The Exodus Begins?

President Biden has not been the middle-of-the-road President many Americans voted for. His policies have represented an element in the Democrat party that is not in tune with most Americans. Some politicians are seeing the writing on the wall and realizing the damage this President has done to the Democrat party. The current Democrat party is not the party of your grandfather or even your father. John F. Kennedy would be thrown out of today’s Democrat party for being too conservative!

On Sunday, Liberty One reported the following:

This week, Dov Hikind – a long-time Brooklyn Democratic politician and activist – announced his departure from the Democratic Party and his new affiliation as a self-identifying Republican.

His announcement came in the midst of the Democrats’ ideological shift to the left, which has caused many traditionalists within the party to become increasingly fed up and more politically aligned with their opposition.

Hikind represented his Brooklyn neighborhood for three dozen years in the New York State Assembly and later founded Americans Against Antisemitism.

“It’s official: My wife and I have switched our party affiliation from Democrat to Republican!” he tweeted. “[People] have long been asking, ‘Dov, when are you gonna leave the Democratic Party?’ Well, the time has come [because] the Dems have turned their back on Jews & Israel, so it’s officially done!”

Hikind’s post included a video of him and his wife, Shani, both explaining why they left the Democratic Party to join the GOP.

“I have been a lifelong Democrat — my family, my parents. But that’s over. That’s finished,” said Hikind. “I have decided to register as a Republican. Unfortunately, the Democratic Party has become so radicalized … that people who are moderates or conservative Democrats are not welcomed in the Democratic Party, and I’ve had enough.”

He is not the only Democrat feeling this way.

The article notes:

Earlier this month, another Democrat fed up with her party’s direction bailed and became a Republican.

“Mesha Mainor – a Democrat who has represented District 56 in the Georgia state House since January 2021 – will announce shortly before noon Tuesday that she will switch her party registration to Republican,” Fox News reported exclusively.

Mainor told Fox News that when she decided to stand up for disadvantaged children or support safe communities by refusing to defund police forces, her Democrat colleagues did not back her, instead they abandoned her.

These decisions may be based on practicalities rather than principles (pardon my cynicism), but as Americans’ standard of living goes down and President Biden’s approval ratings go down, this is probably a wise political decision.

Who Do Democrats Represent?

We live in a representative republic (not a democracy). Theoretically we elect people to represent us in Washington. The people we elect are supposed to represent us. So who do the Democrats in Washington actually represent? The Democrat party used to be known as the party of the working man. They were friends of the unions and of the people who worked for a living. Now, not so much.

On Tuesday, the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC) posted an article on their website about Democrats and the working people of America.

The article notes:

Beginning in earnest with Donald Trump’s election in 2016, working class voters in the United States have fled the Democratic Party in droves, quickly eroding a once solid base of support for the party. Amid this seismic shift in the electorate, many elected Democrats and mainstream media pundits have over the past several months desperately tried to prop up this narrative of Democrats as the party of everyday Americans – even as the policies emanating from Washington have grown increasingly opposed to their interests.

Following the 2016 election, many in media circles seemed to believe that Trump’s performance with blue-collar and working class voters in states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Ohio must have been a fluke. Though 2018 was an electoral setback for Republicans in the House, 2020 quickly proved a continuation of the trend that began four years before. Analysis from The New York Times in 2020 on “The Two Americas Funding Trump and Biden Campaigns” found, for example, that in “ZIP codes above [the median household of $68,703], Mr. Biden outraised Mr. Trump by $389.1 million. Below that level, Mr. Trump was actually ahead by $53.4 million.” Additionally, the study also found that much of Biden’s “financial edge” came from deep blue states along the coasts – supporting the widespread perception of Democrats as the party of coastal elites. “The donations mirror voting patterns,” Republican pollster Whit Ayres noted at the time.

The reason why this shift is occurring is easy to see – on issue after issue, Democrats’ policies are hopelessly out of step with the experiences of working class voters. On day one of his administration, Biden took actions like canceling the Keystone XL pipeline and ending oil and gas leases on federal lands – policies favored by wealthy liberals, but which started a steady rise in energy prices that hit working class Americans particularly hard. Democrats’ $1.9 trillion “American Rescue Plan,” which was chock-full of woke priorities aimed at appeasing far-left activists, touched off an inflation crisis that has further devastated the financial lives of working class families. Instead of working to curb inflation, Biden and Congressional Democrats passed a bill dubbed the “Inflation Reduction Act” that economists believe will do nothing but increase inflation, and which contains subsidies for electric vehicles and solar panels – more welfare for the wealthy. In just the past two years, every Democrat in Congress has voted for higher energy costs, ending coal, and unleashing an army of IRS agents on low and middle-income Americans.

You can only work against your voting base for so long before they turn on you.

The article concludes:

But this outreach effort has proven to be little more than lip service to the actual needs of working class voters. Far from re-calibrating their policy agenda as working class voters abandon them, Democrats appear poised to double down on their embrace of elite interests and a far-left social agenda, one that is completely at odds with the traditional values of most working class families. For Republicans, this presents a golden opportunity – if they can follow Trump’s lead and continue focusing on the issues that matter most to these voters.

We will see in November if Democrat voters continue to support the political party that consistently works against the legislation that would improve their lives.

Labels Matter

On Sunday, John Hinderaker posted an article at Power Line Blog about the double standard used in reporting protests.

The article notes:

The Left has a rather schizophrenic attitude toward protests and demonstrations. Some are wonderful, like the George Floyd riots, which were not, in fact, protests at all. Or like arson and other destruction committed at pro-life facilities. Others are detestable, like the Dutch farmers’ protests, or the French “yellow vests,” or the Canadian truckers. Some protests, too, can only be ignored, like when hundreds of thousands of pro-life citizens show up for their annual march in Washington.

Currently the Left is “demonstrating” against the Supreme Court justices who concurred in the Dobbs decision. A few nights ago, as Scott has noted, left-wingers harassed Justice Brett Kavanaugh and other diners at the Morton’s steak house in D.C. Liberals viewed this effort as a triumph–Kavanaugh reportedly had to exit out a back door–and a pro-Democratic Party organization is now offering cash bounties to anyone who sees a conservative justice out in public in time for a flash mob to assemble.

