Category: Elections

Groundswell?

Conservatism, Elections

I see with great pleasure that this fine broad beat the incumbent Republican in a Colorado primary:

Five-term Rep. Scott Tipton (R-CO), who was backed by President Donald Trump, lost his primary to Lauren Boebert, the owner of Shooters Grill in Colorado.

Just by itself, this would be worthy of a glass or two being raised, and it certainly will be in this house.

But the article points out something else:

Boebert’s victory over Tipton serves as Trump’s third primary loss.
– Conservative outsider Bob Good unseated Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-VA) in June despite the House Freedom Caucus backing Riggleman over Good. Good managed to defeat Riggleman by focusing on reducing legal immigration.
– Conservative millennial Madison Cawthorn then defeated Lynda Bennet, who was endorsed by the House Freedom Fund, the Senate Conservative Fund, the American Conservative Union (ACU), and other influential D.C. conservatives.

I’m trying not to read too much into this, but three out of three has to be at least a little significant.

Of course, the Jackals Of The Press will proclaim that Republican voters are “repudiating Trump” or some such nonsense, but the way I see it is that conservative voters are looking at their incumbent candidates, deciding that they aren’t doing enough for conservatives and their goals, and picking still-more conservative candidates regardless of who endorses them.  Even better, by not picking the Trump endorsees, it takes away at least one Democrat talking point in November (“the Republican is a Trump stooge!”) because quite obviously, these new guys are beholden not to Trump, but to a conservative ideal that is stronger than their primary opponents’ activities.

As for Lauren Boebert (on whom I’ve had an old-man-crush for years), tell me why you wouldn’t vote for her:

Boebert is a 32-year-old gun-rights activist, the owner of the Garfield County Shooters Grill.
[She] gained public attention after she defied public health orders when she reopened in-restaurant dining in May. She subsequently lost her restaurant license.

A Lady Gunslinger who takes no shit from the Gummint even though it costs her bigly.  Be still, my beating heart.

I see that in 2016 Trump carried this district by 12 points over Hillary Bitch Clinton.  Let’s see if Boebert can double that margin in her own race.

Not Gonna Happen

Elections, The Gun Thing

Here’s a hopeful thought:

The record-breaking gun sales during the coronavirus pandemic could bolster candidates that support the Second Amendment in 2020 and alter the course of American gun politics for the foreseeable future.

You mean guys like these?

Nope.  They’re Democrats, support BLM (by their own admission) and if you think that they and all the other liberals buying guns are going to become Trump voters in November, you’re delusional. The only reason they’re waving their guns around like idiots is because the Great Unwashed happened to come close to their precious house.

Even worse is this:

Amy Hunter, a spokeswoman for the National Rifle Association, said that the group’s success could change the political landscape at the local, state, and national level.
“The NRA believes voters who recently purchased guns for self-defense will join other Second Amendment voters and be an even more formidable voting bloc,” Hunter told the Washington Free Beacon. “They’re educated, passionate, and they know anti-gun politicians are the biggest threat to their fundamental right to self-defense.”

Well, if the NRA thinks this is the case, that’s even more cause for gloom and skepticism.

Sure, I have no doubt that many first-time gun buyers, especially those in the poxy socialist enclaves like Los Angeles, Chicago and New York, had their noses rubbed into the consequences of their home cities’ gun control laws (which they probably all supported before the Chinkvirus thing happened);  but a) they’re probably not going to vote for Trump or even a Republican mayor or city council, and b) even if they did, their numbers will be too small to make much of a difference to the outcome in said cities.

And now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to the range.

Hell To Pay

Elections, Freaks & Loonies, Hippie Filth, Marxists

Seen as part of this article:

“The real question is not whether Trump will leave office in the event that he loses, but whether Democrats will accept the result if he wins.”

Hell, they didn’t accept his election in 2016, so expect the Loony Hysteria Switch to be pushed from 10 to 15.

It may involve mass rioting — worse than at present — and overt rebellion.  Clean yer guns and make sure of your ammo stocks:  this could get interesting.

Perspective

Africa, Elections, Law and Order

Chatting with New Wife about this and that on the way to the liquor store  gun store  supermarket;  and it appears that in South Africa, people running charity missions to deliver food parcels to the elderly and incapacitated were being robbed and their parcels taken by roving gangs of “teenagers”.

So the Government stepped in and had police officers take charge of the deliveries… wait, wait, don’t spoil the punchline…

…whereupon the police officers stole the food parcels for themselves.

New Wife was tut-tutting about the lawlessness of the people supposedly tasked with maintaining law and order, whereupon I added:

“Over Here, we had senior officers in the FBI — supposedly, one of the most ethical police forces in the world, whose motto is Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity — cooking up evidence to spy on a political campaign, intending to overturn a president elected in a fair and lawful election.

“Compared to that, nicking a couple of food parcels is minor-league stuff.”

And it is.

Asking The Other Side

Behind Enemy Lines, Elections, Mocking Furriners

Over at Instapundit, Gail Heriot has posted a decent summary of the England-Scotland alliance.  But then there’s this:

In 1979, an effort to establish (or re-establish) a separate Scottish legislature via referendum failed. It did so, however, only because the Act authorizing the referendum required that at least 40% of the entire Scottish electorate vote in favor. While the referendum got more yes than no votes, turnout was poor. In 1997, another such referendum was held. This time it passed, a Scottish Parliament was established, and the process of “devolution” was begun.
In 2014, when an independence referendum was held, it came a lot closer to passing than union supporters would have preferred. Ultimately, Scottish voters went 55.3% to 44.7% in favor of sticking it out with England.

What interests me, and many others, is the fact that only the Scots  voted on whether to leave or stay in the Union, which begs the question:  why did not all  interested parties — including the English and Welsh — vote on separation?

Had the population living south of the River Tweed voted, you bet there’s have been considerable support behind a “Toss the Jocks” movement — Mr Free Market and The Englishman claim that at least two-thirds of English voters would support expelling the porridge-monkeys in a heartbeat, had they been allowed to do so.

Such ravings should be taken with a grain of salt — especially when expressions like “Can we then finish what we started at Culloden?” and “Rebuild Hadrian’s Wall” are thrown into the mix.  Nevertheless, we Murkins should not underestimate the depth of enmity that still exists between the Picts and the Angles even after all this time.  It’s most openly expressed by the Scots, such as when supporting anyone playing England in sporting competitions, but the anti-Jock sentiments in England, while less overt, still run pretty deep.

We can talk about the Welsh and Irish situations on another occasion;  but in the meantime, think of the situation as a (very) civilized Balkans, and you’ll get the idea.