The Deep Breath

The need for discernment in the days ahead will be greater than ever. To paraphrase Tolkien from Return of the King, “It’s the deep breath before the plunge… the board is set; the pieces are moving.”

I believe the United States currently faces its greatest crisis since 1861. Yes, we’ve fought against Nazis, Soviets, etc, but as Abraham Lincoln put it more than 20 years before the Civil War, “if destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher.” As things currently stand, no matter who is inaugurated January 20, roughly half the country will consider him an illegitimate president. Trump supporters have good reasons to believe the election last month was manipulated to produce a Biden victory. But should Trump’s challenges prevail in the state legislatures and courts, and overturn that verdict, the unprecedented chain of events will seem equally shady to the Left, who simply cannot abide the Bad Orange Man.

Unless there is indisputable evidence the public can see and easily understand, I don’t see how this situation resolves without a high probability of the two factions resorting to blows. Not one, but two retired three-star military officers have suggested publicly that Trump use some form of martial law, during which the military would oversee a new election — one supposedly safeguarded against the chicanery that appears to have occurred in November. As a retired military officer, who swore to uphold the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, I’m instinctively appalled at any suggestion the president take such action. Suspending standing law during an ’emergency,’ real or perceived, has often been the first act of a would-be tyrant. Regular readers of this blog know I have been a Trump supporter, and believe his actions and agenda have been largely good for the country. But I’ve also noted more than once he is a flawed character, and his public displays reveal a temperament that needs external moderation and governance. Unbound, even briefly, by the framework carefully crafted by our nation’s founders, it is not clear what sort of executive he might become.

And yet… is that more dangerous than the real possibility of a Leftist cabal seizing unchallenged power (including the Senate, which is still up for grabs) through what appear to be constitutional means, but are in reality a sham version of what is supposed to be an expression of the people’s will? If the president has conclusive evidence the election was severely compromised, and neither the State legislatures nor the courts will intervene, what does the president’s own oath to the Constitution require in response? Faced with large-scale (and, after Ft. Sumter, violent) rejection of Federal authority in 1861, Lincoln did not hesitate to act, suspending the right of habeas corpus, and issuing a call for 75,000 militia — in essence, preparing to apply martial law in the States attempting to secede. Lincoln’s actions were controversial then (four additional States — Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas — seceded rather than comply) and debated today, but there is no question they helped achieve his stated purpose: to enforce the Union.

In issuing his call for militia, Lincoln cited “combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings, or by the powers vested in the Marshals by law.” Is it possible today, as some accuse, that not only Democrat, but some Republican officials, are unwilling to consider evidence that would vindicate the president? That they would rather see him defrauded of office, because he is not of their globalist/corporatist clique that crosses party lines? Possibly. We foolishly like to think “it can’t happen here,” but history certainly provides ample exhibits of the complete corruption of legal and governmental structures. Would such deliberate derelictions of duty constitute “combinations” that justified the president to act outside the Constitution in an effort to save it?

That such a case is being voiced — loudly — in some quarters shows the peril we are in. I only know this: if Trump “crosses the Rubicon,” as some are urging, he’d better be prepared to show indisputable evidence of its necessity, including complicity in an election scheme by all the normal entities (legislatures, courts, etc) that should have blocked it. Otherwise, any legitimacy he has will be forfeited in the public’s mind, and that is where the real battle is always fought.

Precipitous action without ironclad evidence will likely destroy the barely United States — and may do so even with it. Our republic has been sick for a long time — some would argue since the end of the War Between the States. Like ancient Rome, we have our patrician families: Clinton, Bush, Kennedy, and other, more regional surnames that recur every election. They jostle for power with public consequences, just as their counterparts did centuries ago. The personal ambitions that subverted the celebrated virtues of Republican Rome, and eventually its society, are the same sinful ones present in our own.

Pray, fellow patriot. For wisdom, clarity and discernment for all our countrymen. For selfless statesmanship of a kind that occasionally manifests and diffuses explosive situations. For decisiveness by those who may be called upon to act in extraordinary circumstances. And most of all, for a turn to Christ, who alone can bridge the wide fault lines that have grown dangerously active in this country. Pray, and pay close attention, for in these circumstances, deception abounds.

When all politics aren’t, in fact, local

Former U.S. House Speaker “Tip” O’Neal is most commonly associated with asserting that “all politics is local.”  As we’ve moved away from Federalism and republicanism toward democratic homogenization in this country, I think that’s become less and less true:

Coloradans are drawing a line in the asphalt when it comes to California’s growing influence on their SUVs, trucks and votes.

