We Need a New ‘Admirals’ Revolt’

In the wake of 25 years of Chinese naval expansion and the relative silence of our U.S. flag officers, it is time for them to speak up.

by James E. Fanell & Bradley A. Thayer for American Greatness

In 1949, as Americans began to recognize the peace they had fought for in World War II was being threatened by Stalin and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), a small group of senior Navy officers openly challenged Department of Defense civilian leaders, the Army, and the Air Force over the strategy for defeating a Soviet invasion of Europe. The immediate issue was principally the prioritization and allocation of budget resources.  

This challenge was called “The Revolt of the Admirals.” The “revolt” was an effort to oppose the Air Force’s preferred wartime strategy of relying on strategic bombing, specifically the B-36 heavy bomber, to deliver nuclear weapons against Soviet targets and thus deter or halt a Soviet invasion of Western Europe. These Navy officers openly challenged the decision of the secretary of defense, whom they viewed as biased against the Navy, to cancel the U.S. Navy’s first “supercarrier,” the USS United States (CVA-58). These principled Navy officers believed this decision was not only harmful to the Navy’s morale but, more importantly, was also detrimental to U.S. national security. 

This history matters because, in May, the Congressional Research Service published an updated edition of its report, “China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities—Background and Issues for Congress.” Most importantly, this report again included the matrix labeled “Numbers of Certain Types of Chinese and U.S. Ships Since 2005,” herein known as “The Matrix.” 

What “The Matrix” reveals is a glaringly obvious strategic trend line—where the U.S. Navy is declining, while the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy is rising. Over the course of the past 18 years, the U.S. Navy went from having a 76-warship advantage to today having a 133-combatant deficiency, based on similar ship and submarine comparison.

Today, the PLA Navy is the largest in the world, as has been concurrently documented, for the first time, two years ago in the annual Defense Department report to Congress on military and security developments involving China.  

This advantage is not just in numbers of warships and submarines, but it also includes raw tonnage, where the PLA Navy has commissioned more tonnage than the U.S. Navy for most of the past decade. Add in platforms like the PLA Navy’s 12,000-ton Renhai-class cruisers with its 112 vertical launch tubes for over-the-horizon weapons like the 300-kilometer ranged YJ-18 supersonic, anti-ship cruise missile (ASCM), and it is not a stretch to say that the PLA Navy now has achieved qualitative parity, if not superiority in the ASCM arena, with the U.S. Navy. 

We provide an analysis of how the United States and the uniformed members of the Department of Defense allowed this to happen. We ask how the U.S. Navy flag officer corps went from having a “revolt” over principled disagreements about our national security strategy and budget allocation in 1949 to a U.S. Navy today that is arguably outgunned by the PLA Navy. 

While we have presented an examination of similar failures to warn and prepare for the rise of the PRC in the intelligence community, national security strategists, and even ultimately to successive presidential administrations, it is also worth noting the failure of our uniformed officials, especially our U.S. Navy admirals, to “fight” for their service’s unique equities and capabilities as it relates to the rise of the PLA Navy. 

In terms of the U.S. Navy flag officers, there are three main reasons for this failure to understand “The Matrix” and to fight for building a Navy that could deter China’s naval expansion and aggression. 

First is the culture of the flag officer corps, which can be best described as “go along to get along.” Long gone are the days when scrupulous flag officers like an Admiral Arleigh Burke, one of the original members of the “Revolt of the Admirals” as a captain, or an Admiral Hyman Rickover, the father of the nuclear navy, were promoted to positions of seniority and responsibility within the U.S. Navy. They possessed a singular focus on the Soviet threat and the U.S. Navy’s ability to meet its missions in the face of potent Soviet naval and land-based power. This placed a great demand upon naval officers, NCOs, and men, and those who could not meet that demand were separated from the service. 

What has replaced this era of principled service is a system of tutelage where officers are groomed for selection to flag rank based upon their obsequiousness and deference to the flag officers over them, rather than to oath of allegiance to the Constitution and the principles for which it stands. This certainly does not reflect all officers. But the fact that for 20 years, not a single U.S. Navy admiral spoke out, in public, against the slide that was occurring to the U.S. Navy, while the Chinese navy was concurrently growing faster than any navy since World War II. That is in direct contrast to the Cold War, when admirals were acutely conscious of the growth of the Soviet Navy and conveyed that alarm in appropriate forums such as congressional testimony. Although Admirals Michael Gilday and Charles Richard, among others, have spoken about the China threat and the danger posed by that navy, their predecessors did not possess a focus on China’s navy and its growing danger, year after year, to U.S. national security interests. Naval shipbuilding and personnel have not been tested by the unending and prodigious demands of Cold War stresses, and so it is not known if today’s Navy will meet them. 

