Your informed pessimism matches mine this morning. It appears that Tolkien was prescient when he wrote, "The world is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air. Much that once was is lost....for none now live who remember it." The only difference is that some of us, like you and I, my friend, do remember it, and mourn its passing.
Incomes and federal job security are so high and strong in the Virginia, Maryland, Washington DC area that when the country has had a recession in the past 30 years, they don’t even feel it. The powers that be have no idea what the rest of the country experiences.
This is too long for a bumper sticker, but it is fit for every fed wheresoever situate: "I got mine--sorry 'bout yours." Sux not to be in the ruling class. Race no longer divides. Class status is what the feds are pushing now. Caste System?
It might not have been so many counties that are the richest that surround DC (I'm not even positive it currently is 5. I can only think of probably 4 - Montgomery, Fairfax, Howard and Loudoun. BTW, Loudoun just kicked out their whole school board who was involved in all the mess that frankly helped get Youngkin elected along with a very talented and hardworking band of parents who capitalized on it) But Montgomery has been one of the wealthiest in the U.S. for at least the last 40-50 years. It borders DC and is where people like Lois Lerner (IRS), John Bolton, several of the SCOTUS justices, etc live. And where I grew up and will never live again. Good riddence.
On the 'bright' side, when the islamo-fascists unleash their next 9/11 or 10/7 as many pundits and analysts say is only a matter of time due to erasing our southern border, they have a very clear bull's eye to target. Good! It will get rid of many of the people who made all this garbage happen. Glad I don't live up there any longer!!
I live in one of the poorest counties in the poorest state in the US. Living off of retirement income, and I live like a king. I will say this about many of the poor - they are land rich and pocket poor, living on family land - 10-100s of acres. Our county is considered 100% rural.
Very helpful lists. My nephew has been trying for 2 years to sell his ranch in Taxafornia and move to Tennessee. This last fire season, he had some trees lost to the fire, but not his house nor barn. The state police had the area evacuated due to threat of fire. He nearly fainted at what his five acres in CA would cost if purchased in TN.
Watching the January 6 video makes me wonder why Kevin McCarthy did not release the information. It’s very clear that 99.999% of the individuals were peaceful and respectful. This is in contrast to Antifa, BLM and the Palestinian mobs who are clearly destruction oriented. it’s another reason why Republican party is useless. They would rather ruin thousands of Americans lives to hurt Donald Trump and protect themselves. The Democrats are scumbags and you expect them to act that way. However, in my mind, the only people that should be in jail rotting there are the members of the FBI department of Justice and current and previous congressional members who are involved with us farce
They blamed us for electing Trump. That was unforgivable. Everything else that followed is predicated on that original sin. Washington is the abusive drunk of a husband who twists everything to make himself the good guy in the beating. The country is the abused wife with a black eye and a broken arm. “See what you made me do? I didn’t want to do it, but you made me.”
The GOP is part of the Uniparty and permanent Washington. Whatever you want to call it, the power class hates regular Americans. They have even before Trump. They hate Democrat voters too btw. They just find more crazies and Commies over there who like to burn, loot, and attack normal people, which is useful in a thugocracy. These jerks killed a million Americans, many more millions around the globe, with COVID and are still killing people with “vaccines”. They let China and Mexico kill us with synthetic opioids and they keep developing new more deadly ones. They let in criminals and terrorists without any real effort to stop them. They rig our elections. They set us against one another, continuously. They are ruining our economy with debt and a Federal Reserve that kowtows to the banks and the politicians while the dollar becomes worthless. There is a war going on against Americans. It’s just that the media “forgot” to tell us. And the enemies include China, Russia to an extent, Iran, the Muslim Brotherhood in its various permutations, and the drug cartels. But the central effort is coordinated in Washington DC by our government.
So, as I’ve said before, and nobody likes to hear unpleasant things, we can’t rely on organizations that hate us and are much more powerful currently than we are, to help us. Change will not come from the incumbents. We need a new political party, and if politics by the usual methods is not successful, we need to employ alternate methods to right the ship.
Otherwise just give up and enjoy the beatings, which will, as the sarcastic saying goes, continue until morale improves.
But I’m still voting for Trump and hoping against hope. The problem is that once you reach a certain age and you’ve made a few naive mistakes, and you see the world and people for what they are, you can’t unsee that.
Nor should you try. Use the clarity to your advantage. But I’m not optimistic that this gets fixed without a whole lot of messiness and suffering. I hope I’m wrong.
They blamed us for electing Trump. That was unforgivable. Everything else that followed is predicated on that original sin. Washington is the abusive drunk of a husband who twists everything to make himself the good guy in the beating. The country is the abused wife with a black eye and a broken arm. “See what you made me do? I didn’t want to do it, but you made me.”
Nice encapsulation of our present state as a nation, as a people. I'm against any breakaway from the dysfunctional RNC, there's no time or resources. No quick fix here other than to firmly commit to those values we espouse. We gotta get MEAN Tanto!
Yes we do. I agree with most everything you said, BUT these clowns will stab us in the back again. Look sometimes you have to cut off a leg to save your life. And honestly, these people are cowards. If they thought 75 million voters were abandoning them, they would run as fast as they could to fix it. As long as the GOP thinks we are captive and won’t change horses , they won’t change their behavior. They have no incentive.
Same here. First you have to get through the "teeny bopper" receptionist to the real phone staff of the representative. Only takes 40 to 50 minutes is if you're lucky. I could easier get through to the Pope!
I know. I'm a fighter, but I've had an easy time of it until my 1942 model body started needing spare parts! I can't GO to the mission field, but I can send someone and PRAY!
Briefly when I was 21, I was married to that guy you spoke of, but only for 184 days. The snot said it was my fault he drank. I graduated from the College of Hard Knocks a lot sooner than most do. At 29, I was swept off my feet by the man of my dreams, a WWII vet who served under Geo. Patton.
The local Post Master had "noticed" the signs. Asked had men in my family hit the females. I said, "Of course not." PM gave me his Texaco Card and a Montgomery Ward card to get home on. I drove from S. Fla. to Tenn. with hurricane water up to my hubcaps! O Happy Day!