When asked about such tactics, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was nonplussed. These are peaceful demonstrations, she replied, the very essence of democracy!

Creating an intimidating environment for political opponents is a sign of a tyrannical government. Protesting political figures at private locations that have nothing to do with their jobs is a form of intimidation.

The article concludes:

And, of course, all of this discussion takes place in the context of at least one assassination attempt against Justice Kavanaugh, the same man who was falsely and relentlessly smeared by the Democratic Party during his confirmation hearings. I think the leaders of the Democratic Party are well aware that their over-the-top attacks on conservative justices, and the kinds of harassment we have seen in recent days, are likely to lead to more assassination attempts. I think leaders of the Democratic Party hope that one or more conservative justices will be assassinated while Joe Biden is still (at least nominally) president, so that he can appoint a left-wing successor. I think this is why Attorney General Merrick Garland refuses to enforce 18 U.S.C. § 1507, which bans demonstrations at the homes of judges that attempt to influence their decisions. And I think this is why the Biden administration cheers on the mobs who harass conservatives in public places.

If this assessment seems harsh, ask yourself: what other hypothesis is consistent with the Democrats’ actions?

So, are protests and demonstrations good or bad? I think they are good–that is to say, consistent with our Constitution’s framework of ordered liberty–when they are peaceful (not “mostly peaceful”), when they are conducted in public places with proper permitting, and when they do not explicitly or implicitly threaten anyone. Citizens have a right to assemble peaceably, not to form themselves into mobs. They do not have a right to commit mayhem, to destroy property, or to threaten, menace, or unreasonably inconvenience others. Unfortunately, the “protests” that the Left likes most usually fall in the latter category. Let’s just hope they don’t result in even more catastrophic violence than we have already witnessed.

So far, the violence we have witnessed seems to be mainly on the liberal side–January 6th was not a totally peaceful protest, but did not include lighting fires, burning business, throwing molotov cocktails into police cars, or killing those trying to protect their businesses. If the violence on the political left, including antifa, BLM, etc., is not reined in, I fear that there will be violent pushback from the political right. That is a recipe for the destruction of America.

Changing The Rules In The Shadow Of The Upcoming November Election

The recent election of Governor Youngkin in Virginia sent shock waves through the Democrat party. It was an election where parents voted to regain control of their children’s education and their children’s health issues. We have elections coming up in November, and the Democrats do not want the Virginia story repeated (even in Virginia).

On Wednesday, The Conservative Review reported:

A bipartisan bill to make masks optional in all of Virginia’s K-12 schools passed Wednesday with three Democrats joining Republicans to codify GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s executive order. The bill now heads to the state House of Delegates, where Republicans have the majority, and it is expected to pass.

The Senate voted 21 to 17 in favor of the bill which requires schools to be open for in-person learning and gives parents the right to decide if their children will wear masks in school. Youngkin celebrated the bill’s passing in a statement.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday The Daily Wire reported the following action by Democrats in the Virginia legislature:

When Democrats regained control of the Virginia House of Delegates in November 2019, one of the first things they did was pass a law that says school officials do not have to report misdemeanor crimes – specifically singling out “sexual assaults” – to law enforcement. Two years later, with Republicans back in control of that chamber, Democrats do not support its repeal.

Former Democratic Governor Ralph Northam signed off on the law in February 2020. Schools are currently not required to report to police misdemeanors related to instances of sexual battery, assault, violent threats, stalking, drug and alcohol violations, and more.

The article at The Daily Wire notes that some legislators feel that reporting these crimes to the police creates a “school-to-prison pipeline” for some children. While I agree that the penalty for an alcohol violation should be different from the penalty for a sexual assault, I don’t see a problem with reporting both to the local authorities. I sexual assaults are happening in our schools, the problem is not the “school-to-prison pipeline”, it is the bad behavior of the students.

The Daily Wire also notes:

In an interview with The Daily Wire, Republican Delegate John Avoli, a former Virginia public high school principal, said “sexual battery needs to be reported.”

“If you’re a 17-year-old and you assault someone, the cops pick you up and they charge you. But you do this in a school building, and we don’t charge you. It doesn’t make sense to me. Think about it as a parent. If your daughter is a freshman in high school and she’s assaulted by someone, do you mean I don’t report that? Are you kidding me?” he said.

The mid-term elections are going to be very interesting this year.

Let The Awakening Begin

On Thursday, Just the News reported that Victor Jimenez, a former spokesperson for Washington, D.C., Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser, has switched to the Republican party because of the policies of the Biden administration.

The article reports:

Victor Jimenez told Fox News host Tucker Carlson that until recently he “lead public information officer at [Bowser’s] office for community affairs” and worked prior to that in a similar role for Latino outreach.

“The reason I switched parties is because of everything that’s going on in the country right now,” Jimenez, an Afro-Dominican immigrant, told Carlson. “We see immigration through the roof right now, and that is affecting a lot of Hispanic families in my home state of Virginia. And those are people who are already struggling with making ends meet.”

Jimenez cited immigration issues as the major reason for leaving the Democratic Party, including what the considers party leaders’ unsuccessful efforts to get control of the record number of migrants attempting to cross the southern U.S. border.

“If you look at the southern border, we have thousands of people who are just waiting there,” he said. “And I’m not saying we have good people try to come into the country with good intentions, but we also have bad people coming into the country with bad intentions. People with illegal guns and drugs and people who are running from their law enforcement in their own country.

“Being Hispanic and Black, I should be Democrat by default. But I am going against their narrative and I feel like right now everything is crumbling for the Democrats.”

Mr. Jimenez stated that he voted for Glenn Youngkin in Virginia’s gubernatorial election.

The article notes:

Jimenez called the defeat of former Virginia Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe by Youngkin, a first-time politician and former businessman, “the beginning of the end” for the Democrats, and precursor for what could be a very painful 2022 election cycle for the party currently in power in D.C.

I doubt that we will ever see the ‘end’ for the Democrats, but I would celebrate the end of some of their policies.

Getting Rewarded For Your Political Support

Traditionally the unions have supported the Democrat party. Periodically they are rewarded for their support. Yesterday Red State posted an article that illustrates how that system works.

