Tag Archives: Bernie Sanders

Follow The Money

Posted on by

This year’s presidential campaign reminds me of the old Spy vs. Spy cartoons in Mad Magazine. There are so many twists and turns and behind the scenes things going on that it is hard to keep up. I keep hearing that Hillary Clinton can beat Donald Trump in the general election, but then I read about the money the Clinton and Soros organizations are paying protesters to disrupt Donald Trump events. If Hillary Clinton can beat Donald Trump, why is she disrupting his events?

I am not a Trump supporter, but I don’t like to idea of shutting down the free speech of a candidate. I especially don’t like the idea of paying protesters to do that.

On March 21st, The Daily Caller reported:

This free speech-busting goon squad operation is directed by supporters of Hillary Clinton. It is paid for mostly by George Soros and MoveOn.org and pushed by David Brock at Media Matters for America. It’s also funded by reclusive billionaire Jonathan Lewis, who was identified by the Miami New Times as a “mystery man.” He inherited roughly a billion dollars from his father Peter Lewis (founder of Progressive Insurance Company).

A march and demonstration against Trump at Trump Tower essentially fizzled Saturday when only 500 “protesters” of the promised 5000 showed up. Infiltrating the crowd, I learned most were from MoveOn or the Occupy movement. Soap was definitely in short supply in this crowd. Several admitted answering a Craig’s list ad paying $16.00 an hour for protesters.

At least they are paying them more than minimum wage.

The article explains the reason for the protests:

This is why David Brock’s dirty trick solves two problems at once: it helps discredit Bernie because it appears that his followers are violent; and it also disqualifies Trump for a future vote, by portraying him as a racist or a bigot. The whole thing is a kabuki dance. Blaming Sanders for these riots is like blaming the Communists for the Reichstag fire.

And finally, from a friend on Facebook:

DonaldTrumpPaidProtesters

We Need A Reality Check Here

Posted on by

The Hill is reporting today that after his recent primary victories in Washington, Alaska and Hawaii, Bernie Sanders has stated that he believes that the super delegates will switch from supporting Hillary to supporting him.

The article reports:

The latest delegate counts still put Sanders behind Clinton, however, with 1,004 pledged delegates to her 1,712.

Of those, 469 are superdelegates who have pledged to Clinton and only 29 have pledged to Sanders.

Sanders on Sunday said those superdelegates may begin to see the “reality” that he’s the best candidate to beat GOP front runner Donald Trump.

“I think when they begin to look at reality, and that is that we are beating Donald Trump by much larger margins than Secretary Clinton” Sanders said. “And then you’ve got superdelegates in states where we win by 40 or 50 points. I think their own constituents are going to say to them, ‘Hey, why don’t you support the people of our state and vote for Sanders?'”

There is absolutely nothing I can add to this article.

Let’s Put The Blame Where It Belongs

Posted on by

MSNBC is reporting today on the protests that forced the cancellation of the rally to support Donald Trump in Chicago last night. This is a story that needs to be looked at carefully. America has a First Amendment. Donald Trump has as much right as anyone to speak out. Protesters also have the right to speak out. They don’t, however, have the right to destroy property or prevent anyone else from speaking. For a number of years we have seen conservative speakers shut down at college campuses; now we are seeing a Presidential candidate prevented from speaking. That does not bode well for the future of our country. We need to take a look at these ‘protests’ and see who organized them (they were organized) and what they are actually about.

Yesterday Gateway Pundit posted an article about the Chicago protesters.

The Gateway Pundit article reported:

Obama buddy and domestic terrorist Bill Ayers was seen protesting Donald Trump in Chicago today.

Thousands of leftwing protesters were expected today to protest Donald Trump at the University of Chicago Illinois campus.
5,000-7,000 people were already inside the pavilion at 5 PM Central. Thousands more were still in a line that stretched several blocks.

I guess some leopards just don’t change their spots.

MSNBC reported:

When Ja’Mal Green, a prominent black activist and Bernie Sanders supporter in Chicago, saw that Donald Trump was coming to the University of Illinois Chicago, he knew what he had to do. “Everyone, get your tickets to this. We’re all going in!!!! ‪#‎SHUTITDOWN‬,” he posted on Facebook last week.

Little did he know they actually would shut it down.

Friday night, hundreds of protesters invaded Trump’s rally while thousands more marched outside, leading the candidate to abruptly cancel the event due to safety concerns. The night spun out from there, as angry Trump fans clashed with protesters, who saw the shutdown as a victory.

This sort of political activity does not belong in the American political system.

The article further reports:

A Facebook page was started to promote the protest. By the night of Trump rally, more than 11,600 people had RSVP’d on the page saying they would attend the event. Another 19,000 said they were “interested.” Organizers were shocked when Facebook’s analytics said the page reached more than 1.5 million users.

The page explained how to acquire tickets to the Trump rally, complete with links, instructions on where and when to meet, and exhortations to remain peaceful.

