Looking Beyond Donald Trump

For John, BLUF:  It isn't DJT, it is his voters, who were here before the Escalator Descent and will be here after the flag is folded over his casket. .  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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"No one’s been harder on Trump than me.  But I get it, and I’m bored with it. And there’s a different way to do this...."

From Ann Althouse Blog, by Professor ann Althouse.

Here is the lede plus three: "No one’s been harder on Trump than me. But I get it, and I’m bored with it. And there’s a different way to do this...."

"Not to defend Trump, but to defend the people who still vote for him. Because what they see on the other side, to them, is even more dangerous. Because it’s closer to home: 'My kid is coming home from school and he thinks he’s a racist? He’s five, what have you been telling him? My son thinks maybe he’s not a boy.' And maybe that’s true, that happens. Those kind of things are what they say. 'That’s why I’m voting for Trump.'"

Said Bill Maher, criticizing the mainstream commentators who endlessly express negativity toward Trump, quoted in "Bill Maher Defends Trump Voters in Contentious Katie Couric Sit-Down" (Daily Beast)(video at the link).

Maher is right. The media pundits should not be aiming disrespect and contempt at the millions of Americans who support Trump. They are voters, and they are human beings. The self-important experts ought at least to pretend to care about understanding and reaching them.

Enigma's Comment:

The Woke Democrat era ends not because of Trump, but because the do-or-die zealots force a critical mass of principled/center/sane Democrats out of the Party. Tulsi Gabbard, Joe Rogan, Bari Weiss, Matt Taibbi, Elon Musk, every Jew that doesn't want to be killed, Mr. "I am a Berliner" at NPR, and now the turtle-slow (but everyone saw it coming) Maher.

Wa St Blogger's Comment:

The self-important experts ought at least to pretend to care about understanding and reaching them.

No. What a stupid thing to say. That would be unconscionable. These people are evil and racist and Nazis. No option should be dismissed that would rid ourselves of these Neanderthals that infest our country. Thank God Biden is jailing them and importing better citizens. Hopefully we can create a permanent majority of enlightened people who are immune to the misinformation spewed by these reprehensible excuses for human beings.

Even my Progressive Brother understands that one needs to look beyond President Trump and view the people who support him, from the Tea Party on.

Hat tip to Ann Althouse.

Regards  —  Cliff

Abuse of Authority

For John, BLUF:  I am not sure how far back this kind of thing goes, but maybe back to the early Presidents, although I doubt zG Washington did it.  For sure it needs to be held down.  It is unseemly.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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'Obama Personally Asked the FBI to Investigate Someone on Behalf of George Soros,' Says Alan Dershowitz

From PJ Media, by Ms Megan Fox, 17 February 2020.

Here is the lede:

In an interview with Breitbart News, Alan Dershowitz claimed he is in possession of documents that will show Barack Obama asked the FBI to investigate an unnamed person on behalf of George Soros.  Those documents, he says, will come out during a lawsuit that will be filed in the future.  Dershowitz said the only difference between Trump and other presidents influencing the Department of Justice is that Trump is open about it while the others "whispered."

I hope this report is wrong, but I am doubtful.  Given the IRS efforts to suppress the Tea Party Movement this would not be out of line with other Obama Administration actions.  take Benghazi, for example.  Abuse of the legal system.

Is there any reason for those outside the DC Beltway to not doubt the integrity (integrity) of the upper echelons of the Federal Bureau of Investigation?

Are the Democrats in Congress blind?  Or don't they care, as long as Nancy Pelosi can be Speaker.  Her of the "Impeached for Ever."

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Mr Trump's Supporters

TRIGGER WARNINGS:  It may turn out you are a Normal.

For John, BLUF:  As President Abe Lincoln said, “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.”  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Militant Normals:  How Regular Americans Are Rebelling Against the Elite to Reclaim Our Democracy
Author:  Kurt Schlichter
Kindle Version:  288 Pages
Publisher:  Center Street
Language:  English
ASIN:  B07B8G25M3
Publication Date:  2 October 2018

The Author divides Americans into two groups, the Elite and the Normals.  In his telling, the Elite are a self-selected group that thinks it should run the Country, and often do.  The Elite includes politicians, bureaucrats, academics, media and experts of various kinds.  The normals are pretty much everyone else.  They are people focused on family, work and religion.

