Sensing the sentiment in their state has swung toward the GOP, eight Mississippi political office holders who were either Democrats or Independents have joined the Republican Party.
“We have had a relentless focus on switching conservative Democrats over to the Republican party,” Mississippi Republican Party Chairman Lucien Smith said of the flurry of politicians looking for a safe haven. He added, “They recognize increasingly that there is only one party that represents the conservative values of our state and that is the Republican party,” as <a href="https://www.wlbt.com/2020/02/25/eight-elected-officials-announce-party-switch-join-mississippi-republican-party/">WLBT</a> reported.
Mississippi GOP governor Governor Tate Reeves echoed, “We are in a scenario in this country where you can choose to be a member of the party led by Donald J. Trump or you can choose to be a member of the socialist Democratic party led by Bernie Sanders.”
Millsaps Department of Government and Politics chairman Dr. Nathan Shrader chimed in, “They have a plausible argument to make with these elected officials that your constituent are already aligning with us, the voting patterns in your district are moving in our direction, you should join the team too.”
 The eight people joining the GOP include these former Democrats: Matt Sullivan, District Attorney for the Thirteenth Circuit Court District; Cindy Austin, Chancery Clerk; Anthony Grayson, Circuit Clerk; Mary Lou Powell, Tax Assessor-Collector; Danny Arender, Beat 4 Supervisor, and Hulon West, Justice Court Judge for the Southern District of Smith County
The Independents joining the GOP are Guy Easterling, Chancery Clerk, and Bobby Wayne Mooney, Justice Court Judge for the Northern District of Covington County.
Sullivan stated, “There are conservatives Democrats all across the state of Mississippi and there was once upon a time when the conservative Democrats controlled this state. It’s a new day in Mississippi and I believe the Republican party is growing and there’s a place in the Republican party for people like me.”
As The Daily Wire reported last week, more Republicans than any time in history have filed federal paperwork to run for either the U.S. House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate.
In 2018, the surge in applications came from the Democratic side of the ledger, but for the 2020 election, the surge is coming from the GOP. As <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/republican-revenge-record-gop-field-forms-on-2020-mission-to-take-down-socialists">Fox News</a> noted, “In 2019 alone, 781 Republicans filed federal paperwork to run for the House, the most ever recorded in an odd year at the Federal Election Commission. That’s up from 593 GOP candidates in 2017, when Democrats had an astounding 937 candidates at the same point.”
Fox News added, “The total number of House and Senate candidates reached an off-year record at 1,761, according to the FEC report obtained by Fox News, shattering the 2017 record of 1,739 candidates that was fueled by a wave of Democrats, especially women. This time, based on the latest data, more Republicans are running than Democrats — with 874 total candidates compared with Democrats&#8217; 842.”
Sarah Bryner, research director at the Center for Responsive Politics, told Fox News,“It&#8217;s all about enthusiasm driven by the president, both negative and positive. [Republicans] also saw the Democrats do it last cycle. So they know that it is possible. They saw some seats picked off that I think shocked the party and the public. They want to get those back.&#8221;

President Trump Holds Rally For Mississippi GOP Senate Candidate Cindy Hyde-Smith In Tupelo

Age Of Trump: Eight Mississippi Elected Officials Leave Dems, Independents, Join GOP

Mississippi

Republican Party

Determined to capitalize on the Democratic party’s lurch toward socialism, more Republicans than any time in history have filed federal paperwork to run for either the U.S. House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate.
In 2018, the surge in applications came from the Democratic side of the ledger, but for the 2020 election, the surge is coming from the GOP. As <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/republican-revenge-record-gop-field-forms-on-2020-mission-to-take-down-socialists">Fox News</a>notes, “In 2019 alone, 781 Republicans filed federal paperwork to run for the House, the most ever recorded in an odd year at the Federal Election Commission. That’s up from 593 GOP candidates in 2017, when Democrats had an astounding 937 candidates at the same point.”
Fox News added, “The total number of House and Senate candidates reached an off-year record at 1,761, according to the FEC report obtained by Fox News, shattering the 2017 record of 1,739 candidates that was fueled by a wave of Democrats, especially women. This time, based on the latest data, more Republicans are running than Democrats — with 874 total candidates compared with Democrats&#8217; 842.”
Sarah Bryner, research director at the Center for Responsive Politics, told Fox News,“It&#8217;s all about enthusiasm driven by the president, both negative and positive. [Republicans] also saw the Democrats do it last cycle. So they know that it is possible. They saw some seats picked off that I think shocked the party and the public. They want to get those back.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/12/retirement-congress-2020-hurd-alexander/596965/">The Atlantic</a> reported in late January of the numerous incumbents stepping down: “In all, 25 GOP House members and four senators are forgoing reelection this year without declaring their candidacy for another office, while just seven Democrats in the House and one in the Senate are retiring outright. The Republican retirements are quickly approaching the level the party saw in 2018, when 28 Republicans retired ahead of the midterms, foreshadowing the blue wave that swept in a Democratic House majority. More could be on the way, as members typically use the holiday recess to discuss their future plans with their family.”
That was recently updated by <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/List_of_U.S._Congress_incumbents_who_are_not_running_for_re-election_in_2020">Ballotpedia,</a> which wrote, “As of February 17, 2020, 36 representatives said they will not seek re-election to their U.S. House seats. 9 Democratic members of the U.S. House. 27 Republican members of the U.S. House.”
U.S. veteran Sean Parnell, who is challenging incumbent Pennsylvania Rep. Conor Lamb, explained, “There’s momentum on our side for sure. This is the national bellwether race. For Republicans to take back the House, we&#8217;ve got to win PA-17 and for Trump to win the state of Pennsylvania like he did in 2016, he has to win PA-17 … This is the first time in American history, where the president was impeached and he&#8217;s going to be on the ballot. The GOP turnout is going to be through the roof this election cycle. Everywhere we go, people are excited to vote.&#8221;
Another GOP candidate, Marjorie Greene from Georgia, echoed, “I&#8217;m tired of seeing my president attacked every day. I&#8217;m tired of seeing our future threatened. I&#8217;m tired of seeing my children&#8217;s future extremely threatened, and it’s time to get off the bench and really step up to the plate.”
&nbsp;

President Trump Departs The White House For Travel To Florida

CONFIDENCE: Record Number of GOP Candidates File For Congress 2020

As the 2020 Democratic Party presidential candidates <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/48863/who-will-win-democratic-primary-latest-2020-josh-hammer">battle it out for the nomination</a>, politicos must pay close attention to President Donald Trump&#8217;s approval ratings — both nationally and across key swing states.
If anything, Trump&#8217;s approval rating has recently been on the affirmative rise, as evidence continues to mount that Democrats have <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/01/31/this-whole-pathetic-impeachment-effort-was-worse-than-a-waste-of-time/">overplayed their hand</a> on impeachment. Last week, the historically reliable pollsters at Gallup <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/284156/trump-job-approval-personal-best.aspx">released data</a> revealing Trump&#8217;s approval rating to be at an all-time personal best of 49%. &#8220;In addition to possibly reflecting sentiment regarding his impeachment, Trump&#8217;s increased approval rating may also result from other issues,&#8221; Gallup wrote. Those issues include the recent military skirmishes with Iran, foreign trade, and the economy.
Historically, presidents have fared well in re-election campaigns when they maintain approval ratings above 50%. This president has never had such an approval rating at any point throughout his presidency; but Trump is also a unique figure, in many ways, from the perspective of American political history. He defies many historical norms and loose &#8220;rules.&#8221; President Trump also oversees a genuinely soaring economy, with record-low unemployment rates, and regarding which Americans are the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/americans-are-more-optimistic-about-the-economy-than-they-have-been-in-decades">most optimistic they have been in decades</a>. One must also never forget the sheer power of incumbency: Since FDR, only Presidents Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush were elected and then subsequently not re-elected four years later.
As of February 11, 2020, the <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_trump_job_approval-6179.html">RealClearPolitics average</a> for Trump&#8217;s national job approval rating sits at 45.1% — or 7.0% underwater. That Trump&#8217;s approval rating only rose while warding off impeachment only buttresses the theory that Democrats have overplayed their hand.
Henry Olsen of The Washington Post had an <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/11/06/trump-is-down-far-out" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://email.dailywire.com/e2t/c/*W3HmRfg8wKtnCW4cGZSL1CSrXg0/*W5BKVhh96Gpb4W8-1y2m5m6ghN0/5/f18dQhb0Sq5J8Y9XHdW80JfVF1k63-nW7sTg0H2P2ZFHW6Dk5Sd1Vq7GqVLDpF18CSvhfW8CRtsF3P0gztW5yJNx18l2p1TW1nPLDM8rZZ3CW3L3hj18BVHkvW3knCMv8yXl2fN5x53HbSbM86W8CZT8L8tBst7VScmWZ5wMTWVW5wL96L1sL3M0W3Mybvy6RNDcsN5wYBLnZvRBfVRH-mh1l5XsBW55nSC91VJH71W4c2Rr971B_trW1x4lQB6GKLK6W1s0LSF5mKjF6W3m2jX953X_ZpW52Ylfx3_8mplW9fgwMT4fdf2wW1CKFgB4fCj-4W6yGjGM57QYy5W1zslkT7LNKKVW2twnxd6z4yN9W1GQ1T21fqP84W1BQNJF2PXVH6N8W1FtxGX70sW5YCjHQ1HGqqhW3mV5CD6Y6gM5W1j14QF1j9W8pN7KWJRDpdj-nV4slhZ3MYtL8W4HrzTg45Ly2MVkwRN48b6cnqW2GFB531GH84tW27PQWj8tVZYWVj8tbN4c-1VzW6PZLJt8zhkqrW4ffn6C5LdRRhW8qBft_2PLnMWW4rGbTz5ymY9KMZpcmq9ZLg8f2CCSW411&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1574867914609000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHkSMBe5OEEGUjYZNH6vGN2ZmbXFw">incisive piece</a> in November that analyzed the relationship between Trump’s approval ratings and his re-election chances. According to Olsen’s historically informed analysis, Trump would need his approval rating to rise to roughly 46% – 47% in order to confidently position himself to capture the Electoral College next November. That is well within the realm of possibility, given Trump&#8217;s current polling, although it will require the president to focus on reaching out to persuadable moderates, independents, and suburban swing voters. To that end, I have previously offered some <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-trump-needs-to-focus-on-a-safety-and-security-agenda-for-2020">unsolicited advice</a> to the Trump campaign: Focus on a safety and security agenda to appeal to these persuadable voters.
The Daily Wire will also be tracking Trump&#8217;s state-by-state approval rating as the general election nears. Here is the latest Trump approval rating information from across all the various swing states.
Battleground State-By-State Trump Approval Rating (latest data via <a href="https://morningconsult.com/tracking-trump-2/">Morning Consult&#8217;s January 2020</a> monthly survey)
ARIZONA:
<ul>
<li>2016 presidential result: Trump + 3.57%</li>
<li>Governor: Republican</li>
<li>U.S. Senate: Republican, Democrat</li>
<li>Current Trump approval rating: -1%</li>
</ul>
COLORADO:
<ul>
<li>2016 presidential result: Clinton + 4.91%</li>
<li>Governor: Democrat</li>
<li>U.S. Senate: Republican, Democrat</li>
<li>Current Trump approval rating: -10%</li>
</ul>
FLORIDA:
<ul>
<li>2016 presidential result: Trump + 1.20%</li>
<li>Governor: Republican</li>
<li>U.S. Senate: Republican, Republican</li>
<li>Current Trump approval rating: -1%</li>
</ul>
GEORGIA:
<ul>
<li>2016 presidential result: Trump + 5.09%</li>
<li>Governor: Republican</li>
<li>U.S. Senate: Republican, Republican</li>
<li>Current Trump approval rating: EVEN</li>
</ul>
IOWA:
<ul>
<li>2016 presidential result: Trump + 9.41%</li>
<li>Governor: Republican</li>
<li>U.S. Senate: Republican, Republican</li>
<li>Current Trump approval rating: -9%</li>
</ul>
MAINE:
<ul>
<li>2016 presidential result: Clinton + 2.96%</li>
<li>Governor: Democrat</li>
<li>U.S. Senate: Republican, Independent</li>
<li>Current Trump approval rating: -7%</li>
</ul>
MICHIGAN:
<ul>
<li>2016 presidential result: Trump + 0.23%</li>
<li>Governor: Democrat</li>
<li>U.S. Senate: Democrat, Democrat</li>
<li>Current Trump approval rating: -12%</li>
</ul>
MINNESOTA:
<ul>
<li>2016 presidential result: Clinton + 1.51%</li>
<li>Governor: Democrat</li>
<li>U.S. Senate: Democrat, Democrat</li>
<li>Current Trump approval rating: -7%</li>
</ul>
NEVADA:
<ul>
<li>2016 presidential result: Clinton + 2.42%</li>
<li>Governor: Democrat</li>
<li>U.S. Senate: Democrat, Democrat</li>
<li>Current Trump approval rating: -15%</li>
</ul>
NEW HAMPSHIRE:
<ul>
<li>2016 presidential result: Clinton + 0.37%</li>
<li>Governor: Democrat</li>
<li>U.S. Senate: Democrat, Democrat</li>
<li>Current Trump approval rating: -12%</li>
</ul>
NORTH CAROLINA:
<ul>
<li>2016 presidential result: Trump + 3.66%</li>
<li>Governor: Democrat</li>
<li>U.S. Senate: Republican, Republican</li>
<li>Current Trump approval rating: -1%</li>
</ul>
OHIO:
<ul>
<li>2016 presidential result: Trump + 8.13%</li>
<li>Governor: Republican</li>
<li>U.S. Senate: Republican, Democrat</li>
<li>Current Trump approval rating: -1%</li>
</ul>
PENNSYLVANIA:
<ul>
<li>2016 presidential result: Trump + 0.72%</li>
<li>Governor: Democrat</li>
<li>U.S. Senate: Republican, Democrat</li>
<li>Current Trump approval rating: -2%</li>
</ul>
TEXAS:
<ul>
<li>2016 presidential result: Trump + 8.99%</li>
<li>Governor: Republican</li>
<li>U.S. Senate: Republican, Republican</li>
<li>Current Trump approval rating: +5%</li>
</ul>
VIRGINIA:
<ul>
<li>2016 presidential result: Clinton + 5.32%</li>
<li>Governor: Democrat</li>
<li>U.S. Senate: Democrat, Democrat</li>
<li>Current Trump approval rating: -4%</li>
</ul>
WISCONSIN:
<ul>
<li>2016 presidential result: Trump + 0.77%</li>
<li>Governor: Democrat</li>
<li>U.S. Senate: Republican, Democrat</li>
<li>Current Trump approval rating: -10%</li>
</ul>
This article has been updated to reflect the most recent survey data.