Jorge Mena, a undocumented graduate student at UIC, started a petition on MoveOn.org calling on the school’s administration to cancel the event. The petition garnered more than 50,000 signatures, and once brass at MoveOn, which has endorsed Sanders, caught wind of the UIC backlash, they wanted to help. MoveOn chipped in money to get signs and a banner printed and blasted out an email to members in the Chicago area encouraging them to join the protest.

With just four days to plan, organizers said more than 1,000 students turned out for the march, along with thousands of community members.

It’s a shame that this sort of organization and energy could not have been directed toward something more constructive. Again, protests are allowed; shutting down speech is not.

Bernie Sanders Has Won The Democratic Kansas Caucuses

Posted on by

The Hill has just reported that Bernie Sanders has won the Democratic caucuses in Kansas.

The article reports:

The Democratic Party of Kansas projected the result with 90 percent of precincts reporting. It said 40,000 people participated in the caucuses, a larger turnout than 2008.

Sanders is running strong in another Midwestern state, Nebraska, and could be poised for two early Super Saturday wins.

Kansas, which will award its 33 pledged delegates proportionally, is the sixth state to be won by Sanders so far. He has also won New Hampshire, Vermont, Colorado, Minnesota and Oklahoma.

As I have stated previously, I am not a Democrat. However, I understand that the way the Democratic Primary is set up, the Super Delegates are already lined up for Hillary Clinton. She will get the nomination regardless of how many votes Bernie Sanders gets. This system was set up after George McGovern won the nomination and then lost in all but two places because he was so far out of the mainstream of American political thought. The system of Super Delegates was set up to avoid that happening again. Although I understand the logic in this, if I were a Democratic voter who supported Bernie Sanders, I would be livid. Either votes count or they don’t count. I am not a Trump supporter, but if he wins the primary elections, he deserves to be the nominee. If the establishment Republicans take it away from him, I will quite likely leave the Republican party. Again, either votes count or they don’t count. The rule applies to both political parties.

 

Some Observations About Yesterday’s Election

Posted on by

Yesterday a number of states held primary elections. Political junkies were watching carefully for clues to the future. I have chosen three articles that I think best explain where we are. The first article was posted by Andrew Malcolm at Investor’s Business Daily. The second article was posted at The Hill. The third article is from The Federalist. Before I continue, I would like to add one caution–this is the silly season. Most of what you are going to hear in the next two weeks is not true. Be very careful what you believe.

Investor’s Business Daily points out:

The bottom line — or one of them — is that not much has changed. No one new dropped out, which helps Trump by keeping his opposition divided heading into the big Fox News debate in Detroit Thursday evening.

What we do know for sure now is that the GOP is split by deep fissures heading into peak primary season. Rubio and Cruz think the other should drop out.

Kasich, who’s been getting in the 4%-5% range, called on the others to quit and declared: “We have absolutely exceeded expectations.”

The governor is holding on to very little except the prayer that lightning will give him a victory back home in Ohio on March 15 and, who knows, maybe some VP consideration from Trump as a reward for denying Cruz and Rubio enough votes to catch the billionaire.

Trump had a good night, although he under-performed his polling heading into the biggest voting day of this cycle so far. That and Rubio’s late surge to second in Virginia could be a sign the Florida senator’s mocking attacks are having some impact.

Rubio declared Tuesday evening: “Donald Trump will never be the nominee of the Republican Party. We are not going to turn over the party of Lincoln and Reagan to a con man.” He called Trump “a creature of the media, the same media that’s going to tear him to shreds if he ever becomes our nominee.”

Does anyone remember Ronald Reagan’s 11th Commandment?

The article from The Hill points out that the precinct that includes Liberty University did not follow the lead of Jerry Falwell Jr., the school’s president, and vote for Donald Trump. The total’s from that precinct are as follows: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) took first with 44 percent support in Liberty’s precinct and 513 votes, followed by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) at 33 percent, Ben Carson at 14 percent and Trump at 8 percent.

The article at The Federalist made a number of observations. The first observation is that Trump underperformed:

He lost Texas to Cruz, as expected. But he lost it bigly — some 17 points. He also lost Oklahoma to Cruz. And then Cruz went ahead and won Alaska to boot. Minnesota went for Marco Rubio, his first state victory. Trump also underperformed in other states, such as Virginia. The Real Clear Politics average of polls headed into the contest was near 15 points. He won by 2.8% over Rubio. That meant Trump got 17 delegates to Rubio’s 16. His wins in Vermont and Arkansas were by similarly small margins.

The difference between the Republican and Democratic voter turnout is dramatic:

These Tuesday contests continued a pattern of record-breaking turnout for Republican primary voters and decreased turnout for Democratic voters (Colorado saw more Democratic voters than they had in 2008). Only Vermont didn’t have record-breaking turnout for its Republican primary, and it was still way up over the last contest. Many of the states whose contests were held on Super Tuesday hold open primaries, which means traditionally Democratic voters could be crossing over to vote for Trump or another candidate. No matter the cause, the excitement of both Trump voters and those seeking to stop him is palpable and contributing to the voter turnout.

