RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://amgreatness.com/2023/11/02/judge-orders-new-democrat-mayoral-primary-in-connecticut-after-seeing-shocking-ballot-stuffing-videos/

A Superior Court judge in Connecticut has ordered a new Democrat mayoral primary in Bridgeport after surveillance videos showed a Democrat official apparently stuffing absentee ballots into an outdoor ballot box ahead of the original primary.

Incumbent Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim won the election by 251 votes out of 8,173 cast, and absentee ballots reportedly played a deciding role in his margin of victory.

Superior Court Judge William Clark ruled that challenger John Gomes’ claims of absentee ballot fraud warranted throwing out the results of the Sept. 12 primary, the Connecticut Mirror reported.

“The videos are shocking to the court and should be shocking to all of the parties,” Clark wrote in his decision.

The video clips show Town Committee vice chairwoman Wanda Geter-Pataky placing what appear to be multiple absentee ballots into one of the four absentee ballot drop boxes in the city.

“These instances do not appear to the court to be random,” Clark wrote in his opinion.

“The issue in this case is not the applications or even the push to deliver absentee votes. The issue is whether that advocacy crossed a line of the established laws. Specifically, whether individuals who were not the voter and were not authorized under statute handled ballots,” Clark said. “Based on the video and the numbers of absentee votes submitted through the drop box method in Districts 136 and 139 in particular, this court finds that such violations did occur.”

https://www.nationalreview.com/2023/10/the-case-for-desantis-over-haley-as-the-alternative-to-trump/

Like it or not, if there is a path forward from Trump right now, it still runs through Ron DeSantis, not Nikki Haley.

Nikki Haley has been increasingly consolidating a segment of the Republican primary vote, largely the most devoted anti-Trump voters, be they traditional Reaganite conservatives or moderates. This is still not close to a winning hand: In the RealClearPolitics polling averages, she is currently at 8.3 percent and third place nationally, 11.5 percent and third place in Iowa, 14.8 percent and second place in New Hampshire, and 17.7 percent and second place in her home state of South Carolina. It has, nonetheless, produced a boomlet of commentary from people who would prefer Haley to Ron DeSantis, such as Michael Strain’s “Case for Nikki Haley” in these pages. Noah Rothman has written on why he thinks Haley’s strategy of differentiating herself from Donald Trump on policy and style and focusing on appealing to voters who dislike Trump has been superior to that of DeSantis’s.

I get the instinct to be frustrated with the DeSantis campaign, and I understand why some of the traditionally Reaganite elements of the party — let alone Republican moderates — would like to use the present moment to grind axes against not only DeSantis but the whole nationalist/populist “New Right.” But the effort to promote Haley is likely to simply divide the opposition to Trump and strengthen the hand within the party of not only the nationalist/populist Right in general, but its most irresponsible elements in particular. Like it or not, DeSantis is still the best game in town — not only for any prospect of stopping Trump from winning the nomination, but for any long-term hope of restoring purpose and sanity to the Republican Party.

Moreover, in the immediate term, neither DeSantis nor Haley is dropping out of the race, so those of us looking to settle on a single opponent for Trump should first emphasize the urgent need for Tim Scott, Chris Christie, Doug Burgum, and Asa Hutchinson — none of whom any longer has a remotely plausible case for being in the race — to follow the statesmanlike lead of Mike Pence and drop out. I’d add Vivek Ramaswamy to that list if I didn’t think he was running essentially as a stalking horse to aid Trump.

The Choices

I put my own prior assumptions on the table here up front. I would happily go into battle in the general election behind either Haley or DeSantis, and would be thrilled to see either of them as president. Both boast strong records as conservative governors. Both are prepared to be commander in chief, Haley due to her tenure at the U.N., DeSantis from his time in the House and serving as a legal adviser to Navy SEALs in Iraq and a prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay. Both represent my generation, born in the 1970s and ready to move on from the seemingly endless grip of those born in the 1940s on our politics. Both cut their teeth in politics during the Tea Party era, when there was a bumper crop of talented Republicans looking to merge populist energy with conservative principle. Either of them would be the most conservative nominee since Ronald Reagan.

