In addition to Jim's great list, I would highlight another reason to vote Trump/Republicans in 2024: NO NEW WARS. Trump was able to keep the regimes of both North Korea and Russia in check during his admin. Would Hamas and their Iranian backers have attacked Israel on Oct 7th if Trump was in the Oval Office? We will never know for sure but what we do know is that a weak president emboldens our adversaries. Trump and an increasing number of Republicans understand that our foreign policy should be "Peace Through Strength" not Biden's "War Through Weakness". Sadly, the only country that has benefited from Biden's foreign policy is China.
When you cast your vote in November, take a moment to consider how much more needless death, suffering, and destruction there has been around the world since Biden/Harris stepped into office.
Ending the existing wars and no new war got to be up in the list. For some of us that have been to war, the hideous nature and lack of humanity of it warrants attention on this list. Who wants or is willing to send their children and grandchildren to war? Please raise you hand.
Well said! This will likely trigger the usual commentators who are in favor of the current insanity. God allows leaders to be put in their positions of authority. The people in Washington DC, Sacramento and blue governments mistakenly believe that they are God.
They are not just fools, but are wittingly, or unwittingly working for the other team.
Look up Daniel 2:21
“ He changes times and seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding”
We are close to a critical tipping point in the entire nation, like the one already passed in California where the current Democrat super-majority cannot be dislodged, and the Democrat-voting takers exceeds those forced to perpetually fund them. The is not how America was intended to work.
With all due respect for your excellent column, I'm voting for Trump, not the Republican Party, which is as evil as the Democrats. Vote for the party that gave us the Bushes? McCain? Romney? The party that has never stood up for the working class in this country - that would be Trump, not the Republican Party. The party that just loves war, any war, any bombing of innocent civilians because they still think we should show the world who's boss. The party that says it doesn't support the transification of our public schools, but wimps out whenever it should fight. I will continue to vote for people over parties. It's the only future we have.
Polly: I know, I know. I agree that we can do without the Romneys, Bushes, McCains, et al, but if we don't bring along Republicans, the president won't be able to accomplish much! Just hold your nose and vote for the big R whenever and wherever you can. The rest will sort itself out, but we'll go nowhere without a majority!
GREAT idea Granny! Though I must say, I can't wait to vote for Donald Trump. I've grown accustomed to his silly grin, his walk, his demeanour. He's been humbled since his brash ride down that golden escalator and it suits him. Oh, and of course, I love his policies and attitude towards government. I am also going to enjoy the men and women he will surround himself with in his new administration (if he wins). All the good guys: Sarah Huckabee as VP, and then there's Vivek Ramaswamy, Marco Rubio, JD Vance, Lee Zeldin, and, well, you know the thing...
My husband and I are currently awaiting sentencing for peacefully assembling at the Capitol. Nobody will be voting for Trump (for the third time) with more enthusiasm than us. My suggestion is for people who are having trouble voting for those often disappointing Republicans candidates down ticket. You are 100% correct that Trump needs a GOP Congress to quickly enact his agenda to make America great again.
I agree that the Republican party has provided us with some monumental disappointments including Paul Ryan but also some great leaders like Trump and Reagan. Today, I can't think of a single politician from the Democrat party that I can support. By contrast recall the stage for the Republican presidential debates. While there were a few I could not support, especially Christie and Haley, there were four amazing candidates better than anything the Democrat party has to offer; Desantis, Ramaswami, Burgum and Scott are standouts.
I agree with you, Jeff, about those candidates. However, if the Republican Party is in power the way the Democratic Party is, we will still be in the hands of the Dr. Strangeloves who are intent on nuclear war with Russia. I'm not convinced either that the R Party can stand up to either the Democratic Party or to the CIA - which is clearly using the open border and fighting age illegal men to create conditions for the kinds of coups they've done for decades in other countries, only this time it will be the US. The R Party as a whole has not stood up to the Democratic Party and told them to stop but they're happy to do that to protect other countries. But what about this one? To me, this means the Republicans are hopeless as a whole.
GOP has not had the full mandate of the voters due to the GOP willingness to be divided and conquered over side issues, which even left Kamala Harris to cast tie-breaking votes against us.
That alone should stiffen all reluctant GOP resolve to work as a full team and finally get in the door with enough numbers to finally make the necessary change we all know that are needed. .
Dividing the GOP is part of the Democrat agenda. So who in fact does not really have the "backbone" to face down the Democrats? The GOP who got split off over side issues from the over-all GOP agenda. The 80:20 Rule.
Like Mitt Romney's recent really stupid statement using E. Jean Carroll specious case against Trump in a NYC court room is enough to demand Trump's 2024 defeat.
Don't get me started about how disgusting Romney is. Ok, I'm started! I knew E Jean Carroll. She used to be a smart, sassy, hilarious sex columnist. She gave a great blurb to one of my booms I don't know what happened to her or for that matter, so many of the smart media people I knew. Trump did not rape her. It's ridiculous. And for Romney to talk like that … could he just shut up?
She forgets her era was channeling their inner Erica Jong. Turning the highly sought after "Z.F", per wildly popular Ms Jong, into cash a few decades later is remarkable alchemy.
I don't know her personally but Erica Jong is very smart. Her daughter, Molly, is a scoldy, untalented, bitter drag who resents her mother. And Molly is one of the people who was egging on E Jean..
Jeff , you place Trump and Reagan in the same sentence. You should know better. They are (were) two polar opposites.
One thing I can state with 100% certainty is that Nancy would never ever have let Ron associate with the likes of Trump. You never heard stories of a married man Ronald Reagan cavorting around hotel rooms chasing porn stars around with his trousers around his ankles. This while his wife was at home caring for a newborn son.
Not polar opposites at all. In most important ways they are alike. Both believed in free market solutions rather than government solutions. Both saw government as too big and too powerful.
Do you vote for character or policy in a president? The establishment wants to define Trump as a corrupt deranged pervert and want you to vote against his character. Let me remind you that the white house has been occupied by men of many different characters. Clinton famously soiled an intern's dress and used a cigar in unconventional ways, Kennedy was a man of many extramarital affairs, LBJ was an irredeemable pig, Biden has used his office for financial gain, Trump had sex with a woman whose job is to have sex for money. The difference is that the Democrat party and the RINOS want this to be the only thing you consider or think about when considering Trump. Alinsky was smart, most people can be manipulated by their emotions to facilitate their own demise.
Mr. Barton , there are many other issues that make Trump a liability as the potential leader of our country, although I fear pointing them out to you would only invite more whataboutisms from you and your fellow Trumpers on this site.
Slow Joe won by a wide margin in 2020, a fact that Republicans have refused to acknowledge until they realized that silliness had become a political liability. .
I would like to hear the other issues which make the great Donald John Trump unsuitable to lead this country. Surely you have something more tawdry than soiling a 21 year old's dress with semen and probing her womanly crevasse with a cohiba robusto within the sanctuary of the white house. That aside, isn't it more logical to vote for the president with policy that is best for you and best for America? Are you better off now with high inflation, high gas prices, high food prices, two wars, open borders, over 10 million unvetted illegal aliens with extended hands in this country? Do you enjoy paying for free healthcare ( $10,000 annual benefit) to illegal aliens? How about Biden defying the supreme court to forgive student loan debt? Talk about a threat to democracy, our democracy hinges on separation of powers. Do you like your daughter being whipped by a man in women's sports?
Corruption and disregard for the law Jeff. It’s glaring you right in the face but you chose to turn a blind eye.
Rick Gates: Convicted
Paul Manafort: Convicted
George Papadopoulos: Convicted
Mike Flynn: Convicted
Michael Cohen: Convicted
Roger Stone: Convicted, pardoned
Steve Bannon: Arrested, indicted, pardoned, held in contempt by Congress, indicted, arrested, convicted. indicted in NY state.
Allen Weisselberg: Convicted, plead guilty to 15 counts, sentenced to five months. Indicted for perjury and pleaded guilty. Sentenced to 5 months.
Rudy Giuliani: RAIDED, Law License Suspended for lies, indicted in GA investigation, Sued for $148 million, declares bankruptcy. Indicted AGAIN in AZ
Trump Organization: Convicted on 17 counts of criminal tax fraud and falsifying business records.
Peter Navarro: Held in contempt by Congress, arrested by DOJ, convicted. 4 month sentence.