Trump rally Kentucky

Will Trump Win? The Latest On Trump’s National And State-By-State Approval Ratings.

2020 Election

Donald Trump

Economy

For perhaps the first time during his entire presidency, it seems reasonably clear that President Donald Trump is a favorite to win a second term at the ballot box this November.
For a myriad of reasons, Trump has always been an ahistorical president. He famously lost the national popular vote in the 2016 presidential election, instead relying on a Rust Belt-centric coalition to secure a narrow victory in the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-electoral-college-under-assault-heres-why-josh-hammer">Electoral College</a>. The somewhat lopsided nature of the final Electoral College margin obscured the fact that Trump&#8217;s victory was only due to <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/weekly-standard/the-election-came-down-to-77-744-votes-in-pennsylvania-wisconsin-and-michigan-updated">a mere 77,000+ voters</a> spread across Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. And Trump&#8217;s job approval rating average has never once risen above 50%, which has oftentimes been viewed as a marker presidential incumbents strive to hit in order to feel comfortable about their chances for re-election.
The president&#8217;s margin for error, in short, is very slim. And while the Democrats&#8217; overly zealous <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/01/31/this-whole-pathetic-impeachment-effort-was-worse-than-a-waste-of-time/">partisan impeachment stun</a>t has no <a href="https://www.axios.com/trump-impeachment-poll-michigan-pennsylvania-wisconsin-6776a580-9a0f-4362-a8a7-e6180f18ed14.html">doubt disproportionately hurt Democrats</a> across many of the key Rust Belt swing states, the reality is that his approval rating in many of those same swing states was <a href="https://morningconsult.com/tracking-trump-2/">was lagging far behind</a> a comfortable level prior to the impeachment saga&#8217;s onset.
But despite all these trends, there now seems to be an emerging consensus that Trump is a <a href="https://www.predictit.org/markets/detail/3698/Who-will-win-the-2020-US-presidential-election">favorite, albeit a slight one</a>, to be re-elected this fall. This emerging consensus is correct, and there are a few reasons for that.
The president had a <a href="https://theresurgent.com/2020/02/06/the-democrats-terrible-week-donald-trumps-best-week/">historically good week</a> last week. In a span of three days, the Democratic Party exhibited an unforeseen level of gross institutional incompetence in the dumpster fire that was their botched Iowa caucuses process, Trump gave a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-trump-successfully-framed-the-stark-2020-election-choice-during-last-nights-sotu-address">very well-received</a> State of the Union Address, and he was acquitted on each of House Democrats&#8217; two adopted articles of impeachment. Furthermore, the post-Iowa fallout and crystallizing polling consensus for tomorrow&#8217;s New Hampshire Democratic Party presidential primary have both been simply disastrous for erstwhile frontrunner Joe Biden — the leading purported &#8220;moderate&#8221; of the Democratic field who many promoted as the candidate perhaps best positioned to defeat Trump in the general election.
The Democratic Party also evinced for all to see, during the State of the Union Address, just how substantively out of touch it is with the desired political agenda of the median <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-who-will-stand-for-the-forgotten-american">&#8220;forgotten&#8221;</a> American. Democrats routinely refused to applaud objectively salutary data about the extraordinary state of the American economy — an economy, that is, about which Americans have a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/americans-are-more-optimistic-about-the-economy-than-they-have-been-in-decades">higher collective sense of optimism</a> than they have had in decades. Democrats at the State of the Union Address also audibly booed during the president&#8217;s powerful excoriation of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-hammer-on-tipping-point-with-liz-wheeler-sanctuary-cities-are-neo-confederate">neo-Confederate</a>, <a href="https://cis.org/Camarota/NonCitizens-Committed-Disproportionate-Share-Federal-Crimes-201116">criminal-mollycoddling</a>, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-why-no-one-pointing-out-sanctuary-cities-josh-hammer">illegal</a> entities known as sanctuary cities. It is perhaps difficult to imagine a more out of touch moment than a political party opposing the deportation of violent illegal aliens who commit such heinous crimes as rape or homicide; alas, the modern Democratic Party, whose leading presidential candidates seem to love debating no issue more than they love debating whether to outlaw private health insurance for over a hundred million Americans, has become an utter <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-democratic-party-has-become-parody-itself-josh-hammer">parody of itself</a>.
The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/who-will-win-democratic-primary-latest-2020-josh-hammer">leading candidate</a> for the Democrats&#8217; 2020 presidential nomination is an unvarnished communist who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-bernie-sanders-entire-worldview-grotesquely-josh-hammer">literally honeymooned</a> in the former Soviet Union. Imagine the kind of person who gets married and decides to honeymoon abroad not in a Caribbean resort or a Pacific island, but in a freezing, gulag-riddled, totalitarian <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/100-years-of-communismand-100-million-dead-1510011810">beacon of pure evil</a> that, at the time of the honeymoon, happens to be in an existential state of &#8220;mutually assured destruction&#8221; with the United States. Seriously, try to imagine the kind of human being who does such a thing. That kind of human being is now the leading candidate to win the presidential nomination of the party of Harry Truman and John F. Kennedy.
Trump&#8217;s margin for error remains slender, and his <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_trump_job_approval-6179.html">average job approval rating</a> still has a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/11/06/trump-is-down-far-out/">bit of work to do</a> to allow his campaign operatives to sleep well at night. But for the first time of his presidency, it does seem that he is a favorite to win a second term.
&nbsp;
RELATED: <a href="http://lp.dailywire.com/getelectionwire/">Sign up here for Daily Wire Editor-at-Large Josh Hammer’s weekly newsletter on election news, polling data, and analysis: “Election Wire”</a>

President Trump Hosts Keep America Great Rally

HAMMER: Trump Is Finally A Favorite For Re-Election

Democratic Party

Impeachment

Iowa Caucuses

State of the Union

Authorities in Florida said on Saturday that a man deliberately rammed a vehicle into a tent of Republican volunteers who were registering people to vote.
&#8220;Jacksonville police say a driver intentionally crashed a van through a tent where Duval County GOP volunteers were registering voters Saturday afternoon,&#8221; The Florida Times-Union reported. &#8220;Several Duval County GOP volunteers were working at the registration tent when a white man in his early 20s driving an older – possibly 1980s – brown van pulled up toward the tent.&#8221;
Lt. Larry Gayle of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office told reporters that law enforcement was looking at the incident “as in reference to interruption of the political process.”
“We are investigating this as a aggravated assault,” Gayle said. “Several people were in the area and could have been seriously hurt. &#8230; JSO is taking the situation very seriously.”
Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel responded to the alleged attack by writing on Twitter: &#8220;These unprovoked, senseless attacks on @realDonaldTrump&#8217;s supporters need to end. I want to echo the @DuvalGOP in saying: We will not be silenced by cowards, and these disgusting acts will only make us work harder to win November.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
These unprovoked, senseless attacks on <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a>&#39;s supporters need to end. I want to echo the <a href="https://twitter.com/DuvalGOP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DuvalGOP</a> in saying: We will not be silenced by cowards, and these disgusting acts will only make us work harder to win November. <a href="https://t.co/GQ7OrbtSO2">https://t.co/GQ7OrbtSO2</a>
&mdash; Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) <a href="https://twitter.com/GOPChairwoman/status/1226303878251122688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 9, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
President Donald Trump quickly responded, writing, &#8220;Law Enforcement has been notified. Be careful tough guys who you play with!&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Law Enforcement has been notified. Be careful tough guys who you play with! <a href="https://t.co/1Pq0hOrzy2">https://t.co/1Pq0hOrzy2</a>
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1226308565557706753?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 9, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Florida Times-Union added that Gayle said that after the driver rammed the vehicle that he got out and flipped off the victims before running away.
“We are outraged by this senseless act of violence toward our great volunteers,” Duval GOP Chairman Dean Black said. “The Republican Party of Duval County will not be intimidated by these cowards and we will not be silenced. I call on every Republican in our great city to stand up, get involved and show these radicals that we will not be intimidated from exercising our Constitutional rights.”
In a series of tweets, the Duval County GOP documented the incident, writing, &#8220;Today in Jacksonville, Florida six Trump Campaign volunteers were intentionally targeted while registering voters.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Today in Jacksonville, Florida six Trump Campaign volunteers were intentionally targeted while registering voters. <a href="https://t.co/0wzaCYh5ut">pic.twitter.com/0wzaCYh5ut</a>
&mdash; Duval County GOP (@DuvalGOP) <a href="https://twitter.com/DuvalGOP/status/1226273637214408705?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 8, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;At approximately 2:45 p.m. a multi-colored brown and gold van driven by what is described as a white male in his 20s or 30s, accelerated into a crowd of volunteers at the Kernan Village shopping center located at 11900 Atlantic Boulevard,&#8221; Duval County GOP continued. &#8220;Thankfully, Republican volunteers narrowly avoided being struck by the accelerating van. The driver sped away after making an obscene gesture toward the crowd.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Thankfully, Republican volunteers narrowly avoided being struck by the accelerating van. The driver sped away after making an obscene gesture toward the crowd.
&mdash; Duval County GOP (@DuvalGOP) <a href="https://twitter.com/DuvalGOP/status/1226273640674623494?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 8, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Duval County GOP, <a href="https://twitter.com/DuvalGOP/status/1226273644290203651">concluded</a>, &#8220;The Republican Party of Duval County plans to redouble its efforts to register voters and will continue it’s fight with renewed intensity to re-elect President Donald Trump.&#8221;
Daniel Henry, the President of the Duval County Democratic Party, released a <a href="https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/van-drives-through-republican-party-tent-walmart-parking-lot/MKQ43YDVGZBDRKMIRXLA3RQFO4/">statement</a> saying he condemns the attack: “The Duval County Democratic Party condemns this cowardly act of violence. No one’s life should be placed in danger for exercising their first amendment rights. As Democrats, but more importantly, as residents of this great city of Jacksonville, we call on our fellow citizens to act with dignity, civility and respect for one another during this election cycle and beyond. We look forward to JSO’s arrest of the perpetrator.”
This report has been updated to include additional information.