Second, as we have discussed previously, is the impact of the “Kissinger School of Engagement,” which argued that engagement with the PRC would normalize their behavior within the existing system of international norms that was created out of the aftermath of World War II and the Cold War. Not only were civilian analysts in the national security system susceptible to this philosophy of engagement, but stunningly so too has been a generation or more of U.S. Navy admirals. Whether going on “60 Minutes” to publicize their attempts to get their PLA counterparts to speak with them or in inviting the Chinese Navy to an exercise in the Rim-of-the-Pacific (RIMPAC) in Hawaii, our admirals have demonstrated they put more faith in unconstrained engagement than they appear to take when it comes to fighting for the world’s biggest and most powerful navy. 

Third, and finally, there is the “frog in the pot” syndrome. In addition to the pernicious impact of going along to get along, the Chinese Communist Party has been very skillful in the timing and tempo of their military expansionism. Starting with Jiang Zemin’s efforts to modernize the PLA, Hu Jintao’s directives to the PLA to have the capability to take Taiwan by 2020, and on to Xi Jinping’s overt operations like seizing Scarborough Shoal in 2012 to firing ballistic missiles around Taiwan in 2022, these actions were all done in a way so as to not compel the U.S. Department of Defense into taking the actions necessary to mitigate the effects of this dramatic shift in the correlation of military forces in the Western Pacific. Much like a frog that will stay in a pot of water, even as the temperature is raised one degree at a time until it is boiled to death, so too have U.S. Navy admirals been numbed into inactivity against China as it seemed there was always a greater priority in the Middle East or Europe. 

The collective impact of these three areas of failure has left America’s national security today at great risk in the Indo-Pacific. If there will be conflict with the PRC, it will be on, over, and below the high seas, from Okinawa to Guam to Honolulu, all the way to the West Coast. Today America’s national security, in the face of the teeth and talons of the Chinese Dragon, requires its own “Revolt of the Admirals” to explain how the U.S. Navy arrived at this position of weakness against the enemy and a change of the culture of U.S. naval flag officers so that the enemy may be confronted and defeated, not engaged. 

X22, And we know, and more- June 26

 

What the Left Has Left for America ~ VDH

What the Left now fears most is the revolutionary model it has bequeathed to America—and what might happen if its monstrous creation falls into politically incorrect hands.

by Victor Davis Hanson for American Greatness

The present-day Left bears little resemblance to the old civil-libertarian, integrationist Democratic Party that existed from the 1960s through 2000. 

The antecedents to its current madness were once previewed in the old party’s extremist wing of campus radicals of the 1960s and 1970s. They were accentuated by Black Lives Matter and Antifa during the Obama years, forged during the COVID lockdown and George Floyd riots, and polished during the era of Trump derangement syndrome. 

On almost every issue, Democrats have repudiated their prior reverence for the Supreme Court. 

They distrust individual liberty and free expression. 

They now worship the money and clout of corporate America. 

Racial ecumenicalism and integration are seen as passé. 

There is little need for borders to protect vulnerable American workers, given the advantages of inviting in millions of poor illegal immigrants without audits. 

Democrats have transmogrified into a Soviet-style socialist binary of rich and poor, run by an elite nomenklatura that dictates its orders to its foot soldiers of the underclass. An entire new left-wing vocabulary—clingers, deplorables, irredeemables, dregs, chumps, ultra-MAGA, semi-fascists—has come to express their hatred of the middle class. 

On the Supreme Court 

The Left has adopted Franklin Roosevelt’s once infamous (but now sanctified) 1937 approach to destroying the autonomy of the Supreme Court by threatening to pack it. 

Note how any means necessary are justified in their attacks. Swarm the conservative justices’ private homes to leverage future opinions, with the assurance that an ethically bankrupt Justice Department will never enforce existing laws prohibiting such intimidation of the justices. 