The article reports:

In yet another example that powerful teachers unions and labor unions enjoy joint custody of Joe Biden and the Democrat Party, the ridiculously named socialist monstrosity “Build Back Better” Act contains a provision that provides a tax credit of up to $12,500 to purchasers of electric vehicles — other than Teslas.

Why not Teslas? Three words: United Autoworkers Union.

That’s right, America, as reported by CBS News, only electric vehicles made in unionized U.S. factories qualify for the full $12,500. However, if Tesla it must be, your tax credit would be capped at $7,500.

The article lists the criteria for the tax credit (note that it is a tax credit–not a refund–the government doesn’t want you to keep too much of your own money):

  • A credit of up to $7,500 for an electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle, defined as a car with a battery capacity of at least 40 kilowatt-hours and a gas tank, if any, under 2.5 gallons.
  • An additional $500 credit for a car with a battery pack made in the U.S.
  • An additional $4,500 credit for cars assembled at a unionized U.S. plant. (Currently, only plants owned by GM, Ford, and Stellantis qualify [formerly, Fiat-Chrysler].)

The information above comes from CBS News.

The article continues:

In addition, to qualify for tax credits under Biden’s BBB (Build Back Broke), electric vehicles must fall under a price limit. Vans, sports utility vehicles, and pickup trucks need to be under $80,000 to be eligible for the credit; for all other cars, the price limit is $55,000.

The article concludes:

The worst part about the Democrat Party in situations like this — blatant pandering to labor unions — is the complete disingenuousness of the whole thing. We know — and they know we know — that “climate change,” “green energy,” and fossil fuels have less to do with this provision, along with taxpayer relief and “good-paying jobs,” and more to do with delivering to the UAW exactly what it expects.

Doubt it? One look at the Democrat coddling of teachers’ unions should eliminate any doubt.

I guess the unions are simply getting what they have paid for.

A New Tax Proposal

The Democrats are currently floating the idea of taxing unrealized capital gains. As is their usual modus operandi, the Democrats are saying that this new concept of taxation will only apply to billionaires. Of course it will.

Today The American Thinker posted an article about the idea.

Here are a few highlights from that article:

Our current secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen, is busy trying to find a way to tax wealth without calling it taxing wealth.  She has eyes on taxing unrealized capital gains.  What this means simply is taxing people for money they have not earned or received.  That’s it in a nutshell.  That definition should leave even those who have never had a course in accounting or finance shaken.

Not only is Janet Yellen considering this, but the Democrat party is on board as well.  Democrats claim that it is needed in order to pay for their agenda.  You know — the one that President Biden says pays for itself.  The idea of taxing you for the income you have not made is also a policy speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi proposes.  Apparently, there is some confusion here.

Looking at this from my point of view, I recalled a picture of Casey Stengel, nicknamed “the ol’ Professor,” when he was the manager of the New York Mets in 1962 — a team considered the worst team to ever play in the major leagues.  He had his hat off and scratched his head with the caption: “Can’t anybody here play this game?

Think about how absurd this idea is. Imagine if an Internal Revenue Agent showed up at your house and said, we decided that you have to pay tax on the money you never earned. Aside from how insane that sounds on the surface, one need only ask: “If I didn’t receive or earn that money, with what do you expect me to pay the tax?” That, in a nutshell, is the entire problem.

Please follow the link to read the entire article. It describes some of the lessons we can learn from history about creative accounting. If you honestly believe that the ultra-rich will not find a way to avoid this tax so that it has to be passed down to the middle class, then you have truly not been paying attention.

Some Good News

NewsMax is reporting today that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has reversed its position on granting tax-exempt status to a group called “Christians Engaged.”

The article reports:

The action came after numerous Republican lawmakers rebuked the agency for overt political bias last month after it had first denied the status to Christians Engaged.

“The IRS has granted tax exempt status to Christians Engaged, a nonprofit organization that educates and empowers Christians to pray for our nation and elected officials, vote, and be civically engaged,” the conservative legal group First Liberty Institute announced in a statement.

“The reversal comes after a national backlash against the IRS’s initial rejection of Christians Engaged’s nonprofit status because, the IRS claimed, “[B]ible teachings are typically affiliated with the [Republican] party and candidates.”

Lea Patterson, counsel for the First Liberty Institute, applauded the move.

“This is truly great news for our client, as well as religious organizations and churches across America. We are grateful the IRS changed course to bring its decision into line with the Constitution and its own regulations,” she said.

Christians Engaged had appealed the IRS’ initial ruling with help from the First Liberty Institute.

When the IRS denied the tax-exempt status, they claimed that because the group followed Biblical teachings, it was too closely aligned with the Republican party. It is not the fault of any religious group that the Democrat platform does not align with Biblical teachings! The Bible is apolitical–it is God’s guide to a better life. The fact that the principles in the Bible work and may align more closely with one particular political party is totally irrelevant!

Voting For Your Own Demise

Traditionally, black voters in America support the Democrat party. So what are they getting in return for their vote?

Yesterday The Blue State Conservative posted an article citing six ways that the Democrat party has hurt the black community.

This is the list:

#6: Lack of School Choice

#5: Lowered Educational Standards

#4: Disregard for Fathers

#3: Acceptance of High Crime Rates and Demonetization of Police

#2: Selling the Victim Mindset

#1: Promotion of the Welfare State

Please follow the link above for the details of this list. The article includes a lot of information about the impact of these policies.

In the article PF Whalen notes:

Around the same time that the last Republican mayor of Baltimore was leaving office in 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson was putting the finishing touches on his so-called ‘War on Poverty.’ Over fifty years later, and after having dumped trillions of federal tax dollars into programs such as welfare, food stamps, and public housing, poverty in America is virtually identical to what it was in 1967.

Johnson’s War on Poverty is one of the worst debacles and biggest failures in American history. Think of what could have been done with those trillions of dollars that could have actually helped Americans. Yet Democrats won’t acknowledge the failure, and instead choose to double-down. It seems like every other week President Biden is proposing trillions in new spending on some initiative or another, usually designed to achieve ‘equity.’ Biden’s spending won’t work, just like Barack Obama’s, Bill Clinton’s, Jimmy Carter’s and LBJ’s spending didn’t work. It’s only going to make matters worse.

