Raw Tensions Over Race and Gender Shape Midterms

No one cares.

The folks at WaPo have no clue.

See, "Raw tensions over race and gender shape midterms, reflecting schism in Trump era":

Democrat Antonio Delgado is a Rhodes Scholar and attorney with a Harvard Law degree running in one of the country’s most hotly contested congressional races.

But Republicans want to instill a different image in the minds of voters in New York’s 19th Congressional District. Their latest ad, released Wednesday, features grainy clips of Delgado, who is African American and made a 2007 rap album. His censored explicit lyrics dominate the ad, along with the album cover, which shows a glaring Delgado in a hoodie.

Raw tensions over race, gender and personal identity are shaping battleground contests from Upstate New York to the Deep South, reflecting the marked schism in the country during the Trump era and the increasingly stark demographic divide between the two political parties.

With just one primary day left, on Thursday, Democrats have set or essentially matched records for the number of female, black and LGBT nominees, a Washington Post analysis shows. Republicans’ diversity statistics have either remained static or declined in each category, leading to a heavily white, male slate of nominees.

Republicans are aggressively trying to cast Democratic candidates as scary, threatening figures with unfamiliar values. A super PAC linked to House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) has aired an ad in Ohio tenuously connecting a candidate of Tibetan and Indian descent to Libyan interests and asking if he is “selling out Americans.” In Kentucky, a GOP incumbent released an ad showing his female Democratic opponent declaring that she is a feminist.

Democrats are increasingly calling out the GOP, saying these are sexist, racist attacks that remind them of the divisive tactics that Donald Trump used as a candidate and has reprised as president. Even some Republicans are troubled by the tone.

“The difference between the past and the present is that you have a political actor like the president who makes it okay, who gives license to it, said Michael Steele, who was the first black chairman of the Republican National Committee. “If you don’t speak to that and call it out, it will germinate, it will become an infection and will create the kind of disease in our politics, which I think to some degree, we are already seeing.”

Republicans behind the attacks are making no apologies. They argue that they are informing voters about their rivals...

Still more.

'The Church of Social Justice has more rules than a monastery during Lent and the list grows daily. But unlike traditional morality, there is no path to redemption...'

This is excellent, from Jon Gabriel, at Richochet, "Norm MacDonald, #MeToo, and the Fatal Flaw in the New Morality":

.@normmacdonald is right: the new #MeToo morality needs to offer a path to forgiveness. My latest at @ricochet. https://t.co/mR8oCEIcBs

— jon gabriel (@exjon) September 12, 2018

The ancient Hebrews confessed the community’s sin, placed it onto a scapegoat, and restored the flawed people. Early Christians confessed to their priest or bishop, perhaps did some acts of penance, and were redeemed in the eyes of the church. For especially egregious and public sins, the process could be quite involved. But the model held across time and faith: confess to wrongdoing, repent, and be forgiven.

The new secular church enforces the first and second steps with a vengeance but offers no mechanism for the third and most important step. Louis and Roseanne both confessed and repented. And then … nothing. Perhaps both could have done more. Donating millions to a well-regarded charity. Crawl on their knees to the Hollywood sign and sacrifice an Emmy.

Even if they did, forgiveness, redemption, and restoration were not possible. Instead, they were cast out into weeping and gnashing of teeth with no way to make things right.

This latest faux outrage will be soon forgotten as the Twitter mob lurches after another celebrity’s career tomorrow. As for me, I’ll watch “Norm MacDonald Has a Show” on Netflix and continue to chill. Life’s too short for outrage.

RTWT.

Democrats Still Don't Get It

From Allie Stuckey, at Town Hall, "What Democrats Still Don't Get":

What Democrats Still Don't Get https://t.co/py4yb6eSC9

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) September 11, 2018

Since the election, there has been ample speculation about how Trump “happened.” Last week, Obama offered his hypothesis: resentment and paranoia on the right. He lamented the destruction of the Republican Party and the ensuing demise of America because of the divisiveness and bigotry propagated by the president and those who support him.