John Eastman: Indicted in GA Indicted AGAIN in AZ
Mark Meadows: Indicted in GA Indicted AGAIN in AZ
Kenneth Chesebro: GUILTY in GA
Jeffrey Clark: Indicted in GA
Jenna Ellis: GUILTY in GA Indicted AGAIN in AZ
Ray Smith: Indicted in GA
Robert Cheeley: Indicted in GA
Michael Roman: Indicted in GA Indicted AGAIN in AZ
David Shafer: Indicted in GA
Stephen Lee: Indicted in GA
Harrison Floyd: Indicted in GA
Trevian C. Kutti: Indicted in GA
Sidney Powell: GUILTY in GA
Cathleen Latham: Indicted in GA
Shawn Still: Indicted in GA
Scott Graham Hall: GUILTY in GA
Misty Hampton: Indicted in GA
Christina Bobb Indicted AGAIN in AZ
Boris Epshteyn Indicted AGAIN in AZ
Mike Roman Indicted AGAIN in AZ
Donald Trump: Impeached 2x, RAIDED by the FBI, sued and criminally referred to SDNY and IRS. Found liable for sexual abuse and defamation ordered to pay $5 million, then $83.3 million. Indicted on 34 counts of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degreein Manhattan, convicted on ALL CHARGES. Indicted 40 times by the DOJ for obstruction and stolen classified docs. Indicted 4 counts by the DOJ for Jan 6th. Indicted 13 counts in GA under RICO. Fined $464 million for FRAUD by NY state. Unindicted co-conspirator AZ
Don Trump Jr: Sued by NY for fraud, fined $4 million
Eric Trump: Sued by NY for fraud, fined $4 million
Mike Lindell: Under DOJ investigation for identity theft and conspiracy
Right on Jim! In spite of the fact that the Commie-Dems are turning the U.S. into a 3rd-world siht-hole and Trump did such a great job last time, we can’t take anything for granted. We need to mitigate the Democrats’ under-handed ballot counting shenanigans. Here’s how:
a) Form a gung-ho task-force that investigates every possible ballot counting / cheating incident.
b) If even the slightest hint is found, immediately try to arrest the suspect and charge him with everything possible. The idea is to let others know that this is a major crime, will be investigated throughly, and the criminals will be dealt with harshly. Potential vote riggers probably have other legal problems and won’t be anxious for more.
c) Learn from the Democrats and pay our people to go out to the homeless camps, under bridges, parks etc. and get any warm body to vote for Trump. Obviously we can’t pay them, but how about a once a week party with free booze - all they have to do is bring a friend . I’m not talking ‘Voter Registration Drive’, I’m talking ‘Poll Party’, ‘Ballot Bash’, or my favorite - ‘Vote-a-Palooza’.
The Democrats think of us as a bunch of boy-scouts,(they’re right!), more interested in doing the ‘right thing’ rather than winning. We need some GOP street fighters!
Being more than generous to Nancy Pelosi's failure to secure the Capitol grounds on Jan 6, she may well have thought it would just be one more Tea Party gathering who have long been know to be quiet, polite. and pick up their own trash. So why would extra troops have been required?
Missing entirely and/or intentionally the agent provocateurs of unknown origin, who wanted to exploit this peaceful and lawful Trump inspired redress of their grievances against the government. In support of those who did lawfully ask for a review of their state's electoral vote certification process.
J - I especially like your reference to the ‘agent provocateurs’ - spies in the Jan 6 crowd exploiting a bunch of folks milling around being ‘patriotic’. Sure there were a few jerks who though it would be fun to go into private offices etc. and act stupid, which is why _any_ large group needs plenty of security, but you can bet your boots there were some adversaries promoting bad behavior.
A. If you have a brain you might notice, that electoral votes determine who the president is, and the results are announced days before they finish tallying the individual opinion polls. Having said that, I will probably vote Biden because I am offended by the small minded bigotry of Trump's campaign. My fiance is transgender, and is the most sensitive beautiful man I have ever met in my life, with an enormous heart, a brilliant mind, and a thunderous pair of stones. He breaks my heart open and blows my mind and has made me grow as a person. If you really feel that bashing on the rights of minorities is "American" (I thought 🤔 our country was supposed to be about equal rights for all) then you might need to read your constitution and open your narrow, small little mind up. The Nazis lost the war.
Noelle, ACLU is pretty unhinged about this topic. I recommend you read more widely than their hysteria and hyperbole. Melania Trump is certainly the antithesis of your attacks on any incoming Trump administration. Trump does take a stand about protecting parents rights for their own minor children, but out of this reasonable stand ACLU has fabricated an entirely anti-gay anti-trans Trump apocalypse. That much intentional disinformation alone should scare you about the anti-Trump message ACLU is now sending out.
Trump has never done anything to limit the rights of any group. Can you name one policy that Trump enacted as president that limited the rights of any group? That you think otherwise is only due to the success of the propaganda campaign intended to create fear. So, your fiancé is a transgender man? Does that mean it has a penis or a vagina? Does it wear a dress and a bra? If it has a thunderous pair of stones does that mean it is a man? I am truly confused.
Trump has appointed judges and other administrative nominees who don’t believe in civil rights. E.g., known racist Jeff Sessions. He appointed three SCOTUS justices who voted to eliminate Roe v Wade, and they and their colleagues on the lower federal courts can be expected to continue to vote the wrong way on civil rights issues, except they will permit gun owners to enjoy their firearms and religious believers to discriminate against non-believers.
Interesting how you people always bring up Roe v Wade. What is your obsession with killing babies and calling it a constitutional right? You know that Roe v Wade was a bad ruling from the start. Even your beloved RBG and Dershowitz admitted that it would eventually be overturned. The convoluted argument that the right to privacy confers a right to kill a baby is clearly not the intentions of the framers. Also, can you explain how Sessions is a racist? Plus, your language is astounding. Vote the wrong way on civil rights issues? What constitutes the wrong vote on a civil rights issue? Now firearms, it is pretty clearly in the constitution right next to the amendment on abortion. Finally, I am not aware of religious believers discriminating against non-believers.
The fundamental principle of Roe v Wade is found in the right of privacy, which Republicans used to believe in, and has animated other applications of civil rights, like the right to contraception and to be consensually intimate with anyone one chooses. Do you still believe in those rights? At least Justice Thomas has said he wants to use Dobbs as a platform to reexamine those rights as well. It should not be a subject for legislation.
As for Sessions’ racism, take a look (for one easily accessible example) at a December 2, 2016 WaPo article by Michelle Ye Hee Lee entitled “Jeff Sessions’S comments ion race: For the Record.” E.g., he’s called the NAACP “un-American” and doing more harm than good. That is just the tip of the iceberg. He of course showed no interest in prosecuting racial gerrymandering, and Trump was happy with that.
As for ruling the wrong way on civil rights, check out the Shelby Supreme Court case, and others decimating the Voting Rights Act. The renewal of that Act was overwhelmingly passed by Congress, and while SCOTUS is supposed to defer to Congressional findings and policy, the Roberts majority chose not to do so in that case. Justice Alito has never found a non-white civil rights plaintiff — other than one suing a union — with a righteous case. In general, the conservatives find ways to limit, restrict, and circumvent civil rights and labor laws designed to level the playing field.
As for the Second Amendment, it was perhaps the only constitutional amendment that contained its own limiting rationale right in its language, and that language was historically read to limit its application, until the gun nuts and Federalists, abdicating their textualism in service to the NRA, expanded the Second Amendment into the menace it is today.
Religious discrimination is practiced by the likes of Hobby Lobby, and any other employer providing health care that doesn’t want to pay for certain healthcare treatments on religious grounds, and doesn’t want to bake cakes celebrating people and “lifestyles” they disagree with.
Ira: Your supposition that employers such as Hobby Lobby and others don't want "to bake cakes celebrating people and 'lifestyles' they disagree with" is just so much false equivalency and propaganda. Any and every baker in the land will sell his cakes to anyone and everyone in the land. Asking them to decorate that cake to glorify something they don't approve of, however, is a whole different piece of cake. If you agree with your own premise – that every bakery should be required by law to inscribe any direction given by a customer –, then congratulations for putting the finishing touches on that black-and-red cake topped with a Swastika and inscribed with "Heil Hitler!" If that's too rash, perhaps the "Death to Jews (or Gays, or Lesbians)" cake that nice little old lady is waiting for will do.
Rights are few, specifically enumerated and given by God. What is wrong with leaving these extraconstitutional issues to the state? You mention contraception and your right to have sex with a nonbinary twink. Neither is a constitutional right and should be governed by statute state by state. Just a dumb example to validate your point that everything you want should be a right protected at the federal level. The jails are full of people in for using a contraceptive.
