The GOP Establishment Has Learned Nothing From Its Failure

From: Town Hall

by -Kurt Schlichter - May 19, 2016


You would think that after the complete repudiation of the mainstream GOP establishment by its own voters that it might do some soul-searching. You would think that it might ask itself what it did wrong to facilitate the rise of Donald Trump. And you might also believe in unicorns.

No, instead of learning the lessons from 2016 that might help it avoid pain in the future, the establishment has chosen to learn different lessons, lessons that – shockingly – reinforce the same pre-existing notions that got us into this mess in the first place.

Who in the Republican establishment has stood up and said, “Hey, you know, the base really doesn't want millions of illegal aliens flooding into this country, so we need to stop trying to make amnesty happen.” Is there anyone who doesn’t think we’d have Marco Rubio as our nominee today if he hadn’t decided to ignore the voters and cozy up to Chuck Schumer?

Who in the Republican establishment has stood up and said, “Gee, maybe all these trade deals are great for the giant corporations who write us checks, but our base is made up largely of people who see themselves getting a raw deal.” Don’t fool yourself – Donald’s Trump’s resonance has less to do with him being a reality TV star than with his addressing the economic issues the Chamber of Commerce groupies hand-waved away. Dismissing him as some idiot box novelty bedazzling the proles with his glittering glamour is super-convenient – you both get to feel superior while avoiding having to consider the possibility that you might have to change.

And who in the Republican establishment has stood up and said, “Gosh, maybe we should actually do what we promised our voters we’d do when they sent us to Washington.” Remember that stuff about defunding Obamacare? You didn’t defund Obamacare. And when you get annoyed at your voters for expecting you to do what you promise to do – “But everyone here in Washington knew we didn’t mean it!” – that annoys your voters even more.

The result? About 80% of Republicans supported an outsider, a Trump or a Cruz or a Carson – anyone but one of the squishes you trotted out. Jeb Bush – are you kidding me? This is a guy who supports amnesty, supports Common Core, and hung a medal around Hillary’s wrinkly wattle. And you establishment types seriously thought, “Well, he sounds like the perfect successor to Presidents McCain and Romney!”

Nor did it help that John Boehner recently put down his tumbler of bourbon long enough to demonstrate from exile exactly why he is the quintessential establishment stereotype. Ted Cruz is the antichrist? What, for actually fighting for the same stuff Boehner and the rest of you kept telling us you’d fight for?

It’s probably wasted effort since your motivation isn’t ideology but, rather, your own personal power, privilege and pocketbook, but here are some lessons you might want to take away from all this.

Stop lying to us. 

Stop prioritizing K Street and Wall Street over Main Street.

Stop trying to shove amnesty, Common Core, and big government down our throats. 

Stop rolling over and presenting to every liberal nursing a fake outrage.

But you won’t learn from your humiliation. Instead, you’ll tell yourselves comforting lies to avoid facing the painful truth. You’ll tell yourself that the base is just stupid, that they’ve been hypnotized by Trump’s magic and don’t understand that he’s a charlatan. But there’s no one who doesn’t know exactly what Trump is, and the most important things that he is are that he is not Hillary and that he is not one of you.

You call the voters “angry,” as if that somehow invalidates their critique. You made them angry with your lies. Your incompetence. Your betrayals. You did it.

So, we have Paul Ryan announcing that he’s taking his ball and going home, somehow relieved of his promise to support the GOP nominee because the guy he wanted didn’t get picked. And what’s his big legislative priority right now? Is it cutting off funding for Obama’s latest executive orders? Nah. How about reining in the brownshirts in the executive branch with their hatred of coal miners and bizarre desire to ensure men can be present when women pee? Nah. 

No, it’s bailing out Puerto Rico. A Democrat commonwealth squanders its money and comes looking to us for a handout, and that’s what Paul Ryan chooses to focus on. That’s his priority! Yeah, because for Republican voters, there’s nothing more important than spending our money to pay off big bondholders! And don’t insult our intelligence by claiming we won’t be paying for it – if the Puerto Ricans who spent like drunken Greeks aren’t paying for it, someone else is, and that someone else is always us.

Well, you’ve been warned. We told you and told you, but you thought, “Nah, they don’t mean it. They’ll forget and fall-in at election time. They always do. And we’ll keep feeding at the trough.”

