a hoax. Democrats don’t have evidence that President Trump committed an impeachable offense. The American people see through the Democrats’ partisanship and they aren’t buying the hoax.

If Democrats want to continue beating this dead horse, that’s their option. I just wouldn’t predict a Lazarus-like outcome.

Jerry Nadler, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, insists that Bob Mueller would’ve indicted President Trump if not for the now infamous Office of Legal Counsel memo that says you can’t indict a sitting president. At the start of the House Intel Committee hearing, Mueller walked that statement back. Not that Mr. Nadler admitted that in his interview with Jake Tapper.

Let’s be clear about this: Nadler is caught in ‘God’s little acre’ — east of the rock, west of the hard place. It isn’t like he can admit the truth. The Democrats’ case for obstruction of justice died when John Ratcliffe asked Mueller a series of questions. Questions like ‘were you allowed to finish your investigation? Or was you investigation ever impeded? Or ‘were funding requests ever denied? Mueller dutifully replied no to each of those questions.

It isn’t possible to charge President Trump with obstruction of justice when he had a lengthy history of saying yes to each of your requests.

Then again, Russiagate is everything that Democrats have. Jackie Speier essentially admits that in this op-ed:

Indeed, I am still reeling from the humanitarian disaster I witnessed at the McAllen Border Patrol Station, the “Ursula” Centralized Processing Center and the Gateway International Bridge: Desperate people fleeing extreme poverty and life-threatening violence being detained in shameful conditions. Their journey is perilous, they face danger every step of the way, and the threats are no less potent once they arrive at our border. This is more than a crisis. It’s a nightmare with no end.

Things were so bad that she waited 2 weeks to write about the atrocities at this processing center. When a house is on fire, is it common to invite neighbors over for a BBQ and play some yard games before calling 911? Speier’s op-ed might have a little credibility if she’d written it the day after the trip.

Sen. Rick Scott criticized the Democrats for playing partisan games:

SEN. RICK SCOTT: Well, look, I, I, look, I didn’t do the tweets, Chuck. I can’t talk about why he did what he did. But I’m very disappointed in the people, like Congressman Cummings, who is attacking Border Patrol agents that are trying to do their job, when the Democrats won’t give them the resources to do it. They won’t secure the border. They won’t fix the asylum laws. And then Democrats want to sit there and say, “Oh, those Border Patrol agents don’t care.” Let me tell you, I’ve been to the border. I’ve talked to Border Patrol agents. I know they care about these individuals. But we have got to give them the resources and the ability to do their job.

Sen. Scott’s statements fly in the face of Rep. Speier’s op-ed. Democrats won’t fix the crisis with legislation. Democrats only criticize Republicans. That isn’t an agenda. That’s what losers do.

The Democrats don’t have a list of accomplishments. They have a lengthy list of complaints. That’s why they’ll lose their House majority in November, 2020.

All week, Democrat Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Jerry Nadler has insisted that there was abundant proof that President Trump had committed one crime after another after another. Nadler and other Democrats on the Judiciary and Intel committees repeatedly made these accusations all week long. The thing that these Democrats didn’t provide was forensic evidence that substantiated their claims.

Repeatedly, we were told that the evidence was “hiding in plain sight.” Each time, we were left wondering what these Democrats were babbling about. If Democrats won’t state who committed the crime, what the crime is and what proof the Democrats have that will slam the door shut, then President Trump should simply laugh in the Democrats’ faces.

Part II of the report reads like a 175+ page Democrat op-ed. Nowhere does it cite specific evidence proving the commission of a crime. The ‘it’s hiding in plain sight’ test doesn’t work. As the old saying goes, “one lies and the other one swears to it.” In the US judicial system, that system doesn’t work.

Further, I’m tired of Democrats treating the Mueller (Weissman?) report as proof of anything. It isn’t proof of anything except the fact that some people wrote lots of things. The Mueller Report is totally one-sided. It’s a report that makes lots of allegations. I’ve yet to hear a single Democrat highlight a specific piece of evidence that proves obstruction of justice.

I suspect that’s because that proof doesn’t exist. Without that, the Democrats’ case crumbles like a cheap suit. If Democrats want to keep chasing their impeachment fantasy, that’s their option as committee chairs. If Democrats keep pursuing that option, they should start preparing their concession speeches for next November because they’ll lose in droves.

To say that Doug Collins was upset with Democrats is understatement. Thursday, Rep. Collins exploded with righteous indignation at do-nothing Democrats, saying “lately, this has become a committee of press releases.” Collins thanked the witnesses for coming to the hearing, then saying “dehumanizing is taking people you say you care about but then doing nothing for them.”

