My campaign to be nominated as the Republican to oppose Chris Pappas had nothing to do with Chris Pappas. I mean nothing, nada, zilch. I hope the winner of “my” seat, Karoline Leavitt, will take the same approach. People today are longing for something new and something that unites, not divides.
We want to thank Mary Maxwell for this Op-Ed Please direct yours to Editor@GraniteGrok.com.
Today, I read the following in a terrific article by Paul Craig Roberts (PCR):
“For most candidates the election is about campaign funding, the idea being that who raises the most money can pay for the most accusations against the opponent. Most campaigns are ad hominem and devoid of serious issues. The most successful slanderer wins.”
There is no need to be “devoid of serious issues.” What is more serious than what I am speaking of here? I hardly recognize America anymore. We should stop doing what we’re doing, which is to negativize everything. I believe Karoline Leavitt has enough going for her — youth, enthusiasm, drive — to win a majority at the November 8 election. She is a fresh breeze. I hereby advise her not to curse out the Democrats.
Paul Craig Roberts says:
“We are reaching the point where the Democrats’ armed militias — Antifa and Black Lives Matter — are an intimidating force which is likely to make it difficult for Republicans to recruit political candidates to contest elections in blue states. The six-year effort by Democrats, media, leftwing intellectuals, the Department of Justice (sic) and the FBI to frame [Trump] has introduced third world violence into the democratic process.”
It would be better for the Mary Maxwell candidate (I’ll insert my name here, instead of using Karoline’s, as she may not want advice) to open her sweet mouth and say “Yes Black lives do matter. And yes, being anti-fa [fascist] is a very good thing.”
Indeed, Mary could even say, “Any former president who commits a crime should feel the full weight of the law, same as every citizen.” That’s NOT tantamount to betraying Trump. Anyone who thinks it is is dippy.
I note that on September 8, 2022, Charles, the ex-prince of Wales, acquired full immunity for any crime he ever committed or will commit! I mean, technically, in law, the king can do no wrong — there’ll be no raiding of HIS Mar-a-Lago.
Well, who cares, anyway. Charles is only one person; there are 67 million other UK citizens the police can bother. Nevertheless, the same theory of kingly sinlessness does not apply in the US. We’ve had some presidents who should have gone to jail. Lately, there’s emerging proof that JFK was snuffed out by LBJ. Were Lyndon alive today, he should be brought to book. Who could possibly disagree with that?
I’m quoting PCR again on the need to articulate real issues, not personal stuff. He says (in his daily email of September 20, 2022 — you can get on his list):
“Ron Johnson, Republican US Senator from Wisconsin, notes the death of civilized politics when he speaks of how policy debates have been crowded out by vitriolic attacks, such as Biden’s, on Republicans and assaults by Woke Democrats on US Supreme Court Justices in restaurants if they dare to dine out. Political violence against President Trump and his supporters masquerading as “accountability” and introduced by the leftwing Democrats and their media allies with Russiagate six years ago and sharpened with two illegitimate impeachment attempts, “January 6 Insurrection,” and now “Documentsgate,” threatens to move beyond verbal violence to physical violence.”
There, that’s an issue worth discussing openly — the trend toward violence. I recall in 1989, I had a friend in Belgrade who said her neighborhood of Serbs and Croats had never had any hostility; she did not really know who exactly was a Serb or a Croat. But suddenly, a civil war was imposed on them, and everyone was forced to take sides. That’s how ridiculous our situation is, too.
By the way, I chatted with someone on Main St, Concord, last week, and when I said, “The problem is divisiveness,” he said, “You can blame Trump for that.” It’s true. During four years in the Oval Office, the president often made put-down remarks. I was mortified (weren’t you?) when he said such-and-such a country was a shit hole. And I basically passed out when he said that Muslims, even green-card-holding Muslims, should not be let back in if they went abroad.
Is it any wonder some Americans of immigrant origin (aren’t we all?) are feeling bad? But even that lack of statesmanship on Trump’s part should not be part of mudslinging now. Let’s get in with it. Can we please mention real issues?
Paul Craig Roberts again:
“The FBI continues to issue subpoenas to Trump’s attorneys and financial backers, itself a form of intimidation that discourages attorneys from signing on with Trump and the wealthy from contributing as the Biden regime’s efforts to criminalize MAGA Republicans proceeds.”
Let’s recall that there is such a thing as “abuse of process.” Every lawyer knows this, but none are speaking out. (Except Sidney Powell, in her excellent book Licensed To Lie.) At the moment, NY’s attorney general, Laetitia James, is having a go at Trump. Although I said he is not in Charles III’s league for immunity, we can still have a calm discussion of abuse of process. Oh, and by the way, abuse of process itself can rise to criminality.
Does anybody remember when the impeachment articles against Richard Nixon in 1974 included his having abused power by going after the IRS returns of his opponents?
Oh, lookie, I just googled for “Nixon impeachment” and got this WaPo report of July 28, 1974, showing the figures for EACH party in the judiciary Committee:
“The first such impeachment recommendation in more than a century, it charges President Nixon with unlawful activities that formed a “course of conduct or plan” to obstruct the investigation of the Watergate break-in and to cover up other unlawful activities.
“The vote was 27 to 11, with 6 of the committee’s 17 Republicans joining all 21 Democrats in voting to send the article to the House.
“At least one other article accusing the President of abuse of power [re IRS] is expected to be approved Monday when the committee resumes.”
Ah, thems were the days! And folks were glued to their televisions, watching Sen. Sam Ervin explain all these laws about obstruction of justice.
Finally, Paul Craig Roberts again pleads for us to avoid the inevitable:
“The American people, or the white working-class part of it, are desperate for leaders who will fight for them, but it takes more than a few, especially when you have no media, Hollywood, Wall Street, and FBI allies.”
