My latest in PJ Media:
Matt Lewis is yet another Never-Trump house conservative for the Left, retailing Leftist talking points that are supposed to sway conservative Trump supporters since they come from someone with such an impressive conservative pedigree. Lewis has worked for the Leadership Institute, written for Human Events and the Daily Caller, and won an award from the American Conservative Union. But all that was just a warm-up. Now young Lewis has rocketed to the big time: serving as a stooge for the Left, stirring up the hysteria and division that increasingly mars the public square today, and sniping at Trump in the Daily Beast.
Demonstrating that he has mastered the key tactic of the Left today — wild, fact-free mudslinging — Lewis writes that Trump “possessed almost all the skills a would-be Mussolini might need. He had the demagogic appeal to a cult-like following, the strongman tendencies (see his personal affinity for dictators), the attacks on democratic norms (his refusal to clearly state that he will respect the election outcome), an unhealthy disregard for the Constitution (‘Article II allows me to do whatever I want’), and a visceral ability to undermine institutions that exist to hold him accountable (‘fake news,’ ‘enemies of the people,’ etc.).”
“A cult-like following”? Lewis’ link leads to a CBS News photo gallery labeled “Extreme Donald Trump fans” and showing the president engaged in such Mussolini-like activities as getting a kiss on the cheek from an elderly woman, and his cult-like supporters showing their religious fervor by behavior such as wearing an NRA t-shirt with a “Trump: Make America Great Again” sticker affixed to it.
Those who are really worried about Trump’s “demagogic appeal” should ask themselves when was the last time they saw a massive personality cult-style poster of the president adorning a public building, a la the portraits of Mao and Xi that one sees everywhere in China. They should compare the CBS photos with old newsreel footage of the hypnotic frenzy Adolf Hitler aroused in his followers.
Does Matt Lewis himself believe this nonsense? Although he apparently hasn’t always been a Leftist, he seems to have mastered the Leftist tactic of playing fast and loose with the facts in order to elicit a visceral reaction from his audience. There is a word for that – what was it again? Oh yeah: demagoguery.
As for Trump not accepting the results of the election, Lewis ignores the fact that when Joe Biden was claiming that Trump would not leave the White House voluntarily if he lost, Trump made it clear that he would abide by the election result and leave office, saying: “Certainly, if I don’t win, I don’t win,” and that if he lost, “you go on, do other things.”
What enrages Lewis and his Leftist colleagues is that Trump is unlikely to emulate Richard Nixon and roll over for dirty tricks. Few people today remember that although Nixon was dubbed Tricky Dick and was famous for political chicanery, in what may have been the biggest heist that involved him, he was the victim. Rating America’s Presidents: An America-First Look at Who Is Best, Who Is Overrated, and Who Was An Absolute Disaster recounts how the 1960 presidential election was extremely close, with Democratic candidate John F. Kennedy winning only 112,000 more popular votes than Nixon. Illinois and Texas decided the contest. Both were quite close themselves: if Nixon had won forty-seven thousand more votes in Texas (home of the notoriously crooked Democratic vice-presidential candidate Lyndon B. Johnson) and ten thousand in Illinois (where another infamous crook, Democratic machine boss and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley held sway), he would have become president. There was significant evidence that the Kennedy machine had committed voter fraud in both states, but Nixon declined to contest the election, saying that he did not wish to plunge the country into a crisis with the Cold War raging.
There is much more. Read the rest here.
Tony Naim says
We all love President Trump, his policies , so he will be getting 21 votes from me and my extended family in November. If Biden wins, he will be like a puppet in his old age, no one knows the leftist who will actually be running the show with him in the White House . Moreover, a reversal of President Trump policies, domestic and foreign, will halt the great momentum of economic growth at home and it will put us all at risk from a vengeful radical Islamic revival, especially in Iran.
Happy Pills says
6-12 months after the election he will be declared mentally incompetent and will be replaced.
Don’t worry about Biden winning. Be worried about who he picks to run with.
AP says
Trump 2020! Our only hope to fix this mess.
Believer says
All part of the agenda. They sit quiet Luke a pack of wolves ready to devour.
Steve says
One of the best things Trump has done is expose all the phony conservatives who’ve been a horrible blight on the conservative world, for a long time now. And yes, I’m including Paul Ryan in that too.
Wellington says
The worst about this rot is that the Left and the so-called conservative “never Trumpers” aren’t really after Trump. Oh no, he’s just the excuse; he’s merely “in the way.” What they’re really after are all the millions upon millions of Americans, including myself, who see Trump as just about the last best hope for America.
The rogues are not ultimately coming for Trump; ultimately they’re coming for those who support Trump. Nothing could be clearer.
