Headlines

These headlines are real ... they have all been discovered on Internet news sites.

Chomsky: 'Republican Party most dangerous organization in world history' ...

Report: Hillary screaming obscenities, throwing items in election night meltdown

Godfather: Chicago will always be sanctuary ...

New Orleans won't abandon sanctuary city policy

Boston: Will not cooperate with immigration officials ...

Los Angeles Police Chief: LAPD will not aid in deporting illegal aliens

Fast-food fan Trump set to remake healthy school lunch program

Parents, teachers who scared kids about Trump now trying to console them

Chinese media praise Trump's 'experience and ideology' ...

Zuckerberg among Facebook users mistakenly declared'dead'

Keith Ellison: Direct cash reparations need to be studied

Colin Kaepernick has NEVER voted in any election

Headlines

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Stones

Suddenly the Republicans have gotten a set of stones ... not that they are going to stand up to Obummer's many outrages. No, they are ready and willing to sue President Trump (assuming he wins ... which is made more difficult given the likes of Ryan) if he wants to stop temporarily the immigration of Muslims from countries where terrorists are active ... see: Talking Points Memo. Has Ryan done anything to stop President Obummer's open-borders policy? No! In fact, last Fall, as one of his first acts as Speaker of the House, he quickly put on the blinders and passed all of Obummer's rich budget requests including immigration resettlement and TPP funding.

Donald Trump is increasingly accused of being impolitic ... particularly since becoming the presumptive Republican presidential candidate. But Ryan is giving him a run for his money. If Trump does prevail despite his increasing opposition within the Republican Party, it will be very interesting to see how he might get anything done given the recalcitrance of the likes of RINO Ryan as Speaker.

Of course, this was before his little Republican pebbles turned into stones.

Frustration

I understand Brent Bozell's frustration at Donald Trump's being the presumptive nominee of the Republican party ... see: his Open Letter to Conservatives. But desperate times require desperate measures and it appears that most of blue-collar America doesn't agree with Bozell's assessment of the situation. Yes, Trump is too often wrong on style but right on substance and this has turned many voters off (like my wife). Even I have spent a considerable amount of this blog space criticizing Trump's vulgarities. But now, resolving myself to his eventual nomination, I am forced to concentrate on his approach to the real issues of our time.

If Trump were to be elected ...  which I now consider highly likely ... how would he govern? I believe that he would go a long way toward solving our economic malaise through tax and regulation reform. (He is even against the carried interest tax loophole enjoyed by the hedge-fund nabobs,) I also believe he would find ways to fix our immigration and international trade problems ... in a tough but rational way. And I expect that our fiscal debt goblin would be put back in the closet through spending cuts and economic growth. Yet he would still rebuild our defense capabilities and put apprehension back in the minds of many the bad actors in the world.

But how would Trump handle the social issues that conservatives, like Bozell, are so focused on? Here I am not so sanguine. I expect that he will disappoint many righties in how he reforms Obamacare and Common Core ... and his Supreme Court picks may not be the best. (Wouldn't it be great if he used Ted Cruz as an adviser in this process?) And his approach to solving entitlement  reform could well be too tempered by the brickbats being tossed at him by the liberal media.

And the Trump administration probably will have its share of faux and real scandals ... just because his management style has often allowed the fringes of society to have a chair at the table. And he will come out of the White House a lot wealthier than he was when he went in.

Will Trump be another Ronald Reagan? No, but he may be a modern-day Andrew Jackson, also a rough and tumble politician ... and put Old Hickory's picture back on the double sawbuck in the process. And the best part? Lena Dunham, Rosie O'Donnell, Michael Moore, and lots of other goofy glitterati will soon be living north of the 49th parallel.

Greasing the Skids

The Republican Party in Colorado has pulled a fast one ... disenfranchising the GOP voters there from having a say in selecting their delegates to the GOP presidential convention in Cleveland, Ohio in July. In a series of sly establishment moves, they have awarded all 36 Colorado delegates to this convention to Ted Cruz ... and Donald Trump is furious as a consequence ... see: Denver Post Story.

