The Tremors of Trump’s DC Comeback

A risky plan with big rewards.

by Mark Angelides | Nov 14, 2024 @ Liberty Nation News, Tags: Articles, Opinion, Politics

President-elect Donald Trump is in the midst of political machinations that could upend the business-as-usual approach to governance in the nation’s capital. With the GOP House majority now official and Senate leadership in place, there is growing suspicion that the former and future president is engaged in a series of gambits that will send shockwaves through the establishment and allow him to hit the ground running.

The Senate Gamble

Yesterday, November 13, Republican senators voted to elevate John Thune (South Dakota) to the Senate Majority Leader position. Prior to the highly anticipated ballot, Trump made it clear that any candidate “must agree to Recess Appointments (in the Senate!), without which we will not be able to get people confirmed in a timely manner.”

Thune has indeed signaled his willingness to go this unconventional yet constitutional route. Republicans may well remember when Democrats tried to block Jeff Sessions’ confirmation as Attorney General in 2017. Opting for the Recess Appointment strategy would allow the soon-to-be president to bypass the advice and consent aspect of the nomination process.

As has happened numerous times in the past, if the Senate is on recess for ten or more days, positions can be filled unilaterally. In this case, Mr. Trump is essentially asking senators to step aside voluntarily. If incoming Majority Leader Thune agrees, the more than 1,000 appointments could be swiftly put in place. However, they would only last – at most – the length of the incoming Congress. And with some of the more notable nominations being contentious even among his fellow Republicans, this presents a conundrum that could become an internecine battle.

Duck, Duck, Goose!

When Donald Trump started announcing his nominations, there appeared to be a general air of approval from both his supporters in the public and his colleagues in DC. That camaraderie soon soured with the news that firebrand Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida would be offered the Attorney General of the United States position.

While most GOP senators kept quiet on the controversial pick, others openly espoused their concern. Some even expressed their support, like Tennessee’s Marsh Blackburn, who posted, “@realDonaldTrump is keeping his promise to root out the Deep State. As Attorney General, that’s what @mattgaetz will do.” There is also a growing chorus of voices inside the Beltway that suggest Gaetz is not a serious appointment, epitomized by Democratic Senator for Pennsylvania John Fetterman, who said:

“I would describe it as God-tier level trolling, to just trigger a China syndrome … to own the libs in perpetuity.”*

But here’s the rub. Senator Thune can opt for the recess and get Donald Trump’s picks in place to begin fulfilling his campaign pledges, or he can try the traditional route and deal with the inevitable stonewalling. It would be politically problematic in terms of public perception to rubber stamp some positions and not others, setting up an internal divide even before Trump takes office.

However, even if Thune decides to draw the process out, Mr. Trump has other options that may make the equation  – if not more palatable – easier to swallow.

Realms of Possibility

Should Matt Gaetz not receive the consent of Congress, President Trump could appoint an acting Attorney General without using the Senate confirmation process. While this may not be immediately applicable to Mr. Gaetz, the Department of Justice outlined in 2018 that:

“The President’s designation of an official who does not hold a Senate-confirmed office to serve, on a temporary basis, as Acting Attorney General was consistent with the Appointments Clause. The designation did not transform the official’s position into a principal office requiring Senate confirmation.”

An acting AG can serve up to 210 days in office under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act. This period can be extended by a further 90 days should the vacancy date from the inauguration. That’s a total of 300 days. There would likely be legal challenges to such a pathway as Mr. Gaetz is not currently within the DOJ, but a lot can be achieved while that argument makes its way through the courts.

Of course, it could also be that there is another game in play, that Trump expects Gaetz to be rejected and is treating him as a bargaining chip. But if that is the case, then the question becomes: what is he angling for?

Opening Salvos and End Games

When Donald Trump first became president in 2016, he took advice on appointments from those apparently “in-the-know.” He recently admitted that this was his biggest mistake. This time around, he appears determined to have Washington, DC, march to his own drumbeat. With the Senate, the House, and the presidency joined in a power triumvirate, not to mention a decisive Electoral College win and the popular vote, Trump has a mandate to deliver. But it won’t last forever.

Come 2026, the Senate tables will almost certainly turn, as the in-built advantage that transpired this year will be reversed while the next class of Senate seats goes back to the ballot box. Trump has two clear years to effect the changes he feels will secure his legacy and, ultimately, put an end to the progressive era. So, whether he gets his front bench through is paramount. It seems he may be willing to expend as much political capital as it takes to ensure he hits the ground running on his first day in office.

*”God-tier” is a video game reference about playing at the hardest possible level.

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Liberty Nation does not endorse candidates, campaigns, or legislation, and this presentation is no endorsement.

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Republicans Flip the Senate – And Then Some

With a majority already in hand, the GOP seems likely to take even more.

by James Fite | Nov 6, 2024 @ Liberty Nation News, Tags: Articles, Opinion, Politics

Republicans managed to flip the Senate – but that’s not all. As close as the polling was prior to Election Day, still there were rumblings of a big red wave and a Republican trifecta. As votes continue to be counted, that outcome seems more and more likely. While the overall House is still too close to call, Donald Trump has been declared the new president elect, the GOP has secured a 52-seat majority with at least a few more likely in the bag, and the House is trending that way, as well.

