VIDEO: J.D. Vance: from rags to next Vice-President of the USA!

As expected, Donald J. Trump, once and future President of the United States, has selected Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as his running mate in the 2024 election. I can't think of a more worthy candidate -- a real person, not a political hack. Senator Vance has pulled himself up by the bootstraps, rising out of the grinding poverty of Appalachia to the heights of power and responsibility. Only in America!

Senator Vance tells his own story (up to his graduation from Yale Law School) in Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis (Harper Press, 2016), which I read, even before Mr Vance entered the political arena, for its sociological value. It's a memoir about the Appalachian values of Mr Vance's Kentucky family and the social and socioeconomic problems of his hometown of Middletown, Ohio, where his mother's parents moved when they were young. 

In 2020, Hillbilly Elegy was adapted into a film directed by Ron Howard, starring Glenn Close and Amy Adams. The synopsis: An urgent phone call pulls a Yale Law student back to his Ohio hometown, where he reflects on three generations of family history and his own future. We have a trailer for you.

 

The film got mixed reviews. Even though it was directed by a leading Hollywood progressive, the liberals and their lickspittle media dumped on it for its super-realistic depiction of poor whites and its "far right" overtones. This was in 2020, remember, the year the Democrats stole the election.

The acting by Glenn Close and Amy Adams is excellent, but Hillbilly Elegy is a hard movie to watch -- hard because it's honest. Like The Grapes of Wrath, it's a depiction a struggle many poor American families experience. Liberals like to call these people hillbillies, rednecks, or white trash. Although those words are pejorative, the people are not all bad. Some, like Mr Vance's mother and mamaw persevere against all odds. Some, like Mr Vance, can rise far above their "station in life" by sticking to the values that once made America great.

American Conservative contributor and blogger Rod Dreher expressed admiration for Hillbilly Elegy, saying that the author "draws conclusions... that may be hard for some people to take. But Vance has earned the right to make those judgments. This was his life. He speaks with authority that has been extremely hard won."

A key reason for the book's widespread popularity following its publication in 2016 was its role in explaining Donald Trump's rise to the top of the Republican Party. In particular, it purported to explain why white working class voters became attracted to Mr Trump as a political leader. Although the book doesn't mention Mr Trump by name, the author later commented that it provides perspective on why a voter from the "hillbilly demographic" would support the former POTUS.

Both the book and the movie raise questions about the responsibility of Mr Vance's family and people for their misfortune. He blames hillbilly culture and its supposed encouragement of social rot. He suggests that economic insecurity plays a lesser role. As proof, the author relies on personal experience.

As a grocery store checkout cashier, he watched welfare recipients talk on cell phones, although the working Vance could not afford one. His resentment of those who seemed to profit from poor behaviour while he struggled, combined with his values of personal responsibility and tough love, is presented as a microcosm of the reason for Appalachia's overall political swing from strong Democratic to strong Republican.

This week, Senator Vance will share the platform with President Trump. Read the book and see the movie and be assured that if (God forbid) some terrorist, domestic or foreign, should take out President Trump, Vice-President Vance will be a worthy and capable successor. President Trump couldn't have picked a better running mate, not just to win the election, but to Make America Great Again!

Trump wins 14 of 15 states - libs getting hysterical already

You don't need me to tell you the results, eh. Super Tuesday was (as he said) really Super for President Trump, who already has something like 1000 of the delegate votes he needs to win the Republican nomination.

Nikki Haley didn't congratulate him though, much like offer support. Having spent some $117 million (of other people's money) to win 20 delegates (from Vermont and the Swamp), she now has the chutzpah to say The Donald nees to reach out to all those who voted for her. Yeah... sure...

I watched the results on the Big 3 for a few minutes last night. I started with NBC but had to change channels after about 5 minutes because I could feel my dinner coming up. CBS and ABC weren't much better. The common theme was that the End of Democracy in America is getting near, and all right- ["left-". surely. Ed.] thinking people must do whatever it takes (now that weaponizing the courts has failed) to stop the Orange Man.

Here are two samples of the kind of unbiased commentary featured in the lickspittle media yesterday. One is actual, and one is satire. See if you can tell which one is the real libtard hysteria.  

Mainstream Media Warn If Trump Is Elected He Might Indict His Political Enemies, Imprison Detractors, And Rig Elections In His Favor

Mainstream media outlets warned this week that if former President Trump is re-elected, he might indict his political enemies, imprison opposing journalists, and change the voting rules of future elections to favor his party. 

