Posse Incitatus

Hold Steady

Monday morning, we will begin another shitstorm week of rumors, innuendos, scurrilous charges, and unhinged social media rage as the FBI investigation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh resumes.

Thanks to uber-egotist Sen. Jeff Flake, the vote on Kavanaugh has been delayed by one week so that the FBI can conduct a condensed / hyper-speed investigation into Kavanaugh's background. Like six previous background investigations were insufficient. (I guess I should start questioning whether I really graduated from high school!)

The duplicitous, power-hungry Democrats don't really care about this investigation's conclusion. It is simply another means to an end: Running out the clock until the Nov. 6 general election, so that the few Senate Democrats from states that voted for Trump two years ago don't have to vote against Kavanaugh's nomination, a vote that would probably cost them re-election. In conjunction with that, the Demagogues hope to convince pro-choice Republican senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska to vote "no" on the Kavanaugh confirmation.

But Collins has already said she most likely will vote to confirm Kavanaugh. She may have some reservations about his pro-life position, even though it is unlikely the Supreme Court would overturn Roe V. Wade more than 40 years after it went into effect. But Collins, like millions of Americans, has been slapped in the face by the vicious, ugly nature of the secular/progressive leftists. Pro-abortion militants sent coat hangers to her office (Need I explain?) and threatened her staff with rape.

It doesn't take a genius to notice immediately the ferocious hypocrisy and insanity writ large by such vile behavior. But for the simple-minded and stoned, here it is: Leftists oppose sexual harassment and think that anyone who engages in that behavior is Hitler on steroids. But... (There's always a "BUT")... it's okay for them to threaten to not just harass, but sexually violate, any staff member of a U.S. senator who votes to confirm a judge who is accused with flimsy evidence of committing sexual assault 35 years ago. The leftists are scum. There's no other way to describe them.

And although I am not a theologian, it sure seems like Satan himself is controlling them as if they are remote control robots taken off the shelf at the toy store. They're that far gone.

The media will be in high gear trying to demonize Kavanaugh and kiss the FBI's ass this week. Twitter will continue to be the toilet it has become. The Republicans, if they have an ounce of common sense and good judgment, will not bow down to this left-wing tyranny. If they do, they can kiss themselves, their party and their nation goodbye.

Did the Dems just trick themselves with the FBI demand?

I didn't watch the clown shown in Washington this week.  I saw some of the choice clips, but frankly I knew it was all for show.

The Dems were never going to vote for Kavanaugh.  The hearing were just about coming up with thin reasons to gull the stupid.

Thus when the issue of having the FBI investigate an unverifiable event came up, my immediate thought was:  Trump will say yes.

And so he did.

A lot of conservatives are taking this as a defeat.  This is because they are locked into what Dilbert creator Scott Adams calls two-dimensional thinking.  Donald Trump operates in three dimensions.  This is why he keeps winning.

To a two-dimensional thinker, this is a cave to the Dems, a needless delay and an opportunity for a rogue agency to wreak more havoc.

But if one ventures into the third dimension, a few crucial details emerge.

First in foremost, there is nothing left for them to look at with Judge Kavanaugh.  His life is an open book.  Everyone he knows or has known has already been vetted.

This means the investigation must necessarily center on the charges before him and therefore the story of the accuser.  Each inconsistency must be teased out and instead of weeping for the camera, Ford will have to give straight answers on penalty of lying to federal investigators.

Now I'm sure there are some folks who think that the Deep State FBI will go easy on her.  What they don't realize is that the ultimate Deep State is the federal judiciary, with whom the FBI must work each and every day.

Kavanaugh is a sitting judge.  He has lots and lots of friends in the judiciary.  Moreover, all judges - liberal and conservative - want to see this business of careers getting wrecked through unverifiable accusations stopped in its tracks.

The FBI is loyal to one thing and one thing only - itself.  If its agents participate in this smear, judges will take notice and their decisions regarding other matters regarding the FBI will not be so benevolent.

Naturally, Donald Trump knows this.  He also knows that the FBI will want to find out where the money for the polygraph came from and what Senator Feinstein knew and when she knew it.  In short, there are a lot of things that a thorough investigation will bring out that the Dems don't want revealed.

Indeed, I expect that rather than face an unflinching interrogation, Ford will find an excuse to drop the matter - say for her mental health - that leaves the charges unresolved.

Faced with an uncooperative witness, the GOP squishes will get their fig leaf to vote yes (along with the hefty bribes they wanted) and the Dems will do their usual lockstep "no."

And Kavanaugh will be confirmed.