We are the last conservatives left in Mao’s America. What is worth fighting for? Medical care has been ruined by DEI and Obamacare. Our Military destroyed by waste fraud incompetence and soy boys. Education ruined by leftist Black History Queer Studies Antisemites. Finance by greed and avarice. We are Sodom and Gomorrah with no moral authority. Our elected leaders(joke) are fools. The SS Titanic that once was a beautiful ship is headed to the bottom of the Atlantic and the republicans are picking out new windowshades for the portholes.
David Harsanyi wrote a column, “The Populist Right Is Leading The GOP Into Irrelevancy.”
He's got that wrong too. True conservative party members are not the ones in position of leadership. Those would be the Ronna McDaniels, Mitch McConnell's, Kevin McCarthy's, etc. You know, the corporate Republicans.
Actually Harsanyi is leading us into irrelevancy. Kentucky was lost because GOP voters stayed home. So you need to ask yourselves, why? We got a constitutional court. We got a revamping of the business tax code. So the populist right isn't allowed to get a few things as well? Mr. Harsanyi, you are pretty stupid. You got part of what you wanted. You could have helped get some of what the populist right wanted, mostly a secure border (although the lack of one is doing more to move hispanics into the populist right's arms than anything else) and an end to the cultural attacks. And all you had to do is say these things are best left to the states, and tell the federal bureaucracy to stop their relentless rule making. But you couldn't do that. It was a light lift.
So, are you a closet pedophile or sex addict who needs access to all the child and women trafficking coming through the southern border? I've come to the conclusion that the global elite want two things - as much power over their fellow man as possible, and (related) the ability to get what ever kicks on they wish, with no consequences. What are you going to do when we normalize the most disgusting of sexual practices to satisfy the elite's appetite?
You want to see something uglier than what you believe populism to be? It's coming. Unless your attitude and those of the other corporatists in the GOP changes, it will come straight at you. And it won't be pleasant. No, I think it will not be pleasant at all.
Agree w/all except 'Kentucky was lost because GOP voters stayed home'. Still unexplained is how the Rep Sec of State got 784,000 votes, and Cameron got only 627,000, especially since Adams was an election denier, staunchly supporting ERIC. That smells all the way down to Texas. Perhaps someone from Kentucky can explain it to me.
Ha Ha Harsanyi knows not of which he speaks. I have never lived anywhere BUT the 'burbs. Only once did I refrained from voting since I was 18 and that was last year in one of those useless local councilmanic primaries, AKA popularity contest. Harsanyi is the 2nd coming of Dorothy Kilgallen.
D.Harsanyi is about as popular among conservatives as a turd in the punch bowl ,yet we have {conservative publications?] carry his tripe.You are asking the question I asked my self after shrub # 2 was elected. The election of 2016 was such a shock to elitist pundits and their cocktail sharing politicians DC swamp rats went into overdrive undermining PDJT.Then 2020 Trump Voters turned out in such large numbers the swamp mob panicked shutting down counting in safe states Trump was winning in spite of dirty politics and deep state treasonous dealings.PDJT showed the world the gop and dems two yolks in one bad egg with a very hard shell.Great post with a meh poll but preach it Poca-Man and thank you again for making my mornings.
OMG. Brother Don, this is the best piece of the year by far! I choked on Harsyani's piece as well.
Do people realize that everyone other than Trump, Burgum, or Vivek's donors - supported by Harsanyi and his beloved National Respew - just paid $40K per plate to entertain a communist pig(Xi) in San Fran?!
We are only losing elections because of fraud(See Jay Valentine) and because republicans are spineless.
I(we) am an America First Civic Nationalist. Not a republican.
For God's sake people, wake up and show a little back bone. After reading the comments, I felt somehow, I was reading an obituary, an obituary of a nation, our nation. This is no time to adopt a loser's attitude, but rather to regroup and think about what needs to be done and what we need to do. The writer Don Surber cited is a recognized writer for The Federalist and National Review, two publications claiming conservative values, but I believe with dubious motives. This is no time for self pity and reflection because we elected leaders who ultimately betrayed their stated values and we the people. Who likes being lied to?
Before I read Mr. Surber's article, I scope out the news that morning. and come for the icing on the cake. Xiden agrees with his blackmailer, Xi Jinping to increase the Green Agenda by accelerating solar panel purchases' and severely restricting petroleum production in the US. BTW All 21st industrial economies REQUIRE petroleum for their survival. It's akin to the oxygen and food of a biological organism. Why Xiden would do this? I suspect Xiden is being blackmailed by the CCP and Xi with the video evidence of Xaden's and Hunters exploits while as VP Obama gave him a free hand. Ludicrous you say? There's more here than most suspect.
Damn folks DON'T give up and be so pessimistic, please. I'm as angered by the constant betrayals of our elected officials too. President Trump brought to the presidency commitments to me and you which he has kept. Trump's an anomaly of a man who puts his nations interests first and its people before the money and prestige that so many of his morally failing billionaire contemporaries display. Bill Gates for example, spreads fine metallic pieces in the air in his climate scientist role and it would seem, inject us all with experimental vaccines, in his role as a Eugenicist.
MY FELLOW AMERICANS AND DON SURBER READERS DON'T GIVE UP THERE IS TOO MUCH AT STAKE TO FEEL SORRY NOW. LET'S GET MEAN!!!!!!!!
Nov 17, 2023·edited Nov 17, 2023Liked by Don Surber
"To get me to vote Republican, tell me what they stand for"
Boom!
The readers at this site find it difficult to imagine how/why the supposed republican party doesn't see the demonstrated success of Trump's actions and platform. But they don't. If elections were fair, we would be in power, but they aren't and we sit around getting spit on thinking there will be justice the next time around.
I am told by good people here that we are making amazing progress at all levels. Perhaps. I just don't think we have enough time for that work to be effective. 2024 is our last shot and it will come down to election integrity.
When you contemplate what Trump was able to accomplish in just 3 short years - before Covid essentially derailed him - it was nearly EVERYTHING Republicans had mouthed promises to do for decades but never managed to deliver, proving beyond shadow of a doubt that they never intended to in the first place. It’s all been a con, a grotesque betrayal of the highest magnitude.