The problem of course is that in order to escape poverty, one needs to take ownership of their own fortunes. The government isn’t going to get you out of poverty, only you will, and you will need to work hard in order to do so. Democrats recognize this reality but push forward anyway. Democrats need the poor to remain that way so they can continue to enjoy their power. When Americans are sucking from the government teat with all of its handouts, they are reliant upon government, and that is what Democrats crave. The government is the solution to all of your problems, so elect me and I’ll take care of you. It’s disgusting. 

The article concludes with the following Author’s Note:

After completing this piece, we realized that abortion had not made the list. It needs to, and so we want to mention that abortion is responsible for over 100,000 murders of unborn innocents each year and fully one-third of all abortions in the United States. In 2018 alone, over 117,000 black babies were murdered and since 1973 there have been more than 20 million murdered black babies in total. Society loses its mind when violent criminal thugs like George Floyd or Daunte Wright are killed during deadly interactions with police, but remains silent on issues like this. Black lives cannot matter until all black lives matter.

If you are part of the black vote that supports the Democrat party, you need to take a closer look at what you are supporting.

Fighting With Facts

I will admit that in doing research for this blog, I read a lot of news. However, I don’t think I am any smarter than the average America. I may be better informed, but that is a choice I made. Anyone can make that choice. I believe that one of the major problems in America right now is that people are believing what they are told and not doing their own research. That was recently illustrated in a post at Townhall by Larry Elder.

The article reports:

A couple of years ago, I gave a speech before a conservative, predominantly white audience. I couldn’t help but notice a tall, heavyset Black man, arms folded, standing in the back. From time to time, I would look at him, only to see him frown and shake his head, I assumed disapprovingly, when I made what I considered important points.

After the speech, he came up to me. “I am angry,” he said. “Not at you — at myself. I thought I was well informed. I read the news. I watch the news. I now see I’ve been manipulated by the party that I voted for all my life.”

The article lists the things that the man learned from Larry Elder’s speech:

He said he had no idea that (according to a 2004 Thomas B. Fordham Institute study) 44% of Philadelphia public school teachers send their own school-age kids to private school. Yet the Democratic Party adamantly opposes school vouchers, which would give K-12 children of urban parents a chance at a better school.

He did not know that Democrats, including President Barack Obama, tried to end the Washington, D.C., Opportunity Scholarship Program. It is a lottery that allows fortunate parents to opt out of their local public school for a better private school. The program is so popular that there are far more parents who want to participate than there are seats. “What’s more important, ” he asked me, “than making sure are kids are well educated?”

He did not know that, in 1965, 25% of Black kids were born outside of wedlock, versus 70% today, a phenomenon that cannot be attributed to slavery and Jim Crow. He did not know that Barack Obama once said, “Children who grow up without a father are five times more likely to live in poverty and commit crime; nine times more likely to drop out of schools and 20 times more likely to end up in prison.”

…He did not know that, according to Harvard economist George Borjas, illegal immigration creates winners and losers. But the big losers are low- and unskilled American workers of color who compete against low- and unskilled illegal immigrant workers — who place downward pressure on the wages of the native-born.

The man did not know that, according to The Washington Post, in recent years, more unarmed whites have been killed by the police than unarmed Blacks. He was unaware of studies, including one by a Black Harvard economist, that found the police more hesitant, more reluctant, to pull the trigger on a Black suspect than on a white suspect. He did not know that, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, police killings of Blacks declined almost 80% from the late ’60s through the 2010s, while police killings of whites have flatlined.

Please follow the link above to read the entire article. We need to remember that bias in reporting is not only reflected in the way things are reported, it is also reflected by the things relevant to a story that are not mentioned.

The Tide Is Slowly Turning

The last election showed a number of Americans moving away from the radicalism of the current Democrat party to what has become a more inclusive Republican party. Although the establishment Republicans do not approve of President Trump, he is responsible for the new diversity in the party. Meanwhile, the establishment Republicans are working very hard to shoot themselves int he foot.

Yesterday The U.K. Daily Mail reported the following:

More than a hundred former Republican officials, who view the party as unwilling to stand up to former President Donald Trump, are in talks to form a center-right breakaway party, four people involved in the discussions told Reuters.

The early stage discussions include former elected Republicans, former officials in the Republican administrations of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Trump, ex-Republican ambassadors and Republican strategists, the people involved say.

More than 120 of them held a Zoom call last Friday to discuss the breakaway group, which would run on a platform of ‘principled conservatism,’ including adherence to the Constitution and the rule of law – ideas those involved say have been trashed by Trump.

Most of the leadership of the Republican party is not conservative and never have been. They are part of the deep state that allows lobbyists to write the laws, supports endless wars overseas, supports more government regulation, and generally overtaxes and overspends. This is an attempt to go back to the uni-party status quo. If it works, it will be the end of the Republican party.

Meanwhile, The Daily Caller posted an article yesterday from Bryan Dean Wright, a Former CIA Officer. The article explains why left the Democrat party.

Here are a few excerpts from the article:

For years, Democrats like me have watched with increasing alarm as our own political leaders and activists – from Speaker Nancy Pelosi to media outlets like MSNBC – have used an endless stream of hateful, violent and ultimately un-American rhetoric that has resulted in billions of dollars in economic damage and given birth to a violent national movement. 

…In all, over 700 federal, state and local law enforcement officers sustained injuries in violence perpetrated by Leftist rioters. That includes retired St. Louis police Captain David Dorn, who died defending the city he loved from those encouraged by the Democrat Party’s incitement.

To be clear, the list of victims of Leftist hatred and violence is only set to grow.

In the past several months, Democrats have stepped up an already audacious smear campaign against the Republican Party in an effort to target conservatives.

The article concludes:

Despite the Leftist narrative accusing the GOP of being racist, misogynistic or homophobic, the Republican Party attracted the most diverse coalition of voters since 1960. Diving into the numbers, Trump added more Black, Latino, Asian and gay voters to the conservative populist movement than any other president or nominee in the party’s recent history.

