Maxine Paddling Up Stream

For John, BLUF:  She claimed her opponent had a dishonorable discharge, from the Navy, which wasn't true.  He sued.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

Libel Suit Against Rep. Maxine Waters Can Go Forward

From The Volokh Conspiracy, by Law Professor Eugene Volokh, 10 May 2023, 5:30 PM.

Here is the lede plus three:

From Collins v. Waters, decided today by the California Court of Appeal, in an opinion by Justice John Wiley, joined by Justices Grimes and Viramontes:

In 2020, challenger Joe E. Collins III and incumbent Maxine Waters competed for a seat in Congress.  During the campaign, Waters accused Collins of a dishonorable discharge from the Navy.

Collins shot back that he had not been dishonorably discharged. He showed Waters a document saying so. This document apparently was official.  There was nothing suspicious about its appearance.  The document, if genuine, would have established without doubt that Waters's charge was false.

Waters easily could have checked its authenticity, but did not.  Her appellate briefing asserts that today, years later, she still does not know the truth about whether Collins's discharge was dishonorable.

Later the document mentions a DD 214, which is a form issued when one is discharged, listing things like one's discharge status and awards and decorations.

I think Representative Waters was a little too quick to dismiss her challenger as unworthy.  She could lose this after the appeal.  It won't change the election outcome, but it might change the minds of voters.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Maxine Hung Up

For John, BLUF:  Representative Maxine Waters, a Democrat who does not live in her own LA County District, is being sued for lying about her 2020 opponent, Mr Joe Collins.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

Mad Maxine Waters Libeled Navy Vet As ‘Dishonorably Discharged,’ Now She’s Losing In Court

Here is the sub-headline:

Her Political Opponent May Turn Out To Be Her Worst Nightmare

From The Lid Blog, by Mr Wes Walker, 1 March 2021.

Here is the lede plus three:

Mad Maxine blew Joe Collins off when her lawyers were sent proof of honorable service and a cease-and-desist letter.  That was a mistake.

We’ve heard a lot of overheated rhetoric from Mad Maxine Waters over the years.  She calls people racist without any evidence.  She was one of the loudest voices encouraging public confrontations with Republicans.

She got used to getting away with that crap without any serious consequences, even when she’s gotten caught with her hands in the cookie jar.  For example, in 2010, Waters was accused of helping an unsound bank (OneUnited) receive government aid to help her husband, who was an officer and stock-owner of the bank.  She avoided any problems by throwing her grandson and chief of staff under the bus.

Maybe that’s why she thought nothing of slandering the Republican she was running against last November.

Representative Maxine Waters (D, CA) has an over-the-top style, sometimes urging fellow Democrats to get in the face of Trump supporters, making their lives uncomfortable.  She has been known to make some odd comments beyond the mere urging of social aggression.

It couldn't happen to a nicer person.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Impeach Trump Now

For John, BLUF:  When politics gets too personal it gets too dangerous.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

Yes, Democrats Should Run On Impeachment

From The Huffington Post, by Opinion Writer Kaitlin Byrd, 8 June 2018.

Here is the lede plus four:

It would be dangerous, divisive and difficult for Democrats to impeach Donald Trump.  Or so says a growing consensus among the Washington political establishment.

Pundits counsel caution, hanging onto visions of bipartisan compromise.  Others invoke the hazards of 1998, when the impeachment and acquittal of then-President Bill Clinton hobbled GOP political ambitions.  And Democrats weigh the potential backlash to pursuit of impeachment against the unvented anger of their base in this year’s midterm elections.

Some argue that running on impeachment is a trap; others, that it is a threat.  What no one disputes are the merits.

Of the many arguments against impeachment, none is a moral one. Republicans not immediately within the Trump inner circle do not even assert his innocence as a defense.  Instead, they use the threat as a motivating tactic for their base, stoking their resentments and fueling partisan animosity.

Perhaps if the only costs paid by the American people were ones of hyperpartisanship and aggressive Fox News broadcasts, it would be a reasonable calculation to avoid the question of impeachment.  But there are far more terrible costs extracted by Trump’s malfeasance and Republican complicity.

No mention of "Russia", "Putin" or "Collusion" or even "Mueller".  So, for this writer there is no need for the Mueller Investigation.  Donald J Trump is a jerk and deserves to be impeached based on his actions as a human being.

I hope the Democrats run on impeachment, I hope they follow the lead of Article Author Kaitlin Byrd and Representative Maxine Waters.

The thing is, there are a lot of voters out there who will think of this as the Clerisy devaluing their vote back in November 2016.  An act of total disrespect.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Distasteful

For John, BLUF:  We need a dose of politeness.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

CONFUSION: Maxine Waters accuses Ben Carson of being ‘white-wing nationalist’

From The American Mirror and Reporter Kyle Olson, 18 Aug 2017.

Hat tip to the Drudge Report.

Regards  —  Cliff