Kavanaugh smears make the Never Trumpers finally crack

This confirmation shitshow continues to plumb new depths, but amidst the Democrat smokescreens and character assassinations, a new division has risen among the die-hard holdouts among the Quisling Never Trumpers.

Strange as it may seem at this late hour, some of the most strident Trump-haters are now 'coming home' and backing Kavanaugh.  Apparently, even paid political whores have a moral line they won't cross.

Of course, not all of the Fredocons have seen the light.  Noted dipstick turned Democrat cheerleader Jen Rubin is firmly against the GOP, and former enfant terrible Jonah Goldberg is now eagerly waving the white flag and trying to sell the "hey, why don't we have the FBI investigate it" bullshit.

There are two problems with Goldberg's argument.  The first is that the FBI has already done investigations of Kavanaugh.  Six of them, in fact. 

But more to the point, we now know that the FBI is hopelessly compromised, shot through with hacks and partisans.  I'd no more trust the FBI's word than loan my car to a drunk incapable of standing up under his own power.  I wouldn't trust the FBI with a burnt match.

This is likely the final parting of ways for the Vichy Conservatives.  Those who utterly despise Trump but still hope for a constitutional majority of the Supreme Court have swallowed their bile and signed on to defend Kavanaugh from the Democrat slime machine.

The rest have made it clear that nothing - not a conservative majority, not their precious principles, not even their self respect - matters more than harming Donald Trump.

Alternatively, they've dropped the mask and are revealing the con they've been playing. 

Either way, to hell with them.

Republicans as Enablers

Analogy time once again... Let's just say that the Senate Democrats are the chronic alcoholics / drug addicts, and their mainstream & social media stooges are their drinking buddies. The Republicans are the devastated, exasperated, fed up family members trying to figure out how to deal with this constant, disruptive dysfunction.

And just as the family member mistakenly thinks that if he's gentle, patient, and shows empathy, he can persuade the addict to change his ways, many Republicans believe they can be accommodating toward the Democrats, and appease them before a vote is called on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

But it should be obvious by now that meeting the Democrats' demands is like hitting a moving target. True to Alinsky form, the Demagogues keep changing their demands regarding who testifies first, who can cross-examine their witnesses, what day the hearings will be, whether the FBI will investigate, yada-yada-yada.... The disgraceful media cheers them on and makes zero effort to be fair or unbiased.

The simple fact is this :The desperate Demagogues want to run out the clock. They want to drag this out until past the election so their senators who are from states that voted for Trump two years ago, won't have to vote against Kavanaugh's confirmation and then incur the wrath of the voters. The Republicans need to put this to a stop -- NOW.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, though occasionally showing the same signs of RINO-itis as House Speaker Paul Ryan, at least can boast two significant achievements: Passage of the badly needed tax cut/tax reform bill in late 2017, and refusing to allow a vote on the Merrick Garland for Supreme Court nomination.

I think Mitch and Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles "Ochocinco" Grassley both are on to the Dems' game. I predict they will get a vote by the full Senate on Kavanaugh by the end of this week. But I just don't know what to think as far as whether Kavanaugh will be confirmed. I think and hope so, but it would not shock me if he were not.

 

Meanwhile, over in Korea...

While the confirmation farce rolls into its third week, important events are unfolding on the other side of the world.

The United States has just concluded a new trade agreement with South Korea.  This gives the lie to the notion that the Trump administration is inept or in chaos.  In fact, it is remarkably skilled at doing several things at once.

In this case, the trade deal supersedes one inked only five years ago, but whose terms clearly disadvantaged the US.  The Beltway establishment condemns Trump for "beating up" our allies, but as agreements with South Korea and Mexico illustrate, he's doing nothing of the kind - he's merely standing up for the interests of American workers.

The signing of the Korea deal took place amidst continued negotiations with North Korea.  After the landmark summit in June, things have proceeded quietly, with South Korea taking the lead.  Completely ignored by the mainstream press, progress continues towards a final peace settlement and the de-nuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

Alas, even specialized coverage has been polluted with anti-Trump bias.  This piece in the Warzone is downright embarassing.  It's not clear what the author actually expects Trump to accomplish other than having a flight of unicorns banish the weapons and rainbows to break out.

The provisions outlined in the latest agreement are tangible steps forward in de-escalating the conflict.  The creation of a buffer zone, a ban on live-firing near the mutual border and the establishment of additional border crossings are major shifts.

Perhaps the know-it-all author has forgotten that the Koreas have been technically at war since 1950.   A peaceful, unified Korea now lies almost beyond living memory.  This isn't the sort of thing one changes overnight.

