Videos

Trump’s biggest mistake: Hiring Paul Manafort

Published

6 months ago

January 8, 2019

When Paul Manafort was first announced as campaign manager for Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential election campaign, most Americans asked, “Who?” He wasn’t exactly a household name at the time, but reports started trickling out that painted him in a negative light. It was still during a time before the media started really going after then-candidate Trump, so Manafort wasn’t as heavily targeted as he would have been had his tenure lasted well into the general election season.

But even a cursory investigation into Manafort’s past revealed very startling information. His ties to both the Russians and Ukrainians were evident, as was his penchant for playing political hardball. Perhaps this was what was so appealing about him to candidate Trump who is known as a fighter. But alarm bells should have been ringing loud and clear that Manafort was the kind of guy you wanted on your side if you’re trying to circumvent the government, not when you’re trying to become part of it.

None of this seemed to concern candidate Trump. If anything, it made Manafort appealing enough to give him the reins over the campaign for a short period of time. It was during his reign that Manafort was able to do serious damage that is now coming back to haunt the President.

Reports of polling information being given to Russians who had ties to their intelligence agencies may be the smoking gun Robert Mueller has been holding for a while. When he declared last month that Manafort’s plea deal was done because he had told lies while allegedly cooperating with the investigation, many analysts assumed there was something important in Mueller’s pocket. Manafort had already been convicted at that point on separate charges. His cooperation no longer needed to be secured.

If Mueller has evidence the Trump campaign was feeding sensitive information to Russia they could use to help candidate Trump win the election, this is the big C-word – collusion – and it would have been as close to the orbit of candidate Trump as anything we’ve seen so far. Forget meetings with Trump Jr. Forget Michael Flynn’s meetings during transition. If candidate Trump’s campaign manager himself was directly dealing with Russian contacts over sensitive election information, the only thing left for the President to claim is that he was completely left out of the loop by his closest allies.

In the President’s defense, this is actually quite possible. Plausible deniability is in full effect here, and whether Manafort discussed his Russian intentions with candidate Trump or not, it will be very difficult to prove it. Knowing what we know about Manafort, there’s a very good chance he actually did try to cut deals with the Russians without his boss’s knowledge.

While collusion directly between the President and Russian nationals almost certainly didn’t happen, this doesn’t change one glaring observation about the President. He doesn’t pick the “best people” as he often claims. He surrounds himself with people like Manafort, Steve Bannon, Roger Stone, and a gaggle of nefarious characters who have all gotten the President in trouble by association. These aren’t good people. The President’s orbit has been littered with the type of swamp creatures he promised to get rid of when elected President.

None of this is likely to impact the President directly. But he desperately needs to put the Mueller investigation behind him before the 2020 election season ramps up. He put his trust in the wrong people and that trust is going to come back and bite him.

It’s ironic that the people who helped him win his first election may be the people who cost him his second election. With the rise of radical leftism in the Democratic Party, now is not the time for vulnerability in the GOP’s 2020 candidates.

Up Next

Filing: Manafort gave 2016 polling data to Russian associate

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Kellyanne Conway blames courts, Congress for the border crisis

Automotive

Top 5 worst tractor attachments

Published

4 weeks ago

June 26, 2019

DParker

A tongue in cheek video from Messick’s that may stir up a bit of controversy.

Just for fun we present this recent video from Messick’s on the more frustrating tractor implements. The choices were based on a Facebook pointing out a few important issues with some and why they can be difficult to use.

For example, the down force issue with the three-point hitch post hole auger maybe something no one has considered. Please note that it’s the older three-point hitch variety that is backhoe being described, the more recent models have a subframe mount. Remember this isn’t our opinion on the matter – especially considering item #2.

Top 5 Worst Tractor Attachments
Messick’s
Premiered Jun 24, 2019

#5 Three point hitch snow blower
#4 Three point hitch post hole digger
#3 Three point hitch back hoe
#2 Three point quick hitches
#1 Drive over mower deck

We are currently forming the American Conservative Movement. If you are interested in learning more, we will be sending out information in a few weeks.

Conservatism

Chip Roy wants Congress to stop ‘coasting on autopilot, doing their swamp things’

Published

1 month ago

June 19, 2019

JD Rucker

Chip Roy wants Congress to stop coasting on autopilot doing their swamp things

Representative Chip Roy (R-TX) has been really getting on the nerves of Democrats on Capitol Hill. He’s asking them to do their jobs, which is apparently not what many of them want to do. He’s been taking some heat from the press, as if expecting members of Congress to be present for votes on important amendments is asking too much, but that’s not stopping him.

One thing is certain: Too much that happens in Congress is done on autopilot. Votes that are often important are held at times when nobody’s around an unanimous consent is possible. Roy was able to delay an expensive vote last month by calling for a tally. This does something bigger than just blocking unanimous consent. It puts members of Congress on record which prevents them from being able to skate around their involvement in the passing of unpopular bills or the blocking of popular ones.

As the border crisis gets worse and DC spending explodes, we need more people like Chip Roy in Congress. That’s one of the goals of the conservative movement. It’s necessary if we’re going to keep America great.

We are currently forming the American Conservative Movement. If you are interested in learning more, we will be sending out information in a few weeks.

Culture and Religion

Stossel: In defense of economic liberty

Published

1 month ago

June 18, 2019

DParker

Reason TV makes the case for Economic Liberty, showing its vast superiority over socialistic slavery.

In his latest video produced for Reason TV John Stossel interviews Yaron Brook from the Ayn Rand Institute making the case that Economic Liberty [Or the false Marxist pejorative Capitalism] has created more wealth and brought more people out of poverty than any other system.

Stossel: In Defense of Capitalism

ReasonTV
Published on Jun 18, 2019
People acting in their own self-interest created modern prosperity, says Ayn Rand Institute’s Yaron Brook.
…
Progressives claim capitalism is “immoral” because some people become rich while others stay poor. Yaron Brook, chairman of the Ayn Rand Institute, says the opposite is true.

“We have basically made about $2 a day for 100,000 years,” Brook told John Stossel. “In other words…we could eat what we farmed and that was it.”

“And then something amazing happened.”

About 250 years ago, a few countries tried capitalism. For the first time, people were allowed to profit from private property.

“Two-hundred and fifty years ago we suddenly discovered the value of individual freedom,” says Brook. “We suddenly discovered the value of leaving individuals free to think, to innovate, to produce without asking for permission, without getting the state to sign off.”

As a result, humans “doubled our life expectancy,” says Brook. “We have dramatically increased the quality of our life and we are wealthier than anybody could have imagined.”

Brook, who’s an Objectivist, says that “doing for others is fine—but only if that’s what you want.”

“The key is that somebody else’s need is not a moral claim against your life,” he adds. “Your life is yours.”

[Our emphasis]

Please note that valuing Individual freedom is a vestige of philosophical individualism of Conservatives and True Liberals.

The unfair comparison: Collectivism in theory with Economic Liberty in practical reality.

In most cases, the Socialist-Left plays the game of comparing their theory of a perfect society based on their 2,400 year old ideas with the practical everyday problems of a functional but admittedly imperfect system. This is akin to polling that compares an unnamed – and thus ideal – candidate with a real candidate.

They do this so that they can speak of wonders an ‘Ideal state’ that works in sheer perfection and compare it to every problem and imperfection of everyday reality of Economic Liberty with every human society. Never mind comparing the record of accomplishment of Economic Liberty with the 400 years of failure that is the collectivist ideologies – they will repeat the tired old mantra that ‘Socialism has never really been tried’.

We are currently forming the American Conservative Movement. If you are interested in learning more, we will be sending out information in a few weeks.