House Democrat-Turned-Republican Van Drew Says More May Join GOP

Posted on March 5, 2020 by LifeZette

New Republican House member from New Jersey Jeff Van Drew, who switched parties from Democrat over the impeachment hoax, says there are other moderate House Democrats waiting to join him in GOP ranks. According to him, they are waiting to see how he does as a Republican.

“When it does go well, I do believe there will be other people that will think the same way. There are some good moderate Democrats on the other side and I really believe they belong on the Republican side,” he told Fox News’ “Outnumbered Overtime.”

Van Drew said that the Democrats were “lurching” too far to the left.

“It’s becoming more of a socialist party and that is not what I signed up for,” stressing that he will not be a lockstep Republican vote on every matter. And, he said, “that’s the way politics should be.”

How does the presidential race stack up according to Van Drew?

“I think they saw some polling that scared the daylights out of them and now the Democrats are stuck with a candidate that almost nobody wants,” he said, referring to Joe Biden.

Van Drew’s comments were made Monday, before Biden’s Super Tuesday victories. But the point is still valid. Smart Democrats see the problem child Joe Biden is on the campaign trail. His gaffes are only surpassed by his strange speech patterns. This man will be raw meat for Donald Trump during the debates and there are likely vulnerable Democrat House freshmen, and others, from moderate districts who don’t relish running on the same ticket with Sleepy Joe.

They have enough problems as it is trying to convince their middle of the road electorate that there is a good reason they belong to the de facto socialist open borders and infanticide party. Will some of them jump ship before an actual socialist is their party leader? Or leave before a guy who mumbles the Declaration of Independence takes the big nod in Milwaukee?

If just under twenty of them did, Nancy Pelosi would be looking for a new job.

This piece originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

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The Nice Hillary? Klobuchar Surprises In New Hampshire

Posted on February 12, 2020 by LifeZette

By David Kamioner | February 12, 2020

If Hillary had been more personable, not the shrew we publicly know and loathe, could she have pulled off the 2016 general election?

Well, probably not. However, she could have made it closer in the Electoral College.

The same is likely true for the surprisingly ascending Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. The senator landed an upset in New Hampshire with a very legit third place. She is nice, in a know-it-all kindergarten teacher sort of way. Her accent is just short of the cast of “Fargo” and she looks better now than she did at the start of the process.

Klobuchar’s midwestern twang gives her the patina of sincerity and her moderate appeal plays especially to women.

MORE NEWS: Biden stuns New Hampshire voter by calling her a ‘lying, dog-faced pony soldier’

But when America is at peace and the economy is firing on all cylinders we hardly ever throw a president out of office. Plus, if she tried the cuddly Nurse Ratched routine on Donald Trump in a debate he’d have her for a snack.

So, that’s where she may go. But how did she get here?

Given the modern Democratic party’s tendency towards sexism, only her gender makes her competitive if she doesn’t have too many other negatives that a Democratic audience would take issue with. She doesn’t.

She, like the rest of the Dem field, makes a fetish out of getting Trump. Some of them though are still whining about impeachment. Not her. She has exited the wambulance and moved on to other matters, like trying to convince the middle class life is hard when they are undergoing one of the biggest economic booms in American history.

Klobuchar wants to go back to Obamacare, like Buttigieg, and that puts her at odds with Bernie and Liz on the issue. So far that duo have concentrated their fire on Pete regarding healthcare. But if Klobuchar does well enough in Nevada and South Carolina, not to mention Super Tuesday, she may well come in for a lock on their radar. In fact, Liz may try an end run on the female vote and hit her on not seeming, as opposed to being, feminist enough.

MORE NEWS: What if Biden drops out?

And oddly, Amy seems to have guy hands.

So we have a new player. An interesting one. And even though she would probably lose to the president, she needs to be taken seriously. The GOP “red tsunami” crowd should definitely take note. Lest their confirmation bias, play right into Dem hands. Again.

This piece originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

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Tuesday Morning Recap: Buttigieg And Sanders In Dead Heat, Trump Secures Another Judge And Could Roger Stone Be Pardoned?