US-POLITICS-TRUMP

BREAKING: Man Deliberately Rams Vehicle Into GOP Tent Full Of Volunteers, Trump Responds

Crime

After weeks of speculation about which senators might vote against the party line, the U.S. Senate voted on the Democrats&#8217; two articles of impeachment against President Trump on Wednesday, and only of the 100 senators defected on one of the articles —frequent Trump critic Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) voted &#8220;guilty&#8221; on &#8220;Abuse of Power,&#8221; which ultimately failed 48-52. Ahead of the vote, the Utah senator delivered a hand-signed note to each of his Republican colleagues.
The note, obtained and published by <a href="https://www.axios.com/mitt-romney-trump-impeachment-vote-note-c09e8704-0196-41e9-8d7a-5d640f06c7f7.html">Axios</a>, was delivered to Republican senators&#8217; individual boxes in the Senate cloakroom ahead of the vote Wednesday. In it, Romney defends the decision that he predicts will result in immense backlash against him, including from President Trump, insisting that his vote is &#8220;an act of conviction&#8221; stemming from the seriousness with which he takes his oath, &#8220;before God, to exercise &#8216;impartial justice.'&#8221;
&#8220;Does anyone seriously believe I would consent to these consequences other than from an inescapable conviction that my oath before God demanded it of me?&#8221; he asks in the letter, which is an excerpted version of his <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/05/mitt-romney-impeachment-vote-speech-transcript-110849">official statement on his decision</a>.
&#8220;As a Senator-juror, I swore an oath, before God, to exercise &#8216;impartial justice,'&#8221; Romney&#8217;s hand-signed letter to his peers begins. &#8220;I am a profoundly religious person. I take an oath before God as enormously consequential. I knew from the outset that being tasked with judging the President, the leader of my own party, would be the most difficult decision I have ever faced. I was not wrong.&#8221;
&#8220;Corrupting an election to keep oneself in office is perhaps the most abusive and disruptive violation of one&#8217;s oath of office that I can imagine,&#8221; he continues.
&#8220;I am aware that there are people in my party and in my state who will strenuously disapprove of my decision, and in some quarters, I will be vehemently denounced,&#8221; he states. &#8220;I am sure to hear abuse from the President and his supporters. Does anyone seriously believe I would consent to these consequences other than from an inescapable conviction that my oath before God demanded it of me?&#8221;
&#8220;As it is with each senator, my vote is an act of conviction,&#8221; he concludes. &#8220;We have come to different conclusions, fellow senators, but I trust we have all followed the dictates of our conscience.&#8221;
Romney was correct that his fellow Republicans would &#8220;strenuously disapprove&#8221; of his decision and he would be &#8220;vehemently denounced.&#8221; As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/calls-for-expelling-romney-from-gop-surge-utah-lawmaker-files-motion-to-allow-recall-of-senators">The Daily Wire</a> reported Wednesday, &#8220;calls exploded either to expel Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) from the Republican Party or recall him from the Senate immediately after he sided with the Democrats during the Senate’s vote to acquit President Donald Trump on Wednesday afternoon.&#8221;
<blockquote>The calls to remove Romney from the GOP were led by Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, who tweeted: “Mitt Romney is forever bitter that he will never be POTUS. He was too weak to beat the Democrats then so he’s joining them now. He’s now officially a member of the resistance &amp; should be expelled from the @GOP.”</blockquote>
Among those criticizing Romney&#8217;s decision is Romney&#8217;s own niece, Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel. &#8220;This is not the first time I have disagreed with Mitt, and I imagine it will not be the last,&#8221; tweeted McDaniel. &#8220;The bottom line is President Trump did nothing wrong, and the Republican Party is more united than ever behind him. I, along with the @GOP, stand with President Trump.&#8221;
The full text of Romney&#8217;s letter to his Republican colleagues below:
<blockquote>As a Senator-juror, I swore an oath, before God, to exercise &#8220;impartial justice.&#8221; I am a profoundly religious person. I take an oath before God as enormously consequential. I knew from the outset that being tasked with judging the President, the leader of my own party, would be the most difficult decision I have ever faced. I was not wrong.
&#8230;
Corrupting an election to keep oneself in office is perhaps the most abusive and disruptive violation of one&#8217;s oath of office that I can imagine.
&#8230;
I am aware that there are people in my party and in my state who will strenuously disapprove of my decision, and in some quarters, I will be vehemently denounced. I am sure to hear abuse from the President and his supporters. Does anyone seriously believe I would consent to these consequences other than from an inescapable conviction that my oath before God demanded it of me?
&#8230;
As it is with each senator, my vote is an act of conviction. We have come to different conclusions, fellow senators, but I trust we have all followed the dictates of our conscience.</blockquote>

Mitt Romney

READ IT: Here’s The Note Romney Gave To Every Republican Ahead Of The Impeachment Vote

&#8220;In both law and politics, I think the essential battle is the meta-battle of framing the narrative. As Sun Tzu said, every battle is won before it’s fought. It’s won by choosing the terrain on which it will be fought.&#8221; – Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) to The New Yorker&#8217;s Jeffrey Toobin, <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/06/30/the-absolutist-2">June 2014</a>
Although President Donald Trump no doubt prefers to vent his off-the-cuff frustrations in tweet threads and campaign rallies, it is the planned teleprompter format in which he most clearly excels. Since assuming office, Trump&#8217;s State of the Union addresses have consistently been visceral, evocative, rhetorically fine-tune affairs that make brilliant use of audience guests to drive home his substantive agenda.
Last night&#8217;s speech was <a href="https://theresurgent.com/2020/02/04/best-state-of-the-union-ever/">no exception</a>, and the president was tremendously successful in framing the 2020 election as a stark choice between two competing visions of American governance: The economic prosperity, domestic security, and &#8220;peace through strength&#8221; deterrence of the Right, and the socialism, lawlessness, and capitulatory foreign policy of the Left. To borrow from Cruz&#8217;s quoting of Sun Tzu, Trump has &#8220;cho[sen] the terrain on which&#8221; the 2020 election &#8220;will be fought.&#8221;
The president <a href="https://thefederalist.com/2020/02/05/president-trump-offers-a-sharp-rebuke-of-socialism-at-precisely-the-right-time/">spoke at length</a> about the revving American economic engine, thus placing on the defensive the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-aocs-squad-will-destroy-democrats-2020-josh-hammer">toxic brand of socialism</a> that has come to dominate the modern Democratic Party. The Democrats are a political party with a <a href="https://www.predictit.org/markets/detail/3633/Who-will-win-the-2020-Democratic-presidential-nomination">statistical frontrunner</a> of a presidential nominee who is a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-bernie-sanders-entire-worldview-grotesquely-josh-hammer">lifelong communist activist</a> — a man who literally honeymooned in the Soviet Union and infamously hung a hammer-and-sickle Soviet flag inside his Burlington, Vermont mayoral office. They are advancing that nominee (and so many others who now mimic his economic illiteracy) in the context of an American electorate that, according to reliable pollster Gallup, is the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/americans-are-more-optimistic-about-the-economy-than-they-have-been-in-decades">most optimistic</a> it has been about the economy in decades. Americans <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_trump_job_approval_economy-6182.html">currently approve</a> of Trump&#8217;s handling of the economy by over 17%, and Democrats&#8217; solution for that is to stage a presidential primary where one of the leading &#8220;intellectual&#8221; debates among the candidates is whether to literally abolish private health insurance in favor of a government monopoly.
Good luck with that.
The president also spoke about the gruesome horrors of sanctuary cities, the great majority of which are <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-why-no-one-pointing-out-sanctuary-cities-josh-hammer">clearly illegal</a> under a straightforward reading of <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1373">8 U.S.C. § 1373(a)</a>: &#8220;Notwithstanding any other provision of Federal, State, or local law, a Federal, State, or local government entity or official may not prohibit, or in any way restrict, any government entity or official from sending to, or receiving from, the [Department of Homeland Security] information regarding the citizenship or immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any individual.&#8221; The president masterfully provided gut-wrenching details of the crimes committed by illegal aliens mollycoddled by sanctuary jurisdictions — thus seemingly borrowing a tactic from Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, each of whom has at times provided vivid details of the underlying murders of those defendants whose capital punishment appeals reach the Court. Trump forced Democrats in the House chamber to retreat to the unenviable position of loudly booing his oratory assaults on criminal aliens and the sanctuary jurisdictions that harbor them. It was a remarkable sight to behold.
The president has thus successfully framed the 2020 election as a referendum about whether the nation will reject the Left&#8217;s two most profoundly ruinous current hobbyhorses: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-a-political-wish-for-2020-less-socialism-more-law-and-order">Socialism and lawlessness</a>. He also spoke directly to the heart and mind of the proverbial <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-who-will-stand-for-the-forgotten-american">forgotten American</a> — the tax-paying, church-attending, law-abiding American who still has an innate love and appreciation for what has always made America great. Say what one might about Trump, but one cannot plausibly deny that he is an &#8220;Americanist,&#8221; properly understood.
The American people will head to the ballot box this November with an exceedingly straightforward choice before them. Here is hoping they make the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-here-are-three-reasons-why-i-plan-vote-josh-hammer">right decision</a>.

