Reactions to the Trump verdict
I spent the evening with a friend, trying to take my mind off things. Sometimes you just need to take a break.
But now I’m back. And I started to wonder what’s being said about the Trump conviction – not on the left; I’m pretty sure I know what they’re saying, and I have no interest in it; but on the right.
So here are some samplings.
From Ron DeSantis:
“Today’s verdict represents the culmination of a legal process that has been bent to the political will of the actors involved: a leftist prosecutor, a partisan judge and a jury reflective of one of the most liberal enclaves in America — all in an effort to ‘get’ Donald Trump,” DeSantis posted on X.
“That this case — involving alleged misdemeanor business records violations from nearly a decade ago — was even brought is a testament to the political debasement of the justice system in places like New York City. This is especially true considering this same district attorney routinely excuses criminal conduct in a way that has endangered law-abiding citizens in his jurisdiction.
“It is often said that no one is above the law, but it is also true that no one is below the law. If the defendant were not Donald Trump, this case would never have been brought, the judge would have never issued similar rulings, and the jury would have never returned a guilty verdict. In America, the rule of law should be applied in a dispassionate, even-handed manner, not become captive to the political agenda of some kangaroo court.”
Marco Rubio said much the same thing. And this from Tim Scott:
This was a sham trial and the clearest example we’ve ever seen of election interference. I am furious and no American is safe from Democrat political persecution. Joe Biden and the Democrat machine manufactured a legal case against Trump to win an election. I went to New York to stand with President Trump and the American voters will stand with him this November.
From Speaker Mike Johnson:
Today is a shameful day in American history. Democrats cheered as they convicted the leader of the opposing party on ridiculous charges, predicated on the testimony of a disbarred, convicted felon. This was a purely political exercise, not a legal one.
The weaponization of our justice system has been a hallmark of the Biden Administration, and the decision today is further evidence that Democrats will stop at nothing to silence dissent and crush their political opponents.
The American people see this as lawfare, and they know it is wrong—and dangerous. President Trump will rightfully appeal this absurd verdict—and he WILL WIN!
From Ted Cruz:
This is a dark day for America.
This entire trial has been a sham, and it is nothing more than political persecution. The only reason they prosecuted Donald Trump is because Democrats are terrified that he will win reelection.
This disgraceful decision is legally baseless and should be overturned promptly on appeal. Any judge with a modicum of integrity would recognize that this entire trial has been utterly fraudulent.
Elise Stefanik, J. D. Vance, Mike Lee, Rand Paul, and Mike Barrasso said similar things. So far, I see nothing from Mitt Romney. But much to my surprise, Mitch McConnell came through with this. It’s not much but it’s definitely something:
“These charges never should have been brought in the first place. I expect the conviction to be overturned on appeal,” McConnell wrote in a social media post on X.
McConnell’s surprise decision to weigh in on the outcome of a court case that he has refused to talk about for months may indicate that Trump’s conviction could have a unifying effect on the GOP — rallying even his biggest skeptics within the party to his defense.
Likewise, we have Susan Collins of Maine:
“It is fundamental to our American system of justice that the government prosecutes cases because of alleged criminal conduct regardless of who the defendant happens to be. In this case the opposite has happened. The district attorney, who campaigned on a promise to prosecute Donald Trump, brought these charges precisely because of who the defendant was rather than because of any specified criminal conduct,” Collins said in a statement Thursday evening.
“The political underpinnings of this case further blur the lines between the judicial system and the electoral system, and this verdict likely will be the subject of a protracted appeals process,” she said.
McConnell and Collins were two of the biggest Trump skeptics in the Senate GOP conference to slam the Bragg decision to prosecute the former president but other Republican senators not especially close to Trump also rallied to his defense.
Thune was another one:
“I’ve been on a flight, but just landed and saw the news. This case was politically motivated from the beginning, and today’s verdict does nothing to absolve the partisan nature of this prosecution,” said Senate Republican Whip John Thune (S.D.), who opposed Trump’s effort to block the certification of Joe Biden’s election victory in 2021 and whose career Trump later tried to end in an act of retaliation. …
“Regardless of outcome, more and more Americans are realizing that we cannot survive four more years of Joe Biden. With President Trump in the White House and a Republican majority in the U.S. Senate, we can finally end the disastrous Biden-Schumer agenda that’s crushing American families and businesses,” Thune said in reaction to the verdict.
I said I wouldn’t take a look at what Democrats said. But I couldn’t help but notice, in the same article I got those quotes from, that Schumer’s statement was rather short and not exactly full of gloating:
No one is above the law. The verdict speaks for itself.
Indeed. And we know what it says: Democrats are utterly corrupt, utterly power-mad, and will do anything – including framing an innocent man – to hang onto power.
It is sometimes said that timing is everything – especially true today.