Rep. Collins started reading his opening statement, then stopped rather dramatically. If you want to see what righteous indignation looks like, watch this video:

That’s what righteous indignation looks like. That’s what a man looks like who’s frustrated by do-nothing Democrats for doing nothing. This clip will be shown in campaign ad after campaign ad next fall. If Pelosi, Nadler, et al, don’t get a ton of bills passed and signed by this time next year, expect Republicans to bury freshman Democrats with ads cut from Rep. Collins’ justified diatribe.

Collins went on:

I think about these kids being used. I think about the Flores Agreement and the trafficking issue or the asylum issue.

Collins finished, saying “I couldn’t read the rest of this. This is dehumanizing. This is showing a non-competent, non-capable majority.” Let’s add some context to Rep. Collins’ speech:

Collins, the top Republican on the panel, spoke at a forum titled, “Oversight of Family Separation and U.S. Customs and Border Protection,” where Democrats sought to bring attention to what they say is the continued practice of separating children from adult migrants at the border.

The Do-nothing Democrats are experts at whining about what they think is wrong. They’re utterly worthless at fixing things. What have Do-Nothing Democrats gotten done since regaining the majority? Here’s what:

NOTHING!

That’s what they’ve fixed. Nothing. Then there’s this:

“My Democratic colleagues have ideas, I may disagree with those ideas but put a bill up,” Collins yelled. “I have a bill, put mine up, make amendments to it, do whatever you want to do — that’s what Congress is supposed to do. Dehumanizing is this.”

A vote for a Democrat is a vote for a blowhard politician who isn’t interested in fixing problems. A vote for a Democrat is a vote for a politician who isn’t interested in keeping their campaign promises. A vote for a Democrat is a vote for doing nothing. It’s that simple.

Krystal Ball used to be a host on MSNBC. She isn’t anymore. To say that she’s critical of MSNBC is accurate but it’s incomplete. Ball is now a host for Hill.TV, where she has a more reputable platform from which to voice her opinions. In this article, Ball didn’t hold back:

“I dare to say some talent did drink more deeply of the Russia conspiracy waters than others, Rachel Maddow, you have some explaining to do,” said Ball, who now who hosts Hill.TV’s “Rising.”

“This is not journalism, it is Infowars conspiracy theory,” she added, referencing the show hosted by right wing provocateur Alex Jones. “CNN and many other outlets are clearly not blameless in this hype machine and the Democratic Party was plenty happy to engage in this speculation as well,” she continued. “Individual members clearly loved that sweet cable news spotlight but I single out my former employer, in particular, in part because they were certainly the worst mainstream offenders.”

This is actually frightening in the worst way. Yes, Mueller was a sad, almost-pathetic, figure but that isn’t what’s frightening. William Jacobsen’s article does that subject justice far better than I can do:

Whether Robert Mueller was a mere figurehead or in control, he was a participant. So while he was a sorry figure in the congressional hearings, and his appearance did substantial damage to Democrat and media plans, the gravity of what happened should not be lessened. It almost worked.

The media, of course, was a full participant in what happened. Just when you thought the major organizations who control almost all of popular and social media couldn’t get any worse, they do. This all takes place while high tech companies put the thumb on the scale by penalizing non-liberal content.

I used to think that Big Government and Big Corporations was the worst combination. Big Tech and the Deep State make Big Government and Big Corporations look like child’s play.

It’s important to factor in the Big Government people and the Deep State. Nancy Pelosi is part of the Big Government nasties that care only about attaining, then maintaining power. As I wrote about in this post, Pelosi is among the nastiest, most disgusting, people in DC. Yesterday, without a hint of proof, Pelosi accused President Trump of committing treason. That’s what a venomous snake looks like. She didn’t have a tidbit of proof. She knew that she couldn’t prove that accusation if her life depended on it. It didn’t bother her that she’d made the most serious charge imaginable. To Pelosi, this was just about appeasing her base. It was all about partisan advantage. This didn’t have anything to do with patriotism.

Krystal Ball did the right thing getting out of MSNBC. That’s a pit of vipers unequaled except in the House Democrat caucus.

After the Metro DFL’s attempt to rewrite the mining permitting process, Iron Range politicians banded together to fire back at the anti-mining DFL politicians, even producing this factsheet to refute the Metro DFL’s lies.