In Mr Schlichter's telling of the story, the Elites want to run things and shape society in certain ways.  The Normals don't much care what the Elites are about, as long as they keep to "The Bargain".  The Bargain is that the Elites keep the Government running tolerably well and allow the Normals to carry on without undue interference.

In the Author's mind the Elites, who have lost touch with the Normals, have not been holding up their end of The Bargain.  He traces this back to the 1960s, when the new Elite began replacing the older Elite, an Elite who understood the Normals, and had many of the same values as the Normals.  Today's Elites are beaming off in a different direction from the Normals and the Normals recognize this.

The Normals wouldn't care about this path divergence, except they have begun to think the Elites are not holding up their end of The Bargain.  The first big sign of this was the Tea Parties.  The next big sign was the 2016 campaign of Mr Donald Trump.  In Mr Schlichter's telling of the story it wasn't so much that Mr Trump picked his voters as they were waiting for him and adopted him.

The book is about how we got to where we are and the fact that the Elites have to recognize this situation or they will find themselves cast aside, to be replaced by a new political elite, one more in tune with the Normals, who will then go back to letting the Elites decide things, until that Elite goes off the beam.

Regards  —  Cliff

Abandon Ship

For John, BLUF:  Yes, things are shifting for the parties, both parties.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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I’m A Brown Woman Who’s Breaking Up With The Democratic Party

Via The Huffington Post, from Ms Saira Rao, Contributor Social justice activist and co-founder of In This Together Media, 16 December 2017.

Of course it doesn't mean she is becoming a Republican.  Republicans would need to work at that.  Tea Party Republicans.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Primaries and RINOs

For John, BLUF:  I believe the Democrats are still not getting it.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Republicans are paying a price for their extremism

The GOP’s self-destructive primaries have cost it a lot of power, particularly in the Senate. By Ezra Klein@ezraklein Dec 14, 2017, 10:50am EST.

Here is the lede plus one:

It’s an article of faith among many Democrats that Republicans have somehow escaped the electoral consequences for the increasing extremism of their party. Doug Jones’s narrow victory over Roy Moore on Tuesday night looked, to many liberals, like a rare exception. But as political scientist Matt Glassman points out, it’s far from alone.

Starting around the 2010 Tea Party surge, Republican voters have repeatedly chosen the most extreme candidates during primaries, and have paid a real electoral price, particularly in the Senate.

And then he goes on to list five examples going back to 2010.

I am living in a nation populated by a lot of pundits who just don't get it.

It provides clarity of thought once you acknowledge that the various Tea Parties were not extremists, but rather folks who wanted adherence to the principles of the Republican Party.  That is to say, no RINOs—no Republicans in Name Only.

There is this group of people out there, enough to get Mr Donald Trump the Electoral College votes he needed to be President.  They are concerned about RINOs in office, about people on Capitol Hill who are hard to distinguish from Democrats, except for the Democratic Party urge for a Sampson Solution to the current Presidency.  These voters, in other states, are not so keen on the Mitt Romney or Jeb Bush leaders of the Party.

Hat tip to Memeorandum.

Regards  —  Cliff

Unseal The Records

For John, BLUF:  We need to hold Government Officials, especially ones drawing a pension, to a higher standard.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The IRS Scandal, Day 1657: Lois Lerner Fears Retaliation If Her Tea Party Targeting Deposition Is Made Public

This from The Tax Prof Blog, and Dean Paul L Caron, 21 November 2017.

Here is the lede plus two:

In his courtroom apologia in the film “A Few Good Men,” Jack Nicholson’s Col. Nathan Jessup made the words famous.  Now, in her bid to keep her testimony in a recently settled tea-party lawsuit against the IRS secret, Lois Lerner has picked up the Jessup argument:  “You can’t handle the truth!”