It seems that most on the left agree with Obama’s view. Progressives purport that enthusiasm for Trump is bolstered by “white fragility”— an insecurity that white voices, once dominant, are now being drowned out by increasingly influential minority groups bolstered by demographic changes. Trump is their “white knight,” ushered in to defend their right to power and superiority.

While it may be easy for Trump’s opposition to dismiss him as the personification of white supremacy, it is also ignorant of the meaningful concerns of the Americans who voted for him. Real, significant changes in American culture and morality that have occurred over the past decade have varied the priorities of the populace, and it is unproductive to discount these in favor of blanket accusations of racism and resentment.

As America has moved quickly and drastically to the left, it has abandoned a portion of its citizenry who still hold to what are now considered “traditional” mores. So, while many who voted for Trump may have indeed done so out of insecurity and fear, these feelings were primarily instigated not by changes in demographics but by changes in values.

The progressive revolution has taken on many forms since the turn of the century, successfully shifting opinion on issues like sexuality, gender, race, immigration and welfare. Take gay marriage: In 2001, 31% of Americans favored same-sex unions. In 2009, the percentage had only increased to 37%. By 2017, that number had surged to 62%. In only eight years, public opinion changed by 25 percentage points—more than four times than it had during the previous eight years.

Regarding racism, in 2009, only 26% of Americans viewed it as a “big problem.” By 2017, that number had more than doubled to 58%. Along party lines, 32% of Democrats and 18% of Republicans saw racism as a major issue in 2009. During the eight years of Obama’s presidency, those numbers shot up to 76% for Democrats and 37% for Republicans.

A month after Trump’s election victory, Issie Lapowsky of Wired noted that, despite a Republican win, the country is indeed moving to the left:

“Over the eight years Barack Obama has served as president, public opinion in the United States has shifted decisively leftward. Think about it. When Obama came to office, he still hadn’t publicly supported same sex marriage. Last year, the White House was lit up in rainbow colors to celebrate the Supreme Court’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage. Over the last year, bottom line-driven businesses have boycotted entire states over discriminatory policies against LGBT people. A law prohibiting transgender people from using the bathroom of their choice just cost North Carolina’s Pat McCrory the governorship. Undocumented immigrants have come out of hiding, banding together online to discuss their struggles. And in November, California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada all voted to make recreational marijuana legal.”

She’s right: the majority of Americans are becoming more progressive, particularly on social issues. This isn’t surprising. Evolving views on things like sexuality, race and immigration are to be expected after eight years of the most progressive presidency in history. Plus, millennials, soon-to-be the largest generation in existence, are extremely left-leaning, and, now in their 20s and 30s, have an influential voice in civic discourse. By nature, progressivism continually advances, conquering new moral, cultural, social and political territory with every step. In recent years, the movement has been extremely successful in gaining ground. Those left behind have barely had time to take it in.

Yes—there is real fear, and, to Obama’s point, perhaps some resentment amongst those who are not on board the progressive train. But, despite what many on the left claim, this has more to do with the changing moral, social landscape than it does racial identity and so-called bigotry. And it is not only the changes themselves that have caused anxiety, it is the attitude of those who promote these changes...

More.

Larry Schweikart's, A Patriot's History of the United States

It seems the anti-American leftists are the most outspoken in my classes this year, and they're literally approaching "deplatforming" territory, challenging every critical (or mildly critical) comment I make about the Democrat Party or leftist ideology. Some of these students have been marinated in Marxist social justice doctrines and they loathe anything dealing with Republicans, including Abraham Lincoln (imagine that *eye roll*).

In any case, perhaps this is a good time to again promote Larry Schweikart's, A Patriot's History of the United States: From Columbus's Great Discovery to America's Age of Entitlement.

Leftist students are very outspoken in class, so as to shut down any portions of the lectures that are critical of the radical left agenda. It's hard teaching these days. More often than not, conservative students don't speak up, for they're a minority on campus and I'm sure they don't want to be attacked as politically incorrect and racist.

It's really bad sometimes. It's worth nothing, though, that I'm being approached by more and more conservative students looking for club opportunities and so forth, so the word's getting out that they're not alone.