These are not “extraconstitutional” issues. For one thing, in California fortunately there is an explicit right to privacy. Not sure what the significance is of your view that the rights were “given by God”, though it’s hard to believe that those differ from state to state, country to country. Some rights should be exercised at the discretion of the individual. There is nothing inherently wrong with leaving certain personal issues to the state for regulation, though the history in this country on that score is fraught. And there is talk of Republicans advocating for a national (federal) ban on abortion. Would that be OK with you?
No express right to privacy in the US constitution; nor the right to 18 years of mandatory child support which fuels much of the pro-abortion argument as well. Run that one up the courts.
Conservatives do support protection of private property from confiscation by the government, state or federal. As expressly set out under the US Constitution (search, seizure and eminent domain) and/or state statute which does impose greater, or lesser, private property protection rights.
Pick your home state with care, since California (Monique Limon and Gregg Hart) erodes private property right expectations virtually every day.
Looking forward to the upcoming SCOTUS Chevron deference ruling. The people through constitutional process decide if court appointees "defer" too much, and are in need of change. And as the esteemed Kamala Harris once uttered, .......that time is now.
You might enjoy the current SCOTUS’ deference ruling, but if it comes out as expected, it will mean more power in the hands of unelected federal judges with lifetime tenure. At least with deference to administrative agencies, those policies can and do change with electoral change, admittedly for better and worse.
Judges rule on express rights; they don't make them up. Nor condone those who did, such as the Roe v. Wade SCOTUS judges who simply made up the bogus "right to privacy" in order to justify voluntary infanticide. Trump-appointed judges made the right US constitutional decision, on what was clearly an express state rights matter.
Yes, I can see that your confused. Perhaps you should talk to a licensed therapist about that, and get educated about transgenderism before publicly discussing... He is anatomically male. Biologically, however those two things are not limited to one or the other. Many of them have been exposed to profuse abuse resulting in psychological damage, sometimes at the hands of their parents which may be why schools don't share their identity with parents.
This discussion reminds me of our Flag Day drive in a convoy of vehicles carrying American flags and an occasional Trump flag: About 60 % gave us thumbs up and shouts of encouragement. 40 % yelled obscenities and gave us the middle finger. The latter response particularly dominated driving on Coast Village Rd in Montecito. Wealth obviously does not correlate with wisdom or civility. Regardless, it was fun, and a good showing for opinions not typical in our blue city. It was better than I expected, however.
Trump is often criticized for excessive spending contributing to the deficit and thereby contributing to today's inflation. I would argue that although he did contribute to the deficit his policies boosted productivity through business-friendly policy and deregulation. Inflation has two facets, money supply and productivity. Productivity has been destroyed by regulation and business-hostile policy under Biden. The combination of deficit spending and reduced productivity under Biden has caused inflation.
While reading this article I thought to myself, if ever there was an article to stir up the Santa Barbara Marxist peanut gallery this is it. Then at the end I read that the comment section is today limited to paid subscribers. I see it as a gag order on the Lefties who apparently can't cough up a few bucks to support the forum they enjoy reading or commenting on.
I love this language. Jim, is it of your own creation? "maintain a court that relies on the original words of the U.S. Constitution and not the “feelings” or “emanations” given off by the penumbra of those words"
Well, of course Jeff. I stole those words from Neil Kinnock of Britain's Labour Party... Oh, wait, that was Joe Biden who stole Kinnock's words (along with RFK's and a few other eminent politicians' speeches). Yes, those are my thoughts, I'm no plagiarist, though it was the U.S. Supreme Court in the Griswald decision that first discovered the Constitutional right to an abortion in "the penumbras (shady or uncertain areas) of the the Bill of Rights." Thanks for noticing!
A whole avalanche of nonsense and unreality here. I’m not going to tackle it all, because it’s Saturday and I’m in Hawai’i and have better things to do than correct errant twaddle. But a couple of comments before I hit the sand:
The preamble about “potential” voter fraud based on the process was the same hand-wringing trotted out in 2020, and there was no proof that the potential turned into real voter fraud. One of the few instances of real material voter fraud was perpetrated by a Republican candidate in NC What is really happening is continual Republican efforts at suppressing the vote, through unnecessary voter ID requirements intended to make it more difficult for likely Dem voters, shortening voting periods, placing obstacles in the path of felons who have completed their sentences in Florida, prohibiting people from passing out water and food at voter lines in Georgia, and Republican racial and extreme partisan gerrymandering.
As for the “merits” of a Trump candidacy, it is noteworthy that many of those he appointed to serve him want nothing to do with him now. He is an insurectionist, a fraudster, a chronic liar and a racist. He is also anti-union, anti-worker (e.g., refused to entertain an increase in the federal minimum wage), and cares only about the Second Amendment and perhaps the right of religious organizations to discriminate against employees and customers. Fortunately even SCOTUS conservatives (except for Thomas) saw a problem with allowing domestic abusers to possess firearms, and maybe even found there to be limits on how deep in amber our laws must be frozen.
Some of Mr. Buckley’s points don’t really fall within the purview of the presidency or federal authority, and confident that here in California most Republicans have little chance of success, I will not burden my keyboard with responding to those items (e.g., #1, 7, 12)
As for the border, Biden and company called the Republicans’ bluff by proposing and supporting restrictive legislation, also supported by some Republicans, until Trump put the kibosh on that, so he could have folks like Jim place it in columns like his.
It’s true, if you like the current SCOTUS majority — which opposes voting rights, civil rights, environmental regulation and workers’ rights, and is poised to dismantle the administrative state — Trump will no doubt appoint more such troglodytes. But even Justice Barrett in the recent gun case found obvious defects in the bogus “originalism” that purports to animate the analyses of the conservative majority. For those who prefer we not go backwards and take away peoples’ rights, and to not interpret progressive legislation in churlish and crabbed ways, Biden will make better appointments.
There was energy independent under Obama! But there is a balance between short-lived independence and threats to the environment that will be felt by our children and grandchildren.
With Trump labeling the media “enemies of the people” and vowing revenge against those who publish unkind things about him, and voicing a desire to erase NY Times v Sullivan to give him and his ilk even more ability to threaten people who dare to criticize him, I hardly think the First Amendment would be safe with Trump in charge.
Yes, Trump is quote proficient at bluster and posing as the tough guy. But his counterparts on the world stage laugh at him and his buffoonish ignorance. So he may make some who worry about the fall of the American empire feel good for now, because he’s superficially showing someone — not sure who- who’s boss, he’s generally the target of disrespect and ridicule.
Both parties will continue to bloat the defense budget. The difference is that the Dems will spend money to help people who have been left behind, or harmed by COVID or whatever next disaster occurs. The Republicans will continue their discredited “trickledown” approach.
Finally, there is a concern for the continuing existence of democracy as we know it. It’s far from perfect now, with Republicans overrepresented in Congress because of the inherent unrepresentative character of the Senate and gerrymandering. The Electoral College has outlived its usefulness, and the Supreme Court has become more political and corrupt and out of touch than ever before. Trump will, without any doubt, declare the election rigged if he does not win, he will probably tip his hand about that before a single ballot is cast, and he definitely won’t win the popular vote (another flaw in our system). He can be counted on to do the wrong thing, as the slogan MAGA implies: a yearning to go back to a mythical era when people knew their place, discrimination and segregation was OK, and there was no perceived “threat” from people of color. I, for one, don’t want to go back there, or back to the Trump Chaos/Racist/Provocateur/Misogynist?Sycophant/Revenge regime.
Oh Ira, Ira, your comments are just so, je ne sais pas, untrue (if I'm being kind, which I am trying to be). There is just so much that you "know" that isn't true that it's hardly worth trying to convince you otherwise. You're a Democrat; you'll vote for a Democrat. Let's just leave it at that. You like what Democrats have done; I don't. What more is there to say? I hope your side loses. I pray your side loses.
Thanks for the condescension, though I appreciate the absence of hostility. It still amazes me that anyone with intelligence can have observed Trump for 9 years and still find it palatable to vote for him. I have watched him for over 40, and recognize a con man when I see one. And worse. Woe to us if he returns to office. And I also fear what may be unleashed when he again declares his loss to be the result of an unfair process.
Ira: We're not voting for either of these men. We're voting on where we'd like to see the country go. These two men represent two entirely different directions and I, for one, prefer the direction that Mr. Trump has decided to take us. It really is as simple as that. I do believe also that until the Biden team (if that's what it is) comes up with a cogent reason for the dozens of LLCs formed by them to take in money and redistribute it, that they are more corrupt than any political group I've ever known.
Ira for future reference, you are not getting paid by the word here so just cut to the chase and drop the long strings of personal insults that frame most of your postings. You raise issues and policy points that deserve discussion and rebuttal. No need for your verbal battering rams.