Of course one of the most amusing thing about the Warzone is that it's Korea coverage is so consistently wrong.  If you scroll down through the piece, the links to related articles are a catalog of how the authors have blown every other prediction they've made.

Establishment figures like to whine about the "death of expertise," but what good are experts when they are uniformly incompetent? 

And having been shown wrong time and again, it might serve these people better to show a little humility.  Alas, Generation Snowflake's self-regard is impervious to the reality of their own failures.

One thing the article omits is that for the first time in a long time, North Korea is conducting no weapons tests of any kid.  This is a welcome development and one can't help but observe that if the exact same series of events were unfolding under a Democrat, we'd be getting wall-to-wall coverage lavishing praise on the diplomatic genius at work.

But it's Trump, so let's talk about 35-year-old high school yearbooks.

Wake me when the confirmation circus is over

I've been busy for the last few days and, after surveying today's news cycle, I'm hard-pressed to care about any of it.

The Democrats have basically given up being a serious party.  Their media allies have likewise decided that "fake news" is who they are and what they do.

To even repeat their nonsense is to embarrass oneself.  I enjoy schadenfreude as much as the next guy, but this is cringe-inducing.  Even worse is the way the Quisling Never Trumpers are licking their masters' fingers, eagerly parroting their pathetic lies while wrapping themselves in the threadbare borrowed cloak of "conservative principles."

I think there was a point at which the GOP squishes in the Senate were breaking out their well-used white flags and preparing for another half-hearted performance of failure theater, but the Dem clown show has made it too degrading even for seasoned cabana boys like Jeff Flake and Bob Corker.

Which just shows you have decadent and depraved these people have become.

The Unknown Factors

Politics has grown increasingly toxic in recent years, and social media has definitely been the gasoline poured onto an already roaring fire.

As I've said before, I usually am in a better, more relaxed mood when I don't watch political shows on TV, peruse raging tweets or shake my head at biased coverage from the mainstream media. This does not mean I'm going to be a hermit and allow myself to become uninformed. But it does mean backing off, reflecting on my blessings, and enjoying life's simple pleasures.

If it's a weeknight, and I spend 8 to 9 p.m. sorting through some old files, weeding stuff out, and cracking up at old letters or photographs, then my time was better spent than if I'd sat there watching another contentious back-and-forth with Tucker Carlson and a left-wing guest constantly interrupting each other, shouting each other down, and rolling their eyes. Life's too short, as they say.

With all of that being said, I still cannot help but be fascinated with the multiple dynamics at work in the upcoming midterm elections. The rule of thumb is that the party in power loses seats in the midterm elections. Democrats are predicting a blue wave, and even confident they'll take the Senate. Some Koolaid-drinking conservatives are predicting a red wave, which is unlikely.  I would not be surprised if the Democrats squeaked out enough seats to barely regain control of the House, but I highly doubt they will win the Senate. In fact, they're likely to lose Senate seats as several members battle it out in states that went heavily for Trump in 2016. I do not anticipate a "wave" in either direction.

Here are some factors to consider as Nov. 6 draws nearer:

• Will there be a government shutdown? We're less than a week from D-Day (Decision Day, I guess you could call it.) Who will back down first in this game of chicken? It's a given that if there is a shutdown, which in reality only affects about 15 percent of the government -- that's nonessential operations -- the press will demonize Trump and the Republicans and paint it as their fault. But if Trump caves without getting funding for at least Phase One of the Wall, and the Republicans are perceived as being big spenders on the level of Barack Obama, many disappointed and angry conservatives will sit on their hands on Election Day. The GOP cannot afford to have a light turnout among its supporters.
• Healthcare / Obamacare -- This is a real Chinese puzzle. Laws and regulations vary from state to state, and some of the reforms implemented by the Republican Congress haven't had enough time to become ingrained in the public consciousness. They haven't proven their merit or lack of merit. Meanwhile, the press and Democrats keep playing up opinion polls showing how much everybody (even conservatives) LOVES those subsidies from Uncle Sam. Count on the media to cherry pick rare sob stories of people denied insurance because of pre-existing conditions (there are always solutions for these cases) and pretending this is the norm thanks to Republicans.
• Trump's nonstop tweets. One thing everyone agrees on: Trump often can't get out of his own way, and sometimes if he'd just shut up and lie low, things would really go his way. But he is indeed a drama queen who seems to take a perverse pleasure in stirring the pot. Indeed, I think if Trump weren't the center of the universe 24/7; if he weren't pissing off liberals and offending left-wing sensibilities while delighting supporters with red meat, he'd be bored and feel useless. Maybe he'd even resign.
• Obama on the campaign trail. In recent days, The Messiah has come out of hiding, and his insufferable arrogance and condescending manner is simply a reminder to Republicans of what they despised during his long eight years in power. Obama's policies and ideology are like a monstrous manifestation of the wrongheadedness of progressivism. Obama having the gall to take credit for this economy is par for the course: Lefties tend to be delusional fabulists. Maybe we should hope Barry keeps it up, because after all, he did such a bang-up job in gaining Democratic seats in governors' offices and state legislatures, not to mention Congress! (Sarcasm, for those on their fifth adult beverage!)
• Trump hatred is white hot. One can't help but wonder if the 90 percent negative coverage of the mainstream media, and the vile, vicious hatred dripping from Twitter and Facebook might be too much for even Orange Julius to overcome. It certainly will fire up the Democrat base, and they'll pull out all stops to increase voter turnout. Conversely, Trump supporters angry and indignant about the irrational hatred for Trump may do their level best to boost turnout among conservatives.
• Rope-a-dope. Trump has been a master at playing his critics like a fiddle. He reminds me of a rebellious kid teasing a zoo tiger from just outside the cage, tormenting it into a frothing rage. And for all of my criticisms of Sen. Mitch "Wild Turkey" McConnell, I will be forever grateful to him for not letting the Merrick Garland nomination come up for a vote, thus resulting in the excellent Neil Gorsuch being voted onto the Supreme Court. Right now, with the Brett Kavanaugh charade dominating the news, some conservatives think McConnell is not being sufficiently hardline against the Democrats. But Mitch is a wily old boy. He knows that he can just keep putting a little bit more rope out to the jackal Democrats, and at some point, it will be enough for them to hang themselves. Their disgusting, appalling behavior may be the most potent weapon for a record turnout by Republicans and Trump-supporting independents on Nov. 6. Quite simply, most of the Democrat politicians are assholes, and tens of millions of Americans know it.
• That ROARING economy. Americans are not stupid. They know that reducing job-killing regulations, slashing the corporate tax rates and reducing individual tax rates have stimulated the economy, increased hiring and investment, and stoked the stock market. Black and hispanic unemployment are the lowest in four decades; jobless claims fell to their lowest level since 1969! Geez, The Beatles hadn't even broken up yet! That's quite a long time ago. The "experts" say pocketbook issues -- jobs, paychecks, job security, retirement accounts, the level of inflation, the stock market and similar metrics are the most important determinant of whether voters support the status quo. That definitely bodes well for keeping all of Congress in GOP control.
• POPCORN -- Just kidding. That's not a factor, and it's definitely not unknown. Quite to the contrary. It's a necessary staple (along with a soda pop or adult beverage of your choice) for the coming circus. ENJOY!

; 

 

Crucial Juncture for GOP

My co-blogger and I have often acknowledged that the Republican Party is full of spineless, misguided charlatans, hypocrites and incompetents. However, we also maintain that the GOP is all that stands in the way of hard-left, radical Democrats taking the levers of power and steering our nation straight into the ditch.

In recent months, Democrats, their media stooges and the crackpots of academia have become more unhinged with their actions, statements and proposed policies. Openly socialist candidates have been winning Democrat primary elections, and ugly gutter language is regularly used to demonize conservatives and Republicans, with liberals not batting an eyelash. Calls for civility are basically hollow, as the leftists usually don't practice what they preach. Besides, the two camps are so many light years apart, it is the epitome of naivete to think they could actually find common ground on the major issues.

We've known for a long time that the rabid Left wants to impeach President Trump if it can succeed in taking over the House of Representatives. But while the Blue Wave may not be as likely as Democrats think, even if it does happen, a Democrat-controlled House by itself is not the end of the world. However, should the Democrats take control of both the House and the Senate, THAT would present serious problems.

Although the Democrats would not have enough votes in the Senate to remove the president from office if he is brought to trial through the impeachment process, they would have enough votes to torpedo any and all Supreme Court nominees President Trump would present. Then, heaven forbid, if a Democrat were elected president in 2020, the makeover of the Supreme Court into a leftist cudgel would proceed in full force.

So I would submit that Senate Republicans who don't have a spine, who are lacking the cajones, regarding Judge Brett Kavanaugh and the reckless 11th hour charges being brought against him, are digging their own grave. If the GOP doesn't promptly move through the confirmation process, but instead allows the Democrat senators, media and social media shitstorm to scare them into backing down (whether than means withdrawing the nomination or voting against Kavanaugh, as Jeff Flake and others have threatened to do), there will be hell to pay.

