We are the drain the swamp people

Trump OK but has grazing head wound. Not likely a ricochet.  Early reports — civilian and gunman killed.  Our condolences to reported civilian victim and prayers for Trump.

Not our statement but seems apt — someone brought a gun to a word fight.

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WHY U BEAT UP DEM-ENTIA JOE SO EARLY. WAIT TELL HE WEAKER SO THEY NO CAN CHANGE

Given that presidential elections are determined largely by the so-called independents who “vote for the man not the party” Ask yourself, who would be easier to defeat given all we already knew about Biden’s diminished and diminishing capacities? Biden or an even last-minute substitute? Biden is that bad. The truthful answer surely is that Biden is the worse case scenario for Dems (and they do not have a great alternative scenario).

Trump’s agreeing to debate so early, prior to the best chance for locking in the Dems with Biden, exposed Biden incontrovertibly too early thus giving the opposition the chance to change horses and or double up on a “vote Democrat” strategy.

Mr. 4D chess, out of utter bravado, instead of saying ~~ we will debate all you want after our parties’ nominating conventions ~~ (it is not like Triump doesn’t dodge debates) handed his opponents the opportunity for a revised playing board and a substitute king.

Biden was known to be so bad that it would be impossible, except through an incompetent campaign, to portray him as anything but a train wreck just on policy (the border, inflation) regardless of his apparent dementia. From many months ago, prior to the Republican caucuses and primaries it was soberly clear that any of several of the Republican contenders could defeat Dementia Joe. Well as long as the top contender remained loyal and didn’t go egotistically unpatriotically independent from the party whose substrate was TEA Party / MAGA (something that leading contender did not create).

Does it not make sense to maneuver so as to go against the weakest of one’s enemies and end that battle more decisively rather than unnecessarily cooperate in foreseeably giving the enemy lifelines, however remote?

If Biden drops out prior to or because of the Dem convention it is substantially Trump’s doing and it is arguably at least marginally to our and his detriment. It is a strategic error, hopefully not overwhelming. It needn’t be but then Trump lost to the likes of Joe Biden before. He (and the GOP) should have been able to overwhelm any cheating. Trump’s aura not his policies got in the way of superficial voters and most voters are superficial.

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Kurt Schlichter’s columns are always enjoyable and a favorite of mine to riff off of,  even with occasional disagreement.  Sometimes I get to claim “that’s also what I have been saying” (just rarely as biting).

There Is No Debate That the Debate Will Be an Ambush.

He offers reasoning as to why bother watching that I certainly agree with.  There is another reason in my head and heart — great irritation with Trump that the thing is happening prior to the Democrat convention. It is just plain stupid macho on his part.  I offered the following to Schlichter’s article in a comment therein:

Like Kurt I am not going to watch (live anyway) as I will be too keyed up (naturally by the way). Agreeing with every description Kurt makes about Biden and that the public sees it as well there was no reason for Trump to agree to this debate or the conditions PRIOR to the Democrat’s being locked in with Biden.

Biden shot off his mouth and started the debate thing or was induced by his most clever handlers to do so, handlers who want to be in a position as soon as possible to unhand him at the convention and prove to even Jill that the whole thing is untenable and go with a replacement however problematic. And if he comes off as somewhat sentient then dig in and do their damnedest to get him over the finish line again, probably emphasizing party vs party and not worry about a more timely debate. Into the basement he goes.

It is a Hail Mary scenario for them (though Mary will have nothing to do with it) and Trump was rope-a-doped into it. He could have said ~~ sure, I will debate all you want right after the conventions as is only appropriate. But no, Trump’s ego was such to engage emotion before brain. I guess 4D chess includes handing your opponent (the Democrat party after all ) the opportunity for a revised playing board and a substitute king.

Such is their best legal chance. It may not help at all or much at all but why give them a thread of a chance given how bad Biden is. When your (our) enemy is in the process of destroying their chances why give them a possible life-line? Why!

Addenda,  45 minutes prior to start of debate:  — if Biden is good enough to seem sentient on most questions probably as a result of maybe a few clues through the grapevine via CNN it will plausibly be played by the Dems as a real horserace. Trumps agreeing to debate given the helpful conditions for Biden was dumb in that scenario.