Have the Democrat Senate minority leader scream threats to justices by name at the very doors of the court and at the head of a mob—promising to individual justices a whirlwind to reap and unrecognizable forces that will soon hit them. 

Wage ad hominem attacks on traditional justices in the media. Allege they are corrupt, on the theory that they are limited in their means of defense and any rebuttal will lack the wherewithal of the original unfounded smears. 

Talk nonstop about changing the number of the court justices in order to intimidate conservative justices to move leftward. Move left or be packed! 

Argue for nullifying Supreme Court decisions if they lack legal sanction, given the conservative majority of the Court. 

Drive down the Court’s approval ratings in polls by nonstop screams that the justices cruelly hurt left-wing constituencies. 

Claim that the presidency and the Senate, both in leftist hands, are the true voices of the people, rather than ossified edicts of heartless conservative justices. 

Note the current attack has no principle other than neutering a conservative-leaning court until it can be rebooted left-wing, after which it will return to its former sacrosanct status. 

Individual Liberty and Free Speech 

In our Animal Farm left-wing world, free speech is “hate speech” and “individual liberty” is selfish privilege. 

 The ACLU transmogrified into an activist group targeting conservative expression deemed “hateful.” 

Universities’ “hate speech” codes and “free speech” zones are Orwellian. They are subtexts for ensuring that any prominent conservative speaker should expect to be shouted down, threatened, slandered, and run off campus—sometimes violently—for infringing on the “safety” of the marginalized and vulnerable.  

Social media, Google searches, and internet access are warped by corporate efforts to alter the flow of information. Once dangerous censorship has become a noble effort to silence “misinformation” and more dangerous “disinformation”—as adjudicated by ignorant 20-somethings at computer screens in Silicon Valley and obsequious 30-somethings in government cartels. 

Corporate Grandees 

Corporate America and its financial power are now left-wing approved. 

CEOs now, in politically correct or woke ways, put their gains (once deemed ill-gotten) to the service of the people. Disney, Target, Anheuser-Busch, the airlines, and sports franchises all “get it.” 

The Left has co-opted corporate America. So it says to them, “Use your money and clout to fast track our woke agenda, and in return, we will reinvent you, erasing from memory our past slurs of “bloodsucking leeches” and “running-dog capitalists,” and welcoming you into the pantheon of community-minded guardians of our culture. And you will make untold money from our globalized endorsement as never before.” 

By absorbing the MBA programs at the major universities, the Left ensures that the new corporate credentialed elite has never gotten its hands grubby or stained in the lower echelons of business, or worked its way up the long, grimy corporate ladder. Instead, unpolluted the new execs transition from their MBA courses in diversity, equity, and inclusion, and in environmental, social, and governance to the activist corporate boardroom. 

Remember, only mega-wealth is good. It is a revolutionary force that can bury wannabe capitalists, whose parochial right-wing millions stand no chance against enlightened left-wing globalized billions. Just ask George Soros, Bill Gates, Mike Bloomberg, and Mark Zuckerberg. 

From Class to Race and Sex 

Class no longer matters to the new Left, except as a force multiplier lever if the supposedly marginalized are the nonwhite or nonbinary. 

Otherwise, the poor of East Palestine, Ohio or the recruits who join the military from upstate New York or rural Texas are to be written off as the most dangerous demographic in America, full of white “rage,” “supremacy,” and “privilege.” 

Segregation and separatism are noble ideas that perpetuate proper racial distinctions on the necessary pathway to massive transfers of reparatory wealth. Tribalism is a good word now. Superficial appearance alone can be reliable proof of exploitation. 

“Crime” is a social construct, fabricated by wealthy white men whose manipulation of the economy is reflected in the laws they make to oppress and further victimize.  

Segregated dorms, graduations, and safe spaces are necessary to fight integrationists and assimilationists who would culturally appropriate or rob the identities of the Other. There is a good racism necessary to fight bad racism, once experts like Ibram X. Kendi can instruct us which is which. Racism is “systemic” like air, but only trained DEI czars can detect it everywhere. 

Poverty is now to be redefined. White poverty is the deserved fate of the stupid who never caught on to globalization and mindlessly try to convince us that ossified farming, the drudgery of mining, icky construction, the stink of fracking, or the monotony of assembly work remain vital industries. 

Nonwhite poverty is the fault of the exploitative middle class, which lacks the romance of the distant poor and power and good taste of the rich corporate elite. 