And respecting the 1960 election which Robert Spencer cited, if ever an election was stolen the 1960 election was. The Daley machine in Chicago and Cook County “cooked” the books for JFK (and aided by the Italian mafia) and many Texas precincts had more people voting Democrat than were the number registered to vote in said precincts. Nixon knew the election was stolen from him but gave strict instructions to his closest aides not to have the election contested because he was of the decided opinion that it would tear the nation apart. This was a noble act by Nixon and for which to this day he has gotten little credit.
Westman says
And what is their intention IF the Left wins – robbery by government, taking away equal opportunity and replacing it with equal (mediocre) outcome.
The Dem slogan should be, “Make America Mediocre Again.” MAMA – close enough to Nanny State.
Wellington says
All of the above and more, Westman. I view the upcoming election as the most critical since the 1864 election. If McClellan had been elected that year, even though he personally repudiated his own Democratic Party’s platform, there may be no united United States today.
Yeah, things are this dire, thanks to the aggregate cognitive collapse of one of the two major political parties in America and which party is possessed of an animus towards the current President, aided by foolish conservative “never Trumpers” (e.g., Bill Kristol), which borders on, if not crossing over, a psychopathic boundary.
James Lincoln says
Wellington says,
“And respecting the 1960 election which Robert Spencer cited, if ever an election was stolen the 1960 election was.”
All independent research that I have done confirms that statement.
I do have a couple of questions that I have thought about often:
How do you think Nixon would’ve handled Castro in Cuba?
In 1961, would he have gone with the more suitable CIA’s original landing site of Trinidad for the invasion?
What would he have done after an Air Force U-2 spy plane produced clear photographic evidence of ballistic missile facilities – which led to the Cuban missile crisis?
Even though Kennedy stole the election, was he actually – by luck – the right man at the right time to handle Castro / Khrushchev and avoid nuclear war?
Wellington says
Fine, excellent queries, James. I do appreciate your many pertinent and astute questions you have asked of me and others.
I think that Nixon would have handled things better in the 1961 invasion of Cuba, for instance by not calling off air support which JFK did (and which Eisenhower never would have).
As for the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, though many fellow conservatives criticize JFK in his handling of this (e.g., the astute Paul Johnson in his magnificent work, Modern Times {if you have not yet read this tome by Johnson I highly recommend you do; it is the single finest one-volume history of the 20th century I have ever read, and it is replete with Johnson’s typical and laudable dry British humor}), I continue to believe this was JFK’s finest moment. The world was on the brink of nuclear war and JFK dealt with this horrible possibility rather well (even Khrushchev arguably did), the removal of the Saturn missiles from Turkey aside. Though, of course, reasonable minds can differ here.
James Lincoln says
Wellington,
Thank you very much for your reply. I have read much and seen many documentaries / movies (“Thirteen Days” released in 2000 was particularly well done) regarding the Cuban missile crisis.
I agree, “at the end of the day”, JFK negotiated the right solution – and it was his finest moment.
And thanks for the recommendation regarding Paul Johnson’s “Modern Times.”
Best wishes always.
James Lincoln says
Wellington,
I would be extremely remiss if I did not mention Vasili Alexandrovich Arkhipov, a Soviet Navy officer credited with preventing a Soviet nuclear strike during the Cuban missile crisis.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasily_Arkhipov_(vice_admiral)
gravenimage says
Matt Lewis has blamed Trump for the Left “winning the culture war”:
“The Left Has Won the Culture War, and It’s All Thanks to Donald Trump”
https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-left-has-won-the-culture-war-and-its-all-thanks-to-donald-trump
He seems to have *no* problem with the unhinged Left at all.
curious george says
Wellington
+1
……………………………………..
“Others might press for major constitutional restructuring but I doubt that Americans under normal conditions could agree on the package of radical and “alien” constitutional changes that would be required. They would do so, I think only during and following a stupendous national crisis and political failure.”
– James MacGregor Burns (1918-2014)
mortimer says
What do the lawyers say about ACCUSING SOMEONE of a crime he has not yet committed and which he has not suggested he would commit?
In fact, there is no evidence that the president would act illegally after an unfavorable election.
This is PRESUMPTUOUS SPECULATION and REAL SLANDER.
I’m disgusted. I would not say such things about my worst enemies. People have to be judged on the history of their completed actions, not on what they ‘might’ do.
Key says
Agree, mortimer.
And based on the unchecked, no-consequece, lawless actions of the anarchists attacking police, burning buildings, shooting, looting, etc., there is no doubt in my mind that these thugs would try to cheat in the upcoming election.
Any means justifies the end in this type of “community organizing”.
gravenimage says
Yes, Mortimer–calling a so-far one term president a “dictator” could not be more absurd. But these creeps don’t care if their accusations have any basis in fact–they just hope to scare people into voting for Biden.
gravenimage says
Demagoguery: ‘Conservative’ Warns Us That Trump Wants to Be a Dictator
………………….