But it kind of didn’t work out that way this time, did it? You may think you’ll just wait it out, that during four years of Hillary or Trump the fever will break and it’ll be back to business as usual. But it won’t. That's done. That's over. It isn't going back to how it was. The base isn't going to suddenly wake up and see that you were right all along. Trump and Cruz changed things. The insurgency is the future. And you’re the past.


God bless,
JohnnyD

 

Judge Jeanine: 'It's Time for a Female Pres, But Not Lying Hillary'

From: Fox News

May 15, 2016


“Hillary Clinton cannot be President of the United States, and if the establishment, including law enforcement, does not stop her – you have to,” Judge Jeanine Pirro said in her opening statement on Justice.

This is not about politics, she urged. “It’s about preventing people who have no regard for the law, or you, for that matter, from running this country.”

Despite this election season’s anti-establishment sentiment, “Clinton is still in line to be coronated the Democratic nominee,” Judge Jeanine said.

But what is it that makes Clinton above the law? she questioned.

“The majority of Americans believe, and are right, that Hillary Clinton is untrustworthy, dishonest and a liar,” said Pirro.

“And don't give me that woman thing where it's time for a female president.  Yeah, it is – but not her.”

Of all the Washington politicians who “walk into those hallowed chambers and proceed to line their pockets and their pensions and their campaign reelection coffers and walk out multi-millionaires, the Clintons are among the worst,” Judge Jeanine added.

“If the establishment is not willing to admit that no one is above the law and is not willing to garner justice, then ordinary Americans need to make sure the scales of justice are level for all of us.”

Hello, and welcome to Justice. I'm Judge Jeanine Pirro.

Thanks for being with us tonight.

Hillary Clinton cannot be President of the United States, and if the establishment including law enforcement does not stop her – you have to. 

This is not about politics. It's about you, your family, and this great nation. It’s about preventing people who have no regard for the law, or you, for that matter, from running this country.

At a time when just about everybody is fed up with establishment politicians, when two outsiders are winning epic contests against preordained presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton is still in line to be coronated the Democratic nominee for President of the United States. 

How can the woman – who is under criminal investigation – who knows she's under criminal investigation, but lies to your face saying that she's not – continue on her path to the White House?

The majority of Americans believe, and are right, that Hillary Clinton is untrustworthy, dishonest and a liar. Hillary has danced with federal prosecutors for most of her career. She knows how to conceal, delete and destroy evidence – remember those pesky missing Rose Law Firm files? Not to mention 30,000 deleted emails… She lies so much she doesn't know the difference between the truth and a lie, and, like most liars, can’t even keep her stories straight.

Example:  this week – in response to Hillary's claim that the FBI was doing a security inquiry on her private homebrewed server, one by the way conducted reportedly by over 100 FBI agents, FBI director Jim Comey says: security inquiry? I don't know that term. We investigate crimes.  This is a law enforcement proceeding. 

Now I told you that three months ago:  now the cynics among you might say it's all political. But Jim Comey is appointed by Barack Obama. And is one of the most clearheaded, logical and honorable people in Washington – a trait somewhat foreign to that town.

And don't give me that woman thing where it's time for a female president.  Yeah it is – but not her. 

What makes you think electing this woman who's spent most of her career riding her husband’s coat tails is necessarily a good thing? Doesn't it depend on the individual man or woman? For those of you who think a woman will help other women – consider this: the Clinton Foundation - an organization over which the Clintons have control – pays female employees 38 cents less per dollar than males. So much for that old pay inequality thing.

Supporting women?  Hillary made her bones creating the attack team on all the women who said Bill engaged in sexual activity, ranging from harassment to affairs to worse. If these women are all liars, why was Paula Jones awarded $850,000 from the Clintons? And Monica Lewinsky's dress – if only that blue dress could talk.

Which brings me to the Clinton Foundation, an alleged 501c3 not-for profit that I see as nothing more than a piggy bank for the Clintons, their friends and her presidential campaign. 

Just this week – it was reported that this wonderful charitable organization gave $2 million to Bill's blonde divorcee friend, designated the energizer by the Secret Service when she visited him at home in Chappaqua when Hillary was on the road. 

The report in The Wall Street Journal says money from the charity was actually given to a for-profit company partly owned by Ms. "Energizer". According to government watchdog groups, this may very well violate federal law. And consistent with past Clinton behavior, the destruction and/or removal of evidence begins.

Shortly after the grant, Ms. Energizer's company was reportedly removed from the Clinton Global Initiative's website. I'm sure it was an oversight, like the moneys from countries to the foundation when Hillary was Secretary of State, over whom her department made decisions that benefited them.