The Left’s once disliked intelligence and investigatory agencies, the despised Department of Justice, and the loathed Pentagon hierarchy are now deified on the principle that 1) by fiat, they can implement overdue cultural changes by bypassing the messing right-wing roadblocks of an archaic legislature, and 2) their extralegal powers can ferret out counterrevolutionaries and destroy them in a way impossible by others bound by a calcified and counterrevolutionary Constitution. 

The value of these weaponized bureaucracies is endless. FBI directors can lie if the cause is deemed good, and with impunity under oath. Compliant FISA courts that are willingly deluded by false writs can help to spy on right-wingers. 

Noble ex-CIA directors can round up “authorities” to issue false manifestos to influence elections. Enlightened attorney generals can overlook corruption and money laundering like that of the Biden family to emasculate any looming political rival. 

Whistleblowers are neutral characters: deified when useful to the Left, to be despised as quislings when they disclose left-wing crimes. 

The Border 

The southern border is a mere construct created by fascists to exclude the Other. 

Its removal fast tracks a new demography, dependent on leftist largess and eager to reciprocate with loyalty at the polls. 

The triumphalism of the slogans touting a “New Democratic Majority” and “Demography is Destiny” sanctifies the reality that citizenship is defunct and mere residency has replaced it with all its former rights, but none of its erstwhile responsibilities. 

Any who object to the cynicism inherent in the new demographic realities are racist adherents to the Great Replacement Theory, who are not wrong in deciphering leftist agendas, but to be damned as enemies of the people for exposing them. 

How and Why? 

Finally, how did the Left reinvent itself as a revolutionary Jacobin party and so easily stage its revolution? 

First, it claimed that there is no Republican Party when in fact there has never been a more viable one that is racially inclusive and representative of the beleaguered middle class. Instead it is to be smeared as “ultra-MAGA” and “semi-fascist” and supposedly as “unrecognizable” as the new Left is demonstrably recognizable as militant socialist. 

Second, the Left destroys people. 

Cancel culture, doxxing, deplatforming, and shadow banning are all synonyms for left-wing character destruction, an updated electronic form of Trostkyization and Lavrentiy Beria-style “show me the man and I’ll show you the crime” persecutions. 

Anyone who strays—a Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a Matt Taibbi, or an Elon Musk—will be targeted by the woke bureaucracies, libeled in the media, and ostracized by the popular culture. 

The message is one of deterrence: stay properly left and you are accorded the James Comey/Andrew McCabe/James Clapper/John Brennan/Anthony Fauci/Hunter Biden/2020 rioters exemptions from legal accountability for lying under oath, rank profiteering, or abject violent rioting. 

Swerve improperly rightward, and you will be vaporized by the long arm of the politicized law. 

A final note. The Left’s only problem is that it has bequeathed a new legacy that has the potential to boomerang should it ever lose power. 

So what has the Left conferred on America? 

Impeachment once, twice, and more still is a good thing. Better still, it is to try a president even as a private citizen. 

Special counsels are wonderful—all the more so if they have nearly two years and $40 million to hire a dream team of partisan lawyers. 

A good attorney general is a president’s “wingman” who uses the law to go after enemies and exempt friends and families from the law, while using indictments to pave the way for reelection. 

Lawfare is a legitimate tool of the president, especially when targeting a rival threat to his reelection. 

High office is a path to riches. Selling your name for tens of millions of dollars is not only legitimate, but a necessary perk of the vice presidency and presidency. 

The FBI, the Pentagon, the CIA, the Justice Department, and the IRS are underused assets. With the right mindset and willpower, all are vital tools in neutering your political enemies. 

The media is utterly corrupt. What it covers and what it omits are entirely political decisions and thus can be warped accordingly by government rewards and punishments. 

What the Left now fears most is the revolutionary model it has bequeathed to America—and what might happen if its monstrous creation falls into politically incorrect hands.

Americans Have Never Been Less Threatened By ‘Extreme’ Weather

Summer is trying to murder you, warns The Washington Post

David Harsanyi reporting for The Federalist

“Extreme heat kills more people in the United States than any other weather hazard,” is the first claim in this Washington Post piece warning about the deadly summer heat — and it is almost certainly false.