If Biden is a disaster, the Dems have a thread of a chance to at least improve on him with another candidate at the convention. Any excuse will do.  It will not discombobulate them as Trump may be thinking because the media will cover for the change as best they can and the Dems will re-up their vote Party game and vote against “dangerous” Trump.  Hell they might reconsider RFK Jr. Not a winning strategy but superior perhaps to staying with Joe as he deteriorates weekly.  Bad decision by Trump to debate prior to the conventions.

Interested readers are of course welcome to blog along with comments contemporaneously , anonymous comments enabled for tonight but no imbedded links.  I won’t be commenting until tomorrow.

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Article at Red State:  Note that RFK Jr predicts there will not be a single question about COVID basically because  both Biden and Trump are vulnerable and they and CNN were cheerleaders for mRNA jabs, (Trump continually taking credit for arranging for their mass manufacture and distribution).

What, me worry?

Note also that we are not saying Red State is endorsing RFK’s statement, indeed the picture they chose to include seems to indicate some incredulity showing Trump in a less than erudite pose. Our caption not in the original.

One of the commenters using the handle etba_ss had a pithy response (excerpt):

RFK needs to lay off the crack pipe. Trump couldn’t even beat 2020 Biden in a debate and he’s the greatest in modern history? Ever hear of Ronald Reagan, who won the debate with Mondale with the first question.

And Trump didn’t run through 2016 one by one. He won by being the focus on the stage against 10 others. And besides that, in the NH debate, Cruz with assistance from Rubio, actually beat Trump’s ass. They beat him so bad he quit and wouldn’t do any more debates, skipping them to do a military “fundraiser”, which is called punking out. And he was far from a certainty at that point, winning 1 state with Cruz winning 1 and had about 30% support.  . . .

Yours truly also piped in:

I will be voting for Trump because Biden and the Dem leadership are so evil and Trump has some commendable qualities (ethos) a decent perception of the pathos of the voters (or where to be on issues to obtain votes) but on so much he is light on the logos. His alleged persuasiveness is often circular and presumptive. Biden is of course subterranean on all three aspects of classical rhetorical skill. Both are quite capable of devolving to shouting and or hurling epithets.

Saying Trump is the ‘greatest debater in Modern History’ is incredible on its face and wholly ignorant of the subject. My G*d what does Jr think constitutes modern history, the last few weeks? If Trump is so good why did he refuse to debate his Republican challengers, a collegial thing to do?  Is it because Trump is not all that collegial, unless he perceives everyone in the room adores him? Trump is more than a bit narcissistic, not as much as Biden however. Some amount helps one get through the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune along with having a lot of EFF U money at one’s disposal.

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A few questions come to mind about the Biden and Trump debate this Thursday:

Will it be a train wreck for one or both? Does Biden have enough control left in him to stay on track and deliver the  responses prepared for and drilled into him whether or not they pertain to the questions? Can Trump summon enough discipline to respond cogently and not let himself be baited.  If the moderators are unfair the audience will see it and judge accordingly.Trump needn’t pick a fight with them on stage.

If FJB proverbially or actually sh*ts his pants on stage are the Dems still locked in with him? I lean toward it not making a lot of difference as far as Trump winning as they are on a loosing trajectory at least as to an honest election and a moderately competent Trump and GOP campaign.  The wild card for Dems being the possibility of  Trump eating a live rat on stage.

The Dem bench is weak and or unknown. Weak would be Harris, Newsom, Moochelle and frankly the often touted Michigan Governor Whitmer.  the often talked about Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro is largely an unknown character.  Biden or Harris are absolutely the weakest the Dems can present with but they may have to.

In any case they will have to run by fear-mongering about Trump implying Biden is less dangerous than Trump no matter how many Depends he uses a day. They will push a “vote Party, our candidates are interchangeable” approach. That is kind of obvious and actually from a civics standpoint (running as a Party) something appropriate, except you still have to demonstrate competence and sentience in leadership.