May 30: On this day in 1431, Joan was burned at the stake in Rouen…
From this day forward, expect every Democrat and their supporters in the media to start referring to Mr. Trump as “convicted felon Donald Trump” in any and all cases.
“No one is above the law.” seems to be the JournaList mantra sent out to the Dem / Marxist troops. Gives them cover to avoid the bad optics of gloating.
But when the “law” is in the gutter or the mud, then many can be above it legitimately. And of course “knowing what the law is” is one of the core tenants of The Rule of Law. Hiding the criminal complaint clearly violates constitutional due process.
I still find it hard to wrap my mind around the idea that even in a very liberal NYC, that some (one?) of the jurors would not have felt allegiance to the Rule of Law sufficient for a hung jury. But they were also selected as the creme de la creme of the folks who would potentially be arrayed against Trump. I guess none of the Bronx rally attendees was called?
Banned Lizard:
Thanks for the reminder this is the anniversary of Joan’s martyrdom. When I get to feeling annoyed and pessimistic about my political situation, I remember Joan of Arc.
They haven’t burnt me at the stake just yet!
____________________________________
Eighteen years after Joan of Arc’s execution, an ecclesiastical tribunal initiated a retrial at the request of Charles VII. The tribunal declared that the judgement of the original trial was not valid because it was biased and had not followed proper procedure.
On May 16, 1920, Pope Benedict XV canonized Joan of Arc as a Saint. She is the patroness saint of France, women, prisoners, and soldiers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_of_Joan_of_Arc
____________________________________
Justice can take a while.
R2L (12:04 am) said: “I still find it hard to wrap my mind around the idea that even in a very liberal NYC, that some (one?) of the jurors would not have felt allegiance to the Rule of Law sufficient for a hung jury.”
No, R2L, none of the jurors was willing to be the singular juror that withstood the mob-think and in effect volunteered to have his/her name and home address leaked to the ever-compliant media for all the (blue) world to see — and subsequently act upon.
Exactly right, M J R. I strongly suspect that the jurors were given a message – subtly or not-so-subtly, direct or indirect – as to what the consequences would be if they didn’t toe the line and convict Trump.
This is reinforced by the speed of the verdict. Setting aside for a moment, if you can, the Mt. Everest of legal malfeasance in the case it was on its face a very complicated and technical prosecution.
While the above is encouraging, I expect more. Every Republican, every conservative, every traditional libertarian (not the Chase Oliver types) should be outraged and worried. Even those who consistently and emphatically opposed Trump.
I want George W. Bush to denounce it. And yes, Cheney too. I want to hear from Romney and Paul Ryan.
There are many possible responses. But here’s the clearest one: vote. I have said many times we cannot vote our way out of all of the challenges we face from the left. Absolutely true. But, a tsunami of an electoral loss would definitely cause them a great deal of shock and pain. A Trump landslide of Reaganesque proportions, with long coattails…however unlikely it is, it should be our top priority.
This may indeed turn into a great unifying moment for the GOP. Just maybe
@ Ackler > “This may indeed turn into a great unifying moment fir the GOP.”
And if not?
IIRC, the last time a major party (the Whigs) split in two, we got Lincoln’s Republicans and a Civil War.
No one is coming to save us. Plan accordingly.
Aesop;
If not…well we will continue to speed full throttle towards authoritarianism. Or, yes another civil war is possible.
Co-worker had to text me to rub it in. He has no clue about the illegally of this case. That’s what the low information voters will know, a convicted candidate.
Related…the rot intensifies and deepens.
(They’re going after Orwell now…)
Daniel J. Mahoney:
“Cancellation At the Service of the Lie, Part I”—
https://americanmind.org/salvo/cancellation-at-the-service-of-the-lie-part-i/
H/T Powerline blog.
Key grafs (RTWT):
[All emphasis mine: Barry M.]
To echo Christopher Hitchens (in the period following his Road to Damascus “conversion”):
WHY ORWELL MATTERS…NOW MORE THAN EVER….
And it must be said (even if it’s entirely obvious):
With his “No one is above the Law” offal-ese, Charles Schumer reveals himself to be the loathsome, odious, snake/fool that he is…demonstrating—unashamedly—his own disgusting, repulsive, revolting hypocrisy, even as he whole-heartedly represents THE MOST CORRUPT administration in the history of the Republic.
(Well, it had to be said.)
“…a vigorous, truth-based counterattack….”
Some inspiring notes from the redoubtable Melanie Phillips:
“Fighting back;
“Examples of courage, decency and sanity at a time of madness”—
https://melaniephillips.substack.com/p/fighting-back
H/T Powerline blog.
The Vietnam War produced a “counterculture”. The war raged on and LBJ was brought down and died in despair and disgrace.
