Tag: democrats

Progressives misdiagnose their X problem

In the year 2002, then US-President George W. Bush did something historic: He became the first sitting US President in decades to see his party gain seats in midterm elections.

This came, at the time, as something of a shock to the still-dominant and still reliably liberal mainstream news outlets in the US. The punditry, as the votes rolled in, was one of shock and surprise and “how could this have happened?” – scenes that would be repeated on election night two years later, and then taken to their absolute extreme in 2016 as Donald Trump consigned the First. Woman. President. to an electoral footnote.

Anyway, that election night has always stuck with me because of an exchange that took place on, I think, CNN between Democrat political advisor James Carville and Bush advisor Karl Rove. “Democrats just didn’t get their message out this time”, intoned Carville, somberly. “No”, replied Rove. “You guys always say that.” “The problem is not that you didn’t get your message out, it is that you did, and people didn’t like it”.

That particular exchange has come to mind in recent days watching the latest round of the twitter/X wars. Yesterday, Una Mullally took to the pages of the Irish Times to become the latest liberal pundit to denounce X. Over in the UK, there is talk of a ban. An internet blackout, of sorts, in a democratic country, preventing the public from accessing Elon Musk’s digital playground. Similar discussions are apparently happening in Australia, Canada, and of course in Brussels.

The official reason is of course that people are shocked, shocked to discover that there is porn on the internet and that AI tools are capable of digitally altering images to remove people’s clothes (I consider myself fortunate enough that nobody would ever wish to do that to me, for the sake of their eyes). But there’s an unofficial reason too, and it’s openly admitted. Here’s Una:

“Politicians need to realise that X is not Twitter. Under Musk, X is a vast disinformation network, a hotbed of racism, hate, extremism and dystopian delusions. It is a radicalisation tool, an arena of harassment, and yes, its chatbot is a creator, publisher and distributor of awful material.”

Note the “and yes” there at the end before she gets to Grok. It’s as plain an admission that you’ll see that the AI porn problem is an ancillary reason, not the primary reason, why politicians should be taking action. The primary reasons are set out in detail before hand: Disinformation, racism, hate, extremism, and something called dystopian delusions.

(Seriously, one might have thought the notion that governments should ban online discussion forums to save democracy from the people was a “dystopian delusion”. Evidently not.)

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House Dems Want Their Own Voters To Get Shot in Name of Trump Resistance

Fox News correspondent Aishah Hasnie and commentator Clay Travis discussed a resurfaced Axios report that detailed internal conversations among House Democrats about escalating confrontations at Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities as part of anti-Trump activism.

The exchange focused on the implications of the report, concerns over public safety, and the political motivations behind confrontational protest tactics.

Hasnie introduced the segment by citing the Axios reporting, describing it as alarming and newly circulating again online

“Axios story that made my jaw drop a couple of months ago, and it sort of come back online on the Twitter world, and this is what they wrote. They talked to Democrats who were talking to their constituents, and they were telling them to get shot for the anti Trump resistance. This is what one of those Democrats, House Democrats told Axios, some of them have suggested what we really need to do is be willing to get shot when visiting ice facilities or federal agencies. And then goes on to say our own base is telling us that what we’re doing is not enough. There needs to be blood to grab the attention of the press and the public. That’s coming from House Democrats. That’s what they’re hearing from their constituents,” Hasnie said.

The Axios report described Democratic lawmakers recounting pressure from activists who believed peaceful protests were insufficient and that violent or deadly confrontations would force greater media attention and political change.

The report did not attribute the statements to named lawmakers but cited them as direct comments provided to Axios.

Travis responded by criticizing what he described as a deliberate strategy to provoke dangerous encounters with federal law enforcement.

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Democrats Who Let Covid-Era Child Tax Credits Expire Now Cry ‘Crisis’ Over Lapsing Obamacare Giveaway

ontrary to the media’s blaring headlines about “the health care crisis,” there’s another question the press should answer but won’t. To wit: Why is it only a “crisis” when a Covid-era entitlement expires on Republicans’ watch?

While Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., eggs on the press by pontificating about a “health care crisis” caused by the recent expiration of enhanced Obamacare subsidies, he and his colleagues selectively and cynically ignore the recent past. The same Senate Democrats who now call the lapse of enhanced Obamacare subsidies a “crisis” let a far larger Covid-era program expire on their own party’s watch with barely a peep of objection.

Covid-era Child Tax Credit

In 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act, enacted in the Biden administration’s opening months, significantly expanded the child tax credit. The law increased the maximum available credit from $2,000 per child to $3,600 per child under age 6, and $3,000 for other kids under age 18. It also made the credit fully refundable for families with no income tax liability and provided for periodic monthly disbursements to beneficiaries. But fiscal and political constraints meant that the legislation enhanced the child tax credit for 2021 only.

House Democrats included a one-year extension of the enhanced child tax credit in their so-called Build Back Better legislation, which they passed in November 2021. But objections from Sen. Joe Manchin to the costly House bill meant Schumer spent months negotiating a slimmed-down package with the West Virginia Democrat.

Senate Democrats Oppose an Extension

When that smaller package came to the Senate floor in August 2022 without an extension of the enhanced child tax credit, Socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont offered an amendment extending the program for four years, funded by a corporate tax hike. All of Sanders’ Senate colleagues present that day, including all Senate Democrats, voted against his amendment, with two not voting.

On the Senate floor, Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Michael Bennet, D-Colo., both claimed they supported an extension but could not vote for Sanders’ amendment for fear it would kill the entire bill. Sanders responded with a reasonable enough question: Even if Manchin opposed his amendment, “Why would … getting 48 votes on this amendment bring the overall bill down?” He received no substantive reply.

The enhanced child tax credit that expired on Democrats’ watch had a far bigger effect than the enhanced Obamacare subsidies. Internal Revenue Service data shows that in 2021, just under 62 million children received child tax credit payments, nearly triple the roughly 21 million Americans with subsidized Obamacare coverage. The child tax credit also had a larger fiscal consequence; a permanent extension would have cost nearly $1.6 trillion over ten years, or more than four times as much as a $350 billion permanent revival of the enhanced Obamacare subsidies.

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Virginia Democrats Move To Establish Limitless Abortion, Ban Guns, And Gerrymander Districts

The Republican-run government of Virginia has four days left in office, and Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., along with Democrat majorities in the Commonwealth’s legislature, are going to start the ball rolling with expanding abortion, making sure felons can vote, and implementing gun restrictions.

Responsible political leadership in Virginia might be focused on answering things like the housing affordability crisis, which has been made much more acute with the importation of foreigners to the most populous areas of the state.

Democrats coming into power in Virginia will hold a 21-19 majority in the state Senate and a 64-36 majority in the House of Delegates. Their top priorities include four proposed constitutional amendments: To expand abortion even later in the pregnancy and make it impossible to restrict (Virginia already allows most abortion up to 26 weeks — the most permissive in the entire South); to enshrine homosexual unions as a right; to automatically restore voting to felons who have completed their sentences; and to allow for mid-decade congressional redistricting ahead of the 2026 midterms, where Democrats could nuke up to four Republican-held seats through gerrymandering.

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Why Did Democrat Senator Ruben Gallego Just Lie About This ICE Officer?

A video has gone viral in leftist circles of two federal agents slipping on an icy sidewalk in Minnesota. Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), took to social media to spin a lie about what the video truly shows.

Video showed the two agents crossing onto a sidewalk and quickly slipping on the ice. As one of the agents fell, the rifle-mounted flashlight illuminated for a brief second before the agent hit the ground. The agent’s hands were completely removed from the control surfaces of the firearm. The handrail of the firearm, which presumably hosts the pressure pad to activate the light, can be seen lightly striking the agent’s body at the moment of illumination.

Gallego, a Marine Corp veteran, took to X to claim that the agent irresponsibly committed a negligent discharge.

Conveniently for Gallego, the short clip doesn’t contain any audio that would immediately disprove that no round was ever fired. The remaining evidence, however, proves that he is entirely wrong. The direction in which the rifle was aiming was well within frame, and no impact from a round can be seen.

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Somali Refugee in Lewiston, Maine Resigns After Controversial Swearing In Despite Active Investigations and Criminal Charges

Last week, Iman Osman, a Somali migrant and community leader, was sworn in as the Ward 5 Councilor despite facing two felony charges related to stolen property, including the unauthorized taking and receiving of stolen firearms from two estates.

The Gateway Pundit previously reported that, according to court documents obtained by WMTW, the alleged crimes involve weapons taken from two separate estates between November 15, 2023, and October 11, 2024.

Although his lawyer initially said he would not resign, in a letter to Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline and City Council President David Chittim, he tendered his resignation.

WMTW-TV reports that in his letter, Osman said he “did not come to the decision lightly.”

The letter reads in part:

“For the betterment of our community and in the best interest of our city, I believe it is time for me to step aside. I hope my resignation serves as a call to action for those who remain — an opportunity to reflect on the values of respect, inclusivity and kindness that should guide our public service,” Osman said.

“I am grateful for the support I have received from my family and friends, my community and my constituents during my time in public office. I remain committed to our city’s progress and will continue to advocate for positive change in Lewiston.”

On Wednesday, Osman was arraigned in Lewiston District Court.

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The Democrats’ “Affordability” Ploy To Avoid Accountability

Imagine someone is walking through a museum filled with fragile antiquities. And they happen to be indiscriminately swinging a sledgehammer. And with every fragile antiquity they shatter, they pocket the price of the destroyed historical treasure.

When their selfish, remunerative spree of wanton destruction concludes, one might expect the culprit to drop their hammer and skedaddle from the scene of the crime. Nope. Instead, they stand around carping that the museum’s new curators are not cleaning up the mess you made fast enough. Why? Because they are hoping to get another shot with the sledgehammer at the remaining precious items still on display.

The fragile antiquities would be the American economy itself. They would be Democrats. The sledgehammer would be their trillion-dollar spending spree, which they would undertake while holding the congressional majority under the Biden administration. With every exorbitant spending bill they passed, their political cronies and ideological fellow travelers received taxpayer money, much of the largesse being funneled back into electing Democrats. The result was the Democrats’ inflation-driven economic carnage that harmed every taxpaying American’s pocketbook that the party had drained to do it in the first place.

Consequently, the best new museum curators would be the Trump administration. One can therefore understand the irritation of the president and Congressional Republicans with the Democrats’ disingenuous dithyrambs to “affordability.”

Hence, President Trump has called the Democrats’ laments regarding the “affordability” issue a “hoax” and a “scam”; however, in the context he describes, he is decrying the party’s disingenuous messaging ploy.

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Trump Calls to Jail Jack Smith After $20K Bribe Revealed

President Donald Trump is once again calling for Biden administration attack dog Jack Smith to go to prison after reports of a hefty bribe Smith paid to an informant.

Unconstitutionally appointed Justice Department (DOJ) Special Counsel Jack Smith spent years engaging in sketchy campaigns to take down Republican politicians before he became particularly infamous for his aggressive legal campaign against Donald Trump. Now that Trump is president again, and as evidence of Smith’s wrongdoing continues to pile up, the president is right to call for accountability and justice against Smith.

“Deranged Jack Smith should be sitting in prison for all that he has done to disgrace our Country!” the president posted on his Truth Social platform today before quoting a Just the News headline: “Jack Smith team approved $20k payment to informant to snitch on Trump team during Arctic Frost case.”

FBI Director Kash Patel provided new documents to Congress, including the information on the confidential human source who received the hefty payout for betraying Donald Trump‘s team. Patel told Just the News Arctic Frost was an “egregious abuse of power and violation of the law.” The FBI, under Smith’s direction, analyzed phone calls from more than 50 White House-issued phones, including Trump’s.

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Former Michigan Democrat Party Treasurer Tracy Kornak Allegedly Caught Embezzling From an 87-Year-Old Brain-Damaged Woman — Why Is AG Dana Nessel Protecting Her?

Former Michigan Democrat Party Treasurer Tracy Kornak has been hauled into probate court this week amid allegations she embezzled substantial funds from an elderly, brain-damaged woman under her legal conservatorship, according to court filings and local reporting.

Kornak, an attorney who served on Michigan’s radical Attorney General Dana Nessel’s own transition team, was appointed as the legal guardian for a woman residing at “The Village of Heather Hills,” an assisted living facility.

Rather than protecting the ward, allegations suggest Kornak used the facility’s sensitive tax information to fraudulently bill an insurance company for nearly $50,000 in “care services” that were never authorized.

The director of the facility, Joe LeBlanc, blew the whistle on the operation, leading to a criminal investigation by the Attorney General’s office.

The Michigan Department of Attorney General’s Financial Crimes and Health Care Fraud divisions investigated the claims.

In 2023, the department announced that no criminal wrongdoing was found, citing a lack of a cooperating complainant and unsubstantiated claims.

In July 2025, the Michigan House Oversight Committee authorized subpoenas for records related to the Attorney General’s investigation into Kornak.

However, bombshell records obtained through FOIA requests tell a different story.

The AG’s office supposedly set up an “ethical firewall” to prevent Nessel from interfering. Emails reveal that Nessel allegedly shattered that wall, demanding updates on the case and pressuring staff to provide Kornak with documentation to clear her name, according to WHMI.

Charlie LeDuff from Michigan Enjoyer reported on Wednesday:

Traci Kornak, the former treasurer of the Michigan Democratic Party, was hauled into probate court this week, suspected of embezzling from her ward, a brain-damaged elderly woman.

[…]

The old woman died last April, and now the judge wants to know what happened to her money. Her condominium? Her insurance settlement from the car accident? Her trust? Her estate plan? Who made debit card purchases on the day of her death?

[…]

What began as a story about a simple insurance scam perpetrated by Kornak in the name of the old woman has morphed into a scandal implicating Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and threatening the impeachment of Dana Nessel.

Kornak was a suspected embezzler, and Whitmer and Nessel knew about the allegations. Nevertheless, they allowed her to continue in her political position as treasurer of the state Democratic Party.

In fact, Whitmer was planning to appoint Kornak to a judgeship as soon as the criminal investigation went away.

[…]

The Kent County Sheriff’s Office has completed its own two-year investigation into Kornak’s stewardship of the old woman’s financial affairs. Among its recommendations are charges of felony embezzlement, which carries a 20-year prison term. That report now sits on the desk of Chris Becker, the Kent County prosecutor, who is considering charges.

Most nauseating about this whole affair—beyond the alleged abuse of an elder who could not fend for herself —is that those in power knew all along. I called them. I shouted questions at them. I mocked them online, in print, and on TV.

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California Democrat Has Incredibly Stupid Take on How Venezuela Operation Will Affect American Energy

Congressman Jimmy Panetta, a Democrat from California, recently offered an amazingly stupid take on how Trump’s operation to take Maduro out of Venezuela will affect Americans and American energy.

To hear Panetta tell it, this situation might further lower energy prices and that could cause instability.

If that makes sense to you, you might be a progressive.

In the clip below, Panetta says:

“We don’t know if the world’s saturated oil market will accept any more oil. This has left great instability not just in Venezuela, but in the region. And that leads to insecurity for the United States of America.”

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