George Rebane
[This article, sans update, was published here in the 25oct23 issue of The Union.]
Recently I attended a luncheon sponsored by a local Republican club that featured as speaker one of the party’s eight candidates for US Senate. She gave a barnburner talk outlining all the familiar iniquities of the Democrats both in Sacramento and Washington. Specifically, she reprised the Democrats’ work in
- Always raising taxes;
- Issuing more stifling regulations;
- Mismanaging the economy;
- Indoctrinating Neo-Marxism in the media, education, and entertainment;
- Watering down critical curricula in our schools – dumbing down students;
- Rewarding criminals and punishing victims;
- Promoting trans-gendering in schools, denying parental rights to raise their children;
- Maintaining wide open borders for illegal alien entry;
- Projecting foreign policy weakness, inviting bad actors to make war;
- Etc, etc.
The problem with her enthusiastic rhetoric was that her Republican audience knew all that stuff, and most could have given that speech themselves. What was sorely missing, and has been missing for years at such gatherings, is recognition of the dire straits the party is in, and what would be required for its resurgence in California.
Recounting the above list yet one more time is nothing but imitating a long-playing echo chamber which might be of interest to those conservatives who don’t pay attention to what is going on in the country and the world. The problem is that most of those folks don’t show up at such luncheons and meetings.
So, the Republican Party, irrelevant statewide and nationally chaotic, continues to ignore the fact that it can right none of the liberal and woke wrongs without first regaining its stature as a recognized can-do political force in the country. Endlessly repeating and pointing out the passing signposts to socialism has done nothing to change the direction of the country, and doing the same thing over and over again only confirms the definition of ignorance.
If Republicans are not putting their energies into planning and making progress on the party’s road to resurgence, then the rest of it will only be an ongoing stream of empty rhetoric growing weaker with the passing years.
[27oct23 update] An added thought. Given how other states are adopting our public policy insanities, California’s cancer has been aggressively metastasizing across the land. The reason is clear and hangs on ‘other people’s money’ that can best be understood in light of what Garrett Hardin (q.v.) taught us about the behavior of commons (more here and here). California has been very successful in taxing ‘the rich’, regulating the bejeezus out of everyone, and getting the feds to pony up every time we get our tit in a wringer, that it seems like a good idea for the folks in Ohio and Nebraska to copy. As our snowballing national debt attests, with everyone piling on, this commons awaits its inevitable fate.
rebanesruminations.com 
376 responses to “The Reprobate Republicans (updated 27oct23)”
Another one bites the dust –
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/11/03/minnesota-lawsuit-to-keep-trump-off-ballot-hits-rocks/
😉
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Paul. If you can’t see that your government is selectively prosecuting people for political reasons, I don’t know what to tell you. Being a veteran, I’d think that you’d be appalled. These selective prosecutions are a violation of everything upon which this country was founded. Our country is marching towards totalitarianism right before your eyes but you don’t see it. You need to wake up dude.
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Barry, I suspect Punchy is overjoyed by the prosecutions.
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Punchy… you do realize that enabling political trials will not have a good ending for anyone, don’t you?
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Paul would be appalled only if oxen he favored were being gored.
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Barry, don’t you mean your government is prosecuting people for political crimes? 😂
As far as I know, no one in the country has ever been prosecuted for that firearm infraction that Hunter has been charged for.
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Another indicator that Republicans are not going to do well in the upcoming elections,
a city in Oregon has seen a 1,000% increase in Idahoans seeking abortions. Idaho is a red state so I assume some of those seeking help are MAGA conservatives. Will they be able to delude themselves into believing that Biden is responsible?
https://ktvz.com/news/bend/2023/11/03/bends-planned-parenthood-sees-1000-increase-in-idaho-patients-since-near-total-ban-took-effect/
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Trump leading in five of six swing states per NY Times.
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/latest_polls/
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“In a new set of New York Times/Siena College polls, Mr. Trump leads Mr. Biden in five of the six battleground states likeliest to decide the presidency, as widespread discontent with the state of the country and growing doubts about his ability to perform his job as president threaten to unravel the diverse coalition that elected him in 2020.
Overall, Mr. Trump leads by 48 percent to 44 percent among registered voters across the six states, including leads in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada — most likely more than enough to win the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. Mr. Biden led in the sixth state, Wisconsin.”
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The Sunday funnies:
“As far as I know, no one in the country has ever been prosecuted for that firearm infraction that Hunter has been charged for.”
