The head of the House Freedom Caucus said Friday he is confident the GOP’s plan to overhaul the federal tax code will pay for itself over 15 years, downplaying warnings from fiscal hawks who warn the proposal will push the nation deeper into debt. Republican lawmakers on Thursday rolled out their long-awaited rewrite of the tax…
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by Jeffery A Rendall We’re still two months away from Christmas yet it’s never too early to anticipate the good times ahead when we’ll observe the sacred traditions that stimulate positive memories from the past. For me, one such ritual is revisiting the Christmas classic “It’s a Wonderful Life,” the tale of everyman George Bailey (played by Jimmy Stewart) and his look back at his own life alongside guardian angel Clarence who was sent to Bedford Falls to help the small town good-guy realize that he’d really led a very consequential and worthwhile existence. There’s a part of the legendary movie that reminds me a little of what’s going on with elements of the Republican donor establishment these days. In one famous scene, Mr. Potter, the film’s greedy old scrooge-like miser invites Bailey into his office to try and sweet-talk the man into abandoning his business, thus obtaining through addition what Potter couldn’t earn through beating his rival at his own game. Unsurprisingly, Bailey informs Potter he won’t be bought. How does George Bailey and Mr. Potter relate to today’s noxious DC swamp? Some GOP establishment groups are bringing in Steve Bannon to headline their events, in essence to “hire”…
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Retiring Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) seems to be taking a P.T. Barnum approach to his legacy, as the famous promoter is attributed to responding to a negative story by saying, “I don’t care what the newspapers say about me as long as they spell my name right.” Since the surprise election of President Donald Trump in November 2016, the junior Senator has arguably had more air time than his previous decade in office, combined – and nearly all of it is dedicated to criticizing Trump, his policies, and his agenda. It would be easy to imagine Mr. Corker’s social calendar is as packed as it has ever been. He is the new face for the NeverTrump Republican Establishment and their Democrat allies. Mr. Corker’s latest appearance on MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe’ is a classic, by-the-numbers hit, as reported by Politico: Retiring Sen. Bob Corker said Thursday that it’s “ridiculous” to believe he has become increasingly outspoken against President Donald Trump because he was passed over as secretary of state. Corker, who interviewed for the position, said Rex Tillerson “was an inspired choice” to lead the State Department. And then, switching to the 3rd-person, added: “I don’t think Rex Tillerson has a closer friend on Capitol…
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WASHINGTON — On Thursday morning, GOP strategist Karl Rove lambasted Steve Bannon in The Wall Street Journal for his involvement in Republican primaries. By Thursday afternoon, Bannon’s allies were already plotting their revenge: mobilization against North Carolina Republican Rep. Robert Pittenger — Rove’s pick in that race. “I’m familiar enough with Bannon’s 2018 efforts that this…
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The Democrats tell me they tend to want to read what I’ve written because it gives them the best idea of where Republicans, particularly conservatives, want to go and what their strategy is. I came to The Times when Anne Crutcher, the first editorial page editor, invited me to be her deputy when the newspaper started.…
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ANALYSIS/OPINION: At the Value Voters Summit last week, former Trump adviser and Breitbart Chairman Steve Bannon announced the obvious. “Right now, it’s a season of war on the GOP establishment,” he told the conservative base. For conservatives, this war is not Mr. Bannon’s war. It is everyone’s war. Contrary to what the media and the Republican…
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Stephen Bannon, of Breitbart-turned-White-House-turned-back-to-Breitbart fame, has sent out a stern warning Republicans’ way, and it’s one that goes like this: I’m coming for you. For you and your pretty dog, Toto, too – minus Sen. Ted Cruz. Cruz is safe. But aside from Cruz, “no one is safe,” Bannon said, during a Fox interview with Sean…
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After weeks of speculation, Governor Bill Haslam announced Thursday morning he will not seek to replace retiring U. S. Senator Bob Corker in 2018. WSMV reports: Gov. Bill Haslam has announced he will not be running for the U.S. Senate, saying he wants to remain “completely focused” on his job as governor. Haslam previously announced he was “considering” campaigning to fill Sen. Bob Corker’s seat. Haslam said at the end of his term he will have been in public office for 15 years and feels like he will be “most helpful” as a private citizen. Governor Haslam published his announcement on Twitter: My statement on the 2018 U.S. Senate race. pic.twitter.com/1pLR0MhSEd — Bill Haslam (@BillHaslam) October 5, 2017 DEVELOPING…
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Republican Study Committee Mark Walker said Friday that it might be in Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s best interests to retire. “I think he’s a huge part of the problem,” Walker said. “There’s a growing consensus that would be very happy if the fine senator from Kentucky called it a career.” McConnell has had a rough…
