Some Early Speculation

On Wednesday, The Hill posted a list of the ten Republicans most likely to run for President in 2024. It’s an interesting list.

Here is the list:

Donald Trump

Ron DeSantis

Mike Pence

Chris Christie

Nikki Haley

Ted Cruz

Mike Pompeo

Kristi Noem

Tom Cotton

Larry Hogan

Please follow the link to read the entire article. Each candidate has his/her own list of strong and weak points. The problem with choosing a candidate (in either party) is trying to sort out who is a member of the Washington swamp and who isn’t. The swamp includes both parties, and we need to nominate and elect someone who will drain the swamp rather than be part of it.

The Obvious Question

Yesterday John Hinderaker posted an article at Power Line Blog titled, “Who’s Crazy?”

The article notes:

Democrats are busily trying to portray Republicans as crazy extremists and conspiracy theorists. Marjorie Greene is the latest target of this campaign, and of course the Dems continue to milk the January 6 D.C. mini-riot for all it is worth, and more. (Meanwhile, they have no interest in what would seem to be the real story, the inexplicable breakdown of security at the Capitol. And, contrary to the Democrats’ usual practice, the identity of the officer who shot and killed an unarmed woman, Ashli Babbitt, is a closely guarded secret.)

But where do we look for maximum craziness? How about Maxine Waters, who says that President Trump “should be charged with premeditated murder” (of whom?) because he was involved in “advance planning about the invasion” at the Capitol. Talk about a conspiracy theory! But Waters’ claims aren’t much crazier than those of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who asserted that Ted Cruz was trying to get her killed.

There was a time when making such reckless, extreme, and–to say the least!–unsupported claims about one’s political opponents would have been considered far out of bounds by pretty much everyone. No longer.

It’s time those Democrats who are accusing President Trump of inciting violence look in the mirror. Some of the insanity and lack of civility coming from Democrats in recent years in appalling. It’s time the Democrat party takes responsibility for the statements and actions of their member.

Building Unity, One Attack At A Time

Yesterday’s incident involving Game Stop had the potential of being something Congress could agree on. Note that I said potential. However, it is becoming very clear that some members of Congress are not necessarily agreeable.

PJ Media reported yesterday that Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) called for an investigation into the Robinhood trading app after the fiasco with Game Stop. Ted Cruz immediately agreed with her. She did not take kindly to his agreement.

The article reports her reply to his offer to work with her:

“I am happy to work with Republicans on this issue where there’s common ground, but you almost had me murdered 3 weeks ago so you can sit this one out,” AOC responded. “Happy to work w/ almost any other GOP that aren’t trying to get me killed. In the meantime if you want to help, you can resign.”

AOC went on, claiming that “accountability” for the January 6 Capitol riot “includes a new Senator from Texas.”

AOC’s Twitter thread made it clear the congresswoman holds Cruz personally responsible for “serious… mental harm” she and others suffered.

“You haven’t even apologized for the serious physical + mental harm you contributed to from Capitol Police & custodial workers to your own fellow members of Congress. In the meantime, you can get off my timeline & stop clout-chasing. Thanks. Happy to work with other GOP on this,” she concluded.

The facts just don’t line up with her accusations.

The article notes:

Cruz encouraged his fellow Republicans to block the counting of Electoral College votes, but not to overturn the election. He called for a bipartisan commission to investigate election irregularities.

Cruz — like Trump — never called on supporters to storm the Capitol and breach it, much less to threaten the lives of elected leaders. He merely worked to stall the final certification until after an investigation had answered concerns of fraud and irregularities.

In fact, when the rioters stormed the Capitol, Cruz condemned the attack in no uncertain terms. He went further than Trump, who also called for peace.

“Violence is always unacceptable. Even when passions run high. Anyone engaged in violence—especially against law enforcement—should be fully prosecuted,” Cruz tweeted during the attack. “God bless the Capitol Police and the honorable men & women of law enforcement who show great courage keeping all of us safe.”

“Those storming the Capitol need to stop NOW. The Constitution protects peaceful protest, but violence—from Left or Right— is ALWAYS wrong. And those engaged in violence are hurting the cause they say they support,” he concluded.

There was a time when a Congressman would have been censored for making such an unfounded accusation. But since the accusation was made against a Republican, there will be no consequences. Also note, the Democrats fear Ted Cruz as a potential future presidential candidate. The baseless attacks on him will increase over the next three years.

 

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?

Going Further Into Debt To Support Terrorism

On Friday, The Daily Wire posted an article about some of the recent discussions happening in Congress. The article notes the Senator Ted Cruz has criticized Senator Diane Feinstein because she is trying to appropriate money to send to Iran (the world’s major fund source for terrorism).

The article reports:

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz unloaded on his Democratic colleagues on Friday in response to Sen. Dianne Feinstein sending a letter to President Trump declaring that she is “disappointed” in his administration’s plan to block funding to the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, Iran. The Democrats’ demand of Trump to help Iran get $5 billion in aid, Cruz noted, comes “at the exact same time” that they are “blocking desperately need relief to small businesses in America.”

The article continues:

In late March, a group of Democratic lawmakers — among them Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY), Ilhan Omar (MN), and Rashida Tlaib (MI), and Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) — sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Sec. Steve Mnuchin calling for the easing of U.S. sanctions on Iran during the coronavirus pandemic, a request that was dead on arrival. Iran has since requested $5 billion in aid from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In response to the Trump administration indicating that they have no intention of allowing the terror-sponsoring state to get the massive infusion of money, Sen. Feinstein sent her own letter on Thursday expressing her disappointment.

The timing of the letter was unfortunate for Senator Feinstein:

Feinstein’s letter was issued the same day that Senate Democrats blocked an urgent request from Sec. Mnuchin to increase the amount of cash in the emergency small business loan program recently established by Congress from $350 billion to $600 billion.

In response to the pair of moves, Cruz called out Feinstein and the Democrats for what he suggested were some backward “priorities.”

When Secretary Mnuchin asked for more money to help small business, the  Democrats in Congress acted the same way they have in the past:

As the New York Post’s editorial board explains, instead of agreeing to the desperately needed increase in cash on Thursday, the Democrats “issued partisan demands”: “They insisted the new money include $60 billion for ‘community-based lenders’ that serve minorities, women, nonprofits and other groups. And the bill also had to OK an immediate $250 billion for cities, states, hospitals, food stamps and other needs.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) explained in response that “everything is an opportunity.” This was an “opportunity” to address “disparities” she suggested are plaguing the country.

