U.S. Senators advanced landmark <a href="https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/RMA%20and%20Amendment%20One-Pager_FINAL_3.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">legislation</a> Tuesday, 61-36, that would codify same-sex marriage protections into law, despite opposition from most GOP lawmakers who argue the bill&#8217;s language infringes on religious freedoms.
Senate Democrats unanimously supported — with the help of some Republicans — the Respect for Marriage Act, which repeals the Defense of Marriage Act that legally defined marriage as between one man and one woman and permitted states not to recognize same-sex marriages from other states.
The bill would not force states to allow same-sex couples to marry under the Supreme Court&#8217;s 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision. It would, however, make it so that any &#8220;person acting under color of State law&#8221; fully recognizes marriage between two people in another state and that the federal government must recognize marriages if they were valid in the state where the marriage occurred.
&#8220;I hope we can get it done with all due speed because millions of Americans deserve equal justice under the law and the peace of mind knowing their right to marry the person they love is protected,&#8221; Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said Monday.
Schumer and congressional Democrats moved the bill quickly allegedly out of fear that the Supreme Court would take up the landmark 2015 ruling that legalized marriage nationwide after overturning Roe v. Wade last summer.
Since the bill first worked through the halls of Congress, Senate Democrats worked to garner ten GOP votes — enough to clear the 60-vote filibuster threshold.
Oklahoma Republican Senator James Lankford, who proposed an amendment addressing religious liberty concerns, warned that the language fails to place any restrictions which would cause entities such as nonprofits or faith-based organizations to choose not to provide those services or to &#8220;abandon their faith.&#8221;
&#8220;I encourage everyone in this body to ask a very simple question to themselves: is today about respecting the rights of all?&#8221; Lankford said on the Senate floor. &#8220;Or is it about silencing some?&#8221;
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) called on his Republican colleagues in favor of the legislation to include protections for anyone with a religious belief or moral conviction that marriage belongs to one man and one woman.
Lee introduced an amendment prohibiting federal bureaucrats from discriminating against individuals, organizations, and other religious entities by stripping away tax-exempt status, licenses, contracts, or other benefits.
&#8220;Instead of subjecting churches, religious nonprofits, and persons of conscience to undue scrutiny or punishment by the federal government because of their views on marriage, we should make explicitly clear that this legislation does not constitute a national policy endorsing a particular view of marriage that threatens the tax-exempt status of faith-based nonprofits,&#8221; he wrote. &#8220;As we move forward, let us be sure to keep churches, religious charities, and religious universities out of litigation in the first instance.&#8221;
Neither Lankford, Lee, or Sen. Marco Rubio&#8217;s (R-FL) amendments to the bill passed.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) echoed that the religious groups lacked protection under the bill and said that same-sex marriage should be left to the states.
“I think the constitution is silent on this issue,” Hawley said, according to an <a href="https://www.wfla.com/news/washington-dc/senate-prepares-to-vote-on-lgbtq-marriage-bill/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NBC</a> affiliate. “Churches and religious organizations and religious persons I think will have their liberties infringed.”
Roger Severino, vice president of domestic policy at the Heritage Foundation, wrote in a recent blog <a href="https://www.heritage.org/marriage-and-family/commentary/fact-checking-7-claims-defenders-democrats-same-sex-marriage-bill" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post</a> arguing against the bill that &#8220;marriage is the exclusive, lifelong, conjugal union between one man and one woman— and any departure from that design hurts the indispensable goal of having every child raised in a stable home by the mom and dad who conceived him.&#8221;
Republican senators that voted in favor of the bill included Roy Blunt (MO), Richard Burr (NC), Shelley Moore Capito (WV), Susan Collins (ME), Todd Young (IN), Joni Ernst (IA), Cynthia Lummis (WY), Lisa Murkowski (AK), Rob Portman (OH), Mitt Romney (UT), Dan Sullivan (AK), and Thom Tillis (NC).
Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock missed the vote as he was campaigning in Georgia for next week’s Senate runoff against Republican Herschel Walker.
Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, who voted in favor, said the bill would not affect the rights of private individuals or businesses already protected by the law.
“This legislation provides important protections for religious liberty — measures which are particularly important to protect the religious freedoms of our faith-based institutions,” Romney said in a <a href="https://www.romney.senate.gov/romney-statement-on-the-respect-for-marriage-act/">statement</a>. &#8220;While I believe in traditional marriage, Obergefell is and has been the law of the land upon which LGBTQ individuals have relied. This legislation provides certainty to many LGBTQ Americans, and it signals that Congress — and I — esteem and love all of our fellow Americans equally.”
The bill will move back to the House of Representatives for a final vote. The previous version of the bill passed  the lower chamber 267-157.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said Representatives hope to pass the bill as early as December 6, which would then go to the desk of President Joe Biden, who has pledged to sign it into law.

Chuck Schumer

Dem-Controlled Senate Passes Same-Sex Marriage Bill; 12 Republicans Support

Democrats

Politics

Same-Sex Marriage

Social Issues

U.S. Senate

What a difference a few weeks make.
President Joe Biden&#8217;s approval rating has been wavering in the high 30s and low 40s, with even Democrats saying they weren&#8217;t sure they&#8217;d support him again should he choose to run in 2024.
But all that changed after Democrats performed far better than expected in the midterm elections. While they lost the House, there was no Red Wave. And Democrats held onto control of the Senate, where some pollsters were predicting they could have lost up to seven seats.
Now, almost three in four Democrats (71%) say Biden could win if he runs for another White House term in 2024, <a href="https://www.ipsos.com/en-us/news-polls/democrats-more-positive-about-biden-post-midterms" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to a USA Today-Ipsos poll. That&#8217;s an 11-point jump from August.
Half of the Democratic voters surveyed in the latest poll believe Biden &#8220;should be the nominee and deserves reelection.&#8221; That&#8217;s up six points from August.
The poll, released Sunday, indicated overall that Democrats are feeling better about Biden after Democrats pulled off surprising wins in key races nationwide, fending off Trump-backed candidates in high-profile contests in Pennsylvania, Nevada, and Arizona.
&#8220;The USA Today-Ipsos poll found that voters’ perception that Biden can win in 2024 jumped notably among women (55 percent in August to 71 percent in November) and among voters aged 18-34 (53 percent in August to 69 percent in November),&#8221; The Hill <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/3743985-71-percent-of-democrats-now-say-biden-could-win-reelection-survey/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
That&#8217;s a big change from July, when a CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/26/politics/cnn-poll-biden-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">poll</a> found 75% of Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters want the party to nominate someone other than Biden.
&#8220;The poll comes as Biden’s approval ratings remain low and most Americans are discontented with the state of the country and the economy. Inflation remains high and a new report released Tuesday showed consumer confidence slipped for the third straight month,&#8221; CNN reported.
&#8220;Twenty-four percent of Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters said they want someone else because they don’t think Biden can win in 2024, up from 18% in a poll conducted in January and February. Thirty-two percent feel that way because they don’t want Biden to be reelected, up from 16% earlier this year. Twenty-five percent said they prefer Biden as the nominee, which is a steep drop from 45% in January/February,&#8221; the CNN poll found.
During the midterm campaigns, Biden made just eight appearances with candidates in the final month &#8212; far fewer than his predecessors.
The reason: He was so unpopular no one wanted him around, instead calling on former President Barack Obama, who crisscrossed the country endorsing candidates. Inflation is soaring, and Americans — more than six in 10 of whom are living paycheck to paycheck — are just trying to figure out how they&#8217;re going to make it until the next payday. They overwhelmingly blame Biden for the shredded economy.
&#8220;Of the 14 states with some of the most competitive Senate and governor races, based on ratings from the Cook Political Report, Biden has visited six since Sept. 1, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis,&#8221; the Daily Mail <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11373821/Biden-avoiding-battleground-states-just-eight-days-midterms.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent for a national newspaper. He was also the a.m. editor of the Drudge Report for four years. Send tips to josephcurl@dailywire.com and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.