The only things Trump did wrong in their estimation was doing everything that was RIGHT.
The fact that they hate him with a vengeance for it is all you need to know.
Yes, if elections were fair none of this nightmare would be occurring now. I have to figure out how I can help ensure a fair election in a city with a Democratic machine. Let's not give up. Let's get mean.
I am not aware of voting irregularities being the norm in Kentucky. Virginia has pretty significant control over the number of ballots out, so their elections while they could be tighter, are actually pretty legit. The dems in Virginia vote.
Have there been voting irregularities that may have cost Trump in 20. Absolutely. But Kentucky was no where near them. It is important to not use election integrity as a crutch when it isn't part of that specific race.
Jim, I suggest it is going on almost everywhere to one degree or another. It is most noticeable in the swing states during close elections. If there are Dems, there is fraud.
Read a very sad article yesterday, the last British blast furnace is being shut down. In every other measure of national decay we have been following their lead (?) for years. Britain can no longer refine her own steel. Sheffield is at best a recycling plant.
China trade is pure poison. China will happily starve and enslave its own people to starve and enslave ours. We can't win this war of economic chicken - we must refuse to play.
The EPA must be brought under control and again permit our industries to operate.
That's exactly what these Globalist rat bastards are doing to all Western industrialized countries now. Germany, once a economic dynamo, has been gutted by the Green Party and the EU, led by a German Ursula von der (CRAZY) Leyen. These Globalists are in the process of destroying Western industrial nations with their obsession of regime change in Russia. All they've accomplished is to strengthen Russia and destroy the economies of the very people they represent. These leaders foolishly have no reverse gear.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome. We conservatives keep watching the same loop over and over where we give out money and time and energy only to get shanked by our side. I respect your enthusiasm for the fight and I agree that we have to fight for our country. I just don’t think the GOP will fight with us. Too much evidence to the contrary.
I remember in the 1980s when Lone Star Steel, built in WW2 in East Texas, we sold our iron ore sintering plant to….China, we used it to enhance our low grade iron ore to make steel pipe for the US Oil Fields. It became cheaper, and environmentally cheaper, to source ore from Duluth and steel slabs from Sweden, Germany and other more efficient producers. I bet the cost of UK steel was enormous, let alone all of the raw materials are now produced only in the 3rd world, and Energy & pollution control costs are massively prohibitive.
Most of us Americans have been relatively innocent and trusting of our government for many decades. We did not realize that both parties were being stealthily undermined and corrupted, one by Marxists, and the other by ____________??what??--I can't put my finger on it--Wimps?? Don probably can find the right word. Particularly in the last couple years we have begun to realize the degree to which the Republican party establishment is our enemy.
But Don's outstanding column today takes a HAMMER and WHACKS the nails into the coffin of the RINO establishment. His arguments are specific and damning. Don again brings a particular ability to crystallize things, making the situation so clear, that even a normally positive person like me has to admit this situation is absolutely atrocious.
(I also appreciate the fine wordsmithing-- the Trump prosecutions "an orgy of Orwellian justice"; styrofoam versus granite; Grandstanding Old Party; "do not care if Democrats steal elections" or "the FBI tricks their voters and sends them to prison.")
But I'm still going to see this in a positive light. First-- CLARITY is ESSENTIAL to any battle. I celebrate the clarity in Don Surber's column today. And everyday-- Surber has been a powerful fighter in this crucial, primary thrust of the war-- gaining Clarity. Every blow struck that brings clarity to our understanding of the situation has Power--true Power. Again, there is that saying that evil exposed is 2/3 destroyed, and the last 1/3 destroys itself.
(Also, I believe that this Comments section for Don's blog has been making a contribution by us all participating together in the process of digesting and assimilating and reinforcing this Clarity that is being brought to light in each of Surber's columns.)
But, to be realistically positive, I will also say that the problem here is the thin layer of idiots at the top who are running the Republican party. We should not "throw out the baby with the bathwater". There are definitely some true American heroes working valiantly in Congress right now to turn things around, plus some brave Governors (but definitely NOT little Miss Milquetoast--Nikki Haley). And the RINO wing of the party is vastly, vastly, outnumbered by the Trump-supporting America First majority of the party (us!).
Here's what we need to do:
--Become active in the county and state Republican party appartuses and replace these old RINO's. Attend the monthly meetings of the county and state Republican Party Executive Committees and start directly challenging and influencing them. Learn specifically who is good and who needs to get the boot.
--Cut off the money supply of the RINO establishment. Right now, most of their power comes from the centralization of the Republican money-raising structure in the hands of the RINO-dominated RNC. They get tons of cash from earnest American patriots all over the country, then siphon out this money chiefly to fellow RINO's, using it to control how they vote in Congress.
The easiest way to do this is to never donate again directly to the RNC, only to specific Senators and Congressmen (from any state, not just your own) who are doing good things, and VERY importantly--TELL the RNC what you are doing, TELL the Senators and Congressmen what you are doing, and TELL everyone you know in every circle of your acquaintances, to do the same. One can use WinRed--BUT you HAVE to look at the detail disclosures at the bottom of the page, which will reveal whether your response to a particular solicitation is really going 100% to the Candidate you want to support, or whether it is going to the RNC itself--and the RNC just used the name of the Candidate to suck you in. Often your donation is being split-- with as much as 90% actually going to the RNC. If the disclosure on WinRed shows too much is going to the RNC, go to the Candidates own website, and donate there. Although the Candidate may also use WinRed as a vehicle, donations that originate from the Candidate's own website should go 100% to them--but still check the WinRed detailed disclosure for it.
--If we could start a competing fundraising organization that would centralize the collection of--and disbursement of--donations for America First-only Candidates OUTSIDE of the RNC, that would be good. I don't know if Trumps own Save America PAC could become this type of thing or not. But it would take awhile to get this clarified and publicized to be truly used in this way for the whole country, not just for Trump. So in the meantime, best to use the vehicle of WinRed, but read the fine print and be selective on WinRed.