“And if they don’t get their way, no one gets a dime more,” the Post’s editorial board noted. “Never mind that businesses face bankruptcy or that 17 million people filed for jobless benefits in recent weeks.”

We don’t need term limits–we need intelligent voters who remember these antics when they vote in November.

Hoping To Shed Some Light On A Very Strange Story

Today The Conservative Treehouse posted an article about Patrick Byrne, who resigned his position as CEO of Overstock yesterday. Mr. Byrne’s story involves spying on certain political campaigns for the FBI.

The article reports:

After a cursory meeting in/around July 2015, Byrne claims in the period of September to December 2015 he reported contact with Russian national Ms. Maria Butina to the FBI as a precaution related to his security clearance.

Byrne claims he was asked to participate in an FBI intelligence operation and to introduce, and/or facilitate the introduction of, Ms. Butina to the campaigns of Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Donald Trump.

In December of 2015 Mr. Byrne became suspicious of the FBI motives because he warned FBI officials of a potential that his efforts, his reputation and those who trust him, may result in Butina gaining entry into campaign confidences. The FBI agents told Byrne that was exactly the intent; people high up in the FBI wanted Ms. Butina to gain deep access into the Trump campaign. Mr. Byrne became suspicious of a corrupt political motive, but didn’t say anything at the time.

Additionally Byrne’s assistance was requested for an investigation of a high-level government official, he later named as Hillary Clinton.

[Sidebar: It’s noteworthy that during these FBI engagements Byrne was never requested to facilitate Ms. Butina into the Bernie Sanders campaign.  The inference in that omission is the Dem primary was rigged, and the riggers saw no value wasting time on Bernie]

In/around Feb or March 2016 Byrne was told to focus Ms. Butina’s attention to the campaign of Donald Trump and to diminish any attention toward Rubio or Cruz.

The assistance of the investigation of the federal official (Hillary Clinton) ended in late June and early July of 2016.  Immediately thereafter Ms. Clinton was publicly -and unusually- cleared by FBI Director James Comey on July 5th, 2016.

In/around this same June & July time-frame (2016), FBI agents requested Mr. Byrne to focus on developing a closer romantic relationship with Ms. Butina and to use his influence to target her to closer proximity with the Trump family and Trump campaign.

It was within these June and July 2016 engagements where FBI agents were apologetic about the requests and specifically mentioned their instructions were coming from three principle FBI officials Byrne described as “X, Y and Z”.   Later Byrne identified FBI Director James Comey as “Z”.

In the Fox MacCallum interview Byrne named James Comey, Andrew McCabe, Bill Priestap, John Carlin (DOJ-NSD) and Peter Strzok.   Mr. Byrne said the specific instructions were coming to the agents from Special Agent Peter Strzok as he relayed the requests of those above him [X, Y and Z (Comey)].

This FBI contact structure highlights an arms-length operation; perhaps intentionally constructed to create plausible deniability for those above the directly instructing agents.

In its conclusion, the article notes:

I’m sure it is just a coincidence, but FBI Special Agent Peter Strzok’s wife, Melissa Hodgman, happens to be the Assoc. Director of the SEC Enforcement Division, who happened to be leading the SEC investigation of Peter Byrne’s company. [LINK]

So the wife of the FBI agent who was directing Patrick Byrne in the sketchy FBI operation targeting Donald Trump… just happens to open an investigation of Byrne shortly after the corrupt FBI operation containing her husband first hit the headlines in early 2018.

It will be interesting to see how much of this story makes it to the mainstream media.

Ruining The Environment Because You Want To Win

The Washington Examiner posted an article today about the Iowa Caucuses and the role that ethanol plays in them. In theory ethanol is a great idea. In practice it has not had the positive impact on the environment that was hoped for.

The article reports:

The summer before the Iowa caucuses is when politicians abandon whatever it is they believe in and instead pay homage to King Corn.

When Republicans are running, any belief in free enterprise is scuttled in favor the big government ethanol mandate.

Among Democrats, concern about smog and pollution evaporates in the heat of an Iowa summer.

The politicians who pledge to take on the special interests instead bow obediently before the ethanol lobby.

Al Gore, who admits federal support for ethanol was a mistake, explains his own advocacy of such policies thus: “I had a certain fondness for the farmers in the state of Iowa because I was about to run for president.”

It’s a dispiriting sight, but it’s as much a part of the Iowa caucus tradition as butter cows and fried Oreos.

The article explains some of the problems with ethanol:

Also, federally mandated use of ethanol wreaks havoc on the environment.

“Making corn into ethanol threatens surface and sub-surface waters in several ways,” the Freshwater Society states.

For starters, there are the spills, which occur every two days on average. Ethanol can’t be transported by pipeline, and so it rides trains and trucks from the heartland where it’s made to the coasts, where Uncle Sam forces refiners to buy it.

The added use of fertilizers in the extra corn-growing creates lots of runoff, which down the line deprives rivers of oxygen. Distilling ethanol requires four times as much water as does refining real gasoline — so the ethanol mandate depletes water supplies.

Ranchers pay the price as corn is shifted from feed to fuel. Drivers pay the price as they have to refuel more (ethanol has less energy per gallon than gasoline does). Bikers and boaters suffer more, as ethanol gunks up those smaller engines. Ethanol is also destroying your lawnmower this summer.

The article concludes:

Refiners, corn growers, and ethanol distillers all suffer from uncertainty and inconsistency. So, we’ve got a proposal for any 2020 Democrat who cares about taking on the special interests, protecting the air and the water, and moving beyond the inconstancy of the Trump administration.

Abolish the ethanol mandate altogether.

Maybe Cory Booker or Joe Biden can pick up the bill Ted Cruz pushed in 2015, which would wind the mandate down to zero gallons in five years. Cruz even won Iowa, in part because enough voters liked a man who stood on principle.

Do the Democrats have a man or a woman like that?

Stay tuned.

If You Are Still Convinced The Media Isn’t Trying To Form Opinions In Elections…

Yesterday Guy Benson posted an article at Townhall about the recent Texas Senate race between Robert Francis O’Rourke and Ted Cruz. Robert Francis O’Rourke goes by the name Beto O’Rourke.