Senate Democrats Had a Bad Night

As previously reported by Liberty Nation News, Republicans had an inbuilt advantage this year. There were 34 total Senate seats up for grabs, of which only 11 were occupied by GOP lawmakers. Democrats had 23 seats to defend, and several have been leaning red for a while now. Republican incumbents held those seats considered “safe” by pollsters, of course, and they managed to hold the ones that seemed in danger, as well. Florida’s Rick Scott held on, beating Democrat challenger Debbie Mucarsel-Powell 55.6% to 42.7% with 99% of the vote counted. Nebraska’s Deb Fischer was also in a competitive race, but she beat out her challenger, Dan Osborn, 53.8% to 46.2% with 98% of precincts reporting. In the Lone Star State, there had been some speculation that incumbent Senator Ted Cruz was in danger of being ousted by Democrat Colin Allred, but that never materialized. Cruz held his seat 53.2% to 44.5%. Never Trump Republican Mitt Romney didn’t run for re-election in Utah, and while his seat was up for grabs without an incumbent, the GOP’s nominee, John Curtis, won handily with 62.8%.

Even just holding on to the seats already held, safe or competitive, Republicans were poised to at least tie up the Senate, but they managed to flip a few seats from Democrats as well, giving them control of the upper chamber even without JD Vance as a tie-breaking VP. Joe Manchin’s West Virginia seat went to Republican Jim Justice, which was hardly a surprise. Manchin was the only Democrat West Virginia had sent to the Swamp in years, and it had simply been assumed he would be followed by a Republican since he announced he wasn’t running for re-election.

Republicans Get Their Red Wave

But shocking Senate shake-ups did occur, and it seems there are a few more pending. Democrat Sherrod Brown, who held his seat for Ohio since 2007, was ousted by Republican Bernie Moreno 50.2% to 46.4%. Jon Tester also lost his Senate seat to the Republican challenger in Montana. Tim Sheehy beat the incumbent Democrat 52,8% to 45.4% with 85% of the votes counted, and the AP called the race early this morning. Taking Manchin’s, Brown’s, and Tester’s seats put the GOP over the required simple majority line, but of the six races left to be called, Republicans are leading in three and still have a slim shot of taking at least one beyond that trio.

Incumbent Democrat Bob Casey, who has held one of Pennsylvania’s US Senate seats since 2007, seems on the verge of losing to Republican challenger Dave McCormick. With 97% of the votes counted, McCormick is up 49.2% to 48.2%. In Michigan, Republican Mike Rogers is leading Democrat Elissa Slotkin 48.6% to 48.4% in a tight race without an incumbent. Currently held by Debbie Stabenow, who didn’t run for re-election, the seat will be yet another loss for Democrats should Rogers hold his lead. In Nevada, incumbent Jacky Rosen, another Democrat, trails her GOP opponent, Sam Brown, by just a tenth of a percent with 84% of votes reported. And finally, in Wisconsin, Tammy Baldwin is barely holding her seat against Republican challenger Eric Hovde 49.3% to 48.6% – a lead that she’ll likely keep but could technically lose with 1% of the vote still out.

As it stands, Republicans hold the Senate 52-42, with six seats up for grabs. Incumbent Angus King, the independent who caucuses with Democrats, seems likely to keep his, and Democrat Ruben Gallego has 50.4% over Kari Lake’s 47.6% in Arizona with 60% of the vote counted. Should Republicans lose those two and Wisconsin but pick up Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Nevada, the final count would be 55-45, a solid majority for the GOP. The House is still up for grabs – and with it, a solid trifecta. So far, Republicans have performed better than their colleagues across the aisle in every category. They’ve won the presidency and the Senate, are leading in the House 198 to 180 with 57 races left to be called, and they’re even leading in gubernatorial races, winning 27 states to the Democrats’ 23.

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Liberty Nation does not endorse candidates, campaigns, or legislation, and this presentation is no endorsement.

Read More From James Fite

Mitch McConnell's Replacement

By Rich Kozlovich

Assuming all the voter fraud the Democrats are attempting to inject into this election can be thwarted, the dust is settling, and it's looking like Trump will take the White House, the Republicans will take the Senate, and keep the House.   Not that the Republicans have done such a good job, but the Democrat party, as it's now configured, is in it's death throes being destroyed by the farthest left most radical people to have ever been seated in the Congress, and they've scared the nation.  But whether all that happens or not, we're going to see changes in the Congress, and especially the Senate.  

I'm channeling Oliver Cromwell here.  For those who don't know Oliver Cromwell was, he was one of the leaders in the English Civil Wars that defeated, and eventually executed King Charles I, and then ruled England as Lord Protector from December 1653 until his death in September 1658.  In 1653 Oliver Cromwell addressed a stunningly corrupt Parliament dismissing them saying:

¨"It is not fit that you should sit here any longer. You have sat here too long for any good you have been doing lately … In the name of God go.

That same line of thought was repeated In 1940 regarding Neville Chamberlain, and again in 2022 telling telling Boris Johnson to quit. "In the name of God, go"  Well, if the Brits have the stones to do it, and if the Republicans take the Senate, then as soon as possible after January 3, 2025 some Republican leader, preferably a new Senator, needs to stand up and say to Mitch McConnell:  

"It is not fit that you should lead our party any longer. You have been there too long for any good you have been doing lately … In the name of God go.” 

Ole Mitch has decided he's not running again, however, that doesn't solve the McConnell problem because Mitch McConnell is a perfect reflection of the Republican party leadership, and the majority of  Senate Republicans, at least until January 3, 2025, we'll see then.  There won't just be an explosion the day the Republicans meet to decide who their leader will be.  I'm expecting to see an political atomic bomb going off!  Here's

Kari Lake or Ted Cruz in their US Senate races when both are locked in tight races.

• announced he's going to run for the leadership of the U.S. Senate, a Senate RINO Mitch McConnell light.  Amil Imani points out why he's unfit to lead the Senate Republicans, "he did not back Attorney General Ken Paxton during his impeachment by the Texas state House, he's anti-gun, supports illegal migration,  as A.G. Paxton has already pointed out.
• Sen. John Thune of South Dakota has been joined at the hip with Ole Mitch and it's been assumed he'd be Mitch's successor, a major set back for conservatives, and for Trump. He's all in with the special interests who support open immigration, he's a war hawk pushing for American interference in all these forever wars.  He's not a conservative.   