The Lawfare War is on in full force. The swine of Wilmington who showered with his young daughter, whose son is a degenerate crackhead who slept with his brother’s wife and partied with prostitutes and set up a family business with criminal foreign entities, evaded taxes and lied on his application to the navy – this is the family that wants to run America (and the world) as a uber-sleazy criminal enterprise…, Welcome Bidens – to the new counterculture.
Might it come to this; who is brave enough to hide an honest juror?
This court has failed. Will the others follow suit? The judicial branch is our final check against tyranny. After that comes Jefferson’s vision of watering trees.
MJR is right: “None of the jurors was willing to be the singular juror that withstood the mob-think and in effect volunteered to have his/her name and home address leaked to the ever-compliant media for all the (blue) world to see — and subsequently act upon.”
After Derek Chauvin’s trial, I’m not sure we will ever get a jury that isn’t thinking about the aftermath of a verdict that’s “unpopular” among the rioting crowd and that they will be personally targeted. Prior to that, they just rioted: cf. Rodney King. And I suspect the outcome of the Rodney King trial influenced jurors at the OJ Simpson trial. But it was Derek Chauvin’s trial where it became obvious that if the jury didn’t deliver the “right” verdict, the rioters would go after them personally.
I don’t think that reciprocal lawfare will work. The right simply doesn’t have jurisdictions like NYC and DC with deeply partisan juries and judges. To the extent that it does, those jurisdictions would not have jurisdiction or be the proper venue for bringing most cases against Democrat politicians. (I don’t know, though, we’re now in the era of creative partisan lawyering – maybe Joe Biden somehow worked a fraud on an Alabama company by taking bribes for Hunter from Burisma or ChiComs? Inquiring minds want to know.) At a minimum, if Trump wins, Biden and Hunter should be pursued over their shenanigans until they are either in jail or in the ground.
But – frankly – I suspect that Durham is the ceiling for right-of-center legal retaliation.
As much as I hate to say it, the only way to make this stunt backfire for Democrats is to elect Trump in November. I loathe the man. I do not expect him to have a successful term. But after this, the alternative is so much worse that I don’t see another option.
Another thought – each and every signatory of the Hunter laptop letter should be investigated under the “fraud on the United States” statute that Jack Smith is using.
DeSantis reinforced my admiration with that statement.
As to retaliatory lawfare, I hope the cases will be for real crimes, not invented ones. There are lots of sleazy Democrats out there. Time to stop ignoring them.
I don’t expect anything from Jimmy Carter, who I’ll wager is non compos mentis. I don’t expect anything from the Cheney-Perry clan, who have been repulsive in recent years. I do expect something from Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney, George W. Bush, Jeb Bush, Marvin Bush, Michael Dukakis, Gary Hart, and Bill Bradley. (Both Hart and Dukakis were working lawyers at one time). A clutch of Eisenhowers have in the last twenty years just had to tell us that they were casting ballots for Democrats; any thoughts from you all?
And two days ago in 1453 constantinople fell to the ottomans
Its is precisely because of the hunter biden laptop and the hillary emails that they mounted this circus just as it was with steyn and guiliani and powell and navarro and bannon upcoming for truthtellers
the process is the punishment
So, what are all those quoted above prepared to do.
Ah the malone question to ness?
So fauci killed a million people and is walking free as a bird. We can quibble he was the paymaster to dazsak
Excellent post on the Samizdata blog this morning. Be sure to read the comments if you want to know what right-thinking Brits across the pond are saying about the verdict.
https://www.samizdata.net/2024/05/so-trump/#comments
Yancy+Ward:
Precisely. Republicans are good at expressing sternly worded disapproval; at taking appropriate action, not so much.
They tried that down low tweaker gillum they couldnt convict him.
The last appropriations bill continues to fund the hunt for insurrectionists the possibly homicidal fraud that jack smith perpetrated in florida seems to be falling apart but the other clownshow in dc is merely in abbeyance same as in atlanta
Yancey and IrishOtter have it right. The national GOP politicians will happily talk about how concerned they are. They may have some more hearings in Congress that the media will not publicize.
What they will NOT do, is endanger their cronies’ appropriations. So they will continue to give the Dems what they want–including funding the Dems’ weaponized non-profits that will help them win the Presidential election–in exchange for getting their appropriations through. Because they control the House, of course they CAN veto everything the Dems want to do. But it would mean their cronies don’t get paid with our money.
The GOP does not need a majority for its members to benefit from being able to direct appropriations. What they DO need is to be in office, so of course they’ll SAY whatever helps, but they won’t actually use the power they have to stop what the Dems are doing, they’ll enable the funding and legislation sought by Dems to be rolled up into omnibus spending bills and whatnot. They do this literally all the time.
If you’re reading about hearings, or concerned statements of concern, but not watching the appropriations, you are not seeing how you are being cheated. The national GOP is not spineless about getting what they really want. It’s just not what you want, and not they SAY they want.