I celebrate the wonderful Clarity that is coming to light in this great country, and pray for it to reach further to every single American. And there's another thing we can do--share share share Don Surber's columns. I myself need to do better on this.
The money is the problem. Nothing’s scarier to a candidate than the threat of cutting off their dough.
That being said, the DNC does the same thing with their dollars as the RNC. But what is equally if not more so powerful is the amount of mega donors (like Zuckerbucks) and PACS theu have by the hundreds that are enormously efficient and effective in their getting out the vote machinery.
The Republican Party has never had anything close to that kind of organization or effort.
Are there no America First or Conservative billionaires, or are they all just in on the game?
It is money coupled with aggressive organization that makes this whole thing go ‘round no matter what. And the Republican Party sucks at it.
DJT winning in 2016 was a fluke only because they never truly saw him as a threat, believing Hillary was a lock.
After his election, all bets were off as they set about organizing one the most egregious thefts of any election in history, up to and including the unconstitutional imprisonment or cancellation of anyone who so much as dared to contest it.
Their ruthlessness knows no bounds whatsoever.
Should we fight? You bet we should. But not according to the “rules”.
I have no idea what that looks like but it’s time for some serious guerrilla style warfare to beat them at their own game.
Personally I think a third party revolution is a start but it would have to be announced and led by Trump. That would draw the America First crowd immediately out of Republican hands into new camp, and create such an earthquake in the GOP they’ll have to choose sides: go with the new party or go down with the ship. Trump could pull it off backed by the people. As to whether he ever would who knows.
But the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.
Kick Ronna McDaniel to the curb! I wrote that all over the last few begging letters sent over her signature. I still get local requests, but not national.
Seem to remember the love of it is the root of all evil-'Obama's top donor was Penny Pritzker 🔯 who dropped $800 million on his two campaigns, meaning she bought the White House for him - TWICE'. Ironic?
There's such an amazing range of backgrounds, occupations, and geography in the Commenters. So interesting as each one shares their specialized knowledge and experiences that add first-hand dimensions to each topic.
When Shrub was running for his second term, I asked a local party officer if I could donate to only Bush. I was told that the RNC is the clearing house for all checks and credit cards (nothing said about cash). That poisoned me against sending directly to the candidate. Funds sent to the local office of candidate/party stay in that place for their use. It's been a while. I wonder if that is still the case.
Chip Roy recently blasted Republicans for failing to give him "one thing I can go campaign on." Somebody said Chip Roy is like an arsonist who can't stand smoke. The fact is a Republican just gave Democrats a really good 2024 campaign ad. They keep shooting themselves in the foot and wonder why, as Don Surber says, "They stand for nothing because nothing is what they are."
Outside of Gorsuch, the constitutional judge selection has been a failure because they were selected for pro life stance. Kavanaugh had been in 5th Circuit and voted in step with Merrick Garland 97% of time. Amy Barrett has 10 or so adopted children from around the world and is NOT a border/ immigration hawk. Kavanaugh sides with Roberts and Dems consistently. GOP are useless for the reasons you mentioned. They are weak, vote " principle" and take "high road" rather than win. Why vote Republican? No reason except the alternative options are even worse!
So depressing. And what is depressing is that this will never, ever be fixed by the “old fashioned” way of calling “our representatives”. We do not HAVE any representatives. When Barack HUSSEIN Oblahblah got in to office, I felt for the first time really in my life “taxation without representation”. There is MAYBE a handful of people “up there” that represent their constituents. Rand Paul comes to mind. And the current star of the show, the HINDU Mr. V ... why is everybody falling all over themselves because he’s such an eloquent speaker??? Has no one learned?? Every one of them knows what to say. HE would be NO DIFFERENT if he were elected. ALL of them, practically without exception, are traitorous sons of bitches and it’s ALLLLLL a dog and pony show. And as Mr. Surber so articulately put it... DJT was the refrigerator light that shined on all of the cockroaches. It is why they hate him, why they want him dead. I think Democrats don’t hate him as much as the traitorous bastard Republicans. If DJT survives (pray for him every day) and is the “Republican” nominee, I will vote for him. But I’m not voting anymore for someone with an R by their name. It means NOTHING.
Your informed pessimism matches mine this morning. It appears that Tolkien was prescient when he wrote, "The world is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air. Much that once was is lost....for none now live who remember it." The only difference is that some of us, like you and I, my friend, do remember it, and mourn its passing.
So perfectly captured!
So we find the answer at Mount Doom? reassuring...
According to the 2020 census, 5 of the 7 wealthiest counties by median household income in the US ring the DC cesspool.
It wasn’t that way 30 or 40 years ago.
Until the corruption is reigned in, very few representatives will ever represent us.
Incomes and federal job security are so high and strong in the Virginia, Maryland, Washington DC area that when the country has had a recession in the past 30 years, they don’t even feel it. The powers that be have no idea what the rest of the country experiences.
Nor no they care
This is too long for a bumper sticker, but it is fit for every fed wheresoever situate: "I got mine--sorry 'bout yours." Sux not to be in the ruling class. Race no longer divides. Class status is what the feds are pushing now. Caste System?
Gotta make more elites. Can't breed 'em.
Try this: I Got Mine...And Yours!
It might not have been so many counties that are the richest that surround DC (I'm not even positive it currently is 5. I can only think of probably 4 - Montgomery, Fairfax, Howard and Loudoun. BTW, Loudoun just kicked out their whole school board who was involved in all the mess that frankly helped get Youngkin elected along with a very talented and hardworking band of parents who capitalized on it) But Montgomery has been one of the wealthiest in the U.S. for at least the last 40-50 years. It borders DC and is where people like Lois Lerner (IRS), John Bolton, several of the SCOTUS justices, etc live. And where I grew up and will never live again. Good riddence.
Montgomery County MD is a leftist cesspool. Has been for a long time.
On the 'bright' side, when the islamo-fascists unleash their next 9/11 or 10/7 as many pundits and analysts say is only a matter of time due to erasing our southern border, they have a very clear bull's eye to target. Good! It will get rid of many of the people who made all this garbage happen. Glad I don't live up there any longer!!
