Golf as an Analysis of President Donald Trump

For John, BLUF:  The Authoor tells us, in excrusiating detail, how Donald J Trump cheats at golf, and at life.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Commander in Cheat
Author:  Rick Reilly
Kindle Version:  257 Pages
Publisher:  Hachette Books
Language:  English
ASIN:  B07H4Z26T7
Publication Date:  2 April 2019

The Author, Mr Rick Reilly, gives us a solidly packed look at the life of Donald J Trump through the lens of the game of golf.  Mr Reilly sees golf as a game where players are congeniel and open and honest.  The occasional cheater is the odd man out.  Mr Reilly, who writes about golf for a living, has a reverence for the game and sees those who do not follow the norms, as he understands them, as fallen away.  In the eyes of Mr Reilly, Mr Trump is the worse offender regarding the norms of golf, and is thus unfit to be President of the United States.

To Author Reilly Mr Trump is unfit for the high office not just because he violates the norms of golf, but because he carries his attitude toward golf over into his conduct as President.  Rules are for others and win at all cost.  And, if you aren't winning, say you are anyway.  And corrupt the caddy who goes with you, involving him or her in your shenanigans..

The Author does a great job of documenting time after time how Mr Trump has cheated on the links and in developing golf clubs.  He paints Mr Trump as an unsavory character.  At the same time he documents how people enjoy playing with Mr Trump, who makes it a fun time, albeit, a fast round.

The question, of course, is if Mr Trump's egocentric need to always be the winner, the top performer, hinders or helps his performance as President.  The odds are looking good that he will again be the Republican nominee in 2024.  I very much doubt Mr Reilly will be voting for Candidate Trump, even if his opponent is Joseph R Biden, Jr.

I see the author's point and having come across people for whom looking good is more important than an honest appraisal of how good they are I see the problems.  On the other hand, I am not sure about the Author's understanding of the world.  The thing that popped out at me was his denigration of Mr Trump for naming his golf couse in Rancho Palos Verdes.

I have only played a round of golf twice in my life. so I don't have a good basis for judging the book, but one part does make me wonder.  The Author is dismissive of Mr Trump, Golf Course Developer, for naming golf courses not for where they are. but for a near big city.  For example, Trump National Golf Club Washington, D.C. is in Sterling, Virginia.  His second example is Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles, which is in Rancho Palos Verdes.  Mr Reilly says "Trump Los Angeles is in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, 75 minutes south of L.A."  I checked my computer map and used the LA Civic Center and Wayfarers Chapel, a well known landmark.  My map app has it at 42 minutes (31 miles), going straight South, to San Pedro, which is part of Los Angeles, and then due West.  I used to live in LA County and have driven out by Rancho Palos Verdes and think of it as part of Greater Los Angeles.  I think he wiffed.

But, I accept that Donald J Trump is so competitive that he is willing to cheat to be number one.  It is not a good trait.  On the other hand. in 2016 his opponent was Ms Hillary Clinton.  There were several books out there telling me that the Clintons were dishonest.  The FBI investigation of her use of a private email server for official public communications put me off.  I was very unhappy with her leading the Europeans support for Libya rebels.  I thought it was a gift to North Korea's Kim Jong Il and his desire to keep his nuclear weapons.  And the whole Benghazi imbroglio was bad.  I had a choice and I picked Candidate Trump.

In 2020 I again had a choice.  There was President Trump and there was former Vice President Neil KinnockJoe Biden.  I liked what President Trump had done with the economy, including overseeing the Black Labor Participation Rate increasing.  I thought he acted quickly with regard to COVID-19.  I was happy that he reached out to North Korea's Kim Jung il, even stepping into Kim's country.  In contrast. I didn't have faith in Mr Biden's promise to bring us all together.  I saw him as more of a weather-vane.  I voted for Mr Trump.

Regards  —  Cliff

Ms Clinton equates Pro-Life with Terrorism

For John, BLUF:  I think Senator Clinton just got carried away with her rhetoric; at least I hope that is the case.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Hillary Clinton Says Saving Unborn Babies from Abortion Is Like…Terrorists Killing, Raping Women

From , by Reporter Catherine Salgado, 27 December 2022, 4:06 PM.

Here is the lede plus one:

Iranian protests against oppressive, misogynistic laws have led to over 14,000 arrests and a government decision to execute an unknown number of protestors.  Afghanistan’s ruling power, the terrorist Taliban, murders, rapes, and abuses women on a daily basis.  Russian soldiers reportedly weaponized rape in Ukraine.  All of which, in Hillary Clinton’s mind, is equivalent to Arkansas’s pro-life legislation restricting the abortion of innocent unborn babies.