That statement might carry a little more weight if the person who wrote it had any actual knowledge of reality. We notice there seems to be no attempt at citing any official figures.
“a city in Oregon has seen a 1,000% increase in Idahoans seeking abortions.”
Oh dear – where to begin? Since abortion used to be legal in Idaho and there was very little reason for Idahoans to leave the state to get an abortion, and now they need to go to another state and Oregon is right next door… can you say “duh”?
“…I assume some of those seeking help are MAGA conservatives”
An assumption based on what personal knowledge? Even if a MAGA fellow were to be a hypocrite and get his girl friend an abortion in Oregon, how does that alter how he votes in the next election? The actual number so far this year is 392 – how many of those even vote?
But keep posting, Juanita – we all love the laughs you provide.
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scotto 1200p
LOL!
“Juan” is just betting his vision of reality beats anyone else here, outside of Punch.
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“Will they be able to delude themselves into believing that Biden is responsible?”
Only if Biden had been showering with their underage girlfriend.
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“As far as I know, no one in the country has ever been prosecuted for that firearm infraction that Hunter has been charged for.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/14/hunter-biden-indicted-on-firearms-charges.html
“Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, was indicted Thursday on three criminal counts related to his possession of a firearm, a court filing showed.”
three
“The third count charges him with possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful drug user”
five seconds on google.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdtn/pr/drug-user-possession-firearm-sentenced-federal-prison-part-operation-crime-driver
“Isca Johnson, 24 of Covington, Tennessee has been sentenced to 21 months in federal prison for being an unlawful drug user in possession of a firearm. ”
https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndia/pr/unlawful-drug-user-sentenced-over-eight-years-federal-prison-possessing-gun
“Oluwadurotim Orebiyi, age 29, from Florissant, Missouri, received the prison term after a May 20, 2019 guilty plea to one count of being an unlawful drug user in possession of a firearm.”
https://www.atf.gov/news/pr/gang-member-who-posed-firearms-snapchat-pleads-guilty
“Dumari Shakur Scarlett-Dixon, 22, pleaded guilty to being an unlawful drug user in possession of a firearm and ammunition. “
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Posted by: WhyDoIEvenBother | 06 November 2023 at 06:26 AM
The same crack investigative skills he brought to the table when he was an Award Winning with a MASTERS DEGREE even …..reporter!
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@6:26 – your nom de plume says it all. There’s that old saying:
“you can’t fix stupid”
It is in fact Trump who is being charged with laws that are being “creatively” applied in his situation in ways that have no precedent.
Because he is an ‘existential’ threat to !DEMOCRACY!
And that parroted line by the left is so ignorant and brain-dead it isn’t even funny. We had elections while he was POTUS and the left thought those elections were all hunky-dory. They can’t point out any actual ‘threat’ at all.
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Gregory
“Reality” is that Trump has been indicted on 91 felony counts that are working their way through the courts. That is a fact. Do you deny that?
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link
https://whyy.org/articles/trump-indicted-third-time-where-cases-stand/
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Punchy… do you deny the prosecutors and judges are politically motivated, not even trying to be seen as balanced.
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Ultra Left wing commentator Rachel Mad-Cow flat out admitted that if Trump had left politics after the last election, he wouldn’t be facing all these legal troubles.
Does Paul deny the political corruption in the CIA, IRS, FBI and the Justice Dept in general?
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You are expressing an opinion Gregory. Show me some factual basis to support it. My 8:54 is factual.
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What is apparently galling you is that my opnion is factual.
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Show me the facts Gregory. What specif indictments on Biden are you referring to?
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Gregory, so you are contending that the 91 felony counts Trump has been indicted on are bogus and should be thrown out. Have you actually read the indictments? I provided links to them some time back. I read them and they are substantial and documented. Try reading them to educate yourself.
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No, they should all be held starting in January ’29. Can you wait?
Sorry, Punch, I don’t believe you have the ability to read indictments and pronounce judgements. Neither does anyone else here.
This is politics at its ugliest.
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So you didn’t read them Gregory? How can you have an opinion without even reading the indictments? Why Jan ’29? What is that about?
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How can you have an opinion without even reading the indictments?
The same way that you always whine for links and then admit that you never read them.
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“So you didn’t read them Gregory? How can you have an opinion without even reading the indictments?”
We went over this the last time.
Why January 2029?