The Clintons have always been about the Clintons. Evidence: Benghazi.  She lied about the video when she knew it was Al-Qaeda to benefit her politically. But even that doesn't matter as much as knowing there are men waiting for help on a rooftop for eight hours when that assault on the consulate took place. Remember that 2008 3 am phone call she wants you to believe shows that she is ready to protect us? That's baloney. She had a chance to prove it and she proved just the opposite. That her political future was more important than American lives.

And the woman has no shame claiming that the parents of Tyrone Woods and Shawn Smith are lying, not her, about what she said to them as their children’s bodies were brought into Andrews.  The woman has never been able to keep her stories straight.  From one Blackberry for convenience and then there were three, and then there were 30,000 emails destroyed – she engages in the destruction of evidence to protect herself, like those pesky lost Rose Law Firm emails.

And they are in it together. Bill just last week saying that email thing is kind of like a speeding ticket. No, Bill, it's got nothing to do with speeding tickets. It's got to do with espionage, conspiracy, destruction of evidence, concealment and risking the secrets of this great nation for the world to see. Russia has admitted it's got 20,000 of her emails. Guccifer says that hacking her emails was one of the easiest things he'd ever done.

So why do they get away with it? Why do they do things that if any of us – even a four-star general – does, would put us in jail? What is it about them that puts them above the law? I submit it is the people that are indebted to them, the people for whom the Clintons have done favors, the classic inside game.

For years, Americans working two and three jobs to support their families have watched as Washington politicians elected to represent us walk into those hallowed chambers and proceed to line their pockets and their pensions and their campaign reelection coffers and walk out multi-millionaires. The Clintons are among the worst. 

If the establishment is not willing to admit that no one is above the law and is not willing to garner justice, then ordinary Americans need to make sure the scales of justice are level for all of us. 


God bless,
JohnnyD

Trump Isn't Just Conservative, He's the Most Conservative Presidential Candidate Since Reagan

From: TownHall

by -Wayne Allyn Root - May 11, 2016


It's time to clear up misconceptions, deceptions and distortions by the #NeverTrump crowd. 

Of course Trump is a conservative. Actually on the most important issues of the day, he's the most conservative GOP Presidential candidate since Reagan. Keep reading- I'll prove it to you.

I’m one of you. I’m a true-blue lifelong conservative patriot. I’ve been a “Cruz conservative” my whole life. Except in my day it was called “Reagan conservative.”

My conservative credentials cannot be challenged. My parents were among the founders of the famous New York State conservative party. My political career began at age 3 handing out literature for Barry Goldwater. I spent my youth working on political campaigns for victorious conservative heroes like U.S. Senator James Buckley, U.S. Senator Alphonse D’Amato and President Ronald Reagan. I represented Reagan in the campus Presidential debate at Columbia University. 

Have you lost millions of dollars because of your conservative beliefs? I have. I’ve sacrificed my TV career being an outspoken conservative in Hollywood. My conservative beliefs have cost me millions of dollars on multiple occasions.

Enough credentials and credibility for you?

So please stop listening to people who have an agenda tell you not to vote for Trump. They are dead wrong.

First, remember the famous saying “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” Trump may not be a “pure” or perfect conservative. On that I agree. But his views on the important issues of our day drive liberals into fits of rage and insanity.

Being Jewish, Ivy League educated and in the television and entertainment industries my whole life, I know a thing or two about liberals. I’ve spent my whole life in liberal circles- Manhattan, Malibu, Hollywood, Columbia and Harvard. The last person I saw despised this much by liberals was Ronald Reagan. The similarities are remarkable. My hero Reagan drove liberals batty. He drove them into fits of apoplectic rage. Today I see the same reaction to Trump.

Liberals hate Trump with such rage that they want to hurt him. They want to ruin him. They even openly want to see him assassinated. Or haven’t you seen the thousands of online and social media comments from liberals hoping Trump gets shot? Or haven’t you seen the cemetery headstone “R.I.P. Donald Trump” put up in New York’s Central Park?

Liberals call Trump the same names and descriptions as they used to call Reagan. They say he’s an intellectual lightweight, clown, racist, extreme, stupid, ignorant, unqualified to be president, and of course, we can never allow his finger near the nuclear button. Don’t forget “Hitler and Nazi.” The exact same words that my ultra-liberal classmates at Columbia used to describe Reagan.

So I ask you fellow conservatives…isn’t this a good sign? Shouldn’t you like the guy that liberals hate? If they think Trump is a terrible person and bad for America...Shouldn’t you embrace him?