I can foresee a scenario much like 2006, when millions of Republicans were disgusted with George W. Bush and the GOP for scandals, for spending money like drunken sailors and also for demonstrating appalling incompetence in the aftermath of the fall of Saddam Hussein in Iraq. My guess is there were more Republicans sitting on their hands than there were independents voting Democrat, but there were plenty of both. Consequently, the Democrats took over the House and Senate, and won a majority of the state governorships.

Republicans and conservative independents are already restive, as spending continues to be out of control, the president has not moved forward with his vaunted wall on the Mexican border, and the hard-left IT world is practicing censorship of conservatives with utter impunity. A word to the wise in the Senate: Let down the public on the Kavanaugh nomination, and you'll be digging your own graves and those of your GOP buddies.

One of the most interesting sub-plots will be to see whether Sen. Flake and Sen. Bob Corker, both of whom despise Trump, will vote to tweak his nose even though they know Kavanaugh is an excellent choice for the Supreme Court and that their 'no' votes will harm our nation. Surprisingly, both voted for the tax cut / tax reform bill back in December. So there is still hope.

But for those of us with a jaundiced eye, who subscribe to the old "Evil Party / Stupid Party" dynamic, it wouldn't be surprising at all to see this whole fiasco blow up in the Republicans' face.

Oh well, there's always prayer...

Democrat Smear Machine is Revved Up

What's that old joke about the flagrant hypocrisy of progressives... "If it weren't for double standards, progressives would have no standards at all!"

The 11th hour smear campaign against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is a prime example. Left Coast Left-winger Christine Blasey Ford claims Kavanaugh held her down and tried to remove her bathing suit during a high school party 36 years ago. She does not remember in whose house this took place or the date, and changed her story on how many boys were involved in the alleged assault.

Dozens of women who worked with Judge Kavanaugh in the past have come out in support of his character. And these are not all conservatives; they come from various points on the political spectrum.

True to form, the Democrats are using the Saul Alinsky playbook, firing up the anti-Kavanaugh Twitter campaign and sending their smear merchants out onto friendly shows such as "The View" and anything on MSNBC or CNN.

Also true to form, RINO Republicans who dislike Donald Trump are now hinting they may vote against Kavanaugh. One of them is Jeff Flake (his last name is apropros), who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Bob Corker, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski are all squishy on voting for Kavanaugh should he clear the panel and come before the full Senate.

Sen. Chuck Schumer and other Democrats are all hot-n-bothered about what Kavanaugh may have done while he was a teenager back in the early days of the Reagan administration. Who among us hasn't done stupid things when we were 17 or 18? And who among us would like to be judged by the idiocy of our reckless, foolish youthful proclivities?

But the bigger question is, why is it okay for Democrats if one of their own (i.e., Ted Kennedy & Bill Clinton) treats multiple women atrociously for decades and is downright misogynistic, but it's a serious problem if there are unsubstantiated allegations against a conservative nominee for the Supreme Court about alleged indiscretions when he was a teenager. (For the record, Kavanaugh denies Ford's allegations.)

It's interesting to note that Ms. Ford spent the weekend apparently scrubbing as much of her social media history  as she could, probably realizing that her far-left, kooky reputation would cast heavy doubt on her allegations.

Testimony is slated for early next week, in what promises to be  a "he-said / she-said" back and forth. It is sad that it's gotten to this point, but until Senate Republicans learn to take the gloves off and, to slightly paraphrase Barack Obama, "punish their enemies," they will continue to be played like a fiddle.

News Flash to dense GOP senators: The Democrats play down and dirty. Please fight fire with fire.

 

The power of declassification

For a long time I've been pointing out that the one person who holds all the cards is President Donald Trump.

Today he announced his intention to play some of them.  Rest assured, he has more where they came from.

This has always been the great fear of the Democrats and their Quisling Never Trumper allies: that the truth would finally come out.

Not only would it come out, but it would do so in the form of their own words and deeds.

I'm not going to oversell the impact of the data release simply because the press is beyond shame the Democrats are out of control.  They will continue to lie and spin, even as their corruption is shown to the world.  That's who they are, and what they do.

No, the real danger comes from two downstream consequences.

The first is that this is likely the first release of many, and they will drip-drip-drip through October, demoralizing the Democrat base and energizing everyone else.  So much for the Blue Wave.

The second is that this may be the signal that decisive legal action is finally taking place.  Once this happen, everything's on the table.

It is possible that neither of those things will happen, but the decision rests with President Trump.

The Democrats may be the ones singing, but Trump is clearly the one calling the tunes.