Elections have consequences
It’s rather commonplace to see people on the right mention that the machinations of Comey, Clapper, McCabe, et. al. regarding the investigation of the Trump campaign would never have been revealed to the American people had Hillary Clinton been elected president, as was expected.
I’ve also often seen it said by people on the right that the GOP in Congress is nearly worthless and that the two parties constitute a “uniparty” with little distinction between them. But although I certainly agree that the Republicans in Congress often deeply disappoint, I have long argued that not only are they better than the Democrats but the idea that the two parties are alike is a destructive one.
And so it is in the spirit of that latter thought that I will add something I rarely if ever see pointed out, which is that while it is correct that the entire operation by which the “deep state” spied on the campaign of Donald Trump would not have been revealed without the election of Trump, it is also the case that it is unlikely to have been revealed without the election of a Republican-majority Congress as well.
In other words, it was necessary to have someone like Devin Nunes as chair of the House Intelligence Committee, pushing for disclosure. The way Congress works is that the majority party gets to chair committees and set agendas. Does anyone really think the same revelations would have seen the light of day had the Democrats been in charge?
Very true, that. Can’t imagine Adam Schiff pushing the FBI and DOJ to release relavant documents.
It still hasn’t been revealed.
If it had been, Comey, Clapper, and McCabe would be in a similar position as Manafort, Gates, Flynn, Papadopoulos…
“while it is correct that the entire operation by which the “deep state” spied on the campaign of Donald Trump would not have been revealed without the election of Trump, it is also the case that it is unlikely to have been revealed without the election of a Republican-majority Congress as well.
Does anyone really think the same revelations would have seen the light of day had the Democrats been in charge?”
Of course not. It’s not in the ideological interest of the democrats to allow their Deep State agent’s treasonous machinations to be revealed.
If the Republicans hadn’t a majority, these revelations never would have seen the light of day because Nunes wouldn’t be the chairman of the United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
Nunes was elected in 2015 and was a member of President Trump’s transition team. If he was a RINO things would be different.
Does anyone believe that if either Ryan or McConnell were in charge that they would have dug as deeply or been as determined to unearth the truth? They’ve recently started to offer weak support as they start to see blood in the water.
Then again, Sen. Chuck Grassley has been equally impactful as Nunes and proves that some of the old Republicans still put the Constitution first.
As if Nunes didn’t already have enough on his plate, I’d like to see him open an investigation into Obama’s use of intelligence agencies to spy on Romney during the 2012 election campaign.
At this point, all I have are suspicions, but are we really to believe that Obama started his political espionage with Trump? Also, have they gone further than surveillance? Did they conduct digital sabotage? Inquiring minds want to know.
Cornflour, this was certainly going on during Obama’s push to get the Iran deal done. The anti-deal people were complaining that every conversation they had would appear in the newspaper the next day.
My wife laughed at me in 2012 when I said that Obama’s re-election meant the end if the Republic. John Kass of the Chicago Tribune said in 2008 that Obama’s election would bring massive Chicago style corruption to Washington. He was 100% right and I may still be right if Trump can’t drain the swamp in a significant way.
Cornflour,
There is absolutely no reason to assume that Obama started with Trump in 2016. In fact, his prior exposure of his Illinois opponent’s sealed divorce records indicates a long pattern.
Neoneocon, you and I had a “discussion” a good ways back on this issue. I admit I was angry that nothing seemed to be getting done, that “my” Republican Senator seemed to be more anti Trump than pro Republican. Your above argument is very cogent and concise. I revise my opinion and have changed my stance on this issue. But I still would hope that “my” Republican senator would be more supportive of Trump and his policies.
Obviously the left gaing control of the executive and legislative branches would have resulted in covering up the criminal nature of the deep state. I long ago said bho would bring Chicago style corruption to the alphabet soup agencies of DC. It was predictable, duh.
Even RINOs, with a few exceptions, are marginally more desirable than leftists. The dems no longer have Scoop Jacksons on their side of the aisle. They hate our founding principles and seek a totalitarian rule. Trump is a pause to their assault on the Republic. During the 2016 primaries I never thought I would say that, but here I am saying it.
This is such a fantastic story, it will make fun reading in history books some day provided it does not go all Commie Socialist then it will be rewritten. What a deal, I think they were dicking around in the beginning just to see what was going on and see if they needed to tip thing towards Hillary but when they smoothed over, sanded and patched her bumps and filled in a few cracks they knew she was good for the win. No way old Hillary could lose but then she did. OH WHAT A NIGHT!