President Trump Delivers State Of The Union Address

HAMMER: Trump Successfully Framed The Stark 2020 Election Choice During Last Night’s SOTU Address

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

Clarence Thomas

Communism

Law Enforcement

Qassem Soleimani

Radical Islam

On Monday, the always-inevitable U.S. Senate acquittal of President Donald Trump&#8217;s U.S. House impeachment charges barreled further along toward its natural conclusion.
&#8220;The impeachment trial of President Trump drew closer toward its almost-inevitable conclusion with closing arguments Monday, as Democratic House impeachment managers made a last-ditch push to convince the Senate that an acquittal would be a &#8216;death blow&#8217; to the ability to hold a president in check, while Trump’s defense team accused the Democrats of engaging in a rushed, partisan, unjustified endeavor,&#8221; Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-impeachment-trial-nears-end-with-closing-arguments">reported</a>.
The outlet is predicting that Trump&#8217;s formal acquittal vote may happen as soon as Wednesday — seemingly as good a guess as any.
House impeachment manager Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO) &#8220;addressed an argument put forth by Trump legal team member Alan Dershowitz, who claimed that Trump was working in the national interest, and not his personal interest, by asking Ukraine to investigate possible corruption related to former vice president Joe Biden and his son Hunter,&#8221; the cable news giant continued. &#8220;Dershowitz asserted that even if Trump was acting to aid his own re-election if he believes his re-election to be in the nation&#8217;s best interest, it would be proper.&#8221;
Another prominent Trump impeachment defense attorney, former federal judge and Clinton-era special counsel Ken Starr, also argued earlier on Monday against a freewheeling, exceedingly broad interpretation of Congress&#8217; impeachment power — including those impeachments haphazardly attempted with little substantive grist to back them up.
&#8220;They’ve got the power, but that doesn’t mean that anything goes,&#8221; Starr said on the Senate floor, as Fox News noted. &#8220;Did the House Judiciary Committee rush to judgment in fashioning the articles of impeachment? Did it carefully gather the facts, assess the facts, before it concluded we need nothing more than the panel of very distinguished professors and the splendid presentations by both the majority counsel and the minority counsel? What was being said in the sounds of silence was this: we don’t have time to follow the rules.&#8221;
In a <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/01/31/this-whole-pathetic-impeachment-effort-was-worse-than-a-waste-of-time/">New York Post op-ed</a> over the weekend, I decried the Democrats&#8217; partisan impeachment effort as &#8220;pathetic&#8221; and &#8220;worse than a waste of time&#8221;:
<blockquote>
After months of hype and pseudo-drama ginned up by the left, public and secret testimony and breathless “smoking-gun” headlines, it’s taking the Senate just two weeks to <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/01/31/senate-votes-against-new-witnesses-in-trump-impeachment-trial/" data-reader-unique-id="2">bring an end, finally, to the impeachment circus</a>. And it is ending with the always-inevitable acquittal of President Trump.
What a tragic, monumental waste of time it has been. After all, anyone capable of rudimentary arithmetic could have seen this foreordained outcome coming from Day One. &#8230;
Alas, to call it a mere waste of time is likely far too charitable. The Democrats took stock of the decrepit state of our national politics, the bitterly fractious nature of our partisan tribalism, the pathetic regard the American people have for their Congress and took a sledgehammer to it all. The most immediate tangible result of this failed gambit will be to only further coarsen and debase our politics. &#8230;
Most damaging of all, the Democrats’ pursuit of the draconian remedy of impeachment based on their claims of Trump’s corrupt subjective intentions on a diplomatic phone call has set a truly reckless precedent for the future. The general conduct of foreign policy is a core Article II function constitutionally vested in the president, and soliciting a “quid pro quo” while acting lawfully amounts to constitutionally protected free speech.
For Democrats to argue that Trump’s purportedly corrupt motive somehow transmogrifies such constitutionally protected conduct into an impeachable offense is nothing short of astonishing. Their zeal to impeach for what amounts to a policy disagreement over a diplomatic phone call reeks of the “maladministration” impeachment standard the Framers deliberated and then conscientiously rejected at the 1787 constitutional convention.
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Democrats are making their final <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/impeachment?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#impeachment</a> arguments right this second. 
But there&#39;s no way around it. This whole sham has been a waste of time and resources.
Move on. <a href="https://t.co/6pHIece54X">https://t.co/6pHIece54X</a>
&mdash; Oversight Committee Republicans (@GOPoversight) <a href="https://twitter.com/GOPoversight/status/1224367498180677633?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Senate Impeachment Trial Of President Trump Continues

ALMOST OVER: Senate Impeachment Trial Reaches Closing Arguments

John Roberts

U.S. Senate

Senator Kelly Loeffler (R-GA), who was sworn into the Senate earlier this month, hit her colleague Mitt Romney, former GOP presidential nominee and sitting Republican senator from Utah, for his stance with regard to the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.
In a viral tweet, Sen. Loeffler blasted Romney for wanting to &#8220;appease the left&#8221; over his support of impeachment witnesses, when, according to the senator, there is &#8220;no case for impeachment.&#8221;
&#8220;After [two] weeks, it’s clear that Democrats have no case for impeachment,&#8221; Loeffler posted via social media on Monday. 
&#8220;Sadly, my colleague [Senator Romney] wants to appease the left by calling witnesses who will slander the [Donald Trump] during their 15 minutes of fame,&#8221; she said.
The senator added, &#8220;The circus is over. It’s time to move on!&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
After 2 weeks, it’s clear that Democrats have no case for impeachment. Sadly, my colleague <a href="https://twitter.com/SenatorRomney?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenatorRomney</a> wants to appease the left by calling witnesses who will slander the <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> during their 15 minutes of fame. The circus is over. It’s time to move on! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/gapol?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#gapol</a>
&mdash; Senator Kelly Loeffler (@SenatorLoeffler) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenatorLoeffler/status/1221850900798607360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 27, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
As noted by The Hill, Romney said Monday that he&#8217;d like to hear from former National Security Advisor John Bolton.
<div id="dfp-ad-incontent_desk_2-wrapper" class="dfp-tag-wrapper wrapper">
“It’s pretty fair to say John Bolton has relevant testimony,” the 2012 GOP presidential nominee said. &#8220;I think it&#8217;s increasingly likely that other Republicans will join those of us who think we should hear from John Bolton.&#8221;
</div>
As highlighted by The Hill, &#8220;Loeffler and her husband donated to a pro-Romney super PAC in 2012, <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2019/12/gop-senate-appointee-kelly-loeffler-has-extensive-history-of-givin/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">according to Open Secrets</a>.&#8221;
As noted by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/critics-hammer-bolton-after-book-pre-order-goes-live-following-leaked-manuscript-published-by-nyt">The Daily Wire</a>, Bolton was criticized on Sunday over a report regarding the former national security advisor&#8217;s forthcoming book. Bolton reportedly claims Trump &#8220;directly tied financial assistance to Ukraine with Ukraine announcing an investigation into Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden.&#8221;
“President Trump told his national security adviser in August that he wanted to continue freezing $391 million in security assistance to Ukraine until officials there helped with investigations into Democrats including the Bidens, according to an unpublished manuscript by the former adviser, John R. Bolton,” The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/26/us/politics/trump-bolton-book-ukraine.html">reported</a> Sunday. “In recent days, some White House officials have described Mr. Bolton as a disgruntled former employee, and have said he took notes that he should have left behind when he departed the administration.”
Loeffler was appointed by Republican Georgia Governor Brian Kemp  to succeed Senator Johnny Isakson after the longtime Republican senator resigned due to health issues.
&#8220;The Georgia Republican, who chairs both the Veterans’ Affairs and Ethics committees, has Parkinson’s disease and has been recovering from a fall that took place in July,&#8221; reported <a href="https://www.rollcall.com/news/congress/sen-johnny-isakson-resign-end-2019">Roll Call</a>.
“In my 40 years in elected office, I have always put my constituents and my state of Georgia first. With the mounting health challenges I am facing, I have concluded that I will not be able to do the job over the long term in the manner the citizens of Georgia deserve,” Mr. Isakson said in a statement, according to the outlet. “It goes against every fiber of my being to leave in the middle of my Senate term, but I know it’s the right thing to do on behalf of my state.”
&#8220;I look forward to continuing to help the people of Georgia in any way I can and also helping those who are working toward a cure for Parkinson’s,” the statement later added.

Sen Mitt Romney And Sen. Kelly Loeffler

Newly Sworn-In GOP Senator Hits Romney On Impeachment: ‘Wants To Appease The Left’

If you are a Republican, the first week of impeachment meant the Democrats were unserious clowns, out to launch a coup against the duly elected President of the United States. The President&#8217;s team was diligent, thoughtful and proficient.
If you are a Democrat, the first week of impeachment meant the President&#8217;s team was a cast straight from the island of misfit toys, unable to make a coherent argument — and the Democrats were veritable geniuses. Impeachment, and your view on impeachment, is all in the eye of the beholder. Republicans think it is a scam, and Democrats think it is necessary.
In 1998, the roles were reversed, including in the press. Major media figures during the Clinton impeachment thought it would be a waste of time to hear from witnesses. Now, many of the same figures think it is vitally necessary. In 1998, Republicans thought the future of the republic depended on it, and Democrats thought it was a partisan coup. Guess where they stand now?
The most significant difference is that in 1998, Republicans got more Democrats on board than Democrats have gotten now against Trump. That is very notable, if for only one reason. There are 22 House Republicans leaving Congress. Half of them, at least, hate the President of the United States. They blame him for their districts turning against them. They blame him for their loss of power. They blame him for their departures. But the Democrats got precisely zero of them to vote their way, while the GOP picked up a seat in Congress with a Democrat turning Republican.
If House Democrats cannot get the Republicans who hate President Donald Trump and no longer have to fear his voters to go for impeachment, getting two-thirds of the Senate to go along for their ride is going to be an impossible task. To be clear, the President should not have done what he did. It was wrong, and any Republican who says otherwise lacks the intellectual honesty to acknowledge they would be demanding Barack Obama&#8217;s head if he had done the same.
But is it impeachable? I think, with the nation less than a year from an election, it is not. If the President were in a second term and incapable of being held accountable by the voters, or early in a first term, the conclusion could be different. But the conclusion here is that the President did something wrong, and his staff knew it — but it is in the open and he will face voters in less than 11 months. Likewise, Democrats failed to call key witnesses they could have called to build a better case, such as former National Security Advisor John Bolton.
Instead, they tried to hide behind the courts and endless delays, but they never even wanted to pick the fight. The reality is that the courts would have accommodated the Democrats and rapidly expedited the fight. The Democrats chose never to go that far and now want the Senate to do the House&#8217;s job.
Impeachment is a partisan fundraising tool for both sides at this point. Democrats have managed to help the President unite the Republican base while uniting their own base. There can be only one winner, and it will be Trump. Democrats will take their loss and turn it into a public relations and fundraising victory with their base. Relying on an overly biased and sympathetic media, the Democrats will cast doubt on the 2020 election, savage the GOP and make a case for taking back the Senate.
In less than a month, the nation will move on and have other things to focus on. Time will advance, the President will be on the ballot in November and voters will care about something else. This is historic. This is the third presidential impeachment in American history and only the second in living memory. Its ending is a foregone conclusion. It distracts from more important things. It will do nothing but make Americans more cynical as the ties that bind us fray just a bit more.
To find out more about Erick Erickson and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Capitol Hill.

ERICKSON: The Sound, Fury And Predictability

America is based on trust. That’s why President Donald Trump is winning and why Democrats are flailing — on the campaign trail and in their impeachment trial. Let me explain.
Our nation was born, in 1776, with our Founders’ promise of “our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor” to one another. Our Constitution was rooted in 1787, creating — in Benjamin Franklin’s famous warning — “a republic, if you can keep it.” And of course, the only way to “keep” a republic is through institutions of mutual trust and responsibility — from your local churches and Little Leagues up to federal agencies and the news media who cover it.
Today, you hear a lot about our institutions breaking “down,” but in truth, they are breaking “trust.” Recent examples are fresh in our minds: The child abuse scandals in the Catholic Church, the explosion of #MeToo cases finally taking down prominent business and entertainment superstars, the monstrous lies of the Bush and Obama administrations told to cover up their military failures in Afghanistan, and even the revelations of rampant cheating in Major League Baseball.
But perhaps the greatest threat we face today is that in this age of distrust, scandals like those are still shocking, but no longer surprising. America’s vast reserves of trust — built up through generations of cooperative association in our voluntary civil society, our free enterprise economy, and our accountable, constitutional republic — are being drawn down every day. Leaders treat their organizations the way spoiled toddlers treat their toys.
The problem is everywhere, but like most problems, it’s worst in Washington, D.C.
Today, Congress is leading America’s institutional race to the bottom. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and her lieutenants think their impeachment witch hunt is hurting President Trump. But the president’s polling indicates they’re not making a dent — he’s as popular as ever, and deservedly so given his record of almost uninterrupted success in foreign, domestic, and economic affairs. No, Washington Democrats are really hurting the American people, by turning the House of Representatives — and now the Senate — into a phony kangaroo court.
No one involved with the impeachment believes Donald Trump committed high crimes and misdemeanors. No one believes he’s going to be removed from office. They simply see the impeachment process as one long attack ad against the president that the liberal media will happily air for them, free of charge. All they care about is attacking President Trump and defeating him in November. (Just like 20 years ago, they didn’t care President Bill Clinton was a perjurer and serial sexual predator; they cared about defending “their team.”)
Blinded by partisanship, Washington Democrats in both cases ignored the damage they have done to the credibility of our governing institutions.
As a nation, we’re facing generational challenges: $22 trillion in debt, driven by unsustainable entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security; a crisis on our border that could explode any time, as drug cartels continue to gain power in Mexico.
Congress created those problems, and so squandered the public trust necessary to solve them right away. But rather than doing the hard work of rebuilding that trust on which our system of government depends, they are embracing the dysfunction. This impeachment fiasco, following on the Mueller investigation, has not only undermined Congress’s credibility — but that of the FBI, the Justice Department, the media, and the entire governing class. Thanks to the Democrats’ reckless partisanship, our institutions are literally in worse shape today than they would have been had they done nothing at all for the last three years.
At a time when the American people are craving authenticity and candor — like President Trump’s straight-talking approach — the Democrats are doubling down on the politics of deception. From the media’s addiction to “Fake News” to Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-MA) biographical lies to Rep. Adam Schiff’s (D-CA) dissembling about the “whistleblower” to the Deep State’s open conspiracy against the president, the Democratic Party sees its only political hope in exacerbating America’s crisis of distrust.
They believe the only way they can win is by making sure we all lose.
It’s up to Republicans to follow the president’s lead, in this impeachment trial and beyond, to finally rebuild that credibility. He seems to be the only leader in Washington who understands that the only way to win back the people’s trust … is to actually be trustworthy.
&nbsp;
Jim DeMint, chairman of <a style="font-style: italic;" href="https://www.conservativepartnership.org">Conservative Partnership Institute</a>, formerly served as president of The Heritage Foundation and as a U.S. congressman and senator from South Carolina.