Racist Serena Williams Cartoon

I've haven't posted on the U.S. Open women's final, although I was watching. Serena Williams was out of control, IMHO. The thing for me is how many people have been defending her, all the more bizarre in that Williams tried to turn it into a gender equality issue. Fact is, she's got a long history of ugly on-court outbursts and disgusting unsportsmanlike behavior. She's basically a thug.

In any case, here's the new controversy over an alleged "racist" cartoon. Australia's Herald Sun, under fire, is not backing down.

See, "Australian newspaper is defending a cartoon of Serena Williams that has been widely condemned as a racist depiction."

Australian newspaper is defending a cartoon of Serena Williams that has been widely condemned as a racist depiction. https://t.co/Br6QP3XY8Y

— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) September 12, 2018

And, for the outrage take, see Guardian U.K., "'Repugnant, racist': News Corp cartoon on Serena Williams condemned."

Also, the latest at the National Post:

'Welcome to PC World': Australian newspaper doubles down, reprints controversial cartoon of Serena Williams https://t.co/QR03sgsgsl pic.twitter.com/Zk7Qcx7kHZ

— National Post (@nationalpost) September 12, 2018

Elsa Hosk of the Day

At Drunken Stepfather, "Elsa Hosk for a Clothing Brand of the Day."

Jamie Glazov, United in Hate

*BUMPED.

At Amazon, United in Hate: The Left's Romance with Tyranny and Terror.

College Students Have No Clue What Happened on September 11th (VIDEO)

From the Young Americans Foundation:

The Circus of Resistance

From VDH, at American Greatness:

The Circus of Resistance https://t.co/nQzNqcfkou pic.twitter.com/iIVABXq5Uo

— American Greatness (@theamgreatness) September 10, 2018

The resistance to Donald Trump was warring on all fronts last week.

Democratic senators vied with pop-up protestors in the U.S. Senate gallery to disrupt and, if possible, to derail the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) played Spartacus, but could not even get the script right as he claimed to be bravely releasing classified information that was already declassified. I cannot remember another example of a senator who wanted to break the law but could not figure out how to do it.

Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), former Harvard Law Professor who still insists she is of Native American heritage, called for the president to be removed by invoking the 25th Amendment. Apparently fabricating an ethnic identity is sane, and getting out of the Iran deal or the Paris Climate Accord is insanity and grounds for removal.

Barack Obama decided that ex-presidents should attack current presidents, and thereby reminded the country why Trump was elected. The author of the Russian “reset” and the hot-mic collusionary offer criticized Trump for being soft on Putin. The president who never achieved annualized 3 percent GDP growth (and is the first president since 1933 who can claim this “distinction”) also claimed Trump’s roaring economy was due to Obama-era policies (e.g., raising taxes, Obamacare, more regulations, and “you didn’t build that” commentaries). Fresh from trashing his successor in a funeral speech, the ever audacious Obama called for more decorum.

Bruce Ohr, once number four at the Department of Justice, and whose wife was working with Christopher Steele on the Fusion GPS file (a fact he has never disclosed willingly), now more or less has made a mockery of the FBI narrative of when, why, and how it began surveilling American citizens and infiltrating the Trump campaign. Ohr apparently has testified that well before the election, and well before the application of FISA warrants, he was working with the FBI, the already discredited Christopher Steele, and a Russian oligarch either to smear candidate Trump, or to facilitate the entry into the United States of a once barred and questionable Russian grandee, or both.

Nike hired NFL renegade Colin Kaepernick to peddle its sports products. For all its billion-dollar market research, it apparently did not know what Donald Trump’s animal cunning had almost immediately surmised: a majority of Americans do not appreciate the pampered multimillionaire Kaepernick sanctioning violence against the police by wearing “pig” socks, or mocking the National Anthem by taking a knee. Nike could just as well have hired Bowe Bergdahl to push its sneakers.

The Deep State Emerges

Then we come to an insurrectionary “resistance” op-ed in the New York Times, an insider scoop about a collective “undercover” effort to nullify the current presidency...

Keep reading.

From Jamie Glazov, at FrontPage Magazine, "Memories of Leftist Glee About 9/11":

I will never forget how, seventeen years ago on this day, many of the leftists around me in my neighborhood and community had very little trouble expressing their glee about Al Qaeda' strike on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon.