Other than taking personal potshots at Trump, who is abundantly deserving because he is ultimately responsible for the state we find ourselves in (insofar as it is negative and threatening), I have aimed my fire at the policies and positions, not the individuals espousing them. Thanks for the advice. (I would note at least one brickbat sent in my direction talking about “you people”, a common personally hostile formulation.)
Democrat proposal to ignore 5000 illegal crossings a day was a non-starter. Do better than that if you want to call GOP resistance twaddle, Ira. Zero tolerance for illegal border crossings and zero tolerance for any election leakiness. High standards, but this country and its founding principles are worth it. Are you on board, or not Ira? Good enough for government work is not good enough.
Most Republicans were on board with the immigration legislation until Trump nixed it, for political campaign ammunition. What does “zero tolerance” look like? Do we take away even more money from education, infrastructure, healthcare, safety net programs, etc., in order to militarize the border? Do we shoot immigrants on sight? And for election “leakiness”? What does that mean? No election in which hundreds of millions of people vote according to various state-based rules is going to be perfect. But there was no widespread fraud, and no outcome-determinative abuse. When the Republicans are prepared to make it easier to vote, and actually assist in that effort, instead of suppressing it, and when they stop the gerrymandering that affords them more seats in Congress than the population calls for, then we can talk about exacting standards Never mind that Trump is already prepared to lose and to incite his mob when he does.
Zero tolerance is zero tolerance for election leakage and cheating. Not having government employee union members run most county election offices is a top priority - no one with a vested personal interest in election outcomes should be anywhere near our election processes.
Nothing is more fundamental than elections, so yes we take what ever money it takes to ensure their honesty and their timeliness. Period. That is what we do as our primary obligation to each other. The rest of taxpayer doles can just get in line. Nothing takes priority over ensuring every legal vote is counted as cast.
I cannot even fathom how you support cutting corners on this fundamental obligations we have with each other. Make your case, how does winking at illegality in elections work for you? Today's current election process especially in California is abhorrent.
Ira, Too bad Democrats and their deep state handmaidens did not accept the 2016 election, instead of undermining it from within. So much grief and money we could have saved.
Tell that to your racist birther advocate, who took the stage in 2011 to falsely tell the world that the first American African-American president was not eligible to run.
Ira: It was Obama himself, and the publicists hired to promote his first autobiography that claimed Mr. Obama was "Kenyan born." Yes, the opposition glommed onto it, but the blame for the controversy lies at the feet of Barack Obama.
Sorry, but Trump is responsible for his own lies, deception, provocation and continuing willingness to make and expand upon unsubstantiated and unsupportable allegations. What Obama’s literary agent said was an error. What Trump did with it was a racist cynical fraud.
Ira: You're kidding right? Biden's 51 intelligence officials called Hunter's laptop "garbage."? "Inflation was running at 9% when I took office"? I'd call those "lies" and "deception," wouldn't you?
My memory is Trump thought the whole controversy had gone on long enough and pushed for a final definitive conclusion - he had no skin in this game re. Obama, just that it was a waste of time and not good "branding" for the RINO's in charge of the GOP at the time. He forced a closure on this topic and he got it to the best of Obama's willingness to cooperate, or not.
Those were detours of the old GOP that a many have also put behind them. You are more than welcome to do the same and deal with why the "Trump movement" has replaced that former iteration of the Bush GOP. Smear the current new GOP all you want, but it only makes you look silly and refusing to do any homework on what is happening right now.
No one here is defending that older version of the neo-con GOP. Much like someday perhaps you will also reject the excesses of the new "progressive" craziness of your own party, the party of the big government employee unions. Democrats need to stand for far more than that too.
Parties evolve; they don’t volcanically erupt or shed their skins to form something brand new. It is impossible to analyze the present without some knowledge of the past. The Republican lurch toward racism began with Nixon and continued descending through Reagan, Gingrich and the Tea Party; so, coincidentally or not, did the Republicans’ veer into a party out to demonstrate and perpetrate the incompetence of government. The Democrats are less “progressive” and more corporate on economics, and have remained relatively progressive on social issues, which shouldn’t be an occasion for dismay. Of course neither party is a monolith, both have corporate wings, but I don’t agree with the characterization of the Democrats as the party of government unions.
Ira: How can you not characterise the Democrat Party as the party of government? At least 89% of their money and votes go to Democrats. Thanks to Democrats, government workers are among the wealthiest of Americans who work for a living.
I will accept your representation, but that doesn’t mean that Democrats are controlled by government workers or their agenda. I understand that Trump would like to screw and undermine the government workforce.
Ira, shall I assume you just can't help yourself? Labeling the GOP and by extension the Tea party as "racist". Do you mean Democrats felt threatened the GOP was taking that issue away from them? The party of the KKK and the Dixiecrat Jim Crow South?
GOP being a watchdog against Big Government incompetence will get my own vote every time. Crowing that Democrats demand government control over "social issues" is a strategic error, when pitted against those who want far more to be left alone and get government out of our lives in their increasingly petty and intrusive operations. (Big Brother - Big Government (D)) In this state we lost a balanced dialogue between these two parts of a necessary whole. That is where things went so very wrong.
Whose fault? Did GOP fail to maintain its own; or did it get totally undermined by Democrat crammed-down "election reform"? California is proof positive of the unsustainable state or letting SEIU and the teachers unions control all the levers of state politics.
It is laughable to claim Democrats are not the party of the government unions -it is the Democrats mother's milk and it plays out daily at out own very local level along with our now highly unfortunate California Democrat super-majority state of terminal dysfunction.
Even maverick former governor Jerry Brown admitted he had to kiss the ring of the unelected fourth branch of government - the teachers unions - before he embarked on any new government policy. recommendation. The full story of the past few decades of Democrat mono-control and dysfunction in this state has yet to play out in California. But it also finds few who want to emulate this Democrat free-fall in other parts of the nation.
Why is it that every time the current and longstanding party of racism is called out on it, the only answer is a reference to history that’s no longer applicable, and hasn’t been for at least 60 years? The Dixiecrats switched parties, and since the civil rights laws alienated the southern racists in the 60s (signed and lobbied for by LBJ), it’s been Republicans supporting the vestiges of the confederacy and calling the south to arms.
And Republicans are barking up the wrong tree when they blame education failures as they perceive them — we don’t teach the positive and beneficial aspects of slavery? — on teachers’ unions. Another common fallacy to cover up our shameful underfunding of public education, and fake solution of “choice” and market solutions.
Ira, one other thing before retiring your GOP "racist" labeling, did you ever watch Larry Elder's "Uncle Tom" documentary - interviews with Black conservatives? This video offers sharp contrast to LBJ's well-quoted desire to use the Great Society to maintain generations of Black voters as sole captives of the Democrat party.
Trump in fact is helping to realign those former traditional party voter demographics, which is quite an accomplishment for what you claim is the "racist" GOP Tea Party and/or MAGA movements.
We have found common ground - we both do agree each party is evolving. So instead of labels and pejorative slurs, let's both talk about where the future direction of this county needs to go on the Big Issues, not the name-calling. I think there is room for both sensibilities in the spectrum; between aspiration and pragmatism.
I do have to agree with Polly that the Republican and Democrat parties are, a good portion of the time, more a uni-party than two individual parties. I also agree with Jeff Barton that while there are some very good people in the Republican party that represent what I believe in, I can't say the same about the Democrat party. If/when Trump does get back in power what I would like to see him do is tighten the belt on the lobbying system in Washington D.C. which I think is greatly responsible for corrupting the politicians . I am not sure if that is even possible at this point as some lobbies are so powerful and pretty well entrenched in D.C. We can always hope though.
In addition to Jim's great list, I would highlight another reason to vote Trump/Republicans in 2024: NO NEW WARS. Trump was able to keep the regimes of both North Korea and Russia in check during his admin. Would Hamas and their Iranian backers have attacked Israel on Oct 7th if Trump was in the Oval Office? We will never know for sure but what we do know is that a weak president emboldens our adversaries. Trump and an increasing number of Republicans understand that our foreign policy should be "Peace Through Strength" not Biden's "War Through Weakness". Sadly, the only country that has benefited from Biden's foreign policy is China.
When you cast your vote in November, take a moment to consider how much more needless death, suffering, and destruction there has been around the world since Biden/Harris stepped into office.
Ending the existing wars and no new war got to be up in the list. For some of us that have been to war, the hideous nature and lack of humanity of it warrants attention on this list. Who wants or is willing to send their children and grandchildren to war? Please raise you hand.
