Wednesday, July 17, 2024

The fallout continues after Saturday's shooting

 

Four days after the assassination attempt on President Trump, there's still an awful lot of smoke blocking our view of the fire.  Unfortunately, that's likely to be the case for months to come.  The fact that the would-be assassin was allowed to get "danger close" and fire several shots is an indictment in itself of the US Secret Service and every other agency involved in providing security that day.  It was an unconscionable failure of policies and systems that should have been so well-rehearsed that they were almost on autopilot.  We've had so much experience of providing security to high-risk targets that this should have been a no-brainer.  Clearly, it wasn't.  Heads should roll at the highest level, and if any element of Diversity-Equity-Inclusion and other progressive buzzword policies can be shown to have contributed to the failure, it/they should be discarded at once and all concerned re-trained using more realistic, real-world-applicable frameworks.

Will that happen under President Biden?  Oh, hell no.  Might it happen under President Trump if he's re-elected, and if he stays alive (despite all the Secret Service, the FBI and other agencies can do) until he takes office?  You bet your life!  I daresay there'll be (metaphorically) a swinging sword scything its way through Washington DC, and it'll likely start with those agencies and people who failed so abysmally last Saturday.

I'm having fun watching the Democratic Party almost fall apart under the strain of deciding what to do next.  I'm pretty sure President Trump boosted his electoral chances very highly through surviving the attack;  most political commentators appear to agree.  That means any potential candidate to replace Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket has to face the very real possibility that he/she will be almost guaranteed to lose, all other things being equal (which they seldom are, of course).  That might spell political disaster for their future career.  To run and fail is much worse, in terms of future electoral optics, than to withdraw from the race out of "loyalty for the incumbent", appear to give him as much support as possible, then commiserate with him over his failure as he heads for the old age home.  Most potential Presidential candidates among the Democrats understand that very well.  I daresay they're now pushing for a Biden/Harris ticket in the confident expectation it'll fail, leaving the way open for one of them to replace it in future.

As for President Trump;  he continues to be the motivating spark trying to light a fire in the Republican Party.  I've been very disappointed in the Republican convention so far.  There appears to be a general lack of enthusiasm, drive and energy.  It's largely the same old, same old pious political platitudes.  Trump's selection of J. D. Vance as his vice-presidential running mate interests me very much, for a number of reasons.

  1. Vance, like Trump, has for most of his life been outside electoral politics.  He only entered the Senate two years ago.  Prior to that, he made his own way in life, and comes from what many call the "underclass" of society.  He's a self-made man, in that sense.  That means he understands President Trump, and the two will probably work well together.
  2. Vance is young enough (almost 40) to have decades left in his political career.  If he and Trump do a good job, he might be elected as President for one or two terms when Trump finally lays down the gavel.  However, would this be best for him?  He'd end up in his early 50's as an ex-President with very little to do.  He's unlikely to take well to that;  he'll be young and energetic enough to want to do more, but what is there that can compare to the Presidency?  It'll be interesting to watch how this works out.
  3. I think it's very worthwhile to analyze those who are opposed to Vance's selection, and their reasons for their position.  He seems to be annoying all the right people!  As one source put it:  "If Mitt Romney doesn't like J. D. Vance, then J. D. Vance was the right choice."
I acknowledge that some have concerns about Vance's background, "conservative credentials" and other things.  To them all, I say:  give President Trump and Vice-President Vance space and time to work.  Politics is the art of the possible, not the perfect.  Neither man is exactly who I'd like to see in their positions;  but they're both far better than every alternative currently available.  We're never going to see candidates who tick every box on our lists.  Let's settle for those who tick most of them, and support them as they get to work.

One thing I must say, very vehemently, is that I'm sickened and disgusted by those who latched on to the fact that Vance's wife is of Indian descent (although born here in the USA).  So what?  Does her race make any difference to whether or not she's a good person?  They also object to the fact that she's Hindu, while her husband is Catholic.  It's their business to make that work for their family, not ours.  Leave them alone to do so!  Racism is still alive and well in the USA, and to see it so nakedly on display in the disparaging comments made about Mrs. Vance is nauseating.  I know some few of my readers are among those raising such objections, which saddens me.  I can only suggest that if they feel that way, they shouldn't be reading my blog either, because there's no place for such attitudes here.