Biden and or Harris while being their weakest candidates for a variety of internal reasons are largely locked in other than at the extremis.  Republicans, realizing those two are the Dems absolutely weakest possibilities should have been concentrating heretofore on the Dems’ likely strategy – running as Party and not helping them fret and abandon Biden and Harris until it is too late  — their August convention.

Republicans and conservative allies should be tying  all Democrats together with ads on key policy issues beginning months ago rather than focusing on Biden who people can see is a demented old fool. Engage a little rope-a-dope allowing them to think Biden isn’t so bad intellectually, but do point out how their policies are devastating and evil. Open the book more on Biden after he is confirmed.

There are reports that the Trump campaign is now downplaying expectations about Biden being a likely disaster at the debate (which Trump allowed to happen too early).

The debate as a decisive event has been the Trump animating force in previous weeks for Trump rather than being a little Br’er Rabittish and allowing Biden’s nomination to be affirmed ‘organically’  . . .  letting the Dems be saddled with Biden all the while fighting the real November fight against all Democrats and their policies. Biden is pathetic and everybody knows that.

If the reports are true I am not sure it is because the Trump people now realize a little rope a dope is timely and that they are also running against a Party OR is it that they fear Biden will be self-contained for a couple hours and it dawned on them there is also a chance Trump could falter.

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Let ’em think there is life in Old Flea Biscuit

Dear Republican strategists and conservative messagers: The easy punches against Biden may not be the best way this moment to guarantee Dems loose. We want all Dems to loose so go after the Dems as a party at this time.

Why showcase Joe’s dementia NOW prior to the Dems possibly being locked in? Concentrate on expressing how bad Dem policies are, how corrupt the whole party is, that is a party building strategy for Republicans and helps make many of those ballots the Dems harvest actually be Republican votes across the board.

Interestingly, one idea out there is that the Dems will bump Kamala but keep Joe out of internal necessity in order to reassure people that everything will be OK even with the dementia ridden creep officially still President. As pliable as Joe is with dementia, that is his feature. The Dems will stay with him while cranking up the election machine.

Biden/ HARRIS is particularly handicapping combination even with the machine. But Joe’s crime family needs the position to be safe and keep the grift running but because Harris is no help but there are other racial picks/spoils candidates Dems could install in that position. But Harris won’t go easily either.  So they have a real problem. Why induce them out of it?!  Make Biden /Harris the easy choice for them.

When the enemy could be in the process of foundering, don’t help them right the situation with article after article pointing out how out of it Dementia Joe is. It is arguably a HUGE error for conservatives, Republicans and Trump constantly pointing out how dementia-ridden Joe Biden is PRIOR to the Democrat convention. Concentrate on how bad Democrat policies are, not so much Joe’s incapacities just now.

Sure the Dem apparat knows how bad Biden is but let them think it isn’t quite so bad and that the situation is controllable. Why scare them into doing something reasonable? Why not a little rope-a-dope, a little “don’t throw us into the briar patch PLEASE? Why give them more incentive to replace Joe at their convention? Campaigning is a game. Game their system. Make them live by their rules and keep Joe.

The Dem bench is very weak so we do not think anyone with any name ID works for them even against Trump and even though at any point Trump could say something stupid, competing with Biden for expressed inanities. As we pointed out in a previous post, Trump’s agreeing to debate before the Dem convention was knee-jerk bravado like Biden’s challenge as far as we can tell. Trump could have easily plausibly said it would be inappropriate to debate prior to the conventions. It is not like Trump has not avoided debates before.  Let them keep Joe under wraps, then roll tape after they are locked in.

Again, concentrate now on expressing how bad Dem policies are, how corrupt the whole party is, that is a party building strategy for Republicans and helps make many of those ballots the Dems harvest actually be Republican votes.

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Primary races for Board of Supervisors, Auditor, Sheriff, Congress.  Our endorsements are as follows:

Thomas Nelson and Jennifer McAndrew Lane for Republican nominations for County Supervisor

Mark Nelson for Republican nomination for County Auditor

Tim Lane for Republican nomination for County Sheriff (incumbent)

David Pautsch for Republican nomination US Congress District 1

Scott County Board of Supervisors

The candidates we support for Scott County Supervisors are competent qualified individuals bringing perspective to the positions useful to the scope of county office — with the kicker being they are change agents intent on transparency and putting a halt to good-ol’ boy and girl politics. They challenge Republican incumbents who have not lived up to  what should be Republican standards.

