Tag: politics

Senate approves resolution to withhold senators’ pay during future govt. shutdowns

The Senate unanimously adopted a resolution on Thursday sponsored by Louisiana GOP Senator John Kennedy that mandates a freeze on senators’ pay during any future government shutdowns.

By making federal closures financially uncomfortable for lawmakers, the bipartisan measure aims to create a more urgent incentive for Congress to pass funding bills before critical deadlines.

This agreement follows a period of increasingly frequent and record-long shutdowns, reflecting a growing consensus that legislators should face tangible consequences when they fail to fulfill their core responsibility of funding the government.

The resolution was passed via a voice vote and is scheduled to take effect immediately following the general election on November 3, 2026. Because of this specific implementation timeline, the new rules could be enforced during potential funding lapses at the end of the calendar year, though they would not apply to any shutdown occurring before the current fiscal year expires on September 30th.

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Minnesota Tax Committee Chair Rep. Aisha Gomez Screams at GOP Rep. to “Go F*cking Shoot Yourself” During Gun Control Meltdown – GOP Leaders Demand She Be Stripped of Power

Minnesota House Democrat Rep. Aisha Gomez (D-Minneapolis) verbally assaulted Republican Rep. Elliott Engen, telling him to “go f*cking shoot himself” right in the middle of a heated debate on gun control legislation.

Multiple members of the Minnesota House Republican Caucus have confirmed the disgusting outburst to Townhall reporter Dustin Grage, exposing yet another example of the toxic, violent rhetoric coming from the very Democrats who claim to want to “stop the violence” while pushing their anti-Second Amendment agenda.

The vile attack happened late Thursday night during a marathon session where Democrats staged a sit-in to force a vote on gun-grabbing legislation (HF 5140), mirroring a Senate bill that would ban so-called “assault weapons,” large-capacity magazines, and more. Republicans, led by Speaker Lisa Demuth, rightly insisted on proper committee review first.

After hours of emotional testimony about recent tragedies in Minnesota, including heartbreaking stories of loss from shootings like the one at Annunciation church, Gomez reportedly lost it and directed her filth directly at Rep. Engen.

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The great affordability hoax

Many politicians are so superficial that they’re inclined to latch on to a popular buzzword — in droves — to sustain their power over the masses.  “Affordability” is now filling that need.  Ignorance of economic reality is sustaining this process.

There are two significant concepts that pull the rug out from under this pathetic hoax: consumer sovereignty and the principle of substitution.  Consumer sovereignty simply means that free people get to choose how they spend their money.  Necessities such as food and shelter tend to dominate these choices, but Americans, being the beneficiaries of the prosperity that comes with freedom, have room for other items in their budgets.  The principle of substitution means that a consumer gets to choose from a multiplicity of similarly priced options — that they will ultimately spend their money on.

All of this freedom, for the political world, is the problem.  People still get to live their own lives.  How anti-progressive can this be?

Harping on “affordability” is intended to lead to adopting the long worn out means for suppressing market forces known as “price controls.”  The folly of this form of demagoguery was showcased in Studs Terkel’s The Good War.  First, he provides a statement from John Kenneth Galbraith, breathlessly extolling the virtues of government-imposed price controls during the days of rationing caused by a profound national emergency.  After all, the American people still managed to survive during such trying times.

Immediately after Galbraith’s presentation, Terkel posted a statement from the humble owner of a neighborhood grocery store.  In it, he first tells of what happened to a can of pork and beans: Yes, the price of the can didn’t change.  But in the can was less pork and fewer beans, and a lot more water.  Also, since his store was closed on Sunday, black marketeers took it over to sell otherwise rationed meat.  And the line of eager customers stretched around the block.  Talk about consumer sovereignty.

To further deceive the public about affordability, the “news” media make no distinction between true inflation due to government carelessly increasing the money supply and price increases caused by shortages resulting from various causes.  The bottleneck at the Strait of Hormuz has nothing to do with public debt and deficit spending.  And yes, the bump up in petroleum has increased the cost of all forms of transportation, including produce and many other commodities being delivered to retail stores.