One wonders if this is Democrats crossing over because they feel Trump cannot beat Hillary Clinton or if it is enthusiastic Trump supporters. At this point I have no idea.

The article at The Federalist also states:

And while Cruz has previously shown much strength, many of the upcoming primaries are in states with demographics more like Minnesota than Texas or Oklahoma. Cruz and Rubio have shown strength in states with closed primaries, where Democrats can’t switch over to vote for Trump.

Trump is dominating and on path to the nomination. No one else has a good path, except if they all keep fighting to keep Trump from getting the delegates he needs. Expect much more discussion about whether people need to get out or stay in.

The question for those who would like to see a Republican president elected in November is simple, “Will the Democrats who are voting for Trump in the primary elections vote for him in November?” I honestly do not know the answer to that question, but I suggest that the people running the Republican presidential campaigns find that answer quickly.

 

 

People In Glass Houses…

Posted on by

Yesterday The Washington Free Beacon reported that the Federal Election Commission has sent a letter to Bernie Sanders‘ campaign committee about illegal donations to the campaign.

The article reports:

The campaign’s January financial disclosure filing listed contributions from foreign nationals and unregistered political committees, the FEC said. Other contributions came from donors who exceeded the $2,700 per-election limit.

“Although the Commission may take further legal action concerning the acceptance of [excessive or prohibited] contributions, your prompt action to refund the prohibited amount will be taken into consideration,” the FEC told the campaign.

Sanders’ campaign has relied on small-dollar individual contributions to a far greater extent than any other presidential campaign, including the Super PAC- and dark money-fueled efforts of Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

The Vermont Senator and self-described socialist is running on a platform of transparency and campaign finance reform, contrasting his grassroots support with Clinton’s high-dollar donors and use of loopholes in federal election laws that allow her campaign to coordinate with outside groups that can accept unlimited contributions.

However, Sanders’ donors have also run afoul of federal campaign finance laws, and his financial disclosure reports have been riddled with errors.

Many of the foreign donations come from people in countries that support socialism and want to help the Sanders’ campaign. However, the campaign needs to follow the law and practice the transparency that it preaches.

Yesterday In South Carolina

Posted on by

Yesterday Donald Trump won the primary election in South Carolina. These are the numbers (from Townhall.com):

SouthCarolinaPrimaryElectionAfter the primary, Jeb Bush suspended his campaign, so there are essentially five candidates remaining–the top three are Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, and Ted Cruz. So what can we conclude from this? The only Republican establishment candidate left is March Rubio. He is not the Republican establishment’s first choice, but he is the only remaining establishment candidate. The only true conservative in the race is Ted Cruz. We can expect to see more vicious attacks against him in the coming weeks both from the media and the Republican establishment.

This is the current delegate count in each party:

DelegateCountFebruary21*Party leaders who are free to support any candidate.

This is the beginning. If you truly want America to move in a positive direction in the future, I believe that Ted Cruz is your candidate. Be ready for the Democrats, the media, and the Republican establishment to go after Ted Cruz in a noticeable way. He is the candidate that is truly a threat to the status quo.

Why Is The Pope Getting Involved In An American Presidential Race?

Posted on by

The headline today is that the Pope says that Donald Trump is ‘not a Christian.’ Big Whoop. Are Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Barack Obama, Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz Christians? Is it possible to be a Christian and support abortion? Is it possible to be a Christian and demand that the Little Sisters of the Poor pay for contraception that includes abortion-inducing pills? Is it Christian to oppose Israel every step of the way and not defend them when they are attacked? Is it Christian to sit in Jeremiah Wright‘s church and hear racist shouting week after week? Who knows if Donald Trump is or is not a Christian? If he says he is, we need to take him at his word. We also need to evaluate his actions in light of what he says.

Sean Hannity posted what is essentially the essence of the story:

Specifically, the pontiff takes issue with Donald’s plan to build a border wall with Mexico. When asked about Trump, the Pope was quoted by The New York Times saying:

A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not of building bridges, is not Christian. This is not the Gospel. As far as what you said about whether I would advise to vote or not to vote, I am not getting involved in that. I say only this man is not Christian if he has said things like that.

Just for the record, this is a picture of the Vatican posted by a friend on Facebook:

PopeAndDonaldTrumpPeople who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.

 

It Makes A Good Talking Point, But It Isn’t True

Posted on by

On Thursday, Investor’s Business Daily posted an editorial about the impact of the Dodd-Frank regulations on the banking industry. Both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have hailed Dodd-Frank as the solution to the problems that caused the 2008 financial meltdown. Unfortunately, if Dodd-Frank is the solution, they have misunderstood the problem.

The article reports:

In their recent debate on MSNBC, both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders bashed Wall Street and the banks, blaming them for the financial meltdown and subsequent record-slow economic recovery.