The article reports:

Shortly after Beto O’Rourke announced his 2020 presidential campaign, Reuters broke a fairly shocking news story about the former Democratic Congressman.  We now know that O’Rourke was a member of a notorious secret online hacking ring known as the Cult of the Dead Cow.  The public was already aware of O’Rourke’s previous arrests for DUI (an incident in which he attempted to flee the scene) and burglary, but this revelation was not reported prior to the 2018 Texas Senate election:

The article includes a quote from the reporter who discovered the hacking ring:

“I decided to write a book about the Cult of the Dead Cow because they were the most interesting and influential hacking group in history. They illustrated a lot of the things that I think are fascinating about hacking and security work. “While I was looking into the Cult of the Dead Cow, I found out that they had a member who was sitting in Congress. I didn’t know which one. But I knew that they had a member of Congress…And then I figured out which one it was. And the members of the group wouldn’t talk to me about who it was. They wouldn’t confirm that it was this person unless I promised that I wouldn’t write about it until after the November election. That’s because the member of Congress had decided to run for Senate. Beto O’Rourke is who it was…After more than a year of reporting, Menn persuaded O’Rourke to talk on the record. In an interview in late 2017, O’Rourke acknowledged that he was a member of the group, on the understanding that the information would not be made public until after his Senate race against Ted Cruz in November 2018.

Do you think this information might have changed a few votes if voters had been aware of it? This is only one way the media manipulates the public.

Voting Problems In Texas

Yesterday The Star-Telegram in Fort Worth reported the following:

A Fort Worth woman recently indicted on voter fraud charges paid others involved in the scheme with funds provided by a former Tarrant County Democratic Party leader, court documents filed this week say.

After learning about a state investigation, Leticia Sanchez — one of four women arrested and indicted on voter fraud charges — allegedly directed her daughter to send a text message to others in the scheme, urging them not to cooperate with investigators, state officials say.

The allegations are made in the state’s notice of intent to introduce evidence in Sanchez’s criminal case, where state officials say she was among those who collaborated to vote for certain down-ballot candidates with a number of north side residents’ mail-in ballots.

The notice, filed Tuesday, states that Sanchez engaged in organized criminal activity in collaboration with her three co-defendants; Stuart Clegg, a former executive director for the Tarrant County Democratic Party; and others.

The article reports that the voter fraud included illegally obtained mail-in ballots Forged signatures were also used on absentee ballots and mail in ballots.

The article continues:

Earlier this month, four women were arrested — Sanchez, her daughter, Leticia Sanchez Tepichin, and Rosa Solis and Laura Parra — after being indicted on more than two dozen felony counts of voter fraud.

Officials allege the women were paid to target older voters on the city’s north side “in a scheme to generate a large number of mail ballots and then harvest those ballots for specific candidates in 2016.”

The notice did not specify which candidates the suspects were allegedly paid to support, but it noted that Sanchez and others marked down-ballot candidates “without the voter’s knowledge or consent.”

AG officials have said these charges “are in connection with the 2016 Democratic primary, but the case has connections with the 2015 city council election.”

AG spokesman Jeff Hillery declined to comment when asked if any other charges would be filed.

This development comes as early voting for the Nov. 6 midterm election is underway. Voters may vote early through Nov. 2. Election Day is Nov. 6.

The article suggests that the arrest and indictment of Ms. Sanchez may be a political move because it occurred right before the election, but it seems to me that the time to find and deal with voter fraud issues is before the election. People need to know that there are consequences for committing voter fraud.

A report from The Star-Telegram today warns voters to check the voting machines carefully before recording their votes.

The article reports:

Texas voters: Take your time when casting ballots.

This advice comes as state election officials receive complaints across the state from early voters casting straight tickets on Hart eSlate machines who believe the machines changed their votes.

Two complaints, reported through a third party, have been made in Tarrant County, said Heider Garcia, elections administrator.

“We have … tested everything,” he said. “We don’t have any indication that there’s a technical issue.”

The Texas Secretary of State’s Office has issued a statement about the issue.

The article cites one example:

Evelyn Brown, a 63-year-old longtime Fort Worth voter, said she had a problem voting this week.

She had gone to the Southwest Community Center on Welch Avenue and had cast a straight party ticket.

When she reviewed the summary, she saw that her choice in the U.S. Senate race — which pits Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz against Democratic challenger U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke — had flipped to the candidate in the other party.

She spent seven or eight minutes trying to move back to change the candidate in that race, but wasn’t successful.

“I’m accustomed to using the booth,” she said. “I used the keys that let you move forward and back. It didn’t move at all. It was stuck.”

So she called the election judge over who ended up calling the Tarrant County Elections Office.

In the end, the election judge had to at least temporarily put that machine out of service. He moved Brown to a different machine, where she said she was able to cast a vote for all the candidates of her choice.

Vote carefully, Your country depends on it.

There Is Some Serious Money Being Spent In The Texas Senate Race

Scott Johnson at Power Line Blog posted an article today about the Texas Senate race where Bobby O’Rourke (aka Beto O’Rourke) is challenging incumbent Ted Cruz. Bobby O’Rourke raised $38.1 million in last three months according to The Dallas Morning News’ Todd Gillman and Tom Benning. That sounds really impressive until you look at some of the details.

The article reports:

“ActBlue, the online Democratic fund-raising platform, makes it easier than ever for candidates to collect small sums from many people, and to prompt supporters for recurring donations. O’Rourke has brought in at least $25 million that way this year, and based on the latest tally, likely far more.”

The article also reports some recent polling data with comments by Scott Johnson:

We last checked in on incumbent Texas Senator Ted Cruz’s race against Bobby O’Rourke in “Query the Kavanaugh effect (2).” The most recent poll at that time showed Cruz with a 9-point lead (54-45). Since that post a New York Times/Siena poll of likely voters surveyed the electorate during the period October 8-11, entirely in the aftermath of the Kavanaugh confirmation. It shows Cruz with an 8-point lead (51-43), within the previous poll’s margin of error.

It wasn’t easy for the Times/Siena poll locate its sample of 800 likely voters. The poll made 51,983 calls in search of those 800 likely voters.

Bobby O’Rourke has ignited a mania among Democrats and their media adjunct. He is the greatest thing since…well, since Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis.

It will be interesting to see if money buys elections in Texas. Money didn’t buy elections in the 2016 campaign for President–if it had, we would have either President Jeb Bush or President Hillary Clinton. Thank God that, generally speaking, the American voters can’t be bought.

 

Being Obstreperous Because You Can

The tax bill the President signed today was a major victory for the President and those who supported it. The Democrats are looking a little unhappy about the whole thing. The real reasons the Democrats opposed the bill are most likely political, but there was one thing the Democrats changed in the bill that they need to be held accountable for.

Townhall posted an article about the tax bill today explaining how parents of children with disabilities and parents who homeschool were denied a benefit by Democrats.