London (VA), Falls Church (VA), Santa Clara (CA), San Mateo (CA), Fairfax (VA), Howard (MD), Arlington(VA)
WOW. Montgomery isn't even in the top 5 any longer?!?! And Arlington IS in??
What org is this list from??
Census bureau - 2020 census. In a Wikipedia article (I know, consider the source) - Montgomery is 20th.
The list is Median Household Income. Maybe by other measures, Montgomery is higher.
Since income is not a census question, I don’t know how they know this anyways. The IRS should be publishing the list.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-income_counties_in_the_United_States
I did a quick search and found this interesting take on the issue:
https://www.kiplinger.com/real-estate/603232/the-real-richest-counties-in-the-us
Interesting and mind blowing.
I live in one of the poorest counties in the poorest state in the US. Living off of retirement income, and I live like a king. I will say this about many of the poor - they are land rich and pocket poor, living on family land - 10-100s of acres. Our county is considered 100% rural.
Very helpful lists. My nephew has been trying for 2 years to sell his ranch in Taxafornia and move to Tennessee. This last fire season, he had some trees lost to the fire, but not his house nor barn. The state police had the area evacuated due to threat of fire. He nearly fainted at what his five acres in CA would cost if purchased in TN.
Watching the January 6 video makes me wonder why Kevin McCarthy did not release the information. It’s very clear that 99.999% of the individuals were peaceful and respectful. This is in contrast to Antifa, BLM and the Palestinian mobs who are clearly destruction oriented. it’s another reason why Republican party is useless. They would rather ruin thousands of Americans lives to hurt Donald Trump and protect themselves. The Democrats are scumbags and you expect them to act that way. However, in my mind, the only people that should be in jail rotting there are the members of the FBI department of Justice and current and previous congressional members who are involved with us farce
TERM LIMITS!!!
Ignore David Harsanyi.
He's a member of the Deep State's posse of unreadable media concubines.
Gawd, they look (and "read") more decrepit each year.
And I'm 71. Imagine what they look like to a 21 year-old voter.
They blamed us for electing Trump. That was unforgivable. Everything else that followed is predicated on that original sin. Washington is the abusive drunk of a husband who twists everything to make himself the good guy in the beating. The country is the abused wife with a black eye and a broken arm. “See what you made me do? I didn’t want to do it, but you made me.”
The GOP is part of the Uniparty and permanent Washington. Whatever you want to call it, the power class hates regular Americans. They have even before Trump. They hate Democrat voters too btw. They just find more crazies and Commies over there who like to burn, loot, and attack normal people, which is useful in a thugocracy. These jerks killed a million Americans, many more millions around the globe, with COVID and are still killing people with “vaccines”. They let China and Mexico kill us with synthetic opioids and they keep developing new more deadly ones. They let in criminals and terrorists without any real effort to stop them. They rig our elections. They set us against one another, continuously. They are ruining our economy with debt and a Federal Reserve that kowtows to the banks and the politicians while the dollar becomes worthless. There is a war going on against Americans. It’s just that the media “forgot” to tell us. And the enemies include China, Russia to an extent, Iran, the Muslim Brotherhood in its various permutations, and the drug cartels. But the central effort is coordinated in Washington DC by our government.
So, as I’ve said before, and nobody likes to hear unpleasant things, we can’t rely on organizations that hate us and are much more powerful currently than we are, to help us. Change will not come from the incumbents. We need a new political party, and if politics by the usual methods is not successful, we need to employ alternate methods to right the ship.
Otherwise just give up and enjoy the beatings, which will, as the sarcastic saying goes, continue until morale improves.
But I’m still voting for Trump and hoping against hope. The problem is that once you reach a certain age and you’ve made a few naive mistakes, and you see the world and people for what they are, you can’t unsee that.
Nor should you try. Use the clarity to your advantage. But I’m not optimistic that this gets fixed without a whole lot of messiness and suffering. I hope I’m wrong.
Your post is BRILLIANT!
Especially this:
They blamed us for electing Trump. That was unforgivable. Everything else that followed is predicated on that original sin. Washington is the abusive drunk of a husband who twists everything to make himself the good guy in the beating. The country is the abused wife with a black eye and a broken arm. “See what you made me do? I didn’t want to do it, but you made me.”
Nice encapsulation of our present state as a nation, as a people. I'm against any breakaway from the dysfunctional RNC, there's no time or resources. No quick fix here other than to firmly commit to those values we espouse. We gotta get MEAN Tanto!
Yes we do. I agree with most everything you said, BUT these clowns will stab us in the back again. Look sometimes you have to cut off a leg to save your life. And honestly, these people are cowards. If they thought 75 million voters were abandoning them, they would run as fast as they could to fix it. As long as the GOP thinks we are captive and won’t change horses , they won’t change their behavior. They have no incentive.
Incentives? You're right. Call the rats and let them know how you feel. Make it personal.
HOUSE 202-225-3121
SENATE 202-224-3121
Let's give em hell, my friend
During the House Speaker contests they called that “harassment and intimidation” when their CONSTITUENTS were calling them vote for Jordan!
So see how well that works.
I’m sorry but calling “my representative” is a TOTAL waste of time. They don’t give a rats ass how we feel. None of them do.
Same here. First you have to get through the "teeny bopper" receptionist to the real phone staff of the representative. Only takes 40 to 50 minutes is if you're lucky. I could easier get through to the Pope!
We've got a losing attitude here. Sorry but you can't quit
I know. I'm a fighter, but I've had an easy time of it until my 1942 model body started needing spare parts! I can't GO to the mission field, but I can send someone and PRAY!
^^^^^ this!
Five star report. * * * * *
Briefly when I was 21, I was married to that guy you spoke of, but only for 184 days. The snot said it was my fault he drank. I graduated from the College of Hard Knocks a lot sooner than most do. At 29, I was swept off my feet by the man of my dreams, a WWII vet who served under Geo. Patton.
Glad you got out of that situation.
The local Post Master had "noticed" the signs. Asked had men in my family hit the females. I said, "Of course not." PM gave me his Texaco Card and a Montgomery Ward card to get home on. I drove from S. Fla. to Tenn. with hurricane water up to my hubcaps! O Happy Day!
