Tag: democrats

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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In An Attempt To Smear Trump The Left Is Butchering Ancient History

“Ancient Sparta explains 2026,” Ishaan Tharoor asserted in a Dec. 30 column for The Washington Post. Readers at first glance might be deceived into thinking Tharoor’s analysis would offer insightful commentary about the continued relevance of ancient Greece. But no.

“Myths of Sparta,” claimed Tharoor, “shadow” the rhetoric of the right, which, he said, implicitly carries themes aligned with fascism and even eugenics. Beyond straining the credulity of his readers, Tharoor’s tired analysis suggests that perhaps a good New Year’s resolution for the left would be to abandon ridiculous historical analogies that ironically say more about their liberal promoters than they do about contemporary conservatives.

Trying (and Failing) to Connect MAGA to Hitler via Sparta

Prominent on Tharoor’s list of supposed champions of the ancient militarized slave-based oligarchy of Sparta is Pete Hegseth. The War Department secretary, Tharoor argued, “openly channels supposed Spartan values when he extols the newfound ‘warrior ethos’ of the Trump administration, tightens the Pentagon’s standards for grooming and physical fitness and links the mission of the U.S. military more closely to the White House’s political agenda.” A Google search failed to find a single example of Hegseth talking about Sparta since he assumed office. And if promoting physical fitness standards is “Spartan,” then so is Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign.

Yet Tharoor soldiered on with his faulty analogy: “The waning of the postwar ‘rules-based’ order and the apparent retreat of globalization — sped, in part, by President Donald Trump’s trade wars — has returned us to a kind of ‘Spartan’ moment, some analysts say.” He cites Swedish economic historian Johan Norberg: “There’s very much the Spartan mentality — that the world is a zero-sum game, and if somebody else benefits, you’re worse off. And that seems to be the Trumpian worldview as well, and why Sparta is an ideal for people on the MAGA right.”

Now I could be wrong, but I doubt Trump spends much time thinking about Thermopylae.

Failing to identify any obvious examples of conservatives embracing a “Spartan worldview,” Tharoor (surprise!) returned to Jan. 6. He noted that “some rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, wore Sparta-themed helmets. They also flew flags emblazoned with the Spartan idiom ‘Molon Labe.’” He also indicted gun owners: “U.S. gun rights activists invoke ‘Molon Labe’ as a slogan, a rejection of anyone who would contravene their Second Amendment freedoms.”

Thus did Tharoor make his tenuous connection: A single appropriated Spartan slogan and a few Sparta-themed helmets at a rally from five years ago are enough for him to associate conservatives with the Nazis, given that Hitler admired the Greek city-state for destroying “sick, weak, deformed children.” This comparison is beyond risible — it is sick, given that it is the contemporary left’s pro-abortion and pro-euthanasia policies that are a threat to vulnerable children, whose “quality of life” is deemed insufficiently worthy of being saved. Approximately two-thirds of babies diagnosed with Down syndrome in the womb, for example, are aborted in the United States.

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Democrats’ Faux-Masculinity Superhero Tim Walz Implodes

Tim Walz dropping out of Minnesota’s gubernatorial race hearkens back to the early days of the Harris-Walz 2024 ticket. Less than a week after Kamala Harris secured the Democrat presidential nomination, she selected Walz as her running mate. In Democrats’ imagination, the Minnesota governor would magically sweep the working class, rural voters, and men into the fold like Joe Biden 2.0, all while serving as the Democrat model of manhood — an obsequious, plushie personality nearly entirely feminine in nature, with a few accoutrements of manhood tacked on. Mercifully, the plan failed, along with the Harris-Walz candidacy.

The leftist faux man failed then too, with Trump winning men by a wide margin, but Walz’s resignation from the race for governor is the formal confirmation of that failure, the last sputter in his puttering tenure as Dem comic book star. Democrats won’t let go of their perverted concept of manhood, but it’s a bust as a political tool.