And no matter what one thinks of Trump the person, the message and populism he advocated for resonates with voters. It was and remains unapologetically America First, anti-war and pro-worker, focused on merit-based opportunity, judicial reform, strong borders and an unwavering commitment to law and order. To state the obvious, the Trump coalition came up short in 2020. But the vision of an America that lives up to our national motto – “Out of Many, One” – did not.

So this Democrat will take the same sensible step as others before me. It’s time to leave the hateful, violent and un-American Democrat Party.

The populist GOP is my new political home.

Please follow the link above to read the entire Daily Caller article. It illustrates how people who are paying attention are reacting to what is happening in America.

A Very Useful Shiny Object

Magicians use sleight of hand to distract from what they are doing. They also use shiny objects to keep your eyes away from the secrets of their magic. We are currently watching the Democrat party use a shiny object to keep Americans from asking questions about losing their freedoms and about the double standard in the mainstream media.  Last summer’s riots and destruction were treated very differently in the press than the attack on the Capital was treated. We should also note the contrast between how the media handled the takeover of the Wisconsin capitol in 2011 and the January 6th riot in Washington. In the search for ‘domestic terrorists’ the Democrats are choosing to ignore many things. They are ignoring the fact that people leaving the White House grounds last summer after President Trump’s acceptance speech for the Republican nomination were harassed. One man was knocked to the ground. They are ignoring the riots last summer that, according to Breitbart, could reach $2 billion in insurance claims.

With all of the focus on domestic terrorism—purging our military, violating the civil rights of people who attended the Washington, D.C. rally on January 6th, accusing President Trump of fomenting insurrection, etc., we have also shut down any discussion of problems with the voting in the last election. Yesterday it was reported that Maricopa County in Arizona has refused to turn over election equipment and ballots from the November general election to the Arizona Senate. Mike Lindell, during an appearance on Newsmax, was stopped from making comments on election fraud in 2020. Yesterday I posted an article about a mathematician who states that the election results in some counties are mathematically impossible.

We can’t overturn the results of the election, but there are still many Americans who believe that there was considerable election fraud in the Presidential election of 2020. Putting shiny objects in front of us and trying to limit our rights to free speech are not going to change that belief—in fact it only reinforces it.

It is time for all Americans to wake up to the danger before them. Whether you love or hate Donald Trump, the attacks that are currently going on against his supporters are totally unconstitutional and need to end now. If you feel safe because you didn’t support President Trump, understand that he and his supporters will not be the last target of the recently formed thought police. Eventually they will come for every American who dares to have an original thought.

I Suspect This Is Not An Isolated Incident

On September 9, Live Action reported that Representative John DeBerry Jr., a Democrat who represents Memphis in the Tennessee State House, will be running as an Independent in his next election. The Democrats have removed him from the Democrat party because he is pro-life.

The article reports:

In April, the Tennessee Democratic Party’s executive committee voted 41-18 to remove DeBerry from the ballot for the August primary, a potential blow to DeBerry’s chance to run as an Independent or as a Republican, since the vote took place after the filing deadline had passed.

…Bryan Carson, an executive committee member from Memphis, told the Tennesseean that he believes DeBerry does not exemplify “basic Democratic principles,” and that DeBerry’s constituents do not realize what he stands for. “The people who’ve challenged him, they haven’t been able to raise the money to have a decent campaign to let them know what he’s actually doing in Nashville,” Carson said.

The article concludes:

DeBerry, an ordained minister with the Church of Christ, told the Catholic News Agency, “My work in Nashville as a legislator is nothing more than an extension of my work as a child of God, as a Christian,” he said, adding that he has not hidden his pro-life principles. “So for them to say that folks don’t know where I stand, they actually said that the people in my district don’t have sense enough to elect their representative.”

According to CNA, DeBerry “was one of more than 100 Democrats at the federal, state, and local levels who recently asked the platform committee of the Democratic National Convention to moderate the abortion language in the party’s platform.”

I wonder how many people who consistently vote Democrat understand that abortion is one of the main pillars of the Democrat party. If you are pro-life, you are not welcome.

The Reasons Portland Has Suddenly Gone Quiet

Portland has suddenly gone quiet. According to BizPacReview, Thursday evening marked “the first time in 93 days” that downtown Portland didn’t succumb to rioting. Somehow I doubt that was because the rioters were home watching President Trump speak.

Andy Ngo, who has been covering the riots for the past three months, tweeted early Friday morning, he speculated that the silence may be a result of reports that the FBI’s Portland branch has begun actively investigating the Black Lives Matter and Antifa extremists responsible for the rioting.

The article reports:

“Portland, Oregon’s FBI chief said Wednesday he is shifting the agency’s resources to focus more heavily on the nightly [extremist riots] in Oregon’s largest city that often end in vandalism, clashes with local police and dozens of arrests,” the Associated Press reported Wednesday.

“Special Agent in Charge Renn Cannon said he is pulling agents from fraud and organized crime teams to focus on ‘acts of violence and federal crimes’ committed during nearly three months of unrest.”

“We do investigate major threats of violence and federal crimes. And sometimes a major threat of violence is a cumulative threat that happens over a period of time. It starts to have a really negative impact on the community,” Cannon said to the AP.

“Here in Portland, we’re … making the assessment that we should be trying to do a little more than we have, because the cumulative effects and the nature of the problem indicate that the community needs help.”

The article includes a tweet from the FBI Portland showing pictures of rioters and asking for information.

There is, however, another aspect of this. The article includes the following tweet:

I realize the tweet is blurry. What it essentially says is that approval for Black Lives Matter is rapidly dropping (probably because of the riots). Keep in mind that the Democrat Party has managed to link themselves with Black Lives Matter by claiming the riots are simply valid protests. At one point a member of the mainstream media described a protest as a mostly peaceful but fiery protest as the fires burned behind him. I think most Americans want to feel safe in their homes, and the violence they are seeing undermines that feeling. The Democrats reluctance to condemn those perpetuating the violence is undermining the support for the Democrat party.

Peaceful?

Yesterday The New York Post reported that federal officers in Portland suffered 113 eye injuries while guarding a courthouse from activists armed with powerful lasers.