Now back to my original point: Leftists are confined to a pre-determined position.  This can easily be described as conformity.  Rather than be confined by the “arbitrary” dictates of reality, leftists close ranks and join in with mutual agreement.  They have become carbon copies of one another.  Their policy positions are pretty much pre-packaged — so they all seem to agree with one another on everything.  The package includes opposition to white supremacy, corporate greed, and global warming, while strenuously extolling the benefits of “affordability.”

Instead of offering commonsense solutions to obvious problems, they keep pushing free stuff and victimhood.  And guess what: It’s not working.  Beyond the devoted automatons, sentient beings are abandoning the deranged demagoguery of what used to be a sort of credible major party: the Democrats.

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California Democrats deploy risky strategy to shut out Republican governor candidates

A growing number of California Democrats are embracing an unusual election strategy ahead of the state’s crowded gubernatorial primary: waiting until the final possible moment to cast their ballots.

The tactic is being fueled by anxiety within left-wing circles over the state’s open primary system, where the top two candidates advance to the November election regardless of party affiliation, infamously earning the name “jungle primary.”

With multiple Democrats splitting the vote and two Republicans performing strongly in polling, some progressive activists fear a scenario in which Democrats are entirely excluded from the general election, CalMatters reported.

The concern intensified earlier in the race when many Democratic voters rallied around former Congressman Eric Swalwell in hopes of consolidating support behind a single candidate.

Swalwell’s campaign, which at the time was gaining momentum as he lead polls among others his block, collapsed after multiple women accused him of sexual assault, reopening uncertainty among Democratic voters searching for a viable contender.

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The Liberal Media Is Finally Noticing Democrats Are Willing To Shred The Rule Of Law

Democrats have anointed themselves the defenders of democracy and protectors of the rule of law. For years, the liberal media has been more than willing to help push that narrative. But after the state Supreme Court struck down the Virginia gerrymander, the reaction from Democrats was so extreme that even their usual defenders couldn’t ignore how bad it looked.

On Sunday, the New York Times reported that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Virginia Democrats held a conference call the day after the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that the party had violated the state constitution by passing its gerrymandered map, nullifying the new map before it could be implemented. According to the report, lawmakers spent the call “venting anger at their defeat,” with the atmosphere described as “desperation and fury,” and Democrats floated the idea of lowering the mandatory retirement age of the court so they could replace all the justices and restart the process of passing their gerrymandered map.

Even some of the liberal media’s old guard felt uncomfortable that such an idea was seriously considered, and what that says about the party that claims to be defenders of Democracy and the rule of law. 

That’s the unmistakable takeaway from a revealing exchange between Chris Cillizza and Chuck Todd on Monday on Cillizza’s podcast.

Chuck Todd framed the Virginia ruling as the natural consequence of bad politics and worse arrogance. “That’s how I feel about this, this ruling in Virginia, right? This was a bad idea. This was terrible messaging. This was defeat. This sort of undermined every supposed principle that the Democratic Party had been running on for over a decade,” he said.

The deeper problem, as Todd and Cillizza both made clear, is that Democrats did this to themselves. “And, you know, and they didn’t dot their I’s and cross their T’s,” Todd said, acknowledging reports that Democrats in Virginia knew their plan wasn’t constitutional but pressed forward with it anyway.

“The Democratic state legislature told the Virginia State Supreme Court, ‘Do not offer a ruling on this until after the election,’” Cillizza noted. In other words, they knew exactly what they were doing. They were trying to run the clock and hope the courts would stay out of the way until after the votes were cast, and there was nothing that could be done about it.

Todd then referenced the  New York Times report about the plan to lower the retirement age for Supreme Court justices to 54, which he used as another example of Democrats careening away from any serious commitment to institutional norms.