Posted on February 11, 2020 by LifeZette

By LifeZette Staff | February 11, 2020

The New Hampshire primary

Buttigieg and Sanders remain in a dead heat going into the New Hampshire today. A large turnout will favor Sanders. Buttigieg is counting on depressed college student turnout, in both senses of the phrase, and a moderate voter base. Biden has to finish in the top three or he is in serious trouble. Warren has to just not get completely clobbered. Our call is Sanders. Then it’s on for them to savage Mike Bloomberg.

Coronavirus update

World Health Organization officials traveling in China today called the coronavirus “a very grave threat to the rest of the world.” Over 100 have died there from the virus and 43,000 others have fallen ill from it round the world. 99% percent of the cases are in China. There have been no U.S. deaths as of yet. International monitors speculate China’s rudimentary socialized health system is not capable of handling the crisis. But national pride stops them from asking for significant outside help.

Trump secures another judge

The president gets another judge through the Senate. This time it’s the nomination of Judge Andrew Basher to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell got Basher his upcoming new job with a Monday 46-41 vote in favor. The official nod will be this afternoon.

Space war?

Two Russian satellites are tailing an American spy satellite, coming as close as 100 miles. In space, that’s nudging the guy next to you in the ribs. A U.S. Space Force ( so cool to write that) general says the Russian craft’s actions are “unusual and disturbing.” Not really, Just Vladimir Putin rattling his actually relatively puny sword a bit.

Could Roger Stone be pardoned?

President Trump is hinting he may pardon his former pal Roger Stone. In a tweet this morning he called Stone’s prosecution and upcoming sentencing “horrible and very unfair.”

Across the pond

Germany has been politically upended with the news that Chancellor Angela Merkel’s hand-picked heir apparent, Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, has said no to moving into Merkel’s job. It’s like Mike Pence turning down the presidency after he won the 2024 GOP nomination for president. The Defense Minister made the move because she is upset that the political party of both she and Merkel, the Christian Democratic Union, allied with a hard core anti-immigration party, the AFD, in state elections.

This piece originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

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Democratic Convention Headed Towards Mayhem

Posted on February 11, 2020 by LifeZette

By David Kamioner | February 11, 2020

Have you seen the television series “Veep”? I haven’t.

But my college sophomore eldest daughter has seen it. She, who I programmed…er…um…cough…helped to raise well, tells me one of the last episodes is a hilarious rendition of a brokered convention.

If it actually happens in July in Milwaukee, it won’t be so funny for the Democrats.

For those of you unfamiliar with the concept of a brokered convention, it means no candidate gets to the convention with enough delegates to win on the first ballot. Then, the back stabbing begins.

MORE NEWS: What if Biden drops out?

Since it’s up close and personal retail politics, it gets vicious and easily melodramatic.

In other words, everybody from candidates, to the press, to staffers, start acting like telenovela villains. The resultant grudges are not exactly conducive to a united party going into the fall.

At a brokered melee it’s not “listen to my ideas.” The time for that is well past. It’s pushing a state party chairman into a corner and saying, “This can go one of two ways. Either you get a bridge named after you or I make sure your spouse learns about the male stripper on your staff. You know, the one you share hotel rooms with to ‘economize.’ Your call.”

Anybody from the front runners to the also rans, to the unknown compromise candidates, can walk away with the nomination. The 1924 Democratic convention in NYC went for 103 ballots over 16 days. The compromise candidate won.

The 1940 GOP convention in Philadelphia went 6 ballots and the dark horse guy won after the galleries went bonkers for him. The 1976 GOP convention in Kansas City almost went to a second ballot, but Ford edged out Reagan in the first. Not even close to a brokered convention since then.

Why is this year different?

The Democrats are so abnormally diffused by ideology and faction, even for them, that one candidate may not be able to unite everyone under their tent by July. The party establishment is behind Pete, Joe, and maybe Amy. The hard left wants Bernie or Liz. Then there’s Mike. And if Hillary gets in?