In closing, let me repeat that I'm neither a Republican nor a Democrat.  I'm genuinely independent in my thinking, and will always support the best candidate for a given position rather than a political party.  (Yes, that means I might vote for a Democrat over a Republican if the former candidate warranted it, and/or the latter candidate was a particularly poor politician.)  However, in the present situation in this country, there's only one side that appears to be trying to restore genuinely constitutional government;  what President Abraham Lincoln famously summarized as "government of the people, by the people, for the people".  I may not agree with every position taken by that party, but its foundation(s) is/are solid in that sense (unlike their opposition).  Therefore, that side, and its candidates, gets my vote.  We'll "sweat the petty stuff" later.

Peter


23 comments:

  1. I, too, have come to conclusion that any potential replacement for the Drooler-in-Chief is going to be toast this election cycle, between the
    curtain opening and exposing the Dem's treatment of Pres. Drooler and all the antics surrounding and following the continued persecution of Trump.

    So, well, they'll run the Bungler and the Hyena, knowing they're going to probably not be able to make a margin-of-cheat large enough to knock Team Trump out of the picture.

    Expect to see a lot of underhanded moves between now and January 20th, 2025. Stacking of decks, emplacement of regulations and lawfare and outright chicanery, theft and other illegal things, doubling down on doubling down on all the bullscat they can before the hammer comes flying down.

    And trust the general mob of Republicans to whine about Trump's administration's treatment of the demo-traitors and outright treasonous coup-ers from 2016 to the inauguration. I do believe there's no statute-of-limitations on treason and insurrection, real insurrection like what Mattis and Milley committed while in uniform or representing our military.

    ReplyDelete
  2. My wife's objection to Vance are the previous 'Never Trumper' stance he has done in the past before his conversion. She fears this man is another RINO who will not help Trump if he should require it.

    If Trump is satisfied and has vetted Vance himself, it should be good. Trump has likely had to find out the BS artists out there and decide if they can be trusted. I hope he is right. Those swamp creatures come at the worst times.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Democrats ran a dead dog candidate against Hoover as they knew a major recession was near.

    Then pounded the Republicans with the blame for the Great Depression with Hoovervilles for homeless shanties and newspapers over bums laying on the street (druggie today) as Hoover blankets.

    Might be the Democrats plan again?

    Got TRUSTED friends and trusted family to ride out the social-economic storm?

    Michael

    ReplyDelete
  4. Trump is our best and only hope, however I have been serially disappointed with him on multiple levels.
    He is an avowed lover of Israel. Sorry, I thought this was America First? See Vance, as well. They both suck jew pee pee. Every time. If you've gone to the wailing wall, you're not one of us, you're captured by the ADL.
    He surrounded himself with swamp creatures last time, we all knew it was a mistake. So far he's announce Powell is staying on. Dimon for Treasury Sec? Really?!?! Who else? Myorkas? Seriously, stop right here, I'm done, he's a fraud. Those 2 names announced so far alone tell me he hasn't learned a GOD DAMNED THING in the last 8 years. Which begs the ultimate conclusion I have about him...
    I could go on w/ the disappointing incidences, but the amount doesn't matter. I don't trust the guy because he's making all of the same mistakes all over again, which tells me, they weren't mistakes the first time.
    He could be bluffing, holding his form until he gets in, but I don't think so. I think he's captured. He's going to get in and spend 4 years making the economy better, while hamstrung on anything else. It gives the liberals 4 more years before Hairgel takes over and he'll have a functioning economy by then. They can blame all their problems on Trump, and he will never, ever take any of them to jail. Never. When he passed on Kankles, I knew he was a fraud. His entire campaign in 2016 was about "lock her up!" and w/in hours of him having the capacity, his tune changed 180-degrees? She suffered enough? You believe that, eh? Good for you!
    He's not going to save us. He's going to distract We The People long enough for the new world order to get their feet back under them and provide cover until they unleash the next who-knows-what... by then I suspect WW3 will be in full swing, because they're not going to let him pull out of Ukiestan.

    ReplyDelete
  5. My take on the choice is that one offering repeatedly demonstrated that they are actively seeking chaos and the end of the rules that lubricate happy and productive citizens. The other choice wants to stop chaos and wants to address the drivers of that chaos.

    The choice is even starker than Lincoln's phrase. It is a choice between safety, protection of the buying power of fixed incomes or in jobs without the power to demand higher wages, access to medical care, protection of private property and freedom of movement.

    The very, very basic, foundational requirements of civilization.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Post assassination attempt analysis would lead one to conclude Trump was supposed to be dead on Monday. What a fine kettle of fish that would have been. It would have been reminiscent of the post 2020 election mantra.There's no evidence of fraud/conspiracy. Tough luck folks. Now the dems are soiling themselves. Believe they're done at our own peril.