Sanders, a socialist, called Wall Street and the banks “criminal” and “corrupt” and implied that he would jail CEOs at big financial companies for their “illegal activity.”

And Clinton issued a literal threat: “You know, we now have power under the Dodd-Frank legislation to break up the banks.” Doubling down, she said that she now wants the same power over investment banks, insurance companies, mortgage companies and others.

Blaming banks and Wall Street might have populist appeal, but it’s false. In his definitive analysis of the financial crisis, “Hidden In Plain Sight,” Peter Wallison, who served on the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, showed that it was the systematic weakening of mortgage lending standards under the U.S. government’s own housing policies that led to the meltdown — and to the phony call by Democrats to go after Wall Street and the banks.

The editorial includes a chart showing the number of regulations that were imposed on banks as a result of Dodd-Frank:

EDIT3_banks2_021216

The article reports the result of Dodd-Frank:

Banking consultant Eric Grover of Intrepid Ventures recently wrote in The American Banker, “Under Dodd-Frank, new bank formation has essentially ceased.” The data are shocking: From 2011 to 2014, just one new commercial bank and no new savings banks were chartered. In the 15 years before Dodd-Frank, an average of 140 new commercial banks and 15 new savings banks were chartered each year. While small banks are going out of business at a record rate due to regulatory costs, big banks with over $50 billion in assets are now “too big to fail.”

The American economy does better when the government stays out of our business–not when the government over-regulates things.

Why The Democratic Primary System Does Not Represent The Voters

Posted on by

The Hill is reporting today that Hillary Clinton will leave New Hampshire with the same number of delegates as a result of the New Hampshire primary as Bernie Sanders. Despite the fact that Sanders won by approximately 20 percent, they will have an equal delegate count. If this doesn’t make the average Democratic voter furious, nothing will.

The article reports:

Clinton won nine delegates in the primary but came into the contest with the support of six superdelegates, who are state party insiders given the freedom to support any candidate they choose.

Superdelegate support is fluid, though, so some of those delegates now backing Clinton could switch to Sanders before the Democratic National Convention in late July.

But as it stands, the superdelegate support gives Clinton a total of 15 New Hampshire delegates.

The Clinton campaign has mounted an aggressive effort to secure about 360 superdelegates across the country, according to The Associated Press. Sanders has a total of eight superdelegates.

This is amazing. There is actually a possibility that Bernie Sanders could win every state primary and Hillary Clinton could be the Democratic party nominee for President. If that doesn’t make voters angry–nothing will. Either your primary vote counts or it doesn’t.. In this case, it looks like it doesn’t.

The article concludes:

Clinton’s superdelegate supporters includes Gov. Maggie Hassan, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, and Rep. Annie Kuster.

She’s also backed by Democratic National Committee members Joanne Dodwell, Billy Shaheen and Kathy Sullivan.

It looks like the fix is in.

Surrendering Before The Battle Begins

Posted on by

The results of the Iowa Caucus are in. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are essentially tied, and three Republicans are running neck and neck. The obvious lesson from the caucus is that Iowa voters do not support the establishment candidates of either party. Bernie Sanders is not an establishment candidate and received about half of the Democratic votes. Ted Cruz and Donald Trump are the non-establishment  Republican candidates, and together they received slightly more than half of the Republican votes. The message being sent by the voters seems rather obvious–we don’t want more of the same.

Today The Hill posted a story that might indicated that the Washington establishment may not have received the message the Iowa voters have sent.

The article reports:

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), seeking to protect his majority in a tough cycle for Republicans, is leaning toward holding back several measures that have bipartisan support but are divisive in his conference.

McConnell, who will meet in the Oval Office on Tuesday with President Obama and Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), is under pressure from some in his conference to take action this year on a sweeping Pacific Rim trade deal, criminal justice reform legislation and an authorization for the use of military force (AUMF) against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Others in McConnell’s conference are not keen to tackle any of those issues, however, and Senate GOP sources say McConnell is likely to take the safe route and not advance any bills that divide his ­conference.

“McConnell is smart to wait on issues that divide us until such time as we can achieve a consensus,” said a senior Republican aide. “There’s no question that some members want to turn to some things sooner than others. But McConnell’s duty is to do what’s best for the entire conference. Seems what’s best for the conference is to focus on the things that unite us.”

Essentially, Leader McConnell is saying that he isn’t going to lead. He doesn’t want to rock the boat. If the voters did not want to rock the vote, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz would not have been the top two winners in Iowa last night. Remember when the Senate refused to join Ted Cruz in fighting ObamaCare? There were convinced that if they did not cave, the world would end. Ted Cruz was told that he had ruined the Republican name. Somehow, I think that observation has been proven to be false.

The Republicans need a backbone. Given the chance, the voters will elect those candidates that exhibit a backbone. Those who do not have a backbone can expect to have their political fortunes changed at the first opportunity. Regardless of how you feel about him, Donald Trump has energized those voters who want the Washington establishment and the media that supports it to go away. A victory in the Republican primaries for either Ted Cruz or Donald Trump will be a step in that direction.