Notably, the welfare fraud dumpster fire that finally sank Walz is really a feature, not a bug, of leftist masculinity. Filled with “compassion” and “Minnesota nice,” Walz oversaw the shoveling of billions of dollars into the coffers of Minnesota’s Somali population, and even on his way out, he touted a new welfare program rife with more fraud opportunities. But that’s exactly what the ideal leftist man does. Forking over taxpayer dollars, whether to spoon-feed the insatiable appetite of “empathy” or atone for colonialist escapades (U.S. or otherwise), is an essential duty. To do so to any lesser degree — even to benefit U.S. citizens — is a cardinal sin that will ostensibly lead to the deaths of millions.

As Democrats’ apex male protagonist, Walz engaged performatively in numerous other activities, such as installing tampons in men’s bathrooms. He also pushed through legislative revisions removing protections for babies born alive after failed abortions — in a state where babies so-called “doctors” tried to kill were already being left to die anyway. He also signed off on driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants, along with taxpayer-funded health care (a measure he’s since repealed). He made Minnesota a sanctuary state for trans-identifying children, inserting himself in parent-child relationships as a fierce proponent of permanent bodily mutilation. Less significantly, Walz spent the 2024 campaign overzealously hurrahing Harris like an insecure male cheerleader desperate not to steal her thunder.

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Federal prosecutors launch new probe into NY AG Letitia James involving campaign payments to longtime hairdresser: report

Federal prosecutors have opened a new probe into New York state Attorney General Letitia James, connected to past campaign payments to her longtime hairdresser, who was indicted in Louisiana last month on bank fraud charges.

Investigators are looking into a total of $36,000 that James’ campaign paid Iyesata Marsh, owner of a Brooklyn hair salon and an event manager, between May 2018 and February 2019 during the AG’s successful re-election bid, according to sources and reports.

Roughly $22,000 of the payments were for using Marsh’s studio as a campaign office for the last four months of James’ campaign, according to a past Wall Street Journal report.

People familiar with the probe told the New York Times — which first reported the new investigation, along with CBS News — that prosecutors want to talk with Marsh about past financial transactions involving James and her campaign.

The probe, which is in its early stages, according to the Times, comes as other efforts by the Department of Justice to secure an indictment against James for a separate mortgage fraud allegation failed to stick.

Marsh, of Queens, was indicted by Louisiana federal prosecutors last month on charges of bank fraud and aggravated identity theft tied to the purchase of a Land Rover, according to court documents. 

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Far-Left Gov. Tim Walz Mobilizes National Guard as Minneapolis Spirals Into Chaos

Radical Democrat Governor Tim Walz is at it again.

Years after he sat back and watched Minneapolis burn during the 2020 BLM riots, Walz has suddenly found his “authority” to mobilize the Minnesota National Guard.

As TGP reported at the time, Walz’s delay in 2020 allowed rioters to torch the Third Precinct and cause over $500 million in damages.

Now, facing a new crisis, the Governor appears to be playing the same political games, pleading for “peace” while simultaneously attacking federal law enforcement.

On Wednesday, Walz issued a “warning order” for the National Guard following a fatal officer-involved shooting involving a federal ICE agent in South Minneapolis.

Walz explicitly described the order as a “heads-up” for the troops to begin preparations for potential deployment.

Walz is framing this preparation as a protective measure for Minnesotans against what he calls “sensationalized” federal operations. He stated, “These National Guard troops are our National Guard troops.”

On Thursday, Walz is now positioning the National Guard not just to stop rioters, but as a “heads up” against what he calls a “war” being waged by federal agencies against his state.

According to the press release:

Out of an Abundance of Caution and in Coordination with Local Officials, Governor Walz Authorizes Minnesota National Guard to be Staged and Ready to Support Local Law Enforcement If Needed

The National Guard remains ready if needed to help keep the peace, ensure public safety, and allow for peaceful demonstrations

Governor Tim Walz has authorized the Minnesota National Guard to be staged and ready to support local and state law enforcement in protecting critical infrastructure and maintaining public safety following a shooting involving federal immigration enforcement agents in south Minneapolis.