Most of us did a double take on that, but not PBS’s Christiane Amanpour.  When failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton went on Amanpour and Company to discuss the women’s rights summit the Clinton Presidential Center is hosting, Amanpour didn’t seem disturbed by Hillary equating the saving of unborn babies with raping and shooting women, according to LifeNews.

Amanpour asked Clinton about the “unfinished business” of women’s rights, and Hillary knew exactly which countries to bash.  “But we are also in a period of time where there is a lot of pushback and much of the progress that has been, I think, taken for granted by too many people is under attack,” Clinton pontificated. “Literally under attack in places like Iran or Afghanistan or Ukraine, where rape is a tactic of war, or under attacks by political and cultural forces in a country like our own when it comes to women’s health care and bodily autonomy.”  Because pro-lifers are so similar to the Taliban!

We don't really think that Senator Clinton equates Pro-Life people with Terrorists, do we?  That would be equating criminal activity with the right of the State to protect, at some point, the life of an unborn child for the convenience of the Mother carrying the child.  That seems like an unbalanced argument.

In our pluralistic society it does not seem unreasonable to allow abortion to save the life of the Mother, or, early on, in the event of rape.  Incest as a separate category ignores that it is usully rape, and when it is consenual the idea of abortion sounds more like eugenics.  At some point the child conceived should begin to gather his or her own rights.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Hillary Says No

For John, BLUF:  Ms Hillary Clinton goes all William T Sherman on us.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Hillary Clinton says she will never run for president again

From The Hill, by Reporter Chloe Folmar, 6 September 2022, 8:25 PM ET.

Here is the lede plus four:

Former secretary of State and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on Tuesday said she will not run for president again.

“No, no,” Clinton said when asked by “CBS Evening News” anchor Norah O’Donnell if she would ever run for president again.

“But I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that we have a president who respects our democracy and the rule of law and upholds our institutions,” Clinton continued.

Clinton said former President Trump would not fit into that category and that “he should be soundly defeated” if he runs again.

“It should start in the Republican Party,” Clinton said.  “Grow a backbone. Stand up to this guy.”

Why now?  What is the hidden message Mrs Clinton is trying to send?.

She did say she is backing Joe Biden in 2024.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Can We Let It Go?

For John, BLUF:  We, as a nation, need to find a way to move beyond the RussiaGate/ Crossfire Hurricane imbroglio and get back to trying to be one nation, under the Constitution.  Durham in this case is Feeral Attorney John Durham, who has been assigneed to track down th whole mess of Crossfire Hurricane.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Here Are the Senior Biden Officials Entangled in Durham’s Criminal Russiagate Probe

From The Epoch Times, by Reporter Paul Sperry, Updated 24 July 2022 .

Here is the lede plus two:

Several individuals connected to a 2016 Hillary Clinton campaign plot to cast Donald Trump as a covert Kremlin collaborator are working in high-level jobs within the Biden administration—including at least two senior Biden appointees cited by Special Counsel John Durham in his “active (and) ongoing” criminal investigation of the scheme, according to recently filed court documents.

Jake Sullivan, who now serves as Biden’s national security adviser, and Caroline Krass, a top lawyer at the Pentagon, were involved in efforts in 2016 and 2017 to advance the Clinton campaign’s false claims about Trump through the media and the federal government, documents show.  Other evidence shows that two other Biden officials—senior State Department official Dafna Rand and Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler—also are entangled in the so-called Russiagate scandal.

It’s not known whether these Biden appointees have been interviewed by Durham’s investigators. But as the probe widens, some government ethics watchdogs anticipate that Biden’s presidency could be pulled into the scandal, which saw the FBI abuse its surveillance powers to spy on a Trump campaign adviser based on Clinton opposition research.

Add to this that FBI Agent Peter Strzok was really a sheep dipped CIA Agent.

Part of me wonders why smart people in our Nation’s Capitol won’t just let this go away quietly, which would be good for the Republic and good for the individuals.

Then I think about the monumental egos involved and I see how they can’t let go.  This ego problem is setting a bad precedent for the lesser politicians to follow.  We would all be better off to just let this mess drop and all shake hands and smile.  My limited experience tells me that proving you were right, especially when you weren’t, usually ends poorly.

What is really surprising is that we are so willing to jettison the history of our nation, an action that will leave us devoid of a basis for who we are, but we hang on to these recent bitter feuds, which fail to inform us as to who we should be.

Regards  —  Cliff

Depopulate DC

For John, BLUF:  I have heard calls to make the District of Columbia a Ghost Town.  I think it is a bridge too far.  It is as good a place as any to hold the politicians.  But, disperse the Agencies and their bureaucrats..  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Dismantle the D.C. Company Town

Here is the sub-headline:

It’s time that Americans faced up to the reality that their governing apparat is a corrupt, self-engorging Leviathan.

From American Greatness, by Author Roger Kimball, 4 June 2022.

