RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://www.wsj.com/articles/making-connecticut-grow-again-1534374994
Making Connecticut Grow AgainThe GOP nominates a businessman reformer to rescue failing Hartford.

Democrats again showed their eagerness to send a message against President Trump in Tuesday’s primaries, which threatens GOP control of statehouses. But perhaps the most intriguing result came in Connecticut, where businessman Bob Stefanowski won the GOP nomination for Governor on a bold reform platform to save the sinking state after years of failed public-union governance.

In Wisconsin, Democrats nominated state schools Superintendent Tony Evers to take on GOP Gov. Scott Walker. Unions are hoping to deny Mr. Walker a third term and take the statehouse so they can overturn his famous collective-bargaining reforms. Early polls give Mr. Evers a small lead, but Mr. Walker’s reforms have reduced property taxes, and unemployment is 2.9%.

Mr. Trump narrowly defeated Hillary Clinton in the state, but he remains a polarizing force. This was evident by state Sen. Leah Vukmir’s seven-point victory over former Marine Kevin Nicholson in the Senate primary. Mr. Nicholson tied himself to the President, but Ms. Vukmir cleaned up in the Milwaukee and Madison suburbs with endorsements from Gov. Walker and Paul Ryan. Ms. Vukmir is a long shot against Sen. Tammy Baldwin, but Senate Republicans shouldn’t leave her hanging like they did Senator Ron Johnson in 2016 if polls tighten.

Republicans are angling to pick up the governorship in Minnesota, which has been trending right in recent elections. Mr. Trump lost the state by fewer than 50,000 votes, and Republicans control the state House. Tim Pawlenty stood a good shot. He was a rare blue-state GOP Governor to survive the Democratic wave in 2006 and compiled a strong economic record during eight years in office.

Ned Lamont who defeated Incumbent Democrat Senator Lieberman in 2006 went on to defeat when Lieberman ran as an Independent is back running for Governor.Lamont is a millionaire Socialist who wants National Obamacare and Addressing Climate Change and Expanding Renewable Energy and all those lefty feel-good issues. However, he could not be worse than the Present Democrat Governor Dannel Malloy who has ruined the economy and infrastructure of Connecticut. rsk

Trump Twitter Support Is a Boon in GOP Primarieshttps://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2018/08/15/trump_twitter_support_is_a_boon_in_gop_primaries.html By Sally Persons

Donald Trump has taken a lot of grief for his tweeting habit from critics who view his use of the social media platform as decidedly unpresidential. He’s receiving only gratitude, however, from Republican candidates he’s endorsed on Twitter – candidates who’ve ridden Trump’s endorsement to decisive primary victories.

With over 50 million followers on Twitter, the president’s outreach spans a far greater cross-section of voters than the standard political database — though not all of his followers are Republicans or even politically engaged. He has endorsed 44 campaigns so far and many say they’ve seen a tangible difference after a getting that seal of approval on Twitter. His input elevates the candidates’ national profile, increases donations, and can even help change the outcome of some races.

In last month’s Republican gubernatorial primary runoff in Georgia, Trump’s surprise endorsement may have been the key to tipping the tight contest in the favor of Secretary of State Brian Kemp. He entered the July runoff as the underdog and ended up winning by a double-digit margin.

“The president’s endorsement was like pouring gasoline on a fire,” Kemp told RCP. Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle had been widely considered the favorite throughout the race and had the support of Georgia’s GOP establishment, including term-limited Gov. Nathan Deal. Cagle won the first round of voting in May by 13 points but did not top 50 percent, forcing the runoff; he ended up losing to Kemp in July in a landslide after the president weighed in.

https://pjmedia.com/election/vt-dem-primary-features-a-bernie-sanders-staffer-a-greenie-a-transgender-and-a-14-year-old-boy/
Vt. Dem. Primary Features a Bernie Sanders Staffer, a Greenie, a Transgender, And a 14-Year-Old Boy byTyler O’Neil

On Tuesday, voters in Vermont will nominate candidates for the governor’s race in November. Democrats have quite a cast of characters to choose from: a Bernie Sanders staffer, an environmental activist, a transgender person, and a 14-year-old boy.

The first two may not be quite that far outside the norm. Brenda Siegel, an activist who champions relief for victims of the opioid epidemic and the Brattleboro hurricane, worked for Bernie Sanders before he was cool. Siegel interned for Sanders when he was in the U.S. House of Representatives (1991-2007).

A classic big government Democrat, Siegel supports a $15-per-hour minimum wage, universal health care, an emphasis on green energy, and “a deep look at our transportation system.”

