Commentary: Gearing Up for Trump vs ‘Biden’s Replacement’

President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump

by Victor Davis Hanson   President Joe Biden is declining at a geometric, not an arithmetic, rate. His cognitive challenges are multifaceted. His gait is shaky. His daily use of stairs now risks the chance of a tenure-ending fall. Even when he sticks to the teleprompter, he so slurs his speech, mispronounces words, and glides his syntax that at times he becomes as incomprehensible at the podium as he is unsteady in his step. He now speaks a strange language foreign and untranslatable to most Americans. White House transcribers leave hiatuses in their written texts of his remarks to reflect that they either have no idea what he said, do not wish to publicize their guesses at what he said, or do not wish the public to know what he was trying to say. Despite the circling-the-wagons media and the passive-aggressive sycophants like the opportunistic Gov. Gavin Newsom in waiting, the left understands that Biden will be lucky to get to the August convention. This spring and early summer, he will not campaign as a normal presidential candidate, and this time around, there is no pretense of the COVID epidemic to excuse his absence. The people have already polled numerous…

Read the full story

New Poll Shows Trump Leads Biden in 5 of 6 Battleground States with RFK Jr. on the Ballot

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s declaration of independence from the Democratic Party is bad news for President Joe Biden’s prospects for a second term, according to a new poll by United Kingdom-based pollster Redfield & Wilton Strategies.

The poll of swing state voters, in partnership with The Telegraph, finds former President Donald Trump leading Biden in five of the six swing states.

Read the full story

Arizona Governor Candidate Kari Lake Tells Iowa Republicans to Demand Presidential Candidates Put America and Election Integrity First

Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake made her second stop in her two-day trip to Iowa with a message to conservatives in the kick-off caucus state: Back candidates who put America and election integrity first. 

“First of all, you know who I’m supporting for president,” Lake told some 250 people at a standing-room-only rally at the District Venue in Ankeny, Des Moines’ largest suburb. 

Read the full story

Louisiana Governor Vetoes Bill Banning Biological Males from Women’s Sports

John Bel Edwards

Democratic Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards vetoed a bill Tuesday that would have banned biological males from women’s sports.

“As I have said repeatedly when asked about this bill, discrimination is not a Louisiana value, and this bill was a solution in search of a problem that simply does not exist in Louisiana,” the governor said in a statement, according to the Associated Press, adding that “even the author of the bill acknowledged throughout the legislative session that there wasn’t a single case where this was an issue” in Louisiana.

Louisiana’s Fairness in Women’s Sports Act would have prohibited biological males from participating in female intercollegiate, interscholastic, or intramural athletic sports “that receive state funding.”

Read the full story

Commentary: Only National Conservatism Can Unite the West and Contain China

Person waving flag outside of window

“Europe will be your revenge,” are the purported words of West German Chancellor Conrad Adenauer to French Prime Minister Guy Mollet in 1956. The quip was related to America’s siding with Egypt and the USSR during the Suez Canal Crisis against Great Britain, France and Israel. Regardless of Adenauer’s precise intention, the quote underscores the fact that the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO) has always suffered fissures, even if it held together long enough to win the Cold War and longer still, for NATO and the EU to expand into Central and Eastern Europe.

Whether the Suez Crisis in the 50s, Charles de Gaulle’s unilateral withdrawal of France from NATO’s high command structure in the 60s, Willy Brandt’s overtures to the East via Ostpolitik in the 70s, or Reagan’s placement of strategic intermediate range nuclear warheads in West Germany in the 80s against the wishes of the German left, European-American rivalries and conflicts of interest have always been part and parcel of the Atlantic Alliance. And yet the alliance remains important, because North America and Europe share indissoluble bonds that cut across religious, political and cultural history. Modern democracy — despite its relativization and ‘deconstruction’ by progressive historians — was incubated in the West. For this reason alone the alliance is of value: because Western nations share a common heritage. Commonality breeds loyalty and fosters cohesion, both of which are necessary for the preservation of norms and traditions. Europe and North America have a lot in common with one another, and therefore they share a collective interest in preserving what makes them unique within the vast panoply of human political arrangements.