They used different words but the meaning is the same. Here’s how lawyers for Ms. Lerner and her former IRS deputy, Holly Paz, put it in a filing aimed at persuading a judge to keep their testimony from becoming public:  “Public dissemination of their deposition testimony would expose them and their families to harassment and a credible risk of violence and physical harm.”  They’re not just thinking of themselves, they add.  Young children, family members, might be hurt too.

That’s quite an argument. So enraged would the American public become upon learning what Ms. Lerner and Ms. Paz said that they and those around them would be in physical peril.  Which probably makes most people wonder what the heck must the two have said that would get everyone so agitated? ...

Yes, this is outrageous.  Government officials, acting under the color of their office, do bad things, and then get to hide the details from The People.♠  It isn't, aside from President Obama and a few around him,♥  that we don't know what happened.  It is just that the seamy details need to be kept quiet, perhaps so people won't look for other such actions and draw conclusions.

Now I do very much want to know what terrible things Ms. Lerner and Ms. Paz did that they fear the People will pick up their pitchforks and visit their homes.

Then there is this aspect.

[W]hat a crippling precedent it would be if government officials from powerful agencies such as the IRS were permitted to keep their abuses secret on grounds they fear that the people whom they are supposed to serve might be upset if they found out.

And, finally, there is the fact that from time to time records sealed for a good reason (private divorce) are improperly unsealed.  Just ask Mr Jack Ryan.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  That would be "the little people", folks like you and me.
♥  The InstaPundit commented:  "NONSENSE, PRESIDENT OBAMA ASSURED ME THERE WAS NOT EVEN A SMIDGEN OF WRONGDOING".

DOJ Settles with Tea Parties re IRS

For John, BLUF:  Justicee is sometimes slow, but it does attain.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The IRS Scandal, Day 1632:  Department Of Justice Settles Tea Party Targeting Cases For Millions And An Apology

This is from the Tax Prof Blog, by the Tax Prof himself, Paul Caron, 27 October 2017.

Here is the lede plus two:

The Trump administration on Thursday said it has agreed to pay between $1 million and $10 million to settle lawsuits against the Internal Revenue Service for targeting tea-party groups in the Obama era, saying in court documents that the IRS “admits that its treatment...was wrong.”

The Justice Department entered into proposed settlements with groups that alleged in 2013 they had been subject to discriminatory treatment in applying for tax-exempt status.  The move largely puts an end to a saga that had engulfed the IRS for years.

In a settlement filed in federal court in Washington, which still must be approved by a judge, the Justice Department said the IRS “expresses its sincere apology” and was “fully committed” to not subjecting groups for additional review “solely on the name or policy positions of such entity.”

The only thing missing is Ms Lois Lerner issuing a public apology or paying a fine of $100,000 for her part in this.♠

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  Or at least disbarment.

After the IRS For Political Actions

For John, BLUF:  It seems the IRS is just not able to outrun their past actions.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The IRS Scandal, Day 1597: New Details Of Targeting Of Conservative Groups Emerge In Tea Party Lawsuits

From the TaxProf Blog and Tax Prof Paul Caron, on Friday, 22 September 2017, we have a link to a an item in the Cincinnati Enquirer, New Details Emerge in Tea Party Suit Against IRS Here is the lede plus four:

The IRS used the political views of conservative "tea party" groups trying to get nonprofit status as a reason for extra scrutiny and continued delaying applications until 2013 — long after they said they'd stopped — new federal court filings allege.

The new accusations counter previous IRS claims that agents did not consider political beliefs when slowing down tax-exempt applications from right-leaning groups in the months leading up to the 2012 presidential election.

The IRS had instead argued that it was merely monitoring whether the groups were conducting more political activity than was allowed.

The filings by conservative groups suing the IRS also state the agency continued the practice after IRS officials said it had stopped in 2011. …

"By trying to make this about whether this was done to help Obama win is setting the goalpost artificially too high," Eddie Greim, a lawyer representing conservative groups in the class-action suit, said in an interview with The Enquirer.  "All we have to prove is whether they had the intent and if they indeed treated a set of groups differently based on their ideology."