During the coming weeks, watch for a major attack on both Ted Cruz and Donald Trump. Those are the two candidates in the Republican party that are most threatening to the status quo that includes both the Washington establishment and the dominant media.

Also note that one of the leading contenders in the Democratic primary is an avowed Democratic Socialist. I am not even sure what that actually means. It is, however, an indication that Democrats are also unhappy with the status quo.

I Can’t Believe He Said That

Posted on by

I watched some of the Democratic Party presidential debate last night. I will confess that I did not last very long. I did, however, hang around long enough to hear the following statement as reported in The Daily Caller:

Sen. Bernie Sanders stood by his claim that while he wants to rid the world of ISIS, climate change remains the “greatest threat to national security.”

Sanders said this to CBS debate moderator John Dickerson who had just asked the candidates their thoughts on the recent terror attacks in Paris.

“Do you still believe that?” Dickerson asked.

“Absolutely. In fact, climate change is directly related to the growth of terrorism and if we do not get our act together and listen to what the scientists say, you’re going to see countries all over the world,” Sanders said.

Admittedly,  limited resources can cause international conflicts. However, if the free market system is allowed to function freely, innovation can overcome shortages. For instance, Iceland has a rather limited growing season. As you drive through the country, you see greenhouses everywhere. The greenhouses are heated by the geothermal energy that is so abundant in Iceland. That is an example of overcoming a climate-related problem. Since many scientists now believe that global cooling is more likely than global warming, this may be valuable information in the future. America does not have vast amounts of geothermal energy, but given a free market without interference, I suspect we could find a way to feed people despite global cooling.

At any rate, climate change is inevitable. It has been a part of the history of the earth since there was a history of the earth. As some of the scandals in the climate data have come to light, it has been revealed that the earth suffered a period of global warming during the Middle Ages. Carbon emissions were not an issue during that time, but people in Greenland were farming.

At any rate, climate change is not an immediate threat, and there is some real question as to how much we could impact it if it were. I strongly suggest that we focus on ISIS. They are a proven danger that demands an answer.

Do As I Say–Not As I Do

Posted on by

Yesterday Last Resistance posted an article about a California group that is working to establish a minimum wage of $15 an hour.

The article reports:

An advocacy group out of Modesto, Calif. pushing for a $15 an hour minimum wage posted a job ad Thursday offering to pay $12 an hour. Below what it is demanding others pay their workers.

The Craigslist post was for a job opening at the local Fight for $15 campaign. On the national level, the organization has spearheaded the push to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. The post was signed by Steven Applebaum who lists his affiliation with the Modesto Fight for $15 campaign.

“Do you make minimum wage?” the posting asked. “Can you afford your bills and expenses? Do you hope and pray that you won’t ever face a medical or car bill because you don’t have the savings to cover it?”

Evidently this is not an isolated incident. The article further reports:

Fight for $15 is not the first group caught offering less than what it claim people need. Cody McLaughlin replied in June to a job posting on Facebook for Working America. The group is an affiliated with the AFL-CIO. It was hiring field recruiters as part of its campaign to get a $15 minimum wage. When he asked if it paid $15 the group said the group could offer him  $12.25 per hour.

Democratic presidential hopeful and self-described socialist Bernie Sanders has been one of the more vocal lawmakers in support of the living wage. He has even introduced a bill to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour. This despite the fact he only pays his own interns $12 per hour.

How about practicing what you preach?

There Really Is No Free Lunch

Posted on by

There really is no free lunch (unless your parents or grandparents provide you with one!). Unfortunately, a substantial percentage of American voters have not figured that out yet.

The following video is posted on YouTube. It is from “This Week with George Stephanopoulos“:

George Stephanopoulos rightly observed that all of the free things Bernie Sanders was promising would cost money.

An article at The Libertarian Republic quotes the response:

“I think if you’re looking about guaranteeing paid family and medical leave, which virtually every other major country has… that will require a small increase in the payroll tax,” Sanders said.

“That’s going to hit everybody,” the host remarked.

“That would– yeah, that would,” Bernie acknowledges.

Of course, when you’re calling for $18 trillion in new spending (around $2 trillion more than the nation’s entire GDP), you are going to get inventive with how to pay for it. Bernie will raise taxes on everyone and that’s just the kicker. If Sanders were to become president, he would severely devalue our dollar to enable spending, the results of which would be inflation and a higher cost of living for everybody.

Bernie! You’re supposed to promise them free things– now you’ve spilled the beans that people will have to pay for these things. Think of how disillusioned you supporters will be when they find out you want to tax them more

The average low-information voter would probably find a way to blame the Republicans!

Is There Room For A Moderate In The Democratic Party?