These types of delegate stealing tactics are being attempted across the country ... South Carolina, Tennessee and Missouri ... to make Cruz delegate richer at the expense of Trump. This is the Republican establishment fighting back under the assumption that a Trump candidacy would cost it the White House and at least one house of Congress. Whether this is the case or not is disputable but is what rationale is being forwarded for these hard-ball actions on the part of the Republican National Committee.

And, while Cruz is basking in this current RNC attention ... thinking that it is greasing the skids for him, he might be surprised, come convention time, when he is jettisoned in favor of a more establishment candidate like Kasich or even a parachuted-in Paul Ryan.

Performing this way on the part of the GOP runs the risk of causing many of its voters to stay home in November ... which creates a possible lose-lose situation if Donal Trump is denied the nomination. But would I vote for Cruz? Yes, if for no other reason than whom he would appoint to the Supreme Court. Would I vote for Kasich? Yes, he might even return us to fiscal sanity. Yes, Trump for his immigration stands. I would even hold my nose and vote for Ryan if it comes down to that. Anyone but Hellery.

Afterthought: The Republicans are Boy Scouts in the nomination process for their candidate when compared to the Democrats.

Quote of the Day

"The Republican party is the moth and Donald Trump is the open flame." -- Anon.

Little Bighorn

The Republican Party is holding a retreat on the shores of the scenic Chesapeake Bay … a meeting whose stated purpose is to solidify the Republican position on immigration.  It appears that the Republican leadership, as prodded by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, that Democratic Svengali, Chuck Schumer, and many in the old-guard Republican establishment, would very much like to pass an immigration reform bill this year.  

The stated objective for this immigration reform (read "concession") is that it will persuade many Hispanics to pull the voting lever for them in future elections.  Balderdash!  This would clearly be an unforced error … a Waterloo … a Donnybrook … a Little Bighorn … a Pickett’s Charge … a retreat retreat if you will.

Fortunately, as the GOP leadership is discovering in between bites of Maryland blue crab, that something like three-quarters of their House Republicans don’t buy this silly logic … and are pushing back.  I have in the past explained why I think that the Republican leaderships’ rationales are flawed … and I repeat them here from my Carrying Water in a Sieve blog.  These misconceptions are:

1)       Illegal immigrants will come forward to take advantage of this path to citizenship of whatever form it takes.  Think about it … why would you as an illegal immigrant … living in the shadows and getting many if not most of the benefits of citizenship, come forward and get your name entered in a database that would possibly take away some of these benefits and/or get the Internal Revenue Service on your trail to pay taxes and/or fines (see: The Daily Beast Story)? By staying in the shadows, it is also reasonable to assume that any onerous aspects of being “illegal” will be ameliorated by President Obama and any future Democrat administrations … witness the above-mentioned executive order last summer.  Thus, the status quo has a very attractive appeal to this class on non-citizen. With something like the Dream Act, they might even be required to learn English for heavens sake! 

2)       Illegal immigrants, as an indication of gratitude for their efforts, might vote in greater percentages for Republicans than such Hispanics and other immigrant groups now do. Why?  Survey after survey has shown that the reason such immigrants vote for Democrats is that they are for big-brother government and all the largess that such form of government returns to them (see: Huffington Post Opinion).  Besides, in many states (such as Nevada), many of these illegal immigrants vote Democrat already … goaded on by their conspiratorial unions (see: FrontPage Story).

Afterward: Small victory ... see: Breitbart Story.

The Tea Party’s Tea Party

The long knives of the Republican Party are out to emasculate the Tea Party.  Since Republican Representative Paul Ryan got his budget compromise (with Democrat Senator Patty Murray) passed into law, the establishment Republicans are feeling their oats … big mistake.  First John Boehner unloaded both barrels on Ted Cruz and the “Don’t tread on me” crowd … see: Huffington Post Story ... saying, “Frankly, I just think that they’ve [the Tea Party] lost all credibility.”  In the past I have thought that Boehner wasn’t immensely bright … but that he had good political senses.  I think he might have just disproved this supposition of mine.