The article reports:

Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), one of the Senate’s most outspoken advocates for school choice, introduced an addition to the tax bill called the Student Opportunity Amendment. The amendment would expand 529 college savings plans to also include K-12 education, allowing parents and grandparents to use these tax-advantaged plans to save up to $10,000 per child per year for private schools, religious schools, or even homeschooling.

…However, Democrats weren’t about to let a beneficial piece of legislation pass without a fight. Party leaders ran to the Senate Parliamentarian to complain that the entire amendment ran afoul of the Byrd rule — another one of those arcane Senate rules that no one understands. But while the Parliamentarian disagreed with the Democrats’ argument about the majority of the provisions in the amendment, she unfortunately found their argument compelling when applied to homeschooling and struck the language from the bill.

In response, Senator Cruz rushed to the floor and pushed a Motion to Waive the Parliamentarian’s changes, which solely affected the homeschooling provision. This motion would require a 60-vote majority to succeed.

This is what happened next:

Nevertheless, not a single Democrat voted for Senator Cruz’s motion. Not one. The Democrats knowingly and proudly discriminated against homeschooled kids and kids with disabilities, in many cases destroying their access to quality education. Even by the Democrats’ woefully low standards, it was a shameful display.

Next time Democrats attempt to take the moral high ground on some issue related to education or welfare, Americans should remember exactly what they did here. When given the choice to help children with disabilities, they chose partisanship. When given the opportunity to make life better for millions of children, they chose to RESIST.

The actions of the Democrats in the Senate are truly despicable.

Free Speech Under Attack

Yesterday The Washington Examiner posted an article about the upcoming transfer of the Internet. On September 30, the United States will transfer control of the Internet to a multi-stakeholder, nonprofit called the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN.

The article reports:

But Cruz (Senator Ted Cruz) and other critics have labeled the transfer an “Internet surrender,” and say the ceding of U.S. control will allow more than 160 countries, including authoritarian regimes, to have some influence over what is allowed and prohibited on the Internet.

During Congressional hearings last week, ICANN’s CEO and President Goran Marby told Congress that he did not believe that ICANN was bound by the First Amendment. So why are turning over something that provides an alternative to the heavily biased media we have in America to an organization that will not protect free speech? That is a dangerous thing to do–particularly right before an important election.

 

This Is NOT New Information

This video is not new information. It is, however, information that has not been widely shared by the press. The information also reveals that our government is not doing its job of protecting us.

On June 29, the following video was placed on YouTube:

 

For more information see Catastrophic Failure by Stephen Coughlin. It is a detailed account of the willful blindness of the Obama Administration in combating global terrorism.

Hopefully This Is The Dying Breath Of The Establishment Republicans

Mitt Romney is basically a good man. Lately I think he is a little misguided. True, he does represent the establishment wing of the Republican party, but I think the establishment wing needs to step aside now that their candidates have lost in the primary elections. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look as if that is going to happen.

The Hill posted an article today about some of Governor Romney’s recent activities.

The article states:

Mitt Romney, the GOP’s 2012 nominee, is among those courting prospects for a possible third-party bid to keep Donald Trump from the White House, according to a Washington Post report.

Among those prospects are Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), one of Trump’s most vocal Republican critics, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who suspended his presidential campaign in early May.

Kasich’s chief strategist John Weaver said the governor isn’t interested in running an an independent.

Third-party candidates historically do not do well in elections. In this case, a third-party candidate would insure that the next President would be Hillary Clinton–the candidacy would split the Republican vote. With Donald Trump as the candidate, it is possible that many Republican voters will stay home, giving the presidency to Mrs. Clinton. Some of the pundits have stated that the establishment wing of the Republican party would rather lose this election than allow a non-establishment candidate to win. That is a scary thought. It is time we got the entrenched establishment of both parties out of Washington and replaced them with people who actually represent the American people. This election may well be our last chance to do that. Think carefully before you vote.

Creating Chaos In Cleveland

Now that Donald Trump is the only candidate in the Republican Presidential Primary, the Republican establishment is working very hard to make sure he is not the candidate. They are not above turning the convention into a circus if necessary.

Yesterday The Daily Caller posted an article about the current antics of the establishment Republicans regarding the June convention.

The article reports:

A Republican National Committee member will propose an amendment to the GOP convention rules this summer that will allow any Republican candidate with at least one delegate to be “deemed” nominated on the first ballot.

“So, using Iowa as an example, every candidate receiving at least four percent of the vote in the Iowa caucuses will earn one delegate, and thus be nominated for consideration at the Republican National Convention,” North Dakota National Committeeman Curly Haugland, a member of the RNC Rules Committee, told The Daily Caller Tuesday.

Haugland says that since the Iowa primary, eight names would be in the nomination on the first ballot. These are Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, John Kasich, Chris Christie, Ben Carson, Rand Paul ,and Jeb Bush.

What this amendment does is get rid of that pesky Rule 40B. Rule 40B was enacted in 2012 to keep Ron Paul off of the ballot. Now it has come back to bite the Republican establishment.

This is the text of Rule 40B:

“Each candidate for nomination for President of the United States and Vice President of the United States shall demonstrate the support of a majority of the delegates from each of eight (8) or more states, severally, prior to the presentation of the name of that candidate for nomination. Notwithstanding any other provisions of these rules or any rule of the House of Representatives, to demonstrate the support required of this paragraph a certificate evidencing the affirmative written support of the required number of permanently seated delegates from each of the eight (8) or more states shall have been submitted to the secretary of the convention not later than one (1) hour prior to the placing of the names of candidates for nomination pursuant to this rule and the established order of business.”

The current problem with Rule 40B is that Ted Cruz is the only candidate other than Trump that has taken eight states, and Ted Cruz is the other non-establishment candidate.

So what can we learn from this? First of all, the majority of people who voted in the Republican Primary elections voted for non-establishment candidates. It seems to me that if I were part of the Republican establishment I would begin to see that unless I do something quickly, my days in power are going to end soon. I would suggest that if the establishment wants to stay in power, they might try listening to the voters. If the Republican convention results in a candidate other than Donald Trump, the Republican Party will die. Even if there is not a third party, the Republican Party will die. Moving the goalposts in the middle of a football game is considered unfair by most Americans. Doing it in politics is not a good idea.

Remember The Pledge?