As a traditional Reaganite, I probably agree more with Haley than with DeSantis on the few areas where they actually disagree. I’ve been a longtime Haley booster going back to her first campaign for governor in 2010 and was openly discussing her four or five years ago as my preferred candidate to lead the party after Trump. She managed to get out of the Trump administration on good terms with Trump and with her dignity intact — not an easy thing — and if the party had chosen a new nominee in 2018, it might well have been Haley.

I’ve soured a bit on her political judgment since then, as she has struggled to navigate the innumerable pitfalls of a political landscape dominated by Trump, exemplified by a spectacularly ill-considered (and swiftly walked-back) interview with Tim Alberta in Politico in 2021. I saw her stump speech in Iowa in August and was unimpressed with its simplistic and gimmicky proposals (a competency test?) and overreliance on her gender. The debates have been a godsend to her campaign, allowing her to sink her teeth into more serious stuff and find a foil in the haplessly shallow and irritating Vivek Ramaswamy. They have reminded many of us why we thought she was a real talent in the first place.

https://www.frontpagemag.com/far-left-rep-allred-threatens-to-call-cops-on-reporter-for-asking-questions/

He is running for the Senate in Texas. Primary day is in March 2024…he leads thus far in raising funds and visibility….rsk

In the short video below, far-Left (aren’t they all?) Democrat Rep. Colin Allred attempted to brush off a reporter asking inconvenient questions in the halls of Congress, telling him “You’re on federal property. Stop doing this.”

The reporter repeatedly asked, “Congressman Allred, do you regret calling for the release of millions of dollars to Hamas?” and if Allred regretted voting against funding Israel’s Iron Dome defense system which protects against Hamas rockets. He also asked pointedly, “Why are you standing with Hamas against Israel?”

You would think that last question would prompt a Congressman to declare that he stands with Israel against terrorism, but a clearly irritated Allred just threatened to have the Capitol police deal with him. Why?

Check out the video below:

https://www.nysun.com/article/trumps-the-republican-to-solve-the-crisis-in-the-house-which-would-bolster-his-chances-in-2024

It is time for President Trump to exert his authority as putative head of the Republican Party. He needs to step in and resolve the mess created by Congressman Matt Gaetz and his seven cohorts in the House of Representatives. 

How can he do that? By making sure that the selection of the next House speaker is done quickly and with minimal drama. Get Mr. Gaetz and his allies to support the most electable candidate, whether it is Congressman Jim Jordan or Congressman Steve Scalise or whomever else party leaders and Mr. Trump choose.

It’s time to tell the bomb-throwers, all Trump admirers, to stand down. Because it is widely believed that Mr. Gaetz’s drive to topple Speaker McCarthy stemmed from personal animus rather than any ideological high ground, that should not be impossible. The eight whose votes bounced Mr. McCarthy have no favored candidate, they have no plan. They just wanted him out.

Why would the 45th president wade into this particular swamp? Because nobody has more to lose politically from the ejection of Mr. McCarthy. When voters — even those of us who admire his policies — think of Mr. Trump’s presidency, they think of chaos, and the recent turmoil in the House furthers that narrative.

https://issuesinsights.com/2023/10/05/support-for-both-biden-and-trump-fell-in-oct-just-a-blip-or-an-opening-for-others-ii-tipp-poll/

The 2024 election has seemed to be a preordained outcome, with current President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump holding substantial leads in their respective parties. But in October’s I&I/TIPP Poll, both major candidates’ support slipped a bit against their challengers. A one-off fluke, or the start of a trend?

The most recent online I&I/TIPP Poll, taken Sept. 27-29 from 1,262 registered voters, saw slippage for both candidates, though neither will yet be pushing the panic button. The overall poll has a margin of error of +/-2.8 percentage points.

After several months of steady support among Democrats for the party’s presidential nomination, Biden saw his support fall to 34% in October after edging higher from 36% in July and 37% in August to 38% in September.

Since the margin of error for the 560 Democrats surveyed for the poll was +/-4.2 percentage points, Biden’s October support remains within the margin of error when compared to the previous month’s 34% reading.