President Trump Welcomes College Football Champions LSU Tigers To The White House

DEMINT: The Secret To Trump’s Winning: Trust

After the clock struck midnight on the East Coast last night, toward the final hours of the marathon U.S. Senate impeachment trial session that featured both the U.S. House manager prosecution and the presidential defense team dueling about the trial&#8217;s procedural rules, Chief Justice John Roberts was peeved. The nation&#8217;s highest jurist, <a href="https://www.heritage.org/constitution/#!/articles/1/essays/17/trial-of-impeachment">constitutionally required</a> to preside over a Senate impeachment trial of a president, excoriated both sides for the rambunctiousness and juvenility of their respective rhetoric.
&#8220;A marathon, 12-hour first day in the Senate impeachment trial against President Trump erupted into a shouting match well after midnight Wednesday morning, as Trump&#8217;s legal team unloaded on Democratic impeachment manager Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-(NY) — in an exchange that prompted a bleary-eyed Chief Justice John Roberts to sternly admonish both sides for misconduct in the chamber,&#8221; Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/senate-impeachment-trial-begins-with-win-for-the-white-house-as-dems-rules-proposal-is-nixed">reported</a>.
&#8220;Nadler, who was overheard apparently planning to impeach Trump back in 2018, said it would be a &#8216;treacherous vote&#8217; and a &#8216;cover-up&#8217; for Republicans to reject the [former National Security Advisor John] Bolton subpoena amendment, claiming that &#8216;only guilty people try to hide evidence,'&#8221; the outlet continued. &#8220;Bolton has reportedly described Trump&#8217;s conduct as akin to a &#8216;drug deal,&#8217; and he has indicated he would be willing to testify and provide relevant information.&#8221;
President Trump&#8217;s two main defense lawyers, White House Counsel Pat Cipollone and Jay Sekulow, both fired back against Nadler. &#8220;Mr. Nadler came up here and made false allegations against our team,&#8221; Cipollone said. &#8220;He made false allegations against all of you [senators]; he accused you of a cover-up. He&#8217;s been making false allegations against the president. The only one who should be embarrassed, Mr. Nadler is you, for the way you&#8217;ve addressed the United States Senate. This is the United States Senate. You&#8217;re not in charge here. &#8230; It’s about time we bring this power trip in for a landing.&#8221;
This exchange proved too much for the chief justice.
&#8220;It is appropriate at this point for me to admonish both the House managers and the president&#8217;s counsel in equal terms to remember that they are addressing the world&#8217;s greatest deliberative body,&#8221; Roberts sternly rebuked. &#8220;One reason it has earned that title is because its members avoid speaking in a manner, and using language, that is not conducive to civil discourse.&#8221;
&#8220;In the 1905 [Judge Charles] Swayne [impeachment] trial, a senator objected when one of the managers used the word &#8216;pettifogging&#8217; — and the presiding officer said the word ought not to have been used,&#8221; the chief justice continued. &#8220;I don&#8217;t think we need to aspire to that high a standard, but I do think those addressing the Senate should remember where they are.&#8221;
That the chief justice saw fit to reprimand both sides did not sit well with every Republican senator in the &#8220;world&#8217;s greatest deliberative body.&#8221; Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), himself a lawyer and former U.S. Supreme Court law clerk for Justice Samuel Alito, <a href="https://video.foxnews.com/v/6125557687001#sp=show-clips">told Fox News</a> earlier today that he thought it was &#8220;unfair&#8221; for Roberts to include Trump&#8217;s defense lawyers alongside the Democratic prosecution as part of his critical remarks.
Chief Justice Roberts, a George W. Bush high court nominee who is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-kavanaugh-and-gorsuch-have-issues-john-josh-hammer">widely reputed to care tremendously</a> about preserving the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-it-past-time-trump-openly-defy-court-order-josh-hammer">purported</a> non-politicization of Alexander Hamilton&#8217;s <a href="https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/fed78.asp">&#8220;least dangerous&#8221;</a> branch, famously analogized the role of a Supreme Court justice to that of a baseball home plate umpire calling balls and strikes during his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing. Politico <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/01/20/john-roberts-trump-impeachment-101114">recently observed</a> how his role overseeing the nation&#8217;s first presidential impeachment trial in two-plus decades could afford him a unique opportunity to bring that analogy to fruition:
<blockquote>[I]n his 14 years as chief justice, Roberts hasn’t really had the role of umpire — and he knows it. That said, Roberts’s comment about balls and strikes probably reflected an aspiration. To the extent that the Court can be perceived (rightly or wrongly) as acting with principled neutrality, its reputation as an arbiter floating above the political scrum is strengthened. And for judges who like to be perceived as doing nothing more than faithfully applying the law, the umpire analogy is always tempting. There’s something appealing about just getting to call balls and strikes.
Now for the first time, the impeachment trial is giving Roberts that chance. For once, Roberts will have a decision-making role in a forum where he himself is not a major player in the drama. The big players are people like McConnell and Schumer, Romney and Murkowski, Nadler and Schiff, Starr and Dershowitz, the witnesses (if any) who testify—and, offstage, the president. Roberts is there, at the center, and he needs to make decisions. But this time, he really is just the umpire. He’s not the one we’re tuning in to see, and the game’s most important decisions and actions belong to other people. And the rulings he makes, for once, can be made under an umpire’s decision-making conditions: All by himself, yes or no, and maybe in real time.
</blockquote>
Roberts, the infamous deciding vote in favor of constitutionally upholding Obamacare&#8217;s individual mandate back in 2012, has long drawn the ire of many conservative critics. Last summer, I opined in a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-kavanaugh-and-gorsuch-have-issues-john-josh-hammer">Daily Wire op-ed</a> about the lessons conservatives should learn from his oftentimes lackluster career on the nation&#8217;s highest court:
<blockquote>
The lessons to learn from Roberts’ tremendously disappointing career on the Court are the same <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/47351/hammer-draw-right-lessons-kavanaughs-bad-start-no-josh-hammer" data-reader-unique-id="67">lessons that conservatives ought to learn</a> from [Justice Brett] Kavanaugh’s similarly disappointing start. I have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/44037/hammer-three-things-conservatives-must-look-future-josh-hammer" data-reader-unique-id="68">identified three broad criteria</a> for which we ought to carefully vet the next Supreme Court nominee: (1) full-spectrum conservatism, (2) stiff resistance to the “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_effect_(United_States_Supreme_Court)" data-reader-unique-id="69">Greenhouse Effect</a>,” and (3) eagerness to aggressively correct course. And for the love of God, also make sure the nominee is also someone with a lengthy paper trail and who will not be tempted by non-legal concerns — such as Roberts’ obvious and indefensible preoccupation with the Court’s “institutional integrity.”
</blockquote>

Chief Justice John Roberts

Chief Justice Roberts, Finally The ‘Umpire’ He Wanted To Be, Criticizes Both Sides Of Impeachment Trial

Jerry Nadler

Supreme Court

President Trump held another one of his jam-packed rallies Thursday night — the first of 2020 — this time in the crucial battleground state of Ohio, making clear how much his campaign values securing the state&#8217;s 18 electoral votes he won by eight points in 2016.
During the raucous rally in Toledo, Trump pointed to his decision to order an airstrike on Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani as evidence that he will bring &#8220;<a href="https://www.daytondailynews.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/president-trump-ohio-tonight-for-2020-kickoff-campaign/iAPspsmIwCvRhc0eAn80PI/">American justice</a>&#8221; to those who pose a threat to Americans and America&#8217;s interests and taunted Democrats over the standoff with Iran, suggesting he should win the Nobel Peace Prize for his handling of the situation.
In a series of tweets highlighting photos and video from the rally, Trump touted the &#8220;tremendous crowd&#8221; and summed up some of the themes of the night, including his commitment to &#8220;NEVER make excuses for America&#8217;s enemies&#8221; and to &#8220;never hesitate in defending American lives.&#8221; He also offered up a new slogan for the Republicans, along with a withering summary of the Democratic Party&#8217;s platform.
&#8220;Heading to Toledo, Ohio, for first Rally of the year. Tremendous crowd. Here we go for a big 2020 Win!&#8221; Trump wrote in the first of a series of rally-themed tweets Thursday evening (posts below).
&#8220;Under my administration, we will NEVER make excuses for America’s enemies – we will never hesitate in defending American lives – and we will never stop working to defeat Radical Islamic Terrorism!&#8221; he wrote in a tweet showing him on stage in the packed-out Huntington Center in Toledo.
&#8220;After years of rebuilding OTHER nations, we are finally rebuilding OUR nation. We are finally putting AMERICA FIRST!&#8221; the president added in another post featuring a shot of the crowd.
Trump then contrasted the radical policies increasingly embraced by the Democrats with the goals of the Republican Party: &#8220;Democrats are now the party of high taxes, high crime, open borders, late-term abortion, socialism, and blatant corruption. The Republican Party is the party of the American Worker, the American Family, and the American Dream!
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Heading to Toledo, Ohio, for first Rally of the year. Tremendous crowd. Here we go for a big 2020 Win!
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1215406817297088512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
THANK YOU TOLEDO, OHIO!<a href="https://t.co/PL96KjQWat">https://t.co/PL96KjQWat</a>
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1215452636260061185?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Under my administration, we will NEVER make excuses for America’s enemies – we will never hesitate in defending American lives – and we will never stop working to defeat Radical Islamic Terrorism! <a href="https://t.co/022PjwhHjs">pic.twitter.com/022PjwhHjs</a>
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1215454244519718912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
After years of rebuilding OTHER nations, we are finally rebuilding OUR nation. We are finally putting AMERICA FIRST! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KAG2020?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KAG2020</a> <a href="https://t.co/azKL54A6BU">pic.twitter.com/azKL54A6BU</a>
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1215455064183230465?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Democrats are now the party of high taxes, high crime, open borders, late-term abortion, socialism, and blatant corruption. The Republican Party is the party of the American Worker, the American Family, and the American Dream! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KAG2020?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KAG2020</a> <a href="https://t.co/05XRX2odxN">pic.twitter.com/05XRX2odxN</a>
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1215457108327571458?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Trump&#8217;s rally followed a significant series of events for his presidency. After he ordered an airstrike that took out Iran&#8217;s top military leader and the man responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Americans and countless terrorist operations, Iran retaliated Tuesday by firing over a dozen ballistic missiles at two Iraqi bases at which U.S. and coalition personnel were stationed.
The attack resulted in no American or Iraqi casualties, and Iran quickly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/iran-sent-messages-through-three-back-channels-to-u-s-after-attack-to-say-they-were-done">signaled to the U.S.</a> that it hoped to de-escalate the situation. The next morning, Trump gave a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-trump-addresses-nation-after-attack-no-lives-lost-iran-appears-to-be-standing-down">televised national address</a> announcing that Iran appeared to be &#8220;backing down&#8221; and unveiling new economic sanctions on the terror-sponsoring state.
“Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned, and a very good thing for the world,” said the president. “No American or Iraqi lives were lost because of the precautions taken, the dispersal of forces, and an early warning system that worked very well.”
While Trump was providing Americans the welcome news, the Democrats were preparing to vote on a War Powers Resolution to limit his ability to take military action against Iran, a resolution that passed in the House on Thursday. While House Speaker Nancy Pelosi insists that the resolution is an important check on Trump&#8217;s authority, Republicans have dismissed it as &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-targets-pelosi-ahead-of-vote-on-toothless-war-powers-resolution">toothless.</a>&#8220;