First off, the only reason “extreme” temperature kills more people than other weather hazards is that deaths from weather have plummeted over the century, even as doomsday climate warnings about heat, hurricanes, tornados, floods, and droughts have spiked. Extreme weather accounts for only about 0.1 death for every 100,000 people in the United States each year. The Post should be celebrating the fact that humans have never been less threatened by the climate.

The Post warns that 30 million people in the U.S. may be “exposed” to dangerous heat “today.” That’s a lot of people, even considering nearly all of them live in the southernmost spots in the country and it’s the middle of the summer. The Post counts anyone exposed to heat over 90 degrees as being in some level of danger. Fortunately, most Americans enjoy the luxury and health benefits of air-conditioning, one of the great innovations of the past century.

Nowhere in the piece, however, do the authors tell us exactly how many Americans have perished from the oppressive heat. Anyway, it’s around 700 people a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — if you liberally count heat as both the “underlying” and/or “contributing” causes. It is about 400 people when heat is the underlying cause. And that’s terrible. But, also, it’s around 3,600 fewer people than those who drown every year.

Though there has been an uptick in recent years — as Bjorn Lomborg has pointed out, this is almost surely due to an aging population that is more susceptible to heat — both numbers are still near-historic lows.

And most of those deaths, despite the Post’s claim, are from the cold, which is far more lethal. I come to this information via a Washington Post piece that ran this very winter, which noted that for “every death linked to heat, nine are tied to cold.” That piece relied on a peer-reviewed Lancet study. Another peer-reviewed study in The BMJ found that “cold weather is associated with nearly 20 times more deaths than hot weather.” Other studies have come to the same conclusion.

So where did the Post get the idea that heat was the leading cause of weather deaths? After following a few hyperlinks, I land on a National Weather Service chart from 2019 that lists heat as the leading cause of extreme weather deaths. Where it gets these numbers is a mystery to me. And though I’m sure they aren’t concocted, they certainly seem to be an outlier.

Not to worry. Even here we find promising news. Though the National Weather Service says the leading cause of weather deaths is heat, it also found that the average was 103 deaths per year over the preceding decade. That’s hundreds of fewer deaths per year than the CDC reports.

Miranda Devine and Peter Schweizer Discuss the Details of Biden’s Bribery Operation and the DOJ Coverup

Sundance reporting for Conservative Treehouse 

New York Post columnist Miranda Devine and Government Accountability Institute President Peter Schweizer appear with Maria Bartiromo to review the whistleblower evidence against Hunter and Joe Biden.

The House Ways and Means Committee has evidence from the IRS investigators turned whistleblowers, not only about the Hunter Biden criminal conduct, but also about how the DOJ ran a coverup operations to protect Joe and Hunter Biden from criminal accountability surrounding bribery and government corruption.

Schweizer also notes there is another AT&T phone number from the Hunter Biden laptop material that connects to Joe Biden.  WATCH: 

The One Scenario That Could Derail Trump's Candidacy for the GOP Nomination

posted by Jeff Charles at RedStateVIP 

Things are still looking good for former President Donald Trump. Despite a series of politically-motivated indictments against him, his fortunes seem to have improved as more Republican candidates throw their hats in the ring for the Republican presidential nomination. Nevertheless, this still does not mean a Trump victory is a foregone conclusion — there is still an avenue through which his candidacy could be derailed.

While speaking at an event, Trump dismissed the federal charges against him, accusing President Joe Biden of weaponizing the Department of Justice for political gain.

Trump said he considers the indictments he has received so far as a “great badge of courage” and touted his strong poll numbers:

Speaking on Saturday at the Road to Majority conference in Washington, hosted by the right-wing evangelical Faith and Freedom Coalition, Trump said he considered each of the two indictments he has received so far to be a “great badge of courage.”

“Joe Biden has weaponized law enforcement to interfere in our elections,” Trump told the conservative audience. “I’m being indicted for you.”

The speech came less than two weeks after Trump, currently the frontrunner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, pleaded not guilty to 37 federal charges related to his alleged mishandling of classified documents.

The Justice Department is accusing the former president of storing classified documents at his home at Mar-a-Lago. The agency alleges that Trump is guilty of obstruction of justice in keeping the documents concealed from the government. It is also expected that he could be facing indictments in Georgia and Washington due to his efforts to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

During his speech, Trump jested: “I’m probably the only person in history in this country who’s been indicted, and my numbers went up.”