That said, Biden’s support fell in October. Meanwhile, backing for several of his possible opponents (or, perhaps, replacements if Biden bows out), gained a bit during the month. Biden’s No. 2 rival, former First Lady Michelle Obama, got 11% of Democrats’ support, up from 9% in September, and support for current Vice President Kamala Harris, rose to 8% from 7%. Socialist gadfly and sometime-Democrat candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders took 7% of support in October, also up a percent from September.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has made news recently by vetoing several laws from the state’s far-left Legislature, saw his support rise from 4% in September to 5% in October.

But perhaps of greater concern to Biden’s political advisers is that he runs very weak among some large constituencies: Women (31% support) vs. men (36%), blacks and Hispanics (29% support) vs. whites (38%), and independents (29%) vs. registered Democrats (36%).

https://amgreatness.com/2023/10/01/rfk-jr-as-independent-would-propel-trump-to-deliver-crushing-blow/

So it looks as if Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is just about to turn up the volume. It was bad enough for the Democratic establishment when he announced he was going to run for President on the Democratic ticket. Didn’t he know that The Committee already had its heir and a couple of spares, none of whom was named Kennedy? “Look at your poll numbers, Bro. Even against a senile and visibly failing puppet you are trailing by 50 or 60 points. Give it up now before you embarrass yourself further!”

No such luck. It seems that Kennedy is in for the duration. A couple of days ago rumors started circulating that he would soon announce that he was going to run as an independent. Several sources put the magic day as October 9.

As I have said elsewhere, I think Kennedy and Vivek Ramaswamy are—or at least were—the most interesting things to happen in the early stage of this campaign. Both are ferociously articulate. Both have lots of ideas. And neither is named “Trump,” the kiss of death among uniparty factota, Republican as well as Democratic.

According to my astrolabe, the glitter has dissipated somewhat from Ramaswamy. He is powerfully glib, has put forth many good policy ideas, but often seems like a reincarnation of the Energizer Bunny—if not, it pains me to say, that character in Humbolt’s Gift whom Saul Bellow described  as “smooth as a suppository.”

In any event, I suspect that Ramaswamy’s presidential prospects, certainly for 2024, are gibbous waning.

And Kennedy? It’s hard to say. I like his forthrightness. And the fact that Wikipedia, that reliably left-wing fount of approved ideas, castigates him as someone who is “known for advocating anti-vaccine misinformation and public health-related conspiracy theories” tends rather to endear him to me than otherwise. I disagree with Kennedy quite strenuously about many things—the second Amendment, for example, the climate, taxes, and some of what he has said about vaccination. But the fact that he has, as Wikipedia sniffs, “targeted prominent figures such as Anthony Fauci, Bill Gates, and Joe Biden” I regard as a public service.

http://www.swtotd.blogspot.com

Like most Republicans, I watched Wednesday’s debate hoping for a Reagan-like figure to emerge. The venue was the library of a President who had vision, radiated confidence, optimism, humor, and compassion. Like many, I was disappointed. Haley exhibited confidence and vision but without compassion that endears politicians to voters. DeSantis had the confidence of a governor who has done well but appeared humorless. Scott exuded optimism and compassion, but without vision. 

Like today, in 1980 Americans did not believe in themselves. We were in a funk. A President had been assassinated seventeen years earlier; a second resigned ten years later. The Vietnam War, which bled and divided the country for ten years, ignobly ended in 1975; inflation was rampant, with high interest rates and falling real incomes. Culturally, the country was a mess. The optimism of the post-War years was gone. Early in his presidency, Reagan remarked: “What I’d really like to do is go down as the President who made Americans believe in themselves again.” That he did, and the Country, through three presidents, experienced almost twenty years of economic growth and prosperity.

We are living through another fallow period. The twenty-year War against Islamic Terrorism ended disastrously in Afghanistan two years ago. China is on the rise. Inflation is destroying incomes. Parents are excluded from decisions regarding their school-age children. Borders are non-existent. We are told we are a racist society, that our country was built on the backs of slaves. We are divided into oppressors and victims; and that it is okay, if one is a victim, to rampage through streets and destroy private property. Conservative speakers are not allowed on campuses. Public figures cannot define a woman, yet transwomen are allowed to compete against biological women in sports. In his farewell address to the nation, on January 11, 1989, President Reagan said, “All great change in America begins at the dinner table.” Now, the nuclear family is considered passé by many.