President Donald Trump

Trump Holds Packed-Out Rally In Ohio, Taunts Dems Over Iran, Tests Out New Slogan For GOP

Iran

The killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in Iraq at the hands of an American drone has stirred up a partisan hornet’s nest. Republicans overwhelmingly approve of the killing of the individual responsible for the recent <a href="https://time.com/5757228/us-iran-events-timeline/">attack on the U.S. embassy in Iraq</a>. Democrats, on the other hand, are overwhelmingly focused on the risks of “escalation” with Iran.
Former Vice President Joe Biden, the leading Democrat for his party’s 2020 presidential nomination, acknowledged blood on Soleimani’s hands, but the main thrust of his <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1212954848666234880">statement</a> concerns the risk of escalation: &#8220;President Trump just tossed a stick of dynamite into a tinderbox, and he owes the American people an explanation of the strategy and a plan to keep safe our troops and embassy personnel, our people and our interests.&#8221; Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), another 2020 presidential candidate, <a href="https://twitter.com/ewarren/status/1212951889060470788">called</a> the move “reckless” and feared it would “lead to a new Middle East conflict.” Similar sentiments were <a href="https://www.reed.senate.gov/news/releases/reed-statement-on-us-strike-that-killed-iranian-gen-soleimani">offered</a> by Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, <a href="https://twitter.com/SenatorShaheen/status/1212949251514388481">as well as</a> Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), <a href="https://www.murray.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/mobile/newsreleases?ID=4A1363EF-535C-42C9-8438-2A4F2F3988FA">Patty Murray</a> (D-WA), and many others.
Some went further. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) made no condemnation of Soleimani’s actions, instead <a href="https://twitter.com/BernieSanders/status/1212959357425651713?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1212959357425651713&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rollingstone.com%2Fpolitics%2Fpolitics-news%2Flawmakers-react-after-us-strike-kills-iranian-military-leader-933470%2F">decrying</a> President Trump for putting us on a path to “endless war.” Senator Warren later suggested that killing Soleimani was <a href="https://www.axios.com/warren-trump-soleimani-killing-impeachment-e548dbfe-f0a3-488d-8ab6-3303c61fb7e1.html">motivated</a> by a desire to distract from impeachment. The usually hawkish Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, <a href="https://twitter.com/RepEliotEngel/status/1213625152937680896">said</a> he would do everything he could to prevent war with Iran — suggesting the killing of Soleimani, rather than Iran’s numerous attacks on the U.S., would be responsible for any such war. Legislation to tie the administration’s hands has <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/01/04/qasem-soleimani-bernie-sanders-khanna-bill-would-limit-iran-action/2812727001/">already been</a> introduced.
Republicans, on the other hand, were having none of it. Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) <a href="https://www.sasse.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=DE21FF49-EBEB-4694-8E94-AEE3AE29083D">accused</a> fellow Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), who largely <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisMurphyCT/status/1212913952436445185">echoed</a> the party line, of “<a href="https://twitter.com/SenSasse/status/1212938721387057153">drunk partisanship</a>.” Sasse <a href="https://www.sasse.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=DE21FF49-EBEB-4694-8E94-AEE3AE29083D">declared</a> that “General Soleimani is dead because he was an evil bastard who murdered Americans.” Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) put it most <a href="https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=D2E041A4-B231-4743-A4EA-879A9F8EEB01">starkly</a>: “For too long, this evil man operated without constraint, and countless innocents have suffered for it. Now his terrorist leadership has been ended.”
In short, to paraphrase a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vK0_Ob9qCI0">popular film</a>, most Democrats are critical of the Trump administration risking “open war,&#8221; while Republicans insist that “open war” is already upon us.
The Republicans have the better argument. There has been a steady escalation of tensions in recent months — by Iran, not the U.S. In addition to the previously mentioned attack on the American embassy in Iraq, which was not a “protest,” but an attack perpetrated by Kataib Hezbollah, one of <a href="https://www.pri.org/stories/2020-01-03/kataib-hezbollah-attacked-us-embassy-baghdad-who-are-they">Soleimani&#8217;s most loyal terrorist proxy militias</a> in Iraq, Soleimani was responsible for repeated escalation.
Republicans have eagerly pointed this out. Sen. James Risch (R-ID), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, noted that Soleimani had been actively involved in an attack that <a href="https://www.risch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=B77D9F0A-D077-437B-B66C-7E3198C60A92">killed</a> an American contractor and wounded four American troops just days before the embassy attack. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) pointed out that there had been <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/qassem-soleimani-iran-marco-rubio-transcript-on-face-the-nation-january-5-2019/">over 10 rocket attacks</a> against Americans since October. Moreover, Iran’s <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/15/middleeast/saudi-oil-attack-lister-analysis-intl/index.html">attack</a> on Saudi oil fields, <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/9550516/royal-navy-captains-frantic-call-urging-brit-tanker-ignore-iran-threats-change-course/">attack</a> on a British ship in the Persian Gulf, and <a href="https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/iran-us-drone-shot-down-latest-intl/index.html">downing</a> of a U.S. drone are all part of Iran’s provocations. These events were seen as escalations by both sides of the isle.
All this is not even considering that, according to the State Department, Iran, and thus Soleimani, its chief unconventional warfare strategist, is <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/iran-responsible-for-deaths-of-more-than-600-american-troops-in-iraq">responsible</a> for the deaths of over 600 American soldiers in previous years — nor is it even considering Soleimani’s <a href="https://www.trtworld.com/opinion/qasem-soleimani-s-disastrous-syria-legacy-lives-on-32762">boundless support</a> for Bashar al-Assad in Syria vis-à-vis proxy groups. Nor, still, is it considering Soleimani’s part in Iran’s support of the <a href="https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/yemen-houthis-protest-killing-of-iranian-iraqi-chiefs/1694428">radical Houthi </a><a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-security-blast-yemen/yemen-government-backs-soleimanis-killing-minister-idUSKBN1Z2209">movement </a>in Yemen, resulting in one of the bloodiest civil wars in recent history. The list goes on.
Unlike the killing of Osama bin Laden or Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the killing of Soleimani presents significant risk. Soleimani was at the height of his power, and while the Quds Force he oversaw is indisputably a terrorist organization, it is also a branch of a state actor. This creates a more complicated, and dangerous, situation.
However, the focus on U.S. “escalation,” ignoring recent history, is a potentially catastrophic mistake. The word “appeasement” is overused, but no other word accurately describes the position of most Democratic politicians, who are ignoring the pattern of increasingly bellicose Iranian behavior. As Garry Kasparov recently said, appeasement kills <a href="https://twitter.com/Kasparov63/status/1213576615780847617">because</a> it “raises the stakes, postpones the inevitable, and encourages aggressors to assume they can act with impunity.”
Moreover, Democratic worries about endless escalation seem unwarranted. Iran’s recent “retaliation,” launching missiles that resulted in <a href="https://www.militarytimes.com/flashpoints/2020/01/08/no-us-casualties-in-iran-missile-strike-preliminary-reports-say/">zero U.S. or Iraqi casualties</a> and even giving the Iraqi government <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-fires-missiles-at-military-bases-iraq-used-by-us-coalition-troops-today-live-updates-2020-01-08/">advance notice</a>, seems aimed at face-saving more than a desire to escalate further.
The temptation to take a partisan stance on such a major issue, during an election year, may be almost irresistible. But that doesn’t make it right. Leader McConnell was indignant, asking in a <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2020/01/06/mcconnell_on_impeachment_and_iran_senate_must_put_national_interest_ahead_of_factionalism.html">rousing speech</a>, “Can we not maintain a shred, just a shred, of national unity for five minutes … before deepening the partisan trenches?” As former Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Lieberman <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-democrats-and-iran-11578262553?redirect=amp&amp;fbclid=IwAR3TRr4mMZTInU3PDRqBpPOWlpuyf9RwYvVbesc3vmBUasQ7aeZykIo1lWs#click=https://t.co/PBOkugbjBe">recently wrote</a>, “In their uniformly skeptical or negative reactions to Soleimani’s death, Democrats are … creating the risk that the U.S. will be seen as acting and speaking with less authority abroad at this important time.”
The late Sen. Arthur Vandenberg’s (R-MI) maxim that “politics stops at the water’s edge” has always been more aspirational than real. But in preaching what amounts to appeasement, Democrats are endangering the country.
&nbsp;
Cliff Smith (<a href="https://twitter.com/cliffsmithzbrdz?lang=en">@CliffSmithZBRDZ</a>) is Washington Project Director for the <a href="https://www.meforum.org/">Middle East Forum</a>.

Neville Chamberlain

SMITH: Republicans, Democrats And The Killing Of Soleimani: Is Appeasement Back In Style?