Important article from another changer:
“I Just Donated $300k To Trump” (Shaun Maguire)
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/shaun-maguire-i-just-donated-300k-trump
Key grafs (among many):
[Emphasis mine except where noted; Barry M.]
There are several beliefs here that will grate. Most objectionable for me is the author’s (continued) contention that Russia interfered with the 2020 election IN FAVOR of Trump…along with his belief that “Biden” has made some terrible “mistakes” and is demonstrating “weakness” when, in fact, it has all been done by design—intentionally (YMMV); but given who this person is, it is an extraordinary article.
@Bauxite:The right simply doesn’t have jurisdictions like NYC and DC with deeply partisan juries and judges. To the extent that it does, those jurisdictions would not have jurisdiction or be the proper venue for bringing most cases against Democrat politicians.
The process is the punishment, and if you find the man you find the crime. Those are the REAL rules we live under, not the Schoolhouse Rock rules. Dem politicians should have to defend themselves in 50 or 500 podunk deep-red jurisdictions from stuff that’s just as made up as Trump’s–34 counts of a crime that’s only a crime if done to further an unspecified crime that consisted somehow of legally covering up legal activity which was also unspecified. And they changed the law to let E. Jean Carroll sue him for something as nebulous as what Brett Kavanaugh and Roy Moore were accused of.
If they have business interests in a state, somebody somewhere made accounting entries on their behalf, did they not? Every state of any size has red jurisdictions. If they were ever present in a state, maybe they sexually assaulted someone in a place no can remember on a date no one can remember in a year no one can remember and there were no witnesses.
Tom Delay, while he was House Majority Leader, was indicted and convicted in blue Travis County on bogus charges for stuff he did trying to help state-level candidates in Texas. He had to step down from his leadership position and it took three years to get acquitted by a higher Texas court. It doesn’t MATTER that the conviction didn’t stick, or that the charges were bogus. The mission was accomplished–they took out the House Majority Leader and wasted his time and drained his bank account. Where have you been that you don’t see this?
Manhattan jurors are like Guy Pearce in Memento. They don’t have much memory or reasoning ability. All they have to rely on is a Polaroid picture of Trump in their pockets with “Don’t Trust His Lies” written on it. Now the Democrats have taken another Polaroid and written “Convicted Felon” on it.
The upcoming covers of “Time” and the “New Yorker” showed up online, and yes — gloating.
If people are going to be prosecuted for non-reporting of in-kind campaign contributions, what about the former intelligence officials who lied about the Hunter Biden laptop being a ‘Russian Disinformation Operation’? What about the FB executives and the former Twitter executives who skewed coverage in favor of their preferred candidate?
It would be hard to put a dollar figure on these activities, but measured in terms of impact they must have been equivalent to multiple billions of dollars of political advertising.
Yancey+Ward on May 31, 2024 at 8:51 am said:
So, what are all those quoted above prepared to do.
————
This is what they are prepared to do:
“We simply cannot allow a convicted felon to run for president representing the Republican party. With heavy hearts, we must refuse to nominate…”
This is what they are prepared to do:
==
You’ve confused Ted Cruz et al with Mitt Romney.
People and businesses in blue states need to start making plans – if they have not already – for their exit. As a business owner I would not want to be subject to the whims of a spiteful, thieving former employee, a corrupt D.A., an activist judge, and a panel of jurors who had it in for me.
My own reaction: There are basically two types of people celebrating this, the amateurs and the professionals. The amateurs genuinely believe that they are saving Our Democracy from Literal Fascists, who, if not stopped, will… I won’t bother filling in the rest of that sentence.
The pros know exactly what they’re doing: seizing and consolidating power with the intention of never again relinquishing it, as Neo says. The term “democracy” for them means some form of leftist government and has nothing to do with constitutional government. It’s “democracy” in the usual leftist sense, that it’s power exercised for, not by, the people. Ostensibly “for,” of course.
I have some friends in that first group. They’re maddening, because they believe that they’re the Smart People, and yet they’re entirely locked in to the Democrats’ thought bubble. I say “friends” but those friendships are pretty distant and tenuous now.
Art Deco on May 31, 2024 at 11:19 am said:
This is what they are prepared to do:
==
You’ve confused Ted Cruz et al with Mitt Romney.
————-
Trump is getting sentenced to prison for 4 years (or whatever is the maximum Merchan can give him) on July 11th, right before the republican convention begins. Let’s see how that sits with the GOP.
The upshot: Nikki Haley will be the nominee for president.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dP3uGDEPvzA
Niketas Choniates – The process is the punishment, yes, but losing the cases is problematic. See Durham. You can’t have a situation where Democrats win all of their cases and Republicans lose all of theirs. Amongst Mac’s first group, losing the cases reinforces their notion that Democrats are on the side of good and light while Republicans are just being petty, or worse. I think that actually reinforces and rewards Democrat’s lawfare.