Well said! This will likely trigger the usual commentators who are in favor of the current insanity. God allows leaders to be put in their positions of authority. The people in Washington DC, Sacramento and blue governments mistakenly believe that they are God.
They are not just fools, but are wittingly, or unwittingly working for the other team.
Look up Daniel 2:21
“ He changes times and seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding”
Yes. God needs to be at the center of all things. We are saved by grace, not deeds.
BigGovernment is on the 2024 ballot:
1. Do you want more Big Government? (D)
2. Do you want less Big Government? (R)
We are close to a critical tipping point in the entire nation, like the one already passed in California where the current Democrat super-majority cannot be dislodged, and the Democrat-voting takers exceeds those forced to perpetually fund them. The is not how America was intended to work.
With all due respect for your excellent column, I'm voting for Trump, not the Republican Party, which is as evil as the Democrats. Vote for the party that gave us the Bushes? McCain? Romney? The party that has never stood up for the working class in this country - that would be Trump, not the Republican Party. The party that just loves war, any war, any bombing of innocent civilians because they still think we should show the world who's boss. The party that says it doesn't support the transification of our public schools, but wimps out whenever it should fight. I will continue to vote for people over parties. It's the only future we have.
Polly: I know, I know. I agree that we can do without the Romneys, Bushes, McCains, et al, but if we don't bring along Republicans, the president won't be able to accomplish much! Just hold your nose and vote for the big R whenever and wherever you can. The rest will sort itself out, but we'll go nowhere without a majority!
Get drunk and vote Republican!
GREAT idea Granny! Though I must say, I can't wait to vote for Donald Trump. I've grown accustomed to his silly grin, his walk, his demeanour. He's been humbled since his brash ride down that golden escalator and it suits him. Oh, and of course, I love his policies and attitude towards government. I am also going to enjoy the men and women he will surround himself with in his new administration (if he wins). All the good guys: Sarah Huckabee as VP, and then there's Vivek Ramaswamy, Marco Rubio, JD Vance, Lee Zeldin, and, well, you know the thing...
My husband and I are currently awaiting sentencing for peacefully assembling at the Capitol. Nobody will be voting for Trump (for the third time) with more enthusiasm than us. My suggestion is for people who are having trouble voting for those often disappointing Republicans candidates down ticket. You are 100% correct that Trump needs a GOP Congress to quickly enact his agenda to make America great again.
Granny: Please contact me at jim@sbcurrent.com; I have lost track of your email address and we need to talk about your trial and upcoming sentencing!
I agree that the Republican party has provided us with some monumental disappointments including Paul Ryan but also some great leaders like Trump and Reagan. Today, I can't think of a single politician from the Democrat party that I can support. By contrast recall the stage for the Republican presidential debates. While there were a few I could not support, especially Christie and Haley, there were four amazing candidates better than anything the Democrat party has to offer; Desantis, Ramaswami, Burgum and Scott are standouts.
I agree with you, Jeff, about those candidates. However, if the Republican Party is in power the way the Democratic Party is, we will still be in the hands of the Dr. Strangeloves who are intent on nuclear war with Russia. I'm not convinced either that the R Party can stand up to either the Democratic Party or to the CIA - which is clearly using the open border and fighting age illegal men to create conditions for the kinds of coups they've done for decades in other countries, only this time it will be the US. The R Party as a whole has not stood up to the Democratic Party and told them to stop but they're happy to do that to protect other countries. But what about this one? To me, this means the Republicans are hopeless as a whole.
GOP has not had the full mandate of the voters due to the GOP willingness to be divided and conquered over side issues, which even left Kamala Harris to cast tie-breaking votes against us.
That alone should stiffen all reluctant GOP resolve to work as a full team and finally get in the door with enough numbers to finally make the necessary change we all know that are needed. .
Dividing the GOP is part of the Democrat agenda. So who in fact does not really have the "backbone" to face down the Democrats? The GOP who got split off over side issues from the over-all GOP agenda. The 80:20 Rule.
Like Mitt Romney's recent really stupid statement using E. Jean Carroll specious case against Trump in a NYC court room is enough to demand Trump's 2024 defeat.
Don't get me started about how disgusting Romney is. Ok, I'm started! I knew E Jean Carroll. She used to be a smart, sassy, hilarious sex columnist. She gave a great blurb to one of my booms I don't know what happened to her or for that matter, so many of the smart media people I knew. Trump did not rape her. It's ridiculous. And for Romney to talk like that … could he just shut up?
She forgets her era was channeling their inner Erica Jong. Turning the highly sought after "Z.F", per wildly popular Ms Jong, into cash a few decades later is remarkable alchemy.
I don't know her personally but Erica Jong is very smart. Her daughter, Molly, is a scoldy, untalented, bitter drag who resents her mother. And Molly is one of the people who was egging on E Jean..
Especially Doug Burgum. I sure hope Trumpy selects him for VP. Smart, tough, proven straight talker. Will make a great presidential candidate in '28
Jeff , you place Trump and Reagan in the same sentence. You should know better. They are (were) two polar opposites.
One thing I can state with 100% certainty is that Nancy would never ever have let Ron associate with the likes of Trump. You never heard stories of a married man Ronald Reagan cavorting around hotel rooms chasing porn stars around with his trousers around his ankles. This while his wife was at home caring for a newborn son.
Not polar opposites at all. In most important ways they are alike. Both believed in free market solutions rather than government solutions. Both saw government as too big and too powerful.
Do you vote for character or policy in a president? The establishment wants to define Trump as a corrupt deranged pervert and want you to vote against his character. Let me remind you that the white house has been occupied by men of many different characters. Clinton famously soiled an intern's dress and used a cigar in unconventional ways, Kennedy was a man of many extramarital affairs, LBJ was an irredeemable pig, Biden has used his office for financial gain, Trump had sex with a woman whose job is to have sex for money. The difference is that the Democrat party and the RINOS want this to be the only thing you consider or think about when considering Trump. Alinsky was smart, most people can be manipulated by their emotions to facilitate their own demise.
Mr. Barton , there are many other issues that make Trump a liability as the potential leader of our country, although I fear pointing them out to you would only invite more whataboutisms from you and your fellow Trumpers on this site.
Slow Joe won by a wide margin in 2020, a fact that Republicans have refused to acknowledge until they realized that silliness had become a political liability. .
I would like to hear the other issues which make the great Donald John Trump unsuitable to lead this country. Surely you have something more tawdry than soiling a 21 year old's dress with semen and probing her womanly crevasse with a cohiba robusto within the sanctuary of the white house. That aside, isn't it more logical to vote for the president with policy that is best for you and best for America? Are you better off now with high inflation, high gas prices, high food prices, two wars, open borders, over 10 million unvetted illegal aliens with extended hands in this country? Do you enjoy paying for free healthcare ( $10,000 annual benefit) to illegal aliens? How about Biden defying the supreme court to forgive student loan debt? Talk about a threat to democracy, our democracy hinges on separation of powers. Do you like your daughter being whipped by a man in women's sports?
Corruption and disregard for the law Jeff. It’s glaring you right in the face but you chose to turn a blind eye.
Rick Gates: Convicted
Paul Manafort: Convicted
George Papadopoulos: Convicted
Mike Flynn: Convicted
Michael Cohen: Convicted
Roger Stone: Convicted, pardoned
Steve Bannon: Arrested, indicted, pardoned, held in contempt by Congress, indicted, arrested, convicted. indicted in NY state.
Allen Weisselberg: Convicted, plead guilty to 15 counts, sentenced to five months. Indicted for perjury and pleaded guilty. Sentenced to 5 months.
Rudy Giuliani: RAIDED, Law License Suspended for lies, indicted in GA investigation, Sued for $148 million, declares bankruptcy. Indicted AGAIN in AZ
Trump Organization: Convicted on 17 counts of criminal tax fraud and falsifying business records.
Peter Navarro: Held in contempt by Congress, arrested by DOJ, convicted. 4 month sentence.