The article reports:

“We’ve had a number of officers who have days-long blindness. So far they’ve all kind of come back, if you will,” Cuccinelli (Ken Cuccinelli, deputy director of the Department of Homeland Security) said. “But you also get what’s called flash blindness. Think of it as the old Kodak cameras where you get that blue spot and you can’t quite see your entire field of vision for a period.”

Cuccinelli brought a high-powered laser as a prop to a Senate subcommittee hearing hosted by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) focused on Antifa violence during protests against the killing of George Floyd by Minnesota police. He said the devices could be purchased on Amazon.com.

The novel laser attacks drew attention last month as President Trump deployed federal officers to bolster the besieged federal court building. White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said at a briefing in July that three officers were believed to have been permanently blinded.

Although Cuccinelli said all officers recovered their sight, he said activists appear to be aiming to maximize damage.

That’s not protest–that’s assault and needs to be dealt with harshly.

The article continues:

Democrats at the hearing largely described violence attributed to Antifa, or “anti-fascist,” activists as a distraction from misconduct of police and what they said was the improper deployment of federal agents to Portland.

“What we’ve seen in Portland, Oregon, is peaceful protesters in need of protection from federal officers,” said Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii). “The hearing we should be having is one called the right of the people to peaceably assemble without being beaten up by unidentifiable federal agents.”

Cuccinelli said some protesters are indeed peaceful, but others aren’t.

“This is sort of the Portland formula: there’s peaceful protesting until 10 or 11 o’clock, and then they go away. And maybe some of them come back, but the group that comes back is A.) much bigger, but also they come back for violence,” Cuccinelli said.

I really think that Senator Hirono needs to listed to her own words. Peaceful protesters do not attempt to blind police. They do not set fire to buildings and shoot fireworks at people. It is becoming very obvious that members of the Democrat party are not willing to stand up for the rights of ordinary people who simply want to live in peace. What about the rights of the people who live in the neighborhoods where these riots are taking place? Are they not entitled to protection from the violence of the rioters?

Numbers Don’t Lie (But Politicians Do)

John Hinderaker posted an article at Power Line Blog yesterday about one aspect of the latest draft of the Democrat Party platform. The article notes that the platform is largely an attack on white people. The platform mentions whites or whiteness 15 times, never in a positive light.

The article includes a quote from the platform:

Median incomes are lower and poverty rates are higher for Black Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, and some Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, compared to median white households.

Well, the article includes a chart from the 2018 Census:

As you can see, the charge included in the draft of the Democrat Party platform is not true.

The article concludes:

The Democrats are right to focus on median income as a basic indicator of well-being, but they have to lie about the statistics. They can’t face the reality that America is a land of opportunity, and there is nothing standing in the way of people of any ethnicity succeeding in the most fundamental way: making money.

If the United States were really a white supremacist society, as the Democrats claim, the facts would be very different. Whites incomes would dwarf non-white incomes. That obviously is not the case, which demonstrates that America is not a racist or white supremacist society. The Democrats are wrong. It is hard to see why voters would entrust with power a party that falsely slanders its own country.

The platform is being put together with a purpose. After seeing the racism and the lies in the platform, I wonder what that purpose is.

Who Is Writing The Democrat Party Platform?

Bernie Sanders is not the Democrat presidential candidate. He might have been, but the Democrat political establishment has blocked his nomination twice with backroom deals. However, the proposed party platform seems to have a lot of his ideas included. The Democrats blocked his nomination because they felt that his ideas were too far out of the mainstream for him to be elected, so now they are sneaking his ideas into a platform that very few people will actually read. Yesterday Breitbart posted an article about that platform.

The article reports:

The proposed Democrat platform would expand asylum for migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border, freeing them into the interior of the nation while they await their hearings. Gallup research from 2018 finds that nearly 160 million migrants around the world would move to the U.S. if given the opportunity — five million of which are located in Central America.

Likewise, the plan ends construction of the border wall, halts deportations for illegal aliens, ends all travel bans on national security-risk nations, China, Europe, Brazil, and Iran, ends agreements between the U.S. and Central America to reduce illegal immigration, and ends most federal detention of illegal aliens.

The plan also calls for:

    • Restarting DACA for young illegal aliens
    • Restraining DAPA for the illegal parents of DACA illegal aliens
    • Rescinding Trump’s “national emergency” at the border
    • Increasing refugee resettlement
    • Gives Obamacare to DACA illegal aliens
    • Forces Americans to subsidize welfare-dependent legal immigration
    • Expands the scandal-plagued U visa program
    • Restarts employment-based green card system

The massive expansion of illegal and legal immigration — in addition to the hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens and more than 2.5 million legal immigrants and foreign workers added to the U.S. population every year — would come as more than 35 million Americans are unemployed or underemployed.

This is not a recipe for American success. This is a recipe for creating a permanent underclass of people who will be forever dependent on the government and eventually bankrupt the country (see Cloward-Piven Strategy). Every illegal alien that enters the country depresses the wages of Americans in low-skilled jobs. A country needs to have control of its borders in order to protect the rights and futures of those who live there.

Who is writing the Democratic Party platform, and what is their goal?

This Really Does Border On Elder Abuse

Yesterday Townhall posted an article about former Vice-President Biden’s recent virtual appearance at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers’ 2020 Virtual Political Conference on Wednesday. If you would like to see a video of the appearance, follow the link to the article–the video is posted there. Even when reading from a teleprompter, Biden seems to lose his train of thought.

The article provides a partial transcript:

“Lonnie knows I believe this every fiber of being, we’re opposed,” Biden began confidently enough before he seemingly lost his place with the teleprompter.

Biden then switched to platitudes about making “it happen” and illuminating “the path forward.”

“What I propose is, is, it can be done. I think we’re in a position to really make it happen. And my team and your team are already working closely together to light up the path forward here,” Biden said.

…”Critical laws like the PRO Act to strengthen collective bargaining, on politics like prevailing and,” Biden continued, as he held up his hand in a futile effort to follow along. It was no use.

“Look,” a defeated Biden said as he gives up on the teleprompter. “I guess, I’m, I’m, I’m taking too much time, but you know …”

This is really sad. As much as I want to see Biden defeated in his presidential run, it would be cruel to put him on the debate stage with President Trump. I suspect the Democrat Party is going to find a way to avoid debates, but recent appearances by Biden have not inspired confidence in his ability to hold public office.