President Biden Pardons The National Thanksgiving Turkey

Democrats Suddenly Have Renewed Faith Biden Can Win In ’24, Survey Finds

Democrats Suddenly Have Renewed Faith President Joe Biden Can Win In 2024, Survey Finds

2024 Election

Biden

Elections

Joe Biden

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/megyn-kelly">Megyn Kelly</a> slammed Democrats and those on the left who have been politicizing the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/authorities-to-charge-club-q-shooting-suspect-with-hate-crime">Club Q shooting</a> at a gay nightclub in Colorado that left five people dead, 19 others injured.
During the Sirius XM &#8220;The Megyn Kelly Show&#8221; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6xAMJKgwIc">podcast</a> on Tuesday, the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/megyn-kelly">host</a> opened her show by calling out people like House Speaker <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11450139/Nancy-Pelosi-lays-blame-MAGA-Republicans-Colorado-gay-nightclub-shooting.html">Nancy Pelosi</a> (D-CA) and mainstream media members — whom she said &#8220;accused Conservatives&#8221; of having some responsibility for the shooting Saturday night.
&#8220;The left and Democrat leaders continuing to place blame on Conservatives before the motive&#8217;s even known in connection with this Colorado nightclub shooting,&#8221; Kelly explained. &#8220;I mean this happens every time. Every time.&#8221;
&#8220;Nancy Pelosi going as far to accuse people who supported Donald Trump&#8217;s presidency for the deadly shooting,&#8221; she added. &#8220;They can&#8217;t even respect the dead for two minutes. I mean before the bodies get cold, they want to pin it on politics.&#8221;
WATCH:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Media Tries to Smear the Right For Horrific Mass Shooting in Colorado, with Clay Travis" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/B6xAMJKgwIc?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
&#8220;Can we wait and see?&#8221; <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/megyn-kelly-gets-emotional-on-air-after-revealing-major-loss-in-her-family">Kelly</a> continued. &#8220;Cause this guy pulled guns on and threatened to bomb his own mother a year ago.  So it&#8217;s possible he had some mental health problems that were unresolved. It&#8217;s a situation similar to the Nancy Pelosi attack on her husband by this guy who was clearly a lunatic — whose most recent writings seemed out there and aligned with Qanon, but we&#8217;re talking about a mentally unwell person.&#8221;
The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/screw-her-megyn-kelly-blasts-olivia-wildes-attack-on-jordan-peterson-says-metoo-was-never-meant-to-bastardize-men">former Fox News host</a> then introduced her guest, OutKick&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/clay-travis">Clay Travis</a>, as the host talked about how the mainstream media &#8220;jumped to this is right-wing inspired violence&#8221; before &#8220;the bodies were cold.&#8221;
&#8220;&#8216;This is because of the Republicans,'&#8221; Kelly explained, noting what the media had been saying. She then shared how the media had been blaming the shooting on [former President Donald] Trump and even &#8220;Matt Walsh and The Daily Wire folks who have been outspoken about Drag Queen shows for children and the mutilation of minors.&#8221;
&#8220;And so somehow because this is a gay club, LGBTQ, this is their fault,&#8221; she added. &#8220;It&#8217;s a pattern, we&#8217;ve seen it so many times, Clay, but it still is alarming and it&#8217;s deeply immoral.&#8221;
&#8220;I think this is a failure of the media,&#8221; Travis replied.  &#8220;I understand why it&#8217;s sensational and why everybody rushes to what it covered the mass shooting. But when we cover those mass shootings, we ignore what&#8217;s happening in many cities across the country every single weekend &#8230;&#8221;
Kelly said she agreed the media largely ignores shootings happening in all the time in places like Baltimore and Chicago and said, &#8220;They don&#8217;t care. They only care about these things because they can look for what they think is a political motive&#8221; or a way to &#8220;get rid of the guns.&#8221;
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/megyn-kelly-compares-gender-surgery-to-female-genital-mutilation-happening-in-radical-islamic-population">Megyn Kelly Compares Gender Surgery To Female Genital Mutilation Happening In &#8216;Radical Islamic Population&#8217;</a>

Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit 2018 – Day 2

‘They Can’t Even Respect The Dead’: Megyn Kelly Slams Democrats For Politicizing Club Q Shooting