Mac at 11:47 am – You hit the nail on the head.
durham took a dive, which I didn’t expect because of the bulger investigation, the dems are out for blood, we hire a milquetoast like ken starr, that carville accuses of everything under the sun, they hire a compromised hack like mueller, or a pirate like Jack Smith, his fraud is being dismantled, they pretend the likes of pat fitzgerald aren’t as crooked as they come, conrad black, lewis libby, were among his targets, but you pretend otherwise, again, as the country my parents sought refuge becomes a tin pot oligarchy, Hillary is as corrupt as the day is long, Fauci is more guilty than the crew at the Red Wedding,
I hate to have to inform you of this, but that is already the situation since the Democrats winning all their cases means Republicans losing theirs.
Bragg is on TV this morning emphasizing that this kind of prosecution is what they do in NYC; it’s their core mission. Prosecuting violent crime, not so much. Anyone in NYC, and possibly the whole state, should be considering a move.
Jonathan Turley says the jury had little choice given the prosecution summation which the judge allowed and the outrageous jury instructions he issued. Both of these are fodder for the appeal.
Yancey+Ward – I thought this was pretty clear from the context, but I was referring to prosecutions, not cases in general.
miguel+cervantes – Durham didn’t take a dive. He couldn’t get a DC jury to convict on the conservative cases he actually brought. Do you really think he would have had more luck with DC juries if he had been more aggressive and brought more serious charges against more people? He would have just gone down in a bigger ball of flames.
The jury problem is really for well-justified right-of-center prosecutions, and that’s before you even get to the point where you try to respond in kind to Bragg.
I’m coming more and more around to Niketas’ point of view. This started way back when Boehner was Speaker and I got so disgusted with the GOP I cut all ties with them. I’m sure we will hear from all of them the usual platitudes, but it’s time for them to actually DO something. I know Neo keep pointing out slim majorities, etc, but we have reached a point where legislative hearings aren’t going to do shit.
Yes, I’m frustrated as I feel powerless, especially when hoping my GOP reps will actually do anything except run their mouths. Maybe it’s time for the GOP in FL, TX, SC to start rounding up democrats with arrest warrants for minor crimes. At least that would be some sort of start.
Nicki Haley replacing President Trump as
the GOP candidate?
If never-Trumpers and the FJB junta stars align. Niki is weak tea but fits the GOPe.
If you reward bad behaviour you get ever more of it. Lawfare and election interference.
Yancey+Ward on May 31, 2024 at 8:51 am said:
So, what are all those quoted above prepared to do.
___________________________________________________________
Yes, we’re all sadly familiar with Republicans whose first priority is staying asleep at the wheel.
I know that most people who read Neo’s blog also read “Powerline,” so this is probably redundant, but for concrete thoughts about what can be done, we could start with John Hinderaker’s posts from yesterday and today. I’ve copied links below.
As for me, I’m afraid it’s time to start shopping for self-defense weapons.
GUILTY [UPDATED]
5-30-2024
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2024/05/guilty.php
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
5-31-2024
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2024/05/where-do-we-go-from-here-3.php
Bauxite,
So, what would change if Republicans practiced the same scorched earth lawfare?
@Bauxite:You can’t have a situation where Democrats win all of their cases and Republicans lose all of theirs
They didn’t. Tom DeLay, Ted Stevens, Rick Perry, all won their cases. Eventually, after the Dems already got what they wanted. Likely so will Trump, after the Dems already got what they wanted.
“Winning the case” is not the desired outcome. Where have you been that you don’t see this? It’s nice, but secondary. The desired outcome of dragging someone into court on something bogus is to drag them into court on something bogus.
He couldn’t get a DC jury to convict on the conservative cases he actually brought.
I’m starting to wonder if you are deliberately closing your mind to how this works. If you want to win a case “for conservatives”, DC is not where you would bring it. You bring cases, barely plausible if need be, in areas that are already frothing at the mouth to see it your way and even change the laws to help you. Like has been happening to Republicans for 20 years now. You’ve had all the pieces in your hands and never put them together, and when someone just does it for you, you close your eyes and say you can’t see it.
@Cornflour: we’re all sadly familiar with Republicans whose first priority is staying asleep at the wheel.
They are NOT asleep at the wheel. There are actively and ruthlessly accomplishing their highest priority: keeping the trough full of taxpayer money for their cronies.
The two parties are not the same. The Dems make keeping the trough full the SECOND highest priority, so they throw some money for the Republicans to appropriate and then get what they want more when it’s all rolled up into a massive spending bill.
Like a ratchet and pawl, the two parties are not the same, but they work together in a manner that leads to outcomes in only one direction.
It will only be possible to change the direction by changing the composition of the Republican party, away from appropriators and toward people willing to change things even if somebody connected doesn’t get paid.