Trump is not wrong. His poll numbers have increased after the indictments from the Justice Department and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. According to a national NBC News poll, former President Donald Trump has increased his lead over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Republican presidential contenders since his recent federal indictment on criminal charges. The survey reveals that while 50 percent of Republican primary voters are open to considering another candidate besides Trump, his support among conservative voters is still growing.

As the 2024 presidential election cycle progresses, Trump has several factors working in his favor. The indictments are helping him immensely. The conservative base has seen over and over again how Democrats have used the government to attack him going back to the 2016 election.

Moreover, the FBI’s apparent bias on issues like abortion has damaged its credibility – especially among folks on the right. Trump has used this to great effect to maintain and garner support, casting himself as the hero who is being targeted by the deep state because they view him as a threat. These constant indictments show that the former president is not merely engaging in hyperbole. The politically-motivated nature of these charges has resonated with a significant portion of Republican primary voters, with a staggering 64 percent believing that the indictments and investigations against Trump are driven by political motives.

Another factor that solidifies Trump’s path to the nomination is the expanding pool of Republican candidates. While an influx of contenders might suggest a more competitive race, it actually works to Trump’s advantage. With an array of options, voters who initially expressed openness to exploring alternatives to Trump find their choices spread across multiple candidates, diluting the base of anti-Trump opposition. This fragmentation ultimately strengthens Trump’s position, as his loyal base remains unwavering in their support.

The only plausible scenario that could potentially derail Trump’s nomination bid is if he were to be convicted of a crime carrying a prison sentence. If Democrats want him out of the race, they will have to put him behind bars. Such a development could erode support among conservative voters who might finally conclude that there is just too much baggage attached to the former president, whether it’s fair or not. However, it’s crucial to note that conviction and imprisonment are significant hurdles to overcome, and the burden of proof lies squarely with the prosecutors. Short of this outcome, Trump’s stronghold on the Republican base appears unwavering, rendering any other challenges to his nomination precarious at best.

At this juncture, I would still argue that the primary race is Trump’s to lose. But, as they say, anything can happen.

President Trump Takes Even Bigger Lead in Latest NBC National Polling

Sundance reporting for Conservative Treehouse 

NBC is out with a new national poll {Article Here} – {Poll pdf Here} showing that President Trump’s lead in the Republican 2024 primary has grown even bigger since the fraudulent and politically motivated indictment by the DOJ.

[Data Here]

(via NBC News) – Former President Donald Trump has expanded his lead over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the rest of the Republican presidential field since Trump’s latest indictment on federal criminal charges, according to a new national NBC News poll.

We all know what the tag-team duos are doing in the 2024 race.  The goal of both election control corporations, the DNC and RNC, is to keep Donald Trump from destroying the system they have carefully created.  The billionaire donors are desperate to maintain the illusion of choice.

♦ In Iowa, the SEA ISLAND DeSantis crew have funded and planted Asa Hutchinson and Mike Pence to camp out.  They are supported by Governor Kim Reynolds.  The goal is to use the Jeff Roe Cruz Crew, and roughly 1,000 paid Never Back Down (NBD) conscripts to do the Astroturf.

♦In New Hampshire, they have funded Chris Sununu Inc. (his state machine) along with Chris Christie, and the pair will camp out similar to Asa and Mike in Iowa.  Another roughly 500 to 1,000 NBD conscripts.

♦In South Carolina, they do not have the Governor (McMaster), but they have funded Nikki Haley and Tim Scott.  Yes, they are doing pairs this time because the singles didn’t work in 2016.  The NBD conscripts will shift from Iowa to South Carolina along with the calendar.  Not as much state party purchase, so look for Haley and Scott to do something like endorse DeSantis during the SC debate.  The Bush machinery is thick in SC.

♦ In Nevada, team DeSantis is following the RGA plan and will be going there soon to spend quite a bit of time and make the necessary funding and political promises.  Watch who endorses from there; it’s a caucus system, so the RGA will drive the buss.  The NBD conscripts will come in as supportive filler to do the groundwork.

♦In Florida, the SEA ISLAND crews are funding and deploying Francis Suarez along with never-Trump Jeanette Nuñez partnered with Team Jeb and the party apparatus.  However, the legislative assembly is in a little bit of a flux, as many of the members are not happy with being forced to do the legislative roadmap in order to get project funding.  The Florida House and Senate were not happy with the pressure, and RdS has abandoned them now, so that might be problematic.