Amen and Amen!
Awesome as usual. And correct.
If we could only get college credit for attending the Surber Institute each day.
like your rant, see what you see..........way to many are not seeing clearly.
We are the last conservatives left in Mao’s America. What is worth fighting for? Medical care has been ruined by DEI and Obamacare. Our Military destroyed by waste fraud incompetence and soy boys. Education ruined by leftist Black History Queer Studies Antisemites. Finance by greed and avarice. We are Sodom and Gomorrah with no moral authority. Our elected leaders(joke) are fools. The SS Titanic that once was a beautiful ship is headed to the bottom of the Atlantic and the republicans are picking out new windowshades for the portholes.
David Harsanyi wrote a column, “The Populist Right Is Leading The GOP Into Irrelevancy.”
He's got that wrong too. True conservative party members are not the ones in position of leadership. Those would be the Ronna McDaniels, Mitch McConnell's, Kevin McCarthy's, etc. You know, the corporate Republicans.
Actually Harsanyi is leading us into irrelevancy. Kentucky was lost because GOP voters stayed home. So you need to ask yourselves, why? We got a constitutional court. We got a revamping of the business tax code. So the populist right isn't allowed to get a few things as well? Mr. Harsanyi, you are pretty stupid. You got part of what you wanted. You could have helped get some of what the populist right wanted, mostly a secure border (although the lack of one is doing more to move hispanics into the populist right's arms than anything else) and an end to the cultural attacks. And all you had to do is say these things are best left to the states, and tell the federal bureaucracy to stop their relentless rule making. But you couldn't do that. It was a light lift.
So, are you a closet pedophile or sex addict who needs access to all the child and women trafficking coming through the southern border? I've come to the conclusion that the global elite want two things - as much power over their fellow man as possible, and (related) the ability to get what ever kicks on they wish, with no consequences. What are you going to do when we normalize the most disgusting of sexual practices to satisfy the elite's appetite?
You want to see something uglier than what you believe populism to be? It's coming. Unless your attitude and those of the other corporatists in the GOP changes, it will come straight at you. And it won't be pleasant. No, I think it will not be pleasant at all.
Agree w/all except 'Kentucky was lost because GOP voters stayed home'. Still unexplained is how the Rep Sec of State got 784,000 votes, and Cameron got only 627,000, especially since Adams was an election denier, staunchly supporting ERIC. That smells all the way down to Texas. Perhaps someone from Kentucky can explain it to me.
Interesting.
What is the theory? Tons of out of state money focused solely on the governor's race but nothing else?
Probably money. but:
Trump: Cameron lost because he couldn’t shake McConnell ‘stench
“In honor of Breonna, Daniel Cameron lost with a mandate"
Krispy-He lost because Trump endorsed him
He's Black
He's soft on abortion
Ha Ha Harsanyi knows not of which he speaks. I have never lived anywhere BUT the 'burbs. Only once did I refrained from voting since I was 18 and that was last year in one of those useless local councilmanic primaries, AKA popularity contest. Harsanyi is the 2nd coming of Dorothy Kilgallen.
D.Harsanyi is about as popular among conservatives as a turd in the punch bowl ,yet we have {conservative publications?] carry his tripe.You are asking the question I asked my self after shrub # 2 was elected. The election of 2016 was such a shock to elitist pundits and their cocktail sharing politicians DC swamp rats went into overdrive undermining PDJT.Then 2020 Trump Voters turned out in such large numbers the swamp mob panicked shutting down counting in safe states Trump was winning in spite of dirty politics and deep state treasonous dealings.PDJT showed the world the gop and dems two yolks in one bad egg with a very hard shell.Great post with a meh poll but preach it Poca-Man and thank you again for making my mornings.
OMG. Brother Don, this is the best piece of the year by far! I choked on Harsyani's piece as well.
Do people realize that everyone other than Trump, Burgum, or Vivek's donors - supported by Harsanyi and his beloved National Respew - just paid $40K per plate to entertain a communist pig(Xi) in San Fran?!
We are only losing elections because of fraud(See Jay Valentine) and because republicans are spineless.
I(we) am an America First Civic Nationalist. Not a republican.
Dan, we say “this is the best piece of the year by far!” just about every new piece!!
No kidding, Don is just a great analytic reporter.
National Review is run by Richard Gere hamster stuffers. Perpetual rent seeking losers and poseurs.
I would agree, sir.
"The failure of Republicans (including Trump) to stop the kangaroo courts from persecuting J6 protesters is ugly and sinful."
Why do you include Trump? The J6 protesters were persecuted, and still are, after Trump was out of office. He had/has no power to stop the courts.
He could easily make it an issue. And has chosen not too. I am presuming that is the reason for the criticism, and if so, it is a valid one.
For God's sake people, wake up and show a little back bone. After reading the comments, I felt somehow, I was reading an obituary, an obituary of a nation, our nation. This is no time to adopt a loser's attitude, but rather to regroup and think about what needs to be done and what we need to do. The writer Don Surber cited is a recognized writer for The Federalist and National Review, two publications claiming conservative values, but I believe with dubious motives. This is no time for self pity and reflection because we elected leaders who ultimately betrayed their stated values and we the people. Who likes being lied to?
Before I read Mr. Surber's article, I scope out the news that morning. and come for the icing on the cake. Xiden agrees with his blackmailer, Xi Jinping to increase the Green Agenda by accelerating solar panel purchases' and severely restricting petroleum production in the US. BTW All 21st industrial economies REQUIRE petroleum for their survival. It's akin to the oxygen and food of a biological organism. Why Xiden would do this? I suspect Xiden is being blackmailed by the CCP and Xi with the video evidence of Xaden's and Hunters exploits while as VP Obama gave him a free hand. Ludicrous you say? There's more here than most suspect.
Damn folks DON'T give up and be so pessimistic, please. I'm as angered by the constant betrayals of our elected officials too. President Trump brought to the presidency commitments to me and you which he has kept. Trump's an anomaly of a man who puts his nations interests first and its people before the money and prestige that so many of his morally failing billionaire contemporaries display. Bill Gates for example, spreads fine metallic pieces in the air in his climate scientist role and it would seem, inject us all with experimental vaccines, in his role as a Eugenicist.