What do they know that you don't?

If liberals despise Trump so much they are threatening to leave for Canada, shouldn’t we all thank God for Trump and offer to pay for their plane tickets?

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

You may think Trump is not a conservative, but liberals are certain he’s their enemy. They're sure certain he’s a conservative. They’re certain he’s the worst thing since Reagan. That makes Trump one of my favorite conservative candidates of all time!

Secondly, I agree Trump is not a pure or traditional conservative. That’s why he can win this election vs Hillary Clinton. Or haven't you heard that as of today, he is already tied in battleground states with Hillary? Romney was down by 10 points at this exact same time four years ago. Yes, Trump is a different kind of GOP candidate. He's a WINNER!

Again, this is where Trump intersects with Reagan. Conservatives are confused. Reagan didn't win elections because he espoused conservative views. He won elections because he was an entertainer, showman and communicator. Trump is the perfect mix to win this election- entertainer, showman, businessman, celebrity, reality TV star and our very own “American Idol.” 

He’s exactly what the doctor ordered for conservatives. We need a conservative, mixed with populist and economic nationalist- always America first, presented in a fun, entertaining way. That’s Trump.

Lastly we come to issues. I care about seven of them above all else. These are the seven issues that can instantly save America, capitalism, the U.S. economy and the middle class. I admit Trump strays from conservatism on many other issues. Too bad. Life isn't perfect. Right now, this is what matters.

On these seven issues, Trump is as conservative as any candidate in modern history!

These are the seven issues that matter above all others to this conservative and capitalist evangelist:

#1) Taxes- Trump’s flat tax plan lowers tax rates even lower than Reagan. 

#2) Regulations- as a businessman I think regulations are even worse than taxes. Our entire economy and middle class jobs have been decimated by Obama’s regulations. Trump is a businessman. He hates regulations. He’ll dramatically reduce and cut regulations and regulatory agencies (like the EPA) in order to get the economy moving again.

#3) Obamacare. Trump wants to repeal and replace Obamacare and give Americans more health freedom. 

#4) Build the wall, secure the border and end sanctuary cities. Need I say more- this is Trump’s signature issue. His views on illegal immigration define perfection. If he does nothing as president but stop the flow of illegal immigration, he’ll be remembered as an American hero. Just this one point can save the American economy from bankruptcy, ruin and crippling debt crisis. 

#5) Stop the insanity of allowing in thousands of Syrian refugees and Muslim migrants. Why is this so important? So that we don’t become the EU- bankrupt, suffering crime and rape epidemics, and experiencing nonstop terrorist attacks. This view isn’t just conservative- it’s commonsense and self-preservation. 

#6) Always “America First.” Every single policy- domestic, foreign, trade and immigration- should be based on what’s best for America, American citizens, American taxpayers, and American jobs. I’ve waited my entire life to hear these words come out of a potential president’s mouth. The only job of an American president is to take care of America and Americans first, second, third and forever. How can you get more patriotic or conservative than that? 

#7) Investigate and prosecute politicians who commit crimes against the American people. What if the only thing Trump accomplishes is clean up the D.C. cesspool, hold politicians accountable and bring criminals to justice? What if he sends Hillary to prison for her crimes? What if he prosecutes top IRS officials who targeted and persecuted conservatives? What if he prosecutes Obama’s bundler Jon Corzine? What if he prosecutes everyone involved with the fraud of Obamacare? You mean that alone isn’t worth the price of admission? 

Aren't these all fantastic? Each passes the conservative test. 

Yes, folks, Donald Trump is a conservative. No, not a pure or perfect conservative. But on the issues that count most, he’ll be the most conservative president since Reagan.

How can I be so sure? Just mention Trump’s name to any liberal and watch their reaction. Then pass the popcorn.

We have one last shot to save America and capitalism. Or do you really want to tell your children and grandchildren you allowed America to die because Trump wasn't perfect on abortion, or transgender bathrooms, or eminent domain, or free trade? Really?

It's time for conservatives to stop fighting and start uniting. Think long and hard, then give 110% to Trump. Because he's all we've got!


God bless,
JohnnyD 

The Scariest Reason Trump Won

From: Townhall

Dennis Prager - May 10, 2016

There are many reasons why Donald Trump is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. The four most-often cited reasons are the frustrations of white working-class Americans, a widespread revulsion against political correctness, disenchantment with the Republican establishment, and the unprecedented and unrivaled amount of time the media afforded Trump.