Celebrities

Entertainment

LGBTQ

Megyn Kelly

Shooting

In this <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-45-the-cia-s-secret-plans-for-domestic-terrorism-the-view-hosts-push-covid-boosters-woman-marries-a-rag-doll-it-cheats-on-her" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dystopian nightmare</a> that has become life in America, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has recently come out and said that our American population is not reproducing as it used to do — but don&#8217;t worry, guys. He has a solution for it.
Ready for it?
The solution is to grant mass amnesty to “however” many illegal immigrants there are in our country. Here&#8217;s what Schumer said:
<blockquote>Now more than ever, we’re short of workers. We have a population that is not reproducing on its own with the same level that it used to,” the Senate Majority Leader said on Wednesday. “The only way we’re going to have a great future in America is if we welcome and embrace immigrants  — the DREAMers and all of them — cause our ultimate goal is to help the DREAMers but get a path to citizenship for all 11 million, or however many undocumented there are here.</blockquote>
I really have nothing left to say here other than the Democratic leadership seem to be Satan worshipers to me. I can&#8217;t even respond to that.
Schumer is correctly identifying a problem — that our society is not reproducing. And why is that?
Why? Well, I don&#8217;t know. Maybe because from the time we get into school, women are being told not to have children, not to aspire to family life?
We&#8217;re giving young girls a bunch of birth control pills without fully thinking of the consequences.
Then you couple that with the fact that you have children being told that they can choose their gender.
Then, when they turn the ripe age of 18, they are told they can go ahead and remove their genitals, because it&#8217;ll somehow render them male or female. Of course, these kids often realize that that&#8217;s a lie when they grow up and become adults.
Because they&#8217;ve been dosing themselves with hormones that make it impossible for them to actually reverse anything that&#8217;s happened to their bodies.
They don&#8217;t get to grow up and become the men or women they were meant to be. They can’t reproduce and have families because their bodies are destroyed before they are even old enough to have children.
Then you add that to the climate change nonsense. Democrats keep telling kids they&#8217;re going to die. It would be irresponsible for them to have children.
Now, Schumer is surprised that some of them are making that decision based on their advice.
All of this is to say that the answer to the problem of us not reproducing isn&#8217;t that we need to start telling people the truth and start making family life more aspirational, it isn&#8217;t that we need to stop funding Black Lives Matter ideologues who openly brag that they want to destroy the nuclear family unit.
It isn’t that we need to stop the mass indoctrination of Americans on college campuses, where they tell women they need to climb the corporate ladder and not have a family — the only way they will be happy is if they don’t have kids.
No, it&#8217;s none of that. None of that could possibly be the answer.
The answer, according to Democrats, is that we just need more illegal immigration. We need to just give illegal aliens citizenship, and then hope that maybe they&#8217;ll produce or something like that.
These people are sick.
Schumer’s comments can be seen here: <a href="https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/1592928904112922625" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/1592928904112922625</a>
RELATED:<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/why-isnt-the-mainstream-media-treating-the-fentanyl-crisis-like-covid" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Why Isn’t The Mainstream Media Treating The Fentanyl Crisis Like COVID?</a>
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/emerging-reproductive-technology-artificial-gestation-and-the-coming-dystopia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">‘Emerging Reproductive Technology’: Artificial Gestation And The Coming Dystopia</a>

Candace_3b16x9 copy 10

Democrats Have Sick Ideas To Grow The Population

Candace Owens

Readers Pass

U.S.

As <a href="https://www.barstoolsports.com/blog/3445077/bait-and-switch-of-the-century-qatar-bans-beer-at-world-cup-stadiums-2-days-before-the-tournament-begins" target="_blank" rel="noopener">flagged</a> by Barstool Sports, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/qatar" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Qatar</a> just pulled one of the greatest &#8220;bait-and-switches&#8221; of all times by pulling the plug on beer being sold at the stadium roughly 48 hours before the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/soccer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World Cup</a> is set to kick off in the Islamic nation.
Ticket purchasers were told they would be allowed to consume alcohol on the premises, bought tickets in droves (soccer fans love beer), and are now going to have to either &#8220;enjoy&#8221; the games sober or risk breaking the law in the heavy-handed nation.
Well, Qatar must have learned this tactic from the Democrats.
President Joe Biden and his ilk made a litany of promises and accusations prior to the 2022 midterm elections that revved up the Democratic Party voting base, only to do an about-face on a myriad of them days after holding the Senate and having a strong showing in the House.
<h4>Student Debt Shamnesty</h4>
Perhaps the biggest bait-and-switch came in the form of Biden&#8217;s promise to cancel student debt via the HEROES Act. In September, the federal government claimed it would forgive billions of dollars in debt while arguing the COVID emergency necessitated the action. The immediate question was, how was this legal?
The Biden administration insisted to voters they would get their hands on that cold-hard money and that the order would hold up under legal scrutiny. Young voters returned the favor to Biden by coming out to cast their ballots. The data <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/student-loan-forgiveness-brought-gen-z-to-polls-midterms-2022-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">show</a> that the loan bailout may have motivated them.
Then, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/judiciary" target="_blank" rel="noopener">U.S. district court</a> Judge Mark T. Pittman <a href="https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/legaldocs/zgvobwqaapd/11102022studentloan.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ruled</a> that “no one can plausibly deny that it was either one of the largest delegations of legislative power to the executive branch, or one of the largest exercises of legislative power without congressional authority in the history of the United States.”
A federal appeals court upheld that ruling, and now the White House is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.
Per the reasons laid out by Pittman, it should be ruled unconstitutional by the conservative majority.
Yet why would Democrats care? They were able to hold onto more power.
<h4>Why Was The Mar-A-Lago Raid Even Needed?</h4>
Ordering the FBI to raid a former president was unprecedented. Yet, as Biden warned that ex-President Donald J. Trump and &#8220;MAGA Republicans&#8221; represented a threat to American democracy, his Department of Justice went ahead with it anyway.
Rumors were leaked from &#8220;sources&#8221; close to the matter that he had kept nuclear codes. Such objects could be stolen! Or worse, he could be selling them to Russia! The raid was necessary because Trump is a dangerous man and the feds finally got him! He intended to undermine the very office he served in, how dare he.
Well, that seemed as if it was the prevailing narrative within legacy media anyway.
Legacy media of course parrot whatever the Biden administration says, so suffice it to say that was likely Biden&#8217;s stance on the matter as well.
Now, those same yellow journalists are claiming that Trump&#8217;s motivating factor wasn&#8217;t money or anything underhanded, rather simply it was his ego. He wanted to keep them for souvenirs. According to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/11/14/trump-motive-mar-a-lago-documents/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Washington Post</a>, Trump had &#8220;no discernible business interest&#8221; in keeping the documents in question.
As columnist David Marcus <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZUIhEWLJMQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the podcast crew on Morning Wire, &#8220;If WaPo has the story right, it&#8217;s far more innocuous. Classified documents are classified documents but this is feeling more like stashing away some peanuts from Air Force One than undermining democracy.&#8221;
So in other words, it&#8217;s looking like a nothing burger.
Trump has already declared his candidacy. Will the DOJ press charges? That remains to be seen, but for now, none of the &#8220;accepted narrative&#8221; pre-midterm reporting on the matter seems accurate.
Codifying Roe 
Democrats have promised to codify Roe and continue to fight for abortion rights. Now, Biden seems to have given up on that effort altogether.
Earlier this week, the president was asked what Americans could expect from Congress regarding the matter.
&#8220;I don&#8217;t think they can expect much of anything other than we&#8217;re going to maintain our positions,&#8221; Biden responded, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-admits-democrats-wont-be-able-codify-roe-v-wade-i-dont-think-theres-enough-votes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to Fox News. &#8220;I&#8217;m not going to get into more questions. I shouldn&#8217;t even answer your question.&#8221;
The president acknowledged there aren&#8217;t &#8220;enough votes to codify unless something happens unusual in the House.&#8221;
That&#8217;s true, but to point-blank tell your core voters that they can&#8217;t &#8220;expect much of anything&#8221; on abortion is a bit insulting. I&#8217;m not even a Biden voter, and I feel insulted on their behalf. As the saying goes, &#8220;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1mof3xPooE" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nuts and bolts, they got screwed</a>&#8221; by Democrats.
<h4>So Much More &#8230;</h4>
The title says &#8220;three ways&#8221; but there are so many more instances of leftists telling voters one thing, yet delivering another.
Indirectly, you can also say that the second largest <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/shameless-media-just-cant-quit-love-affair-with-crypto-creep-sbf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Democrat donor, crypto creep Sam Bankman-Fried,</a> pulled a similar move by claiming to be an &#8220;effective altruist.&#8221; In reality, it looks like he was frittering away investors&#8217; money and donating to progressive politicians. Now it is all up in flames.
Regarding January 6, it now seems that the feds were a little more involved with <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/14/us/politics/fbi-informants-proud-boys-jan-6.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">some of the rioters</a> than previously known.
There are dozens more. Leftist supporters keep falling for it.
Readers would likely say anytime Democrat (or any swamp politician for that matter) flaps his or her lips, they are lying That may be true, but usually, it&#8217;s not this obvious so quickly.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Democrats laughing