MY FELLOW AMERICANS AND DON SURBER READERS DON'T GIVE UP THERE IS TOO MUCH AT STAKE TO FEEL SORRY NOW. LET'S GET MEAN!!!!!!!!
"To get me to vote Republican, tell me what they stand for"
Boom!
The readers at this site find it difficult to imagine how/why the supposed republican party doesn't see the demonstrated success of Trump's actions and platform. But they don't. If elections were fair, we would be in power, but they aren't and we sit around getting spit on thinking there will be justice the next time around.
I am told by good people here that we are making amazing progress at all levels. Perhaps. I just don't think we have enough time for that work to be effective. 2024 is our last shot and it will come down to election integrity.
When you contemplate what Trump was able to accomplish in just 3 short years - before Covid essentially derailed him - it was nearly EVERYTHING Republicans had mouthed promises to do for decades but never managed to deliver, proving beyond shadow of a doubt that they never intended to in the first place. It’s all been a con, a grotesque betrayal of the highest magnitude.
The only things Trump did wrong in their estimation was doing everything that was RIGHT.
The fact that they hate him with a vengeance for it is all you need to know.
Suzie,you put it in a nut shell !!
Yes, if elections were fair none of this nightmare would be occurring now. I have to figure out how I can help ensure a fair election in a city with a Democratic machine. Let's not give up. Let's get mean.
I am not aware of voting irregularities being the norm in Kentucky. Virginia has pretty significant control over the number of ballots out, so their elections while they could be tighter, are actually pretty legit. The dems in Virginia vote.
Have there been voting irregularities that may have cost Trump in 20. Absolutely. But Kentucky was no where near them. It is important to not use election integrity as a crutch when it isn't part of that specific race.
Jim, I suggest it is going on almost everywhere to one degree or another. It is most noticeable in the swing states during close elections. If there are Dems, there is fraud.
Read a very sad article yesterday, the last British blast furnace is being shut down. In every other measure of national decay we have been following their lead (?) for years. Britain can no longer refine her own steel. Sheffield is at best a recycling plant.
China trade is pure poison. China will happily starve and enslave its own people to starve and enslave ours. We can't win this war of economic chicken - we must refuse to play.
The EPA must be brought under control and again permit our industries to operate.
That's exactly what these Globalist rat bastards are doing to all Western industrialized countries now. Germany, once a economic dynamo, has been gutted by the Green Party and the EU, led by a German Ursula von der (CRAZY) Leyen. These Globalists are in the process of destroying Western industrial nations with their obsession of regime change in Russia. All they've accomplished is to strengthen Russia and destroy the economies of the very people they represent. These leaders foolishly have no reverse gear.
And voters are contributing to it. Gooder and harder!
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome. We conservatives keep watching the same loop over and over where we give out money and time and energy only to get shanked by our side. I respect your enthusiasm for the fight and I agree that we have to fight for our country. I just don’t think the GOP will fight with us. Too much evidence to the contrary.
I remember in the 1980s when Lone Star Steel, built in WW2 in East Texas, we sold our iron ore sintering plant to….China, we used it to enhance our low grade iron ore to make steel pipe for the US Oil Fields. It became cheaper, and environmentally cheaper, to source ore from Duluth and steel slabs from Sweden, Germany and other more efficient producers. I bet the cost of UK steel was enormous, let alone all of the raw materials are now produced only in the 3rd world, and Energy & pollution control costs are massively prohibitive.
I read that article about the blast furnace, too. The eco-fascists are returning us to pre-industrial times and that's what they want.
Most of us Americans have been relatively innocent and trusting of our government for many decades. We did not realize that both parties were being stealthily undermined and corrupted, one by Marxists, and the other by ____________??what??--I can't put my finger on it--Wimps?? Don probably can find the right word. Particularly in the last couple years we have begun to realize the degree to which the Republican party establishment is our enemy.
But Don's outstanding column today takes a HAMMER and WHACKS the nails into the coffin of the RINO establishment. His arguments are specific and damning. Don again brings a particular ability to crystallize things, making the situation so clear, that even a normally positive person like me has to admit this situation is absolutely atrocious.
(I also appreciate the fine wordsmithing-- the Trump prosecutions "an orgy of Orwellian justice"; styrofoam versus granite; Grandstanding Old Party; "do not care if Democrats steal elections" or "the FBI tricks their voters and sends them to prison.")
But I'm still going to see this in a positive light. First-- CLARITY is ESSENTIAL to any battle. I celebrate the clarity in Don Surber's column today. And everyday-- Surber has been a powerful fighter in this crucial, primary thrust of the war-- gaining Clarity. Every blow struck that brings clarity to our understanding of the situation has Power--true Power. Again, there is that saying that evil exposed is 2/3 destroyed, and the last 1/3 destroys itself.
(Also, I believe that this Comments section for Don's blog has been making a contribution by us all participating together in the process of digesting and assimilating and reinforcing this Clarity that is being brought to light in each of Surber's columns.)
But, to be realistically positive, I will also say that the problem here is the thin layer of idiots at the top who are running the Republican party. We should not "throw out the baby with the bathwater". There are definitely some true American heroes working valiantly in Congress right now to turn things around, plus some brave Governors (but definitely NOT little Miss Milquetoast--Nikki Haley). And the RINO wing of the party is vastly, vastly, outnumbered by the Trump-supporting America First majority of the party (us!).
Here's what we need to do:
--Become active in the county and state Republican party appartuses and replace these old RINO's. Attend the monthly meetings of the county and state Republican Party Executive Committees and start directly challenging and influencing them. Learn specifically who is good and who needs to get the boot.
--Cut off the money supply of the RINO establishment. Right now, most of their power comes from the centralization of the Republican money-raising structure in the hands of the RINO-dominated RNC. They get tons of cash from earnest American patriots all over the country, then siphon out this money chiefly to fellow RINO's, using it to control how they vote in Congress.