Kate:
Of course the jury had a choice no matter what the judge said or did. It’s called jury nullification. There were 2 lawyers on the jury who should have understood what a travesty this trial was. If they voted to convict it was because they wanted to.
Niketas Choniates on May 31, 2024 at 1:03 pm said:
They are NOT asleep at the wheel. There are actively and ruthlessly accomplishing their highest priority: keeping the trough full of taxpayer money for their cronies.
_______________________________________________________
Niketas Choniates:
I don’t think that our differences are so great that they should promote argument. My comment suggested that many people in leadersip positions for the Republican Party seem to be in denial about the Democrats’ drift into Marxism, and its consequences.
They’ve known many of these Democrats for many years. They’re used to the idea that they can work things out over lunch. Their children and grandchildren have grown up together. Unfortunately, they’ve been lulled to sleep. It’s as if Lenin had gone unoticed as he prepared his firing squads. Wait, I guess he did go unoticed. Maybe that’s a better anaology than I’d like.
well you know them up close in Nebraska, they are children of the corn,
about lenin, he was a chuvash so not ethnically russian, he had learned from his brothers failure in the peoples will, that direction was not the best way, to solve a problem, this is something bill ayers learned in his own way, he was another who was ‘guilty as sin, but free as a bird, mostly because of excuses from the prosecutor, but also some of Mark Felt’s ill chosen actions,
Short Version:
1) The new “adults-in-the-room” are not capable of replacing the previous generations.
2) A “Ruling Class” is the natural state.
3) We are being conquered.
Long Version:
1) In the past the population included “adults-in-the-room” that provided stability & leadership, and as one generation passed on the next generation took a seat.
• Now that the Greatest & Silent Generation have almost passed, we have come to find out that many of the new adults-in-the- room – the Boomer & Gen X generations – cannot provide that stability & leadership.
• I am not without hope, but I am also not optimistic that we can sustain what the post-WWII generations built.^^
2) Over the past decades I have had the good fortune to travel on six continents, and it is clear to me that for most of the world a “Ruling Class” is the natural state for groups of people.
• That has been true for every period of recorded history.
3) Most cannot comprehend that: a) We are being conquered, ,b) We are being conquered via ballot boxes & courts – not via bullets & bombs, and c) Portions of the western world have already been conquered – including regions of the USA (see CA, OR, WA).
• The “Ruling Class” victories have reached the point in western democracies that we – the non-ruling class majority – are in a rearguard stance.
• Being conquered means will be forced to live under doctrine & laws we do not believe or support – and that will harm every facet of our life.
• And even if we win, that dynamic and conflict will not end in our/ our children’s lifetimes because destructive & dangerous concepts have taken root.
Schumer: “No one is above the law. The verdict speaks for itself.”
Interpretation: “No Republican is safe from malicious prosecution”.
@Cornflour:I don’t think that our differences are so great that they should promote argument.
I agree.
They’ve known many of these Democrats for many years. They’re used to the idea that they can work things out over lunch. Their children and grandchildren have grown up together.
I agree with this too. Our only point of disagreement, and as you say we don’t need to argue over it, is that you think they’ve somehow been “lulled to sleep”. I don’t think they have (and I don’t think the Inner Party of the Dems are really Marxists either, but that’s a digression).
I think these GOPe guys are part of a system, and accept their role in it, and do very well out of it, provided they can lull their voters to sleep with words and hearings and other drama, but when it comes to government checks you can see what they really prioritize. You can also see how the Republicans handled grass roots movements from their voters: Contract with America’s accomplishments neutered within ten years; Tea Party coopted, marginalized, forgotten; and Trump they obstructed while he held office. To me this looks more like action than “lulled to sleep” would indicate.
Not a lot of people know this but Communist China has eight legal political parties besides the Communist Party. They hold seats in the National People’s Congress, they do well for themselves, and they don’t inconvenience the Communists at all… there’s no reason to send them to laogai or break them up for organs.
@that guy:Over the past decades I have had the good fortune to travel on six continents…
I’ve had to get by with three; the First World, to me, is looking more and more like a theme park for the elites, and the people who supposedly live there are more like the staff. For the most part their lives are not too uncomfortable, but they don’t get to decide much for themselves. They’re managed. And you know you don’t need to staff a theme park with locals. A few of them for verisimilitude but the rest, get the best deal on labor you can.
On personal levels, the best way for us as individuals to respond to this is to mock what he was accused of doing. If someone brings it up to gloat over, point out that he was literally convicted of listing a payment as a “legal expense” instead of an “NDA payment to a whore to shut up.”. Mock the charges. Make those who brought the charges look silly and petty, and make people feel ashamed of defending it by forcing them to acknowledge how silly the charges are.
The charges really are absurd regardless of whether or not he was truly guilty. Point that out over and over and over again. Turn DA Bragg into a public laughingstock for thinking that this was worth the time and energy of the American people.