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Hurricane Lerner Bypassed

For John, BLUF:  And she seems to have no regret, no remorse.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Trump's Justice Department WON'T charge IRS 'targeting' scandal villain Lois Lerner with a crime as top Republican calls it 'a terrible decision'

Shame, I say.  Shame.

From The Daily Mail (UK), based on an 8 September 2017 Associated Press story.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Tax Scandal From Last Administration

For John, BLUF:  Yes, and the IRS rehired 213 employees ousted for doing bad things.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The IRS Scandal, Day 1559: Checking In On IRS-Tea Party Lawsuits

From 15 August 2017, from the TaxProfBlog we have Mr Paul Caron checking on things.

The 1559 Days is about four and a quarter years.

And the wheels of justice keep turning, slowly.

Why can't Uncle Sugar just admit he screwed up and make it right?

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

The Trump Folks, Created by the NYT et al, Are Still Out There

For John, BLUF:  "All men are created equal" means you should avoid looking down on portions of your fellow citizens.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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How David Brooks created Donald Trump

This is from way back in early 2016, in USA Today, by Law Professor Glenn Harlan Reynolds, but it still applies today.  Professor Reynolds reposted it today with the remark "How [New York Times Opinionator] David Brooks Created Donald Trump."

Here is the sub-headline:

Political establishment denounced bourgeois Tea Party.  Now, they must face raucous working-class Trumpsters.

To right.

Take the time to read Hillbilly Elegy:  A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis.  These are fellow Americans and once in a while they vote.

And think about Les Deporables.  They are not rolling over to the Democrats.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Long Odds, But

For John, BLUF:  I hope Sarah Palin wins.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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THE NEW YORK TIMES IS IN TROUBLE

From Blogger John Hinderaker, at his Blog Power Line, yesterday, 8 July 2017.

That former Governor from a detached state is suing for defamation.

It all goes back to the 2011 shooting in Tucson and the rush to blame the Tea Party and certain persons.  The usual Professor Paul Krugman like sludge.♠

I would settle for $1 and a public apology by the Publisher, in front of the Flatiron Building, at noon on Sunday.♥

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  You know, like the press being all up in arms over all the violent "left wing" rhetoric that led to the shooting at the members of the Republican Congressional Baseball Team.  By the way, Congressman Steve Scalise is back in Intensive Care.
♥  Plus Lawyers fees.

Our Privacy Lost

For John, BLUF:  As you sometimes suspect, so do others—the Federal Government is not circumspect in its listening.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Obama Political Spying Scandal:  Trump Associates Were Not the First Targets

From Mr Andrew C McCarthy, contributing editor at National Review.  The dateline is 18 April.

Here is the final paragraph:

There is considerably more evidence that the Obama administration grossly abused its awesome intelligence-gathering and law-enforcement powers than that Russian meddling had a meaningful impact on the 2016 election.  And these abuses of power certainly did not start with the targeting of Donald Trump’s campaign.

The article touches on not just surveillance of then Candidate Donald Trump, but also Congressman Dennis Kucinich and then CBS Reporter Sharyl Attkisson.

Of course, if you do not stick your head up no one will notice you and surveil your communications and computers.  Just don't join some Tea Party or Tea Party like organization.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Protesting Trump Appointees

For John, BLUF:  Remember the Tea Parties and how vicious they were?  Me neither.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Eric Prince's Big Sister Gets Protection for US Marshals

Some InstaPundit posts are perfect the way they are:

THEY TOLD ME IF DONALD TRUMP TOOK POWER, FASCIST VIOLENCE WOULD THREATEN CIVIL GOVERNANCE.  AND THEY WERE RIGHT!  Betsy DeVos being guarded by U.S. Marshals Service.  “The last Cabinet member protected by marshals was a director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.”

So, basically, taking on the Education Cartel is as dangerous as taking on the Drug Cartels?  Well, the former has more money and jobs at stake. . . .