♦ Overall, Never Back Down will have around 2,500 paid operatives in the early primary states.  The RGA will be the pressure point for State Gov endorsements, which should be locked up very soon.  The RGA will also play a key role in financing the state party rule changes to keep everything proportional, thereby extending DeSantis longevity.  The RNC will support this very key part of the plan.  The goal is to bleed Trump dry of funds by forcing a lengthy primary.  The SEA ISLAND group has more money than Trump and the small donors.

The dropout sequence to endorse Ron DeSantis should generally follow the calendar as each of the primary contests is fought.  Rolling out of Iowa, Pence and Hutchinson will try to be the boosters for DeSantis rolling into New Hampshire to greet Sununu and Christie.  However, Christie will stay in at least through Florida to belittle Donald Trump.

Depending on the SC outcome, exiting Florida it should be a two-person race, as Trump is sequentially battered by external DC Lawfare and simultaneous 10 against 1 attacks while campaigning.  Murdoch, Bezos and Musk will work together to support the effort, while DC Lawfare will try to keep Trump from campaigning.  This will take place simultaneous to the NBD Pac and RGA going full negative with campaign ads.

That is the basic outline.  I’ll get more specific as the data points assemble and the very granular tripwires become more predictable.

RELATED – By my calculations last month, and based entirely on released information about income and burn rates combined with public statements about the financial position from Elon Musk himself, Twitter was/is in desperate financial position.  Losing around $200 million/month, Twitter was on a path to insolvency by October of this year.

However, it looks to me like Rupert Murdoch is positioned to backstop Musk, contingent upon the platform manipulating content to the benefit of Ron DeSantis.  Keep watching this aspect of public-opinion politics, while keeping a close eye on the RGA (Republican Governors Association).

Kevin McCarthy Finally Goes There, Starts Talking Impeachment of Merrick Garland

Bonchie reporting for RedState 

Is the groundwork being laid to impeach AG Merrick Garland for allegedly making false statements to Congress? That’s the signal that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy sent on Sunday.

For the first time since assuming his leadership role, McCarthy directly pushed the idea of impeaching Garland, citing recent revelations from an IRS whistleblower.

There’s not much beating around the bush there. Obviously, House investigators have to conduct a real impeachment investigation to confirm what’s being said, but it seems as if impeachment is now firmly on the table.

As RedState reported, this is all being driven by statements that Garland made to Congress in which he asserted that David Weiss, the US Attorney for Delaware who gave Hunter Biden a sweetheart plea deal, was given full authority to file charges in any jurisdiction he wished. Gary Shapley, the IRS whistleblower in question, has directly contradicted that assertion.

After Garland essentially accused Shapley of lying, the whistleblower actually went so far as to start naming the people who were in the room when Weiss allegedly admitted he had been overridden by the DOJ on filing charges against Hunter Biden in California and Washington, D.C. That’s an escalation that has now painted Garland and Weiss into a corner. If Shapley is willing to go so far as to name everyone in the room, giving House Republicans the ability to put them under oath, there is every reason to believe he’s telling the truth.

You can expect every single person that Shapley named to be subpoenaed (if they don’t come voluntarily) and questioned about what was said in that meeting with Weiss. Garland has nibbled at the edges the entire time, hedging his bets and playing coy while Shapley has operated with no ambiguity. Given that, I know who looks more credible to me, especially given Shapley has nothing to gain by coming forward and everything to lose.

There’s an impatience among many on the right that is completely understandable. At the same time, McCarthy and others in leadership need some leeway to do this right. Nothing is accomplished by rushing through an impeachment vote based on a few paragraphs of allegations and Lauren Boebert’s fundraising page. I get that people want this to happen quickly, but a real impeachment requires a real process. That means an official investigative inquiry followed by a committee process and then a floor vote.

With that said, the first step needs to happen immediately. There’s no reason to delay the inquiry anymore. Enough evidence is already out there to move forward. Hopefully, something happens in the next week.

With all that said, will Garland be removed from office? There’s no chance of that, but the point is to make this as politically painful as possible. The members of the Biden administration need to be completely exposed and made to operate in an environment where voters know exactly who they are. Let’s get it all out in the open, and when Democrats inevitably vote to save Garland in the Senate, they’ll own it, lock, stock, and barrel.