Here is the lede plus one:

Gertrude Stein famously warned that it was important to know how far to go when going too far.

It pains me to admit that Democrats seem to have a far better sense of all that than do Republicans.  Perhaps it’s because Democrats have a visceral appreciation of William Hazlitt’s observation that “those who lack delicacy hold us in their power.”  The Democrats, that is to say, long ago became expert at the game of holding their opponents to standards that they themselves violate not just with impunity but with ostentatious glee.

The Author, Mr Kimball, then goes on to compare the treatment of a Ms Hillary Clinton Lawyer, Mr Michael Sussmann, with the treatment of GoP (and Trump Administration staff members) retired Army Lieutenant General Michael Flynn and Mr Peter Navarro.  Just for spice the Author mentions Attorney General Eric Holder being cited for Contempt of Congress and nothing happened.  Definite double standard.

The author mentions:

Increasingly, once-respected institutions like the FBI, Congress, the Justice Department, to say nothing of the educational establishment and corporate culture, have lost their claim on the people’s allegiance.$nbsp; That allegiance is not something that can be repaired by diktat.

Too right.  And President Biden's hectoring manner also isn't going to heal this.

There used to be a West Virginia Senator who made it a practice of moving DC Federal Agencies to West Virginia.  That would be Senator Robert Byrd.

We could all benefit by encouraging that state of mind.  The Nation's Capitol is a corrupt City.  Has tended that way for a long time.  Likely can't be reformed, so we should spread it out.

Electing Republicans won't fix this, nor would the election of Socialists.  Our best hope is to reduce the bureaucracy in DC.  Not close the City.  We need a national capitol.  But, reduce the bureaucratic concentration of power in Washington and its environs.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Politics at the Highest Level

For John, BLUF:  Ms Clinton may have done it (Russiagate), but that doesn't mean we go after her in the legal realm.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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CLINTON DID IT, WSJ EDITION

From Powerline Blog, Mr Scott Johnson, 23 May 2022.

Here is the lede plus one:

I took the occasion of the testimony in the Sussman trial last week to weigh “Watergate in the balance.” John reviewed what we already knew in “Hillary did it.” On Saturday, the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal — I think this is Kim Strassel’s beat as a member of the board — plays it straight in the editorial “Hillary Clinton did it.”

The Journal editorial lays out the template of the Russia hoax, minus the active participation of the FBI in pursuing the Crossfire Hurricane investigation, promoting the Steele Dossier in the FISA court and the Comey briefing of Trump as well as the conditions that led to the crippling Mueller investigation. We should probably add the setup of Michael Flynn, the incredibly fruitful “collusion” of the FBI and congressional Democrats with the prestige press, and a few other items, but here are the basics of the Russia hoax in its Alfa Bank iteration:

I am all for taking the campaign staff to trial, to deter breaking the law.  That said, going after the principal, Ms Clinton, Mr Trump, Mr Obama, Mr McCain, and so on, reduces us to the status of a Banana Republic.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Trump v Clinton--The Judicial Event

For John, BLUF:  Former Candidate Donald Trump is suing former Candidate Hillary Clinton, over Ms Clinton slinging mud during the 2016 campaaign.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Trump Sues Hillary Clinton, Others Over Russia Collusion 'Conspiracy'

Here is the sub-headline:

Trump also named the Democratic National Committee and former FBI Director James Comey, among other prominent figures.

From The Huffington Post, by Reporter Andre Ellington, 24 March 2022, 05:03 PM EDT.

Here is the lede plus one:

Former President Donald Trump is suing his 2016 Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton and others, accusing them of a “malicious conspiracy” and again claiming they rigged the 2016 election against him.

The lawsuit repeats a common Trump claim that Clinton and other Democratic politicians conspired to create a “false narrative” that he received help from Russian allies to win the 2016 election. It comes over five years after Trump defeated Clinton in that election.

This is The Huff Post, so I expected a lot of nay-saying.  And I got it.

Fraankly, I don't expect Former President Donld Trump to win this lawsuit.  What I hope for is a "Disclosure" Phase in the trial that brings more information to the front, for us mere voters to look at.  Much of this has been previously broomed by the media, such as The Huff Post.

We are talking lawyers here, so they may drag it out past the next Presidential Election, in 2024.

Regards  —  Cliff

Finally, an Indictment

For John, BLUF:  I give Federal Attornet John Durham kudos for his persistence in tracking down the participants in the efforts to smear a Repoblican Candidate for President in 2016.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Media, the unindicted co-conspirators

From The Don Surber Blog, by Reporter Don Surber, 16 September 2021.

Here is the lede plus four:

Today, after 2 federal investigations covering 4 years, we finally have someone indicted for something related to Russiagate.

And it turns out to be the fellow who peddled the Russiagate Hoax.