Three Ways Democrats Perfected The ‘Bait-And-Switch’ On Gullible Voters This Midterm Election

Three Ways Democrats Perfected The 'Bait-And-Switch' On Gullible Voters This Midterm Election

Democratic Party

Voters

Congressman <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/republican-rep-adam-kinzinger-backs-democrats-in-key-races/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adam Kinzinger</a> (R-IL) appeared to claim in a Wednesday interview that he had risked — and ultimately gave up — his political career because he stood up and fought against former President <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/been-there-don-that-ny-post-hides-trumps-big-announcement-on-page-26/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a>.
Kinzinger, who announced over the summer that he would not seek re-election in last Tuesday&#8217;s midterms, invoked his time in the military while discussing the issue with former Republican MSNBC anchor Nicolle Wallace — and argued that if he was going to cast votes that could send soldiers to die, he had to be willing to risk his own career.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Rep. Kinzinger: &quot;If I&#39;m going to ask people to be willing to die for this country&#8230;I have to be willing to give up my career for the same cause&#8230;My oath is not to my district, it&#39;s to the Constitution.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/gqL26mh530">https://t.co/gqL26mh530</a> <a href="https://t.co/tM6p3BVnYj">pic.twitter.com/tM6p3BVnYj</a>
&mdash; MSNBC (@MSNBC) <a href="https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/1593250751991926791?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 17, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Wallace, who worked in the White House under former President George W. Bush, noted that Trump had crossed her &#8220;red line&#8221; long before he became president in 2016 — and she asked Kinzinger why he believed so many Republicans were still saying he hadn&#8217;t yet crossed theirs.
&#8220;Tribalism,&#8221; Kinzinger said, was the simple answer. &#8220;You know, the second — if one of them says, &#8216;Look, I&#8217;ve had enough of Donald Trump,&#8217; you get kicked out of your tribe. And then I gotta tell you, the other tribe, to the extent it exists, the anti-Trumpers, the Democrats are not going to accept you because, ah, you&#8217;re coming on too late or maybe you still have this one issue I disagree with.&#8221;
Kinzinger went on to suggest that some simply supported Trump in order to get re-elected — or out of cowardice — after which he referenced his transition from the military to Congress. Noting that he returned from Iraq in 2009 and got elected in 2010, he said, &#8220;I remember thinking, if I&#8217;m going to ask people to be willing to die for this country — and obviously I&#8217;m going to have to take votes on that and I have — I have to be willing to give up my career for the same cause.&#8221;
&#8220;My oath is not to my district, it&#8217;s to the Constitution,&#8221; Kinzinger concluded.
But the Illinois congressman did not give up his career in order to defend the Constitution — he was effectively forced out of Congress when Illinois Democrats <a href="https://fivethirtyeight.com/videos/illinois-may-be-the-worst-democratic-gerrymander-in-the-country/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gerrymandered</a> his district out of existence. Illinois, a reliably blue state, skewed the map even further when they redrew the districts in such a way that Republicans — who held five of the state&#8217;s 17 seats — could only pull off wins in three in 2022.
&#8220;Illinois is the worst gerrymander in the country drawn by Democrats,&#8221; FiveThirtyEight senior elections analyst Nathaniel Rakich wrote.
<a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/house-republican-calls-it-quits-after-approval-of-new-illinois-districts/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kinzinger</a> announced that he would not seek reelection just 12 hours after the new map was approved.

House January 6 Committee Holds Public Hearing

Adam Kinzinger Suggests He Risked His Seat To Save Democracy. Democrat Gerrymandering Erased His District.

Kinzinger Suggests He Risked His Seat To Save Democracy. Democrat Gerrymandering Erased His District