The incumbents they challenge have egregiously let us down by their votes or support for behaviors regarding the public’s right to know regarding political appointments. How dare they wrap themselves in “confidentiality’ regarding the appointment of PUBLIC officials supposedly responsible to citizens not just them?  How are we to know that the candidates they passed over to fill a vacant position on the Board were not superior to whom they picked?

One of the challenged incumbents is the beneficiary of the appointment which was  essentially done in secret or via the uncontionable allowance of secrecy regarding the installation of a public official, not an employee of the county.

The incumbents have also not been superlative in controlling county spending growth which leads to presumptive spending and build-on budgeting not truly zero-based.

Thomas Nelson brings analytical skills recognized by his award-winning performance in the positions he held in service to the country which includes the of Legion of Merit for his outstanding achievements. His health care background provides important competency in a major aspect of county government.  Learn more about his approach to county government in the River City Reader where all the county candidates were provided the opportunity to answer questions pertinent to the position and current controversies.  Tom Nelson has been active in Republican events locally for many years and spark-plugged the TEA party events held in Davenport beginning in 2009.

Jennifer McAndrew Lane brings a skill set and knowledge that overlap major aspects  of county government — matters related to mental health, social service provisions, judicial system and crime and recidivism.  She is a leader who has been active in Republican events for years and notably forthright in pursuit of civil liberties regarding COVID and more. Learn more about her approach to county government in the River City Reader where all the county candidates were provided the opportunity to answer questions pertinent to the position and current controversies.

Both of these candidates are no-nonsense individuals committed to citizen right to know,  efficient county government and serious adherence to Republican principles. For too many nominee wanabees the Republican nomination is a vehicle for advancement with insufficient attention to applying Republican principles of smaller, less obtrusive, transparent government providing basic services.

County Auditor

David Mark Nelson whose decades of experience as a commercial real estate appraiser is an exceptional candidate for Auditor who brings a devotion to best practices in service delivery, a needed insightful mind as regards evaluations of subjects under the purview of the Auditor and who along with our other endorsees has a dependable commitment to transparency and the public’s right to know, a matter we believe seriously abridged by the current Auditor’s performance in regards to her position on the County Executive Committee. Mark has been a leader in fiscal responsibility efforts dating back many years as regards the city of Davenport.  Also like our other endorsees Mark will protect the prerogatives of county government.

Learn more about his approach to county government in the River City Reader where all the county candidates were provided the opportunity to answer questions at substantial length pertinent to the position and current controversies.  There take note of the responses of incumbent Kerri Thomkins whose unresponsive drone is pretty much limited to, and we quote, “As the current Scott County Auditor, I follow the law and will continue to do so if I am elected for another term.”  Evasive or what we are not sure. Her performance as to appreciation of election integrity matters and purchasing of voter equipment we find wanting.  Mark Nelson is the far better choice in the primary for Republican concerns. 

County Sheriff

Our listing of endorsements herein is not meant to imply a ranking as to the importance of the position to Republican interests. Indeed the position of County Sheriff is critical to the our understanding of the Republic.  The position’s main public face / function is fairly described as primarily policing (law enforcement) of areas outside the metro area as in rural and smaller towns without a police department or to supplement the smaller communities constabulary. The department runs the jail as well.  But its purview is more and intricately related to our state constitution and even precepts of the common-law and judicial matters.

Besides having jurisdiction throughout the county, the department the Sheriff runs might be involved in investigations of city police who are, it should be understood, hired functionaries more limited in their scope of responsibilities.  The Sheriff is directly accountable to the people, not to the Board of Supervisors or as the police force is to the City Council.