The unindicted co-conspirators are CNN, Jake Tapper, Carl Bernstein, the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Pulitzer Committee which honored and vouched for the Post and the Times, and just about every political reporter and columnist in America.

So is anyone in the media going to apologize for lying for more than 4 years about Putin somehow fixing the 2016 election for Donald Trump?

Of course not.  I should save my breath.  But I breathe for the truth and have known from the get-go that Russiagate was BS.

Read the whole thing.  Not much to add.  Yes, it would be nice to hear some apologies.  I too am doubtful.

In the mean time, the statute of limitations expires this weekend, at least for the indicted Mr Michael Sussmann, from the Perkins Coie law firm, which previously represented the Democratic National Committee (DNC).  Indicted in the nick of time.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Shifting Political Landscape

For John, BLUF:  The political landscape seems to be shifting.  Areas of the nation that used to vote one way are not voting another.  It seems to be going in several directions.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The forgotten counties will make their voices heard

From the Washington Examiner, by Reporter Salena Zito, 13 September 2020.

Here is the lede plus four:

JOHNSTOWN, Pennsylvania — Ken Miller walked into one of the four storefronts on the right flank of the Richland Shopping Center, asked if this was where he could change his voter registration, sat down with a purpose, and began to fill out the form.

“It is time to go,” he said, flatly, as he checked his Pennsylvania driver’s license number to place on the form.

Miller did not vote for Donald Trump in 2016; he didn’t vote for Hillary Clinton, either.  He said he is a retired insurance manager and does not like what he sees coming from the party he has been a part of his adult life. “I just get tired of the game-playing that the Democrats are doing.  Everything's just so disgusting today.  Something has to change.  Well, something's going to change,” he said.

“I'm afraid something's going to break out here, and I'm pretty sure it will," he said. He said he's concerned what happened to patrons having dinner at an outside cafe in Pittsburgh when protesters swarmed them will find its way here and other bucolic settings across the country. “I am tired of what I am seeing.”

Miller is not alone. For the first time that anyone could remember, Cambria County is no longer dominated by Democratic voter registrations.  They lost that dominance quietly on Labor Day weekend when Pennsylvania Department of State registration numbers showed Republicans having 37,951 registrations and Democrats holding 37,826.

I know, or knew, Johnstown, and Cambria County.  Yes, it was Democrat when I knew it.  Four years ago about this time we drove through the area and the county to the south, and there were a lot of Trump signs and pickup trucks.  And Reporter Salena Zito was reporting a vibe that the Mainsztream Media seemed to be missing.

These are the deplorbles of Mrs Clinton's campaign of 2016.  The sense is that they are not quite real Americans.  I wonder what that means in the event of a Joe Biden?  Does it mean that a Biden Administration will suppress these kinds of people, these American Citizens?.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Impeachment Rumors Continue

For John, BLUF:  It is unfortunate that neither side can concede to the othere side the fact that that side is patriotic,if mistaken.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Clinically Deranged Adam Schiff Mounts His Dead Russia Horse Again

Here is the sub-headline:

Schiff to Russia: “I Can’t Quit You.”

From PJ Media, by Opinionator Stephen Kruiser, 10 September 2020.

Here is the lede plus one:

As has been pointed out by many of us recently, the Democrats really aren’t behaving as if their presidential candidate had a substantial lead in the polls.

Yes, the polls have been tightening, but the Dems have been in a sort of flop-sweat panic mode since the Republican National Convention ended.  There is, of course, the fact that every public appearance by der Bidengaffer since then has been hovering in the neighborhood of “unmitigated disaster.”

The Democrats do seem to be trying to get to their October surprises early this year.  That reeks of desperation.

Speaking of reeking, California’s little impeachment pitbull Adam Schiff is back.  Guess what, kids?  He’s got another whistleblower!

I have to say, I think thzt Stephen Kruiser was a bit over the top with his headline.  I don't think that Representative Adam Schiff is Clinically Deranged.  Rather, he is a Democrat, under the thumb of Speaker Nancy Pelosi.  And they are both from Coastal California, along with Representative Maxine Waters.

That said, the idea of another set of dishonest impeachment hearings fills me with dread.  More dishonesty doesn't help bring us together.  It makes the media look like fools.  This is a terrible ay to run the Government.

The whole thing is based on the idea that the Department of Homeland Security is suppressing the truth, from the Intelligence Community, about who is meddling in US Elections.  Hint:  Everyone.  And how long has this been going on?  Hint:  For longer than you have been alive.  If you aren't also worried about China and Iran and North Korea you aren't paying attention.

Yes, there is a Whistleblower involved.  Whistleblowers are not necessarily bad people.  In fact there is a role in our system of Government for Whistleblowers.