They are all valid.

But the single biggest reason is this: The majority of Republicans are not conservative.

Conservatives who opposed Trump kept arguing -- indeed, provided unassailable proof -- that Trump is not a conservative and has never been one. But the argument meant little or nothing to two types of Republicans: the majority of Trump voters who don't care whether he is a conservative, and the smaller number of Trump voters who are conservative, but care about illegal immigration more than all other issues, including his many and obvious failings.

So, then, what happened to the majority of Republicans? Why aren't they conservative?

The answer lies in America's biggest -- and scariest -- problem: Most Americans no longer know what America stands for. For them, America has become just another country, a place located between Canada and Mexico.

But America was founded to be an idea, not another country. As former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher put it: "Europe was created by history. America was created by philosophy."

Why haven't the past three generations of Americans known what America stands for?

The biggest reason is probably the influence of left-wing ideas.

Since its inception, the left has opposed the American idea, and for good reason. Everything the American idea represents undermines leftist ideas. And the left, unlike most Americans, has always understood that either the left is right, or America is right.

America stands for small government, a free economy (and therefore, capitalism), liberty (which therefore allows for its inevitable consequence: inequality), the melting pot ideal and a God-centered population rooted in Judeo-Christian values (so that a moral society is created by citizens exercising self-control rather than relying on the state to impose control).

Only America was founded on the idea of small government. But the left is based on big government.

America was founded on the principle that human rights come from the creator. For the left, rights come from the state.

America was founded on the belief that in order to maintain a small government, only a God-fearing people can ensure a decent country. The left opposes God-based religions, particularly Judeo-Christian religions. Secularism, as much as egalitarianism, is as at the core of leftism.

The American Revolution, unlike the French Revolution, placed liberty above equality. For the left, equality is more important than all else. That's why so many American and European leftists have celebrated left-wing regimes, from Stalin to Mao to Guevara to Castro to Chavez, no matter how much the regimes squelched individual liberty. They all preached equality.

It took generations, but the left has succeeded (primarily through the schools, but also through the media) in substituting its values for America's.

While the left has been the primary cause, there have been others.

The most significant is success.

American values inspired so much success that Americans came to take that success for granted. They forgot what made America uniquely free and affluent. And now, it's not even accurate to say they forgot because the current generation never knew. While schools (starting with the universities) were being transformed into institutions for left-wing indoctrination, American parents ceased teaching their children American values (starting with not reading them the most popular book in American history: the Bible).

Schools even stopped teaching American history. When American history is taught today, it is taught as a history of oppression, imperialism and racism. Likewise, there is essentially no education on civics, once a staple of the public school system. Young Americans are not taught the Constitution or how American government works. I doubt many college students even know what "separation of powers" means, let alone why it is so significant.

So, then, thanks to leftism and America's taken-for-granted success, most Americans no longer understand what it means to be American. Those who do are called conservatives because they wish to conserve the unique American idea. But conservatives now constitute not only a minority of Americans, but a minority of Republicans. That is the primary reason Donald Trump -- a nationalist, but not a conservative -- is the presumptive of Republican nominee.
 
As I noted from the outset, I will vote for him if he wins the nomination -- because there is no choice. But the biggest reason he won is scary.


God bless,
JohnnyD

#NeverTrumpers: While Hillary is decimating America, they can shriek ‘Don’t blame us!”

Because as long as they're not held responsible, the nation's demise is apparently just fine

From: Canada Free Press 

by -  Dan Calabrese --  May 5, 2016

As far as the #NeverTrump crowd is concerned, Hillary’s election is apparently a done deal. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy if ever there was one, but they just know Donald Trump can’t possibly beat her, and they wouldn’t help him do it in any event because Trump is so icky to them.

Ask them about this, and they will offer elaborate justifications for why Hillary’s election is not their fault! Here’s Brandon Craig at the Reformed Layman going to quite the lengths to explain why a non-vote or a third-party vote by an otherwise conservative voter is not really a vote for Hillary:

A vote for Hillary is a vote for Hillary is a vote for Hillary

The first and most obvious reason is that a vote for Hillary is a vote for Hillary whereas not voting for her is one less vote than she would receive if you did vote for her.  While this is painfully obvious, those who make such accusations seem to not get this.  My first response is “oh so in that case you would be just as okay with me voting for Hillary as you would with me voting third party or just abstaining?”.  To this they either reply with a resounding don’t vote for Hillary or they see where I am going with it and they hem haw around.  No matter how you break it down, not voting for Hillary is always better than voting for Hillary.  So on its face it is clearly not true that a vote for a third party or just not voting is the same exact thing as a vote for Hillary.