Our support of Sheriff  Tim Lane is driven by his performance, by his commitment to the republican form of government, by the involvement he has shown in Republican Party affairs.  We ask Republican Party primary voters when and how long have you ever seen Lane’s challengers involvement in support of  Republican efforts?  Tim Lane has  attended Central Committee meetings for many years and participates in support of Republican candidates for office. He deserves  our loyal support because he has been effective in his loyalty to our country, our state, our county and in support of Republican causes as a citizen participant.

Learn more about his views on important questions asked  in the River City Reader where all the county candidates were provided the opportunity to answer questions pertinent to the position and current controversies.

Congress

This letter by Jay Olson commenting in the North Scott Press on May 15th is an impression we share about the candidacy of David Pautsch:

This is an all-American story about a good friend of mine…
An Army Veteran who inspired his two sons to also serve our country, tragically, one did not return home from the battlefield in Iraq.
… a successful business owner.
… a God-honoring man who has shared his faith with thousands, who searched his heart and answered God’s call to help save our nation.
David Pautsch (pronounced pouch)
is challenging an incumbent who no longer is serving the people who trusted her to represent them.
At the recent convention of Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, David received a standing ovation after delivering his remarks. (That’s never happened before!). And it happened again May 4 at the Iowa State Republican Convention in Des Moines. David’s seven-minute speech had standing ovations and at
least 12 bursts of applause.
 At the District Convention in April,
the incumbent came in at the last moment and left as soon as she was done justifying her unjustifiable record. The state delegates responded with a similar lack of any enthusiasm. The voters know. A recent independent poll tells it all. The incumbent earned only 32% favorability!
David believes in secure borders, free speech, gun rights, life, honest elections, term limits, farms, rational ener gy and foreign policy, budget controls, constitutional rights and our desperate need for the Lord’s help.
Our country needs a true statesman. To save this nation, vote David Pautsch for the 1st Congressional District
of Iowa on June 4th, and help Make America Great Again.

Mariannette Miller-Meeks has been a great disappointment to Republicans on budget matters and so much more being a weak sister in holding Democrats feet to the fire.  She is a big spender uninterested in seriously reigning in the size of the federal government  — continuing the “continuing resolution” and omni-bus habits that serve to inculcate all manner of evil Democrat proclivities. The only way to stop it is to stop it.  Her positions while sounding conservative are obviated by support for spending bills that counter them. Miller-Meeks supports the do-nothing type of Republican leadership that is our bane. We can do better because Miller-Meeks is high-maintenance and too undependable.

Learn more about David Pautsch here.  Miller-Meeks performance evaluations by conservative outlets here and here.

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Although more a problem for Biden ––

Agreeing to debate that early was an unforced error by Trump. It was bravado in response to Biden’s bravado.

Self preservation should have told Biden not to do anything that would expose him one to one so obviously prior to the nomination. He may have thought it was the thing to do, prove his competency and energy, maybe head off any thought of a coup at the Democrat convention — but it was his dementia talking. That Pelosi and other high-profile Dems were taken aback is telling that it was not a put up job to maneuver Biden out even if some think it has a silver lining.

Trump should have helped his enemies (the entire Demonrat Party) destroy themselves by NOT helping with an exit plan or inducement necessitating one by exposing how bad off Biden is in time for their convention. Trump should have said I’ll be happy to debate you the day after your nomination. Now I happen to feel Trump is not Republicans best candidate and that given the weakness of Biden we have foregone an enhanced opportunity to  win with a superior executive not hampered, distracted and with a better grounding for these trying times.  However beating Joe Biden is doable by Trump pretty much no matter what, Biden is that vulnerable.

One ameliorating thing is that the Democrats do not have a strong bench although they think they can drag anyone across the finish line against a Trump, indeed that their machine can beat anyone. I do not think so. Then again the Dems also realize that Trump has a propensity to say stupid things, the proverbial eat a live rat on stage. That is a true possibility with him.  Nevertheless Trump benefits from the worst contrast the Democrats present, whether Biden or Harris or any of several other icky Dems who may be drug out from the wings (not including Moochelle Obama because I still believe she is not available). Biden is the easiest to contrast even with a gaff by Trump.