The biggest external interference in the Presidential Election of 2016 was the Steele Dossier.  It was a fabrication of lies, fouisted off on the American Public, by folks like the Brookings Institution and the Hillary Clinton Campaign.  Thanks to former British Intelligence Officer Christopher Steele.

At the article, linked above, you can find a link to the Fox News article.  For those of you who prefer CNN as a source, there is this link.

The CNN piece says, among other things, that "White supremacy is 'most lethal threat' to the US, DHS draft assessment says".  I am not convinced that the biggest threat facing us is domestic, "right wing" white supremacy.  The piece, by Ms Geneva Sands, wanders over to accusing President Trump of race baiting.  This seems to be a meme being pushed by CNN and the Media in general.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

FBI Misled

For John, BLUF:  The question is, was the FBI Misled, or did the FBI, knowing the facts, mislead the nation?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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While you were focused on the pandemic, it was revealed the FBI knew the Steele Dossier against Trump contained Russian disinformation

Here is the sub-headline:

Rather than colluding with the Russians, which the Mueller Report conclusively rejected, Trump was the victim of a Russian disinformation campaign exploited and promoted by Democrats, the media, and the FBI.

From Legal Insurrection, by Blogger William A. Jacobson, 11 April 2020.

Here is the lede plus three:

In one of the least surprising, yet most important, developments in the years-long Russia-collusion hoax, a recently declassified portion of the DOJ Inspector General’s Report on the FBI investigation of the Trump campaign has revealed that Trump was the target of a Russian disinformation campaign.  And the FBI knew it.

So rather than colluding with the Russians, which the Mueller Report conclusively rejected, Trump was the victim of a Russian disinformation campaign exploited and promoted by Democrats, the media, and the FBI.

The revelation concerns the so-called Steele Dossier, a document commissioned by the Hillary Clinton campaing and the Democratic National Committee.  The Dossier, containing allegations that Trump was compromised, turbo-charged the FBI investigation of the campaign and, after it was published by Buzzfeed, stoked anti-Trump derangement at MSNBC and elsewhere.

Yet it’s now revealed that the FBI knew at least no later than 2017 that much of the dossier was Russian disinformation.

For some people, Orange Man is so Bad that any action against him, true or false is justified.  In fact, I expect that for many suffering Trump Derangement Syndrome even things obviously false are, in their eyes, true.

This isn't the first time that the views of his opponents relative to a President were wildly off the mark, and won't be the last.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Sunday Dem Debate

For John, BLUF:  I admit I had forgotten about the debate and was watching a Hallmark mystery movie.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Live-blogging the Democratic debate:  coronavirus edition

The JALTCOH Blog, by Blogger John Althouse Cohen, 15 March 2020.

Here is the conclusion:

My verdict:  Biden won. Sanders is so far behind that in order to make any real progress in turning things around, he would have needed to have a fantastic performance while Biden stumbled badly.  That didn't happen.

We are still a ways from the Democratic National Convention, 13-16 July 2020, at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The other thing of interest is that Former Vice President Joe Biden committed to putting a woman on the Ticket, as the Vice Presidential nominee.  Who was not revealed.  Possibilities include Senator Klobachur, Senator Warren, Senator Kamala Harris, Senator Gillibrand, former DNC Chairman Donna Brazille and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.  Given the terrible way the Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez has treated Representative Tulsi Gabbard I double she is in the running.  I am guessing the call will go to .

As a side note, a guest on Fox and Friends Mr Tony Katz, just made the point that the lack of an audience seemed to hurt Senator Sanders, who feeds off the crowd.  He also made the point that to know what is happening in the hinterland, follow the reporting of Reporter Salena Zito.

Hat tip to Ann Althouse.

Regards  —  Cliff

Playing the Wrong Game

For John, BLUF:  One does have to know the game one is playing.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Bernie’s Whole Campaign Was Based On a Misreading of the 2016 Election

From New York Magazine, by Reporter Jonathan Chait, 10 March 2020.

Here is the lede plus one:

Four years ago, Bernie Sanders put up a surprisingly strong fight against Hillary Clinton on the strength of his support among white working-class voters...

... who proceeded to desert Clinton in November... [T]he left quickly [concluded that]... the Democrats had failed to offer the kind of progressive radical alternative Sanders stood for, voters instead opted for Trump’s reactionary attack on globalism.  In order to win them back and defeat Trump, Democrats needed to reorganize themselves as a radical populist party....  The second Sanders campaign has shown conclusively how badly the left misunderstood the electorate....  White working-class and rural voters have swung heavily against him....  The factor that actually explains 2016, as some of us chagrined liberals insisted at the time, was Hillary Clinton’s idiosyncratic personal unpopularity.  It turned out large portions of the public, even of the Democratic electorate, simply detested her....  Clinton hatred allowed Sanders to draw more than 40 percent of the primary vote, and Clinton hatred allowed Donald Trump to narrowly win....