“And you’re sitting there going, ‘Wow.’ And you’re the same party that’s been complaining that Donald Trump doesn’t respect, um, the democracy? Doesn’t respect the will of the voters, doesn’t respect institutions.” 

“How about rule of law?” Cillizza added.

The narrative from Democrats for years has been about protecting democracy, defending norms, and standing up for institutions. But when their own power is on the line, that lofty rhetoric suddenly turns into just another set of talking points. Todd even admitted the entire episode looked insane from the outside. 

The most damning part came when Todd explained what he thinks the Democratic Party is willing to do.

“The left has become… as bad as Trump,” he said.

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Canadian Liberal Who Championed Mass Migration Questions Election Results After Losing Race to Immigrant

Nate Erskine-Smith, a former Canadian Minister of Housing, Infrastructure, and Communities who served under both Prime Ministers Justin Trudeau and Mark Carney, was supposed to be a shoo-in for the nomination for a by-election in Ontario for the left-wing Liberal Party.

Instead, the open-borders advocate got beaten by a Bangladeshi immigrant pizza shop owner — and he’s complaining about ID issues while voting. Whoa, pal, getting into a bit of denialism there, aren’t you?

Erskine-Smith, who had been a member of Parliament for a neighboring seat — or “riding,” as they’re known in Canada’s idiot nomenclature — had meant the nomination in the Scarborough Southwest riding to be “a first checkpoint en route to the party’s leadership,” according to the Oakville, Ontario, News.

One hopes he has an alternative checkpoint to start off his journey there, because he got beaten by Ahsanul Hafiz.

“After a full day of ranked ballot voting to select the riding’s Liberal candidate in the upcoming provincial byelection, Hafiz emerged victorious with 718 votes, followed by Beaches-East York Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith with 699 votes by the third ballot of the ranked count. Other candidates seeking nomination were Qadira Jackson and Mahmuda Nasrin,” Beach Metro reported Saturday.

“I’m honored to have the support of Scarborough Southwest Liberals and I’m ready to get to work,” Hafiz said after the win.

“This community deserves a strong voice at Queen’s Park that understands the challenges people are facing and is focused on delivering real results for local families.”

Hafiz came to Canada roughly 25 years ago on a student visa and is now “a businessman owning about 30 Domino’s Pizza shops across the province,” Oakville News reported. This might have actually been a good outcome otherwise, since, you know, he works for a living, as opposed to having spent most of his 40-odd years on this planet Earth just mindlessly climbing the rungs of the Liberal Party hierarchy.

However, this whole thing is rich on a number of levels, beginning with Hafiz telling his supporters that certain opportunities “do not exist” for immigrants to Canada. What, they might only have to settle for 15 Domino’s franchises?

“Like many of you, I came here as an immigrant,” he said before the voting. “Ontario is not moving forward. I want to help build the same opportunities that were available to me.”

However, Erskine-Smith is crying foul. According to the CBC, Hafiz and fellow candidate Qadira Jackson apparently struck a deal to play the ranked-choice system, urging their supporters to put the other candidate as No. 2 so that the guy who used to be in the Trudeau and Carney governments wasn’t back there.

He wasn’t leftist enough for the Liberals. Let that one sink in.

And then there’s Erskine-Smith, who said he would need to “debrief” with his team about possible fraud after the loss.

“At one table, it was 50 per cent of the people that had ID issues, saying they lost driver’s licenses and that they lived in the area, so I don’t know,” Erskine-Smith said. “It’s unfair for me to specifically speculate.”

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SO AUTHENTIC! Camera Catches Pete Buttigieg and Another Democrat Being Coached on How to Act ‘Normal’ at a Campaign Event

One of the things you’ve heard a lot of in recent months is that voters like authentic candidates. People who are not acting but just being themselves is popular, largely due to Trump, who pulls this off effortlessly.

Democrats struggle with this. They come off as polished and rehearsed. They are perceived as saying things just to please the people in front of them at any given time, not because they actually believe what they are saying.