There’s more, but you get the idea. The #NeverTrump crowd is going into some real logical gymnastics to make sure everyone knows Hillary’s presidency will not be their fault, and most of it sounds like the paragraph above.

Let me suggest we look at this in a different way. If you’re a conservative voter and you care about this country, it seems to me - for the reasons I went into yesterday and many others - you would have the following very straightforward objective: Prevent Hillary from becoming president.

That’s an important objective for conservatives, yes?

 Hillary out of the White House

All right. Let’s test it. If you say no, that’s not an important objective for you, then I’d say you’re either not really conservative or you don’t really care that much about what’s going to happen to the country. But I think I’d like to give people the benefit of the doubt so I’m going to assume that, if you’re conservative, keeping Hillary out of the White House is important to you. Great.

Now, let’s make a list of all the things that could happen that would prevent Hillary from winning:

1. Donald Trump defeats her.
2. Er, OK . . . there is no Number 2.

This is not about you being true to your vaunted “principles,” which might lead you to vote libertarian or stay home or whatever else. If you want to do those things so you can feel better about yourself, that’s your choice, but those things do not assist in the one and only outcome that can keep Hillary out of the White House. Just to remind you, that outcome again would be:

Donald Trump defeats her.

You either do whatever you can to make that happen, or you can’t really say you were committed to her defeat. Voting for a libertarian doesn’t help defeat Hillary because a libertarian isn’t going to defeat her in the election. If anyone does, it will be Donald Trump. And you know this. You can argue you didn’t help elect Hillary, and you can offer logical contortions to justify that argument, but what you can’t possibly say is what I can say: I will do the most effective thing I can do to defeat Hillary.

By the way, the reason I am so committed to this has nothing whatsoever to do with Donald Trump. I am neither a big fan nor a horrified foe. It has everything to do with what will happen to this country if we lose the Supreme Court, spend another four years racking up debt, continue turning our backs on our allies while appeasing our enemies, continue sicking the IRS on the political opponents of Democrats, impose even more regulatory burdens on business, keeping letting the NLRB tip the scales in favor of unions, use “climate change” as an excuse to do all kinds of foolhardy things, intentionally put coal miners out of business - and worst of all, concentrate executive power in the hands of the woman who propagated the Benghazi lie, sold international influence for Clinton Foundation donations and tried to hide it all with a schlock, homebrew e-mail server kept in someone’s bathroom.

I would really like all this not to happen because it would decimate this nation. So I’m going to do the one thing I can do that offers the best chance of stopping it. I’m going to vote for Donald Trump.

If the effort of me and others committed to stopping Hillary fails, we’re going to go through a terrible time in this nation - even worse than what we’ve experienced under Barack Obama. Apparently you will be fine with all this because you protected your vain sense of principle by remaining #NeverTrump to the end. What you will not have done, however, is your best to stop this woman.

You can claim all day long it’s “not your fault,” but you can’t claim you were truly committed to stopping Hillary, because there was something you could have done that would have made a real difference - and you refused to do it. No matter how well you manage to rationalize your choice, you will never be able to get away from that fact. And the rest of us will never be able to get away from the consequences of our mission’s failure - a failure brought about, by definition, because not enough people were willing to support it.

Sleep well, #NeverTrumpers. The rest of us will be too busy trying to stop the nation’s bleeding to care about whether you’re to blame.

God bless,

JohnnyD

 

Why do ‘true conservatives’ (whatever that means) want to close the GOP tent?

It's very easy to maintain your purity when you never even get the chance to govern - because you never win.

From: Canada Free Press

by - Herman Cain --   May 6, 2016

I saw an interesting comment on my Facebook page yesterday. It came from a reader who clearly considers himself a “true conservative” and had to do with the idea of expanding the Republican tent to let more people in. He said he’d be happy to have more people in the tent, provided they all believe in constitutionally limited government, liberty, etc.

Um . . . news flash: The people who believe in those things are already in!

The concern here, which can be a valid one if you don’t take it too far, is that you don’t want to let go of any and all principles just to make more people feel comfortable in your tent. Often when party leaders talk about expanding the tent, what “true conservative” activists think they mean is abandoning any commitment to conservative ideas so that more liberal voters will consider becoming Republicans.