Losing Energy Independence

There are two groups of people who are attempting to end America’s energy independence–OPEC (The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) and the Democrat Party. OPEC is fighting American energy independence because it represents competition and loss of OPEC’s worldwide influence. I am not really sure what the Democrat Party stands to gain by fighting American energy independence except that the position opposes President Trump’s position, which seems to be their platform–if President Trump is for it, we’re against it.

Yesterday Fox News posted an article about the resistance to America’s energy independence.

The article reported:

The battle to win U.S. energy independence has been long, hard and well worth it but the industry is facing new foreign threats from OPEC as well as right here at home from Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

Biden wants to ban U.S. fracking, which was the key to our winning the war of energy independence. The former vice president at one point has said “no new fracking” — which, because of the nature of the shale decline rate, would end the U.S. shale revolution. This would not only cost the U.S. thousands of high-paying jobs, it would allow other countries to fill the void and produce more oil and gas.

…Biden has also said he has a goal to completely eliminate fossil fuels. While all men are created equal, energy sources are not. The move to fossil fuel alternatives in the near future is not reasonable and handicapping the U.S. energy industry will only put U.S. energy security at risk.

In fact, because of demand drops due to the COVID-19 shutdowns, many alternative fuels have also seen setbacks in investment and are not viable. The truth is the road to get the world off of fossil fuels will be much longer than the original goal of energy independence and in some form, we will be using fossil fuels for energy for generations to come.

Having a presidential contender looking to curb the U.S. energy industry comes at a time when threats from foreign actors are rising amid allegations they have conspired to try to bankrupt the U.S. energy industry so that we return to depending on them for our economic and national security.

While Saudi Arabia and Russia denied it, many believe that the goal of an oil production war in the midst of COVID-19’s oil demand collapse was to once and for all neutralize and bury the hard-won U.S. energy independence.

Does anyone remember the gasoline crisis of the 1970’s? Because we were almost totally dependent on foreign oil, we had gas lines and high gasoline prices. Does anyone really want to do that again? Energy independence is an economic issue, a national security issue, and a geopolitical issue. It determines our economy, our national security, and can influence our foreign policy. The less dependent we are on foreign oil, the more free we are to stand up to tyrants in countries with large supplies of oil. Energy independence should not even be debatable–it it necessary for the survival of our republic.

Then And Now

Yesterday Breitbart posted an article about ever-changing press coverage.

The article reports:

CNN described Mount Rushmore as a “monument of two slave owners” on “land wrestled [sic] away from Native Americans” ahead of President Donald Trump’s visit there on Friday.

But in 2008, CNN marveled at the landmark when then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) visited Rushmore on the campaign trail.

In 2008, CNN anchor Ron Marciano said: “Barack Obama is campaigning in South Dakota. That state’s primary is Tuesday. Obama arrived there late last night and got a good look around Mt. Rushmore — it’s quite a sight if you haven’t seen it.”

Fellow anchor Betty Nguyen added: “Barack Obama is in South Dakota today. He arrived there last night. Take a look at this. He got a good glimpse of the majestic Mount Rushmore. Well, South Dakota and Montana have closed out the primary season on Tuesday.”

But on Friday, CNN described Rushmore in less glowing terms.

Senior Washington correspondent Joe Johns said:

[A]t a time of racial unease, when protesters are tearing down statues of slaveholders and calling for the names of Confederate generals to be removed from army bases, the Rushmore event is a reminder that Trump is fighting to preserve these relics of heritage and history that some see as symbols of oppression. And to indigenous people, Mt. Rushmore, with four white presidents, two of whom were slave owners, is one of those symbols.

The article includes a screenshot of a recent Tweet that puts it all in perspective:

This sort of changing narrative might explain why many Americans have tuned out the mainstream media. They have become simply a publicity arm of the Democrat Party.

In The Past Americans Celebrated America

As we approach Independence Day, there are those who refuse to celebrate our nation and its history. Their actions are divisive and harmful to the nation. Yesterday Breitbart posted an article about a tweet (since deleted) that illustrates the misguided thinking of some Americans.

The article reports:

The Democrat Party on Monday evening tweeted, then deleted, an attack on Mount Rushmore, negatively portraying an upcoming event President Trump is planning ahead of Independence Day at the historic monument to four great American presidents.

“Trump has disrespected Native communities time and again,” the Democrats wrote on Twitter, with a link to an article in the British newspaper the Guardian, in the now-deleted tweet. “He’s attempted to limit their voting rights and blocked critical pandemic relief. Now he’s holding a rally glorifying white supremacy at Mount Rushmore–a region once sacred to tribal communities.”

There are some factual problems with this tweet. President Trump has neither limited the voting rights of Native communities nor blocked their pandemic relief. The rally does not glorify white supremacy–it glorifies the freedom we all share. It is a shame that one of our political parties has chosen to tear down the freedom and prosperity this country has provided rather than work to make things even better.

The shining light in this is Governor Kristi Noem of South Dakota. She tweeted:

Noem addressed it further in an interview on Fox and Friends last week, saying that this is now about a “radical rewriting of our history.”

“What my message is, is that this is no longer about equality, this is a radical rewriting of our history, and in South Dakota we won’t stand for it,” Noem said. “This is a national monument. The more we focus on the flaws of these men that are on our mountain, the less likely we are to recognize the virtues and the lessons we can learn from their lives. So that really is the message that I have for South Dakotans that love this mountain and Mount Rushmore for this country, that recognize what it represents to us, and we will do all that we can to make sure that that message is loud and clear, that we will make sure that Mount Rushmore stays as majestic as it is today.”

This lady needs to run for President in 2024!

Actions Are More Important Than Words

Townhall posted an article today about Civil Rights Attorney Leo Terrell, who recently made some surprising comments about his view of the Democrat party.

The article reports:

“This is why I stopped drinking the Democrat Kool-Aid. I can’t take this hypocrisy anymore. It’s ridiculous,” he explained during a Friday night segment on “Hannity.”