At the beginning of the Republican party nomination process, there was a lot of focus on whether or not Donald Trump would support the nominee if he did not win in the primary election. Much was made of this until he finally signed a pledge to support the eventual nominee. Other candidates were asked to sign a similar pledge. Well, that was then; this is now. What has transpired is a shining example of the reason many Americans have chosen to ignore our political system. Two people who signed a pledge to support the eventual nominee have already broken that pledge–Jeb Bush and Lindsey Graham. Has it occurred to either one of these men that their actions have been partially responsible for the rise of Donald Trump? As I have explained before, I am not a Trump supporter, although I will vote for him in November. Hillary Clinton represents four more years of President Obama. I know I can’t afford that. Donald Trump might do a little better. I am willing to take that chance.

Now that Donald Trump seems to have sewn up the Presidential nomination, it’s time to watch the spin by those members of the media trying to elect Hillary Clinton and to discredit Donald Trump.

Referring to Donald Trump signing a loyalty pledge to support the eventual Republican nominee, on March 30, The Washington Post reported:

Trump never had any intention of staying true to that piece of paper he signed at the behest of RNC Chairman Reince Priebus. At the time, the field was still large, no one had voted yet, and there were questions swirling about whether he was a “real” Republican. Trump signed the pledge — and made a giant event out of it — because it helped solve a problem for him. Period. Now, with the delegate lead and his front-runner status totally cemented, Trump feels no compunction in walking away from the pledge. None. (Worth noting: Neither Cruz nor John Kasich was willing to unequivocally state his support for the eventual GOP nominee, either.)

Trump does what is good for Trump. Always. When it made sense to be for Republican unity, Trump was for it. Now that he doesn’t need to be for it anymore, he isn’t. His logic is totally transparent.

So, if you are stunned at Trump going back on his loyalty pledge, you just haven’t been paying attention.

That’s something of a leap.

Be prepared for more shenanigans from establishment Republicans. They are very unhappy with their candidate. There are many Republican party regulars who would rather see Hillary Clinton win than Donald Trump. Why? A Hillary victory does not impact their current power and could destroy the non-establishment wing of the Republican party–a definite goal. (Donald Trump is not a conservative, so the conservatives will have no reason to give up–except that many of them voted for Donald Trump out of anger rather than any principles.) A win by Donald Trump would negatively impact the current power structure of the Republican party–it might even force them to actually listen to the voters.

 

 

The Truth Begins To Come Out

If you are reading this blog, chances are you voted in the primary election wherever you live–most of the people who read this blog are politically active. People who vote in primary elections believe that their vote counts and will make a difference. Unfortunately, that is not always the case.

Because of the recent events in the North Carolina Republican Party, I am no longer registered as a Republican voter. I see very few differences between the parties at this point. I will be voting for Donald Trump because I don’t want Hillary Clinton picking Supreme Court Justices. However, I really don’t expect a lot of change in Washington regardless of who wins.

The Republican establishment is strong, and they are very capable of causing trouble for anyone who truly wants change.

The Daily Haymaker posted an article today about the real reasons behind the coup in the North Carolina Republican party that took place on Saturday. I strongly suggest that you follow the link and read the entire article. I will, however, provide a few excerpts.

The article was written by Brant Clifton and quotes Sammy Dodd, who was a delegate to the 2012 Republican Convention in Tampa.

Mr. Dodd writes:

In 2012 I was elected as a National Delegate to the RNC National Convention in Tampa, Florida. Many of the political hijinks that were pulled that year are well documented. Everything from the results of voice votes on a huge teleprompter before the vote was taken, changing the Party Rules to prevent Ron Paul from being nominated from the floor, disqualifying delegates from the State of Maine and replacing them with Romney delegates, and finally then Chairman Robin Hayes strong-arming the North Carolina delegation to support the Rules change.

Robin Hayes is the newly-elected Chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party (after the coup that deposed Hasan Harnett).

Mr. Dodd continues:

In North Carolina, National Delegates are bound to vote in accordance with the results of our Primary. This is not only State Party rules, but State Law. The purpose of this law is to ensure that the Primary voters’ votes are represented at the Convention.

  Knowing that, in 2012 I pledged my vote and was bound to Newt Gingrich. At the time of the Primary, Romney, Paul, Gingrich, and Santorum were all in the race, so each candidate received a certain number of delegates according to the percentage of the votes. But before the Convention, Gingrich and Santorum dropped out. However, by State Law and Party Rules, Gingrich and Santorum delegates were still supposed to cast their votes accordingly on the first ballot. In fact, the NCGOP made me sign a pledge form, threatening legal action and up to a TEN THOUSAND DOLLAR fine for deviating from said pledge.

When it came time to cast that first vote, no one came to me and asked how I was voting or to give me a ballot to cast my vote. Instead, the North Carolina delegation “voted” 49 for Romney, and 6 for Ron Paul. So what happened to the Gingrich and Santorum votes? Simple. My vote was cast for me without my prior knowledge or consent. In essence, this vote was not only in violation of State Party rules, but violation of State Law!

Robin Hayes is, and was, directly responsible for how the North Carolina delegation was to be proportioned and bound.  Fortunately, I have not yet been held responsible for my law-breaking vote. The reason Ron Paul received votes was to appease his supporters and keep them at bay.

…And how you may ask, does the Kangaroo “Trial” Court annihilation of Chairman Harnett on April 30th 2016 relate? Not only is the State Chairman unbound by virtue of his position, but also he has control of the delegation and its proportioning. By his actions in 2012, Hayes showed that he is the RNC’s puppet, and with a contested convention likely in Cleveland, the RNC needs their tool/agent/Chairman to control the North Carolina delegation. They knew Chairman Harnett would have followed Party Rules and State Law; Hayes will not.  So what occurred on April 30th had nothing to do with the bogus set-up hacking charge or State Convention fees. This was, and is, about the RNC and the NC Delegation all along.

Americans have given up their choice of President. I will be voting for Donald Trump because I feel that Hillary Clinton is a true radical. However, I will not rejoin the Republican Party until they change the way they do business.

 

Would This Man Just Please Go Away?

Like a lot of Republicans right now, I am not necessarily thrilled with the way the primary elections are going. I support Ted Cruz, but would vote for Donald Trump before I would vote for Hillary Clinton. Staying home would only elect Hillary Clinton, so I am not interested in doing that. But then, we have the problem (and I do mean problem) of John Kasich.