I think much of the resistance to Donald Trump is along these lines. Not everyone has really heard all his issue positions, but those who have tend to pick out details that don’t sound “true conservative” and write off the larger ideas behind his proposals. For example, Trump once talked about people who profit from certain kinds of financial deals needing to pay more taxes on those deals. This got turned into “Trump wants to raise taxes on the rich” among many activists and pundits. That’s not true! If you look at his overall tax plan, he would lower the rate on the highest earners. This particular tax idea is very limited and applies only to specific situations.

But because it invovles raising a tax on some people in certain circumstances, it’s not “true conservative” enough for those obsessed with ideological purity.

The same is true with health care. Trump has said in the past that health care is a major responsibility of government. Is that a conservative statement? Taken by itself, not at all. If I heard it and didn’t know anything else about what he’s proposing for health care, I’d be concerned. But the way I’d deal with my concern would be to look into what he’s proposing in the here and now. And I’d find that Trump proposes replacing ObamaCare with an excellent market-based set of proposals.

You’d think a conservative would be happy with that. But it’s not enough for the purest of the pure, who remain convinced Trump is not really one of them.

I think much of the resistance to expanding the tent stems from the fear that we might let in people who are not really “true conservatives.” Then again, I have no idea what that term is actually supposed to mean. How do I become a true conservative? Are there 50 issue positions I have to agree with? Can I qualify with 40 out of 50? Is there a sliding scale?

What I know is this: Conservatives in general believe in less government, less spending and more individual responsibility. Liberals believe in more government, more spending and less individual responsibility. How much more? How much less? It seems to me those questions leave room for us to have a discussion. But if you’re afraid of anyone who might be with you for the most part, but might want a little more government than you do . . . well then you have a choice to make.

You can try to drum everyone but the “true conservatives” out of the party, and you can have a very pure - and very small - party. Or you can welcome those who embrace your general ideas but might disagree here and there, and work together to win elections. Then, you work together to govern as best you can.

As it stands right now, we’ve lost two straight presidential elections and we have a lot of work ahead of us to avoid making it three. I had my problems with Mitt Romney, as you know, but I voted for him. He would have been eons better than Barack Obama. Yet I actually knew people who called themselves “constitutional conservatives” or whatever who refused to vote for Romney on the grounds that he wasn’t pure enough for them, and they were quite proud of themselves for their “principled stand.”

Some principle. It helped give us another four years of Barack Obama. Romney would have won some victories for conservatives. Under Obama, we’ve won none. Today we’ve got another chance. Some will reject Donald Trump - and many of his supporters - because they fear that welcoming them in will compromise the purity of the conservative movement.

I’d like to suggest that conservatives try winning for a change, and then winning the policy battles as they govern. It works a lot better than closing your doors to people who are willing to fight alongside you on some things, and might be persuaded over time on others. But then again, it’s very easy to maintain your purity when you never even get the chance to govern - because you never win.


God bless,
JohnnyD

If this doesn't get your attention, you better check your pulse!

900 teachers just got laid off from the Los Angeles Unified School District. They are $650,000 over their annual budget.

The following by an English teacher helps to explain one area that looms large over California's educational crisis.

THIS ENGLISH TEACHER HAS PHRASED IT THE BEST I'VE SEEN YET.

THIS SHOULD MAKE EVERYONE THINK, BE YOU DEMOCRAT, REPUBLICAN OR IN DEPENDENT.

FROM A CALIFORNIA SCHOOL TEACHER - - -

"As you listen to the news about the student protests over illegal immigration, there are some things that you should be aware of:

I am in charge of the English-as-a-second-language department at a large Southern California high school which is designated a Title 1 school, meaning that its students average lower socioeconomic and income levels.

Most of the schools you are hearing about, South Gate High, Bell Gardens, Huntington Park , etc., where these students are protesting, are also Title 1 schools.

Title 1 schools are on the free breakfast and free lunch program. When I say free breakfast, I'm not talking a glass of milk and a roll -- but a full breakfast and cereal bar with fruits and juices that would make the Marriott proud. The waste of this food is monumental, with trays and trays of it being dumped in the trash uneaten

             (OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK!)

I estimate that well over 50% of these students are obese or at least moderately overweight. About 75% or more DO have cell phones. The school also provides day care centers for the unwed teenage pregnant girls (some as young as 13) so they can attend class without the inconvenience of having to arrange for babysitters or having family watch their kids  

      (MORE OF OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK!)