Adam Kinzinger

Illinois

MSNBC

Redistricting

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), 82, announced Thursday that she will not seek re-election as the top Democrat in the House but will remain in Congress.
Pelosi, who emerged as a Democratic leader during the George W. Bush administration, made the announcement from the House floor in a speech that touched on democracy, diversity, and elections and that was met with regular rounds of applause by Democrats. She maintained that she would continue to represent the people of San Francisco.
&#8220;For me, the hour has come for a new generation to lead the Democratic caucus that I so deeply respect,&#8221; said Pelosi.
Pelosi also briefly talked about her husband Paul, who was hospitalized after an intruder broke into their San Francisco home and bashed him with a hammer. The suspect, David DePape, has pleaded not guilty, and friends <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-11-14/david-depape-suspect-pelosi-attack-mental-illness-drug-abuse">say</a> he has a history of drug abuse, mental illness, and believing conspiracy theories.
President Joe Biden released a statement immediately after the announcement, calling her one of the most &#8220;consequential&#8221; speakers in history.
&#8220;Nancy Pelosi is first, last, and always for the people. Jill and I count Nancy, Paul, and their family among our dearest friends. As a nation, we owe her a deep debt of gratitude for her service, her patriotism, and above all, her absolute dignity,&#8221; he said.
Pelosi&#8217;s announcement comes after a better-than-expected performance for Democrats in the 2022 midterm elections. Though pre-election polling and punditry suggested that a “red wave” would sweep Republicans into power in both houses of Congress, Democrats were able to prevail in several high-profile Senate contests to keep control of that chamber, and Republicans are projected to win only a slim majority in the House — but enough to oust Pelosi from her role as the speaker.
Democrats interested in party leadership are expected to emerge soon.
POLITICO <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/16/schiff-dem-house-leadership-00067996" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> earlier this year that Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) was interested in the leadership job. However, Schiff decided against running on Wednesday, with sources telling POLITICO that he was instead interested in serving as the next senator from California — a seat currently occupied by Dianne Feinstein.
But one person with interest in the position is Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), who is currently number five in the Democratic leadership team. Jeffries, 52, has been called an &#8220;<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/04/secret-meeting-hakeem-jeffries-pelosi-00065078" target="_blank" rel="noopener">up-and-coming young Democrat</a>&#8221; by House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-SC).
While Jeffries is expected to run with <a href="https://twitter.com/MZanona/status/1593285910107406337?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the support</a> of the Congressional Black Caucus, it&#8217;s unclear if Pelosi herself will weigh in on who should be the next Democratic leader.
Pelosi has represented most of San Francisco in Congress since the 1980s, having won the seat in a special election following the death of incumbent Democrat Sala Burton. Pelosi subsequently gained a reputation as a leader in the Democratic Party, and has served two stints as speaker. She was the first woman to be in the role.
Hayden Daniel contributed to this report.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi To Announce Her Future Plans

Nancy Pelosi Will Not Seek Job As Top House Democrat

Congress

Nancy Pelosi

The House Financial Services Committee will host a hearing next month on Sam Bankman-Fried and his collapsed <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/cryptocurrency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cryptocurrency</a> companies, FTX and Alameda Research.
FTX filed for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/30-year-old-billionaire-loses-entire-fortune-overnight-as-his-bahamas-based-cryptocurrency-empire-implodes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bankruptcy</a> on Friday after users discovered that both firms, which are controlled by Bankman-Fried and his associates, were allegedly fraudulently intertwined, triggering a liquidity crisis as customers rushed to withdraw funds. A number of individual and institutional clients still have as much as $8 billion remaining in frozen accounts while Bankman-Fried <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/former-crypto-billionaire-sam-bankman-fried-whose-entire-fortune-just-went-to-zero-is-calling-around-for-new-investors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asks investors</a> to help compensate users.
House Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Ranking Member Patrick McHenry (R-NC) announced that the bipartisan hearing will involve the testimonies of Bankman-Fried and those involved in related entities, including competitor Binance, which nearly purchased FTX. “Oversight is one of Congress’ most critical functions and we must get to the bottom of this for FTX’s customers and the American people,” McHenry said in a <a href="https://republicans-financialservices.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=408471" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a>. “It’s essential that we hold bad actors accountable so responsible players can harness technology to build a more inclusive financial system.”
Bankman-Fried <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/here-are-the-democrats-and-republicans-who-received-campaign-cash-linked-to-bankrupt-crypto-empire-ftx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">donated</a> nearly $39 million during the recent midterm elections, with nearly all of his contributions benefiting Democratic candidates or political action committees, according to <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/outside-spending/top_donors/2022?disp=D&amp;type=V&amp;superonly=N" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from Open Secrets, which listed him as the nation’s sixth-largest individual midterm donor. FTX Co-CEO Ryan Salame, however, donated heavily to organizations supportive of Republicans, according to more <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/outside-spending/donor_detail/2022?id=U0000004758&amp;type=I&amp;super_only=N&amp;name=Salame%2C+Ryan+D.+%26+Susan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from Open Secrets.
“The fall of FTX has posed tremendous harm to over one million users, many of whom were everyday people who invested their hard-earned savings into the FTX cryptocurrency exchange, only to watch it all disappear within a matter of seconds,” Waters added. “Unfortunately, this event is just one out of many examples of cryptocurrency platforms that have collapsed just this past year… we need legislative action to ensure that digital assets entities cannot operate in the shadows outside of robust federal oversight and clear rules of the road.”
Beyond members of Congress, officials in the Biden administration have revealed a willingness to implement more regulations on cryptocurrencies. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen remarked during a Tuesday <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ftx-collapse-janet-yellen-crypto-economy-inflation-diesel-shortage-ev-batteries-china/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with CBS News that the nascent sector requires “appropriate supervision and regulation,” noting that the administration has identified &#8220;regulatory holes that need to be filled for this to be a space where Americans can feel safe doing business.”
Indeed, an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/09/16/fact-sheet-white-house-releases-first-ever-comprehensive-framework-for-responsible-development-of-digital-assets/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">executive order</a> from President Joe Biden earlier this year directed federal agencies to identify risks and benefits of cryptocurrencies, which are a form of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/what-exactly-is-bitcoin-heres-how-the-worlds-largest-cryptocurrency-actually-works" target="_blank" rel="noopener">decentralized digital money</a> that users can transfer between their virtual wallets. The administration concluded that the assets “pose meaningful risk” in the form of highly volatile markets, as well as “outright fraud, scams, and theft.”
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York launched a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-reserve-launches-digital-dollar-initiative-days-after-leading-cryptocurrency-firm-goes-under" target="_blank" rel="noopener">simulated digital currency</a> initiative on Tuesday, four days after FTX filed for bankruptcy, in which major financial institutions such as Citi, Mastercard, and BNY Mellon will experiment with a financial market infrastructure that would facilitate “digital asset transactions that connect deposits held at regulated financial institutions using distributed ledger technology.” Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and other policymakers have previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-fed-chair-says-his-mind-is-open-on-a-digital-dollar" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expressed interest</a> in a digital dollar managed by the central bank, provided that the public offers enough support.