John Kasich is still in this race because the establishment Republicans are funding him. They hope that he will beat either Ted Cruz or Donald Trump. They support John Kasich because he will do their bidding–Ted Cruz or Donald Trump will not. John Kasich would be a disaster for America. His nomination would probably destroy the Republican party. However, the people supporting him want to hold on to their power, and they see nominating him as the way to do that. Even if he loses, they won’t have to deal with an outsider in the White House who claims to be a Republican. So what are the chances of John Kasich winning the Republican nomination for President? Unfortunately, the chances are better than they deserve to be.

Real Clear Politics posted an article with some interesting quotes:

“And guess what, I’ve got friends who are going to be on the Rules Committee,” the Ohio governor said. “We don’t know who is going on the rules committee yet. And thirdly, people can be nominated from the floor.”

…”They’re not going to be the nominee,” Kasich replied. “Do you you think delegates are going to go to a convention and pick somebody who can’t even win?”

Cavuto presses Kasich on the fact that right now under the current RNC rules, he is inelligible to even be considered for nomination at the convention. Under the rules adopted in 2012 a candidate must have won eight states. Kasich has won one state.

Kasich says no, “that is false information. I don’t know where you guys get this stuff,” he said about the 2012 Republican convention rules.

“There are no rules at this convention,” before it starts Kasich said. “The Rules Committee hasn’t even met. They haven’t even been selected.”

“They’re not going to change any rules. You don’t change rules that haven’t been set,” he argued. The Rules Committee sets whatever rules it wants to before each convention, based subjectively on how the Rules Committee members feel about the candidates, Kasich explains.

Cavuto argues, “you know this governor as well as I,” about the 2012 rules. “There is a rule from the last time around,” Cavuto explains about the eight state requirment. “That would have to be changed to accomodate you.”

“Every convention sets its own rules,” Kasich said.

If the Republican convention nominates John Kasich for President, they will be following their tradition of forming a circular firing squad in an effort for a few people to hold onto power. If they are that stupid, they deserve to lose, and the party needs to disband. The work (and energy) in the Republican party in recent years has been in the Conservative movement, and the party has fought it from the beginning. If the party goes through with a plan to nominate John Kasich for President, I believe a conservative party will form and replace the Republicans.

The Obama Administration’s War On Guns

The Daily Signal posted an article today about the efforts of Senators Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah to unravel the government’s Operation Choke Point.

The article reports:

“Under President Obama’s reign, the DOJ has abandoned its longstanding tradition of staying out of politics and has instead become a partisan arm of the White House,” Cruz said. “The Obama administration initiated Operation Choke Point to punish law-abiding small businesses that don’t align with the president’s political leanings. The DOJ should not be abusing its power by trying to bankrupt American citizens for exercising their constitutional rights.”

The bill, called the Financial Institution Customer Protection Act, bans federal agencies that oversee banks from requesting or ordering banks to terminate customer accounts “unless the regulator has material reason.”

The measure also requires banking regulators to put in writing any “formal or informal” requests for account termination, and requires those regulators to file an annual report to Congress regarding those requests. To scale back Operation Choke Point or any similar initiatives, the bill also amends the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989.

I have written articles about the impact of Operation Choke Point before. You can use the search engine at the top of the page to find them. Operation Choke Point is an obvious example of government overreach. Gun ownership is a right guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, and the government has no right to interfere with that right. Operation Choke Point is one of several back door methods the Obama Administration used to attempt to take guns away from lawful gun owners. Had they come up with a plan to take guns away from unlawful gun owners, I might have been willing to listen.

The article further reports:

An identical version of the bill passed the House of Representatives 250-169 in February with bipartisan support.

According to government documents, Operation Choke Point was designed by the Justice Department in 2012 to “attack Internet, telemarketing, mail, and other mass market fraud against consumers, by choking fraudsters’ access to the banking system.”

The Justice Department carried out the program by using its investigative powers and partnering with federal regulating agencies such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) that provide formal guidance to banks.

Since the program’s inception, many gun sellers, pawn shops, and short-term lenders reported their bank accounts being shut down.

…If the bill passes the Senate, it will then head to Obama’s desk for approval.

Hopefully one of the first things the next President will do (regardless of who is elected) will be to cut back on some of the abuses of power that have gone on during the Obama Administration.

Random Comments On The Republican Presidential Primary Race

I need to state up front that I voted for Ted Cruz. If Donald Trump is the nominees, I will vote for him. Generally speaking (with a few exceptions), I will vote for anyone other than Hillary Clinton. I don’t want to put her in the White House because I think she is corrupt and has no respect for the American people. It is also deeply troubling to me that she does not believe unborn babies have Constitutional rights. I wonder if there will be other groups of people in the future that she will decide do not have Constitutional rights.

Ted Cruz won in Wisconsin. That temporarily slows down the Trump train. However, it does not alter the fact that the Republican establishment does not want either Ted Cruz or Donald Trump as the nominee. The hope of the Republican establishment is a John Kasich, a Paul Ryan, a Jeb Bush, or someone else of that ilk. Obviously the Republican primary voters do not share that idea.

So where do we go from here? We can expect all sorts of news stories describing horrible actions of both Ted Cruz and Donald Trump. Some of them may be true; some of them may not. So far the big charge against Ted Cruz involves the DC Madam before he was married and a statement his father allegedly made. The charges against Donald Trump tend to change daily. Watch for a lot of news stories trying to sell the idea of a ‘fresh face.’ That trail balloon was put up earlier in the week. I am sure it will be back.

The GOP establishment has about six or seven weeks to sell the idea of a Presidential nominee that is not currently running. I see that as an impossible task, but I have been wrong before. Paul Ryan says he is not interested. I hope he stays with that position. John Kasich wants to win at pretty much any cost. Do any of these people realize how many people will stay home in November if the establishment picks a candidate that did not run?

Watching the Republican establishment fight Ted Cruz and Donald Trump makes me wonder why they have been AWOL in the fight against President Obama’s policies during the past eight years. It confirms my suspicion that the Republican establishment is no different than the Democratic party. That is the reason the voters are revolting during the Republican primary. We have given the establishment a chance, and they have failed. It is time to give the outsiders a chance.

The Battle For The Soul Of The North Carolina Republican Party

North Carolina is currently reflecting the battle going on in America for the soul of the Republican party. The establishment is pushing their agenda, and the grass roots are screaming to be heard. There is a reason that the two leading candidates are not the choice of the people regarded as Republican leaders. The grass roots are angry. They have been sending Republicans to Washington for a number of years now only to be brokenhearted about what the people they send do. There is very little difference between the Republican and Democratic parties right now, and Americans are looking for an alternative to both.