      Delete
  6. The lack of clarity has the stench of intentional misinformation.
    In just the last two days, we've been told the local PD had jurisdiction, the roof pitch presented too great a risk, and the latest being SS had operational control including the buildings where the shooter was.

    Cheadle must be fired, pension and gov income returned, lifetime prohibition of any association, including employment, at any govt agency. Why this hasn't happened already is likely because she is acting not as Director but as mouthpiece for someone above her.

    I cannot fathom that this was not a govt op. Now they are scrambling to come up with an absolutely believable story. The level of incompetence is astounding and pervasive. It continues even now as they struggle to create alternate facts.

    One likely conclusion is a second attempt which would make this current fiasco to be forgotten. To make it go away, the best action would be to conjure and implement a much greater event, one with deeper ramifications.
    I think that would neccesitate more than assassination of a single person. Something on the scale of OK City bombing.

    Because they can't get their act together. Because of incompetence and infighting.

    By the way; we just witnessed the gross incompetence of DEI courtesy the SS ground team. It would be hilariously funny if not dead serious. That is a horrible thing to say. But it is undeniable.

    Lest anyone forget, this is part and parcel the fundamental transformation.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Vance is a creature of the Peter Thiel and the 'PayPal Mafia' tech billionaire faction.

    That's not to say he's a bad choice. The self-made bits are non knocking up his siblings or cousins in Appalachia, surviving an enlisted tour and getting into Harvard Law (takes some doing at the best of times if you're White these days). Once he got in, he was set for life provided he didn't piss off the wrong people. In fact he got taken under Amy Chua's wing and she clearly introduced him to all the right folks. After a few years, he got invited out to California by Thiel and set up in venture capital so that he could be 'self-made' (woohoo) for his later political work for Thiel & Co. Thiel as I'm sure you're all aware is the man behind Palantir which is what your lovely government uses to spy on you and profile you six ways from Sunday. So he's deep-state aligned. Just a different deep-state faction than some other ones who hate Trump. None of them care much about YOU.... Little People.

    But he was likely best choice for Trump. Also scares the living @#$% out of the Progressives and makes them less likely to assassinate Trump should he actually make it to inauguration next January.

    As for the Indian Wife. No big deal although have to say the pearl clutching and moral posturing about 'Racism' simply doesn't work any more with non-Boomers. Everyone else votes their skin and only suicidal Whites or those who like to preen and then bug out to other countries when going gets tough have the luxury of Rectitude (says who, anyway?) Indian Wife is almost a good thing because must worry the Tribe who are looking over their shoulders and majorly spritzing about the legions of even more nepotistic Indians who are rapidly starting to dislodge them in the halls of power. So there's that.

    The real piece of stupidity was having the Sikh woman praying at the Republican Convention. Yes I know Sikhism is a theoretically wonderful religion yada yada and pay no attention to some of the recent fun and games in Canada with Indian security services assassinating Sikh separatists, etc.. But it's the optics. By all means talk broad church... but frankly it's @#$%ing stupid misreading of the tenor of the times to be putting an Alien out front. And spare me the Proposition Nation nonsense. If Republicans actually want to win, they'd better have less of the Sikhs and less of that tattooed Black literal Rapper's Ho they had up on stage too. It's not rocket science, winning. But Republicans long for Death, maybe. Anyway fingers crossed they don't @#$% it up. Running out of chances.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sikhism / separatism ticks off the Hindus. So that's always a plus in my book.

      Delete
  8. "One thing I must say, very vehemently, is that I'm sickened and disgusted by those who latched on to the fact that Vance's wife is of Indian descent"

    This I agree with 100%. I wasn't even aware of his spouse's lineage or religion and couldn't possibly care less. Has no bearing whatsoever on his suitability as VP or President and to imply that there's an issue just because of her race and/or religion is the very definition of bigotry.

    "Yes, that means I might vote for a Democrat over a Republican if the former candidate warranted it, and/or the latter candidate was a particularly poor politician."

    This I disagree with 100%. That's not being "independent" that's being duped. You may be voting for the most conservative democrat in history, but you're giving the democrats one more seat and it's the party you have to worry about, not the individual. If your "conservative" democrat gives them the majority, they get to determine what legislation reaches the floor and in what order, they get to determine who chairs the committees and they have the majority of votes. If their majority is greater than +1, even if your "conservative" democrat votes against the worst of their liberal policies every time, they'll still be able to enact them.