Foreign Policy

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

Middle East

Earlier this month, in the lead-up to House Democrats&#8217; (<a href="https://twitter.com/josh_hammer/status/1207731722995023872">kind of</a>/<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/20/us/trump-feldman-impeach.html">sort of</a>) formal impeachment of President Donald Trump, the Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)-led House Judiciary Committee convened a panel of three law professors: Pamela Karlan of Stanford, Noah Feldman of Harvard, and Jonathan Turley of George Washington. The ostensible reason for Nadler&#8217;s summoning of this troika was to air a public discussion of what the U.S. Constitution&#8217;s &#8220;high crimes and misdemeanors&#8221; impeachment criterion actually means — a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-todays-judiciary-committee-impeachment-hearing-is-yet-another-waste-of-time">rather curious use of time and taxpayer resources</a>, alas, considering that Alexander Hamilton told us precisely what it meant in <a href="https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/fed65.asp">The Federalist No. 65</a>.
This triumvirate of ivory tower overlords, moreover, was hardly politically or ideologically diverse. Karlan is an unreconstructed leftist so radical that former President Barack Obama did not even consider her for a U.S. Supreme Court nomination. Feldman is a traditional liberal — hardly one to find compelling the notion that a legal text ought to only be interpreted according to its original public meaning. Turley, the Republican-called witness who was <a href="https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2019-12-09/opinion-trump-impeachment-hearings-democrats">most favorable toward</a> Trump&#8217;s impeachment defense narrative, is nonetheless best described as a left-leaning civil libertarian. He is <a href="https://www.newsmax.com/politics/turley-democrats-republicans-gop/2019/12/28/id/947594/">hardly a partisan Trump supporter</a>.
Alas, Turley&#8217;s testimony elicited intensive backlash from fellow liberals and fellow members of the cloistered legal academy. As Turley snarkily tweeted, linking to an op-ed he published over the holiday weekend at The Hill: &#8220;The Eleventh Commandment: Thou shalt not testify for Republicans.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The Eleventh Commandment: Thou shalt not testify for Republicans <a href="https://t.co/AhlGtYMYsC">https://t.co/AhlGtYMYsC</a>
&mdash; Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) <a href="https://twitter.com/JonathanTurley/status/1210938223444267010?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 28, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Journalist Henry Louis Mencken once observed, &#8216;Say what you will about the Ten Commandments, you must always come back to the pleasant fact that there are only ten of them,'&#8221; Turley began. &#8220;Despite unending respect for Mencken, this is an occasion in which I found him mistaken, after I violated the Eleventh Commandment, &#8216;Thou shalt not testify for Republicans.'&#8221;
Turley&#8217;s piece continued with oftentimes dripping sarcasm. The professor clearly harbors no small amount of disdain for the intellectual and political monoculture that the Left oftentimes attempts to forcibly impose from the heights of academe.
&#8220;What is most striking about this commandment is that it does not matter if your testimony is made in good faith,&#8221; he wrote. &#8220;For instance, under the Ninth Commandment, you are only guilty if you give false evidence against your neighbor. But under the Eleventh Commandment, it does matter if your testimony is true or false. A law fearing academic must not give any testimony for Republicans. &#8230; It is the act of testifying for Republicans that is deemed a sin against the legal academy.&#8221;
&#8220;[H]eresy demands condemnation, whether or not it is based in reality,&#8221; Turley concluded. &#8220;This is all meant to get people to not seriously consider the flaws in this impeachment, including the articles that ultimately were dropped. For any academic who is tempted to testify for Republicans in an impeachment, I can only caution that the Bible said, &#8216;Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord.'&#8221;
Political and ideological diversity is an infamous and pervasive problem throughout much of American academia — with legal academia among the most grievous of all offenders. Recently, conservative law professor Stephen Bainbridge of UCLA wrote a <a href="https://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/ucla-professor-bainbridge-hero-of-diversity/">widely disseminated</a> <a href="https://www.professorbainbridge.com/professorbainbridgecom/2019/12/i-submit-herewith-my-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-statement-for-my-merit-raise-at-uclaw.html">blog post</a> about how he, as a conservative white Catholic, actively contributes to diversity (properly understood) at UCLA School of Law:
<blockquote>At UCLA, we know that the campus as a whole leans substantially to the left. “A study of various university faculties showed that at Cornell the ratio of liberal to conservative faculty members was 166 to 6, at Stanford it was 151 to 17, at UCLA it was 141 to 9, and at the University of Colorado it was 116 to 5.” Conservative students at UCLA have been “harassed, stalked, and threatened.” I recently searched the opensecrets.org donor database for political contributions made by persons who claimed UCLA School of Law as their employer. Thirty-eight of those persons contributed solely to Democratic candidates, the Democratic Party and various affiliates, and liberal PACs. One person contributed to both Republicans and Democrats. Three persons contributed exclusively to Republican candidates, the Republican Party, and various NRC affiliates. Of the faculty members who contributed exclusively to Republican candidates, the most recently hired of the two was hired in 1997. As a monetary matter, 92.67% of all contributions went to Democrats and affiliated groups.
Because conservative students and students of faith often feel alienated and estranged in an environment that is so relentlessly liberal and secular, I have made particular efforts to reach out to and support such students. I have served as a mentor for leaders of The Federalist Society and Christian Law Students Association. I have given talks to both organizations. I taught a Perspectives on law and Lawyering seminar devoted to Catholic Social Thought and the Law, which gave students — whether Catholic or not — an opportunity to consider how their faith (or lack thereof) related to the law and an opportunity to learn about a coherent body of Christian scholarship that might inform their lives as lawyers. I have also tried to lead by example, such as by serving as a volunteer with the Good Shepherd Catholic Church’s St. Vincent de Paul chapter, which raises funds for distribution to poor persons who are in danger of losing their home due to inability to make rent or mortgage payments.</blockquote>

Jonathan Turley testifying

Liberal Law Prof Turley: Not A ‘Sin’ To Testify For Republicans

academia

Congress

Constitution

Leftism

Liberalism

U.S. House of Representatives

Former Vice President Joe Biden responded positively on Monday to someone asking him whether he would consider tapping a Republican to be his 2020 running mate. 
“The answer is I would, but I can’t think of one now,” Biden told the crowd, which laughed in response, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/30/us/politics/joe-biden-running-mate.html">The New York Times</a>. 
“No, I’m serious,” said Biden, reports <a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/dec/30/joe-biden-says-hed-consider-tapping-republican-run/">The Washington Times</a>. “There’s some really decent Republicans that are out there still, but here’s the problem right now with the well-known ones: They’ve got to step up. You know what I mean?”
Biden also emphasized that, should he become the Democrats&#8217; 2020 presidential nominee, he would choose someone who understood his priorities. Although he doesn’t like to talk specifics, Biden has previously floated several names as potential running mates, including Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), former gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams (D-GA), and former Assistant Attorney General Sally Yates. 
After the campaign stop, Biden gave another speech in which he said that the job of the president should be to bring the country together. “I refuse to accept the notion that we’ll be in perpetual war with Republicans,” said Biden, according to <a href="https://twitter.com/daveweigel/status/1211763169926012930">The Washington Post</a>. 
Biden has not been shy about his willingness to cultivate relationships with those with whom he politically disagrees, but his answer to the question has drawn the ire of many online progressives. 
Tim Wise, a self-proclaimed “antiracist essayist,” called for the GOP to be crushed in response to Biden’s comments: “If Biden believes the answer to right wing fanaticism is kumbaya unity (i.e. a GOP running mate) he is truly demented and insulting the Democratic Party base&#8230;the GOP would never do this&#8230;outreach &amp; unity is only for Dems I suppose? Screw that. Crush them don’t unify with them.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
If Biden believes the answer to right wing fanaticism is kumbaya unity (i.e. a GOP running mate) he is truly demented and insulting the Democratic Party base&#8230;the GOP would never do this&#8230;outreach &amp; unity is only for Dems I suppose? Screw that. Crush them don&#8217;t unify with them
— Tim Wise (@timjacobwise) <a href="https://twitter.com/timjacobwise/status/1211762744959160323?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 30, 2019</a></blockquote>
Larry Sabato, the director at the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, responded by saying that there are no viable Republicans left for Biden to consider: “Joe Biden says he’d consider having a Republican VP. OK, there are some good choices out there — Nelson Rockefeller, Earl Warren, Bill Scranton. Oh wait, they’re all dead.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Joe Biden says he&#8217;d consider having a Republican VP. OK, there are some good choices out there&#8211;Nelson Rockefeller, Earl Warren, Bill Scranton. Oh wait, they&#8217;re all dead.
— Larry Sabato (@LarrySabato) <a href="https://twitter.com/LarrySabato/status/1211782110895202304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 30, 2019</a></blockquote>
Amanda Marcotte, a politics writer at Salon, suggested that Biden is not up for the challenge of the presidency because he failed to deflect from the question: “This was a dumb, trick question and his inability to deflect with grace shows he is not up to this.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-cards="hidden" data-lang="en">
This was a dumb, trick question and his inability to deflect with grace shows he is not up to this. <a href="https://t.co/nK9qARIPqa">https://t.co/nK9qARIPqa</a>
— Amanda Marcotte (@AmandaMarcotte) <a href="https://twitter.com/AmandaMarcotte/status/1211848222462881793?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 31, 2019</a></blockquote>
Many political pundits, however, were quick to point out the ridiculous nature of the online outrage. 
Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief Ben Shapiro weighed in, saying: “Twitter Democrats are ripping apart Biden for the great sin of suggesting he would consider a Republican VP if he could think of any worth considering. This is the essence of Twitter insularity.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Twitter Democrats are ripping Biden apart for the great sin of suggesting he would consider a Republican VP if he could think of any worth considering. This is the essence of Twitter insularity.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/1211774697601298432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 30, 2019</a></blockquote>
Ezra Klein, the editor-at-large of Vox, also responded to the outrage, saying: &#8220;The degree to which this website takes everything Biden says literally, as opposed to politically, is odd. He’s not going to choose a Republican VP. He thinks it’s good politics to signal that he’ll work with Republicans if they’ll meet him halfway. He’s probably right.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
The degree to which this web site takes everything Biden says literally, as opposed to politically, is odd.
He&#8217;s not going to choose a Republican VP. He thinks it&#8217;s good politics to signal that he&#8217;ll work with Republicans if they&#8217;ll meet him halfway. He&#8217;s probably right.
— Ezra Klein (@ezraklein) <a href="https://twitter.com/ezraklein/status/1211791480693542913?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 30, 2019</a></blockquote>

Presidential Candidate Joe Biden Holds Campaign Town Halls In New Hampshire

Biden Floats Potential GOP Running Mate, Draws Ire Of Online Progressives

Joe Biden

Many people reading this will have already taken down their Christmas lights. Just a few decades ago, it was pretty normal for Christians in America to leave up their lights for all 12 days of Christmas. Now, many think Christmas Day is the 12th day instead of the first. My lights will burn bright until Jan. 5, where, by tradition, the lights must be off before sunset. On Jan. 6, which is Epiphany, Mardi Gras season starts in earnest for those of us from Louisiana.
As I get older, I love the Christmas season more and more. Easter comes as a weekend. Christmas comes as a month of Advent on the heels of Thanksgiving. It gives time for more reflection, often centered around some pretty deep theology in carols. The basic gist of the caroling is all the same. God became flesh and humbled himself by being born in a manger and giving up the trappings of royalty and then dying a criminal&#8217;s death having committed no crime.
In the United States, whether we like to admit it or not, we are already deep into political campaign season. Impeachment season is upon us as well. Everything is now political. Just two weeks ago, the author J.K. Rowling walked into a firestorm for having the audacity to be pro-science. She declared sex is immutable. Men cannot become women, and vice versa. Though she endorsed this scientific fact, woke protestors decided to burn her books. Even opinion writers in The New York Times denounced her for expressing an opinion others in The New York Times have expressed in the past.
Everything has become political. Every political cause has taken on religious fervor. It can wear a person out. In wokeness, every principled position firmly held will eventually give way to something more extreme, radical and wholly disconnected from reason. Truthfully, though, none of it matters. Too many people have separated themselves from the eternal to focus on the here and now. They have decided to seek a future utopia of some kind, aware their mortal life is limited and unaware there is an eternity. Behaviors change when one recognizes eternity.
Too many partisans have forgotten eternity. On both sides of the political spectrum, people are looking for political saviors to save them from people on the other side of that spectrum. It is sad to see secular progressives running in hamster wheels of outrage, perpetually spun up about some perceived injustice. It is hilarious to see Christian evangelicals insistent on loyalty to a politician to save them from the other side. Apparently, having the God of the universe on their side is not enough.
Americans need a recalibration on priorities. So much of what we argue about does not really matter. No Republican was ever profoundly impacted by Barack Obama except, arguably, in the area of health care. No Democrat has ever been profoundly impacted by Donald Trump except, arguably, in their take-home pay. Both sides treat Washington as more important than it is.
What is actually important is this: You have a soul, you will live forever, and there is a God who wants a relationship with you. One day you will stand before him, and he will judge you. Everything else should flow from that. For those who do not believe, one day they will, and hopefully that belief will come on this side of the grave. For everyone else, behaving in politics as if eternity does not matter might ultimately suggest one is not as truly committed to the idea of eternity as one might claim.
Protestant Christians believe we are saved by faith alone, and good works derive from our faith. Regardless of how one sees salvation, I would suggest a lot of us could stand to dwell more on it than on Washington. We find our welfare in our local communities, not in far off cities that affect us far less than we claim. As we move beyond Christmas and into a new year, I would urge you (and me) to dwell less on the here and now and more on eternity.
To find out more about Erick Erickson and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Church candle.