In North Carolina the battle is reflected in the treatment of the Republican State Chairman. Hasan Harnett who was elected last year at the state convention. He was not the choice of the establishment Republicans in the party. Hasan is a conservative, as is his vice-chairman, Michele Nix. Lately he has been locked out of his email and evidently his office. The Central Committee of the North Carolina Republican Party has not treated him well.

The Daily Haymaker has posted a number of articles on the events.

One article reports:

Leaders of two of the largest, most active Tea Party organizations have issued releases announcing their intention to protest at the NCGOP 2nd congressional district meeting in Sanford on Saturday, April 9.

Moore Tea Citizens and the Asheville Tea Party issued the following statement:

[…] It has been very obvious from the moment of Mr. Harnett’s election at the 2015 State Convention, that the Central Committee has been highly displeased that their establishment insider candidate, endorsed by Governor McCrory, Senators Richard Burr and Thom Tillis, was not the choice of the GOP base.

Conversely, The GOP party members who elected Mr. Harnett are not at all pleased with the NCGOP Central Committee for their non-transparent, secretive tactics thwarting Chairman Harnett attempts to be successful. These tactics include: denying him access to NCGOP headquarters, his email account, and false accusations of hacking the website.

The grassroots support for Chairman Harnett is based in his Conservative credentials and relationship with his GOP constituents. The grassroots contend that neither has been embraced by the party establishment elites.

The NCGOP war on the grassroots has also gained much media attention in both state and national news outlets such as The Wall Street Journal. This ‘rift’ has even caught the attention of talk show host Rush Limbaugh. If this is not resolved, it has the potential of damaging the outcome of our general elections in November.

[…]Liberty loving citizens who refuse to sit down, and shut up, please join us to support NCGOP Chairman Hasan Harnett. Chairman Harnett is a fine man and Patriot. He does not deserve this treatment from NCGOP party elites whose only interest is to protect their power, not represent WE THE PEOPLE.

Come and join the many so together we make a difference.

Another article in The Daily Haymaker reports:

If you’re a regular reader of this site, you are pretty well caught up on the details of the NCGOP saga.  Well, beleaguered party chairman Hasan Harnett has emerged from his bunker to rally his supporters and fire off a few volleys at his Central Committee foes: 

I understand the concerns about having a conflict with district conventions, but my main premise for pushing forward was to put the divisive infighting behind us so we can move forward in beating Democrats in the fall. Consequently, I am canceling the Executive Committee meeting on April 9th and am asking that you not sign the petitions to call for a special meeting on April 30th.

Likewise, I am a volunteer Chairman and must work for a living to provide for my family. The NCGOP staff was already notified on January 27th of my schedule. I am traveling out of the country on business starting April 23rd thru May 1st (see the date and time stamp below). The only Saturdays in April I am available are 4/2, 4/9, and 4/16 of which all of these dates have district conventions. Due to scheduling constraints, we should not have our next Executive Committee meeting until after the State Convention.

It is also apparent that the Central Committee is attempting to schedule an April 30th Executive Committee meeting. The sole premise of the Central Committee’s petition for the April 30th meeting is to remove your State Chairman during an election year. Who likes junk mail? The statements in the letter you received are nothing more than bald faced lies. Furthermore, the claims in that letter have no factual basis whatsoever and is why most of you have placed these petition letters in either your recycle bin or underneath your junk mail. If you already signed it, please email me requesting your signature be removed from the petition, and I will make sure it is eliminated. For anyone still contemplating, I urge you not to sign the petition for the April 30th Executive Committee meeting.

Instead, let us focus our energies on the ongoing District Conventions and upcoming State Convention. We are moving on because there really is no time to waste. We have an exciting year ahead of us and today is a new day. While there are a number of issues to address, I believe we can find the appropriate solutions together.

All of your feedback is greatly appreciated. Feel free to call, email or text me should you have additional thoughts.

Respectfully,

Hasan

This is a good move on Harnett’s part.  It frees up folks who were interested in giving the scheming Cotten gals an old-fashioned piece of their mind. 

And from a friend who attended a recent District Republican Committee Meeting:

I believe the National Convention outcome is behind the hoopla to remove Hasan. At the moment, Hasan gets to pick a slate of 30 Delegates and 30 Alternates. Presuming that we have a brokered convention in Cleveland, for whom those delegates vote could make a huge difference in the outcome. I suspect Hasan would pick people who support Cruz or Trump (I don’t know which), and the RNC has a huge problem with both of those people. Therefore, I believe it is the RNC and their state power brokers who originally backed Craig Collins for Chairman of the NC GOP who are behind all of this unrest.

A lot is at stake with the election of delegates to the National Convention. There is much behind the scenes jockeying to have delegates at the Convention who will support certain candidates, ESPECIALLY IF IT IS A “BROKERED” OR “CONTESTED ” ONE. The power players have their claws out.

We need to thwart this scheme, and hold to the will of the body!

NOW THAT I HAVE STATED WHAT I BELIEVE IS THE REAL PROBLEM, here are the concerns Constitutional Conservatives should have about how the District Convention was conducted. The folks who are constantly calling for party unity at all costs, the “Establishment Republicans,” are well versed in techniques to use in procedures to get their way. First, they know that Convention attendees are in many cases not committed enough to devote a great deal of time to do the Convention’s business. Many come to rally the party, hear speeches, meet candidates, have a good time, etc. Therefore, the first tactic is always to put off hearing the business they want to thwart until folks are getting anxious to go home, and then call for a count of attendance to check to see if the meeting still has a quorum. Thankfully, this tactic was not working last Saturday.

What did work was to keep moving for amendments to the motion to adopt the resolution requesting an investigation of the NCGOP Central Committee – to keep stirring in minutia – until people tired of the controversy and wanted to get this over so we could elect delegates and go home. When this point was reached, there were the usual calls for party unity, etc. (The irony is that the folks calling for unity tended to be firmly in the group that caused the dis-unity in the first place.)

I would like to restate that the people calling for unity are the people who have undercut Chairman Harnett since he was elected. It is difficult to respect their calls for unity when they are refusing to back their duly elected chairman. If the Republican party wants to be a viable party in the future, they need to do some serious housecleaning. If you want to be a Democrat, join the Democratic party. If you want to be a Republican, respect the grass roots–they are the ones who usually do the work.

 

Why American Voters Are Angry

The Washington Examiner posted an article today that represents the opening salvo of the establishment Republican effort to determine the Republican nominee for President without considering the will of the voters.

The article reports:

The Republican Party does not require a presidential candidate to win eight states to qualify to be placed in nomination at its upcoming Cleveland convention, GOP officials say.