I was ordered to spend $700,000 on my department or risk losing funding for the upcoming year even though there was little need for anything; my budget was already substantial. I ended up buying new computers for the computer learning center, half of which, one month later, have been carved with graffiti by the appreciative students who obviously feel humbled and grateful to have a free education in America

(MORE AND MORE OF OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK!)

I have had to intervene several times for young substitute teachers whose classes consist of many illegal immigrant students here in the country less than 3 months who raised so much hell with the female teachers, calling them putas (whores ) and throwing things, that the teachers were in tears.

Free medical, free education, free food, day care, etc., etc., etc. Is it any wonder they feel entitled not only to be in this country but to demand rights, privileges and entitlements?

To those who want to point out how much these illegal immigrants contribute to our society because they LIKE their gardener and housekeeper and they like to pay less for tomatoes: spend some time in the real world of illegal immigration and see the TRUE costs.

Higher insurance, medical facilities closing, higher medical costs, more crime, lower standards of education in our schools, overcrowding, new diseases etc., etc., etc.  For me, I'll pay more for tomatoes.

Americans, We need to wake up. The guest worker program will be a disaster because we won't have the guts to enforce it. Does anyone in their right mind really think they will voluntarily leave and return?

It does, however, have everything to do with culture: A third-world culture that does not value education, that accepts children getting pregnant and dropping out of school by 15, and that refuses to assimilate, and an American culture that has become so weak and worried about "political correctness" that we don't have the will to do anything about it.

CHEAP LABOR? ISN'T THAT WHAT THE WHOLE IMMIGRATION ISSUE IS ABOUT?

BUSINESS DOESN'T WANT TO PAY A DECENT WAGE.

CONSUMERS DON'T WANT EXPENSIVE PRODUCE.

GOVERNMENT WILL TELL YOU AMERICANS DON'T WANT THE JOBS.

But the bottom line is cheap labor. The phrase "cheap labor" is a myth, a farce, and a lie. There is no such thing as "cheap labor."

Take, for example, an illegal alien with a wife and five children. He takes a job for $5.00 or $6.00/hour. At that wage, with six dependents, he pays no income tax, yet at the end of the year, if he files an Income Tax Return, he gets an "earned income credit" of up to $3,200 free.

ALSO....

HE QUALIFIES FOR SECTION 8 HOUSING AND SUBSIDIZED RENT.

HE QUALIFIES FOR FOOD STAMPS.

HE QUALIFIES FOR FREE (NO DEDUCTIBLE), NO CO-PAY) HEALTH CARE.

HIS CHILDREN GET FREE BREAKFASTS AND LUNCHES AT SCHOOL.

HE REQUIRES BILINGUAL TEACHERS AND BOOKS.

HE QUALIFIES FOR RELIEF FROM HIGH ENERGY BILLS.

IF THEY ARE OR BECOME AGED, BLIND OR DISABLED, THEY QUALIFY FOR SSI.

ONCE QUALIFIED FOR SSI THEY CAN QUALIFY FOR MEDICARE. ALL OF THIS IS AT TAXPAYER'S (OUR) EXPENSE.

HE DOESN'T WORRY ABOUT CAR INSURANCE, LIFE INSURANCE, OR HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE.

TAXPAYERS PROVIDE SPANISH LANGUAGE SIGNS, BULLETINS AND PRINTED MATERIAL.

HE AND HIS FAMILY RECEIVE THE EQUIVALENT OF $20.00 TO $30.00/HOUR IN BENEFITS.

WORKING AMERICANS ARE LUCKY TO HAVE $5.00 OR $6.00/HOUR LEFT AFTER PAYING THEIR BILLS AND HIS.

THE AMERICAN TAXPAYERS ALSO PAY FOR INCREASED CRIME, GRAFFITI AND TRASH CLEAN-UP.

CHEAP LABOR?  YEAH RIGHT!  WAKE UP PEOPLE!

THESE ARE THE QUESTIONS WE SHOULD BE ADDRESSING TO THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES FOR EITHER PARTY.  AND WHEN THEY LIE TO US AND DON'T DO AS THEY SAY, WE SHOULD REPLACE THEM AT ONCE!

THIS HAS GOT TO BE PASSED ALONG TO AS MANY AS POSSIBLE OR WE WILL ALL GO DOWN THE DRAIN BECAUSE A FEW DON'T CARE.

  

THIS WILL BE PASSED ON ONLY BY AMERICANS WHO TRULY CARE!

God bless,

JohnnyD