ERICKSON: The Eternal And The Here And Now

Christianity

Christmas

In a revealing recent interview with Rolling Stone, Chuck Todd, host of NBC&#8217;s &#8220;Meet the Press,&#8221; discusses what led him to begin approaching Republicans and others on &#8220;the right&#8221; with more skepticism and reporting on their claims in a less &#8220;naive&#8221; way than he had in the past. In his comments, Todd indicates that he does not view Democrats and their claims in the same skeptical light.
The <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/how-disinformation-spreads-according-to-chuck-todd-interview-929912/">interview</a> was conducted as part of an upcoming &#8220;Meet the Press&#8221; special on the &#8220;weaponization of disinformation,&#8221; which, according to Todd&#8217;s comments to the Rolling Stone, appears to approach the topic from a glaringly one-sided angle.
Asked what made him decide to devote a show to the topic of &#8220;disinformation and fake news,&#8221; Todd said it began with an interest in the impact of social media on politics, which he said is ultimately really about &#8220;misinformation.&#8221;
&#8220;This is bigger than social media,&#8221; said Todd. &#8220;The Ukraine story for me really crystallized it. And for good or bad, our show has been at the forefront of this.&#8221;
Todd then traced the topic back to what he suggested was its source: the Trump administration&#8217;s claims about his inauguration.
&#8220;The first Sunday of the Trump administration is when the phrase, &#8216;alternative facts&#8217; was debuted,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It was on Meet the Press Rudy that Giuliani used the phrase &#8216;Truth isn’t truth.'&#8221;
&#8220;So look, whether we’d liked it or not, our platform has been used, or they’ve attempted to use our platform to essentially disseminate, or to sort of, what I would say, is lay the groundwork for this,&#8221; Todd explained.
After describing the dissemination of &#8220;misinformation&#8221; — for which he and the interviewer only give examples from the Trump administration and Republicans — as an &#8220;epidemic,&#8221; Todd addressed the issue of political advertising.
&#8220;I think our biggest problem going into 2020 is that we have two sets of standards simply on political advertising,&#8221; he said. &#8220;If you choose to advertise on cable or television, on linear television, there’s a certain set of standards on fact that you have to surpass in order to get your ad on television. Not the case on social media. And we have seen the Trump campaign literally use two different ads — one that allows them to say their misinformation about Biden in the areas that they can.&#8221;
Asked if he was &#8220;surprised by the consistency that the Trump administration was willing to spread disinformation&#8221; about the crowd size at the inauguration, Todd said yes.
&#8220;I fully admit, listening to you ask that question now, and me giving you the honest answer of, yeah, I guess I really believed they wouldn’t do this,&#8221; said Todd. &#8220;Just so absurdly naive in hindsight.&#8221;
Todd then presented his succinct summary of his view of Trump: &#8220;Donald Trump’s entire life has been spent using misinformation,&#8221; he said. &#8220;His entire life.&#8221;
But it&#8217;s not just Trump and his administration that Todd now views in what he described as a less &#8220;naive&#8221; way, it&#8217;s Republicans and everyone else on &#8220;the right.&#8221;
&#8220;The fact is, and by the way, this isn’t going to be easy to show, but I actually think when we outline this it will, the right has an incentive structure to utter the misinformation,&#8221; he said in response to a question about Republicans supposedly pushing &#8220;Russian talking points&#8221; about Ukraine. &#8220;&#8230; I do think one of the things that I want to explore on this is the incentive structure. One of the things we don’t fully appreciate in mainstream media on these attacks is that it’s become fun to attack the press, if that makes sense, on the right. It doesn’t matter if we’re right or wrong, attack them anyway.&#8221;
Throughout the interview, neither Todd nor the interviewer acknowledges even the possibility that Democrats and those on the left have spread &#8220;misinformation&#8221; and made overtly false claims on the airwaves; instead, the problem is presented as a purely Republican/right issue.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/feud-between-trump-and-christianity-today-results-in-resignation-from-another-publication">Feud Between Trump And Christianity Today Results In Resignation From Another Publication</a>

Chuck Todd

NBC’s Chuck Todd Explains Why He’s Changed How He Reports On Republicans

Fake News

Media Bias

NBC News

In a bizarre interview on Sunday, David Remnick, author of “The Bridge: The Life And Rise Of Barack Obama” and editor for The New Yorker magazine, expressed his frustration with Trump voters to CNN’s “Reliable Sources” host Brian Stelter. 
Responding to a question about whether anything will change following President Trump’s impeachment by House Democrats, Remnick stated that, “We’ve seen the Republicans stuck where they are. Their illusions about Trump remain,” adding that “the stakes here are immense.”
The Media Research Center <a href="https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/nicholas-fondacaro/2019/12/22/new-yorker-editor-future-earth-hangs-trumps-impeachment" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reports</a> that Remnick began to connect the impeachment hearing to the “future” of the planet, thereby linking it to one of the Left’s biggest political issues: Global warming.   
“It’s not just about the political future of one man, Donald Trump — it’s about the future of democracy and democratic process. And this is a trend throughout the world. It’s about the future of the Earth. We have a party that has decided to be disbelieving about climate change. It’s about issues as essential as that,” he said. 
Of course, Stelter did not bother to ask how global warming is somehow connected to the House Democrats’ move to impeach President Trump. Instead, allowing The New Yorker editor to continue to pontificate, Remnick went to discuss how the mainstream media are at a loss as to why President Trump remains popular in certain sectors of the country. 
“Right now, you have a country that is split, and to the great frustration of people like you and people like me, we don’t somehow understand,” he opined. “We don’t understand why the evidence of things, why facts don’t penetrate so many of our brothers and sisters in the United States of America. And it’s a source of great frustration for the press and for anybody who is thinking about these issues that are so important.”
He emphasized, “And this is a source of great frustration for the press. And for anyone who is thinking about these issues that are so important.”
Stelter echoed the sentiments, repeating, “for the press.” He then asked about the “eclipse of reason” of the Republican Party.
“Let’s not be deluded here. It&#8217;s not as if reason and fact and truth-telling were pervasive in any political party, much less the Republican Party. But things have gotten markedly worse,” Remnick answered. “So much of the Republican Party, their candidates, their leadership know the score. Everybody in the Senate and the House knows this is a man of low character, of ethical, of ethics run amuck. &#8230; Nobody in the Republican Party thinks this is a good and decent man. These are people who are looking to their political advantages. They think if they act against him somehow or speak against him, they&#8217;ll lose their seats. So, the only people speaking against him are people set to retire.”
This interview highlights a lack of self-awareness that is prevalent across large swaths of the news industry. As they try to connect global warming to the vote to impeach Trump, many Americans grow weary of such showboating by the press and congressional Democrats. 
The Daily Wire’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/klavan-cnn-accidentally-reveals-that-its-a-cult" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Andrew Klavan</a> has previously commented on the direction of the media and of Brian Stelter’s program, in particular. 
“I mean, it is comical that they can’t see themselves,” he said. “So it drives the Right crazy, it drives me crazy. This is the news. You turn on the news, CNN, the most trusted name in news, but that’s what you see on the news, and it drives you crazy.” 
<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/new-yorker-editor-david-remnick-says-trumps-impeachment-is-about-the-future-of-the-earth" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Fox News</a>’ Brian Flood noted how the Remnick interview was mocked on social media, with Brit Hume pointing out, “Fortunately for the country and the planet, people seem to have sense enough not to believe this sort of claptrap.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Fortunately for the country and the planet, people seem to have sense enough not to believe this sort of claptrap. <a href="https://t.co/X9KyPyhiFy">https://t.co/X9KyPyhiFy</a>
&mdash; Brit Hume (@brithume) <a href="https://twitter.com/brithume/status/1208931836161904641?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 23, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The 2019 New Yorker Festival &#8211; Terry Gross Talks With David Remnick

New Yorker Editor David Remnick To Nodding Stelter: ‘It’s A Great Frustration’ Why People Vote For Trump

2019 in Washington

Andrew Klavan

Brian Stelter

Brit Hume

Climate Change

David Remnick

Global Warming

Media

In another blatant display of media bias masquerading as uncomfortably frank objectivity, CNBC editor-at-large John Harwood declared the GOP to be &#8220;fundamentally broken&#8221; and lamented how journalists are being supposedly too fair in their coverage of the party.
On Sunday, Harwood responded to a tweet from CNN&#8217;s Brian Stelter, who quoted Washington Post media columnist Margaret Sullivan lamenting how media objectivity gave power to the GOP.
&#8220;In an unceasing effort to be seen as neutral, journalists, time after time, fell into the trap of presenting facts and lies as roughly equivalent and then blaming political tribalism for not seeming to know the difference,&#8221; Sullivan said.
In response, Harwood tweeted: &#8220;Good description of the challenge for journalism &#8230; hard for reporters to say plainly that the Republican Party, at this point in our history, is fundamentally broken &#8230; but it is.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
good description of the challenge for journalism
hard for reporters to say plainly that the Republican Party, at this point in our history, is fundamentally broken
but it is <a href="https://t.co/HXHn3cmJ4N">https://t.co/HXHn3cmJ4N</a>
&mdash; John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) <a href="https://twitter.com/JohnJHarwood/status/1208763170778701826?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 22, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Anybody with even a modicum of understanding of the mainstream media&#8217;s political coverage, especially during the Trump administration, knows Harwood&#8217;s assertion to be misleading. And as reported by Fox News, conservatives across social media have been roundly trolling Harwood for making such a silly argument.
&#8220;&#8216;The problem with journalism is that it’s just too fair to the right,&#8217; sounds like a totally not insane thing to say. My goodness these people have lost all touch with reality,&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/MZHemingway/status/1208952697350692864?s=20">tweeted</a> Mollie Hemingway of The Federalist.
&#8220;This is precisely what reporters should not be doing. They should report on political parties without fear or favor and leave it to readers and viewers to decide whether a party is &#8216;broken&#8217; or not,&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/brithume/status/1208936482897051650?s=20">tweeted</a> Brit Hume of Fox News.
&#8220;Actually, it&#8217;s [journalism] that is fundamentally broken. Trump just helped pull back the curtain,&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/dangainor/status/1208980128396648448?s=20">tweeted</a> Dan Gainor of Newsbusters.
Beyond the pundit class, casual observers of today&#8217;s political climate chimed in with their own takes.
&#8220;The media is broken and overtly biased. Trust in it is low, and your tweet, John, is an example of why,&#8221; said on Twitter user.
&#8220;It’s absolutely bonkers to me that there are people who think the problem with the press is they’ve been too fair to the republicans. This is weapons-grade delusion,&#8221; tweeted another user.
&#8220;Sorry John, but your fundamentally full of hypocrisy, and you views are not worth the paper or the bandwidth they&#8217;re written on &#8230;&#8221; tweeted another.
Ironically, Harwood made his declaration about media objectivity after a recent poll showed that a majority of voters believed the media&#8217;s coverage of the president&#8217;s impeachment inquiry has been overwhelmingly biased. From <a href="https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/471546-poll-plurality-of-voters-say-media-coverage-of-impeachment-inquiry-is-biased">The Hill</a>:
<blockquote>A plurality of voters say that the media&#8217;s coverage of the Democratic-led impeachment inquiry into President Trump is biased, according to a Hill-HarrisX poll released on Thursday.
Forty-six percent of Americans said the media’s coverage of the ongoing probe was biased against Trump, compared to 12 percent who thought coverage was actually biased in favor of the president.
A significant portion, 42 percent, said that media coverage wasn’t biased one way or the other.
The results were largely split along party lines: 67 percent of Republicans said Trump is being treated unfairly by the media’s coverage of impeachment, while just 27 percent of Democrats agreed with that sentiment.
Fifty percent of independents sided with Republicans, saying the media wasn&#8217;t treating Trump fairly in their coverage of the probe.</blockquote>

Harwood

CNBC’s John Harwood Is Getting Trolled For Saying Journalists Are Too Fair To The ‘Fundamentally Broken’ GOP

CNBC

John Harwood

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