It is not only that President Trump is playing four dimension chess, to the Democrats' two dimensional game.  One suspects the President doesn't care who he is playing against, except maybe Tulsi.

Hat tip to Ann Althouse.

Regards  —  Cliff

The Dastardly President Trump

For John, BLUF:  It is going to be interesting between now and 3 November.  Buy more popcorn and enjoy the show.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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On Criminal Justice, Biden Has No Moral Standing Over Trump

From New York Magazine, by Reporter Zak Cheney-Rice, 8 March 2020.

Here is the excerpt Professor Althouse started with:

Trump is going to try dampening black voter enthusiasm for Biden by contrasting the two men’s criminal justice records.  The framing will be simple:  Trump signed a bipartisan criminal-legal reform bill, the First Step Act, and has been generous with his pardon powers toward unjustly imprisoned black people, like Alice Marie Johnson.... ...Trump’s status as a self-styled reformer is laughable, [but] Biden’s record is grotesque.  Most of its lowlights occurred in the 'tough on crime' 1980s and 1990s... [when] he viciously characterized people who commit crimes as sociopathic 'predators' who are beyond rehabilitation.  He cast then-President Bush’s escalation of the War on Drugs as lacking 'enough police officers to catch the violent thugs, enough prosecutors to convict them, enough judges to sentence them, or enough prison cells to put them away for a long time.  He authored the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act [that]... expanded the death penalty, eliminated education funding for imprisoned students, created harsher sentencing guidelines for a wide range of crimes, and increased funding for local police departments and corrections departments....  Perhaps more than any other official of the era, he embodied the Democratic impulse to outflank Republicans from the right by locking more people in jails and prisons.  He helped catalyze the most dramatic expansion of the carceral state in the history of the country with the highest incarceration rate in the world.  He said he was 'not at all' ashamed of his involvement as recently as 2016....

First point.  Our incarceration rate is very high.  Second point.  It may well be driven by the welfare reforms of the 1960s, as Senator Daniel Patrick Moynahan told us a half a century ago.

The third point is that to Progressive writers the President seems to have some sort of Midas touch, in that everything he touches turns out bad, even when it is better than his Democratic Party opponents.  I frankly don't care if his actions are from a desire for justice reform or are from political calculation.  Either way we get to a better place.

I would observe that the President does seem to be playing this game at several levels, while his opponents are playing at a single level.  Does he prefer his opponent be Senator Sanders or does he prefer it be former Vice President Biden?  Or does he really want former SecState Hillary Clinton?  Or is he indifferent, but enjoys watching the speculation, like entertaining himself by throwing a twig to a little puppy on a lazy afternoon?

In the end the Progressive journalists will think that President Trump is sneakily stealing Black voters by offering them things.  Things like jobs, better wages, less police abuse, better criminal justice outcomes.  They will follow Miss Greta Thunberg and say, "How dare you!"

Hat tip to Ann Althouse.

Regards  —  Cliff

Mayor Bloomberg Makes a Move

For John, BLUF:  Mayor Bloomberg is late to the open game, so he has to bust a few moves to allow him to dominate some news cycles and to disrupt and disturb the apparent front runners.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Bloomberg is considering Hillary Clinton as his running mate, says Matt Drudge

From CNBC, by Ms Lauren Hirsch, 15 February 2020.

Here is the lede plus one:

Presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg is considering Hillary Clinton as a vice presidential running mate after positive internal polling about the potential pairing, according to the Drudge Report, which cited sources close to the Bloomberg campaign.

According to Drudge, in such a partnership Bloomberg would change his official residence from New York to Colorado or Florida. The constitution suggests there may be limitations in both members of a presidential ballot residing in the same state.

Of course it is being denied.  It is a trial balloon.

There will be plenty of time between now and the Convention to massage this part of the campaign.  In the mean time, there is a pocket of 2016 Hillary voters that will not be easily floating to Senators Warren or Klobuchar or to Senator Sanders or Mayor Buttigieg.  A successful campaign includes a lot of strategic thinking.

Hat tip to my Wife, who found this item.

Regards  —  Cliff

Avoiding the Rule of Law

For John, BLUF:  When I was growing up the Boggy Man was "Reds under the bed."  Today it is "Putin's Puppet."  The idea that Tulsi is anyone's puppet strikes me as a strange view.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Law Professor Glenn Reynolds Blogs on Hillary Refusing Service

Law Prof Glenn Reynolds, 29 January 2020.

Here is the Blog Post, with a link to the newspaper article:

OUT:  NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW.  In:  Hillary Clinton refuses to be served Tulsi Gabbard’s defamation lawsuit.  “Dunne said their process server first attempted to effect service at the Clinton’s house in Chappaqua Tuesday afternoon — but was turned away by Secret Service agents.  The agents directed the server to the Clinton’s lawyer, David Kendall, who on Wednesday claimed at his Washington, D.C. firm Williams & Connolly that he was unable to accept service on Clinton’s behalf, said Dunne.”