Of course at that time with the Trump coming in first and Hillary second place in that most unusual race it was scramble time, time for the insurance policy to kick in and make Trump a liability in the eyes of all of us good old, red, white, and blue Americans who were dumb enough to vote for him. The leakers leaked and the media ‘Greek Chorus’ cried out, Russians, not our good friends Russians we have when Dems are in power but the Real Red Ruski Russians of olden days who influenced the unthinking masses into doing the unthinkable because no other way could the waddling, doddering, little blonde, chunky, first woman president come in second place, had to be Russians, and if you don’t believe it just check the New York Times and the Washington Post, they have the inside info, Top Secret, Code Word, real story.
And now with enough time, patience and a majority in Congress they, the protectors of all that is as it should be, have painted themselves into a corner. Trump didn’t get mad and take his marbles and go home in a huff. He kind of messed around and lifted the economy up out of a slump and it has held now for a good bit in spite of the media announcing every 1/2 of one percent dip as a sharp drop. If “It’s the economy Stupid” holds and continues to gain through the fall the polls are still far off because they are overstating the position of the Dems being just about even.
As it was in the fall of 2016, conservatives don’t talk to pollsters, they vote and every time the lefties attack the base issues of conservatives, God, guns and babies a few more decide this Trump guy is a blow hard ass but he’s our blow hard ass and they do what the Dems have done for years, they turn out and vote, this mid term election might really pull some out that coasted in past years.
I could be wrong but I really would like to see some more tears from liberals who are running on a platform right now of liking anything Trump talks bad about and Stormy Daniels.
“Elections have consequences” Only to a point. So far, over one year into the new administration, NOTHING has happened! Lois Learner is happily retired, the Justice Department ignores document requests, the Special Counsel is so far off track as to be in another galaxy. It does not look likely that any thing will be done about anything meaningful.
Just wait out the clock, another election cycle or two, pendulum will swing and then, the Republicans will come under scrutiny and indictment.
Cornflour, exactly right.
It can’t just have started in 2016.
Regarding Obama introducing “Chicago-style” ways of doing things, it’s not only that.
It’s “Chicago-style” PLUS extreme Left ideology (disguised as patriotism, of course, since that’s the MO).
That is, it’s not just thuggery. It’s revolution.
The picture with Obama smiling with Chavez says it all.
Romey,
Patience young Padawan. Looks can be deceiving.
Lois Learner is only a pawn. There are much bigger fish to catch.
The Justice Department ignoring document requests has an end date. Trump can order those documents released, after he’s personally redacted them… whenever he wishes. He’s giving them enough rope to hang themselves by eliminating any plausible excuse for the ludicrous delays.
The Special Counsel’s got nothing… and more and more his political motivations are less deniable. Which is resulting in more and more Americans having an unfavorable view of Mueller.
Were Trump to leave now, yes the dems could recover. If Trump fails to run in 2020, they might recover. Seven years from now? It will be a much tougher road before them. Which is why if Trump’s reelected, they will resort to assassination. If they fail, Emerson’s dictum will apply; When you strike at a king, you must kill him”.
Give Trump a conservative majority to work with and the Left may never recover, the prospect of which is why they are so hysterical.
A conservative Congressional majority can impeach ‘activist’ judges. The Constitution can be strengthened. Such that a 3/4 majority can never be obtained by the Left.
With Obama they laid it all on the table and went out on a limb. Trump is slowly sawing off that limb… while publicly and fiercely berating Sessions (but leaving him in place…) all so that the Left doesn’t catch on to what Trump and Sessions are doing behind the scenes.
The parties are alike in that they want cheap labor (open borders) and to spend copious amounts of money we don’t have.
On the latter, they merely disagree on whom to give the money.
OldTexan Says:
May 24th, 2018 at 7:17 pm
This is such a fantastic story, it will make fun reading in history books some day provided it does not go all Commie Socialist then it will be rewritten.
* * *
Probably one of the reasons Amazon, Facebook, Google, etc. are censoring the conservatives who are “writing” the story as it happens.
Destroy all the evidence…
Neo, I hope you have off-line archives.
As I noticed while reading aLegal Insurrection article referenced by the one you linked, they talked about X years of YoutTube content pulled without notice.
Do people not keep some kind of back-up files for web media? I don’t know how the system works, and assume it would be hard to regenerate much of the meta-content, but the basic videos should still be somewhere that they can be pulled from.
It’s just a real pain to do that, I suppose.
@Geoffrey Britain
Sometimes I think that is exactly what Trump and Sessions are doing – With Trump playing Edgar Bergen on crack cocaine and Sessions Charlie McCarthy on doggie downers. Other times I think the Deep State has Sessions by the short hairs and are twisting real good any time he even dreams of doing anything. I sure hope you are right. And to Neo’s point we now learn that deplorable extortionist Devin Nunes is obstructing justice ….according to Chuck Schumer.
Elections have consequences.
But what is truly amazing is this…even after losing all 3 branches, Team Blue was able to secure an investigation of Team Red for what regular folks colloquially call Treason.