MORE NEWS: Biden stuns New Hampshire voter by calling her a ‘lying, dog-faced pony soldier’

Their attitude towards each other is best typified by paraphrasing Tom Wolfe in “Back to Blood.” When a character is explaining the collective attitudes of South Florida Latins towards each other he says, “One thing you gotta remember. Here, everybody hates everybody.”

That also may be the reigning ethos in Milwaukee in July. At least, we hope it is.

This piece originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

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Latest Democratic Excuse For Iowa Debacle Is… It’s Trump’s Fault

Posted on February 7, 2020 by LifeZette

By David Kamioner | February 6, 2020

Apparently, according to the Democrats, President Trump is all seeing and all knowing. Because that would be the only way he could be held responsible for the complete catastrophe that was the Iowa Democratic caucuses.

But because blaming the president has become an autonomic function for Democrats, some of them are putting out a fantasy retelling of the Iowa mishap that blames Donald Trump for the assisted suicide that was the Democratic Party contest.

It reminds me of the reaction pals of mine had to the film “The DaVinci Code.” I had relatively recently converted to Roman Catholicism and rather gullible friends took the fun but silly fiction as close to fact in regards to the Vatican.

In the movie, Paul Bettany plays an albino Vatican assassin named Silas who goes about killing enemies of the honchos of the RC Church. When certain associates asked how I could join a faith that probably had albino hit men, I gave them the same response I have to the possibility that the president remotely wrecked the Democratic Iowa caucuses.

If only…

The new excuse for the debacle is based around the completely uncorroborated report that evil Trump elves flooded phone lines reserved for Democratic precinct chairs with calls that praised the president. This then held up all results because the proper people could not get through to report their data.

Uh huh, sure.

Interestingly, they must have missed reports that the app used in the caucus voting was developed by former Clinton staffers and that the firm that owns the app has an executive that is the spouse of a top Buttigieg aide. News of that, of course, has sent the Sanders people into ballistic orbits of justified paranoia.

The very latest data on the Iowa misadventure is that Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez wants a mulligan and advocates doing the whole thing again.

He tweeted on Thursday, “Enough is enough. In light of the problems that have emerged in the implementation of the delegate selection plan and in order to assure public confidence in the results, I am calling on the Iowa Democratic Party to immediately begin a recanvass.”

Too little too late, Tom. The 2020 Iowa Democratic caucuses will go down as yet more proof, as if any more was needed, that state and national Democrats are not up to successfully running a simple ballot contest, much less the United States of America.

This piece originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

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New Hampshire primary critical to the survival of several Democrat candidates

Posted on February 6, 2020 by LifeZette

By David Kamioner | February 6, 2020

Like in any proper election analysis, the calls are the political equivalent of an NFL pregame show. You look at the teams, the players, the point spread, and the injured lists. Then you make your prediction.

So, here we go. Welcome to the New Hampshire playoffs.

In a straight primary where raw votes matter more than anything else Sanders has got to be the favorite. His kiddie brigade will help him there, as will his status as a fellow New Englander.

He beat the tar out of Hillary Clinton in the state in 2016 and went on to other big victories in the primary season. But now as then it doesn’t matter, as he gets the big nod no way no how as long as the Hillary types still run the party.

Pete Buttigieg will do well. New Hampshire loves a new outsider, like it took a shine to Sanders last time around. His perceived moderation will play well with the approximately 30% of New Hampshire Democrats who see themselves in the middle and his boyish mien will excite the old lady set.

He is riding a wave from Iowa and that should energize his donor base and his ground game.

Elizabeth Warren has a shot at coming in second. She is also from New England, appeals to the worst sort of females (and the Democrats sport those in hordes), and has been on the ground in the state for awhile. But the feeling in DC is she peaked too early and is now playing for a veep slot.

Joe Biden must take first or second place here or be at serious risk of losing the whole thing. With his pedigree and establishment support anything less than number two here is poison.

If he were to drop out that could set up a Hillary scenario and a Hillary-Bernie rematch. The GOP imagination and political palate salivate just thinking about it.

Also rans like Yang, Klobuchar, and Steyer have to finish in the top three or they will be out of the race soon. Well, granted, Steyer has the cash to stay in for a bit.