I had known some of these leftists for years, and after the fall of the Soviet empire in 1989–91 many of them bitterly lamented to me that the “alternative to capitalism” was now gone. A significant number of them retreated into a silent and sullen shell.

Then came 9/11.

Almost overnight, these individuals underwent a miraculous transformation. A bright sparkle could once again be detected in their eyes, as their revolutionary selves came out of a deep slumber. Never had I seen them so happy, so hopeful, and ready for another attempt at creating a glorious and revolutionary future. Without doubt, September 11 represented a personal -- and morbid -- vindication for them.

The images of the innocent people jumping to their deaths from the Twin Towers evoked no sympathy from these individuals. Instead, they saw only poetic justice in American commercial airplanes plunging into American buildings packed with people. For my leftist acquaintances, the jihadist terror war gave promise of succeeding in a project in which Communism had failed: to obliterate the capitalist system itself. “The U.S. brought this on itself,” they stated repeatedly -- and with scornful self-satisfaction.

These disturbing personal encounters I had were a microcosm of the Left’s behavior on the U.S. national scene. In the blink of an eye after the Twin Towers went down, leftists were beating their breasts with eerie repentance for their own government’s supposed crimes and characterizing the tragedy that their nation had just suffered to be some form of karmic justice.

Immediately following the 9/11 attack, leftist academics led with a drum roll. The very next day after the terrorist strike, the Left's intellectual guru, Noam Chomsky, exonerated the terrorists, stating that the Clinton administration’s bombing of the pharmaceutical plant in Sudan constituted a far more serious terrorist act and warning that 9/11 would be exploited by the United States as an excuse to destroy Afghanistan.

Leftist academics across the country regurgitated Chomsky’s themes, cheering the 9/11 terrorist acts, which they deemed a just retribution for America’s transgressions...

More.

Jennifer Love Hewitt Returns

At Too Fab, "Jennifer Love Hewitt Killed This Look FOX All-Star Party."

BONUS: "Ashley Tisdale Gets Too Much Sun in Tulum," and "Ashley Tisdale in a Red Bikini While on Vacation in Tulum."

Norah O'Donnell Statement on Leslie Moonves (VIDEO)

First, from Ronan Farrow (who else?), at the New Yorker, "Leslie Moonves Steps Down from CBS, After Six Women Raise New Sexual Harassment Claims."

And the flashback to last November, "Charlie Rose Fired by CBS, Dropped by PBS, After Sexual Harassment Allegations."

And here's Ms. Norah, from yesterday's CBS This Morning:

Republican Insiders Prepare for Electoral D-Day

I've been holding off on election projections, but as I always point out, the president's party normally loses seats in the midterms. Even with the strong economy, I don't expect this year to be all that different, especially in the House. I doubt the Democrats will take the Senate, though, since they're defending like 25 seats, and 10 are in states in which President Trump won (in some cases by double digits).

But we'll see.

We'll see.

At Vanity Fair, "“The House Is Already Lost”: G.O.P. Insiders Prepare for Electoral D-Day":

My latest for @VanityFair & @VFHIVE: https://t.co/LJgb3ucoCx

— David M. Drucker (@DavidMDrucker) September 10, 2018

At this stage of the game, losing the House is the most likely proposition. It’s just a matter of how bad it gets,” said a disconsolate Republican strategist with clients on the ballot, describing the final, desperate scramble to rescue the G.O.P.’s 23-seat majority from an impeachment-happy opposition. In Washington, a familiar sort of fatalism has taken hold. Just weeks until early voting kicks off, a spate of fresh public-opinion polls show Democrats on the precipice of a resounding victory. Time is short; resources are dwindling, and the singular figure with the power to make or break the party—Donald Trump—seems pathologically incapable of standing down and letting a booming job market do the talking. “You have people imploring the president not to put them in a position that will harm them—and therefore harm him,” a veteran G.O.P. operative said of Republican congressional leaders.