"If none of the Democrats' 73 indictments against Trump work, Trump might gain the power to have political opponents indicted," warned MSNBC commentator Rachel Maddow. "It's terrifying to think what could happen if a President were to wield the power to bankrupt opponents with bogus charges or intimidate journalists with legal threats. We are talking a danger the likes of which we have never, ever seen." 

Other outlets were reportedly quick to also sound the alarm, with CNN running a four-hour segment on how the DOJ must jail Republicans in order to keep Republicans from gaining the power to jail political opponents. CBS News, having recently seized confidential records from a journalist, called for the imprisonment of any journalist who does not write what the government tells them to write. 

"It's the only way to stop Trump from threatening journalists," explained CBS News President Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews. "We have to bend or break every moral and ethical rule in existence to keep Trump from breaking the rules." 

As of publishing time, Trump had been indicted for mass murder after telling his supporters that he promised to drain the D.C. swamp and get rid of all the corruption in the federal government. SOURCE

The New York Times is facing backlash over its coverage of Donald Trump and the 2024 election

The New York Times is facing a sustained wave of backlash. The Gray Lady has for several weeks been in the crosshairs of a vocal set of critics and readers who believe that Donald Trump poses a grave threat to American democracy and that the influential news organization isn’t adequately conveying those stakes to the public. 

Criticism of The Times is nothing new, but as it appears with each passing day that Trump has a real shot of recapturing the White House, the expressions of disapproval have become particularly pronounced. In the view of its critics, The Times has been far too distracted as of late by worries over President Joe Biden’s age, allowing it to steal attention away from the larger and far more serious danger posed by a second Trump administration. 

Critics have also argued that The Times covers Biden and Trump with disproportionate standards, placing false equivalence on issues surrounding the current president to those of the former president, who is facing 91 criminal counts and fantasized about being a dictator on “day one.” 

The latest salvo in the now weeks-long stream of criticism against The Times burst into view over the weekend when the newspaper published a poll it conducted with Siena College that found a majority of Biden voters believe he is too old to be an effective president. That poll touched off a torrent of angry commentary directed at the outlet, with some readers even declaring on social media that they had decided to cancel their subscriptions. 

“That they even asked this question is evidence of the bias — the agenda — in their poll,” Jeff Jarvis, the Leonard Tow Professor of Journalism Innovation at the CUNY Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, posted on Threads. “Who made age an ‘issue’? The credulous Times falling into the right-wing’s projection. This is not journalism. Shameful.” “NY Times, did you ask your random voters whether Trump is too insane, doddering, racist, sexist, criminal, traitorous, hateful to be effective as President?” Jarvis asked, adding, “This is not a poll. It is your agenda.” 

Bill Carter, a media critic who spent the bulk of his career as a media reporter for The Times, suggested on Monday that the newspaper is, of course, imperfect. Carter conceded that “there are occasions when the paper’s coverage seems less attuned to the changing realities of our political dynamic” and that “not enough is made of the fact that one side treats things like truth and science as opponents to be fought and denounced.” 

“There might be some point to the accusation that the media have not sufficiently rung the alarms to alert the nation to an existential threat to democracy,” Carter said. “But if Democrats lose to Trump after all THAT coverage, the fault will not be in the media, but in themselves.” SOURCE

If you can't guess which one is "real", click 'SOURCE' to go to the actual article. You'll see a lot more of that bullshit in the coming weeks, as the lickspittle media, as well as their "progressive" masters, are quaking in their boots. I love it!

VIDEO: Walt predicts the outcome of the South Carolina primary

OK, so it's a Trump ad. Anyone who thinks this is wrong is welcome to put his/her money down. Contact Ed's Barbershop, Fort Mudge. Lifetime pct .989.

The Skinny Lady hasn't sung yet

Here's a FACT that Mitch McConnell, Chris Christie, David Frum, CNN, MSNBC, Chris Sununu, and all the anti-Trumpers (including, sadly, Walt's Agent 2) can't deny. President Donald J. Trump won the New Hampshire Republican primary.

And the corollary... Despite having spent over $30 million in donations from big business and the Establishment, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley garnered something like 44% of the votes against 55% for Mr. Trump.

Yet somehow, Ms Haley (née Nimarata Hikki Randhawa) insisted in her un-concession speech that somehow she had won, and would follow up her triumph with a win in South Carolina in a month's time.

Let's see now. Ms Haley ran third (of the main contenders) in Iowa, and second (of two) in New Hampshire. Putting it another way, she was last in Iowa, last in New Hampshire, and now she expects to finish first in South Carolina. Really?

There hasn't been much polling in Ms Haley's home state yet, but state polls taken before the Iowa caucuses, showed her trailing President Trump by 30 percentage points, give or take. The Donald enjoys very strong support there, and has been endorsed by prominent South Carolina politicians including Senators Tim Scott and Lindsey Graham.

Here's another FACT. If you exclude all the disaffected Republicans (including NH Governor Chris Sununu), Democrats and independents who voted for Ms Haley, President Trump's margin was at least double the 11% of the total vote. President Trump now owns the Republican Party, and has all but clinched the GOP nomination for thee 2024 presidential election.

Last night, talking of Ms Haley (although he didn't mention her by name), he said, "She's doing... a speech like she won. She didn't win. She lost." 

After last night's result, Americans can now look forward -- with anticipation or fear, take your  pick -- to a rematch of the stolen 2020 contest. The people and organizations mentioned in the first paragraph -- including Ms Haley -- insist that such a contest will be close. 

Before the NH polls closed yesterday, President Brandon puffed up his hollow chest and boasted that he was the only one who had beaten Mr Trump before, and he would do so again. The Democrats have even printed up T-shirts bearing that message. Walt sez: Oh yeah? Care to put some money on it? Lifetime pct .989.

VIDEO: Victor Davis Hanson analyses the midterms

In attempting to cover American politics, I find it's often better to read/listen to analysis from overseas. Leaving aside the Canadian legacy media, who have incurable cases of TDS, foreign commentators tend to be less biased. For that reason, I often check out videos from Sky News Australia and other reportage from the Land of Oz.

Today I want to share a lengthy interview posted on John Anderson's blogsite. Mr Anderson was leader of Australia's National Party from 1999 to 2005, and  served as the 11th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia. On November 10th he was joined by Victor Davis Hanson, whose commentaries have been featured on WWW.

Mr Davis (for those who don't know him) is an American farmer (!) who also happens to be a classicist, military historian, and columnist. He has written for the National Review and Washington Times, and is currently the Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. In this interview, he considers what the results of the 2022 midterm elections mean for the major parties, the 2024 elections, and the American people. 

 

Note from Ed.: Readers should appreciate that at the time of the interview, the likely outcome -- which party should control Congress -- was much in doubt. As of dawn today (Saturday), it remains so. Mr Hanson's comments, summarized below, may not be his final thoughts.

Despite the policy blunders of the Biden administration, including overseeing rising inflation, illegal immigration and the spread of radical gender ideology, Mr Hanson points to the underlying malaise in American political culture that divides citizens into 'Red' and 'Blue' States as the greater threat to national stability. 

He argues that the failure of some candidates endorsed by President Trump, significantly higher election funding for the Democrats and the fracturing of the Republican party, are all contributed to the "red wave" becoming a mere ripple. 

Mr Hanson speaks with cautious optimism about promising new Republican leaders like Governor Ron DeSantis, who could unify the party and win upcoming presidential elections. Walt suggests it's time for die-hard Trumpers, as well as all conservatives, to give that suggestion serious thought.

Waiting for the 8th - President Trump at Latrobe PA on Saturday

"Senator Oz"? Could be, as McCormick concedes

The Republicans have just been through one of those epic internecine battles for which they are famous, to see who would get to wrap himself in the GOP banner in this fall's Senate race in Pennsylvania. When the polls closed, David McCormick, a former hedge fund CEO and military veteran, trailed Turkish-American (or American-Turkish) TV personality Mehmet Cengiz Öz, known professionally as Dr Oz, by fewer than 1000 votes out of more than 1.3 million cast.

Both candidate wannabes deployed attorneys across the Keystone State to scrutinize the ballot-counting process as remaining mail-in ballots, provisional ballots, and ballots outstanding for any other reason were addressed in various counties. Pennsylvania is notorious for voting "irregularities", including delayed counts, although it must be said that such shenanigans more often occur in contests between Republicans and Democrats, rather than primaries.

Earlier this week, Mr McCormick filed a petition for a hand recount of disputed ballots, and it looked as if we might have to wait weeks or months to see who would get to take on Democrat Lt. Gov. John Fetterman in the general election. But last night... surprise, surprise... Mr McCormick announced that he had called Dr Oz to congratulate him on the race, and planned to support the celebrity doctor in the forthcoming battle.

"We've spent the last 17 days making sure that every Republican vote was counted in a way that would result in the will of the Pennsylvania voters being fulfilled," said Mr McCormick, "but it's now clear to me with the recount largely complete that we have a nominee." He added, "today I called Mehmet Oz to congratulate him on his victory, and I told him what I always said to you, that I will do my part to try to unite Republicans and Pennsylvanians behind his candidacy, behind his nomination for the Senate."

Further reading: "How Trump Paved Dr. Oz's Path", by Russell Berman in (surprise) The Atlantic3/6/22. Subhead: "The TV doctor's primary victory in Pennsylvania owes far more to the former president than a well-timed endorsement."

Whither Trump? Whither the GOP? Cloudy, the vision is

Breitbart News reports that, in a hypothetical 2024 GOP primary matchup, President Trump trounces all his potential Republican challengers, according to Politico/Morning Consult survey released this week.

The survey asked respondents who they would support in the 2024 Republican presidential primary if it were held today. As in previous hypothetical GOP primary polls, Mr Trump wins handily, the choice of  47% of respondents. No other candidate came close, as both former Vice President Mike Pence and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) tied at 12%. 

If, like Walt, you're a fan of The Donald, that's the good news. The not-so-good news is that the same the survey asked all respondents of all parties what role they believe Mr Trump should play in the Republican Party. 47% said he should no longer play any role! 31% said he should play a "major" role, and 12% said he should play a "minor" role. 

Half of all the voters surveyed -- that includes both Democrats and Republicans, remember -- said he should not run for president in 2024, while a quarter said he "definitely" should and ten percent say he "probably" should. 

One might be tempted to discount the opinions of the Democrats, but keep in mind that they vote too. And many of the Dems responding to the survey may well be thoroughly disenchanted with Sleepy Joe, yet unwilling to bring back "Number 45". So the results of the poll are not all that positive.

What, I wonder, will President Trump do? He hasn't announced his intentions for 2024, but speculation has continued to mount. Speaking to Sean Hannity over the summer, Mr Trump hinted that he already made a decision. And as one rally follows another, one might think -- and his enemies might fear! -- that he's going to go for it.

But we can't be sure. Consider the weird signal that he sent this week by threatening a Republican boycott of the next two elections (the 2022 mid-terms and the 2024 presidential election) unless the "Presidential Election Fraud of 2020" is resolved. 

The former president made the threat in a two-sentence statement posted on his website: "If we don't solve the Presidential Election Fraud of 2020 (which we have thoroughly and conclusively documented), Republicans will not be voting in '22 or '24." 

Seriously? Does Mr Trump not realize that the consequences of boycotting the elections would be to hand America over to the Democrats, undisputably and forever? Does he think the elections would not be held if Republicans said they won't vote? Seriously?

Perhaps The Donald didn't read "How an election was stolen", WWW 4/11/20. I was talking about the totally fraudulent presidential election in Zimbabwe in 2008. That post , I told how that country's ruling ZANU-PF party stopped the vote count when it appeared that the president, Comrade Robert Gabriel Mugabe, might lose. When the results were announced several days later, lo and behold, Uncle Bob had the most votes, but not quite 50%, so a run-off election was necessary.

At that point, Morgan Tsvangirai, the opposition candidate, announced that his party would boycott the run-off election. Why? Because he feared that his supporters would be the targets of government-sponsored violence. This was not an unreasoning fear. Several members of his party were abducted, tortured and even murdered in the run-up to the first election.

The result of the opposition boycott was exactly what you would expect. The run-off went ahead, with President Mugabe as the only actively participating candidate, although Mr Tsvangirai's name remained on the ballot. Comrade Bob won the second round by an overwhelming margin -- 85.3% to 9.3% -- and was sworn in for another term on 29 June 2008. He remained President until November of 2017, when, at the age of 93, he was ousted by his own party in a bloodless coup.

That, dear reader, is what Mr Trump should expect if Republicans boycott the 2022 and 2024 elections. If you're a Republican (or anyone else who thinks America can't afford even two more years of Dumbocrat misgovernment) and in a position to draw Mr Trump's attention to this lesson from history, I suggest you do so immediately! And tell him Walt sent ya....

VIDEO: Pres. Trump names anti-Trump names at CPAC

Here's something to close out the month with, a great video of the once and future President Trump, speaking at CPAC.

 

Here's the key point of his speech: "Our movement of proud, hard-working American patriots is just getting started, and in the end we will win. We will win!" 

I'll say it again... stay tuned!

VIDEO: Alt-Right is all right!

Walt admits to having been a bit lethargic this month. Perhaps it was post-convention letdown. Once The Donald and Hellery got nominated, things kind of cooled down. Mr Trump misspoke himself a couple of times. (Ronald Reagan used to do that too, and look what happened to him!) Crooked Hillary got a bit of a bump in the polls as people averted their eyes from the lies and scandals. And the lamestream media started practising their moves for the dance on Trump's political grave. Walt tuned out because, as former Canuck Prime Minister John Diefenbaker once said, it's a long road that has no ashcans. [What does that even mean?! Ed.]

Then came La Clinton's "speech" in Reno on Thursday, in which (not having any ideas to put forward) she attacked Mr Trump yet again. And -- this is the part that got my attention -- she also demonized the 40% of Americans who support The Donald as being bigoted racists who have been seduced by the Alt-Right movement which, she claimed, had taken over the Republican Party. "Alt-Right?", I said to myself. "Wozzat?" To find out, I visited the Alternative Right blog.

Gotta love that banner illustration! It could only have been better if it had been the Confederate cavalry led by J.E.B. Stuart, but British cavalry will do nicely.

Turns out the Alt-Righters are not a political organization, but a grass-roots movement of people not unlike my goodself, who believe (for instance) that
- immigration should be halted or sharply curtailed
- political correctness has run amok
- feminism, multiculturalism and globalization are destructive
- white identity and white culture are under threat and need to be aggressively defended.

Richard Spencer, the "white nationalist" founder of the National Policy Institute, said that following the Clinton diatribe, "Millions of people are Googling #AltRight and thinking through our ideas for the first time." That's what I did, and I liked what I read. Like this...

Equality is bullshit. Hierarchy is essential. The races are different. The sexes are different. Morality matters and degeneracy is real. All cultures are not equal and we are not obligated to think they are. Man is a fallen creature and there is more to life than hollow materialism. Finally, the white race matters, and civilization is precious. This is the Alt-Right. Here's the video.



An Alt-Righter who tweets as "Identitarian" wrote "What the #AltRight means is that whites no longer are going to cower and will defend our own race. The #AltRight’s message isn’t one of hate, but one of love: Whites learning to love and support our own race." Sounds all right to me!

Further reading: Click here to read the text of Hellery's Reno speech, with appropriate links and illustrations, from the Alternative Right blog.

Why Republican insiders are deserting Trump

Sad. Very sad. Now that it appears almost certain that Donald Trump will win the Republican nomination, potential running mates are hastening to disclaim any interest in joining him on the ticket. The list of those saying they're going to sit this one out grows longer by the hour, as the GOP Establishment stampedes for the exits.

Let us ask ourselves why. Could it be that they're afraid The Donald will lose to Hellery Clinton? Could be, but trends suggest The First Lady in Waiting shouldn't be measuring the Oval Office for drapes quite yet. [She probably already knows the measurements from years of looking behind the drapes and under the desk for interns! Ed.] No, I think there's more to it than that. I believe the likes of JEB! are not just afraid that La Clinton will win, but hoping for that result!

What the "moderate Republicans" are hoping, I'd guess, is that Trump will turn out to be a latter-day Goldwater, and lead the party -- their own party -- to a defeat so disastrous that it will take four or possibly eight years to recover. They'll let the right-wing, populist Tea Partiers carry the ball, hoping for a QB sack, after which they'll come onto the field and move the team back to the centre. [That's enough metaphors. Ed.]

In 2020 they'll bring back the old coaches and put in a new, young, NICE quarterback [Stop it! Ed.], like, say, Marco Rubio. It worked for the Republicans in 1968, as Rick Perlstein explains in Nixonland, recommended here a few days ago.

The regular machine Democrats tried the same thing when the "radical" George McGovern captured their nomination in 1972. His chances of beating the Evil Nixon weren't great to begin with, but according to Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (in Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail, Straight Arrow Press, 1973), the Democratic Old Guard set Senator McGovern up to lose! That (the Dean of Gonzo Journalism says) is how he came to choose Thomas Eagleton as his running mate, in blissful ignorance of the Senator from Missouri's three sojourns in the Wet Sheet Hilton.

Walt cautions Mr Trump to be very, very careful in choosing the man (or woman) who could be only a heartbeat away from the presidency. Don't listen to the voices from inside the Beltway. Go for someone solid, someone with an independent mind and an abundance of common sense, someone who has a record of calling BS on the Establishment when they deserve it... someone with a name like... wait for it... Paul!

VIDEO: Republican voters: WATCH "Fahrenheit 9/11"!

I see by the meeja that George W. Bush has given a ringing endorsement to his "big little brother", "JEB!". I wonder what brilliant backroom boy thought having Dubya speak up for his brother would boost the Shrub's chances of becoming the Republican candidate for the Presidensity, or at least getting the GOP Establishment to coalesce behind him so as to deny the nomination to a real (?) conservative. [Who did you mean by that? Ed.]

I'm guessing the strategy is to position JEB! as the agent of continuity -- the one who will carry on the good works started by his brother and his father before him. Whether this is such a good idea at a time when most Americans, regardless of party affiliation, hunger for change remains to be seen. To any Republicans -- in South Carolina, let's say -- who think that more Bush-league government might not be such a bad thing, Walt recommends Fahrenheit 9/11, Michael Moore's critical look at the presidency of George W. Bush, the invasion and occupation of Iraq, and the War on Terror. The film is the highest grossing documentary of all time, and we have it for you, via YouTube, right here!

But first (as they say), IMDb's summary of what Fahrenheit 9/11 is all about. "Film-maker Michael Moore provides deep and though-provoking insights on the American security system, the level of paranoia, fear, uncertainty, false values and patriotism, which all combined together to set a stage for George W. Bush to launch a war on Iraq instead of focusing on getting the real culprit(s) behind the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

"This documentary also focuses on how some Saudis were safely and secretly flown out of America while planes were ostensibly grounded after the attacks. Archived film footage, candid interviews with politicians, and an overall waste of public funds for a war that was initiated on false pretension to wit: a weapon of mass distraction - to take the focus away from the real enemy and get Americans glued to their TV sets to watch innocent Iraqis and Afghans getting killed. And a war that would eventually alienate the USA and its citizens from almost every country on Earth."



Yes, JEB! is in the pro-Saudi "War on Americans" right up to his neck. He makes his first appearance in the film at about the 2-minute mark. As for the Bush family's connections to the houses of Saud and bin Laden -- not to mention Big Oil, Halliburton, etc etc -- anyone who thinks that connection ended with that expiry of Dubya's term needs his/her head read. Hey, Republican voter! Do you really want more of this?!

Groundhog Day: Hellery sees her shadow

Let me be clear. I'm tired of the political correctness, liberal insanity and general mediocrity with which the failed Obama administration has saddled the USA. I want America to be great again! But that doesn't mean that I would vote for The Donald or that I was displeased with the results of last night's Iowa caucuses.

The higher Donald Trump's star rose [not in the East, surely! Ed.], the more worrisome the question of what would happen to the Republic Party if he won the nomination. Even more so the question of what would happen to the USA if he beat Hillary Clinton into the Oval Office. The prospect was frightening to the point of being inconceivable to those who take America and its politics at all seriously.

Many pundits predicted that a Trump candidacy would see large numbers of rank-and-file Republicans desert the party, leaving the field open for Hellery. A Trump win would thus see another Clinton in the White House, with Ole Bill right behind her, pulling the strings. Pulling the strings! (Ooops, just had a flash from Ed Wood there.)

The Trump campaign is far from over though. I wouldn't be surprised if he won New Hampshire. (Lifetime pct .972.) And his candidacy has been good for the GOP in that it has moved the party well to the right of where it would be had Jeb Bush [Who he? Ed.] emerged as a contender. A year ago Ted Cruz was all but written off as a right-wing nut. As of this morning he's the front-runner, due in no small measure to his being unafraid to proclaim his Christian Faith. Well done, that man!

Also noteworthy is Marco Rubio's strong third place finish. Mr. Rubio is acceptable to the Republican establishment as well as conservatives, and would do well with Hispanic voters. A Cruz-Rubio ticket would be very strong, even if Mr. Trump went off in a huff and ran as an independent. That the Republicans could offer voters a clearly conservative choice was seen as highly unlikely until The Donald threw his hat [That stuff on top of his head is a hat? Ed.] into the ring, so in that sense his candidacy has been good for the GOP and good for America.

Then we have the Democrats. I can't swear that this picture was taken last night, but it seems a likely visualization of Hillary Clinton's reaction on hearing the final tally.

Learning that she had squeaked by Bernie Sanders by a mere 1/2 of 1 percent of the votes must have been good for Hellery's bowels. The good news (for America -- see first paragraph) is that the Democratic establishment is now in the same invidious position as the Republicans, faced with the possibility of a wild-eyed socialist emerging as their candidate. Faced with a real question as to Mrs. Clinton's electability, what will they do?

Joe Biden has ruled himself out. Michael Bloomberg used to be a Democrat, but switched to the Dark Side before becoming mayor of New York. Would he switch back again? What will the Democrats do?!

So, all in all, a satisfactory result, from Walt's viewpoint. Looks like we're in for an exciting political year.

FOOTNOTE: A bit of Iowa trivia: The IATA airport code for Sioux Gateway Col. Bud Day Field is SUX. Aren't you glad we're not back in the old days when luggage tags had the destination in big black letters? How'd you like to walk around with SUX on your luggage?!

Republican voters are suckers! MattTaibbi nails it again

Ed. here. Since I am the real power behind Walt Whiteman's World (!!!) I am thinking of borrowing a phrase from the Donald and telling Walt "You're fired!" Why? Because, while Walt may be quite sound on matters religious, his thoughtful analyses of American politics are dishwater dull compared with the writings of commentators like Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi, who is rapidly filling the very large shoes of the late Doctor of Gonzo Journalism.

Here's a quote from Mr. Taibbi's recent evisceration of the Republican Party and those who support it.

In the elaborate con that is American electoral politics, the Republican voter has long been the easiest mark in the game, the biggest dope in the room. Everyone inside the Beltway knows this. The Republican voters themselves are the only ones who never saw it.

Even if you're not a conservative or cuckservative or Tea Partier, you will find it well worth your while, not to mention a great amusement to read all of "The Republicans Are Now Officially the Party of White Paranoia".

If you like it -- and I know you will -- please send a donation to the usual address. When enough money has been received, I shall make Mr. Taibbi an offer he can't refuse.

[Wanna bet? Walt]

Book review: Walt savages Savage's "Savage Truth"

Michael Savage (né Michael Alan Weiner) is a famous (it says here) talk/shock jock. He is also a "#1 New York Times bestselling author", according to the dust jacket of Stop the Coming Civil War (Center Street, 2014) which attracted Walt's attention on a recent visit to the Fort Mudge library.

When someone uses the American flag as a backdrop for his publicity pic, you pretty much know what you're going to get. Here's a sample.

Mr. Savage has summarized his political philosophy in three words: borders, language, and culture. He calls himself a conservative nationalist, while critics (and there are many) characterize his views as "fostering extremism or hatred." Since 2009 he has been barred from entering the UK on those grounds.

Critics on the right (and there are many) call him a "cuckservative".

The King of Speak-your-mouth opposes illegal immigration to the United States, supports the English-only movement and argues that liberalism and progressivism are degrading American culture and emasculating American men.

Walt agrees with most of those views. But if you paid 26 bucks for Stop the Coming Civil War, Walt thinks you overpaid by about $25.01. It's a crappy book, a veritable witches' brew of vitriol, hyperbole and right-wing rant, masquerading as a political manifesto.

Mr. Savage argues that "The United States may well be [note the hedge words] in the midst of a military, economic, and cultural collapse that is turning us into a country in danger of catastrophic failure and leading to the nighmarish scenario of a civil war." He presents his talking points as five questions, which you can get from the dust jacket:

• Why have so many of our top military commanders been summarily pushed aside, after years of brave service? 
• Is the falsification of records by VA personnel in order to cover up the horrific neglect of our brave soldiers a sign of what's to come with Obamacare? 
• How is Obama's irresponsible foreign policy not just weakening us in Russia, China, and the Middle East, but actually endangering our security at home as well? 
• What does it mean for our freedom and our way of life that negligent immigration law enforcement allows illegal aliens to cross the southern border into our country with little fear of penalty?

That's it. That's all. The "author" takes those four points and repeats them, rearranging the order, for ten chapters. Eventually -- I chose this word deliberately -- he tells us who the combatants in "the coming civil war" will be. North vs South? Black vs White? Noooo... It will be:

• The haves against the have-nots.
• The illegal aliens against hard-working middle-class families.
• Liberals who hate the Second Amendment versus lawful gun owners, millions of whom refuse to register their guns and ammunition in anti-gun jurisdictions.
• Climate activists whose policies cause forest fires and exacerbate drought against those who understand the effect of human activity on the climate is negligible.
• Anti-Christian communist educators versus god-fearing families.

So there you have it. Walt just saved you 26 bucks. Choose which side you want to be on and act accordingly. But what does "accordingly" mean? In the final chapter of Stop the Coming Civil War, Mr. Savage tells us that to win (not stop) the war "...our resistance must be a peaceful resistance. It must be waged through the ballot box, or else this country will descent into chaos and violence."

The ballot box? Who can Americans vote for who will stand up for hard-working, middle-class, god-fearing etc. families? Believe it or not, Mr. Savage says "Vote Republican"! He calls on Republicans and "Independents generally" to "return to being a nationalist party, a party that understands that such actions as cutting entitlement spending will spur us to take action against the leftist takeover that is occurring before our very  eyes."

The goal is to have Republicans win both houses of Congress in 2014 and elect a Republican president in 2016. That will avert the coming civil war and make America great again. Oh... wait... haven't I heard that phrase somewhere recently?

Walt cannot disagree with Mr. Savage's argument that a Republican president and Congress will be better for America than the incumbent administration, but if that president is a "moderate Republican" or "cuckservative" like Jeb, the difference will hardly be noticeable.

My main quarrel with Stop the Coming Civil War is that it's badly written, a point I'll return to later. It's not so much a piece of writing as a collage of transcriptions of Mr. Savage's radio rants. And it's hard to take seriously someone who (at page 7) calls "the most vicious of all terrorist groups... the Islamic State of Iran and Syria". Too bad Center Street didn't invest a few dollars in the services of an editor and fact-checker.

A dark(ish) horse who just might run

Quick! Who's more socially conservative than Jeb Bush, more of a defence hawk than Rand Paul and more sensible than Ted Cruz? (I'm quoting the Economist.)

Step forward, Bobby Jindal! Here near the headwaters, we're starting to hear more and more talk of the Louisiana Governor throwing his hat in the ring for the Republican nomination. Having more or less given up on the prospect of Ron Paul unretiring, Walt think Mr. Jindal an attractive candidate -- figuratively speaking -- perhaps not for the presidensity, but for the office which, pace John Nance Garner, is worth more than a bucket of spit. He would be a good running-mate for too-moderate Jeb Bush or -- dare we think it -- Paul the Younger. (Forget about Ted Cruz. There's no way a Canuck is ever going to get elected! Lifetime pct .991.)

5 things Walt likes about Bobby Jindal

He's a practising Catholic - a convert, in fact. He accuses Obama of "waging a silent war on religious freedom". He plans to repeal and replace Obamacare, and will surely remove the mandate to provide contraception and abortion on demand, no matter what your conscience tells you. That'll play well with conservative and traditional Catholics and evangelical Protestants, who tend to support the GOP.

He supports school choice - America's public schools are failing -- failing their students (by not failing enough students, geddit?) and failing the country. And Americans who disagree with the "progressive" secular humanist Common Core Curriculum are pulling their kids out of state schools by the 1000s, only to find that the CCC is still imposed on them by fiat of the almighty state. Free our schools and free our kids!

He's against spending, in favour of tax cuts - Who in his right mind doesn't agree? Well, the Prez and Hellery of course, but even sane Democrats know the USA can't go on mortgaging the future, as well as the present, to the Chinese. Unlike Greece, America doesn't have the EU or anyone else to provide a financial rescue package. If America goes broke, the world goes broke. End of story.

He advocates more skilled immigration, no amnesties for illegals - That's the way it should be. Mr. Jindal complains that the current "system" is "a low wall and a narrow gate", when it should be just the opposite. Even the liberal Canadians realize that and have recently reformed their rules to go back to a merit-based points system. And -- get this -- the Germans are looking to the Canadian model to revamp their system!

He calls Obama "unfit to be commander-in-chief" - because the Prez (unlike Canada's Dear Leader) can't bring himself to say that America is at war with radical Islam, because they are waging jihad against the West. Mr. Jindal thinks a c-i-c ought to stop pussy-footing around and show some determination to win! Like Ron Paul, Walt thinks we shouldn't be involved in the Middle East mess in the first place. But, like Jean Chrétien, Walt agrees that you can't be half-way in; either you're in or you're out.

Maybe that's more than five "things". Let's just call them five good reasons to hope that Bobby Jindal does well in the contest for the Republican nomination. His message needs to be heard, and -- let us pray -- acted upon.