Things normally move fast in political punditry after Labor Day but this election there is so much that is important to our republic not to skip. We can only embellish on some and original essays are particularly time consuming. What follows is a collection of brief quips and forwards this week from our illustrious senior editor DLH that yours truly wanted to post as featured items, but didn’t get it done (one of them also contains a little back and forth between us). So with less fanfare and excerpts but the consideration that these are important . . .here are some other items from DLH this week (and one from me)
Psychiatrist — heal thyself
I hope to never again hear what an “intelligent, scholarly, brainy, savvy, erudite” man Dr. Charles Krauthammer is; This statement is appropriate for the biggest dolt on the planet!
“I didn’t need the Wiki files to oppose Hillary Clinton. As a conservative, I have long disagreed with her worldview and the policies that flow from it. As for character, I have watched her long enough to find her deeply flawed, to the point of unfitness. But for those heretofore unpersuaded, the recent disclosures should close the case. A case so strong that, against any of a dozen possible GOP candidates, voting for her opponent would be a no-brainer. Against Donald Trump, however, it’s a dilemma. I will not vote for Hillary Clinton. But, as I’ve explained in these columns, I could never vote for Donald Trump.”
Krauthammer’s reputation for “brilliance” is analogous to Comey’s reputation for “integrity, respect for rule of law, and incorruptibility” He is better described as “elitist, has delusions of moral superiority, considers himself much brighter than any mere conservative voter”
Laws are for the Little People
As usual, no comment is necessary to introduce a Mark Stein column. He says it all, effectively, accurately, and entertainingly. Nevertheless, this piece is scary.
We hadn’t noticed
What Conservatism Has Conserved
This is either Delusion, Deceit, or Surrender?
“Republicans in Congress have effectively blocked Barack Obama’s agenda since 2011. They have obstructed punitive taxes on businesses that seek reduced labor and materials costs overseas. They stopped Obama’s DREAM Act, which offered citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants. House Republicans sued the Obama administration over its extraconstitutional “executive actions” deferring deportation status to millions of illegal immigrants—and won. They’ve thwarted a slew of new gun control measures. They prevented passage of a series of new stimulus bills Barack Obama labeled “jobs” proposals even after conceding “shovel ready” was a fantasy. They’ve prevented more green kickback schemes, like Solyndra and Sapphire Energy. By 2009, federal spending had expanded by around 6 percent every year for nearly 30 years. That ended in 2011. Since the tea party GOP retook the House, federal spending has grown by only 1.3 percent annually.”
That’s how a NeverTrumper in Commentary analyzes the Establishment GOP’s incredibly successful efforts in the Obama years since ‘ignorant’ tea-partiers gave them control of both houses of Congress and statehouses all over the country.
Oddly, though, I wonder how I could have missed all those wondrous achievements…the screeching halt the GOPe brought to the Obama agenda.
I could only marvel at the skill of the writer to pass the performance of Boehner, Ryan, McConnell, et al off as great achievement.
R Mall responds:
The inculcation of the Obamanation is near being irreversible, and with the same lot in charge in Congress, it won’t be reversed, it will be made permanent and expanded under Hillary. Her presidential hopes are enhanced by their refusal to support the only viable alternative.
It seems a strange article coming from “neo-con” Commentary magazine by not bringing up the damage done to our foreign policy and military strength.
Did they stop him from funding Iran – nope
Abandoning Middle East to terrorists – nope
And as to mainstream conservative issues, did they stop him from funding
Planned Parenthood ( the assertion in the article is wrong) – nope
TPP — nope
Obamacare — nope
the list is endless as to what they financed
They should be given no great credit for stopping something by suing, when the effort was not singular to them as interest groups probably were involved and how much credit does one deserve for protecting their own turf? The unique power they had, the power of the purse, they barely used, indeed they went ahead and positively funded so much of Obama’s agenda.
Our Neutron Bomb Election – Victor Davis Hanson
This is a superb essay (I use that term a lot, I think, when I describe something from V D Hanson column). It is one that we can only wish that every voter would read and be able to relate to and understand the many references to people and events that probably only the most dedicated political junkies (like you-know-who’s) can quickly recognize. There are even some references that Hanson makes that even the most dedicated may not be aware of, or at least would have to mentally review the last 5,000 news and opinion pieces they’ve read.
It is remarkable to me that in this one column, as long as it is, Hanson has so comprehensively captured precisely the state in which our Republic is in and how it is manifested and how it got here.
While I think you will find some grim satisfaction in reading it, I think you will come away possibly even more depressed than you might likely already be. D.
Not a very alert shepherd of the news —
Today (Thursday) on Fox, Shephard Smith show (Shep not on), seems to be going full bore to rehab Hillary on everything. Foundation got $1 To $5 million from Saudis…no smoking gun, “no evidence of quid pro quo”. On “rigged election”, Brennan center says, no evidence…just 33 cases, blah, blah. Did Trump’s “refusal” comment hurt him? Oh yes, everybody says so. And so on. Trump seemed to get no support, not even benefit of doubt.
But then, that’s Fox today…or maybe just Shep. The link and excerpt below from GOP USA points out that Rigged Elections Are As American As Apple Pie and references the data to show the vulnerabilities.
According to a 2012 report by the Pew Research Center, “Approximately 24 million—one of every eight—voter registrations in the United States are no longer valid or are significantly inaccurate. More than 1.8 million deceased individuals are listed as voters. Approximately 2.75 million people have registrations in more than one state.”
Of course, this situation has only gotten worse since 2012, and any efforts to update the voter rolls are always opposed by Democrats. In addition, Republican attempts to mandate voter identification are routinely labeled as “racist” by Democrats who usually file lawsuits to thwart such measures.
On a more sinister level, the undercover videos released by James O’Keefe of Project Veritas show Democrat operatives boasting of promoting violence at Trump rallies and engaging in voter fraud. There have been examples of Black Panther voter intimidation in Philadelphia in 2008, and suspicious 2012 vote totals in Cleveland and other cities where Obama received 100 percent of the vote in selected precincts.