The pendulum of political power, which historically swings against the White House during the midterms, could be especially savage this year, given the sharp dissatisfaction with Trump in America’s usually Republican-leaning suburbs. Washington’s high-powered consulting class is betting on it. The lobby shops and advocacy organizations that play both sides and thrive on proximity to power are preparing for a changing of the gavel and moving to forge connections with Democratic committee chairmen in the House beginning in January of 2019, when the 116th Congress is seated. “Downtown, there is a sense that the House is already lost for Republicans,” a G.O.P. lobbyist and former senior House aide told me. “There is a hiring spree for plugged-in House Democrats who want to lobby. So, downtown is already planning on the Democratic takeover; the bets are on how big the flip will be.

Democratic operatives aren’t being snapped up by K Street at quite the same rate as two years ago. Lobbying shops were chastened by Trump’s victory in 2016 and are awaiting more evidence to confirm what appears to be a surging blue tide. But professional Washington is not unconvinced. They’re privy to much of the same data being poured over by dialed-in Republicans, and believe an end to one-party rule is on the horizon. Whatever bump the Republicans enjoyed earlier this year, during the brief period of normalcy after Trump signed the historic, $1.3 trillion tax overhaul into law, appears long gone. So is the goodwill House Republicans anticipated when they pictured a fall campaign with a national economy growing at an annual clip of 4 percent, and an unemployment rate that had plummeted below 4 percent. “I’m advising clients to start covering their bases with would-be chairs,” said another Republican lobbyist, referring to the Democrats who are likely to take over powerful House committees, such as Energy and Commerce or Ways and Means.

The political forces battering the G.O.P. aren’t hitting the two houses of Congress equally. As I reported for the Washington Examiner and discovered during a summer swing through the Midwest, 2018 is essentially a tale of two campaigns, reflective of the balkanization gripping our politics. As bad as the midterms look for House Republicans, with dozens of seats in danger, their Senate colleagues begin the fall chase better positioned. The party’s 51-49 Senate majority, propped up by a battleground that runs right through the heart of Trump country, could actually expand, if Republicans can navigate a few molehills, and if those molehills don’t grow into mountains. Rep. Beto O’Rourke might upset Sen. Ted Cruz in Texas, granted that has as much to do with the Republican’s own image problems as the Democratic Party’s Senate prospects.

Democrats are on the defensive in a handful of ruby red states a world away from restless, upscale suburbia...

 More.

Nice Lady

Seen on Twitter, dang!

Big sexy cleavage! #boobs #tits @Real_modela pic.twitter.com/4wOyCXs7px

— Big Breast Pics (@BigBreastPics) August 7, 2018

Camila Morrone Bikini Pics

At Hollywood Tuna, "Camila Morrone Is One Busty Insta-Model."

BONUS: At Drunken Stepfather, "MORNING HANGOVER DUMP OF THE DAY."

Jennifer Delacruz's Overcast Monday Forecast

It'll clear up by the afternoon, but that's a total fog layer along the coast.

Here's the lovely Ms. Jennifer, with her hair up in some kind of bob, at ABC 10 News San Diego:

Stephen Harrigan, The Gates of the Alamo

*BUMPED.*

I just finished Sylvia Plath's, The Bell Jar (which I picked up on a whim).

Now I'm starting Stephen Harrigan's, The Gates of the Alamo.

And thanks for shopping my Amazon links.

Rita Ora of the Day

At Drunken Stepfather, "RITA ORA NIPPLES OF THE DAY."

Also, "STEPLINKS OF THE DAY."

BONUS: "Rita Ora Relaxes in a Bikini by the Pool in France," and "Rita Ora in White Lace."

'Straight Outta Caracas'

Omg this is hilarious.

At Twitchy, "‘I Can’t Get No Socialism’: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s photo inspires HILARIOUS titles and songs for her new album":

'I Can't Get No Socialism': Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's photo inspires HILARIOUS titles and songs for her new album https://t.co/ecd3t4jaos

— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) September 9, 2018

This photo of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez where she appears to be sitting on some seriously worn out stairs wearing fairly pricey threads (and check out those shoes!) reminded Matt’s Idea Shop of the type of photo a band or a pop diva would use for an album.