And speaking of cash, now gaining a higher profile due to massive ad buys and waiting for them all on Super Tuesday is Mike Bloomberg.

The plot thickens…

This piece originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

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Biden Takes Major Hit in Iowa

Posted on February 6, 2020 by LifeZette

By David Kamioner | February 6, 2020

It wasn’t too long ago that some seasoned political analysts, including this one, thought Joe Biden had a good shot to win the Iowa Democratic caucuses.

Boy, were we wrong.

He not only lost but got relegated to fourth place behind Buttigieg, Sanders, and Warren.

This is a man who has been in the Senate since 1972, who has run for president before, and who was number two in the regime of a president wildly popular with Democrats. He was soundly beaten and made to look foolish by a kid mayor, a newish senator, and a virtual communist.

Why? Several reasons.

No oomph- His people in Iowa showed a remarkable lack of passion. The television shots showed them standing idly by while others were fighting for every single vote and delegate.
No youth appeal- In the college towns, and they are big Democratic centers in Iowa, he was almost shut out. The guy is verging on 80. The Democrats seems to love young anti-semites and socialists these days. Ergo…(anti-semitic socialists? Gee, what historically recent political movement combined those two traits?) an old labor-loving moderate is just not what they are looking for.
Where is Obama? – A lot of Biden’s problems would go away if his former boss endorsed him. But that’s not going to happen because the Obamas are keeping their powder dry for a future Michelle run and don’t want to get into any fights that would tick off other Democrats before they pull the trigger.
The guy is just weird- It’s the gaffes, the fabrications, the nuzzling, the obvious combover/hair work, and the odd intolerance for any other point of view in the Democratic Party.Combine this with an expectation he’d be butchered by Trump in the fall debates and it doesn’t make him attractive to Democrats.
They are looking for someone viable against a popular president who is riding a wave of exoneration and triumph. No one sees Biden as strong enough to fit that bill.

Finally, he’s yesterday’s news- Joe Biden harkens back to a relatively gentler time, if you could call the Clarence Thomas hearings gentle, when you fought like hell then went out for cocktails afterwards.His heyday was twenty years ago and earlier and modern socialist PC Democrats have little to nothing in common with him. That showed in Iowa. If it also does next Tuesday in New Hampshire he is in big trouble.

This piece originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

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Next Three Days Vital for President Trump

Posted on February 3, 2020 by LifeZette

By David Kamioner | February 3, 2020

Monday marks the beginning of three of the most important days in the history of modern America.

On Monday the resumption of the Senate impeachment trial will likely bring the process only two days away from a finish. Senators will get to make speeches on the Senate floor for or against impeachment. From those speeches a good count on the final votes on the charges before the Senate should be able to be discerned. Our call remains 55-45 for the president, thus handing him an impressive victory and complete vindication.

This is the de facto and de jure result no matter what the Democratic strategy may be to ignore the trial outcome and possibly embark on another impeachment investigation and vote. That would be timed for the GOP convention or the fall, when the Democrats still have control of the House. If they do that they will lose the House. So pray that they at least try.

The Iowa Democratic caucus on Monday looks like a close battle between Sanders and Biden. We think Biden will pull it off because many Sanders supporters are young and those under 30 do not usually vote or caucus in large numbers. Trump is probably pulling for Sanders, as are we, for the obvious reason of his non-electability in November. But the Democratic establishment will probably not allow his nomination, just as they cheated him out of it in 2016.

Tuesday brings more trial speeches and the State of the Union address by the president. Expect the Democrats to try a stunt to disrupt the president’s speech. Shouting from the audience, a walkout or boycott, even turning their back on the president are all in their playbook. One or more may take place.

Wednesday should close the chapter, for now, on one of the most divisive and unnecessary dramas in American history, as the Senate will likely vote to acquit President Trump on one count of abuse of power and another of obstruction of Congress. Current smart money has Democrats Manchin and Sinema possibly voting with the president on one or both counts. Jones could also jump to Trump on the votes.

Republicans Romney and Collins could vote to remove the president on one or both counts, with Romney the more likely guilty vote on both charges.