John Marty, the crusading DFL legislator who never misses an opportunity to control other people’s lives, insists that PolyMet’s permits should be pulled because PolyMet’s parent company had a problem in South America. What Sen. Marty and other DFL legislators are attempting to do is rewrite permitting laws without going through the legislative process. These DFL politicians hope that they can talk Gov. Walz into ignoring existing state laws. But I digress. Onto the Iron Range factsheet:

The claims by metro legislators and anti-mining groups about PolyMet Mining are downright fabrications. It is very disappointing that people don’t know or don’t care what our strong rules and regulations require, and that the media continues to perpetuate the misinformation. The people of the Iron Range deserve better. The people of the state of Minnesota deserve better. There is no scandal. The agencies have done their jobs. The letter of the law was followed to a “T”. Enough of the fake news already. Here are the facts:

Fact: Our DNR required PolyMet Mining to post bankruptcy proof of financial assurance (only accessible by the DNR) before they even issued PolyMet’s permit to mine. It doesn’t matter who or what the ownership looks like the resources needed to close the mine if the company went bankrupt are currently in place and only the state can release the funds.

The Metro DFL is trying to relitigate this issue without the courts. If he had a spine, Gov. Walz would tell these busybody activists to take flying leap off a tall building. Thus far, Gov. Walz has shown he doesn’t have a spine. He’s got a spine of jello.

Fact: PolyMet has undergone the most thorough and transparent environmental review and permitting process more than any other project ever in our state. Extra-long public review periods, with thousands of public comments, all of which were responded to, and extra meetings were held around the state including the Twin Cities. When was the last time a project in the Twin Cities was required to hold public meetings on the Iron Range?

The Metro DFL doesn’t care about the Iron Range. They don’t care about Minnesota’s economy, either. Based on their actions, they only care about obstructing commerce.

The thing that the Twin Cities media doesn’t cover is that the Metro DFL doesn’t just care about regulating mining. They want to turn Minnesota into a regulation state. Here are the legislators who signed onto the factsheet:

If anyone ever thought that Nancy Pelosi’s first goal was to make the United States the best nation it could possibly be, that notion died last night. That’s because Pelosi “told a ‘Tucker’ producer” that “I wonder what Putin has politically, financially, or personally.”

Accusing the President of the United States of treason without a scintilla of proof is partisanship at its worst. Next fall, voters need to know that a vote for House Democrats is a vote for this despicable person. In 2018, Democrats ran away from Pelosi to look moderate. Then half of these Democrats voted for Pelosi to be Speaker. More importantly, most of these Democrats have hung tight with Pelosi on every major vote that’s been taken.

Moderate? Give me a break. But I digress.

Let’s get into the heart of this accusation. What proof does Speaker Pelosi have that suggests that President Trump is compromised? This is pretty high-stakes stuff. When the person who is third in line to the Oval Office accuses the current occupant of the White House of having committed treason, that person better have gold-plated proof that supports her accusation.

Democrats don’t have that type of proof. If they did, they would’ve started impeachment hearings the minute they got their gavels. The next question that needs to be asked is this: If Democrats don’t have proof to support such a flippant, irresponsible accusation, what’s the basis for that accusation? I think Tucker nailed it in this paragraph:

Carlson said that she is once again intimating that the president is a traitor committing treason, but she doesn’t mean it. He said her comments are annoying and ominous. “Everything is political. … It’s just about power,” he said.

This reminds me of Harry Reid’s comments on the Senate floor where he accused Mitt Romney of not paying taxes for 10 years. When asked about making those accusations, Reid replied “Romney didn’t win, did he?”

Harry Reid didn’t care about doing what’s right for America. What’s frightening is that Pelosi is more cold-blooded than Reid. With her, it’s all about gaining, then maintaining, political power to check items off the Democrats’ ideological checklist. This is what evil looks and sounds like:

“It’s about what matters. It’s not politics, not partisanship. It’s patriotism.”

Pelosi doesn’t give a damn about patriotism. She wants to maintain the Democrats’ majority in the House no matter what. She isn’t leading Democrats by focusing them to do the right thing in terms of the economy, the border or impeachment. Democrats are chasing impeachment. Do they have any proof of high crimes and misdemeanors? Of course they don’t.

Here’s the key question for voters: Do you want a House majority that puts its priorities first? Or would you prefer a majority that puts your priorities first? A vote for a Democrat is a vote for putting the Democrats’ priorities first. That translates into a chaotic situation at the border. That translates into a stagnating economy. That’s a vote to ignore small-town America. That’s a vote against energy dominance, too.

Worst of all, it’s a vote to hand the Speaker’s Gavel to Evil Nancy Pelosi. No thanks.