Joining in this bashing of the right-wing of the Republican party are Karl Rove … see Breitbart Story and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce … see:  Another Breitbart Story  These have both been stalwarts of the Republican party but apparently believe that the ideological purity of the Tea Party members have cost their party too much in the polls and at the polling place.  Yes, to some degree these two representatives of the establishment of the GOP are correct.  But then one can also argue that this same wing of the Republican party have also had their share of political miscues … need I mention John McCain, Mitt Romney, Bob Dole, George H.W. Bush, etc.?  And even George W. Bush, Karl Rove’s hand puppet, did his level best to discourage the more conservative members of his party.

2010 was the coming-out victory for the Tea Party.  As a consequence, what did the Republican establishment do?  They did not monetarily support them (witness the recent governor’s race in Virginia) and did nothing to counter the smear campaign that the main-stream media has been reveling in ever since 2010. In other words, the Tea Party-ers are pariahs to not just Democrats … but also to establishment Republicans.  The Democrats have embraced their radical left, but the Republicans have been much too public in their opposition to their right wing.  How stupid can supposedly bright politicians be?!

The 2016 presidential election will be the acid test for establishment Republicans.  Paul Ryan and Chris Christie will fight for their nod … while Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz (maybe Sarah Palin?) will work the crowd on the Tea-Party right.  If the establishment Republicans nominate their candidate, they will lose once more. (As Rush Limbaugh often says, if voters have a choice between a Democrat and a Democrat, the Democrat ... Hillary Clinton ... will always win.)  If however the Tea Party prevails and the establishment Republicans, out of spite, abandon them in the Presidential election, I predict that this will also mean that Hillary will re-enter the White House.  But the Tea Party will not have lost everything.  They will, in effect, have replaced the old-guard GOPers as the future of their party.  That is, if we have a country left in 2020 to vie for.

Fruitcake

At the risk of being labeled a fruitcake, yesterday on a Skype call with friends, I suggested that Sarah Palin might be a good Presidential candidate for the Republicans in 2016.  Here is my logic:

American voters, as a rule, are clearly “uninformed.”  In 2008, they emotionally chose Barack Obama because he was, to use Harry Reid’s words, a “light-skinned African-American with no Negro dialect.”  This was to prove to themselves that this country was no longer racist … and that, by electing Obama, the stain of slavery would be forever cleansed.  And then they re-elected him in 2012 … despite the fact that he had proven himself of poor Presidential timber … using much of the same mindless naivete.

Now as we approach 2016, I believe that emotion will once again rule the American electorate … and this time they will feel that it is a woman’s turn to be President … independent of any consideration of competence or character.  I think that this will be the Democrat party’s strategy in putting forward Hillary Clinton.  It is her turn … and, barring any major scandal (maybe even with one), she should be a shoe in. 

I believe them right and the only defense against such an emotional appeal would be for the Republicans to also proffer a woman … perhaps Sarah Palin.  Yes, I know that much of the American media would have a field day sniping at her … much as they did in 2008.  But then they did exactly the same when Ronald Reagan was nominated … painting him as a know-nothing thespian … and he was elected in a landslide.  Since 2008, Ms. Palin has been annealed in the oven of national politics and has made virtually no blunders.  I’m sure she has even read some periodicals.

Ms. Palin clearly is a true-blue conservative … much like Reagan was … and unfortunately, no male Republican candidate would be able to debate Hillary on even terms.  Even Chris Christie, I’m afraid would be hobbled in his confrontational style when pitted against Hillary.  All she would need to do would be to mist up and Christie would be toast.  On the other hand, Sarah Palin would be on level ground and would be able to point out Hillary’s many fault lines without appearing sexist.  She should be able to hold her own in any debate ... and Hillary would get mushy at her own peril. 

Sometimes political parties need to go with the popular flow … and actually eat some of last-Christmas’s fruitcake.  It might even taste good.

Afterward: If Sarah Palin were to run, she obviously would have a long row to hoe ... if this brickbat is an example ... see: Breitbart Reference.