James Ehlers may upstage Siegel on environmental issues, however. Executive Director of the local green (or should I say “blue?”) group Lake Champlain International, Ehlers also supports the far-left activism that categorizes the Democratic Party in the increasingly radical Green Mountain State. His website declares that “healthcare is a human right,” backs paid family leave, advocates for more funding to Planned Parenthood, champions a $15-per-hour minimum wage, demands water quality, supports unions, and pushes more government in general.

Ehlers enjoys the backing of the AFL-CIO and the Vermont Building and Construction Trades Council.

Green energy may not be sexy enough in this race, however. (Or should I say, “gender-y?”) Christine Hallquist, a biological man who identifies as a woman, has launched a powerful bid to become the first transgender governor in American history.

The former CEO at the Vermont Electric Cooperative, Hallquist became the first CEO to “transition” while in the job. “My path to being my authentic self was certainly not easy,” Hallquist said at a campaign kickoff. “However, it’s always been important to me to live openly and honestly. I chose to transition in a very public way because I felt I owed it to those at Vermont Electric Cooperative who put their trust in me.” CONTINUE AT SITE

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/271025/keith-ellison-gets-his-metoo-moment-daniel-greenfield

Until last week, Karen Monahan’s progressive credentials had been impeccable. But now the activist is one of two women who have accused one of the top figures on the left of physical and emotional abuse.

Born in Iran before the Islamic Revolution, she was adopted by American parents and not only identified as an Iranian-American, but also worked with the pro-regime National Iranian American Council (NIAC).

Keith Ellison was also a NIAC regular. He had spoken before the Iranian group and had received fundraising support from it. The first Muslim congressman from Minnesota, with a list of Islamist and leftist connections as long as his right arm, was a natural NIAC ally.

Monahan had also been an organizer with the Sierra Club and worked with the Environmental Justice Advocates of Minnesota (EJAM). Ellison was one of the founders of EJAM. Both Ellison and Monahan were leftists moving through the same claustrophobic maze of Minnesota leftist political organizations.

At some point after Ellison’s divorce from his wife, Kim Ellison, they began a relationship that lasted for years until it ended in 2016. Now, Karen Monahan is accusing Ellison of domestic abuse. Her tweets and statement allege that Ellison assaulted her, cheated on her and badly traumatized her.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-kavanaugh-document-fight-1534202892

The Senate Judiciary Committee announced Friday that confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh will begin September 4, nearly two months after his nomination. That’s more than enough time for Senators to examine his voluminous public record, but Democrats are alleging a cover-up.

“We are seeing layer after layer of unprecedented secrecy in what is quickly becoming the least transparent nominations process in history,” declared Minority Leader Chuck Schumer last week.

We hear that communications are strained, if they exist at all, between the staffs of Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley and ranking committee Democrat Dianne Feinstein, who is holding her breath and stomping her feet in tune with Mr. Schumer. The California Democrat is running for re-election against a left-leaning Democrat who claims she’s not doing enough to resist all things Trump. She isn’t about to be outflanked on the left regarding Judge Kavanaugh.

In any event, Democrats are the ones demanding the unprecedented. Their latest complaint is that documents from Mr. Kavanaugh’s years in the White House counsel’s office are being vetted for release by William Burck, a former colleague in the George W. Bush White House. “Unless it was produced by the National Archives, every document you see from Judge Kavanaugh’s White House tenure was selectively chosen for release by his former deputy, Bill Burck. This is not an objective process,” said Illinois Democrat Dick Durbin.

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2018/08/pelosi_attacks_nbc.html

President Trump isn’t he only party leader who believes that some institutions of the mainstream media are out to get him. And like him, she may be right. Nancy Pelosi went on MSNBC yesterday to complain about NBC News having a “jag” against her. Speaking to the Washington Post’s Jonathan Capehart as he filled in for Joy Reid, and asked her is she’d be willing to step aside as leader of the House Democrats, she said, “”First of all, I know NBC has been on a jag, this is one of their priorities to undermine my prospects as speaker.” (full video embedded below)

Andrew Kugle of the Free Beacon describes the conversation:

Capehart asked Pelosi about the growing number of Democrats who are running for Congress who’ve publicly stated they wouldn’t support Pelosi becoming speaker. NBC News reported that over 50 Democratic candidates are opposing Pelosi, including nine incumbents.