@ Niketas Choniates
Thank you for your input.
My three criteria for understanding a nation are:
1) Education
2) Energy
3) Equality ^^
^^ = With the definition of Equality centered on which of these dominate: Rule of Law or Rule of Man. And the Rule of Law is both the most beneficial and challenging.
• For me those three criteria are not exclusive of other criteria – they just have the best predictive value for trying to understand a nation’ Past, Present and Future.
***
3) Since Obama was elected, we have been getting closer and closer to the “tipping point” of becoming dominated by the Rule of Man.
• Even though the laws, investigative powers, etc. are clearly being used to harm individuals that pose a threat to the “Ruling Class” – versus law breakers – they are being supported by people in numbers never thought possible.
• Why? Because they want to see those people harmed, with no thought being given to the long-term consequences (see adults-in-the-room and Baby Boomers & Gen X).
• Once the Judicial branch of government is destroyed, there is no hope (see every country that you believe is run by a Ruling Class).
1) Education has been under attack long before Obama – he is probably a byproduct – and the indoctrination of the children has literally been written about in prominent manifestos about how to overthrow western democratic governments.
• I’ll add that the earlier adults-in-the-room had a foundation – freedom, responsibility, sacrifice, duty, fair play, honor, faith, right & wrong – that was shaped by genuine hardship (e.g., Great Depression, WWII). And they used that education/ foundation to provide stability & leadership.
• The fact that many of the new adults in-the-room have not embraced what the Greatest & Silent generations embraced – and what supported our collective prosperity – has turned out to be an accelerate. Without a foundation they are unable to provide stability & leadership.
2) It is not an accident that Energy is under attack too. It is simply not possible to have a modern society/ economy, or one that can support all citizens without energy (see every country that you consider “under privileged”).
• Without energy the entire “middle class range” disappears – by design – and we end up with a “two-tiered society” (see rich & poor).
• A poor population is easier to rule/ control – and most of the population will be poor (see South America, Asia, Africa).
• Keep in mind that in those “under privileged” countries, the Ruling Class has access to energy, goods, etc. – even though the overall “wealth” has been reduced.
Without the post-WWII levels of Education, Energy & Equality in western nations, even the theme parks for elites will be greatly reduced – and most current supporters of the destruction will be left out too. We should all fear what has happened, and is happening – even the Left/ SJW/ Woke community.
that guy…see my related post Head–Heart–Stomach:
https://chicagoboyz.net/archives/68434.html
@ David+Foster
• Thank you
• Good read & nice work
• ‘Head-Heart-Stomach’ strikes me as a logical bookend
Does no good to be the ruling elite when an incompetent DEI air traffic controller directs a jumbo jet to land on your private plane. splat.
The Democrats are our very own Ringwraiths, consumed by their lust for power. Those who support or go along with them are Orcs.
Manhattan jurors are like Guy Pearce in Memento. They don’t have much memory or reasoning ability. All they have to rely on is a Polaroid picture of Trump in their pockets with “Don’t Trust His Lies” written on it. Now the Democrats have taken another Polaroid and written “Convicted Felon” on it.
–Abraxas
For those who don’t recall or didn’t figure out “Memento” (the only Christopher Nolan film I like)…
[Spoiler Alert]
My final understanding of the Guy Pearce character (Leonard) was that he set himself up to murder the Joe Pantoliano character (Teddy).
Leonard has the kind of amnesia which prevents the formation of new memories. Thus the only way Leonard can pick up his life after the amnesia event is by tattoos and other materials he provides for himself when he wakes up the next morning.
Leonard burns the photo which proves Teddy’s innocence in the murder of Leonard’s wife.
It’s not clear why Leonard does this, whether it is a quest for revenge, no matter what, or a search for meaning, even if false.
Nolan’s films just kept getting more twisty and gimmicky. I lost patience. I haven’t seen “Oppenheimer” which might be better since it is necessarily constrained by history from Nolan’s pretensions.
@ Kate > “There are lots of sleazy Democrats out there. Time to stop ignoring them.”
I’m not the first one to point out that the time to stop ignoring Democrats’ (and Republicans where appropriate) criminal and unethical actions was many decades ago: when “everyone knows” that their elections are fixed and the electees corrupt, but does nothing to change the system either because they are complicit or afraid, something like the current disaster becomes inevitable.
@ Barry > “I Just Donated $300k To Trump” (Shaun Maguire) (via ZeroHedge)
Thank you for this very important post; I encourage everyone to read it.
Those of us who have been hoping that at least some of the Democrats will reach a tipping point in their allegiance to that party should applaud Maguire’s arguments, even if we don’t agree with all of his positions (as he does not agree with all of ours).
What we DO agree on is far more important now.
“The upshot: Nikki Haley will be the nominee for president.”
Might as well just hand the Presidency back to Biden if that happens. Why bother even voting?
Got an “OMG” thing on my FB. A poster had noted that Jesus had been screwed over by a corrupt use of the extant legal system. (I suppose you could say that.)
The “OMG” thing was “You can’t be comparing Jesus Christ to Donald Trump!”.
Way to miss the point.
But inevitable if the rational person is overridden by the feelz.
From the outside, this woman–we used to know her before we moved–was intelligent and competent.
But Bad Orange Man has crippled her ability to think straight. A win for the left. OTOH, she allowed the left to do this to her, or was, for some reason, too weak to resist.
Richard Aubrey, speaking as a committed conservative Christian, Jesus was referred by the Jewish authorities to the Romans for execution because the Jews viewed him as a heretic and as a threat to their civil authority, and the Romans viewed civil unrest as a threat to their own authority. In neither case was this a “corrupt use of the extant legal system.” Both the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem and the Romans had legitimate (from their viewpoints) interests in stopping threats to their authority. It’s not the same thing as this deliberately corrupt New York proceeding.
cnn strategic analysts turned legal one, lol,
https://x.com/brianklaas/status/1796568240933748951
pilate was a blood thirsty lot, see what he did to the Samaritans,
the comparisons are more like what was done to imran khan or leopoldo lopez, or navalny,
or in some sense berlusconi, he was taken out off the board fort the better part of a decade,
Pilate didn’t think Jesus broke any law, but he didn’t want the hastle, nearly 40 years later Titus decided to end the controversy, fulfilling Jesus prediction, because the sicari, the zealots thought they could take on the Roman empire,
“From the outside, this woman–we used to know her before we moved–was intelligent and competent.”
Richard, that basically describes all my D acquaintances. Minus politics, pleasant, intelligent, friendly people. However, mention Trump, and they go all mental. There’s many publishable psychology papers in this phenomenon. Except the psych people are also infected with the disease. Has Jordan Peterson done any work on this?
this would amusing if it wasn’t so insane,
https://twitter.com/RichardGrenell/status/1796844927944704004
glasser chasing the bowl of strawberries or petunias take your pick
Lawyer Steve Calabresi on why the “hush money” trial was unconstitutional.
https://reason.com/volokh/2024/06/01/president-donald-trumps-manhattan-convictions-are-unconstitutional/
Kate. As I said, I suppose you could say Jesus was screwed by a corrupt legal system. Or some of the local Bigs could have done the right thing and did not.
It’s irrelevant to my point. My point is that this usually competent woman missed the point of the comparison.
IT’S NOT SAYING TRUMP AND JESUS ARE THE SAME, YOU MORON, I want to scream.
It’s that she is so…warped or something that her brain quits.
Yes, she’s not the brightest bulb.
Richard Aubrey, I’ve notice several times a seemingly smart Democrat/leftist can’t discern between an example as an analogy being taken as literal.
But isn’t that one of the problems with liberal/leftists– they take everything Trump says literally. He wants to be a dictator. He wants to suspend the constitution. We assume they’re just taking political advantage– but is there something deeper?
Most recently was an conversation between Bill Maher and Megan Kelly. Maher, who appears to be smart, did the same thing. You want to yell at the screen.
Didn’t Savage coin the phrase “Liberalism is a mental disorder”?
They can’t all be that obtuse.
Maher is not that smart, thats why he was adopted as a court jester, now take susan glasser above is supposed to be wiser, even though she removes all doubt, almost every time,
so no statements from any of the jurors, on how they ‘saved democracy’ sarc,
Megan Kelly recommends a scorched earth path, beginning with Biden.
‘Must be made to suffer’: Megyn Kelly unleashes on Democrats
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYkXBAL0S9s
Thinking about the dim bulb comparison to the effect The Great Orange Whale has on otherwise competent intelligent “good” people I posit the brain as an electrical circuit with many parallel paths not a linear (in-series) circuit to process information. The Great Orange Whale overloads the political circuit to failure while non political processing may continue as before (for a while anyway). If everything in the brain is political, i.e., the personal is political, then The Great Orange Whale causes complete overload, but such folks weren’t much good to begin with.
Thank you freudom 🙂
see I remember what sullivan, (now exiled to substack) maher all these jackalopes said, ‘we needed to restore our democracy’ because reasons, no matter the cost,they are too inane to address now,
thats not the tritest entry this week
https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/noah-smith-a-second-cold-war-with?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2
Brian E.
Following your point, but modifying it by “nobody can be that stupid”, I’ll submit the following:
Liberals do get the point. But by “misunderstanding” the analogy, they put the other on the defensive, having to defend the accused equivalency.
IOW, they’re not as dumb as they look.
Not sure.
This was during the last impeachment trial. I’d forgotten it, but worth remembering
Trump lawyer plays video montage of Democrats doubting election results at impeachment trial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjnX4IUt_eo