In the video below, Pete Buttigieg and another Democrat are seen being coached on how to appear authentic and normal. Buttigieg even cracks a joke about it at one point.

They’re so bad at this.

FOX News reports:

Democrats caught on camera coaching candidate on how to be ‘authentic’ in 2026 messaging

Democrats campaigning in Pennsylvania inadvertently posted a video online, giving a look behind the curtain of their 2026 midterm strategy and how they’re preparing to appear more authentic and win back voters who felt “left behind.”

The clip, viewed by Fox News Digital and not previously reported, shows Democratic Pennsylvania candidate Bob Brooks in a conversation with Biden-era Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who couldn’t even remember what district he was campaigning in. The pair received coaching from an off-screen staffer, urging them to stay on message.

“Think about your audience,” the staffer prompted. “Why is this race so important? We need to win the House [of Representatives] — all of that. Winning over people who feel like they’re left behind by the party, flipping the district. All of that, I think, is really strong, showing up for working people, affordability.”

The rare look at a behind-the-scenes campaign moment, filmed by Democratic campaign arm The Bench, highlights the efforts the party is taking to underscore affordability, appeal to everyday voters and come across as naturally as possible after losing swaths of their base in the 2024 election.

“We are going to have a really normal conversation with three cameras pointing at you,” the staffer joked.

“Everybody act normal,” Buttigieg chuckled.

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Mamdani Brags He Eliminated NYC’s $12 Billion Budget Deficit, But Then a New York Outlet Dug Into the Numbers

On Tuesday morning, New York City’s ultra-progressive mayor, Zohran Mamdani, took to X to take quite a boastful victory lap.

“When we came into office, we uncovered a $12 billion budget deficit,” Mamdani posted to X. “Today, I’m proud to say we brought it down to zero.”

“We didn’t close the gap on the backs of working people,” he continued. “We closed it while funding parks, libraries, safer streets and making historic investments in public housing. Call it Pothole Politics. Call it Democratic Socialism. It’s government that delivers for the people who make this city run.”

“That’s what New Yorkers deserve. And that’s what we will keep fighting for every single day.”

In a vacuum, this certainly sounded like it should’ve been a good Tuesday for NYC residents. But shortly after Mamdani’s post went up, the New York Post came out with a blistering rebuttal of Mamdani’s claims — and a much closer look at the numbers that Mamdani largely avoided delving into.

Blasted for including “a menu of hidden fee hikes” in his budget plan, the outlet pointed out that this deficit “fix” from Mamdani was anything but.

And notably, some of the harshest criticisms lobbied against Mamdani came from a fellow Democrat.

“Banking on yet to be determined revenue-raising gimmicks and identifying fake savings are not wins,” an unnamed Democratic operative told the New York outlet.

The operative savagely added, “This budget plan is as real as Kim Kardashian’s lips.”

So why is this budget plan so inauthentic?

Critics argue that the holes in Mamdani’s budget vision become glaringly obvious once you look beyond the lofty rhetoric and into the actual revenue proposals being floated by City Hall.

According to city budget documents cited by the New York Post, officials are eyeing a laundry list of new fees, fines, and enforcement crackdowns to help plug fiscal gaps.

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Democratic Socialism Works! Leftists Go Nutty for Mamdani After He ‘Balances’ the NYC Budget

Well, friends, if you support President Donald Trump and oppose the left, the game is up. He’s done it. Zohran Mamdani, New York City’s bright young communist mayor, has balanced the city’s budget without raising taxes or cutting a dime from social services. Leftists already loved him for being a Muslim, a migrant, and an America-hating Marxist, and now they love him all the more, for don’t you see, he has proven, in the teeth of racist, xenophobic, far-right opposition, that socialism works!