The Republican National Committee’s “Rule 40(b)” makes eligibility for the GOP nomination contingent upon winning a majority of the convention delegates in at least eight states or territories, an achievement generally accomplished by winning at least eight primary or caucus elections. However, Rule 40(b) only applied to the 2012 Republican convention in Tampa, Fla., that nominated former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

When the rules don’t agree with your wishes, change the rules.

The article explains:

Party officials and knowledgeable sources have confirmed over the past few days that Rule 40(b) doesn’t exist for the purposes of the upcoming convention. That means at this point, the three candidates left in the race, front-runner Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, are all eligible for the nomination, as, possibly, are the Republican contenders who have since suspended their campaigns.

Rule 40(b) was put in place in 2012 to block the name of Ron Paul from being introduced as a presidential candidate in Tampa. The bigwigs interfered in the primary choice and came up with a candidate who lost. I believe Mitt Romney would have won the nomination even if Ron Paul was also running, and I think there would have been more voters willing to come out and support Mitt Romney. It would be nice if the party let the voters decide who the nominee is. The Democrats have a similar problem with the super-delegates. Those delegates came into existence to prevent the Democrats from choosing a candidate significantly outside the mainstream of American politics after the resounding defeat of George McGovern. We do live in a representative republic rather than a democracy, but I believe that in a representative republic, the voters get to choose the people who represent them.

This Is No Way To Win An Election

I am a registered Republican. There are a few reasons for that. Last time I checked, there was no Conservative Party, and the Republican party was the closest I could come. The interesting thing about the Republican party is the independence of its members. If you look closely at the Democratic party, you find a conglomeration of various special interest groups and causes. These special interests tend to support each other and vote as a bloc. If you look closely at the Republican party right now, I am not sure what you find. There is an element of small government, fiscal conservatism, etc., but that is not the element that is in charge of the Republican party. Add to that the fact that Republicans tend not to march in lock step, and it gets truly interesting.

North Carolina is currently in the midst of a struggle that is a microcosm of the battle between the establishment and the grass roots that is taking place in the Republican party primary elections. The establishment is tearing its hair out at the possibility of a Donald Trump or Ted Cruz nomination. Either one of these candidates has the potential to end the crony capitalism the establishment Republicans and Democrats have set up in Washington in recent years.

Now, the battle has spilled over to North Carolina. The News Observer is reporting today that the Chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party (who is not a favorite of the party establishment) has been shut out of his email account since Monday. There are a few other grass roots types that have also been shut out of their accounts.

The Daily Haymaker also posted an article about the emails. The Daily Haymaker article states:

State GOP chairman Hasan Harnett has fired the latest shot in an email to executive director Dallas Woodhouse, accountant Greg Fornshell, and to hundreds of GOP bigwigs across the state:

[…] Mr. Woodhouse/Fornshell, I am politely requesting you turn my NCGOP Google email immediately back on. I know you have disabled my Google Email account through Computer Plumber. I have called Greg Fornshell and sent text messages but he remains silent. I had also visited the NCGOP Headquarters in Raleigh and apparently Greg Fornshell slipped out of the office ahead of my arrival. I have contacted the Computer Plumber company who services our email account and they said I need to talk with Greg Fornshell. Pretty interesting. Who gave the command? From my perspective, it’s the same old playbook and routine. Dallas, since you run the staff I know you gave the command to Greg Fornshell to disable my account.

Greg Fornshell, you can hide behind the covering of Dallas Woodhouse because he told you to do it. Dallas, the question remains will you also hide behind Tom Starks, General Counsel of the NCGOP to attempt to usurp his authority again and again over me? Or was it the current Central Committee staying on their talking points to make another bogus decision against me? Evidently, having closed door meetings with you does not work because either you brush me off or you just don’t listen. Why are you playing these silly games? Is this a joke or something?

Why would you stoop so low as to disable the Chairman’s NCGOP Google Email account? Why are fighting me? I have brought sound ideas to the table and have bent over backwards to make great things happen for all of us at the NCGOP. It is apparent that my sincere help and service to the Republican Party is not appreciated or welcomed by you and the Central Committee. It is apparent that you and the Central Committee want to do your own thing by working around me as oppose to working with me.

Is the reason why my account is disabled because you and the Central Committee do not want me to succeed as Chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party? Or will you try to hide behind a some bogus email virus attack to explain why my account is disabled? As Chairman, I require full access to my email account in order to carry out my day to day duties which includes fundraising so we can get Republicans elected. Therefore, shutting me out of my official NCGOP Google Email is suppose to accomplish what again? I really question your purpose and motive. I mean seriously, is this some form of ritual or hazing you would put the first black Chairman of the NCGOP State Party through? Or is it because I am not white enough for you? You keep pushing the limits. I guess time will only tell what your real plot and schemes are all about against me. No, worries. Like chess, I await your next move. […] 

Hasan Harnett was duly elected at last year’s GOP Convention in Raleigh. Since his election, the old guard Republicans in North Carolina have worked tirelessly to undermine him. I would like to quietly remind the establishment Republicans that the worker bees in the party and the enthusiasm tend to come from the grass roots. To play these silly games now is to work against your supposed goal of winning the next election.

This Is Important

As previously stated, I am not a Trump supporter. However, I understand the anger of the people supporting him and the hope they have that he will change the culture of Washington. He has an appeal that easily crosses party lines. Aol News reported one example of that yesterday.

The article states:

Former Democratic presidential candidate Jim Webb, whose centrist campaign folded not long after the first primary debate, said Friday he won’t vote for party front-runner Hillary Clinton – and is open to giving Republican favorite Donald Trump his vote instead.

“No, I would not vote for Hillary Clinton,” said Webb, a former Democratic senator from Virginia, when asked on MSNBC‘s “Morning Joe” if he could support her. When it comes to Trump, he added, “I’m not sure yet. I don’t know who I’m gonna vote for.”

Though he served with her in the Senate, “it’s nothing personal about Hillary Clinton,” Webb told hosts Joe Scarborough and Willie Geist. A vote for Clinton, he said, is a vote for the status quo, while a vote for Trump is a vote to blow up a gridlocked, dysfunctional system of government.

The above statement is a reflection of the feelings of many people. The reason I don’t support Trump is that I am skeptical of his ability to change the climate in Washington. I fear that people are projecting on him whatever they want him to be, much like what happened with President Obama. I am skeptical, but I will vote for Trump if he is the nominee. Hillary Clinton and her husband belong in jail–not in the White House.