Stay with LifeZette for the latest fast breaking coverage on all these events.

This piece originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

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Senate Impeachment Trial Moves Coming Fast and Furious, Biden Livid

Posted on January 29, 2020 by LifeZette

By David Kamioner | January 29, 2020

Since the gavel went down in the Senate Tuesday afternoon the Hill has been abuzz with activity, plots, and counterplots. Here are the latest developments:

The Biden campaign is hopping mad with House managers and the Democrat Senate for possibly setting up a scenario where Joe Biden or his son Hunter would have to testify at the impeachment trial of President Trump.They know what it would do to their poll numbers and they have seen that Hunter is notoriously bad under pressure. His recent personal issues also do not play well with women. The Biden effort is putting tremendous pressure on Democrats not to permit witnesses at all, arguing that the numbers are just not there to remove Trump, why drag down Biden in a losing cause?

Word out of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office is that they may try a poison pill defense on witnesses. Oh sure, we’ll have witnesses, they say.And every one will be one the Democrats don’t want on the stand. Not only the Bidens, but Ciaramella, Comey, Brennan, Holder, Schiff, Nadler, and maybe even Hillary or Obama. With that prospect, they think the Democrats will think twice about witnesses.
Also, if witnesses are to be called, plots the McConnell office, they will be called at the same ratio they were called in the House. So, the GOP would have four witnesses to every one Democrat witness. Another poison pill gambit.
The White House may try to block any Bolton testimony by exerting executive privilege and then watch it play out in the courts. Bolton could testify anyway, but he may not want to go though the legal headaches of doing it.

Internal GOP polling numbers say this process is helping them with swing voters, as the swings cannot believe the Democrats are blindly defending the Bidens when the evidence of corruption on Burisma and other issues is so overwhelming.
Rumor is that Senators Warren and Sanders have grown happy with the trial and the effect it is having on the Biden campaign. They want the trial to end, but not too quickly.

Correction: In a recent piece we stated “54 Republicans” are in favor of witnesses being called. There are only 53 Republicans in the Senate. It should have read “54 senators”. Mea culpa- DK

This piece originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

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Trump Defense Goes for Broke on Monday

Posted on January 27, 2020 by LifeZette

By David Kamioner | January 27, 2020

Saturday saw the Trump defense team embarrass the Democrat House managers. With a carefully devised message and personality calibration they laid out their case in a concise yet powerful manner.

But Jay Sekulow, the Trump attack dog, said Saturday was but a mere preview. That sets a serious expectation level. What’s the movie going to look like? Here are some possible PR and legal scenarios.

The kitchen sink- The Democrats want it? They get it. After bringing up Hunter Biden and his dad repeatedly on Friday the Democrats have left the door open for the GOP team to walk right through it. Is it a trap? Will they pull a Battle of Cowpens? Unlikely.

It very well could be an invitation from the hard left of the Democrat party to do their dirty work for them and implicate Biden just before the Iowa caucuses.

Just as there are those who say the Pelosi delay was an effort to help Biden by keeping Sanders and Warren out of Iowa close to the election. Either way, Team Trump has said they’re going for it and the possible consequences are devastating for the Democrat legal team.

It will not be too hard to prove that this impeachment effort is but a distraction operation to set aside notice from a myriad number of Democrat scandals, the Bidens among them.

There is no there, there- Pat Cipollone’s team has already shown us this in an entertaining trailer. The main feature looks quite popcorn worthy. The basic premise is, where’s the crime? A phone call? A missed meeting? As Mike Purpura said, “There can’t be a quid pro quo without a quo.”

They could expose the big lie behind the entire Democrat case, that this is a political operation and not a legal argument. It is an attempt to refight the 2016 election by way of impeachment and Senate trial.

It will likely have the same outcome as that election: Donald Trump is the president.

Where is the victim? – If the Ukrainians say they felt no pressure and they didn’t even know about the defense aid delay during the time in question, just who exactly was victimized?

These and other gambits will be featured on Monday by Team Trump. It promises to be a good day for the president’s defense.

This piece originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

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