Executive Order 26-01 provides the ability for the Minnesota National Guard to protect critical infrastructure and to assist local law enforcement with additional tasks as requested. The state is providing additional law enforcement resources in a coordinated response to aid local law enforcement. The Minnesota State Patrol has mobilized 85 members of its Mobile Response Team to support law enforcement efforts in the Twin Cities.

“Minnesotans have met this moment. Thousands of people have peacefully made their voices heard. Minnesota: thank you. We saw powerful peace,” said Governor Walz. “We have every reason to believe that peace will hold. Yesterday, I directed the National Guard to be ready should they be needed. They remain ready in the event they are needed to help keep the peace, ensure public safety, and allow for peaceful demonstrations.”

Executive Order 26-01 authorizes the Adjutant General to place National Guard personnel, equipment, and facilities on state active duty to coordinate and support public safety and security services in Minnesota. The Guard will serve in a support role, focused on protecting property, safeguarding critical infrastructure, and allowing local law enforcement to remain focused on community safety and investigative responsibilities.

Executive Order 26-01 provides access to an additional tool that can include preparation and planning in support of local and state law enforcement and emergency management agencies, as well as the support of local law enforcement efforts to protect life and property, ensure public safety, and protect freedom of speech by allowing for peaceful demonstrations.

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Ex-Con Husband of Squad Member Ayanna Pressley Slaps Phone Out of Man’s Hands When Confronted About Fraud

Squad member Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) and her ex-husband, Conan Harris, a convicted felon, do not like being confronted about allegedly defrauding American taxpayers in Minnesota. And they are willing to get violent instead of answering questions.

When asked to comment on the fraud, Pressley ignored the questioning, but Harris took it a step further and slapped the phone from the questioner’s hand.

A man is heard asking, “Congresswoman Pressley, do you support….” but before he could finish, Harris slapped the phone and it slammed to the floor.

The surprised man said, “Sir, you cannot take my phone out of my hand.”

Pressley quickly moved through the Chelsea City Hall in Chelsea, Massachusetts, ignoring the questions, as he called after her, “Congresswoman Pressley, do you support President Trump investigating Somali childcare fraud in Minnesota?”

“Congresswoman Pressley?”

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The Left’s Top Dark Money Network of Donors

Arabella Advisors, the world’s most influential fund for left-wing politics, has rebranded but not dissipated. Arabella Advisors infamously created the Sixteen Thirty Fund, a dark money nonprofit that funneled hundreds of millions to persuade voters to support “progressive” causes, with the backing of George Soros, Bill Gates, Pierre Omidyar, and Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss.

Arabella rebranded itself into Sunflower Services, a public corporation controlled by a collective group of nonprofits that were previously under its management. The group has separated its 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) arms as only the latter has the ability to send money to political missions in lieu of offering tax deductions for those donations. All donations are strictly anonymous. Not only is the group permitted to operate anonymously, but those paid to promote their messages also operate in secrecy. WIRED magazine alerted the public that the Sixteen Thirty Fund was paying over 90 online social media influencers up to $8,000 a month to support Democratic causes. These content creators operate under the “Chorus Creator Incubator Program,” and they are provided with specific propaganda tools such as “advocacy training,” message briefings, newsroom events, and are often asked to partner with politicians and other left-leaning organizations.

Traditional political advertisements are disclosed as advertisements. “Paid for by…” However, the new form of media control is through “unique” social media messaging. Moreover, the majority of these social media platforms are already controlled by the leftist billionaire elite. Aside from Elon Musk’s X, all major channels can remove content at whim, and we saw their broad reach during the COVID-19 pandemic when every platform was scrubbing the internet of content that went against the left mainstream media narrative.

The Sixteen Thirty Fund will distance itself from Sunflower Services, but all of these non-profits operate as the left’s personal ATM to use for political warfare. Clinton administration alumnus Eric Kessler began Arabella Advisors in 2005, before it quickly gained popularity among those with the money and power to reshape politics. Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss was the first major financier, using his wealth to reshape US politics. 501(c)(4) nonprofit organizations may receive funds from foreign donors, and the likes of Soros and Wyss were quick to insert their ideals into US politics through Arabella.