Key Speakers At IIF Annual Membership Meeting

Bipartisan Committee To Hear From Sam Bankman-Fried And Crypto Allies Next Month

House Committee Announces Hearing On FTX And Sam Bankman-Fried

Business

Cryptocurrency

Maxine Waters

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/gun-control" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gun control</a> is on the docket for Michigan’s Democratic leaders and lawmakers after the party boasted <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/michigan-moves-left-as-dems-celebrate-wins-up-and-down-the-ballot/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">historic wins</a> in the state’s midterm elections last week.
Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer <a href="https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-government/gov-gretchen-whitmers-do-list-gun-control-tax-cuts-right-work-repeal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> news outlet Bridge Michigan in an interview published Wednesday that gun control is a top priority heading into her second term, now with Democratic majorities in both chambers of the state’s legislature. Democrats in the state previously introduced a “red flag” law along with other gun regulations, and Whitmer believes the measures are within reach for lawmakers to pass.
“I think that these are each individually proven policy solutions that could mitigate the likelihood of a future shooting, and so I think that&#8217;s where we need to start,” Whitmer said.
The governor pointed to the recent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/michigan-high-school-shooting-suspect-faces-murder-and-terrorism-charges" target="_blank" rel="noopener">school shooting</a> in Oxford, Michigan, as a reason to push forward with gun control. Four students at Oxford High School were killed by a classmate who opened fire on the school on November 30, 2021.
“I do believe that you will all of a sudden see a very different environment in Lansing where the Oxford families and advocates will have the ability to make their voices heard and to inform and drive the policy change that this current legislature has completely shut the door to,” she commented.
The most troubling legislation for many conservatives is a proposed <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/michels-slams-red-flag-laws-says-left-just-wants-to-take-away-guns" target="_blank" rel="noopener">red flag law</a>, <a href="http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2021-2022/billintroduced/Senate/pdf/2022-SIB-0856.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Senate Bill No. 856</a>, that would allow a judge to authorize the seizure of guns from someone who is believed to be a risk to themselves or others. The bill proposes to “provide for the issuance of restraining orders prohibiting certain individuals from possessing or purchasing firearms and ordering the surrender and seizure of a restrained individual&#8217;s firearms.”
Along with the red flag law, Whitmer is pushing to stop people from buying guns from a private seller without going through a background check and wants to force gun owners with children in the home to secure firearms in a lockbox.
After last Tuesday’s election, Democrats gained control of the state’s legislature for the first time since 1983. The party will hold a one-vote majority in the state House and believe they will win a two-seat majority in the Senate as votes are still being counted in some races. Republicans conceded their control of both chambers last week, <a href="https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/michigan/2022/11/09/michigan-democrats-poised-to-win-control-of-legislature-for-1st-time-in-decades/69632790007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the Detroit News. With slim majorities, Democrats will likely have to stay fully united to pass any gun legislation, as Republicans have blocked previous attempts from Democratic lawmakers to send gun control legislation to Whitmer’s desk.
Incoming state Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt told Bridge News that “it’s unfortunate that Democrats are trying to look for ways to limit individuals’ liberty and freedom.”
“Any (areas) where they&#8217;re going to limit individual freedom, I’m going to fight against,” he added. “If there’s going to be ways they expand individual freedom, I’ll partner with them.”

Gretchen Whitmer

Whitmer To Push For Gun Control After Re-Election Victory, Dem Takeover Of State Legislature

Gun Control

Michigan

Senator <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/dianne-feinstein" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dianne Feinstein</a> (D-CA) seemed confused about her own past statements in an interview about her future on Tuesday.
The 89-year-old Feinstein was the prime candidate to become President Pro Tempore of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-senate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Senate</a>, third in the line of succession to the presidency after the vice president and speaker of the house. But Feinstein already stated publicly that she will not seek the position. She seemed to forget that in an interview with <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/senator-dianne-feinstein-third-in-line-presidency-pro-tempore-2022-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Insider Magazine</a>, and had to be reminded of the statement by a staffer.
&#8220;Well, I haven&#8217;t thought about it, but I&#8217;ll let you know when I do,&#8221; Feinstein told Insider&#8217;s Bryan Metzger. &#8220;I just got back, I&#8217;ve had a lot of issues.&#8221;
&#8220;[She has] told a few reporters in the past that she&#8217;s not thought about it, and has no intention of seeking the position,&#8221; one of Feinstein&#8217;s aides cut in, before turning to the Senator. &#8220;That&#8217;s what you&#8217;ve told reporters,&#8221; the aide said.
&#8220;I don&#8217;t know what you&#8217;re saying,&#8221; Feinstein told the staffer.
&#8220;This is about the Senate pro tem position,&#8221; he replied.
&#8220;Well, I haven&#8217;t said anything about it, that I know of,&#8221; she insisted.
&#8220;You were asked about it over the break, and you put out a statement saying that you had no intention of running for it,&#8221; he reminded her.
&#8220;Okay, well then, I guess it&#8217;s out,&#8221; she concluded.
Feinstein told <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/10/22/grassley-feinstein-senate-pro-tempore/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Washington Post</a> in October that she was not seeking the position. “I’ve never thought about being the president pro tempore and I have no interest in it at this time,” she said in a statement to the paper. Feinstein also lost her husband, private equity investor and former University of California regent Richard Blum, in February. Feinstein cited her husband&#8217;s death as the reason she did not want to accept the job.
Rumors have been swirling since earlier this year about Feinstein&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/colleagues-say-sen-feinstein-may-be-mentally-unfit-to-serve" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mental fitness</a> to serve in office. A Congressional Democrat told the San Francisco Chronicle in April that Feinstein repeatedly engaged in similar lines of small talk, and the lawmaker had to reintroduce himself several times. Multiple senators, staffers, and the member of Congress said that Feinstein&#8217;s memory was rapidly deteriorating, and that she needed her staff to do much of the work.
In her interview with Insider, Feinstein refused to answer whether she was fit to serve as president pro tempore. &#8220;I&#8217;m just saying I haven&#8217;t thought about it,&#8221; she said.
<div>
If Feinstein keeps her word and does not seek the position, Senator <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/11/15/mccarthy-speaker-house-control-midterms/#link-DXPAECCWMZBL3HCXYGQGYVK5UE" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Patty Murray</a> (D-WA) would most likely accept the post. Murray was elected in 1992, the same year as Feinstein.
Meanwhile on the Republican side, Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) announced his intention to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rick-scott-announces-bid-to-oust-mcconnell-as-senate-gop-leader" target="_blank" rel="noopener">challenge</a> Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for leadership of the Republican conference. “Republican voters expect and deserve to know our plan to promote and advance conservative values,&#8221; Scott said in a note to colleagues obtained by The Daily Wire. &#8220;We need to listen to their calls for action and start governing in Washington like we campaign back at home.
“They are begging us to tell them what we will do when we are in charge. Unfortunately, we have continued to elect leadership who refuses to do that and elicits attacks on anyone that does. That is clearly not working and it’s time for bold change. The voters are demanding it,” he added.
</div>