John Eastman: Indicted in GA Indicted AGAIN in AZ
Mark Meadows: Indicted in GA Indicted AGAIN in AZ
Kenneth Chesebro: GUILTY in GA
Jeffrey Clark: Indicted in GA
Jenna Ellis: GUILTY in GA Indicted AGAIN in AZ
Ray Smith: Indicted in GA
Robert Cheeley: Indicted in GA
Michael Roman: Indicted in GA Indicted AGAIN in AZ
David Shafer: Indicted in GA
Stephen Lee: Indicted in GA
Harrison Floyd: Indicted in GA
Trevian C. Kutti: Indicted in GA
Sidney Powell: GUILTY in GA
Cathleen Latham: Indicted in GA
Shawn Still: Indicted in GA
Scott Graham Hall: GUILTY in GA
Misty Hampton: Indicted in GA
Christina Bobb Indicted AGAIN in AZ
Boris Epshteyn Indicted AGAIN in AZ
Mike Roman Indicted AGAIN in AZ
Donald Trump: Impeached 2x, RAIDED by the FBI, sued and criminally referred to SDNY and IRS. Found liable for sexual abuse and defamation ordered to pay $5 million, then $83.3 million. Indicted on 34 counts of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degreein Manhattan, convicted on ALL CHARGES. Indicted 40 times by the DOJ for obstruction and stolen classified docs. Indicted 4 counts by the DOJ for Jan 6th. Indicted 13 counts in GA under RICO. Fined $464 million for FRAUD by NY state. Unindicted co-conspirator AZ
Don Trump Jr: Sued by NY for fraud, fined $4 million
Eric Trump: Sued by NY for fraud, fined $4 million
Mike Lindell: Under DOJ investigation for identity theft and conspiracy
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Right on Jim! In spite of the fact that the Commie-Dems are turning the U.S. into a 3rd-world siht-hole and Trump did such a great job last time, we can’t take anything for granted. We need to mitigate the Democrats’ under-handed ballot counting shenanigans. Here’s how:
a) Form a gung-ho task-force that investigates every possible ballot counting / cheating incident.
b) If even the slightest hint is found, immediately try to arrest the suspect and charge him with everything possible. The idea is to let others know that this is a major crime, will be investigated throughly, and the criminals will be dealt with harshly. Potential vote riggers probably have other legal problems and won’t be anxious for more.
c) Learn from the Democrats and pay our people to go out to the homeless camps, under bridges, parks etc. and get any warm body to vote for Trump. Obviously we can’t pay them, but how about a once a week party with free booze - all they have to do is bring a friend . I’m not talking ‘Voter Registration Drive’, I’m talking ‘Poll Party’, ‘Ballot Bash’, or my favorite - ‘Vote-a-Palooza’.
The Democrats think of us as a bunch of boy-scouts,(they’re right!), more interested in doing the ‘right thing’ rather than winning. We need some GOP street fighters!
I like the "Vote-a-Palooza" idea! But, I wonder if my friends will like the Beaujolais and Brie that I plan to bring??
Being more than generous to Nancy Pelosi's failure to secure the Capitol grounds on Jan 6, she may well have thought it would just be one more Tea Party gathering who have long been know to be quiet, polite. and pick up their own trash. So why would extra troops have been required?
Missing entirely and/or intentionally the agent provocateurs of unknown origin, who wanted to exploit this peaceful and lawful Trump inspired redress of their grievances against the government. In support of those who did lawfully ask for a review of their state's electoral vote certification process.
J - I especially like your reference to the ‘agent provocateurs’ - spies in the Jan 6 crowd exploiting a bunch of folks milling around being ‘patriotic’. Sure there were a few jerks who though it would be fun to go into private offices etc. and act stupid, which is why _any_ large group needs plenty of security, but you can bet your boots there were some adversaries promoting bad behavior.
A. If you have a brain you might notice, that electoral votes determine who the president is, and the results are announced days before they finish tallying the individual opinion polls. Having said that, I will probably vote Biden because I am offended by the small minded bigotry of Trump's campaign. My fiance is transgender, and is the most sensitive beautiful man I have ever met in my life, with an enormous heart, a brilliant mind, and a thunderous pair of stones. He breaks my heart open and blows my mind and has made me grow as a person. If you really feel that bashing on the rights of minorities is "American" (I thought 🤔 our country was supposed to be about equal rights for all) then you might need to read your constitution and open your narrow, small little mind up. The Nazis lost the war.
Hmm, Noelle: Just how has President Trump bashed "on the rights of minorities?"
Noelle, ACLU is pretty unhinged about this topic. I recommend you read more widely than their hysteria and hyperbole. Melania Trump is certainly the antithesis of your attacks on any incoming Trump administration. Trump does take a stand about protecting parents rights for their own minor children, but out of this reasonable stand ACLU has fabricated an entirely anti-gay anti-trans Trump apocalypse. That much intentional disinformation alone should scare you about the anti-Trump message ACLU is now sending out.
Trump has never done anything to limit the rights of any group. Can you name one policy that Trump enacted as president that limited the rights of any group? That you think otherwise is only due to the success of the propaganda campaign intended to create fear. So, your fiancé is a transgender man? Does that mean it has a penis or a vagina? Does it wear a dress and a bra? If it has a thunderous pair of stones does that mean it is a man? I am truly confused.
Trump has appointed judges and other administrative nominees who don’t believe in civil rights. E.g., known racist Jeff Sessions. He appointed three SCOTUS justices who voted to eliminate Roe v Wade, and they and their colleagues on the lower federal courts can be expected to continue to vote the wrong way on civil rights issues, except they will permit gun owners to enjoy their firearms and religious believers to discriminate against non-believers.
Interesting how you people always bring up Roe v Wade. What is your obsession with killing babies and calling it a constitutional right? You know that Roe v Wade was a bad ruling from the start. Even your beloved RBG and Dershowitz admitted that it would eventually be overturned. The convoluted argument that the right to privacy confers a right to kill a baby is clearly not the intentions of the framers. Also, can you explain how Sessions is a racist? Plus, your language is astounding. Vote the wrong way on civil rights issues? What constitutes the wrong vote on a civil rights issue? Now firearms, it is pretty clearly in the constitution right next to the amendment on abortion. Finally, I am not aware of religious believers discriminating against non-believers.
The fundamental principle of Roe v Wade is found in the right of privacy, which Republicans used to believe in, and has animated other applications of civil rights, like the right to contraception and to be consensually intimate with anyone one chooses. Do you still believe in those rights? At least Justice Thomas has said he wants to use Dobbs as a platform to reexamine those rights as well. It should not be a subject for legislation.
As for Sessions’ racism, take a look (for one easily accessible example) at a December 2, 2016 WaPo article by Michelle Ye Hee Lee entitled “Jeff Sessions’S comments ion race: For the Record.” E.g., he’s called the NAACP “un-American” and doing more harm than good. That is just the tip of the iceberg. He of course showed no interest in prosecuting racial gerrymandering, and Trump was happy with that.
As for ruling the wrong way on civil rights, check out the Shelby Supreme Court case, and others decimating the Voting Rights Act. The renewal of that Act was overwhelmingly passed by Congress, and while SCOTUS is supposed to defer to Congressional findings and policy, the Roberts majority chose not to do so in that case. Justice Alito has never found a non-white civil rights plaintiff — other than one suing a union — with a righteous case. In general, the conservatives find ways to limit, restrict, and circumvent civil rights and labor laws designed to level the playing field.
As for the Second Amendment, it was perhaps the only constitutional amendment that contained its own limiting rationale right in its language, and that language was historically read to limit its application, until the gun nuts and Federalists, abdicating their textualism in service to the NRA, expanded the Second Amendment into the menace it is today.
Religious discrimination is practiced by the likes of Hobby Lobby, and any other employer providing health care that doesn’t want to pay for certain healthcare treatments on religious grounds, and doesn’t want to bake cakes celebrating people and “lifestyles” they disagree with.
Ira: Your supposition that employers such as Hobby Lobby and others don't want "to bake cakes celebrating people and 'lifestyles' they disagree with" is just so much false equivalency and propaganda. Any and every baker in the land will sell his cakes to anyone and everyone in the land. Asking them to decorate that cake to glorify something they don't approve of, however, is a whole different piece of cake. If you agree with your own premise – that every bakery should be required by law to inscribe any direction given by a customer –, then congratulations for putting the finishing touches on that black-and-red cake topped with a Swastika and inscribed with "Heil Hitler!" If that's too rash, perhaps the "Death to Jews (or Gays, or Lesbians)" cake that nice little old lady is waiting for will do.
Rights are few, specifically enumerated and given by God. What is wrong with leaving these extraconstitutional issues to the state? You mention contraception and your right to have sex with a nonbinary twink. Neither is a constitutional right and should be governed by statute state by state. Just a dumb example to validate your point that everything you want should be a right protected at the federal level. The jails are full of people in for using a contraceptive.
These are not “extraconstitutional” issues. For one thing, in California fortunately there is an explicit right to privacy. Not sure what the significance is of your view that the rights were “given by God”, though it’s hard to believe that those differ from state to state, country to country. Some rights should be exercised at the discretion of the individual. There is nothing inherently wrong with leaving certain personal issues to the state for regulation, though the history in this country on that score is fraught. And there is talk of Republicans advocating for a national (federal) ban on abortion. Would that be OK with you?