Posted on by

The stage for the Democratic Party held a declared socialist, an undeclared socialist, a former governor who taxed rainfall, someone whose issue was bringing the metric system to America, and a former Republican. Jim Webb is the former Republican. He is also known as a very common-sense politician who tends to be toward the middle of the political spectrum. USA Today posted an article today stating that Jim Webb has dropped out of the Democratic race for President and is considering a run as an independent.

So what are the implications of this? First of all, I suspect Jim Webb has already received a number of telephone calls from major Democrats asking him not to run as an independent. His running as an independent would give moderate Democrats an option in the Presidential race. If the Democrats feel sufficiently threatened by Jim Webb as an independent candidate, I am sure he will be told that he is a contender for Vice President.

I seriously doubt that Jim Webb will run as an independent. Although I respect him as an independent thinker, the amount of pressure brought to bear to prevent that run will, I believe, prevent him from running.

However, this has been a very unpredictable election cycle. Stay tuned.

Fact Checking The Democratic Debate

Posted on by

My Way reported the Associated Press fact check of the Democratic debate.

Some highlights:

Hillary Clinton saying that she did not support the Trans Pacific trade agreement.

THE FACTS: Clinton did not say anything about mere hope in her speeches around the world in support of the trade deal. She roundly endorsed the deal taking shape.

In a November 2012 speech in Australia, she declared the Trans-Pacific deal “sets the gold standard in trade agreements,” a sentiment she echoed in many venues.

Clinton said in the debate that when she looked at the final agreement last week, “it didn’t meet my standards.”

The final agreement, however, dropped or changed some provisions that liberal activist groups — the wing of the party she is assiduously courting at this stage of the campaign — had strongly criticized.

Bernie Sanders complaining that almost all new wealth is going to the top 1%.

THE FACTS: Sanders appears to be relying on outdated data. In the first five years of the economic recovery, from 2009 through 2014, the richest 1 percent of Americans captured 58 percent of income growth, according to Emmanuel Saez, a University of California economist whose research Sanders uses. While certainly a large gain, that is a lot less than “almost all.”

In just the first three years of the recovery, from 2009 through 2012, the richest 1 percent did capture 91 percent of the growth in income. But part of that occurred because of impending tax increases on the wealthiest Americans that took effect in 2013.

Many companies paid out greater bonuses to their highest-paid employees in 2012 before the higher tax rates took effect. Those bonuses then fell back in 2013. And in 2014, the bottom 99 percent finally saw their incomes rise 3.3 percent, the biggest gain in 15 years.

Tax policies influence the actions of businesses and the people that run them.

Hillary Clinton claimed that she has been transparent about her emails.

THE FACTS: Clinton has yet to explain how the server was set up and serviced, whether she informed the State Department about her decision to use the private system and, most important, how it was protected from hacking attempts.

Russia-based hackers tried at least five times to trick her into infecting her computer system with malware in 2011, The Associated Press learned, and her server was hit by attempted cyber intrusions in 2014 from China, South Korea and Germany.

Her server also was connected to the Internet in ways that made it more vulnerable to hackers. But her campaign has repeatedly declined to address these details.

The article mentions that the free college tuition programs espoused by Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders would shift the burden of the cost of a college education from the student to the taxpayer. It would do nothing to lower the cost of that education.

Please follow the link to the article to read the details on the other lies told by the Democratic frontrunners.

Borrowed From Buck Sexton On Facebook

Posted on by

WORDS/PHRASES THAT WERE NOT SAID A SINGLE TIME IN THE DEMOCRAT DEBATE:

LIBERTY
PATRIOTIC
STRENGTH
FOUNDING FATHERS
NATIONAL DEBT
ENTITELMENTS
ABORTION
FREE MARKETS
INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS
LOVE
***(Specifically in the context of loving America, or love for God or fellow human beings. Clinton did say, however, “I love Denmark”)
GOD
***(Clinton referred three times to “God-given potential, but said nothing about God in the sense of belief, and none of the other candidates said God in any context at all.)

WORDS SAID ONLY 1 TIME:

CONSTITUTION
FREEDOM

WORDS SAID A LOT:

WALL STREET- 25 TIMES
MIDDLE CLASS- 12 TIMES
TUITION (as in free, or in state for illegals) – 11 TIMES

Some Random Thoughts On The Democratic Debate Last Night

Posted on by

I will post more detailed comments on the debate, but these are just my initial reactions:

  1. It was interesting to hear millionaires complain about income inequality. Are they planning on redistributing their own wealth? Bill and Hillary Clinton’s combined net worth is $121 million; Bernie Sanders‘ average net worth is $528,014. Bernie Sanders is not a millionaire, but he is in no way struggling economically. Are the Democrats on the stage prepared to pay the higher taxes needed to pay for all the free things they are suggesting?
  2. Let’s take a look at income inequality for a moment. An entrepreneur starting his own business may work as many as 80 hours a week. In the beginning of the business, his hourly pay rate will probably be well below the minimum wage. After a few years of hard work, he may build a million dollar company and make some drastic changes in his lifestyle. The income inequality there is the result of work-effort inequality. The government cannot (and should not) guarantee income equality–what the government needs to protect (not guarantee) is equality of opportunity. Equal opportunity is more likely to be achieved by the government getting out of the way than by the government interfering.
  3. The biggest threat to America’s security is not global warming. Global warming has not been proven to exist–much less to be man-caused. I suggest checking Watts Up With That, one of the best scientific websites on climate for specifics.
  4. Before we decide that the issue of Hillary Clinton’s emails are a partisan issue, we might want to take a look at the laws broken and the national security compromised. There is sufficient evidence in those emails that Sidney Blumenthal was working closely with Hillary Clinton (after she was told by President Obama not to hire him)–even naming a CIA-operator in an email that was on the private server. Scooter Libby went to jail for less.
  5. The National Rifle Association (NRA) is a lobbying group (also a gun safety education group) similar to many liberal lobbying groups. They are  not villains–they are simply protecting the Second Amendment.
  6. If the rich are evil (as was implied) and gained their wealth at the expense of everyone else, how do the millionaires on the stage explain their wealth? Was it also evil or was it okay because it was theirs?

Overall, the Democratic debate was a circus. If the Democrats will the next election, it will be because Americans have totally abandoned their Constitution.

I Don’t Understand

Posted on by

Yesterday The Daily Caller posted a quote from Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders. This is the quote:

I hope that every person in this room today understands that it is unacceptable to judge people, discriminate against people based on the color of their skin. And I will also say, that as a nation — the truth is a nation that in many ways was created, and I’m sorry to have to say this from way back, on racist principles, that’s a fact. We have come a long way as a nation. Now I know, my guess is that probably not everybody here is an admirer or a voter for Barack Obama, but the point is that in 2008, this country took a huge step forward in voting for a candidate based on his ideas and not the color of his skin. 

First of all, I don’t think Americans voted for President Obama based on his ideas–they voted for President Obama on the basis of his novelty and the celebrity he managed to gain. He was never very clear on his ideas when he was running for office.

This is the modern version of the Mayflower Compact:

In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, defender of the Faith, etc.

Having undertaken, for the Glory of God, and advancements of the Christian faith and honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the Northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents, solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God, and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic; for our better ordering, and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience.

In witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names at Cape Cod the 11th of November, in the year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord King James, of England, France, and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth, 1620.

The instructions given to the colony at Jamestown on April 29, 1607, included the folllowing:

Lastly and chiefly, the way to prosper and obtain good success is to make yourselves all of one mind for the good of your country and your own, and to serve and fear God the giver of all goodness. For every plantation which our Heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted out.

This is from the Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

I am not sure why Senator Sanders believes that America was founded on racist principles. America was settled mainly by the British who reflected the thinking of the time. The new idea in America was the idea that rights came from God and that all men were created equal and had those rights. Slavery was practiced for a while, but slavery was a worldwide accepted practice at that time. Slavery is still an acceptable practice in many Muslim countries. America and Britain were the two countries who led the way to abolish slavery in western civilization.

I don’t know why the Senator has such a warped idea of what America is. America is not perfect, but it is one of the most free countries in the world (actually, it ranked higher on the world freedom scale before President Obama took office). There is equal opportunity here for those who choose to take advantage of it. There will never be equal outcome–that is not possible as long as people are free to choose how much work they are willing to do.

Fixing Washington One Thing At A Time

Posted on by

Most Americans are not happy with the way Washington works (or doesn’t work). Conservative Republicans complain that they keep voting for Republicans, Republicans win, and nothing changes. Democrats complain that the Republicans are blocking President Obama’s policies, but almost everything President Obama has wanted to do, he has done–if not through Congress, through Executive Order. There is, however, someone in the House of Representatives who has proposed a way to change the status quo.

On Monday, Breitbart posted an article about Representative Mark Meadows of North Carolina. Representative Meadows has initiated a “motion to vacate the chair.” The motion would remove Speaker John Boehner from his position as the Republican leader in the House of Representatives.

The article reports:

Meadows said “it’s time for our leaders to stop making promises and leaving them unfulfilled.” He added that, based on the whip count, if a vote had taken place to remove Boehner from the speakership before the recess, he would have had to wrangle up votes from house Democrats to keep his seat.

“At town hall meetings and every where I go, people tell me, ‘I’m, standing with you. We’re standing behind you.’ There is a growing momentum. I’m hoping that leadership can change course and they are willing to listen, and willing to fight for Americans.”

Meadows believes that it’s a good sign that, if we had a presidential Republican primary right now, we would have a “more non-conventional nominee than an establishment one.” Meadows concluded saying that, “Having the people at my back is better than having D.C. in my Pocket.”

The dissatisfaction with Washington politics is on both sides of the aisle. The dissatisfaction partially explains why both political parties have popular candidates that have historically had very loose relationships with the parties–Bernie Sanders is described as a Socialist–not a Democrat, although he caucuses with the Democrats in Congress, and Donald Trump has been a Democrat for more years than he has been a Republican.