Meanwhile Team Red controls all 3 branches. Their Dear Leader has been screaming about a Watergate-level scandal since at least his Obama-wiretap lie, though probably Birtherism is a better place to start.
Then came FISA-gate, Uranium, Seth Rich. Nada. Nada. Nada.
Judging from McConnells reaction, you guys are running down the rabbit hole again. When asked to explain why there is no investigation, you’ll theorize that the FBI is made up of radical leftists of something. And Seal Team Six is a bunch of lesbian Rad-Fems.
Manju:
Here is a clue. Team Blue has no rules but power. So they do whatever to keep it and get more of it always. A living constitution is useful to Team Blue, since it can mean whatever they need at the time. Never let a crisis go to waste. Do you love “Big Brother?” It seems so.
Not too clever making light of Seals and the military just before Memorial Day. Where is the bottom, Manju?
lgude,
“Other times I think the Deep State has Sessions by the short hairs and are twisting real good any time he even dreams of doing anything.”
I’ve been disappointed enough in Sessions apparent inactivity that I too have considered that someone has something on Sessions. But if Sessions inactivity is in fact that and Trump’s unhappiness with Sessions is genuine… then why hasn’t Trump fired him? No President can advance his agenda is his top officials are passive-aggressively resisting him and I just can’t see Trump taking it for this long.
Which leads me to seek another explanation, given that “inexplicable” behavior always has an understandable motivation once insight into it is gained.
Manju,
Team Blue was able to secure an investigation of Team Red by manufacturing ‘evidence’ against Trump that before its falsity was exposed, responsible leadership had to take seriously.
As for McConnell’s “reaction”… most here place no reliance upon his veracity.
McConnell and Ryan represent the GOPe, who place the Constitution and welfare of America slightly higher in priority than do the dems.
I realize there is a difference. It’s still true that the Republicans in Congress accomplish flat nothing unless there is some candy in it for business lobbies. Allowing the ExIm Bank to expire was this simplest thing to do. Addison Mitchell McConnell not only arranged for its continuation, he lied to Sen. Cruz in the process.
The Republicans had a majority in both houses and the Presidency from 2003 to 2007 and from 2017 to date and got less done than the Gingrich Congress managed while contending with a Democratic president. Part of it is that insipid careerists like Lisa Murkowski and the terminally refractory like John McCain sabotage good work when push comes to shove, but part of it is just execrable leadership over a caucus stacked five feet high with conniving poseurs. See the Obamacare fiasco. After 7 years, they should have had a finely crafted piece of replacement legislation good to go. They had nothing, because they were just striking attitudes and never meant it. They just do as they’re told by their donors.
Regarding Obama introducing “Chicago-style” ways of doing things, it’s not only that.
Obama is nothing like a Chicago Alderman. He lacks the people skills for that kind of work and lacks the interest in flesh-and-blood individuals with problems. Also, Chicago corruption is about favoritism, bribery, and extortion. The Regime under Obama / Holder / Lynch is characterized by abuse of power which incorporates targeted harassment of the opposition. There is favoritism and patron-client politics, but that’s more driven by Congress and the culture of the Democratic Party generally.
All of the above … and yet, every time I read an article from the Left, even the ones soberly counseling a reduction in the hysteria and hyperbole (aka lying), they still manage to insert the Meme that it is the Right that is being tyrannical, authoritarian, mean and evil, etc etc etc — as if they know nothing about what the Leftist activists cum* terrorists are doing, or don’t care, or don’t perceive it as being exactly what they allege of the right.
*BTW, FWIW, this word is no longer the ancient Latin preposition we all know and love, which I discovered by reading this recent article; you can check at Urban Dictionary to see the ostensible problem — the stupidity is unfixable:
https://libertyunyielding.com/2018/05/22/summa-laude-publix-censors-overly-erudite-graduation-cake/
We’re doomed.
The 1960s called: they want their Agent 007 back.
https://spectator.org/the-london-to-langley-spy-ring/
https://www.steynonline.com/8667/tinker-tailor-clapper-carter-downer-halper-spy
ArtDeco— Exactly. In Chicago, under Mayor Daley, corruption was rife. But, there was a payoff. If you were a loyal Democrat voter, when you called your Alderman about a pothole, it got fixed. With these scum, you make your contributions but the potholes never get fixed.
I suspect it was the precinct captain you’d call. Edward Banfield around about 1974 published a work which included contributions from an array of scholars. One was an account taken down in 1949 of a precinct captain describing his work. It involved several evenings a week of walking his neighborhood talking to people about their problems. He’d been doing it for eighteen years at that point. Interesting point: for his day job he was a public prosecutor. IIRC, of one of Andrew Greeley’s accounts of his youth in Chicago, the local precinct captain was an undertaker.