What an idiot Matt Lewis is.
Mike says
nothing like the left complaining about the actual crimes the left is doing
mortimer says
Matt Lewis should read the biographies of REAL DICTATORS before using that word.
Let’s be clear: ALL US PRESIDENTS have a great deal of power and that’s so they can use it.
Dictatorship is form of government in which one person or a small group possesses absolute power without effective constitutional limitations. The US constitution has constricted the presidential powers to ensure that no president may become a dictator.
Some presidents use their discretionary powers A LOT and others are more cautious about using them.
Democrat presidents use those discretionary powers as much or more than the Republican presidents.
The accusations that Trump is more despotic than other presidents are not based in fact, but in emotion.
gravenimage says
Some of this is also based in strategy, Mortimer–lies intended to prevent Trump’s reelection.
Wellington says
A sapient and accurate comment, mortimer. Of course, it would be lost on many—like AOC, Pelosi, Nadler, Schiff, Omar, Harris, Cuomo, Wolf, Murphy and so many others. Mostly Democrats but not a few Republicans like Romney, the now retired Ryan and the departed McCain.
David Darman says
Being an expert on Islam is no qualification for expertise on politics in general. If there ever was a demagogue in the office of President, it is Trump.
David Darman says
p.s. As for his leadership skills and business savvy, tell me, how do you bankrupt a casino?
Giacomo Latta says
As an outsider, I find it bizarre that being a losing Republican causes you to turn on your fellow Republicans instead of fighting alongside a winning Republican. And I have just noticed a Leftard has admitted that the current President is an expert on Islam, which the previous one certainly was not.
David Darman says
Name calling seems to be common here even by the ignorant.
p.s. The expert on Islam referenced by me is Spencer, not Trump.
gravenimage says
Why do you think that Biden would be better in our defending against Jihad than is Trump? Or is this even a concern of yours?
GreekEmpress says
Joe Biden: “I wish, I wish we taught more in our schools about the Islamic faith…What people don’t realize is…we all come from the same root here, in terms of our fundamental basic beliefs.” He also promised that if he’s elected he’ll have Muslims in his administration. (Meeting with EMGAGE) I’m a political neophyte, but it doesn’t sound like he’d be real tough on jihad. I don’t know if he understands the concept of it.
gravenimage says
All true. GreekEmpress. Biden also wants to destroy the “Muslim ban”, and allow Mohamemdans to flood into the country. Just madness.
OLD GUY says
Mail – in voting is a bad idea. If you can go to Wal-Mart, Lowes, Home Depot and demonstrations you can certainly go to your voting site. The election officials can handle the reasonable health protection of the poling places. They may have to extend their hours at large poling sites but that can be accomplished without too much trouble.
I’am personally tired of all these people who continually want to change the rules of the American society, grow up and learn to live with it, not everything has to be changed to meet your whims.
It’s time we vote out the let’s change America politicians to socialism, communism and any of the other faiiurlisms these people come up with. Let’s improve our system not destroy it. How do you improve things? You do that through hard work, if you don’t have enough money you get a better job or get a second one. This idea of a welfare free everything state will never work, it will just take the people who are working hard to improve their lives and bring them down to the level of those who don’t want to work and want the government to take care of them. From that point you will have the vary rich and the vary poor with no hope to change your life for the better.
Alarmed Pig Farmer says
There have been many scandals over what Trump plans to do. Plans as in the future tense, whereby Trump has not yet done what the GSERS predict he’ll do.
Ben Kennedy says
It has oft been said, those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. The Communist Democrat’s have a very long track record of accusing any and all who oppose them of doing the things the democrats have done. This trade-craft has worked very well for the democrats. I recall the democratic outrage over the Watergate break-in in the summer of 1970. Nothing was said of the democrats break-in at the Republican Campaign Headquarters that same summer. The dual investigations were tabled until after the election, where upon the Republicans were the only ones investigated. Since then, I have seen the democrats accuse republicans of everything the democrats were doing. It is my deep conviction that by accusing President Trump of wanting to be a dictator, it is the most thinly veiled deception hiding the fact it is the Communist Democrats intent to become the Dictators.
Vernon Parker says
I didn’t vote for Trump in the primary because he was an unknown quantity politically and I didn’t know what to expect. I did vote for him in the general election and consider him the best president of my lifetime. I guess that somehow makes me a member of a cult of personality.
Actually, the Never-Trumpers are the ones who are acting cultish. They are nothing but a bunch of frauds who have spent their careers pretending to be conservatives. I find them totally loathsome.
Middleton says
Everything he says about Trump could honestly be said about Obama.
Bronson says
Common tactic of the Left to write off the concerns of people who support Trump as being due to cult like brainwashing. It is used much the same way as labelling people as racist.