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

The IRS Condemned by Federal Judge

For John, BLUF:  This should not be a shock to you or others.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The IRS, Day 1291: Federal Judge—‘Strong Showing’ That IRS Discriminated Against Tea Party Groups

It is the Tax Prof Blog and the Tax Prof, Professor Paul L. Caron of Pepperdine University School of Law.

The subject says it all.  If it doesn't ring a bell you need to do some deep diving.  Day 1291 suggests that this corruption at the Internal Revenue Service has been out in public for over three and a half years.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

The Trump Realignment

For John, BLUF:  It is possible we are experiencing a major transformations in the political parties, of which Mr Trump is a symptom, rather than a cause.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Is Trump Wrecking Both Parties?

By Mr Thomas B. Edsall, of The Old Gray Lady, back on 11 August of this year.

From the article:

Trump is competitive among the less affluent and those without college degrees, among whom he is behind by 3 and 4 points respectively.  But Clinton is crushing him among college graduates (57-34) and among those making $50,000 or more (55-37).

The current education and income patterns reflect a reversal of the way Bill Clinton first won the presidency in 1992. Bill Clinton beat George H.W. Bush by double-digit margins among voters making less than $50,000, but lost among voters making $100,000 or more, 54-38.  In 1992, Clinton won by similarly large margins among those with high school degrees or less, while losing college graduates 41-39.

The larger conclusion from the data is that the Trump campaign — both through the support Trump generates among working-class whites and the opposition he generates among better educated, more affluent voters — has accelerated the ongoing transformation of the Democratic Party.  Once a class-based coalition, the party has become an alliance between upscale well-educated whites and, importantly, ethnic and racial minorities, many of them low income.

I would suggest that because of unhappiness on the part of less well off voters (and thus perhaps less educated) we are seeing shifts in allegiances.  First the Tea Parties, and this year Mr Trump and Senator Bernie Sanders, and then 2020.  If there isn't change this year, will these voters and potential voters just give up and go away for 2020, or will they come back even stronger?

The other question is if racial minorities might decide that Mr Trump is correct when he asks "What do you have to lose"?

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

The "Alt-Right"?

For John, BLUF:  The Media and the "Left" (but I repeat myself) have lost touch with reality and are just throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Trump hands his campaign to the 'alt-right' movement

Reporter Patrik Jonsson, of the Christian Science Monitor, gives us this report.

The "Alt-Right"?  So I am being shoehorned into one more despised group here in the US?

Here is the Wikipedia definition:

But critics say that Bannon's hiring resonates far beyond the Trump campaign in troubling ways.  It marks a worrisome marriage of the Republican Party with an Internet culture that, they say, peddles in white identity, misogyny, anti-Semitism, and Clinton conspiracies.

I am not anti-Semitic, especially when compared to my bien-pensant Progressive friends.  I am not a member of any "white identity" group.  Clinton Conspiracies?  Not likely.  I believe Mr Vince Foster committed suicide, but I do find it strange the records are now reported missing from the National Archieves.  But, I am moving on.  Use of a private EMail Server, while Nixonian, turned out to be an unlucky choice.  it isn't a Conspiracy, it is what it is.  And DOJ said no crime, which is what it is.  Misogyny?  I try to be respectful of all.  I sometimes suspect that women think they are special and that men don't harass men and women don't abuse men.

We are seeing the bien-pensant playing Christmas Tree and trying to hang everything they see as wrong with society on the Alt-Right, which has replaced the Tea Parties as the focus of their ire.

I think it is a case of "Drinking your own bathwater".

Hat tip to the Memorandum.

Regards  —  Cliff

Looking Past Mr Trump to 2020

For John, BLUF:  This is a what if essay, looking at the case where Ms Clinton wins in 2016.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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A smarter successor to Trump is even scarier, but it's coming

From the Blog Site of Mr Brad Templeton, who is apparently a Canadian, we have a look into the future.