The Colorado-based Freedom to Drive Coalition filed a lawsuit this month against the state’s adoption of California’s zero-emissions vehicle standards, arguing that the rules violate state law and would add thousands of dollars to the cost of the heavy-duty vehicles favored by drivers navigating Colorado’s snowy roads.

Meanwhile, supporters of the Electoral College are balking at the lopsided flood of cash pouring in from California to prevent Colorado voters from overturning the National Popular Vote bill, which Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, signed into law in March.

Figures compiled by Protect Colorado’s Vote show that more than 98% of the donations to Yes on National Popular Vote have been from Californians, while Coloradans have contributed 99% of the revenue raised to exit the compact.

“Obviously, California is incredibly engaged in getting Colorado’s votes,” said Mesa County Commissioner Rose Pugliese, who heads the referendum campaign.

This situation exemplifies why the Electoral College was put into place.  Without it, just 9 States (California, Texas, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Georgia and Florida) could elect the president, since they account for just over half the U.S. population.  Other States would become mere subsidiaries of one of these population centers.  Those who want the popular vote to prevail in presidential elections know they face an uphill battle to amend the Constitution.  Thus the “National Popular Vote” bill effort in many states, trying to put together a coalition to lump together a bunch of States to do what I believe to be an unconstitutional end-run around the Electoral College.

As the article above shows, what may work for California (and that’s arguable) may not apply to the conditions of another State, like Colorado.  This is one of many reasons the Founders intended most governance to be local (State and below), with the Federal government largely charged with handling the external affairs of the federation of States.  Too much of the divisiveness in this country is driven by efforts to impose “one size allegedly fits all” solutions from Washington, D.C. (or Sacramento, in this case).  What’s tragically ironic is that the loudest proponents of unitary government suddenly find their inner secessionist whenever the Federal Government goes against their agenda.  States like New York are passing local bills enshrining the legality of abortion, since many expect Roe v. Wade to be reviewed, revised or overturned in the next few years by a Supreme Court with more constitutional originalists on its bench.  The Left will stick up for “States’ rights” in such a scenario, but more times than not, they are happy to use Federal power to bludgeon the entire nation into compliance with their agenda.

Campaign financing has been another insidious erosion of local politics.  Note in the linked article who is funding the two sides of the National Popular Vote campaign.  Why are Californians allowed to contribute to campaigns in Colorado?  Another example is Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortes.  Once she won her primary in 2018, out-of-state money provided the majority of her general election campaign financing.  How does this square with the idea a ‘representative’ reflects local opinion and priorities?  (Spoiler: it doesn’t.)

What this does is turn every Congressional/Senatorial race into a national campaign.  We hear about the outsize influence of billionaires.  Well, guess who has the wherewithal to fund candidates all across the country?  That’s not the vision the Founders had in mind.  Want to reign in the influence of campaign contributions?  Two steps: only allow individual citizens (not corporations, PACs or any other organizational source) to contribute, and require them to contribute only to their State/local races.  As is often pointed out, only the office of the presidency was designed to be elected by the entire nation.  The current campaign financing model undermines that.

A truly federal system allows for variations and experimentation of policy to best meet local conditions and aspirations.  We have moved away from that to our great detriment.  How about some of that magic “diversity” when it comes to letting locals set their own agenda?  Save the Federal power for things that truly matter to everyone — like upholding the “Life” part of “Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness” by protecting the unborn.

“When you strike at a king…”

“…you better not miss.”

Victor Davis Hanson summarizes what we now know about the failed Deep State efforts since 2016 to delegitimize, undermine and remove the duly elected president of the United States.  As Hanson notes, “there are many elements to what in time likely will become recognized as the greatest scandal in American political history…”

In candidate and President Trump’s case that prepping of the battlefield translated into a coordinated effort among the media, political progressives and celebrities to so demonize Trump that his imminent removal likely would appear a relief to the people. Anything was justified that led to that end.

All through the 2016 campaign and during the first two years of the Trump presidency the media’s treatment, according to liberal adjudicators of press coverage, ran about 90 percent negative toward Trump—a landmark bias that continues today.

It’s worth noting this demonization efforts extends to Trump’s supporters.  In its haste to smear Trump and the MAGA movement, the media recently got both the story of the Covington students and a hoax ‘hate crime’ against a TV star badly wrong.  But they wonder why so many Americans are receptive to the charge the corporate news media is “fake news.”  Hanson continues:

At the same time, liberal attorneys, foundations, Democratic politicians, and progressive activists variously sued to overturn the election on false charges of rigged voting machines. They sought to subvert the Electoral College. They introduced articles of impeachment. They sued to remove Trump under the Emoluments Clause. They attempted to invoke the 25th Amendment. And they even resurrected the ossified Logan Act—before focusing on the appointment of a special counsel to discredit the Trump presidency. Waiting for the 2020 election was seen as too quaint.