I think Representative Meadows represents the feelings of the average American. They may not know exactly what is needed, but they know something is wrong. Representative Meadows is willing to take a first step toward changing Washington.

The Silly Season Is In Full Swing

Posted on by

The Silly Season usually occurs a few months before an election, but because of the importance of this Presidential election, it has begun more than a year early. I will be posting comments on the Silly Season as it progresses, but I have a few comments on the early events.

It is interesting to me that both parties have people out of the party establishment doing very well. The Democratic Party establishment does not love Bernie Sanders, and the Republican Party establishment does not love Donald Trump. Neither man would be willing to follow orders from the party establishment if he actually become President. We could debate whether or not that is a good thing, but we need to understand that the party establishments fear that threat.

So what should we learn from this? This is a temper tantrum by Americans on both sides of the political spectrum. People of all political stripes are tired of having their wishes ignored by the political elites who are currently in control of Washington, D.C. We have phoned, emailed, faxed, held rallies, formed tea parties, formed occupy Wall Street, and all but stood on our heads and spit wooden nickels, and Washington has chosen to ignore us. I think it would be a mistake to elect either Bernie Sanders or Donald Trump, but I think the energy around their campaigns is something that the establishment in Washington needs to take note of.

There is another aspect of this campaign season I find interesting. Below is a chart showing voter participation by age:

As you can see, senior citizens vote. If you are 65, in 2012 you were born in 1947. You were part of the generation the lived through major cultural changes in America. Some of you protested the War in Vietnam; some of you served in the War in Vietnam. Some of you attended Woodstock. Some of you did drugs. Some of you didn’t do drugs. Some of you fought for legal abortion; some of you protested legal abortion. You are a very diverse generation that has had a lot of influence from the time you were born because of your size. This is the generation that will determine our next President. It is a generation of diverse politics, independent thinkers, and stubborn mules. It is a generation that has never been afraid to fight the ‘establishment.’ It will be interesting to see what they do next.

Where To Find The Pathway To Greece

Posted on by

The Daily Caller posted an article today listing some of the things Bernie Sanders wants to implement if he becomes President. Among them are making public universities tuition free (will the teachers work salary free?) and a responsible pathway to citizenship for immigrants that is “achievable for people at the lower end of the economic spectrum. Because everyone knows America needs more low income people to collect money from the government.

Greece is going bankrupt because it has spent beyond its means. Does Bernie Sanders think America can continue to spend beyond our means and not suffer the same fate? The European Union is essentially imposing austerity on Greece as the cost of allowing Greece to remain in the EU. Evidently Greece did not have the self-discipline to impose fiscal restraint on itself.

It you want to follow Greece down the path the bankruptcy, vote for Bernie Sanders!

 

 

Words Of Wisdom From A Democrat

Posted on by

Yes, you read that right. As the Democrat party deals with the candidacies of Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Martin O’Malley, and possibly Elizabeth Warren there is a quieter, more rational candidate. His name is Jim Webb.

Jim Webb was interviewed on Fox News Sunday today. The Daily Caller posted an article about the interview.

The article posted Jim Webb’s remarks about the direction his party has taken:

BRET BAIER: You mentioned the Democratic race. In the RealClearPolitics average of polls, you’re at about 2.3 percent, and well behind the front runner, Hillary Clinton. You have an uphill climb against this Clinton machine. Most political analysts will tell you that Democrats have moved resolutely to the left and that basically Hillary Clinton has renounced Clintonism, which really was the vital core of the center, used to be, in your party. In a party that seems to thrill to Bernie Sanders and maybe long for Elizabeth Warren, who are the Jim Webb Democrats?

JIM WEBB: I believe we can bring a different tone to the Democratic Party. You’re right. The party has moved way far to the left, and that’s not my Democratic Party, but in and of itself. We need to bring working people back into the formula. Next Saturday, in the far southwest of Virginia there’s going to be a medical clinic, a remote area medical clinic to take care of people who don’t have medical insurance. It’s out at the Wise County fairgrounds. I hope Fox will go down there and take a look at it. They’ll going to take care of at least 6,000… people with no medical care. They’re going to pull about 3,000 teeth. These are people who have been forgotten by both parties and, I think, they need a voice.

The Democrat party has claimed for years to represent the forgotten man. However, both the Republican and Democrat parties have been taken over by special interest groups that have forgotten the forgotten man. Very few Americans are currently represented by either party establishment. It is time for Americans to begin to take back whichever party they choose to support. The time for allowing the establishment of both parties to do what is in the interest of their party rather than what is in the interest of America is over. There used to be small-government, constitutional conservatives in both political parties. Now it is hard to find those people in either party. It is up to the American people to elect people who will support the U.S. Constitution as the law of the land and who will actually represent the voters and not the political class.

POSTSCRIPT: I just watched the entire interview. Frankly, that is the only thing Jim Webb said that I agree with.