“Richard Russell from the South was against integration. He was opposed to anti-lynching bills. That’s what bothers me about this whole thing, that Democrats, just because of the D in their name, they could be a racist,” Terrell explained. “That statement by Joe Biden is so offensive and then you have Spike Lee out there and say, ‘It’s okay.’ That’s offensive. If any Republican said the same thing they would be in trouble, big trouble.”

“Joe Biden gave us the crime bill in 1994. President Trump gave us the First Step,” he said. “The bottom line is this: I don’t need the Democrats to insult me or try to placate me with African garb, Nancy Pelosi. Pass some laws. Pass some reforms. Show me something other than some kind of condescending act just because you’re a Democrat. That doesn’t follow anymore.”

The article concludes:

Terrell also made one very true point: if someone identifies as a Democrat but they believe in law and order, they won’t see it from that political party.

Something to think about before November.

Ignoring The Backbone Of The American Economy

The Democrat party used to be the party of the working man. I am not sure they ever represented the American entrepreneur, but some recent statements by Marie Harf suggest that the small businessmen in America have been willingly thrown under the bus by today’s Democrat party.

BizPac Review posted an article yesterday about some recent comments by Marie Harf on Fox News Sunday.

The article reports:

In response to a statement from host Chris Wallace that, while 66,000 people have died from coronavirus tens of millions have lost their jobs, Harf appeared to suggest that reopening small businesses wasn’t going to produce much in terms of bolstering the economy.

“We are about to embark on a situation where we’ll see if people can, on their own, social distance, if people independent of government regulations or stay-at-home orders, can act responsibly,” she began.

“And if they can’t, and if we see spikes in some of these places, will these governors be willing to change course in midstream? That’s something we will all see together in real-time,” Harf continued.

In fact, some experts have predicted there will be “spikes” on coronavirus infections because they maintain that keeping Americans at home prevented the formation of “herd immunity” that is necessary to prevent recurrences of the outbreak.

In any event, Harf continued with Left-wing talking points, claiming the country needs “more testing” and “contact tracing” of people who are infected, — the latter of which is code for ‘invading privacy’ with a government-mandated tracking app.

“So, the economy, even if we open nail salons, hair salons Chris, the economy isn’t really going to get going again until we can travel, until we can move around the country,” she claimed. “It will not get going in a really meaningful way by opening small businesses in certain places, and so we have to get all of those things I just mentioned to eventually get to a place where the economy really can open back up.

“That is not happening anytime soon,” Harf said.

Just for the record, Inc. posted an article that illustrates how many Americans are employed by small businesses.

The article reports:

As of the 2010 Census, there were 27.9 million small businesses registered in the United States, compared to just 18,500 companies of 500 employees or more. Included in that total figure are sole proprietorships (73.2 percent), corporations (19.5 percent), and franchises (2 percent). 52 percent of small businesses are home-based. The most important thing to note? 99.7 percent of U.S. employer firms are small businesses.

I am not convinced that anyone in the Democrat party has studied either economics or the American economy.

Bucket Five Is Released

Those of us who have followed the investigation into Crossfire Hurricane closely have been waiting for the information in Bucket Five to be released. That is the information that investigative reporters have cited from the beginning as having the real story behind the surveillance on the Trump campaign and the early days of the Trump presidency. The Conservative Treehouse posted an article today about the documents the Senate Judiciary Committee has released today. The article includes links and screenshots of information and is very detailed. I recommend that you follow the link and read the entire article, but I will includes some of the highlights here.

The article reports:

The documents include more Papadopoulos transcripts from wired conversations with FBI confidential human source Stefan Halper; and also for the first time less redacted version of all three Carter Page FISA applications.  It’s going to take some time to go through this.

The declassification and release includes some seriously interesting documents the DOJ submitted to the FISA court, as far back as July 2018, which completely destroy the prior claims made by Lisa Page, Peter Strzok, James Baker, James Comey, Andrew McCabe and their very vocal media and Lawfare defenders.   Here’s one example:

Lisa Page testified to congress, and claimed in media, that the FBI never had any contact with the Steele dossier material until September 2016.  However, the DOJ directly tells the FISA court that Chris Steele was funneling his information to the FBI in June 2016.

Obviously those involved in the surveillance never expected the truth to come out. They assumed that Hillary Clinton would be elected and their illegal activities would be buried in a sea of classified information. All Americans need to understand that if the Democrat party gains power in Washington, no one involved in this illegal surveillance will ever be held accountable and similar activities will continue in the future. Until the people involved in these activities are held accountable, there will be no guarantee that the civil rights of Americans will not be violated by our government in the future.

Never Let A Crisis Go To Waste

If you look at the people who oppose voter id laws, they tend to be Democrats. I’m not accusing them of anything, but I do wonder why they would oppose something that would protect the votes of all Americans. Well, the coronavirus crisis has caused those who oppose voter id laws to take things a step further.

Just The News posted an article yesterday with the following headline, “Democrats pushing harder for ‘Vote by mail’ in November election.” I don’t mean to be cynical, but I believe that would be the end of honest elections.

The article reports:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that she would like to see “vote by mail” funding of up to $4 billion in Congress’ next coronavirus stimulus package for upcoming elections.

Pelosi suggested on Wednesday that the funding would to help states “expand” their vote-by-mail capabilities and allow voters to cast ballots by mail rather than show up in-person at the polls.

“Vote-by-mail is so important to our democracy so that people have access to voting and not being deterred, especially at this time, by the ammunition to stay home,” Pelosi said on a conference call. “We need at least $2 billion, $4 billion is probably what would really democratize our whole system.”

On Tuesday, Pelosi said she does not know why anyone would oppose voting by mail in the next election.

Aside from the obvious problem of voter fraud, why does Speaker Pelosi think we will still be under threat of the coronavirus in November? I realize that the disease may make a comeback in the fall, but I suspect that by that time enough Americans will have developed immunity to the disease to minimize the problem or we will have learned how to successfully deal with the disease so that ‘social distancing’ will be a distant memory.

Because of their recent strong turn to the left, Democrats have lost a lot of American voters. The party that was previously the party of the working man has totally forgotten its roots. The only hope for a strong Democrat party in the future is illegal aliens voting or election fraud. Until the Democrats turn back toward the center, they will be a dying party. That is the reason voting by mail looks good to them.