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The surprise retirement of Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) may signal a rush to the exit door for other longtime establishment Republicans in the Senate. Several GOP members of the upper chamber — most of them advanced in age — have struggled to acclimate to the style and agenda of President Donald Trump. And some have drifted…
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by Jeffrey A. Rendall Treason; it’s a difficult concept to grasp. The dictionary indicates the word means “betrayal of country – a violation of the allegiance owed by somebody to his or her own country, e.g. by aiding an enemy.” It also means treachery and/or act of betrayal. Similarly, a traitor is defined as “betrayer – somebody who is disloyal or treacherous.” By definition then, Arizona Senator John McCain is a traitor, guilty of treason. No, a mob isn’t now forming to drag him in chains before a court of inquisition and no formal charges will be filed by anyone in a federal or state jurisdiction to indict him for a crime. But make no mistake, what McCain is doing to sabotage the efforts of about half of his fellow senate members (and President Donald Trump) to deal with a serious big government problem istreasonous. McCain is a traitor within the Republican Party and by extension he’s betrayed the American people because he refuses to even consider a proposal to pass the last-ditch Obamacare “fix it” (I can’t get myself to call it a repeal) bill that his good friend South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham conjured up as the GOP’s final attempt to address the failing Obamacare…
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Long time conservative activist Andy Ogles announced Thursday he is launching a campaign for the U.S. Senate, challenging incumbent Senator Bob Corker (R-TN). “In less than a year the Republican primary will give us an opportunity to make choices that will impact future generations of Tennesseans,” Ogles said in a statement. “Conservative leadership means more than making promises, it means keeping them.” Andy Ogles is perhaps best known at the leader of the Tennessee chapter of Americans for Prosperity, a position he’s held since 2013. During his tenure as the state director, the grassroots army defeated Obamacare expansion twice, led the fight against Common Core and prevented multiple attempts to inflict so-called “Washington DC values” on Tennesseans. The volunteer organization worked to hold politicians accountable for bad votes, regardless of party affiliation. Unlike Senator Corker, who has repeatedly put himself at odds against President Trump and his policy goals, Ogles is aligning himself closely to the president’s ‘Drain the Swap’ message. “Over the past several months it has become increasingly clear that too many of our elected officials in Washington are failing our country, failing to fulfill their promises, and failing our future,” Ogles said. “Sadly, Republicans who promised to…
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by Bill Hennessy If equally matched, we can offer battle; if slightly inferior in numbers, we can avoid the enemy; if quite unequal, we can flee from him. If we wish to fight, the enemy can be forced to an engagement even though he be sheltered behind a high rampart and a deep ditch. All we need do is attack some other place that he will be obliged to relieve. Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory. ~ Sunzi, The Art of War (Public Domain Books) Antifa activists regularly describe themselves in terms of a ‘defense force;’ but back in their ‘Occupy’ days, they were ‘the 99%’ and ‘revolutionaries;’ and before that, they were the ‘Black Bloc.’ Through it all, they were and are self-proclaimed ‘social justice warriors.’ So let’s take them at their word, and examine Antifa within a military construct – without the blinding rage and disgust they so richly deserve. Pretend both Antifa and the wretched white supremacists in Charlottesville are neither good nor bad. Neither your enemy nor your…
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Reprinted with permission from ConservativeHQ.com by Jeffrey A. Rendall February 17, 2017 It’s been an entire workweek since the resignation of National Security Adviser Michael Flynn was made public and the media still can’t stop talking about the subject and how it may impact the now four week-old presidency of Donald Trump. Details regarding what Flynn might have said to whom are still coming in and there’s no doubt more to learn in the days and weeks ahead. But that’s not stopping some people from worrying about where all of this could be Trump Abeheaded. Byron York of the Washington Examiner reports, “I spent much of Wednesday talking and corresponding with Republicans in various states of anxiety about the latest revelations concerning the Trump campaign and Russia. Some put more credence in the allegations than others. All thought the leaks of national security intercepts behind the news stories were outrageous, and that the leakers should be punished. But even for those most inclined to support President Trump, there was still a nagging fear that the stories might be true.” By “true” York is referencing the news media’s fantastic tales of Trump and his campaign staff colluding with the Russians to…
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