Coney Barrett Confirmation

89-Year-Old Dianne Feinstein Turned Down Position Third In Line To Presidency, But Forgot All About It In Interview

California

Dianne Feinstein

Senate

<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/democrats" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Democrats</a> heavily benefited from the campaign contributions of disgraced cryptocurrency billionaire and FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, while other affiliates of the company likewise helped <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/republicans" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Republicans</a> ahead of the company’s failure last week.
FTX filed for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/30-year-old-billionaire-loses-entire-fortune-overnight-as-his-bahamas-based-cryptocurrency-empire-implodes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bankruptcy</a> on Friday after users discovered that firms controlled by Bankman-Fried were allegedly fraudulently intertwined, causing him to lose his fortune overnight. The young multibillionaire contributed nearly $39 million during the recent midterm elections, with 99.6% of funds benefiting Democratic candidates, according to <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/outside-spending/top_donors/2022?disp=D&amp;type=V&amp;superonly=N" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from Open Secrets, which listed him as the nation’s sixth-largest individual midterm donor.
The 30 year old <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/outside-spending/donor_detail/2022?id=U0000004705&amp;type=I&amp;super_only=N&amp;name=Bankman-Fried%2C+Sam" target="_blank" rel="noopener">donated</a> $27 million to Protect Our Future PAC, a left-leaning group which in turn <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/protect-our-future-pac/C00801514/independent-expenditures/2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spent</a> heavily on behalf of Democratic candidates for the House of Representatives. A contribution of over $10 million from Protect Our Future PAC benefited Carrick Flynn, who lost his Democratic primary in Oregon. Other beneficiaries included Rep. Lucy McBath (D-GA), Rep. Shontel Brown (D-OH), Rep. Robert Garcia (D-NC), and Rep. Valerie Foushee (D-NC), all of whom won re-election.
Bankman-Fried also contributed $1 million to the Senate Majority PAC, which supports Democratic candidates for the Senate, and $6 million to the House Majority PAC. During the 2020 election cycle, he was the second-largest donor to the Biden campaign.
Bankman-Fried directly supported a number of individual candidates as well. Two such candidates, Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK) and Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (D-IL) donated their respective $5,000 and $2,900 contributions to charity after FTX filed for bankruptcy, according to a <a href="https://www.theblock.co/post/186918/gop-lawmaker-donates-ftx-execs-campaign-contribution" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from The Block.
FTX Co-CEO Ryan Salame donated heavily to right-leaning organizations, according to more <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/outside-spending/donor_detail/2022?id=U0000004758&amp;type=I&amp;super_only=N&amp;name=Salame%2C+Ryan+D.+%26+Susan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from Open Secrets. He contributed $12 million to American Dream Federal Action, a right-leaning group which <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/C00809020/independent-expenditures/2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spent</a> on behalf of candidates such as victorious Republican Senate nominees Ted Budd and Katie Britt, of North Carolina and Alabama, respectively.
Salame also contributed $2 million to the Congressional Leadership Fund and $2.5 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, which are the Republican equivalents of the House Majority PAC and Senate Majority PAC. The latter group, which is directed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), came under criticism following the midterms for arguably deprioritizing important swing-state races critical to Republicans.
Bankman-Fried, a self-proclaimed “effective altruist,” had been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/billionaire-ftx-founder-who-lost-entire-fortune-gave-massive-sum-to-democrats-before-empire-collapsed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">preparing</a> to spend as much as $1 billion during the 2024 election cycle to keep the Democratic Party in control of the White House. His parents, Stanford Law School professors Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, are <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-ukraine-and-a-30-year-old-crypto-billionaire-how-the-implosion-of-ftx-connects-to-the-global-elite" target="_blank" rel="noopener">well-connected</a> within Democratic circles. The former has aided Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) with drafting financial regulations, while the latter leads Mind the Gap, a left-wing organization which raises funds for the Democrats among wealthy Silicon Valley donors.
Earlier this year, Bankman-Fried launched an initiative alongside Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation to fundraise for the embattled nation, which has received billions in humanitarian and military <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-admin-sending-5-5-billion-more-in-aid-to-ukraine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">aid</a> from the Biden administration, marking “the first instance of a cryptocurrency exchange providing a conduit for crypto donations to a public financial institution,” according to a <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ukraines-ministry-of-digital-transformation-ftx-and-everstake-launch-crypto-fundraising-site-aid-for-ukraine-301501959.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a> from a Ukrainian-based cryptocurrency firm. FTX converted the donations into fiat currencies and transmitted the funds to the National Bank of Ukraine.

Collage Maker-15-Nov-2022-10.05-AM

Here Are The Democrats And Republicans Who Received Campaign Cash Linked To Bankrupt Crypto Empire FTX