Social media are jam packed with analysis of the rise of Donald Trump these days.  Most of us in what we would view as the intellectual and educated community are asking not just why Trump is a success, but as Trevor Noah asked, “Why is this even a contest?”  Clinton may not be, as the Democrats claim, the most qualified person ever to run, but she’s certainly decently qualified, and Trump is almost the only candidate with no public service experience ever to run.  Even his supporters readily agree he’s a bit of a buffoon, that he says tons of crazy things, and probably doesn’t believe most of the things he says.  (The fact that he doesn’t actually mean many of the crazy things has become the primary justification of those who support him.)

But it is a contest, and while it looks like Clinton will probably win it is also disturbing to me to note that in polls broken down by race and sex, Trump is actually ahead of Clinton by a decent margin among my two groups — whites and males.  (Polls have been varying a lot in the weeks of the conventions.)  Whites and males have their biases and privileges, of course, but they are very large and diverse groups, and again, to the coastal intellectual view, this shouldn’t even be a contest.  (It’s also my view as a foreigner of libertarian leanings and no association with either party.)

I would challenge Mr Templeton's assertion that Ms Clint is "certainly decently qualified".  She is not.  But, that isn't the point of this short essay.  Here is the point:

But what if he were smarter? What if a more calculating candidate, now that this new body of voters has been discovered, knew better what to say and what not to say?  What if there were a candidate who applied advanced political techniques, testing and polling new positions, rather than just throwing pasta at the wall to see what sticks and depending on an imagined invulnerability to get away with it?

If Clinton continues her lead and wins, then this candidate is coming in 2024 or even 2020. If the trend described above that works against the incumbent party continues, that candidate will have a head start against Clinton or her Democratic successor and a strong chance at victory.

There were the Tea Parties and no one listened.  Now there is Mr Trump and Senator Sanders and likely no one is listening.  So, what does 2020 or 2024 have to offer if the disenchanted are not "brought back into the fold", if they still feel disenchanted?

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Clueless in the Media

For John, BLUF:  Some in the Media should be ignored, for the good of the rest of us.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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"ESPN's Tony Kornheiser asks whether Tea Party is like ISIS".

Why?  Why would Mr Kornheiser even go there?  I accept that Mr Kornheiser is a golfing buddy of President Obama, but to suggest a bunch of his fellow Americans are like ISIS members (he meant Daesh, I hope), is, to use the current fashionable word, despicable.

Aside from that I have no strong views on this.

Hat tip to Memeorandum.

Regards  —  Cliff

Paul Ryan Ponders

For John, BLUF:  It would be a sacrifice on his part.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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From The Old Gray Lady we have an article on Rep Paul Ryan, "Hometown Lets Paul Ryan Ponder Speaker Job on Own Terms".

JANESVILLE, Wis. — Representative Paul D. Ryan stepped out of St. John Vianney Roman Catholic Church after Mass here Saturday evening into the twilight of a cloudless day, far removed from the bleating of Washington that had surrounded him roughly 24 hours before.

In his hometown, he was not being chased by reporters with microphones or beseeched by his colleagues courting him to be the next speaker of the House.  Instead, he was among friends and neighbors, shooting the breeze as he meandered across a large suburban parking lot.

“Hey, Paul, what are the odds?” one of them asked about the chances he would try to ascend to the office second in the line of succession to the presidency.

A knowing Mr. Ryan stopped, smiled and gestured toward the lone journalist in the crowd.  “He’s a reporter,” he said, by way of apology, and kept walking.

But the question is on many minds in Janesville, a town of blue-collar workers, still suffering from the idling of a General Motors plant almost seven years ago, and of well-to-do families like the Ryans.  The people here seem almost as conflicted as Mr. Ryan himself professes to be.

Sounds like Janesville to me.

As for the Speakership, no one is going to make all the Republicans happy.  And, the question is, how much respect should the more conservative Members get in this process.  That is tied to the question of how much of their agenda has been accommodated.  Think of it in terms of a typical European Parliament.  They form a coalition with the Center-Right Republicans, so that they are part of the majority.  What do they get in exchange?♠

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  My two cents worth is that those European Parliament arrangements would not be good here in the Good Old USA.  See, for example,