Trump Supporting Contenders

• Sen. John Barrasso is in the Republican leadership, and has migrated into becoming much more conservative and has consistently defended Trump.   (R-WY) is the third highest-ranking Senate Republican and one of former President Trump’s more staunch defenders. While he began his political career as a moderate Republican, the Wyoming Senator has recently become increasingly conservative, but is weak on immigration. 
• Senator Rick Scott has not been one of Old Mitch's favorites as he's been a staunch critic of McConnell.  The trouble is his record doesn't match is rhetoric, as he was aligned with former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan's policies versus Donald Trump's, which is why I find it difficult to understand why he's given an upper 90% approval rating from one of the conservative think tanks. However, here's his view of earmarks:“It’s just like the swamp to take YOUR money, borrow more, and push it all into reckless political pet projects. That’s earmarks in a nutshell.”
• Then we have what's been touted as Trump's choice, Sen. Steve Daines, who I never heard of before this, and who has been a strong Trump supporter, but he's weak on immigration. 

There are others being discussed such as Marco Rubio, who says he's not interested, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, and Sen. Jone Ernst.  Why Senators Mike Lee and John Kennedy aren't included in this mix is a surprise to me, unless they've made it clear they don't want the job.

Here are two things that must be at the top of the list for whomever gets the job. First, unlike McConnell who easily gave in to Democrat demands, and in love with sending untracked billions of dollars to a stunningly corrupt Ukraine government, the next Republican Senate leader must decide his job is to fight for the Republican's priorities, and not the Democrat's, and stop this massively destructive plague of spending and borrowing that's sending the national debt into outer space.  

Second, if the Republican take the Senate they need to end the corrupt tyranny imposed on the Senate by Harry Reid that allowed majority leader prevent senators from offering amendments to bills forcing a take it or leave it position on massive all inclusive bills instead of allowing the Senate to run as it was originally intended by building consensuses crafting bills point by point, battling it out in committee and on the Senate floor.

While it's clear the Republican Senate will be more conservative, will it be conservative enough to give Trump the support he will need, or be sabotaged by feckless invertebrates in the Congress?  

Here's my view in my updated analysis of the 2024 senate race.   If the Republicans take the five seats I'm calling for them, and the three that are tossups go to the Democrats, along with the Independent taking a Republican seat, that will make the Senate a 50/50 tie, meaning the Vice President would be the tie breaking vote in the Senate, and I've come to the conclusion some of these seats will have to be taken on Trump's coattails.   

Since the Democrat/Independent contingent will vote in lock step, and there are so many RINO's who will typically vote with the Democrats, the Democrats will still control the Senate.  The realistic numbers?  50 Democrat/Independents, anywhere from 6 to 10 RINO's at any give time,  leaving 40 to 44 Republicans.  That gives the Senate a potential 60/40 edge over the Republicans, even if the Senate leader is a Republican.  But at least it won't be Mitch McConnell.  

 And if elected, Trump cannot allow his appointees to backstab him at every turn, Trump’s appointees must be fiercely loyal, "That loyalty must be to the Constitution, to We the People, to the administration’s mission, and to President Trump, and that means being willing to shrink their agencies. "

The NDAA’s ‘Warrantless Backdoor Surveillance’ of Americans Gets Approved by the Senate

By thepoliticsbrief December 14, 2023

In a last-minute rush to sanction spending before the end of the year, the Senate enacted a $886 billion defense spending proposal Wednesday, sponsored by President Joe Biden, that includes financing for Ukraine, yearly pay hikes for personnel, and most controversially, a reauthorization of the the National Defense Authorization Act.   The NDAA funds Pentagon objectives such as training and equipment. The Act was approved by a bipartisan majority of 87-13 in the Senate. For the last 61 years in a row, Congress has advanced the must-pass defense budget measure.................

 The Senate National Defense Authorization Act has measures that will:

• Authorize $844.3 billion for the Department of Defense and $32.4 billion for national security programs within the Department of Energy
• Support Defense department activities among Australia, United Kingdom, and the United States
  
• Extend the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative through fiscal year 2027 and authorize the full budget request of $300 million in fiscal year 2024
• Provide a 5.2 percent pay raise for military servicemembers and the Defense department civilian workforce
• Support requested funding for naval vessels, combat aircraft, armored vehicles, weapon systems and munitions
• Renew the secretive FISA Court and rubber-stamp mass warrantless surveillance

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) was one of just thirteen senators that rejected the NDAA..............Earlier, Sen. Lee called out the “warrantless backdoor surveillance” of Americans.....By 6 votes, the Senate just forced through a violation of your constitutional rights. Now all eyes turn to the House. They will put it to a vote TOMORROW.............To Read More....

A Nation of Dress Codes, Not Politicians

By Daniel Greenfield September 27, 2023 @ Sultan Knish Blog

Senate Majority Leader Schumer’s announcement that members of the not especially respected body will be able to wear what they want means that out go the business suits and in go Sen. Fetterman’s basketball shorts. The point of the old dress code was that the Senate was engaged in serious business and its members should look like adult professionals.

But what if its members, like Sen. Kyrsten Sinema or Sen. John Fetterman, aren’t adults? Sinema and Fetterman have both taken to wearing what feels good rather than attire that treats the offices they hold with due seriousness. And they are just flaunting what so many members of Congress already believe: that the office is all about their self-expression and about them.