If you believe that, I have a very fine bridge that would make a lovely addition to your backyard, and it’s extremely reasonably priced. But over at Threads, Mark Zuckerberg’s leftist facsimile of Elon Musk’s X, they’re in full celebratory mode, and from the looks of things, the champagne is flowing freely. One leftist laid out the sober (alleged) facts: “They called him a communist. Said he’d destroy New York. 131 days in he balanced a $12 billion deficit without cutting a single service. This is what we’ve been asking for.” Another responded: “This is exactly what they were afraid of. He’s proving that it can be done and all their fear mongering is just bulls**t.”

Many leftists were sure that Mamdani had performed this particular trick by doing what patriots refuse to do: soaking the rich the way they deserved to be soaked. One wanted even more: “i’m sorry am i getting this right? NYC Mayor Mamdani taxed wealthy people on properties they own if they don’t live in them, it balanced the city’s multi-billion dollar budget immediately, and all the wealthy people are still wealthy? am i getting this right? they’re still wealthy, right? and no middle or lower financial earners saw any additional tax? am i getting this correct?” In a word, no, but don’t let me spoil the party.

The reality, as the New York Post explained Wednesday, is that New York City’s budget is “only ‘balanced’ with gimmicks that guarantee oceans more red ink in the years ahead. With a late assist from Gov. Kathy Hochul’s own flim-flammery, the new, $124.7 billion Mamdani spending plan relies on one-time cash infusions, postponed payments and dubious calculations of future tax windfalls and theoretical savings.”

Hochul helped out by giving the city $4 billion, so Mamdani’s balanced budget is indeed a triumph of socialism: the city is solvent not because it spends responsibility and within its means, but because it got a handout. As long as the handouts keep coming in and Mamdani can keep on spending other people’s money, everything will be fine.

A crash is coming, however. City Comptroller Mark Levine explained that Mamdani’s “balanced” budget “‘relies on $2.8 billion in one-time measures’ and short-term savings, without addressing ‘the fact that City government continues to spend more than we take in, even in a year of record revenues.’” One day the money is going to run out. Mamdani can hope that he will be out of office by then and can blame someone else. One Threads user tried to sound a note of caution amid all the celebrations: “I am a Mamdani supporter and proud leftist. Please understand that he did this by delaying funding pensions, which has historically been a disastrous way to kick the can down the road.”

But the can is kicked, and so for the time being, Mamdani can bask in the glory of an accomplishment that he didn’t really accomplish. Another Threads leftist rejoiced in this triumph of socialism: “Mamdani socialist a** is on these other politicians NECKS honey. Balanced the budget. Banned ICE. Created a snow shoveling workforce, handled two storms, filled thousands of potholes, extended free childcare, opened an office for deed theft, held numerous town halls for tenant rights. Got the city to engage civically in multiple initiatives. He’s even killing it on social. lol.”

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Republican South Carolina Senate Leader Kills GOP’s Redistricting Effort: ‘Competition Makes Us Better’

The Republican leader of South Carolina’s state Senate defied President Donald Trump and voted against a redistricting effort that could have slashed the state’s only Democrat-led congressional district, arguing that “South Carolina is stronger when we have a vibrant Democratic Party.”

State Sen. Shane Massey’s (R-NC) first time talking to the president came last week when Trump called him to discuss how he wanted the redistricting to happen, the New York Times reported.

Contrary to Trump’s wishes, Massey joined four other Republicans in voting against the proposal that would have allowed for the Senate to reconvene later this month for a redistricting effort.

The legislature has until 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 14, to approve House-passed changes to the sine die resolution, which would state what the lawmakers can take up after that date.

“Now, the state appears unlikely to join the redistricting frenzy that has taken hold across the country,” the Times reported.

Massey delivered a dramatic speech on the floor Tuesday before the 29-17 vote, arguing that he has “too much southern blood in me to surrender.”

“Our state is stronger with vibrant parties,” the senate leader stated. “I think we, as a whole, are stronger when we have a clash of ideas. I think that’s true at the national level, I think it’s true at the state level.”

He continued on to argue that “Republicans are stronger when the Democrat Party is vibrant and viable.”

“You are. Competition makes you better, y’all,” he added.

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