During Trump’s presidency, left wing media wisdom dictated that Trump had sullied America’s relationship with the EU and NATO by calling the former out as a trade rival and the latter —Germany in particular — as a freeloader on American security guarantees. But as European political columnist Jorge Gallarza pointed out in Newsweek, the prospect of a Biden Presidency — and with it, Biden’s wisdom and appreciation of the true importance of the American relationship with Europe — does not appear to have tipped the geopolitical scales towards Anglo-European rapport. In January, the EU signed a trade deal with China that could have just as easily been postponed until Biden took office to allow for the president’s feedback. Likewise, well after Biden won the election, President Macron of France pontificated — in typical multilateral idealism fashion — about Europe’s future role in world affairs as one of “strategic autonomy.” The writing was on the wall: in a world in which China is on the rise and America appears to be sputtering, Europe will be largely neutral.

Read the full story

New York Mayoral Candidate Refuses to Answer Whether She Thinks the U.S. Is Comparable to the Taliban

Screen capture from video of Democratic candidate for NY mayor

New York City mayoral candidate Maya Wiley would not say whether she thinks the U.S. is comparable to the Taliban Thursday, video shows.

Wiley was questioned about Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar’s comments comparing the U.S. and Israel to the Taliban and Hamas, video shows. She refused to answer and added that she was proud of her multiple congressional endorsements.

“I am not going to answer this question because I have been, actually, just come out of the debate, I appreciate you asking,” Wiley said in the video.

Read the full story

The Tennessee Star Report: Gill and Leahy Ponder, Why Is the Nashville Mayoral Race So Quiet?

  On Wednesday’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Gill and Leahy pondered why the Mayoral race in Nashville was so quiet and questioned why Swain and Cooper weren’t utilizing an attack while Briley was throwing them softballs. Towards the end of the segment, the men discussed how Davidson County is a deep blue county and will unfortunately always be that way. Gill: A lot of folks are taking this whole week off. Leahy: Yeah. Gill: We’re going to take off Thursday and Friday. (Gill laughs) Leahy: You know who’s really taking the week off, is all the challengers to David Briley. He’s throwing them softballs and they’re not hitting back. Gill: Yeah, he’s giving a pay raise to teachers with money that’s not in the till and not giving pay raises to police officers, first responders, and firefighters because he doesn’t think he’ll get their votes anyway. And he figures he can buy the teachers votes. And Briley, giving away pay raises with money we don’t have. Leahy: And the fraternal order of police, of course, endorsed…

Read the full story

Amidst Rocky Campaign Rollout, 2020 Hopeful Beto O’Rourke Comes to Cleveland

Monday, 2020 presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke made his first appearance in the Buckeye State. It’s safe to say that former Congressman was hoping the visit could shake off what has been somewhat of a mixed campaign rollout. The Republican National Committee (RNC) Spokesperson Mandi Merritt was quick to note that: It’s been a rough few days for 2020 candidate Beto O’Rourke. From his campaign turning into an apology tour less than 48 hours after announcing, to flip-flopping on the issues and his past GOP ties, O’Rourke is going to have a tough time living up to his party’s litmus tests and convincing the progressive base that he should be their nominee. While the RNC has made their feelings about Beto’s presidential campaign clear, the onetime Senate candidate has now earned bipartisan criticism. Within the first few days of announcing his campaign, Beto committed a litany of gaffes, political faux pas, and some minor scandals. His campaign announcement, coinciding with what was intended to be a glowing Vanity Fair cover story about his intent to run. He stated “I’m just born to be in it,” which was met with widespread criticism from progressive opinion leaders, accusing him of abusing his “privilege.” Many criticized the media for sexist coverage, as he received a far more positive media…

Read the full story

Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown: I Can Beat Trump in Ohio and New York

Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown may not be officially running, but that’s not stopping him from making some bold predictions. In a surprisingly aggressive statement, the third term senator declared: I would say that I will beat Trump in Ohio, where they know me best. I’ll beat him in my home state and I’ll beat him in his home state of New York, where they know him best. Brown made the statement during a wide-ranging interview on CNN’s “The Van Jones Show.” The senator has not officially declared that he is entering the race. He is presently in the middle of a listening tour that he has dubbed the “Dignity of Work” Tour. He will be visiting Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina. While declaring that he is capable of winning both his home state as well as one of the most progressive states in the country would leave him two-hundred and twenty-three electoral votes short of winning the presidency, the statement suggests something broader than just those two states. It can be inferred by his approach that Brown is attempting to execute on a rather unique campaign strategy. Brown believes that he is capable of harmonizing a Democratic-Socialist platform with a moderate, populist…

Read the full story

House Dem Who Signed Pelosi Opposition Letter Reverses His Course

by Hanna Bogorowski   A House Democrat who was among 16 legislators to sign a letter opposing Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi for Speaker of the House changed his mind Wednesday and will support Pelosi for the position. New York Rep. Brian Higgins told The Buffalo News he made an agreement with Pelosi on two of his key legislative issues: infrastructure and health care. In return, Pelosi can count on his vote. “I have an agreement in principle with the Democratic leader that those are going to be two priorities, and that I will be the lead person on the Medicare buy-in,” Higgins said in the interview. Higgins’s reversal comes just a few months after he referred to her as “aloof, frenetic and misguided” and called for her replacement. “Some will ask why I have changed my position,” the representative said in a statement. “The answer is simple: I took a principled stand on issues of vital importance not only to my constituents in Western New York but also to more than 300 million Americans whose lives can be improved by progress in these areas.” “A principled stand, however, often requires a pragmatic outlook in order to meet with success,” Higgins added. Pelosi welcomed Higgins’s offer…

Read the full story

Tom Steyer is Dropping Another $16 Million in the Final Days of the Midterms

by Jason Hopkins   Billionaire activist Tom Steyer is reportedly preparing to drop one final money bomb before the midterm elections as he attempts to boot as many Republicans from office as possible. Steyer, together with his wife, has given over $42 million this midterm election cycle to Democrats and other progressive causes, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. That sum makes him the most prolific Democratic donor by far, and the second highest political donor across the partisan spectrum, behind Republican booster Sheldon Adelson. Beyond supporting various Democratic campaigns and initiatives, Steyer has used his millions to spearhead two of his own campaigns: NextGen Climate Action and Need to Impeach. However, Steyer isn’t finished yet. Steyer is reportedly set to spend another $16 million in a last-minute campaign push before the Nov. 6 elections, according to a Steyer aide who spoke with CNBC. A large chunk of Steyer’s donations also have gone toward an enormous get-out-the-vote effort. His GOTV campaign is largely targeted toward young adults, a demographic group that typically doesn’t show up to the polls in large numbers. “We have 4 million people who we’re in contact with every day, he said to a local California news outlet…

Read the full story

GOP Senators Demand EPA Fix Permitting ‘Abuses’ Used by Democratic States to Block Energy Projects

Tennessee Star

by Michael Bastasch   Republicans senators asked the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to review its implementation of a key provision of the Clean Water Act being used by states to block energy projects. “We ask that you work with other federal agencies to determine whether new clarifying guidance or regulations are needed in light of recent abuses of the Section 401 process by certain states,” five GOP senators wrote. “A select number of states have hijacked Section 401 to delay or block the development of natural gas pipelines and a coal export terminal,” Republicans wrote in a letter sent Thursday to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “While the focus of these abuses today is fossil energy, the approach could be used to target any type of project that is disfavored politically,” lawmakers told Wheeler. Lawmakers are concerned that Democratic-controlled states will continue to use Section 401 to block energy infrastructure projects instead of trying to protect water quality. For example, Washington state and New York have been particularly zealous in their blocking of energy projects. Washington officials blocked the Millenium coal terminal, and New York regulators have blocked pipeline projects to bring natural gas to energy-starved New England. Environmentalists support states’ use of the…

Read the full story