No express right to privacy in the US constitution; nor the right to 18 years of mandatory child support which fuels much of the pro-abortion argument as well. Run that one up the courts.
Conservatives do support protection of private property from confiscation by the government, state or federal. As expressly set out under the US Constitution (search, seizure and eminent domain) and/or state statute which does impose greater, or lesser, private property protection rights.
Pick your home state with care, since California (Monique Limon and Gregg Hart) erodes private property right expectations virtually every day.
Looking forward to the upcoming SCOTUS Chevron deference ruling. The people through constitutional process decide if court appointees "defer" too much, and are in need of change. And as the esteemed Kamala Harris once uttered, .......that time is now.
You might enjoy the current SCOTUS’ deference ruling, but if it comes out as expected, it will mean more power in the hands of unelected federal judges with lifetime tenure. At least with deference to administrative agencies, those policies can and do change with electoral change, admittedly for better and worse.
Judges rule on express rights; they don't make them up. Nor condone those who did, such as the Roe v. Wade SCOTUS judges who simply made up the bogus "right to privacy" in order to justify voluntary infanticide. Trump-appointed judges made the right US constitutional decision, on what was clearly an express state rights matter.
Yes, I can see that your confused. Perhaps you should talk to a licensed therapist about that, and get educated about transgenderism before publicly discussing... He is anatomically male. Biologically, however those two things are not limited to one or the other. Many of them have been exposed to profuse abuse resulting in psychological damage, sometimes at the hands of their parents which may be why schools don't share their identity with parents.
Did you say you're voting for Biden ? ! ! ! You're kidding, right? Another 4 years like the last four is ok with you?
This discussion reminds me of our Flag Day drive in a convoy of vehicles carrying American flags and an occasional Trump flag: About 60 % gave us thumbs up and shouts of encouragement. 40 % yelled obscenities and gave us the middle finger. The latter response particularly dominated driving on Coast Village Rd in Montecito. Wealth obviously does not correlate with wisdom or civility. Regardless, it was fun, and a good showing for opinions not typical in our blue city. It was better than I expected, however.
Great list, great reasons.
Trump is often criticized for excessive spending contributing to the deficit and thereby contributing to today's inflation. I would argue that although he did contribute to the deficit his policies boosted productivity through business-friendly policy and deregulation. Inflation has two facets, money supply and productivity. Productivity has been destroyed by regulation and business-hostile policy under Biden. The combination of deficit spending and reduced productivity under Biden has caused inflation.
While reading this article I thought to myself, if ever there was an article to stir up the Santa Barbara Marxist peanut gallery this is it. Then at the end I read that the comment section is today limited to paid subscribers. I see it as a gag order on the Lefties who apparently can't cough up a few bucks to support the forum they enjoy reading or commenting on.
I love this language. Jim, is it of your own creation? "maintain a court that relies on the original words of the U.S. Constitution and not the “feelings” or “emanations” given off by the penumbra of those words"
Well, of course Jeff. I stole those words from Neil Kinnock of Britain's Labour Party... Oh, wait, that was Joe Biden who stole Kinnock's words (along with RFK's and a few other eminent politicians' speeches). Yes, those are my thoughts, I'm no plagiarist, though it was the U.S. Supreme Court in the Griswald decision that first discovered the Constitutional right to an abortion in "the penumbras (shady or uncertain areas) of the the Bill of Rights." Thanks for noticing!
Great sentence. I love words well arranged.
Where the heck is Nancy . . . "Always wrong but never in doubt" . . . Freeman? I loved her rants.
Name one of these Christian values that relate to Trump.
Honesty
Fidelity
Humility
Charity.
You can’t do it. Trump is a faux Chtistian mining gullible folks for their votes and money.
Slow Joe goes to church every Sunday with no fanfare.
A whole avalanche of nonsense and unreality here. I’m not going to tackle it all, because it’s Saturday and I’m in Hawai’i and have better things to do than correct errant twaddle. But a couple of comments before I hit the sand:
The preamble about “potential” voter fraud based on the process was the same hand-wringing trotted out in 2020, and there was no proof that the potential turned into real voter fraud. One of the few instances of real material voter fraud was perpetrated by a Republican candidate in NC What is really happening is continual Republican efforts at suppressing the vote, through unnecessary voter ID requirements intended to make it more difficult for likely Dem voters, shortening voting periods, placing obstacles in the path of felons who have completed their sentences in Florida, prohibiting people from passing out water and food at voter lines in Georgia, and Republican racial and extreme partisan gerrymandering.
As for the “merits” of a Trump candidacy, it is noteworthy that many of those he appointed to serve him want nothing to do with him now. He is an insurectionist, a fraudster, a chronic liar and a racist. He is also anti-union, anti-worker (e.g., refused to entertain an increase in the federal minimum wage), and cares only about the Second Amendment and perhaps the right of religious organizations to discriminate against employees and customers. Fortunately even SCOTUS conservatives (except for Thomas) saw a problem with allowing domestic abusers to possess firearms, and maybe even found there to be limits on how deep in amber our laws must be frozen.
Some of Mr. Buckley’s points don’t really fall within the purview of the presidency or federal authority, and confident that here in California most Republicans have little chance of success, I will not burden my keyboard with responding to those items (e.g., #1, 7, 12)
As for the border, Biden and company called the Republicans’ bluff by proposing and supporting restrictive legislation, also supported by some Republicans, until Trump put the kibosh on that, so he could have folks like Jim place it in columns like his.
It’s true, if you like the current SCOTUS majority — which opposes voting rights, civil rights, environmental regulation and workers’ rights, and is poised to dismantle the administrative state — Trump will no doubt appoint more such troglodytes. But even Justice Barrett in the recent gun case found obvious defects in the bogus “originalism” that purports to animate the analyses of the conservative majority. For those who prefer we not go backwards and take away peoples’ rights, and to not interpret progressive legislation in churlish and crabbed ways, Biden will make better appointments.
There was energy independent under Obama! But there is a balance between short-lived independence and threats to the environment that will be felt by our children and grandchildren.
With Trump labeling the media “enemies of the people” and vowing revenge against those who publish unkind things about him, and voicing a desire to erase NY Times v Sullivan to give him and his ilk even more ability to threaten people who dare to criticize him, I hardly think the First Amendment would be safe with Trump in charge.
Yes, Trump is quote proficient at bluster and posing as the tough guy. But his counterparts on the world stage laugh at him and his buffoonish ignorance. So he may make some who worry about the fall of the American empire feel good for now, because he’s superficially showing someone — not sure who- who’s boss, he’s generally the target of disrespect and ridicule.
Both parties will continue to bloat the defense budget. The difference is that the Dems will spend money to help people who have been left behind, or harmed by COVID or whatever next disaster occurs. The Republicans will continue their discredited “trickledown” approach.
Finally, there is a concern for the continuing existence of democracy as we know it. It’s far from perfect now, with Republicans overrepresented in Congress because of the inherent unrepresentative character of the Senate and gerrymandering. The Electoral College has outlived its usefulness, and the Supreme Court has become more political and corrupt and out of touch than ever before. Trump will, without any doubt, declare the election rigged if he does not win, he will probably tip his hand about that before a single ballot is cast, and he definitely won’t win the popular vote (another flaw in our system). He can be counted on to do the wrong thing, as the slogan MAGA implies: a yearning to go back to a mythical era when people knew their place, discrimination and segregation was OK, and there was no perceived “threat” from people of color. I, for one, don’t want to go back there, or back to the Trump Chaos/Racist/Provocateur/Misogynist?Sycophant/Revenge regime.
Oh Ira, Ira, your comments are just so, je ne sais pas, untrue (if I'm being kind, which I am trying to be). There is just so much that you "know" that isn't true that it's hardly worth trying to convince you otherwise. You're a Democrat; you'll vote for a Democrat. Let's just leave it at that. You like what Democrats have done; I don't. What more is there to say? I hope your side loses. I pray your side loses.
Thanks for the condescension, though I appreciate the absence of hostility. It still amazes me that anyone with intelligence can have observed Trump for 9 years and still find it palatable to vote for him. I have watched him for over 40, and recognize a con man when I see one. And worse. Woe to us if he returns to office. And I also fear what may be unleashed when he again declares his loss to be the result of an unfair process.
Ira: We're not voting for either of these men. We're voting on where we'd like to see the country go. These two men represent two entirely different directions and I, for one, prefer the direction that Mr. Trump has decided to take us. It really is as simple as that. I do believe also that until the Biden team (if that's what it is) comes up with a cogent reason for the dozens of LLCs formed by them to take in money and redistribute it, that they are more corrupt than any political group I've ever known.