The Sixteen Thirty Fund, for example, spent nearly $80 million on 33 different state referendums from 2017 to 2023. Conservatives argued against permitting foreign investors from infiltrating US politics, leading Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Wyoming to enact laws banning foreign funds from being spent on ballot referendums. The anonymous donors bypassed the law through numerous smaller NGOs masked as grassroots organizations including “Families Over Billionaires,” “Arizonans United for Health Care,” “Log Off Movement,” “Keep Iowa Healthy,” “Floridians for a Fair Shake,” “Design it for Us,” and “Michigan Families for Economic Prosperity.”

Propaganda is far more subtle in today’s day and age. The people controlling the narrative do not care about these causes. The people paid to push these messages do not understand that they are working for the very people they claim to detest.

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“Bullsh*t” – Dem Senator Mark Kelly Lashes Out at Hegseth, Says He May Get in His Face and Confront Him Over Censure

Democrat Senator Mark Kelly lashed out at Pete Hegseth and said he may get in the Secretary of War’s face to confront him over his “bullshit” censure.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Monday censured Democrat Senator Mark Kelly and cut his military retirement pay over his ‘seditious’ video urging service members to defy President Trump’s orders.

Mark Kelly is one of the ‘Seditious Six’ Democrat lawmakers who urged members of the military to defy Trump’s orders.

In November, without offering any specifics, Senators Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and Mark Kelly (D-AZ), along with Democrat Reps. Maggie Goodlander (NH), Jason Crow (CO), Chris Deluzio (PA), and Chrissy Houlahan (PA) repeatedly stated, “You can refuse illegal orders,” or “You must refuse illegal orders,” in a viral video.

The Department of War previously announced it is considering recalling Democrat Senator Mark Kelly for court-martial proceedings after he urged the military to defy President Trump’s orders.

On Monday, Hegseth announced he is moving to demote Kelly and cut his military pension, but stopped short of a court-martial.

“Six weeks ago, Senator Mark Kelly — and five other members of Congress — released a reckless and seditious video that was clearly intended to undermine good order and military discipline. As a retired Navy Captain who is still receiving a military pension, Captain Kelly knows he is still accountable to military justice. And the Department of War — and the American people — expect justice,” Hegseth said.

“Therefore, in response to Senator Mark Kelly’s seditious statements — and his pattern of reckless misconduct — the Department of War is taking administrative action against Captain Mark E. Kelly, USN (Ret). The department has initiated retirement grade determination proceedings under 10 U.S.C. § 1370(f), with reduction in his retired grade resulting in a corresponding reduction in retired pay,” Hegseth said.

“To ensure this action, the Secretary of War has also issued a formal Letter of Censure, which outlines the totality of Captain (for now) Kelly’s reckless misconduct. This Censure is a necessary process step, and will be placed in Captain Kelly’s official and permanent military personnel file,” Hegseth added.

In remarks to reporters on Tuesday, Mark Kelly questioned Trump’s order to strike Venezuela and capture Maduro.

He also called Hegseth’s censure “bullshit” and said he may confront the Secretary of War at Wednesday’s briefing.

“So [Hegseth’s] option, right now, is he can continue with this kind of bullshit, or he can go take a hike. That’s his options. And if I have an opportunity to tell him that tomorrow, maybe I will,” Mark Kelly said to CNN’s Manu Raju and others.

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Pete Hegseth Takes Action Against Sen. Mark Kelly, Who Egged On Military To Defy Trump In Viral Video

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Monday began taking steps to demote Democratic Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly from his current military rank over his role in a viral video telling U.S. service members and spy agencies they must “refuse illegal orders” by the Trump administration.

Hegseth posted a statement to social media saying the Pentagon is taking administrative action to initiate retirement grade proceedings  to demote Kelly from a retired Navy captain to a lower rank, with a corresponding deduction in pay. Hegseth also announced a formal letter of censure, outlining Kelly’s “reckless misconduct.”

“Six weeks ago, Senator Mark Kelly — and five other members of Congress — released a reckless and seditious video that was clearly intended to undermine good order and military discipline. As a retired Navy Captain who is still receiving a military pension, Captain Kelly knows he is still accountable to military justice,” Hegseth wrote in a Monday morning X post.