Put on your thinking cap, Punch.
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Either way Gregory you have not read the indictments but still have the opinion they are corrupt and should be thrown out. That’s all any reasonable reader of this blog would need to know to surmise you are full of shit and a fake Libertarian.
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“Either way Gregory you have not read the indictments…”
Says who?
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Gregory
So your Jan’29 reference obviously means any trial should be delayed till the next Presidential term after Trump would be out of office if elected. That means that in your view a Presidential candidate is immune from prosecution while they are running for President or during their term. Can you show me where in the Constitution this is justified. Odd concept coming from a so called Libertarian.
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Your brain works in mysterious ways.
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So tell me Gregory what is “special” about Jan ’29?
By the way how many indictments did you read Gregory?
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Ooooopsie said it out loud –
Democratic Rep scorched for claiming Black voters leaning Trump don’t understand ‘how any of this works’
‘Their feelings are dictating their reality and their reality is that they feel better or they felt better when Trump was in office,’ she said
https://www.foxnews.com/media/democratic-rep-scorched-claiming-black-voters-leaning-trump-dont-understand-works
😉
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Beyond economic issues could this also be driving the surge in minority support for Trump? –
Thy Black Man
Black Americans, Asian Americans, Mexican Americans, and White Americans: Reject Gun Control – Arm Yourself and Refuse to be a Sitting Duck.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/black-americans-asian-americans-mexican-americans-and-white-americans-reject-gun-control-arm-yourself-and-refuse-to-be-a-sitting-duck/ar-AA1juBux?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=5698d0ed5bc943aca022169de9dbc9fe&ei=19
😉
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How can you have an opinion without even reading the
indictments….links?You always have an opinion yet you self-admittedly never read links that you demand!
How is this possible?
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Where did you get the idea I didn’t read links? Never said that. Show me when I said that.
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Where did you get the idea I didn’t read links? Never said that. Show me when I said that.
You most certainly did say that!
Your specific emphasis was that you were so “busy” that you never had time for links (busy, so busy….bizzy, bizzy, bizzy)! That’s when we were providing them unrequested and you were deliberately ignoring them and telling us that you were ignoring them!
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Where did you get the idea I didn’t read links? Never said that. Show me when I said that.
Further, there was an instance….there really are so many with you….where you were desperate to engage with Gregory on some matter and in order to do so you had to coerce him into reading a link you provided. There was little interest on his part, mainly because he knows that you don’t do reciprocity! You begged and pleaded that “…this time I’ll read the link….I promise”. So again…self-admitted!
I’m paraphrasing but that was the gist of it!
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I read ALL the links Gregory provides.
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https://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2002/01/07
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Posted by: Some Guy | 07 November 2023 at 10:48 AM
I read ALL the links Gregory provides.
Well if that’s the case I find it interesting that you would beg him to read one of yours and I very clearly remember your desperate pleadings! Anyway that’s my testimony…..the event as I remember it!
Anyone else want to corroborate …or not….as the case may be?
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Talk about “on the nose”!
https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/2023-11-06_07-39-25.png?itok=ka3FCGoh
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Joe Biden actually bribes people in Ukraine. Trump impeached for asking questions about such bribery. Biden is not indicted.
Joe Biden misplaced thousands of classified documents and 85,000 emails sent or received to pseudonyms as vice-president. Trump is indicted for mishandling classified documents as president (which is an impossibility). Neither Biden nor Clinton was ever prosecuted for mishandling classified information when neither was president.
Joe Biden and Clinton and deep state try to overturn 2016 election through Russiagate. It turns into a turd and was all a lie.
Now Biden is trying to prosecute Trump for questioning 2020 after Democrats illegally changed voting laws in multiple states because of COVID.
Selective prosecution and election interference by Biden and Clinton. Yep, yet not even a slap on the wrist.
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Gregory, your refusal to read the indictments against Trump means you’re not interested in perusing the truth in this matter.
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What refusal?
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Oh so you did read the indictments. Why didn’t you say so? Now we can talk about specifics in the indictments.
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Where did I say that?
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Let’s stay with indictments based on sworn and cross examined testimony.
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The ham sandwiches under indictment… you want to talk about the ham and swiss or the ham and provolone?
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I’m waiting to hear Punchy read everything I linked at
https://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2002/01/07
That’s 21 years + of the Pearls before Swine comic strip.
Once he indicates he’s read them all, we will have something to discuss.
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