I don’t understand why service of process is any business of the Secret Service’s.  They’re supposed to protect her from killers, not from the rule of law.

It doesn't look good and it sets a poor example for the ongoing Impeachment trial.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Impeachment Forever

For John, BLUF:  Has the President been Impeached, given that the paperwork has not yet been completed?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Could Trump be impeached shortly after he takes office?

Here is the sub-headline:

It’s highly improbable, but everyone from law scholars to political junkies are speculating about it.

From Politico Europe, by Mr Darren Samuelsohn, 17 April 2016.

NB:  The Date is 17 April 2016

Here is the lede plus three

Donald Trump isn’t even the Republican nominee yet.  But his incendiary rhetoric, most notably about killing the families of terrorists and bringing back torture, has critics on the right and the left discussing the most extreme of countermeasures at an unusually early point in the race.

“Impeachment” is already on the lips of pundits, newspaper editorials, constitutional scholars, and even a few members of Congress. From the right, Washington attorney Bruce Fein puts the odds at 50/50 that a President Trump commits impeachable offenses as president.  Liberal Florida Rep. Alan Grayson says Trump’s insistence on building a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border, if concrete was poured despite Congress’s opposition, could lead down a path toward impeachment.  Even the mainstream Republican head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce recently tossed out the I-word when discussing the civilian backlash if Trump’s trade war with China led to higher prices on everyday items sold at WalMart and Target.  On his radio show last month, Rush Limbaugh even put a very brisk timeline on it:  “They’ll be talking impeachment on day two, after the first Trump executive order,” he said.

It’s not unusual for controversial presidents to be shadowed by talk of impeachment, once they’ve been in office long enough to make people mad.  But before he’s elected? Before he’s a nominee?

Constitutional experts of all political stripes say it’s surprising for impeachment talk to bubble up this early—but then Trump has been throwing around some surprising ideas for a leading candidate, calling the Geneva Conventions a “problem” and pitching policies that many see as violating international law.  “What he’s stated in my judgment would be clearly impeachable offenses,” said Fein, a former Reagan-era Justice Department official who worked on the Bill Clinton impeachment effort.  Likewise, Yale Law School lecturer and military justice expert Eugene Fidell offered a similar prediction for Trump from the left.  “He’s certainly said things, which if followed through on, would constitute high crimes and misdemeanors,” Fidell said.  And doubtless many of Trump’s foes would like to see him impeached just on principle—the quickest way to broom out a leader who horrifies the inclusive sensibilities of Democrats, and has blown apart the Republican Party he’s nominally part of.

Of course, if you're a follower of Meet the Press Host Chuck Todd you are now asking yourself if this is a real Politico article or if a "European" edition actually exists.  I got this from Mr Tyler Durden, at Zero Hedge, which was part of the chain of fake news on Mr Todd's show this last Sunday.  On the other hand, if you think Mr Todd is an identical twin of MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, you might wish to pay attention.

It seems to me that Impeachment wasn't about if, but when.  It wasn't likely when the Republicans controlled the House of Representatives.  And Speaker Nancy Pelosi held off for almost a year, but the Democratic Party Impeachment imperative was strong and finally forced Ms Pelosi's hand.  It is a problem, in my mind, that the hHouse earings were so superficial.

I would not be surprised by another Impeachment effort in 2020.  If the Democratic Party apparatchiks think they might lose the House in 2020 they are going to feel impelled to try again.  Will the House hearings be any more substantial than they were for this effort?

Meanwhile, over at The New Yorker, Writer Adam Gopnik published, on 27 November 2019, Stop Saying That Impeachment Is Political.  His view is TDS.

Regards  —  Cliff

Marginalizing the Electoral College

Wikipedia
For John, BLUF:  The Republic has used the Electoral College for over two hundred years and the result has been satisfactory.  What we don't know is that will happen if it goes away.  The result could destroy support for the Constitutional arrangement in some parts of the nation.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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NYT:  Impeachment rightfully gives losers tyranny over winners

Here is the sub-headline:

At the NYT, hard Leftist Michelle Goldberg explains that impeachment offsets the tyranny of the Electoral College, giving losers their rightful victory.

Of course it does.  This is all about sore losers, a pitiful subset of society, Bless their little hearts.

From The Bookworm Room, by the Bookworm, 20 December 2019.