“Therefore, in response to Senator Mark Kelly’s seditious statements — and his pattern of reckless misconduct — the Department of War is taking administrative action against Captain Mark E. Kelly, USN (Ret),” the War Secretary added. “The department has initiated retirement grade determination proceedings under 10 U.S.C. § 1370(f), with reduction in his retired grade resulting in a corresponding reduction in retired pay.”

“Captain Kelly’s status as a sitting United States Senator does not exempt him from accountability, and further violations could result in further action,” Hegseth’s statement added.

Kelly responded to the Pentagon’s move in a statement later Monday, saying there’s nothing “more un-American” than the message he says Hegseth is trying to send by the move to demote him.

“Pete Hegseth wants to send the message to every single retired servicemember that if they say something he or Donald Trump doesn’t like, they will come after them the same way. It’s outrageous and it is wrong,” Kelly wrote in the statement.

“If Pete Hegseth, the most unqualified Secretary of Defense in our country’s history, thinks he can intimidate me with a censure or threats to demote me or prosecute me, he still doesn’t get it,” the Arizona Democrat added. “I will fight this with everything I’ve got — not for myself, but to send a message back that Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump don’t get to decide what Americans in this country get to say about their government.”

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Tim Walz Drops Out of Minnesota Governor Race. Good Riddance.

With dark clouds gathering over his previously sunny reelection bid, Tim Walz has had enough. Minnesota’s Democratic governor announced Monday he would abandon his pursuit of a third term following widespread negative publicity due to his mishandling of welfare fraud allegations.

Walz has not been accused of personal wrongdoing, but the buck stops here, as they say. Walz was the man in charge while fraudsters stole millions, or perhaps billions, of taxpayer dollars by setting up fake charities, ransacking the medical system, and operating dubious child care services. The sheer amount of plunder has attracted national media attention in recent weeks, with even The New York Times throwing Walz under the bus.

The governor’s response has not reassured his critics that he is laser focused on restoring credibility to these programs and mercilessly prosecuting thieves. It is fine to insist, as Walz has, that the entire Somali diaspora not be smeared for the criminal behavior of some community members, but the governor has made a habit of trying to redirect blame to other groups, such as white men. This is unpersuasive, since the accusations against the Somalis are about proportionality, not absolute levels of crime. Moreover, saying that we must be color-blind with respect to the ethnicities of the fraudsters while also calling for more white men to be held accountable is totally incoherent.

Unfortunately, this incoherence is broadly representative of the Walz persona. This is a man who was elevated to national prominence by Vice President Kamala Harris when she picked him to be her 2025 running mate. In Walz’s own clumsily-worded telling, she picked him because he could “code talk to white guys” like himself. He saw his job as reassuring his own identity group that they could vote for a black woman for president. It’s a reductive and extremely flawed notion of what makes for a relatable presidential ticket; Harris underperformed with men—particularly young men—of all racial backgrounds, not specifically white guys. Walz likes football and fixing trucks, so vote Harris/Walz 2024! This is identity politics at its most vacuous.

But it’s not just that Walz’s vibes are off. His governance in the state of Minnesota has been disastrous, even apart from the fraud scandal. Indeed, Walz has achieved a record as hostile to human liberty as virtually any other currently seated governor. He was, first and foremost, a COVID-19 tyrant who zealously enforced social distancing and mask requirements, including by setting up a coronavirus snitch hotline: Citizens were encouraged to report their neighbors to the government for failing to abide by COVID-19 rules. He also spent coronavirus relief money on pet projects and political kickbacks that were obviously outside the scope of what the money ought to have been used for: state workers’ parking costs, teaching women and minority owned businesses how to apply for state contracts, and the Minneapolis zoo.

For supporters of individual liberty, Walz’s various pronouncements on policy issues were like nails on a chalkboard. He said that misinformation was not protected by the First Amendment. (It is.) He said socialism was just “neighborliness.” (He should take that attitude to New York City, where it belongs, unfortunately.) He said it was “not a mistake” to send sick COVID-19 patients back to nursing homes. (Even former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has dropped that point.)

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