Ira for future reference, you are not getting paid by the word here so just cut to the chase and drop the long strings of personal insults that frame most of your postings. You raise issues and policy points that deserve discussion and rebuttal. No need for your verbal battering rams.
Other than taking personal potshots at Trump, who is abundantly deserving because he is ultimately responsible for the state we find ourselves in (insofar as it is negative and threatening), I have aimed my fire at the policies and positions, not the individuals espousing them. Thanks for the advice. (I would note at least one brickbat sent in my direction talking about “you people”, a common personally hostile formulation.)
Democrat proposal to ignore 5000 illegal crossings a day was a non-starter. Do better than that if you want to call GOP resistance twaddle, Ira. Zero tolerance for illegal border crossings and zero tolerance for any election leakiness. High standards, but this country and its founding principles are worth it. Are you on board, or not Ira? Good enough for government work is not good enough.
Most Republicans were on board with the immigration legislation until Trump nixed it, for political campaign ammunition. What does “zero tolerance” look like? Do we take away even more money from education, infrastructure, healthcare, safety net programs, etc., in order to militarize the border? Do we shoot immigrants on sight? And for election “leakiness”? What does that mean? No election in which hundreds of millions of people vote according to various state-based rules is going to be perfect. But there was no widespread fraud, and no outcome-determinative abuse. When the Republicans are prepared to make it easier to vote, and actually assist in that effort, instead of suppressing it, and when they stop the gerrymandering that affords them more seats in Congress than the population calls for, then we can talk about exacting standards Never mind that Trump is already prepared to lose and to incite his mob when he does.
Zero tolerance is zero tolerance for election leakage and cheating. Not having government employee union members run most county election offices is a top priority - no one with a vested personal interest in election outcomes should be anywhere near our election processes.
Nothing is more fundamental than elections, so yes we take what ever money it takes to ensure their honesty and their timeliness. Period. That is what we do as our primary obligation to each other. The rest of taxpayer doles can just get in line. Nothing takes priority over ensuring every legal vote is counted as cast.
I cannot even fathom how you support cutting corners on this fundamental obligations we have with each other. Make your case, how does winking at illegality in elections work for you? Today's current election process especially in California is abhorrent.
Ira, Too bad Democrats and their deep state handmaidens did not accept the 2016 election, instead of undermining it from within. So much grief and money we could have saved.
Tell that to your racist birther advocate, who took the stage in 2011 to falsely tell the world that the first American African-American president was not eligible to run.
Ira: It was Obama himself, and the publicists hired to promote his first autobiography that claimed Mr. Obama was "Kenyan born." Yes, the opposition glommed onto it, but the blame for the controversy lies at the feet of Barack Obama.
Sorry, but Trump is responsible for his own lies, deception, provocation and continuing willingness to make and expand upon unsubstantiated and unsupportable allegations. What Obama’s literary agent said was an error. What Trump did with it was a racist cynical fraud.
Ira: You're kidding right? Biden's 51 intelligence officials called Hunter's laptop "garbage."? "Inflation was running at 9% when I took office"? I'd call those "lies" and "deception," wouldn't you?
Whataboutism at its finest. Hunter is not running for president. And not all misrepresentations or misstatements are lies, and not all lies are fraud. But in terms of lying and misrepresentation, criminal or otherwise, Trump is the undisputed champion. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/01/24/trumps-false-or-misleading-claims-total-30573-over-four-years/
My memory is Trump thought the whole controversy had gone on long enough and pushed for a final definitive conclusion - he had no skin in this game re. Obama, just that it was a waste of time and not good "branding" for the RINO's in charge of the GOP at the time. He forced a closure on this topic and he got it to the best of Obama's willingness to cooperate, or not.
Those were detours of the old GOP that a many have also put behind them. You are more than welcome to do the same and deal with why the "Trump movement" has replaced that former iteration of the Bush GOP. Smear the current new GOP all you want, but it only makes you look silly and refusing to do any homework on what is happening right now.
No one here is defending that older version of the neo-con GOP. Much like someday perhaps you will also reject the excesses of the new "progressive" craziness of your own party, the party of the big government employee unions. Democrats need to stand for far more than that too.
Parties evolve; they don’t volcanically erupt or shed their skins to form something brand new. It is impossible to analyze the present without some knowledge of the past. The Republican lurch toward racism began with Nixon and continued descending through Reagan, Gingrich and the Tea Party; so, coincidentally or not, did the Republicans’ veer into a party out to demonstrate and perpetrate the incompetence of government. The Democrats are less “progressive” and more corporate on economics, and have remained relatively progressive on social issues, which shouldn’t be an occasion for dismay. Of course neither party is a monolith, both have corporate wings, but I don’t agree with the characterization of the Democrats as the party of government unions.
Ira: How can you not characterise the Democrat Party as the party of government? At least 89% of their money and votes go to Democrats. Thanks to Democrats, government workers are among the wealthiest of Americans who work for a living.
I will accept your representation, but that doesn’t mean that Democrats are controlled by government workers or their agenda. I understand that Trump would like to screw and undermine the government workforce.
Ira, shall I assume you just can't help yourself? Labeling the GOP and by extension the Tea party as "racist". Do you mean Democrats felt threatened the GOP was taking that issue away from them? The party of the KKK and the Dixiecrat Jim Crow South?
GOP being a watchdog against Big Government incompetence will get my own vote every time. Crowing that Democrats demand government control over "social issues" is a strategic error, when pitted against those who want far more to be left alone and get government out of our lives in their increasingly petty and intrusive operations. (Big Brother - Big Government (D)) In this state we lost a balanced dialogue between these two parts of a necessary whole. That is where things went so very wrong.
Whose fault? Did GOP fail to maintain its own; or did it get totally undermined by Democrat crammed-down "election reform"? California is proof positive of the unsustainable state or letting SEIU and the teachers unions control all the levers of state politics.
It is laughable to claim Democrats are not the party of the government unions -it is the Democrats mother's milk and it plays out daily at out own very local level along with our now highly unfortunate California Democrat super-majority state of terminal dysfunction.
Even maverick former governor Jerry Brown admitted he had to kiss the ring of the unelected fourth branch of government - the teachers unions - before he embarked on any new government policy. recommendation. The full story of the past few decades of Democrat mono-control and dysfunction in this state has yet to play out in California. But it also finds few who want to emulate this Democrat free-fall in other parts of the nation.
Why is it that every time the current and longstanding party of racism is called out on it, the only answer is a reference to history that’s no longer applicable, and hasn’t been for at least 60 years? The Dixiecrats switched parties, and since the civil rights laws alienated the southern racists in the 60s (signed and lobbied for by LBJ), it’s been Republicans supporting the vestiges of the confederacy and calling the south to arms.
And Republicans are barking up the wrong tree when they blame education failures as they perceive them — we don’t teach the positive and beneficial aspects of slavery? — on teachers’ unions. Another common fallacy to cover up our shameful underfunding of public education, and fake solution of “choice” and market solutions.
Ira, one other thing before retiring your GOP "racist" labeling, did you ever watch Larry Elder's "Uncle Tom" documentary - interviews with Black conservatives? This video offers sharp contrast to LBJ's well-quoted desire to use the Great Society to maintain generations of Black voters as sole captives of the Democrat party.
Trump in fact is helping to realign those former traditional party voter demographics, which is quite an accomplishment for what you claim is the "racist" GOP Tea Party and/or MAGA movements.
We have found common ground - we both do agree each party is evolving. So instead of labels and pejorative slurs, let's both talk about where the future direction of this county needs to go on the Big Issues, not the name-calling. I think there is room for both sensibilities in the spectrum; between aspiration and pragmatism.
Do people really want this?
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/06/16/us/politics/trump-policy-list-2025.html?unlocked_article_code=1.0E0.Di_O.VPoP0ALObkS8&smid=url-share
1, 2, 3, 5, 11, and 12 are definately on my list. Lots of untrained and unsafe people on 2.
I do have to agree with Polly that the Republican and Democrat parties are, a good portion of the time, more a uni-party than two individual parties. I also agree with Jeff Barton that while there are some very good people in the Republican party that represent what I believe in, I can't say the same about the Democrat party. If/when Trump does get back in power what I would like to see him do is tighten the belt on the lobbying system in Washington D.C. which I think is greatly responsible for corrupting the politicians . I am not sure if that is even possible at this point as some lobbies are so powerful and pretty well entrenched in D.C. We can always hope though.
I just hope Trumpy keeps one thing firmly in mind for all the harm that's been done to him - _retribution_!