The easiest way to do this is to never donate again directly to the RNC, only to specific Senators and Congressmen (from any state, not just your own) who are doing good things, and VERY importantly--TELL the RNC what you are doing, TELL the Senators and Congressmen what you are doing, and TELL everyone you know in every circle of your acquaintances, to do the same. One can use WinRed--BUT you HAVE to look at the detail disclosures at the bottom of the page, which will reveal whether your response to a particular solicitation is really going 100% to the Candidate you want to support, or whether it is going to the RNC itself--and the RNC just used the name of the Candidate to suck you in. Often your donation is being split-- with as much as 90% actually going to the RNC. If the disclosure on WinRed shows too much is going to the RNC, go to the Candidates own website, and donate there. Although the Candidate may also use WinRed as a vehicle, donations that originate from the Candidate's own website should go 100% to them--but still check the WinRed detailed disclosure for it.
--If we could start a competing fundraising organization that would centralize the collection of--and disbursement of--donations for America First-only Candidates OUTSIDE of the RNC, that would be good. I don't know if Trumps own Save America PAC could become this type of thing or not. But it would take awhile to get this clarified and publicized to be truly used in this way for the whole country, not just for Trump. So in the meantime, best to use the vehicle of WinRed, but read the fine print and be selective on WinRed.
I celebrate the wonderful Clarity that is coming to light in this great country, and pray for it to reach further to every single American. And there's another thing we can do--share share share Don Surber's columns. I myself need to do better on this.
The money is the problem. Nothing’s scarier to a candidate than the threat of cutting off their dough.
That being said, the DNC does the same thing with their dollars as the RNC. But what is equally if not more so powerful is the amount of mega donors (like Zuckerbucks) and PACS theu have by the hundreds that are enormously efficient and effective in their getting out the vote machinery.
The Republican Party has never had anything close to that kind of organization or effort.
Are there no America First or Conservative billionaires, or are they all just in on the game?
It is money coupled with aggressive organization that makes this whole thing go ‘round no matter what. And the Republican Party sucks at it.
DJT winning in 2016 was a fluke only because they never truly saw him as a threat, believing Hillary was a lock.
After his election, all bets were off as they set about organizing one the most egregious thefts of any election in history, up to and including the unconstitutional imprisonment or cancellation of anyone who so much as dared to contest it.
Their ruthlessness knows no bounds whatsoever.
Should we fight? You bet we should. But not according to the “rules”.
I have no idea what that looks like but it’s time for some serious guerrilla style warfare to beat them at their own game.
Personally I think a third party revolution is a start but it would have to be announced and led by Trump. That would draw the America First crowd immediately out of Republican hands into new camp, and create such an earthquake in the GOP they’ll have to choose sides: go with the new party or go down with the ship. Trump could pull it off backed by the people. As to whether he ever would who knows.
But the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.
I’m tired of being used and abused.
Let’s roll.
Kick Ronna McDaniel to the curb! I wrote that all over the last few begging letters sent over her signature. I still get local requests, but not national.
Seem to remember the love of it is the root of all evil-'Obama's top donor was Penny Pritzker 🔯 who dropped $800 million on his two campaigns, meaning she bought the White House for him - TWICE'. Ironic?
I love your suggestion of a 3rd party with Trump as the leader!
I read every comment in every post. The comments, insight and contributions are fantastic. I don’t do this anywhere else.
Commenters here are fantastic! We all learn so much from each other and Don's writing.
There's such an amazing range of backgrounds, occupations, and geography in the Commenters. So interesting as each one shares their specialized knowledge and experiences that add first-hand dimensions to each topic.
Bingo, TPG!
When Shrub was running for his second term, I asked a local party officer if I could donate to only Bush. I was told that the RNC is the clearing house for all checks and credit cards (nothing said about cash). That poisoned me against sending directly to the candidate. Funds sent to the local office of candidate/party stay in that place for their use. It's been a while. I wonder if that is still the case.
Chip Roy recently blasted Republicans for failing to give him "one thing I can go campaign on." Somebody said Chip Roy is like an arsonist who can't stand smoke. The fact is a Republican just gave Democrats a really good 2024 campaign ad. They keep shooting themselves in the foot and wonder why, as Don Surber says, "They stand for nothing because nothing is what they are."
Not a Fan of Chip, but I like what he's saying here-'Chip Roy Exposes the Ugly TRUTH About Swamp Spending in Less Than 5 Minutes'-Rumble
All mouth, zero action.
Outside of Gorsuch, the constitutional judge selection has been a failure because they were selected for pro life stance. Kavanaugh had been in 5th Circuit and voted in step with Merrick Garland 97% of time. Amy Barrett has 10 or so adopted children from around the world and is NOT a border/ immigration hawk. Kavanaugh sides with Roberts and Dems consistently. GOP are useless for the reasons you mentioned. They are weak, vote " principle" and take "high road" rather than win. Why vote Republican? No reason except the alternative options are even worse!
You got that right re: SCOC picks.
Perfect picture for a great column that sums things up for me quite perfectly
You remember when McCain's vote hinged on dumping the dreadful Obaacare Bill too then?
He said to himself, “I’ll show Trump!” and betrayed us!!
And was proud of it.
Beyond despicable.
So depressing. And what is depressing is that this will never, ever be fixed by the “old fashioned” way of calling “our representatives”. We do not HAVE any representatives. When Barack HUSSEIN Oblahblah got in to office, I felt for the first time really in my life “taxation without representation”. There is MAYBE a handful of people “up there” that represent their constituents. Rand Paul comes to mind. And the current star of the show, the HINDU Mr. V ... why is everybody falling all over themselves because he’s such an eloquent speaker??? Has no one learned?? Every one of them knows what to say. HE would be NO DIFFERENT if he were elected. ALL of them, practically without exception, are traitorous sons of bitches and it’s ALLLLLL a dog and pony show. And as Mr. Surber so articulately put it... DJT was the refrigerator light that shined on all of the cockroaches. It is why they hate him, why they want him dead. I think Democrats don’t hate him as much as the traitorous bastard Republicans. If DJT survives (pray for him every day) and is the “Republican” nominee, I will vote for him. But I’m not voting anymore for someone with an R by their name. It means NOTHING.
Haha—“Oblahblah”!