It’s not just about the clothes. The pandemic allowed the House of Representatives to unleash proxy voting and even remote hearings. It became a common sight for United States government events to take place with a hotel room or a bathroom in the background.

Proxy voting meant that members of congress didn’t even have to bother coming to work if they didn’t feel like it. An endless slew of official letters by politicians who were on vacation, attending campaign events or conferences claimed that they couldn’t be there to vote in person because of the “public health emergency”. If anyone had bothered to enforce perjury laws, most of Congress would be serving time in prison, in person, with no proxy sentences allowed.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s decision to end proxy voting restored some small measure of dignity. Members of Congress are actually expected to show up in person and conduct the business of government. And yet the complaints continue. Why should members of Congress have to put what they want to do on hold to actually conduct government business?

And why should members of the Senate have to wear pants?

Dress codes and voting in person are forms of institutional standards. And, like wigs in British courts, they can seem silly, but they serve as important reminders that public officials are the bearers of a national tradition. John Adams argued for “a government of laws, not of men.” The civilizing formalities are not just forms of basic decency which bound our behaviors, they also remind the men and women in charge of our system that they serve something higher.

Not just themselves or their parties or their donors. They serve the American tradition.

It is no coincidence that the men and women who disdain dress codes or demand proxy voting also have little regard for laws, beginning with the constitution, and who want the absolute power to reshape our lives according to their whims. Radicals and extremists invariably reject any form of discipline or limitations on their powers. Their insistence that they ought to be able to do anything they want is an egotism that begins with them and ends with us losing our rights.

Tradition teaches us to see ourselves as more than our egos. Capitol Hill and much of Washington D.C. is a history lesson writ in paint and stone. Those who pass through it are supposed to understand that they are part of a national pageant and elected officials, in particular, are taking up a role held by their predecessors for hundreds of years.

There are some who still see it that way, but the House has no shortage of cranks, radicals, foreigners, egomaniacs, extremists and others to whom history is meaningless and worthless. When they look at the statues, they don’t feel themselves to be a part of the nation’s past, they just count which ones they’d like to see taken down and how they can claim credit for it. Dress codes have no value to people who respect no national tradition and certainly no traditional clothing beyond the Islamic hijab, because they don’t see themselves within a larger body.

Until recent times, members of the two houses saw themselves as part of American institutions, in solidarity with each other, and with the nation, across party lines and partisan elections. When it comes to Sen. Fetterman or Rep. Ilhan Omar, that should not be taken for granted.

Politics has always been abusive and corrupt, the force of tradition, patriotism, heritage and other intangibles helped restrain some of the worst impulses of elected officials. Those forces are dissolving. A government of laws is being replaced by a government of men who refuse to be limited by traditions, principles or laws. As American traditions fall apart, what replaces them are the even older traditions of politics, personality cults, tribalism, and the determination to seize power by any means necessary and hold it even more ruthlessly.

“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other,” Adams warned. That is even more true of politicians who have already shown ample evidence that at the earliest opportunity they will tear any constitution or body of laws apart like wolves descending on a wounded sheep.

Dress codes are one of the niceties of tradition that serve as canaries in a coal mine. Politicians who are self-interested and undisciplined enough that they can’t be bothered to abide by them won’t be likely to keep any of the more serious traditions and laws that they help to guard.

Tradition seems silly and worthless if you’re a self-centered child which is what our average politician is. Asking them to accept any restraint on their powers is too much. Why should they be expected to abide by the minimal expectation of countless offices in the country? Or by any expectations at all? Why should they be expected to come to work or not, suddenly, decide to declare that the Second Amendment has been suspended by a public health emergency?

In a government of men, not laws, politicians don’t reason or respect the past, they feel very deeply and they believe that following their feelings is the reason that they were elected. They don’t see themselves as part of a larger body or a nation, only as righteous individuals here to destroy the past and usher in the future based on whatever they believe right this second.

America needs dress codes, more than it needs politicians, it needs standards more than it needs iconoclasts, it needs men and women willing to put the country ahead of themselves.

And it would help if some of them could also put on a pair of pants before they go to work.

Daniel Greenfield is a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center. This article previously appeared at the Center's Front Page Magazine.Click here to subscribe to my articles. And click here to support my work with a donation.Thank you for reading.

Why Is Mitch McConnell Allowed to Remain Senate Minority Leader?

By Rich Kozlovich 

One thing clear, Mitch isn't going to resign from anything.  If he had an ounce of integrity he'd at least step down as the Republican leader in the Senate.  If he was a man of honor, he'd just resign and go and finish his life at home surrounded by his wife, children and grandchildren.  His self serving character is now clear to the most casual observer.  He fails in both categories, honor and integrity. 

But the real story is about the honor and integrity of the Senate Republicans.  They've publicly accepted the incredible claim by McConnell's doctor he's just fine and dandy and ready to go back to work, and one Senator actually claims he's just as sharp and shrewd as ever.  Of course someone may have to  recognize when he's having a seizure and just wake him up.  Yep, sharp and shrewd. 

Then there are those who don't accept such nonsense such as Sen. Josh Hawley "who said McConnell should “absolutely” not remain the GOP minority leader in the Senate following his freezing episodes."  

McConnell's critics believe, and I think rightly so, he cost the Republicans the Senate in the last election, and if allowed to remain as minority leader may well do it again in 2024.  This was the first time he received no votes as Republican leader. 

During his years of "leadership the national debt rose nearly $20 trillion, illegal immigration surged, and real wages for American workers have not grown. Obamacare was enacted in 2010. Congress bailed out big banks in 2008, and social media companies silenced individuals without repercussions."  Yep, apparently he's always been really sharp and shrewd!

So, it's my understanding the Leaders of their parties serve at the pleasure of the party members, and can be voted out of those positions.  If that's so, and as far as I've been able to determine it is, with a lot of politicking involved, will the Republicans in the Senate do it?  No!  There are a bunch of McConnell clones sitting in the Republican caucus, and it just won't happen.  

Regarding the honor and integrity of Senate Republicans?  They're sorely lacking in both. 

 

Complicit’: Meet the 18 Republicans Who Sold Out on Radical Democrat ‘Infrastructure’ Plan Without Reading Bill

Sean Moran 28 Jul 2021

Eighteen Senate Republicans sold out to Senate Democrats, with 17 of them voting Wednesday night to advance a $1.2 trillion Democrat “infrastructure” bill and another signaling he would.

The Senate voted to invoke cloture, or advance, H.R. 3684, the legislative vehicle for the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill. The vote featured Republican and Democrat support for the bill. The Senate voted 67-32 to invoke cloture on the bill, with seventeen Republicans in favor of invoking cloture on the bill.

All of them voted for this procedural vote without reading the bill—because it would have been impossible for them to read a bill that does not yet exist. The bill has still not been written despite months of negotiations.

The Senate Republicans who voted for the Democrat $1.2 trillion bill include:.........To Read More....

After Defending His Home From a BLM Mob, Mark McCloskey is Running for Senate

Katie Pavlich | @KatiePavlich | May 19, 2021

Last summer attorney Mark McCloskey and his wife Patricia defended themselves against a violent Black Lives Matter mob that broke down their gate and threatened to kill them. St. Louis' far left prosecutor, Kim Gardner, charged them with a felony after allowing rioters go free. She was taken off of the case for misconduct. 

Now, Mark McCloskey is running for U.S. Senate. 

“America is at a crossroads. Do we want to preserve our traditions and our way of life, or do we want the cancel culture mobs to destroy everything we’ve built? After traveling across the great state of Missouri over the past 11 months, it’s clear Missourians want a fighter in the US Senate," McCloskey said about his campaign. ..........To Read More....

 

 

Cruz, Hawley to Be Judged by 'Secretive' Senate Panel

Leah Barkoukis | @LeahBarkoukis | Feb 01, 2021 

Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) will be judged by a “secretive” Senate ethics panel over whether they had a part in inciting the U.S. Capitol riot on January 6. The Senate Ethics Committee probe “will unwind over an interminable timetable with little hint of where it is going,” Politico reports.

The committee says nothing about its business until actions are taken. And it has a lot of business before it: Seven Democratic senators filed a complaint against the two GOP senators who led the effort to object to the election results, arguing that they ‘lent legitimacy” to the cause of those who invaded the Capitol. Hawley fired back with a counter complaint alleging “improper conduct” for partisan gain.

The panel is led by Chair Chris Coons (D-Del.), who called for Cruz (R-Texas) and Hawley (R-Mo.) to resign, and Vice Chair James Lankford (R-Okla.), who planned to challenge the election results himself before backing away after the invasion of the Capitol. Coons and Lankford speak frequently to each other and have a warm relationship, just as Coons did with former Chairman Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.)....The committee's rules keep all actions of the panel secret without approval by a majority of the committee.

The last press release the committee released was in 2017, confirming an inquiry into former Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.). (Politico).........To Read More....

Georgia Senate Runoff Candidate Raphael Warnock Thinks Killing Babies in Abortions is Biblical

Micaiah Bilger  Nov 6, 2020 

Georgia pro-life Sen. Kelly Loeffler is facing a runoff race against a pro-abortion Democrat who believes the Bible justifies the killing of unborn babies in abortions.   Neither Loeffler nor the Rev. Raphael Warnock, her Democrat opponent, received more than 50 percent of votes earlier this week, pushing the race into a runoff election in January. Loeffler’s seat is key to stopping radical pro-abortion legislation from passing in the future.

Loeffler is a Republican who sponsored two pro-life bills during her short time in the U.S. Senate: the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act and the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. She has a 100-percent pro-life rating from the National Right to Life Committee.

In contrast, Warnock supports abortion on demand and believes that his position is “consistent” with the Bible. In August, he told podcast host Tim Bryan that the decision to abort an unborn baby should be up to a woman “and her doctor and her minister.” He said he believes health care is a “human right,” and abortion is part of that.

“[A]nd for me, reproductive justice is consistent with my commitment to that,” Warnock said. “I believe unequivocally in a woman’s right to choose.”.............To Read More.. 

1. Georgia Democrat Senate Candidate Raphael Warnock Supported Ending Cash Bail Long Before the DNC Added It As Policy in 2020     
2. Pastor Raphael Warnock: I “Will Always Fight” for Killing Babies in Abortions  
3. Warnock was Youth Pastor at Racist Church That Hosted Castro  
4. Ossoff, Warnock Campaign with Democrat Congressman Who Called Jews ‘Termites’

The Conservative Hero Who Can Pick Up a Senate Seat in New Hampshire (But Who Needs Your Donations Now)

August 27, 2020 By Karin McQuillan

New Hampshire is home to a lot of close elections.  It may still have a reputation for hardworking, independent Yankees, and supposedly 2% more Republican voters than Democrats, but the last time the state voted for a Republican for president was in 2000.  In 2016, President Trump lost by fewer than 3,000 votes.

This year, New Hampshire is expected to be a nail biter for the president.  The right GOP Senate candidate could make a crucial difference, but it is not at all certain we will get the top candidate who can help turn out voters.  The state GOP are not fighters and are said to have already conceded the Senate seat to Democrat incumbent, Jeanne Shaheen, although half the voters in the state told pollsters last year they want a change.

Brigadier General Don Bolduc begs to differ.  He is running with everything he’s got in the GOP Senate primary on September 8, just two weeks away.  General Bolduc generated a lot of conservative media excitement when he announced (see the National Review, Daily Caller, Breibart, and the Military Times) and for very good reason – he is one of our most decorated war heroes and a true conservative.  But actual financial and organizing support from the GOP, not so much.  Lack of funds is seriously hampering his efforts to get his message out..........To Read More....

Will the Senate Censure Crazy Mazie Hirono?

Hawaii’s Joe McCarthy loses it.

By Jeffrey Lord

In 1954, the United States Senate famously censured its most notorious member — Wisconsin Republican Joe McCarthy.

McCarthy had been on the trail of Communists in government — and there were, indeed, some of those — but had finally overstepped his bounds. Angry at McCarthy’s conduct — which included increasingly wild allegations against Senate colleagues and the U.S. Army — Ohio Republican Congressman George Bender said of McCarthy.....To Read More.....'

My Take - The one thing that's left out of this article is McCarthy was right in his overall argument that the federal government had become badly infested with communists, socialists and fellow travelers.  McCarthy was a troubled man, and he said, did things and made accusations that undermined his efforts, but in the overall picture -  in the thrust of his investigation - he was right, and we know that to be true because of the release of the VENONA intercepts.  

I don't know if this "lad" was part of that cabal of traitors or not, and if he wasn't it was disgraceful of McCarthy and Roy Cohn, who was fairly disgusting himself, to say so.  But in the overall picture - he was right, the federal government under the FDR administration was filled with traitors, and it's clear now with the release of the VENONA intercepts and release of so much of the Soviet Union's archives, FDR had to know about it and allowed it, making him the traitor. 

All of which since both Truman and Eisenhower had access to this intelligence, so they had to know it was true, and yet they both came out attacking McCarthy's claims.

In this case, Mazie is just an idiot, but the Democrats will never censure anyone who does anything disreputable, just so long as it supports their disreputable narrative about Trump, Christians, whites, anti-abortionists, gun advocates, straights, the rich, conservatives or Republicans.

Here is a list of Americans in the Venona papers, and remember, this is only a partial list becuase so many of the intercepts weren't translated.  You will notice the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the forerunner of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) , was infested with Soviet agents during WWII and when the OSS became the CIA they migrated into the CIA. 

Bunker Ranting From the Senate’s Democrats

They know Attorney General Barr has them in his sights.

By George Parry May 3, 2019

 

Historians tell us that in the final days of the Third Reich, as the Red Army surrounded the Berlin Führerbunker, a crazed Adolf Hitler ranted, raved, and issued increasingly irrational orders for non-existent Wehrmacht divisions to counterattack and repel the invaders. Even as Germany was being laid waste by the British and American armies advancing from the west and the Russians from the east, Hitler still appeared to believe that victory was within reach. After all, when he had started World War II, world domination by the Nazis had been all but certain. It had to have been inconceivable to him that he had been so wrong from the beginning, and now he would have to face the consequences.
Equally deluded and disbelieving was Josef Goebbels, the Reich’s propaganda minister. According to historical reports, even at that late date and in those dire circumstances, Goebbels’ deluded denial of the advancing peril equaled that of his Führer...........To Read More....

 

 

Charlie Daniels: When You Go Stomping In the Swamp, Slime Has a Habit of Splashing Both Ways

By Charlie Daniels | May 3, 2019

I watched part of the Senate hearing with Attorney General William Barr yesterday, and instead of hearing the informed questions of supposedly public servants who are sworn to serve the interests and security of this nation and the people who put them in office, I was bombarded with useless, showboat inquiries that everybody in the room already knew the answers to.

There were would-be presidential candidates preening and posing for the television cameras asking inane, convoluted, disjointed questions, accomplishing absolutely nothing except for wasting the time of all involved.

Senator Mazie Hirono from Hawaii indulged in downright character assassination, her remarks acerbic and insulting, having no effect but to paint her as a misandrist – just a bitter old woman with absolutely nothing constructive to add to the conversation...........The crux of the situation is this, when you go stomping around in the swamp, the slime has a habit of splashing both ways, and you never know what you’re going to find under the next dead log. Swamp snakes don’t care who they bite – very possibly the guy who turned over the log............The amount of “loyalty under duress” in Washington could probably be stored in a snuff box, and when plea bargains and CYA gets to a fever pitch, things could get hot and heavy, and some very swelled heads could roll...............To Read More...

My Take - Let's Make a Deal!!!!! That phrase is going to become common place as Barr starts his investigations into the big players on the left who started this whole thing.  I've said this before and it's clear just how true it was:  They didn't just want Hillary to win, they needed Hillary to win.  That way they could bury all the criminal activity going on among the Clinton's cabal and Obama's cabal of criminals.  But make no mistake about this.  The bottom of the rung criminals will start to sing, and sing loudly.  This is going to be fun to watch.

GOP wants to put Democrats on the spot again with vote on 'Medicare for all'

April 11, 2019 By Rick Moran

Senate Democrats are livid with GOP majority leader Mitch McConnell for forcing them to put their money where their mouths are when it comes to their radical, wildly expensive proposals.

First, McConnell held a vote on the Green New Deal. Every Democratic senator voted "present." Now McConnell has turned his attention to the Dems' "Medicare for all" proposal with a view toward embarrassing them again. .............Democrats are bitterly complaining that the vote is more about politics than health care. 

That's exactly correct. 

McConnell might point out that Democrats are playing politics by introducing the bill in the first place.  There isn't a chance in hell "Medicare for all" would pass the Senate and Democrats know it.  So why shouldn't McConnell take a political route to highlight the out of control radicalism being pushed by Democrats — especially those running for president in 2020?..................Read more

Save the Senate: Repeal the Seventeenth Amendment!

By Rich Kozlovich

The Washington Examiner posted the article, "How to save the 'post-nuclear' Senate" on April 08, 2019 saying:

"In 2013, former Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., invoked the so-called “nuclear option.” That is, with a simple majority vote, he and his Democratic majority changed Senate rules to make it easier to confirm certain executive and lower court nominees. No longer would supermajorities be required to confirm judges, as they had been under President George W. Bush. Now, a simple majority would do."

Well, now Mitch McConnell has done the same thing, but once this Senate rule was capriciously changed by Harry Reid, it gave McConnell the authority to invoke the nuclear option.  Not only allowing for a majority vote for appointments, but to reduce the debate time over these appointments from thirty hours to two. 

McConnell had been against this rule change from the beginning warning Reid and the Democrats it's going to come back to haunt them, and it has.  As for this latest expansion and use of the nuclear option by Senate Republicans, this was forced on them as an act of exasperation.

Why?

The Democrats were using the debate time to stall every one of Trump's appointees, including minor appointees just to prevent Trump from being able to govern.  The article goes on to state:

 "Democrats have ridiculously dragged out completely uncontroversial nominations in an effort to run out the clock and prevent Trump from governing, and even having a governing team in place. In addition to inoffensive lower-court nominees, they have taken up maximum time dragging out nominations for even the most obscure executive offices. For no good reason, cloture votes have been required to confirm Trump’s ambassador to Luxembourg, his commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, his comptroller of the currency, his undersecretary of Transportation for policy, and the general counsel for the Department of Agriculture — to name just a handful of dozens of similarly low-profile positions identified by McConnell’s office. Never before had the nominees for any of these offices required a cloture vote, until this administration."

Under these circumstances this expansion had to be expected, and now the Democrats are grousing about it.  They believed they were going to control the Senate after the 2016 election and they let it be known they would evoke the nuclear option to get what they wanted.  But now, all of a sudden, I'm reading how this is damaging the integrity of the Senate. The article states:

"The Senate’s slow and deliberative processes, and senators’ lengthy terms in office, have long kept the nation’s laws stable and constant in the face of populist fads. This is why, as resourceful as Democratic obstruction has been in the Trump era, it’s hard to think of anything the nation needs less than one more escalation to destroy the traditional curbs on the power of the Senate majority."

The Senate's "slow and deliberative processes, and senators’ lengthy terms in office, have long kept the nation’s laws stable and constant in the face of populist fads." Really?  Tell you what.  We'll come back to that.

This "weaponization" of the Senate the writer talks about is what the Senate was created for.  A weapon that allowed the States to prevent the central government from becoming an overpowering and unyielding tyrant.  That ended with the passage of the 17th Amendment. 

Before 1913 Senators were appointed by their States to be de facto ambassadors to the central government, representing the States.   The House of Representatives were directly elected by the people because they represented the people of their states.   Senators were chosen by the states because they were to represent the States.   The 17th Amendment to the Constitution destroyed the balance of power in America and States Rights ceased to exist, irrespective of anything the 10th Amendment says, and that was the intent of those who promoted this change.

So, this "weaponization" of the Senate the writer is so worried about isn't anything new, and make no mistake about this.  This isn't the end, and maybe it shouldn't be the end. The writer worries:

"Or it could be the Republicans who pack the court, or pack it further. Or perhaps they’d just abolish the filibuster and privatize Social Security (or abolish any number of Great Society social programs) in such a way that there will be no funds available to reconstitute it later. On either side, the sky is the limit once the escalation reaches a certain point."

When you look at what the Congress, with approval of the Senate, imposed on the nation with unending regulations, taxes and such massive spending that we're now over 22 trillion dollars in debt, does anyone really think the Senate protected the nation?

The old system was largely based on shared values and belief in America and the America Way.  There were differences, but none of those differences would destroy the American identity, the American culture, the American economy and the Constitution.  That's no longer true.  One party wants to turn the United States into a socialist state.  Tell me how there can be a meeting of the minds when one party treasures America as we've known it and one party wants to destroy America as we've known it. 

That's like saying anti-abortionists and pro-abortionists can find common ground.   One side believes abortion is murder and the other not only doesn't think it's murder, they think it's women's right to slaughter their children, at will.  How can there be common ground? 

The writer delusionally believes it's possible for:

 "Senators [to] establish a new and more sound, durable framework for Senate rules, to take effect at a time when no one knows who will be in power.  Senators from both parties should gather now and derive a new consensus-based set of written rules which, excluding all unwritten precedents, will apply to all Senate action beginning after some future election (perhaps in January 2021, 2023, or 2025), when no one knows for sure who will control the Senate or the White House. Perhaps the new rules will look like they do now, or like they did two weeks ago, or even perhaps like they did in 2012."

To be a leftist is to be insane.  Leftists promise utopia and never fail to deliver dystopia.  That's history and that history is incontestable.  To continue to promote their leftist schemes in face of all that history is clearly insanity.   There can be no consensus between the insanity and sanity.  If he wants to return to a more sound, durable framework for Senate rules, let's start by repealing the 17th Amendment, and go from there. 

The Principled Five vs. America

March 15, 2019 By Sally Zelikovsky

Once again, Republicans are acting like complete dingbats -- especially senators Lee, Paul, Murkowski, Collins, and Tillis, all of whom announced their decision to vote “yes” for the disapproval resolution on the President’s declaration of a national emergency at the border. As if we hadn’t heard it before, they argue there are constitutional principles involved they cannot, in good faith, contravene.