Is she dropping an album or something? pic.twitter.com/T5qdvHhpx7

— Matt’s Idea Shop (@MattsIdeaShop) September 8, 2018

pic.twitter.com/WtdtJ1KPaw

— Matt’s Idea Shop (@MattsIdeaShop) September 9, 2018

"Westchester Side, yo,
Just a socialist gangsta
Democrat stylin', buckwilin'
Frontin' in my Gucci handbag
Like my arugula
with thousand islands
Don't mess with my frappe
Take my milk with extra soy
Don't hate on my rap
Or your whole economy I'll destroy" pic.twitter.com/Ffepv9RzqY

— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) September 9, 2018

Gavin Newsome, Former Mayor of America's Biggest Urban Dumphole, Rose to Power Backed by Bay Area's Big-Money Interests

If you haven't yet, make sure you read Joel Kotkin's The New Class Conflict, which details the political realignment of the last few decades whereby the Democrat Party has become the party of the elite coastal corporate rich.

These new Democrat leftists don't really care about the poor --- consider Mark Zuckerberg building a walled digital castle in San Francisco's "hipster central Dolores Park," using migrant laborers and pissing off the district's neighbors (who dare not say a word lest they face retaliation). No, they care about their corporate profits and the leftist virtue signaling. You never see far-left Democrat elites living a lifestyle of those they say they represent. Indeed, their actual policies, especially in California --- with its obsession on climate change regulation --- keep people poor, saddling them with higher taxes, unaffordable housing, and wasteful government bureaucracy.

California is the ultimate wealthy insider's country club of power and privilege, but only if you're a soi-disant progressive.

Meh.

Newsome's a loser and we'll be saddled with his terrible far-left San Francisco policies for nearly a decade.

At the Los Angeles Times, "How eight elite San Francisco families funded Gavin Newsom’s political ascent":

On today's Los Angeles Times front page: How eight elite San Francisco families funded Gavin Newsom's political ascent https://t.co/CPtotNCgrP by @LATSeema @ryanvmenezes @maloym Design by @priyakkumar @vnessamartinez Animation: @swetha_kan pic.twitter.com/hrF87eaf1v

— Allison Wisk (@allisonwisk) September 9, 2018

Gavin Newsom wasn’t born rich, but he was born connected — and those alliances have paid handsome dividends throughout his career.

A coterie of San Francisco’s wealthiest families has backed him at every step of his political rise, which in November could lead next to his election as governor of California.

San Francisco society’s “first families” — whose names grace museum galleries, charity ball invitations and hospital wards — settled on Newsom, 50, as their favored candidate two decades ago, said Willie Brown, former state Assembly speaker and former mayor of the city.

“He came from their world, and that’s why they embraced him without hesitancy and over and above everybody else,” said Brown, who is a mentor to Newsom. “They didn’t need to interview him. They knew what he stood for.”

A Times review of campaign finance records identified eight of San Francisco’s best-known families as being among Newsom’s most loyal and long-term contributors. Among those patrons are the Gettys, the Pritzkers and the Fishers, whose families made their respective fortunes in oil, hotels and fashion. They first backed him when he was a restaurateur and winery owner running for a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1998, and have continued their support through the governor’s race.

They are not Newsom’s largest donors: The families in total have given about $2 million of the $61 million that donors have contributed to his campaigns and independent committees backing those bids. But they gave while he was a relative unknown, providing crucial support to a political newcomer in the years before his campaign accounts piled high with cash from labor unions, Hollywood honchos, tech billionaires and donors up and down the state.

Now the families appear poised to see their investments pay off.

These donors are mostly liberal, inspired by Newsom’s history as an early supporter of progressive causes, including same-sex marriage as San Francisco mayor in 2004. But some are Republicans, including President Trump’s new ambassador to Austria, who are drawn by Newsom’s background as a small businessman...

 More.

RELATED: At Instapundit, "WHY ARE DEMOCRAT-RUN STATES SO CLASS-BOUND AND STAGNANT? Joel Kotkin: The Hollowing-Out of the California Dream. For minorities in the Golden State, opportunity and upward mobility are hard to come by."