While reporting on Democrats opposing Pelosi doesn’t require bias, because it is a major story, I think that she is actually correct, but in a way that she would never admit. NBC would like to step aside because they see that she is harmful to Democrat candidates and incumbents in many House districts. They may well believe that if she were to step aside as a candidate for Dem leader, and potentially speaker, it would deprive the GOP of an effective argument for their House candidates. Consider this graphic posted during the interiew:

https://hotair.com/archives/2018/08/13/propublica-fate-republic-

Consider this the most boring version of “Where’s Waldo” ever. The investigative journalists at ProPublica, a left-leaning organization that has done substantial work in the past, has launched a new effort to get to the bottom of Brett Kavanaugh’s judicial temperament. And by “judicial temperament,” they mean Kavanaugh’s judgment in sharing his season tickets to the Washington Nationals.

We think it’s important to figure out as much as we can about a nominee’s background before he is confirmed. So we’re turning to you.

Figuring out who Kavanaugh brought to games could be relevant to his confirmation. It would help:

Understand more about his relationships and any potential questions they might raise for the Supreme Court justice.
Get a better sense of what went into this unusual amount of debt for a judge in his position.
Or maybe just affirm that the guy really does love baseball for the judicial inspiration.

We’re not sure what we’ll find. But we do know that people take a lot of pictures at baseball games. Did you see Judge Kavanaugh at a game? Did you attend a game with him? Do you have any photos, and if so, will you send them our way?

“We’re not sure what we’ll find” appears to be journalistic code for we’re on a fishing expedition. The report mentions in the lead that Kavanaugh “accrued as much as $200,000 in debt” to buy season tickets, which is accurate as far as it goes. He fronted the costs for several season tickets shared between friends and got reimbursed, and it’s highly unlikely that it amounted to anything close to $200,000. The debt was reported in a range between $60K and $200K, and the most expensive season tickets run about $6,000 each. ProPublica wonders “how … this was treated for tax purposes,” which is a strange question for reimbursements of shared costs. There are as many tax implications for that as there would be for anyone — none whatsoever.

http://thefederalist.com/2018/08/13/conservative-combat-vet-seeks-gop-senate-nomination-in-wisconsin/

MADISON, Wis. — The outcome of a hotly-contested “insider versus outsider” Republican primary in Wisconsin could potentially decide which party holds the Senate after November.

The outsider is Kevin Nicholson — a young, decorated veteran-turned-businessman who walked away from the Democratic Party during his service in the U.S. Marine Corps. The insider is state lawmaker Leah Vukmir — a nurse-turned politician with almost sixteen years in the Wisconsin legislature. The winner of Tuesday’s primary will face incumbent Sen. Tammy Baldwin in what Democrats are treating as a vulnerable seat this year. Baldwin has a large war chest, but her attempt to moderate away from her hyper-liberal, Madison-centric former congressional district has been marred by several controversies that offer the eventual GOP opponent plenty of ammunition.

Republicans tried to seize this seat in 2012 when then-Democratic Sen. Herb Kohl retired. As it turned out, a bad year for Republicans nationally compounded by an aging GOP nominee who had spent his entire adult life in elected or appointed office gave Baldwin the opening she needed.

Nicholson knows this history, and so his biography as a problem-solving businessman and veteran who is running for office for the first time represents a different formulate for winning the seat. Politico — hardly a friend of conservatives — touted him as a Republican “dream candidate” with one small caveat: he used to be a Democrat.

His Democratic past isn’t something Nicholson r

https://amgreatness.com/2018/08/12/wisconsin-race-show

Kevin Nicholson is the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate who neither the Wisconsin GOP chieftains nor the Democratic incumbent wants to win. But the political novice—a decorated Marine combat veteran—embraces his role as the establishment party-crasher trying to unseat Senator Tammy Baldwin and give Republicans a surprise pickup in the Badger State.

“We are in an extremely good position to win,” Nicholson told me from the campaign trail on Saturday. “I would not want to trade places with either one of my opponents in the primary or the general election right now. They are the establishment. But voters know that only someone from outside the political class can bring change.”

On Tuesday, Nicholson faces State Senator Leah Vukmir in the state’s primary election. Vukmir has endorsements from House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), the Wisconsin Republican Party, and several Republican lawmakers. But recent polls show a tight race.

Nicholson, 40, spent the weekend traveling across the state—from Green Bay to Milwaukee to Sheboygan—trying to convince Republican voters to choose him on Tuesday.

“I feel good about our support and turnout in the northern part of the state and the rural areas,” he said. That is the same region that went heavily for Donald Trump in 2016, making Trump the first Republican since 1984 to win that state and snatch away critical electoral votes from Hillary Clinton.

Nicholson’s message is centered on policies and not on his opponent. The businessman and father of three young children has an impassioned, rapid-fire way of explaining why he decided to run for office for the first time (he apologized to me for talking too fast) and why the policies he now advocates policies are “best for everyone.”