I know these senators believe they are better than Democrats when it comes to adhering to constitutional principles. The consider themselves purists in the loftiest sense. As a Tea Party conservative who spent eight years agitating for those very same principles, I get that. But I’m also not stupid, and there comes a time when practicality trumps principle. In times of war, we often confront such conflicts when we have to do what’s right at the time -- let’s say killing a civilian -- even though it violates the Geneva Convention, our Rules of Engagement, and our morals. But, in the calculus at the moment, if that one civilian life can save a multitude of troops and/or other civilians, we would likely act accordingly. These are never pretty decisions to make. But life isn’t always fair, pure, or principled.

What is the sense preening like proud peacocks because of your purity in regard to principles, only to lose big time on the most important issue of our time? Securing our nation’s borders is the only way to preserve and form a more perfect union, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty. Without secure borders, all of the foregoing is in jeopardy..........To Read More.....

My Take - These guys are failures as leaders.  One of my Senators is part of this package and quite frankly, he's mush like the rest of the Republican party in Ohio, far too many Rockefeller Republicans. 

Ohio just elected DeWine, who was a part of the Gang of 13 when he was in the Senate, running against Cordray who is a far left loon, and DeWine just barely won.  Why?  I think it's because most conservatives think he's a snake and didn't really support him. 

After the betrayal to conservatism by Kasich we gave another tax and spend governor, and the Republican controlled legislature in Ohio may have end up in open revolt.  And who knows, as a result, they may actually find a real conservative to run against him in four years, assuming he's going to run again, which I don't think he will. That will leave to door open for conservatives in Ohio to take control.  But as the journalist said in that movie:  Well see!

Mark Levin Dubs Senate Republicans Who Voted Against Trump’s Border Emergency ‘The Dirty Dozen’

By Craig Bannister | March 14, 2019

After the Republican-majority Senate passed a resolution disapproving of President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency at the southern border, nationally-syndicated conservative pundit Mark Levin assigned a label to the 12 Republicans helped Democrats pass the resolution.

“The Dirty Dozen,” Levin declared on Twitter after Thursday’s vote, linking to a post on The Right Scoop titled, “Senate votes to DISAPPROVE Trump’s National Emergency; 12 Republicans voted with Democrats and HERE ARE THEIR NAMES.”........To Read More......

• Also: The NeverTrump Bitter-Enders

If Senate Dems Won’t Legislate, Spend the Time Confirming Judges

The Senate will need to remain in session 24/7 for months. But it can be done.

Dov Fischer January 10, 2019

Now the Democrats have announced that, if the President keeps the Government shut until Congress approves a spending bill that allocates at least $5 billion for a wall along part of our southern border, they reciprocally will refuse to participate in legislating anything in the Senate.

Oh no! What will we ever do! The Senate Democrats won’t legislate!

Under the principle of “Occam’s Razor,” sometimes the best solution to a complex problem is the simplest. This one is even easier because the problem itself is simple........... President Trump has been making these fabulous judicial nominations.! — Senators are allowed to insist that each and every nominee be subjected to a full 30 hours of debate on the Senate floor. It is a joke. Inasmuch as the nominee already has been through the wringer of Senate Judiciary Committee hearings — remember what those are like? — what is it that can be said further in thirty hours about a person’s qualifications that cannot be said in ten hours, five hours, three hours? The whole aim of the Democrats has been to slow down the confirmation process, to jam the machinery, and to sabotage movement in the name of “The Resistance.”
 

Right now, twelve highly gifted people are awaiting confirmation to the federal appellate circuits as United States appeals court judges, and approximately sixty others are awaiting confirmation as federal trial judges in their new roles as United States district court judges. At the rate of thirty hours per nominee, seventy-two such dragged-out confirmations would require 30 x 72 = 2,160 hours of Senate time for all to be confirmed............ Even at the blistering rate of convening the Senate for 24 hours per day, those 2,160 hours would take 90 days..............more days of clock ticks if you also would like to see the confirmation of a Secretary of Defense, Interior Secretary, Attorney General, and such. (And the Democrats complain about shutting down the Government?)

That focus is exactly what McConnell should be doing. The current Senate term has two years to go. Even at the pace of a 24/7 full-court press, it will take more than three months to get the current six dozen judges and federal cabinet appointments through. By then, a whole new crop of judges will have been named, too, and they also will need time at 30 hours per..........Just keep the darned Senate open and in session non-stop for the next several months, and get those judges and other Presidential appointments through ...........To Read More...

Democrats React To Martha McSally's Appointment To U.S. Senate

Matt Vespa | December 18, 2018

 

Well, it looks like Martha McSally will be a U.S. Senator after all. Despite reports that McSally’s stock was falling among Arizona Republicans, Gov. Doug Ducey decided to appoint her to fill the remainder of the late Sen. John McCain’s term. She will be serving with her 2018 opponent Senator-elect Kyrsten Sinema (via AZ Governor’s Office):..........To Read More.....

 

My Take - The real story?  The McCain's were opposed to her being appointed, as if the seat belonged to the McCain family and it was their right to have a say in who got the appointment.   When the son in law, Ben Domenech,  shot off his mouth over this I sort of expected him to make the choice he did.  Ben Domonech, has some issues with credibility by the way. 

 

It was the thinking among some that when McCain was dying and wouldn't resign it was because he was trying to get the Gov. to appoint his wife to fulfill his term.  Gov. Ducey didn't, and as a conservative, it's was assumed his attitude was "that's just what the nation needs, another McCain in the Senate for two more years."

 

Well, Gov. Doug Ducey told the McCain family to take their views and shove em and appointed a conservative.  Now, I think that's the real story.  I think that's the end of the McCain's in Arizona politics, and hopefully his daughter Meghan will go home also.  She only appears to be a conservative because she's on the View and the rest are so far left she almost appears sane.  What I wonder at - who watches that show?