Here is the lede plus one:

You’ve probably had your fill about impeachment.  You’ve read the articles about its being a kabuki farce, about Pelosi’s unconstitutional quid pro quo demands on the Senate, about the plan to leave the impeachment hanging in the House without ever offering Trump the chance to defend himself, about the hypocrisy of the rushed vote (“this is constitutionally an emergency”) followed by the Emily Litella “never mind,” about the Democrats’ plan to smear Trump’s name in the history books, about the effort to disable Trump (“the impeached President”) from appointing a Supreme Court justice in the event RBG passes on his watch, and about all the other silly stuff that Schiffty, Pelosi, Nadler, and their ravening pack of political wild animals have imposed on America.

Still, I have one more thing to add to the mix for today I read an honest opinion piece from the New York Times.  In it, you get a window straight into the Leftist rejection of our system of governance.  And no, I don’t usually read the New York Times, because I have better things to do with my life, but I couldn’t let this one go by.

This is about the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (“NPVIC”).  This agreement between a number of states would thwart the Constitutionality mandated method of electing the President by finding a new way of binding Electors.  That said, I can see problems with "faithless Electors.

All that said, the problem with 2016 is that Candidate Hillary Clinton didn't receive the majority of the vote, as the table below shows:

CANDIDATES	PARTY	VOTES	PERCENTAGE
Trump / Pence	Republican	62,984,828	46.09%
Clinton / Kaine	Democratic	65,853,514	48.18%
Johnson / Weld	Libertarian	4,489,341	3.28%
Stein / Baraka	Green	1,457,218	1.07%
McMullin / Finn	Independent	731,991	0.54%
Castle / Bradley	Constitution	203,090	0.15%

Source is Wikipedia

There are two kinds of voting majorities.  In the United States we say "plurality" and "majority" (with British English the terms are "relative majority" and "absolute majority").  With regard to the popular vote, Ms Clinton won a plurality, but not a majority.  If she had won sufficient electoral votes, Mrs Clinton would still be a minority President.

If, and to me it is a big if, we want to go with the popular vote we will need to either have a runoff, to get someone to a majority of the votes, or we can go with "Rank Choice Voting".

What we know for sure is that Mrs Clinton and her running mate, Mr Kaine, absolutely failed to win a majority of the votes cast.  To whine about the Electoral College is to quibble over how any given candidate failed to win straight out.

For the Democrats there is a so far hidden problem with NPVIC.  Candidate Trump could lose California and New York by small margins and win big elsewhere and thus get a plurality of the popular vote, thus beating whoever the Democrats throw up in 2020.

Sadly, our legislators, down on Beacon Hill, in the Great and Glorious General Court, voted to joint the NPVIC.nbsp; People we elected.  Sad.  Very sad.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

What Really Happened in 2016?

For John, BLUF:  As much as some may wish for (parts of) the 2016 Election to go away, it isn't.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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DOJ Response to Peter Strzok Opens a Whole Can of Whoop-Ass on Comey, McCabe and the Lovers

Opening a can of "Whoop-ass" is a colloquial term for saying one is asking for a beating.

From Doug Ross @ Journal, 1 December 2019.

Here is the lede plus one:

After his firing, disgraced former FBI counterintelligence official Peter Strzok filed a complaint with the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) asserting that his proposed termination was unwarranted.

In a recently released response dated August 8, 2018, OPR assistant director Candice M. Will outlined all of the facts underpinning Strzok's termination.

I would like for this to all go away quietly, but it isn't going to happen.  Which is a good thing, since the lessons of FBI Director J Edgar Hoover's excesses seem to have not yet been learned.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Alternative View

For John, BLUF:  This is like the Dreyfus Affair.  Is Reporter Battenfeld the Emile Zola of this affair?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Trump is hijacking the impeachment hearings

From The Boston Herald! by Reporter Joe Battenfeld, 18 November 2019.

Here is the lede plus six:

President Trump is calling Nancy Pelosi’s bluff, dramatically raising the stakes of the impeachment hearings with a threat to offer testimony to House investigators.

And the ploy could work.

Trump is hijacking the hearings for a second straight week, overshadowing the Democrats’ carefully choreographed plans to methodically call witnesses to show Trump tried to bribe Ukraine to dig up dirt on Joe Biden and his son Hunter.

The House speaker initially launched this latest twist, in an interview suggesting Trump should testify himself or in writing. It was said more in a condescending tone than a serious offer, and even the CBS interviewer scoffed at it.

But it was the perfect opening for Trump, who tweeted on Monday that he liked the idea and would “strongly” consider it.

As a legal strategy, Trump’s idea to give written testimony is fraught with peril. No defense attorney would ever suggest that a defendant should testify before an already-rigged jury convinced of his guilt.

But the impeachment hearings aren’t a legal proceeding — they’re a political spectacle. And Trump knows it.

In 2016 more than half of the Americans who took the time to vote voted against the Democratic Party Candidate, Ms Hillary Clinton.  Yet they can't let it go.  To the detriment of our nation.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff