Monday, April 21, 2025

Holder-Led Gerrymandering Group Unveils 2020 Red-State Targets

Ben Sellers
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‘Together, we will rebuild a democracy where voters pick their politicians—not the other way around…’

Obama and Holder Team to Take Out Walker in 2018, Flip Ryan's Seat
Eric Holder & Barack Obama/PHOTO: WhiteHouse.gov

(Ben Sellers, Liberty Headlines) The National Democratic Redistricting Committee, an organization led by former Attorney General Eric Holder that targets Republican “gerrymandering,” released a “sneak peek” of the states it has designs on leading up to the 2020 presidential election and national Census, The Washington Free Beacon reported.

“After gaining momentum on Election Day 2018, our fight to shift the balance of power away from Republicans before redistricting occurs in 2021 continues,” NDRC said on its website.

Overall, for 2019 and 2020, the group says it has its sights on 12 states.

The targets, available on the NDRC website, include the 2019 governor races in Kentucky and Louisiana, as well as upcoming state-legislature races in Virginia, Florida, Georgia, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin.

Additionally, it is focusing on a down-ballot race in the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

The NDRC, which boasts of being the “first-ever strategic hub for a comprehensive redistricting strategy” touts a four-pronged approach:

  • litigation (also known as its “Sue till Blue” approach)
  • mobilization (using the database from the Obama campaign arm to cultivate an army of gerrymandering activists)
  • reform (using ballot initiatives to establish ‘independent’ redistricting councils instead of empowering the democratically elected state legislatures)
  • elections (voting in Democratic candidates who will challenge and undermine Republican-friendly redistricting proposals)

“NDRC is attacking this problem from every angle to ensure the next round of redistricting is fair and that maps reflect the will of the voters,” its website says. “Together, we will rebuild a democracy where voters pick their politicians—not the other way around.”

While it may all seem laudable and noble, the group’s focus only on red states calls into question whether its objective is more partisan than reform-oriented. In fact, the group is organized as a political-action committee and not a nonprofit, according to its fundraising page, and is largely subsidized by the ActBlue PAC, which spent more than a billion dollars on 2018 Democratic campaigns.

Wherever Obama’s self-described “wingman” Holder goes, the stain of unethical, ends-justify-the-means, unabashedly partisan activity is sure to follow, and while NDRC claims its mission is “creating fair districts,” this is tantamount to saying that selling guns to Mexican drug lords to track their movements helped level the playing field for the ATF in the “Fast and Furious” scandal.

While attempting to right the “wrong” of gerrymandered districts—which both parties have benefited from for much of the country’s history—it creates a far worse injustice of allowing unaccountable, activist judges to decide elections—not to mention the big-money backers whose dark money is supporting NDRC’s lawsuits and mobilization efforts.

Unlike RINO McCain, Bush 41 Leaves a Complicated Legacy for Conservatives
IMAGE: Screenshot via democraticredistricting.com

The group touted its 2018 successes in several state-level races where it was able to install more Democratic-friendly representatives and judges into positions where they would exert some power over redistricting. Despite high-profile losses in states like Florida and Georgia after hard-fought recount battles, NDRC boasted that its efforts helped in flipping six legislative chambers and winning seven governor’s races.

It also seems that some of NDRC’s efforts are having a national impact in other tightly contested races.

In North Carolina, for instance, where Democrats successfully led a court-mandated redistricting campaign, the Republican candidate for the 9th Congressional District, Mark Harris, nonetheless won the race. However, due to Democrats’ previous behind-the-scenes work, which included fighting a legal battle to install Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper—who in turn had authority over appointing the state’s nine-member elections board—the board refused to certify Harris’s election.

Complaining of irregularities in Bladen County, known for fraud issues (Cooper’s opponent, former Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, had also pointed to issues in the county), the state elections board now is investigating the district’s mail-in absentee ballots, with the nearly unprecedented possibility of a re-vote as Democrats call the shots on the board.

The fundraising advantage that the Democrats would have in the race—not to mention the mobilization efforts of groups like Holder’s, with access to the Obama campaign database—would almost certainly throw the election the opposite way of the will of the voters.

Similar situations exist in many of the states targeted by NDRC, where Holder and company have for several years worked to establish an infrastructure of corruption that is now coming into fruition. Their aim, of course, is to emerge victorious in the 2020 elections, so that people overseeing the 2021 redistricting following the next Census will be Democrats who can then gerrymander with impunity.

Dems Advance Plan to Steal GOP House Seat in N.C.

Ben Sellers
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‘We’re seeing a partisan-oriented theft of elections across the country…’

GOP Congressman in Fight to Save Seat Against Conservative Challenger 1
Mark Harris/PHOTO: Facebook

(Ben Sellers, Liberty Headlines) In North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District, partisans on the state’s Board of Elections have set in motion a complex plan to steal yet another election from the GOP.

By refusing to certify the results of a tight race in which Republican Mark Harris beat his Democratic opponent, Dan McCready, by 905 votes, the Left may either try to force a re-vote (and leverage their enormous fundraising advantage to change the outcome) or forestall the certification long enough to push it to the authority of a Democrat-controlled House of Representatives.

On Wednesday, the elections board made a surprise unanimous decision to delay the certification, following two hours in closed session. On Friday, after an additional three hours in closed session, the board conducted a 10-minute public hearing in which they approved 7-2 a measure to delay certification until no later than Dec. 21 while they investigate alleged irregularities “to ensure that election is determined without taint.”

The decision will impact not only the 9th Congressional District House race, but also other local races in Bladen County, where two voters issued affidavits stating that an unknown person had been around to collect their unsealed absentee ballots.

The county—which was only recently added to the 9th District by virtue of Democrat-led, court-forced gerrymandering efforts—was at the center of a storm of controversy in 2016, as Republican Gov. Pat McCrory charged widespread voter fraud there had helped give the winning edge to his Democrat opponent, Roy Cooper.

Democrat elections board member Joshua Malcolm, who put forth both of the motions on Wednesday and Friday, said, “At the end of that hearing, we either certify a bunch of elections … or this board will operate under some under premise to come to a resolution.”

However, Republicans expressed little confidence in either the motives or the possibility of a clean resolution from the board’s investigation.

State Sen. Dan Bishop, whose district overlaps with part of NC-09, said it was yet another among countless examples in the 2016 midterm where the Left has attempted—and often succeeded—in undermining the will of voters when the outcomes went against Democrats.

“We’re seeing a partisan-oriented theft of elections across the country,” Bishop told Liberty Headlines.

NC Lawmaker Offends Jihad Media with Term 'Jihad Media'
Dan Bishop/YouTube

Bishop noted that the state had put forth a ballot measure in the November midterm election that would have overturned a court order striking down legislation to create a bipartisan ethics board to oversee elections, following the widespread concern about  fraud in the 2016 election.

The referendum would have introduced more accountability into the current system by eliminating one of the nine seats on the board and having the legislature, rather than the two major political parties, issue appointment recommendations to the governor. However, the measure failed with 61.6 percent voting against it.

“We worked to have a bipartisan elections board to avoid exactly this kind of mischief,” Bishop said, “and I wouldn’t be surprised if more mischief is on the way.”

Bishop noted that the current elections board is statutorily set to expire before the end of the current investigation, leaving uncertainty as to what the procedure will be for certifying the election in time to seat Harris—assuming the current outcome stands. If the state board were unable to fulfill its duty, the job of filling the seat would then be pushed to Congress, which would be under Democratic control.

Another possibility is that the board may aim to expand the scope of the investigation beyond Bladen County—which alone did not generate enough absentee ballots to overturn the result—and into neighboring Robeson County, or possibly to investigate all of the state’s mail-in ballots for irregularities, with one potential outcome being a forced re-vote.

This would give a distinct advantage to McCready, whose losing bid came despite a $3 million fundraising edge when last reported in mid-October. With no other races to support, dark-money Democrats such as George Soros, Tom Steyer and Michael Bloomberg could open up their coffers, and Democratic candidates with a surplus war-chest could give even more through their national committees.

The post-election hijinks on the Left have been far from isolated in the recent election. Republicans waged high-profile battles to preserve crucial Senate seats and governorships in states like Georgia and Florida. However, in other races—including those in Arizona and California—Democrats were successfully able to reverse the election victories of GOP candidates.

“When you have candidates that win the absentee ballot vote, win the day of the vote, and then lose three weeks later because of provisionals, that’s really bizarre,” out-going House Speaker Paul Ryan said during a recent question-and-answer session at The Washington Post, specifically referring to six California congressional districts that had been flipped after GOP election-night victories. “I just think that’s a very, very strange outcome,” Ryan said.

President Donald Trump also has publicly criticized the evident election fraud on the Left.

In response, Democrats have breathlessly condemned him for daring to make such an accusation, saying that it harmfully undermines public confidence in the institutions.

Comey Turns to Federal Court to ‘Quash’ His Congressional Subpoena

Ben Sellers
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‘I’ve seen enough of their selective leaking and distortion…’

Comey Blasts FISA Memo After Release: ‘That’s It?’
James Comey/IMAGE: YouTube

(Ben Sellers, Liberty Headlines) Once among the nation’s top law-enforcement officers in an intelligence agency known for its covert work, disgraced former FBI Director James Comey says complete transparency is the only acceptable option when his own behavior is under the lens.

On Thursday, Comey responded publicly to a recent subpoena to testify Dec. 3 before the Joint House Judiciary and Oversight committees by insisting that it be public rather than a closed-door hearing.

The subpoena comes after previous efforts by House Judiciary Chair Bob Goodlatte and Oversight Chair Trey Gowdy to have Comey testify voluntarily for the committees in closed sessions.

As Comey well knows, a public hearing would allow former Attorney General Loretta Lynch—his one-time boss, who is subpoenaed to testify the next day—to dodge any potential perjury charges by syncing her responses to his public ones regarding the circumstances under which Comey ended the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email server.

President Donald Trump and his attorneys have previously spoken out about the concerns of FBI and other investigators laying a “perjury trap” against administration officials even when no wrongdoing preceded it.

In a separate inquiry conducted by special prosecutor Robert Mueller, Trump said questions over Comey’s dismissal could amount to his word against the former FBI director’s and pose a conflict of interest for Mueller—himself a former FBI director and close friend of Comey’s.

However, such notions have been soundly dismissed as evasion attempts by the Left—of which Comey now counts himself a full-fledged member after having endorsed and given money to Democratic candidates.

Comey’s request that a federal judge “quash” the subpoena invoked clear partisan overtones. He previously had tweeted, in demanding a public hearing, “I’ve seen enough of their selective leaking and distortion.”

In his motion to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Comey said he asked the court to intervene, “not to avoid giving testimony but to prevent the Joint Committee from using the pretext of a closed interview to peddle a distorted, partisan political narrative about the Clinton and Russian investigations through selective leaks.”

Comey also is well-versed in the art of selective leaking. Among the many things he is implicated in is selectively leaking information to the media in order peddle and perpetuate false stories that would then validate applications for secretive warrants through the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance court to eavesdrop on the Trump campaign.

Comey also allegedly used media leaks to help trigger under false pretenses  Mueller’s investigation into Trump’s Russia ties.

Additionally, both Comey and his former deputy, Andrew McCabe, were embroiled in scandal over leaks McCabe made to the media that appeared to perjure Comey for testimony he had made before Congress concerning the Clinton investigation.

After complaining in his formal court petition about the Trump administration’s “corrosive narrative” for publicly criticizing the FBI’s lopsided, partisan hijinks during the campaign, Comey goes on to say, “The broader purpose of these tweets and leaks appears to be to mislead the public and to undermine public confidence in the FBI and the DOJ during a time when President Trump and members of his administration and campaign team are reported to be under investigation.”

The deflective maneuver follows a frequent bait-and-switch pattern deployed by the Left in framing themselves as the victims for being called out on their own wrongdoing.

Former acting Attorney General Sally Yates, whom Trump inherited early in his administration before firing her for refusing to represent his executive orders in court, ironically complained to the media earlier this week about the president undermining the authority and public faith in other institutions, such as the corrupted Department of Justice and the partisan judiciary.

“You can debate specific decisions about these institutions, you can debate whether you agree with a particular decision by a judge, but trying undermine the very legitimacy of that judge or of our judicial system, just by way of example, is something that is not only new but I think really dangerous.”

Trump last week engaged in a back-and-forth with U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts concerning the unprecedented use of federal judiciary injunctions to undermine the authority of the White House.

To some, Comey’s effort to use the federal court to circumvent both the legislative and executive branches would suggest clear evidence of the problems within the judiciary and the balance of power among the three federal branches of government.

It also recently was revealed last week—by media leak—that Trump had called for the Justice Department to pursue prosecution of Comey and Hillary Clinton.

Unsurprisingly, with deep-state partisans like Yates and McCabe at the helm even after Comey’s ouster, those efforts got little traction.

Are Dems Conspiring to Steal ANOTHER House Seat?

Ben Sellers
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‘Holding a Congressional election hostage is not the appropriate way to resolve longstanding issues…’

Pastor Turned Congressional Candidate Under Fire from Left for Past Sermons
Mark Harris/IMAGE: YouTube

(Ben Sellers, Liberty Headlines) From the very outset of his 2018 campaign, rightfully elected Congressman Mark Harris, the Republican victor in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District, has been a marked man.

For the GOP, Harris represents a true conservative, able to reconcile staunch support for the Trumpian political ethos with traditional Biblical values stemming from his work as a Baptist pastor in Charlotte.

For Democrats, however, Harris signifies a test of whether the millions of dollars and countless man-hours invested into fighting state legislatures in courts over redistricting (at cost both to their special-interest benefactors and to the taxpayers burdened with defending the spurious suits) have been worthwhile.

On Tuesday, as the polls closed in Mississippi on what was believed to be the last hotly contested election of the 2018 season, North Carolina’s Board of Elections voted not to certify Harris’s narrowly won race (by a margin of 905 votes) against Democrat Dan McCready.

At the behest of Democratic NCSBE member Joshua Malcolm, the nine-member board—presumed to be evenly split along political lines—decided unanimously, following a two-hour closed session, to delay certification until at least Friday over what was supposed to be a routine, procedural vote.

Although the issue is believed to relate to voter fraud concerns, members would not elaborate specifically on the reasoning, except for Malcolm’s attributing it to “unfortunate activities that have been happening down in my part of the state.”

The surprise turnabout, and the mystery that enshrouds it, open the door to many questions in one of the bellwether races representing Democrats’ use of political shenanigans and activist court rulings to disfranchise legal voters and coerce Republicans into ceding power.

In an editorial, the Charlotte Observer called on Malcolm to come clean immediately and clarify whether the issue was one directly related to a specific instance of alleged voter fraud or simply an effort to draw attention to a more nondescript complaint.

“If that’s the case, mission accomplished. Now stop it,” wrote the paper. “Holding a Congressional election hostage is not the appropriate way to resolve longstanding issues, regardless of how serious he believes they might be.”

Alluding to earlier electoral challenges in states like Florida and Georgia—where Democrats had pushed to count ballots that continued to surface for days after the elections had been called—the Observer, characteristically, belittled the Republican concerns but nonetheless acknowledged the severity of the issue.

“We’re in a fragile period regarding elections in this country,” it said. “We have a president too ready to declare—even just this week—that results he doesn’t like are tainted. It’s become too common for members of both parties to question the legitimacy of outcomes they don’t like.”

But in North Carolina’s 9th District and others like it, Harris and his supporters have every reason to be suspicious after courts, crying “racism,” denied the state legislature its right to redraw Congressional districts following the 2010 Census.

Harris’ district, encircling the more affluent suburbs south and west of Charlotte, was, without question, irregularly shaped. Nonetheless, the high-profile “gerrymandering” attacks—a convenient scapegoat for Democrats to account for their political failures and substantial losses during the Obama era—were controversial since Democrats, who were selectively targeting red states and regions, had also benefited from the practice on many occasions.

In February 2016, Democrats, led by high-powered Clinton campaign attorney Marc Elias successfully forced a court-ordered redraw of North Carolina’s districts, part of a brazen, nationwide effort to retake Congress.

Liberal judge Roger Gregory wrote in the North Carolina ruling, “There is strong evidence that race was the only nonnegotiable criterion and that traditional redistricting principles were subordinated to race.”

Following a protracted legal battle that reached the U.S. Supreme Court, only to be punted back down to the lower courts, the Left-friendly districts stood.

Even so, on the night of the election, despite the considerable fundraising advantage from outside money being directed at Democrat Dan McCready, Harris emerged the winner, and McCready conceded the election.

The surprise move from the state elections board to delay certification resulted in a heated Twitter exchange between North Carolina Republican Party Executive Director Dallas Woodhouse and NCSBE Chairman Andy Penry, a Democrat.

Wake County’s Republicans subsequently issued a formal ethics complaint against Penry, citing the lack of decorum in his partisan social media missives.

Harris, for his part, issued through his campaign attorneys a letter asking to be apprised of the specific charges and their potential impact on the race.

In a statement to local ABC affiliate WSOC, he said, “We were surprised by yesterday’s developments at the State Board of Elections, but our legal team is fully engaged. We trust the process.”

Harris went on to reassure voters, “We continue to prepare in DC to serve the constituents of the 9th District!”

Antifa Thugs Rob and Assault Marines while Calling them ‘Nazis’

Ben Sellers
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‘Any violence, racism, or display of hate by any group or individual is extremely prohibited…’

Antifa members suspected in connection with a November assault and robbery in Philadelphia/IMAGE: Philadelphia PD

(Ben Sellers, Liberty Headlines) A group of Marine Corps. reservists may have gone to a Philadelphia “We the People” rally on Nov. 17 seeking solidarity with “all Patriots, Militia, 3%, Constitution-loving Americans, pro good cop, pro ICE, pro law and order, pro life, pro American value, pro gun and anti illegal immigration” demonstrators.

Instead, they were assaulted near the birthplace of American independence by a gang of criminal, domestic-terrorist thugs associated with Antifa, who called the servicemen “Nazis” and “white supremacists,” according to Philadelphia magazine.

The magazine said it was unclear from available information whether the victims were, in fact, participants in the rally prior to the assault.

One of the ringleaders of the city’s Antifa movement, 33-year-old Tom Keenan, has now turned himself in for the crime and is being charged with two counts each of criminal conspiracy, aggravated assault, terroristic threats, simple assault and reckless endangerment.

According to police, the suspects—described as “numerous males and females” sprayed Mace at the Marines and then punched and kicked them, as well as stealing a cell phone. Although the perpetrators fled the scene, police released a video showing some of them earlier in the day, which may have helped identify Keenan.

Police have not released the name of the accusers and continue to investigate. Keenan faces a preliminary hearing on Dec. 6.

According to the magazine, Keenan had been identified on numerous alt-right blogs as being a leader of the Philly Antifa group.

A video on Youtube appeared to depict him pepper-spraying demonstrators at the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Keenan was arrested at a previous rally involving the Ku Klux Klan in 2007, where he faced a litany of charges, including criminal mischief, vandalism and resisting arrest.

Previous reporting from Philadelphia magazine indicated widespread anxiety preceded the “We the People” rally, with left-wing groups like the ironically named “PushBack” campaign calling on countermeasures despite organizers saying they condemned violence or hate.

“Any violence, racism, or display of hate by any group or individual is extremely prohibited. Any group or party violating these conditions will be removed from this event immediately,” the rally’s event page on Facebook said.

The furor on the Left also resulted in doxxing, with one Comcast employee being fired after accusations that he was a member of the Proud Boys, a right-wing group with alleged ties to violence and white supremacy.

In recent weeks, a number of Democratic politicians—including Hillary Clinton, Eric Holder and Nancy Pelosi—have drawn criticism for public statements in which they seemed to be advocating and signaling violence against those with opposing point of views.

Others, including shooting victim Steve Scalise, the current House majority whip, condemned the calls for hostility and incivility.

Powerful House Democrats’ Bloc Linked to International Communist Movement

Ben Sellers
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‘The Congressional Progressive Caucus is by far the largest and most influential coalition in the federal government…’

IMAGE: Congressional Progressive Caucus (@USProgressives) via Twitter

(Ben Sellers, Liberty Headlines) One may be hard-pressed to find any references on the carefully curated official page of the Congressional Progressive Caucus to its socialist underpinnings, but quick searches of its “dog-whistle” posts on social media and platforms like the blog site Medium begin to show its true colors.

On Medium, an upraised fist sits atop the words “The People’s Budget: A Roadmap for the Resistance,” evoking the propagandist symbolism of the Soviet Union and other extremist upheaval movements.

As The Epoch Times’ Trevor Loudon noted in a commentary on Monday, “The Congressional Progressive Caucus is by far the largest and most influential coalition in the federal government. It is also the most radical, having extensive ties to several major Marxist organizations.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.) and Rep. Maxine Waters (Calif.) co-founded the CPC in 1991, along with former Rep. Ron Dellums (Calif.). New incoming congressmen are likely to increase its ranks to an estimated 95 members, including unabashedly socialist Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.).

Joining Sanders and Waters among its 79 current members are notorious headline-grabbers like Rep. Elijah Cummings (S.C.), Rep. Keith Ellison (Minn.), Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (Texas), Rep. Jerry Nadler (N.Y.) and Rep. Joe Kennedy (Mass.)—a veritable who’s who of far-Left demagogues, with many poised to assume powerful leadership positions in the new House majority.

In her bid to become, once again, the speaker of the House and to stave off a potential challenge from the Left, Rep. Nancy Pelosi has bargained with the CPC to offer its membership even more positions of authority in the new Congress.

However, those who aren’t household names are no less worrisome than CPC’s prominent figureheads. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (Wash.), who is likely to become the next CPC chair, was among 575 protestors arrested during a sit-in on Capitol Hill in June.

As the Epoch Times notes, more than a dozen CPC members in the next Congress have direct affiliations with the Democratic Socialists of America. DSA has garnered its own headlines recently for acts of disruption and uncivil disobedience, some of which were of dubious legality and linked to violent organizations like Antifa.

The article also listed several members, such as the departing Ellison, with ties to the Communist Party USA. The CPUSA even issued a report at a 2012 international gathering of communist organizations that highlighted the connection with the CPC.

The article said many of the current issues on the Democratic agenda—among them: single-payer health care, amnesty for illegal aliens, normalization of relations with communist Cuba, $15 per hour minimum wage—were driven by the CPC into the mainstream discussion, despite being rooted in the international communist platform.

“The Congressional Progressive Caucus is effectively part of the world communist movement. And it’s about to become the dominant faction in the Democratic Party,” said the Epoch Times.

Mississippi Sen. Candidate Mike Espy’s Ethical Issues Embarrassing Even for Clintons

Ben Sellers
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‘The resignation is a personal disgrace and a profound setback…’

Mike Espy/IMAGE: MSNBC via Youtube

(Ben Sellers, Liberty Headlines) Between them in their respective political careers, Bill and Hillary Clinton have amassed an impressive—and depressive—list of scandals, most of which they have been able to weather largely unscathed.

So, just what would it take for the Clintons to ask one of their top-level staffers to resign over an ethical scandal? Where is the fine red line between “what difference does it make” and indefensibly verboten?

To know, you might have to ask former Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy, now locked in a contentious bid to become the first black Senator from Mississippi since the post-Civil-War Reconstruction era.

Voters in the Magnolia State will go to the polls Tuesday to choose between the two top finishers in the Nov. 6 special election to replace retired Sen. Thad Cochran. Espy, a Democrat, faces Cindy Hyde-Smith, who has been filling in since Cochran retired in the spring.

The national press zeroing in on the last big race of the current campaign season has devoted much of its coverage to attacking Hyde-Smith over a pair of gaffes in which she joked about attending a public hanging and about making it more difficult for college students to vote.

The Washington Post condescendingly opined that Hyde-Smith’s statements had been a setback for all Mississippians, who desperately yearned to raise their profile in the eyes of the other states.

“Mississippi often finds itself the butt of jokes aiming to make the point that the Magnolia State has not advanced at the same pace as the rest of the United States—or even the South,” said The Post.

Scandals notwithstanding, Hyde-Smith remained heavily favored to win on Tuesday.

“Democrats’ inability to come close is in large part because they can’t win over white voters in the state,” moaned CNN. “Mississippi voters are highly polarized along racial lines.”

Remarkably, the implication would seem to be that electing Espy is the deep-red state’s only hope for recovering its good name.

Unless, of course, Espy forgets the lessons he learned in 1994. Just prior to the midterms 24 years ago, he was forced out of the Clinton cabinet for accepting freebies from companies, such as tickets to see the Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bulls, and using taxpayer revenue to cover his personal Jeep Cherokee, reported the Chicago Tribune.

“But the last straw for the White House was the discovery that Arkansas-based Tyson Foods Inc., the nation’s largest poultry producer, had given a $1,200 scholarship to his girlfriend,” it said.

Clintons, Michelle Obama Planning Rock Star-Like Arena Tours after Midterms 1
Hillary and Bill Clinton/IMAGE: Fox Business via Youtube

With little inkling of what lay ahead for the Clintons, the Tribune wrote, “True, this administration hasn’t suffered from the likes of a Watergate or an Irangate, but, almost from the beginning, it has been plagued by ethical questions … [and] dogged by the perception of being a loosely run, sloppy ship.”

The Tribune did not let Espy off the hook quite so easily, saying that “the resignation is a personal disgrace and a profound setback.”

Indeed, it may have seemed at the time like an indelible blight that would forever mar the otherwise stainless Clinton White House: “For the administration—even though Espy is the only Cabinet member so far to resign because of suspicious conduct … it renews questions about Clinton’s commitment to his campaign promise to change government and operate under a higher standard of conduct.”

Whether a quarter-century  has helped instill such a higher standard in Espy’s personal code, only time may tell. But one thing that is unchanged is his ambition. The Tribune pinned Espy’s downfall, in a way, on his political aspirations.

“Mike Espy’s greatest weaknesses, it appears, were a passion for sports,” said the paper, “an ambition to be a Mississippi senator or governor and an inability to remember that he was no longer a member of Congress, where taking advantage of freebies and perks and hobnobbing with special interests is a way of life.”

Although the Trump administration has dealt with similar situations—notably the forced resignation of former EPA chief Scott Pruitt for his excessive use of travel and workplace perks, one sign of the times is that the ethics scandals by Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, a Democrat who narrowly lost the Florida gubernatorial race, caused nary a ripple in today’s legacy media.

Should he fail to become the first black Mississippian in the Senate since Reconstruction, at least Espy will still hold onto one title that is unlikely to fade anytime soon, as one of the few Democrats—if not the only one—ever to be held accountable to the Left’s “higher standard of conduct.”

Left Plotting Ways to Re-‘Steal’ the Judicial Branch

Ben Sellers
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‘To say that Democrats shouldn’t unsteal the courts because we’re worried about the normative context, I think, is to ignore the very normative context that we’re already in…’

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Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., administers the Constitutional Oath to Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh in the Justices’ Conference Room, Supreme Court Building. Mrs. Ashley Kavanaugh holds the Bible.
Credit: Fred Schilling, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States.

(Ben Sellers, Liberty Headlines) For decades, Democrats—in the absence of legislative majorities—have relied on the judiciary, not only to check and balance the power of elected officials, but often to perform or override the functions of other branches.

Judges have interpreted new laws where none were passed, used technicalities to overturn voter-driven ballot referenda and now have their sights set on the executive role of commander-in-chief.

But with two new conservative Supreme Court justices and a Republican Senate majority to help streamline future judicial appointments, the Left now faces the likelihood that Trump-appointed jurists will quickly turn the tables on them.

Their best hope? Invalidate the courts.

The Huffington Post on Sunday ran a piece outlining some of the Democrats’ strategies for undermining and challenging the very institution that they themselves have bolstered into the final authority on everything from abortion to gay marriage to health care to election battles.

Among the proposals being floated are to somehow change the lifetime appointments of federal judges, to legally force them to recuse themselves in ethical conflicts of interest, and to find ways of reclaiming the judge-ships that they now have come to regard as ‘stolen.’

“Progressives have felt that they were well taken care of in the judiciary and that we had secured a lot of important rights with this past litigation mid-century and that was going to be the way we would defend our gain,” said Todd Tucker, a legal scholar at the left-leaning Roosevelt Institute, according to the HuffPo.

Of course, in tampering with the delicate system of protocols and procedures, as they previously did with Congressional process in judicial appointments, Democrats risk setting further precedents that will ultimately backfire on them.

Despite having used similar efforts to thwart conservative appointees under Republican presidents, liberals continue to seethe over the blocking of Obama nominee Merrick Garland to the high court.

Already, some groups have set their sights on the prospect of packing the courts under the next Democratic president.  One group, led by activist Aaron Belkin, has even dubbed itself 1.20.21, in presumptive reference to the next presidential inauguration.

The group’s mission is to add four additional Supreme Court seats, naturally to be filled with liberal judges, in response to the spots held by Trump appointees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh—both of whom, Belkin claims, without evidence, are invalid.

“To say that Democrats shouldn’t unsteal the courts because we’re worried about the normative context, I think, is to ignore the very normative context that we’re already in,” Belkin told the HuffPo.

Even so, 13 seats may not be enough.

Although entrenching the Supreme Court’s conservative wing through the appointments of Gorsuch and Kavanaugh to replace the late Antonin Scalia and retired “swing vote” Anthony Kennedy had leftist activists up in arms, there is a good chance that the next seat to be filled will be that of ailing liberal stalwart Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Should Republicans face the prospect of a 7-4 court majority, liberals like Belkin undoubtedly are already are formulating ways to pre-emptively declare it stolen.

As the Left works overtime to further politicize the judicial branch, some in the judiciary, such as Chief Justice John Roberts, are reluctantly entering the fray, ostensibly to preserve the courts’ neutrality, but ultimately doing the opposite.

Roberts himself was met with some criticism for hypocrisy after rebuffing President Trump for calling the liberal Ninth Circuit “Obama judges.”

In all likelihood, Roberts—a George W. Bush appointee—who already has been the key swing vote in cases like the one deciding Obamacare, could move farther to the left to provide ideological balance if more conservatives were to arrive.

Partisans, including current Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, praised Roberts for stepping into the public ring with Trump and advocating for an “independent” judiciary by serving a leftist agenda.

Former ICE Head Calls Out Kamala Harris for KKK Comparison

Ben Sellers
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‘She failed the American people…’

(Ben Sellers, Liberty Headlines) When many on the extreme Left were calling for the abolishing of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau in the spring, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., was slow to jump on board.

Her calls to fundamentally reform ICE’s mission drew criticism from her radical base, with some liberals saying it was “not good enough.”

Now, it seems’ the 2020 presidential hopeful is making up for lost time, with a recent rhetorical standoff that found both sides comparing the other side to the Ku Klux Klan.

Many on social media and within the cable news punditry condemned Harris’ remarks during a Capitol Hill hearing for Ronald Vitiello, President Donald Trump’s nominee for ICE director.

Among them was former ICE boss Tom Homan, who called the comments “disgusting” during an appearance Monday on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show.

“For her, as a U.S. Senator, to make that comparison… she failed the American people. ICE is enforcing the law that Congress enacted,” Homan said.

He called on Harris to apologize to ICE and law enforcement.

“They’re not making this up… Shame on her,” Homan said.

As some observed, both the KKK—which was principally a Democrat-run organization to prevent newly emancipated blacks from voting Republican—and the Left’s current position on ICE—designed to prevent the enforcement of immigration rules in order to entrench Democratic electoral power—found the party on the wrong side of the law.

Homan said recent reports of clashes between Tijuana residents and the migrant caravans set up there while hoping to gain entry into the U.S. were not surprising.

“Mexico’s finally saying enough’s enough, and the reason this is coming to a head is because President Trump has taken power—so you know what, our border’s closed for illegal business,” Homan said. “What he’s done is force this caravan to be stuck in Tijuana.

“He’s put this issue on the front burner…. He’s been right on everything he’s done on this border.”

Several Anti-Pelosi Dems Already Backpedaling on Campaign Promises

Ben Sellers
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‘No one gives you power. You have to take it from them…’

Pelosi Tells Calif. Republicans to Leave State if They Support Tax Bill
Nancy Pelosi/IMAGE: C-SPAN via YouTube

(Ben Sellers, Liberty Headlines) In a fawning profile of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., The New York Times Magazine on Monday quoted the former (and likely future) speaker of the House as saying, “No one gives you power. You have to take it from them.”

Whether this is inspiring or terrifying depends on the vantage point. Pelosi—who last year passed her three-decade mark as a member of Congress—has certainly made her share of alarming gaffes, such as the menacing pre-election remark that those opposing Democrats could expect “collateral damage.”

But ironically, one of the biggest fights the San Francisco congresswoman now faces comes from defending against the challengers within her own ranks who seek to take her seat of power from her.

As the Left works through an identity crisis pitting well-funded establishment politicians against grassroots, anti-capitalist radicals, the speakership will be a test of just how much pull Pelosi has within the Democratic Party.

The answer seems to be quite a lot.

Despite many having campaigned on promises to help oust the polarizing Pelosi from her leadership post, few in the House Democratic caucus have put forth serious challenges to her.

According to Roll Call, at least three of those who came out decisively against her before the Nov. 6 election are now getting cold feet after meeting with Pelosi. The article names New Jersey Reps.-elect Mike Sherrill and Andy Kim, as well as Michigan’s Haley Stevens, all of whom ran on platforms of change and throwing out the old.

Ohio Rep. Marcia Fudge, who had indicated an intention to challenge Pelosi, seemed also to hedge on that possibility after meeting with her.

Fudge told reporters that she could be persuaded to drop her bid if the incentives were right. “There is a point, yes, but it’s going to take some,” she said.

Fudge’s name was absent from a letter signed by 16 next-gen Dems calling for Pelosi’s ouster, despite her having signed a draft copy, reported the Washington Examiner. However, the article noted that Fudge’s omission gave no clear indication whether she was backing down from a challenge or whether it meant, conversely, that a speaker bid was imminent.

Conservative political action committee America Rising noted the names of several other upstart anti-Pelosi campaigners missing from the recent Gang of 16: Elissa Slotkin (Mich.), Jared Golden (Maine), Abigail Spanberger (Va.) and Jason Crow (Colo.).

“The divide in the party over Pelosi shows that Democrats are in in complete disarray heading into the new Congressional term,” the PAC wrote in a statement.

Interestingly, Pelosi’s bid has gained her some unlikely allies.

President Donald Trump has stated that she “deserves” to be speaker and has even offered to help her in her efforts to secure the votes.

Some Republicans in the House have also said they would be willing to support her if she implements bipartisan rules changes that would do more to empower individual members over their respective caucuses.

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