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Rather than invite more vote by mail fraud and attendant verification issues —

Create theater around the Trump trials – the target  being the law-fare, hypocrisy, falsities being used to get Trump. This article at The Federalist by Brianna Lyman is illustrative: (excerpt) ((cartoons not part of referenced article)

Republicans Need To Show Up To Trump’s Manhattan Lawfare Trial Every Day

Trump is under a gag order, meaning he needs fellow Republicans to remind the public that the so-called justice system is corrupted by partisan actors. . . .

But Trump is prohibited from noting those facts as well, meaning he needs fellow Republicans like Vance and others to remind the public that the so-called justice system is corrupted by partisan actors, including the lead prosecutor, Alvin Bragg, who campaigned on targeting Trump once in office.

“Does any reasonable, sensible person believe anything that Michael Cohen says? I don’t think that they should,” Vance rightfully asked during his press briefing.

“To all the American voters and American people who are watching this, the one opportunity you get to speak up against this sham prosecution and to say the American people elect their president, not corrupt DNC prosecutors, is to vote for Donald Trump in November,” Vance said.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., also appeared alongside Vance . . .

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Pence must have missed “Public Health 101”. Besides his nonconservative role in “Project Warped Speed” his equivocation of Trump and Dems shows no balance, only the childishness he accuses Trump of.

Readers are no doubt aware that Mike Pence, former Vice- President to President Trump, who challenged him for the Republican nomination and dropped out in short order, has announced that he will not be endorsing Trump for President. He had previously pledged to support the Republican  nominee fully aware that Trump was leading for the nomination, in order to be afforded a spot on the debate stage, one of the conditions set by the RNC.

Pence’s statement to Fox News:

“Donald Trump is pursuing and articulating an agenda that is at odds with the conservative agenda that we governed on during our four years. “During my presidential campaign, I made it clear there were profound differences between me and President Trump on a range of issues. And not just our difference on my constitutional duties that I exercised January 6th,” Pence continued.

“As I have watched his candidacy unfold, I’ve seen him walking away from our commitment to confronting the national debt. I’ve seen him starting to shy away from a commitment to the sanctity of human life. And this last week, his reversal on getting tough on China and supporting our administration’s efforts to force a sale of ByteDance’s TikTok,” why I cannot in good conscience endorse Donald Trump in this campaign,”

An article at Townhall presented Trump’s response to the matter ( he could not care less).  The story engendered various readers comments including ours which was in response to another commenter who maintained that:

I believe Pence to be a good, sincere man. A nice guy. But, he’s not what’s needed for this specific point in America’s journey of freedom.

What IS needed are shrewd, tough warriors . . . 

We wrote in response to Pence’s reference to his “constitutional duties” and the above comment:

Trump is tough but not shrewd as he says too many stupid things against interest, his and ours, not Biden level but he should try not to compete. Trump is a flayler but as such he leaves himself open to otherwise avoidable punches.

Pence could have adopted the views of his constitutional betters – Cruz and Cotton — on January 6 but mistakenly believed he was being some sort of tragic principled guy, a martyr to duty when he was wrong about being under any mandate. Our founding fathers were not as naive as he was or pretends they would be in the face of even arguable corruption.

His January 6 performance came off to me as not a legacy of principle as much as blind sanctimony, less than heroic, anemic. He seemed to me to prefer the approval of the uni-party, the business as usual (but not truly peaceful) establishment within the confines of the beltway and the swamp and passively accepting the selectively passive absurdly circular reasoning of a judicial system corrupt in its irresponsibility.

Many of Pence’s criticisms of Trump are valid, and Trump set himself up for the scorched earth childish tantrums of some of his rivals, who turn out to be as immature or spiteful as Trump implied he would be. But Pence’s sense of balance, his implied equivocation of Trump’s sins with Democrats given the essentially binary nature of the coming plebiscite and the utter evil of Democrats is incredibly obtuse for a believer who is active in politics and policy and knows it is a sinful world and that we are all sinners.

If Pence is saying ~~ I am too principled to “endorse” Trump, whatever that means, AND that people should not vote for Trump over the practical options (including any Democrat), or not vote the race, he is a pathetic prig and history ought to record him as such as the Republican Party makes him persona non grata.

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