Democrats Benefited Heavily From Crypto Empire FTX, But Republicans Did Too

Economics

Republicans

We don’t need a seer to foretell that the United States is facing, for years to come, a perilous mix of political stalemate, cultural conflict and economic hard times.   
The results of this month’s midterm elections confirm that the differences between Republican and Democratic areas are calcifying, and in disputed territory — Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Georgia — the chasm that separates red and blue candidates and voters is growing. A diminishing proportion of independent voters is often decisive. How did this happen and what does it portend?
A principal reason that the United States has survived and prospered for 246 years through times of instability and crisis has been our robust national immune system, based upon a collection of cherished credos: individual rights and responsibility; discipline and hard work as chiefly determinative of one’s destiny; respect for law founded upon the Constitution; and federalism, which provides a safety valve by allowing people to self-sort by living in states best reflecting their values. 
The rugged good health of our country has also resulted from the central role played by small, nearby civic society, primarily traditional religion honored by weekly observance, but also local professional, vocational and fraternal organizations, athletic leagues, and other groups that foster filial connections with fellow citizens.
At the margin, elements of Leftist hostility to these unifying ideas and institutions had long existed because they forge bonds across racial, religious and class lines and because they modulate and stabilize the pace of societal change, allowing it to occur organically. But in the aftermath of President Kennedy’s assassination, this marginal hostility began to spread and achieve mainstream acceptance. Traditional American liberals were unable to process that their ideal President had been murdered not by a white segregationist hostile to Kennedy’s civil rights reforms (as his widow Jackie Kennedy had assumed), but by a Leftist — an unstable pro-Castro agitator who had defected to the Soviet Union. 
Instead of focusing on the crime and its lone perpetrator, these traditional liberals began to succumb to the seductive excuse offered by the Left that it wasn’t actually Lee Harvey Oswald who was responsible for this tragedy but American society itself. Such a horrifying event, the Left told the liberals, showed that the United States was sick and needed change. Needed to be changed. Fundamentally changed.  By them. 
The JFK assassination induced well-intentioned liberals to insert their own grievances about the US — whether it be civil rights, environmental issues, economic inequality, women’s rights, the unpopular war in Southeast Asia — into this paradigm of the US writ large needing fundamental transformation. Some of these issues — especially civil rights for African-Americans, women&#8217;s rights and the Vietnam War — urgently needed to be recognized and remedied. Unfortunately however, the outsized influence of the Left mainstreamed the attitude that all protest in itself had merit and deserved the moral high ground, and condemned American society as elementally defective. 
In order to correct these defects, all respectable, sophisticated people needed to &#8216;get with the times,&#8217; namely to adjust their default settings to defer to and support all protest provided it attacked established American traditions and values. Especially among the affluent and educated, a flabby habit accrued of reflexively assuming that the side protesting, agitating, criticizing or demanding was superior to the side defending the status quo or customary views. 
This lazy practice of always supporting any protest, for fear of being shamed or shunned, was propagated and rewarded not only by celebrities and entertainment executives, but by primary and secondary school teachers, and the college and university professors who had indoctrinated them, by clergy and non-profit figures, and by media and journalistic mandarins. And this weird sanctification of protest and fear to criticize it occurred in the 1960s-70s during which there was vastly increased geographic and social mobility and urbanization; the omnipresence of TV, radio, movies and other pop culture influences urging self-indulgence; skyrocketing divorce and out-of-wedlock birth rates; and the abundant availability of legal and illegal narcotics. All of this functioned to weaken Americans’ bonds to one another and the norms and pillars of traditional life.
In more recent decades, cable TV, the internet and social media (especially Twitter and Facebook) have cemented these fractures by &#8216;immediatizing&#8217; and nationalizing every news story, and done so as much as possible to serve the Left’s narrative. Until Elon Musk took over, Twitter had layers of in-house censors to shape the conversation and to mute and cancel cultural or political opposition. And it still has mobs of leftist Twitter vigilantes to heap insults, accusations, ridicule and not so veiled threats of doxing on anyone who dares to take a contrary or independent view (such as the Lincoln Project Tweet about President Trump&#8217;s attorneys after posting their names and personal information: &#8216;Make them famous&#8217;).  
The Left, supported by legacy media, social media, big tech and the federal and many state and local governments, now wants to replace equality of opportunity with equality of outcomes (&#8216;equity&#8217;),  to force acceptance of racial determinism of oppressor/victim status (&#8216;critical race theory&#8217;), and to normalize the recognized psychiatric illnesses of gender identity disorder/gender dysphoria — identified in the professional psychiatric guide for diagnosis the DSM-IV and its successor the DSM-V (but now celebrated as &#8216;gender fluidity&#8217;). 
Thus, we now have the terrifying policy in many states and many hospitals to allow young adolescents to make life-changing surgical decisions without parental oversight or consent. None of these views is supported by anything close to a majority of Americans, but they are all enthusiastically supported by the highly educated, often overconfident and out-of-touch managerial class moralizers analyzed by Matthew Stewart in his anthropological masterpiece &#8220;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/9-9-Percent-Aristocracy-Entrenching-Inequality/dp/1982114185/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=1668450900&amp;sr=8-1">The 9.9 Percent.&#8221;</a>
We are separating into two Americas based on whether the guiding principle is to preserve and strengthen (red America) or to corrode and eliminate (blue America) the barriers that separate men and women, the citizen and the non-citizen, the law-abiding and the criminal, the healthy and the deviant. We are also separating based on whether we believe traditional values deserve our respect or our contempt, and whether rights accrue to the individual and need to be protected from governmental intrusion or — irreconcilably — rights are to be allocated by a government-administered racialist spoils system where the individual will see her liberty constrained and her property confiscated by an unaccountable elite exercising its Manifest Destiny to reign over the rest of us.
Over the last 50 years, it is difficult to identify any issue upon which conservatives in America have moved further to the right. But on virtually every issue where there used to be agreement between both sides — basic acceptance of American capitalism, belief in the sanctity of the Constitution and American Exceptionalism, and support for the nuclear family and traditional gender roles — liberals have moved far to the left and invented new issues no one could have imagined decades ago. Donald Trump’s policy positions would have been considered mainstream for a conservative president in 1972. But even in the era of George McGovern, the present positions of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris would have been wildly to the left of anything that the Democrats would have accepted.
Last week, Massachusetts and New York elected the most radical Leftist governors in their history, both of whom are ice-cold apathetic about the misery their policies will cause. Massachusetts voters approved their state legislature&#8217;s decision to grant driver&#8217;s licenses to illegal aliens, joining a growing number of states doing so. The Governor of New York Kathy Hochul stated that she needed to look at the data on subway crime before changing the no-cash bail law — but did anyone need to look at any data of police interactions with African-Americans before hysterical anti-police policies were rushed through after George Floyd’s death? New York City voters supported all four progressive ballot questions, the most troubling of which establishes a racial equity office at the heart of city government with wide-ranging powers that will, once exercised, directly conflict with the due process and equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment and the takings clause of the 5th Amendment.
What if, in these divided times, the US confronts a challenge by a foreign adversary? Do we any longer have the national will, wealth, sense of common purpose and trust to react appropriately? These resources used to repose in the attitudinal center of America, which overlapped both the left and the right and where they both could meet when necessary, as after September 11. No longer: the center is vanishing, like a Venn Diagram where the circles no longer intersect. Last week Chairman Xi Jinping of China, promoted recently to what amounts to a lifetime term as his country&#8217;s leader, ominously told his military to “focus all its energy on fighting” in preparation for war, while our military focuses on appropriate pronouns (see the US Air Force Pacific Command&#8217;s guidance on avoiding gendered pronouns). 
Our prospects are grim unless we change course immediately. Our weakened country has split apart and the principal fault lies with those who contrive divisive issues to serve their own political ambition.
Julie Hartman is a broadcast host based in Los Angeles for the Salem Media Group. She co-hosts a show with Dennis Prager, “Dennis &amp; Julie,” and in the next week, her YouTube live and Salem News Channel show, “Timeless with Julie Hartman,” will launch. Julie also serves as a standing guest host for Salem&#8217;s nationally syndicated talk radio shows.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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