    We fought this battle in Virginia for decades. The Conservatives weren't conservative enough so "moderate" democrats were elected, giving the democrats majorities which mean the most extreme liberal agenda is what gets through the legislative process, regardless of how "conservative" the moderate democrats are. The few moderates gave the insane lefties the majority and it's the insane lefties who control the party and the agenda, not the moderates.

    The only thing that's saving us right now is a Republican governor, but he was only elected in response to the parental rights in schools issue that was at such a forefront right before the election. He's limited to one term so he's going to be gone soon and I'm confident that the leftists will be able to keep their insane wing in check this time long enough to get a reliable lefty elected (who will present as "moderate" right up until the oath of office) and then they'll be off to the races.

    Virginia is on the verge of becoming the California of the east coast.

    Anyway, I understand upholding principles and voting for the "best" candidate, but unless that candidate is an independent, you have to face the reality that you're not only voting for the candidate, you're voting for the party that said candidate represents. If you don't support the agenda of that party, you're extremely naïve in casting your vote for that candidate.

    ReplyDelete
  9. JD Vance is very different to every other current major politician in terms of his background as I wrote at my substack

    Like you I see this as a positive.

    ReplyDelete
  10. BRM, there is no questioning of a believer of Jesus as the only way to salvation becoming one, through marriage, to a pagan?

    ReplyDelete
  11. I'm also taken aback that so many of "us" are concerned about his wife being an Ishmaelite. Better that than your stereotypical 4th-Wave Feminist TikTok starlet.

    ReplyDelete
  12. @JaimeInTexas: In Vance's case, no, because he was not a believer when he married his wife. He has since become a Christian, with her active help and support, because she believed it was what was right for him. I'm certainly not going to condemn that!

    @Sailorcurt: I'm afraid we're going to have to disagree about that. I don't identify the party with the person. Sure, many politicians are like that, but one does the best one can with the candidates available - if necessary, voting against the worst one rather than for the best one (if there isn't a best one to be found). Consider Tulsi Gabbard: she's honest, ethical and direct, despite her (until recently) Democratic politics. I'd vote for her in a heartbeat over a Mitt Romney or a Mitch McConnel, despite their being Republicans, because I think they have no ethics or honesty at all. They're RINO's of the worst kind.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Race is not merely skin color and facial structure, it is also culture.

    Religion is one of the major facets of culture. Hindus are not Christians. Americans are Christians (at least culturally). Mrs. Vance, nice though she might be, is by no means culturally American, even though born and raised here. And I voted for JD.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I'd rather have an atheist or a Satanist who respected the Constitution in the White House over a born-again Christian who'd swallowed the Socialist line hook, line and sinker (Jimmy Carter, I'm looking at YOU!)

    ReplyDelete
  15. "Vance is young enough (almost 40) to have decades left in his political career."

    Nobody wants a career politician so that is a negative for him.

    sam

    ReplyDelete
  16. I am going to be highly surprised if there even is an election...and...if there is, the demonrats are just gonna steal it again anyway, so start the revolution.

    ReplyDelete
  17. It makes a difference when conversion is after marriage.
    But converted because a pagan's witness and encouragement? Good thing she did not think Zoroastrianism was right for him. After all, all religions lead to the same place.

    Just to be clear, I am not addressing the freedom or the political.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Many years ago a friend serving in the Peace Corps in India married an Indian woman. After their return to the US, she served as a Republican in the Wyoming House for two or three terms.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Peter,
    Respectfully, Vance's meteoric rise is highly suspicious. As @Zaphod says, Thiel is one possibility. But the other obvious possibility remains his Indian wife's family. It is right to be suspicious.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Biden will continue to assign all junior female SS agents to Trump and Vance. And incompetent SS travel agents in charge.

    I wonder if Biden will change the rules of engagement to two free shots instead of just one free shot ?

    ReplyDelete
  21. Small Mea Culpa:

    Vance and Chua are Yale Law, not Harvard Law.

    Not that that makes an iota of difference to any of us peons.

    My broader point remains that Vance as VP pick vs any other option is just the Elephants Dancing -- all potential VP candidates were/are sock puppets of various Deep State factions. Getting too excited about which one got the job is foolish. I reiterate that Vance is probably the Least Bad Choice and that's good. Is all.

    ReplyDelete

ALL COMMENTS ARE MODERATED. THEY WILL APPEAR AFTER OWNER APPROVAL, WHICH MAY BE DELAYED.