During the 2016 election, the Obama Department of Justice warped the Clinton email scandal investigation, from Bill Clinton’s secret meeting on an airport tarmac with Attorney General Loretta Lynch, to unethical immunity given to the unveracious Clinton aides Huma Abedin and Cheryl Mills, to James Comey’s convoluted predetermined treatment of “likely winner” Clinton, and to DOJ’s Bruce Ohr’s flagrant conflict of interests in relation to Fusion GPS.

About a dozen FBI and DOJ grandees have now resigned, retired, been fired, or reassigned for unethical and likely illegal behavior—and yet have not faced criminal indictments.

Here’s hoping the key word in that last paragraph is “yet.”

The Crown Jewel in the coup was the appointment of special counsel Robert Muller to discover supposed 2016 Trump-Russian election collusion. Never has any special investigation been so ill-starred from its conception.  Mueller… packed his investigative team with lots of Clinton donors and partisans, some of whom had legally represented Clinton subordinates and even the Clinton Foundation or voiced support for anti-Trump movements…

Mueller’s preemptive attacks offered an effective offensive defense for the likely felonious behavior of John Brennan, James Clapper, James Comey, Andrew McCabe, Bruce Ohr, Peter Strzok, and a host of others. While the Mueller lawyers threatened to destroy the lives of bit players like Jerome Corsi, George Papadopoulos, and Roger Stone, they de facto provided exemption to a host of the Washington hierarchy who had lied under oath, obstructed justice, illegally leaked to the press, unmasked and leaked names of surveilled Americans, and misled federal courts under the guise of a “higher loyalty” to the cause of destroying Donald J. Trump.

…sanctimonious arrogant bureaucrats in suits and ties used their government agencies to seek to overturn the 2016 election, abort a presidency, and subvert the U.S. Constitution. And they did all that and more on the premise that they were our moral superiors and had uniquely divine rights to destroy a presidency that they loathed.

And if there’s any justice left in this nation, their overreach will result in the destruction of an unelected Deep State apparatus that patriots have come to loathe.  I’ve sensed in recent days the administration may be preparing to finally counterattack this network and pursue these traitors.  I pray that is in fact the case.  If our Republic is to survive, a very painful and public example must be made.  Make the rubble bounce, Mr. President!

Playing a dangerous game

I still can’t figure out why anyone would base their political actions on the advice of people who by definition live in a fantasy world.  Nevertheless, the brave, heroic, selfless, right-thinking leading lights of Hollywood have descended from the California heights to try to get presidential electors to break their pledges and vote for someone other than Donald Trump.

Of course, I only recognize three names from the entire video, so that goes to show how much I usually digest of their nonsense (Most weeks I can count the number of hours of TV I watch on one hand).

I doubt that 38 electors will throw the ultimate monkey wrench into the machine, forcing a vote in the House of Representatives.  But it should never come to that.  Most electors are bound by State laws to support the candidate they’ve pledged for.  All this video shows yet again is that the only thing that matters to the Left is power.  Not integrity.  Not respect for the Constitution or more than two centuries of tradition in which only a handful of electors have broken their pledge.  Not a commitment to a peaceful and respectful transition of power — and this should be one aspect of America we don’t take for granted.  I still believe we can be proud that in 2000, while the election was in doubt for weeks, there were no tanks on the street; no Guardsmen on the street corners.  That would never have been the case in many parts of the world, but we just expect a proper hand-off.  And these overpaid idiots are putting even that in jeopardy.

One could make an argument that these desperate people are advocating subversion of the lawful authority.  And this is the worst time in American political history to be playing a game of chicken like that.  In the unlikely event their little temper tantrum prevails, and the election is thrown to the House of Representatives, I believe there will be hell to pay.  For many (including me), it will be the final confirmation that our self-appointed elites have no intention of playing by the rules.

They’ve made that pretty clear already during this election.  In their desperation to shoehorn Her Hillariness into the White House, they’ve dropped all pretense of objectivity (or even rationality in some cases).  But they need to consider this:

If one side openly defies the rules, what binds the other side to them?  Obama’s administration turned the full weight of agencies like the IRS on their opponents.  Now that they’ve weaponized our government, they’re realizing the old “sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander,” and they’re in for a trek through what is now a much harsher political wilderness.

May that trek be long and painful.  Then maybe some of them will actually put their money where their hyperactive mouth is and actually leave the country for good.

If Trump’s ascendance to Mordor D.C accomplishes only that, it will still be more significant and worthwhile than anything his predecessor has touched in the last eight years.  Don’t let the border hit you on the way out, Martin Sheen…