Flotsam and Jetsam - Super! Tuesday Fallout

Yesterday was Super! Tuesday, and numerous states held their primaries. Of course, there's lots of numbers, but what you really need to know is that Trump swept the Republican primaries, except for Vermont, where Nikki Haley squeaked out a bare majority. In the Democrat primaries, where there is, of course, Biden dominated, with a smattering of non-committed votes, and votes for the usual loons. The main story there is that in California baseball great Steve Garvey got enough votes to displace Katie Porter in the "jungle primary" for Diane Feinstein's seat, leaving him Adam Schiff's opponent in November. Sadly, Schiff is probably going to win, short of a godly intervention.

But if you want to explore the gory details, the guys at Hat Hair have divided up the work, John Sexton with Super Tuesday: Pacific/Mountain Primary Live Results, Dave Strom with Live Blog: Important House and Senate Races, Capt. Ed with Live Results: Super Tuesday's CT Primaries From Deep In the Heart O' Texas (Update), and Jazz Shaw, Super Tuesday: ET Races, Alabama and North Carolina State Govt Primaries; UPDATE: Haley Wins Vermont. At PJM, Chris Queen has LIVE RESULTS: Welcome to Super Tuesday Central. Sundance at CTH, Super Tuesday Voting – Ground Reports and Open Discussion Thread and, of course, hosts President Trump Delivers Remarks Following Resounding Super Tuesday Victories. And, from Monday, at Da Wire, Trump Wins North Dakota Caucus In Dominant Fashion. Althouse catches Jake Tapper whining "He has remade the party in his image. There are still some Republicans who are trying to take it away — like, take it back. That's over. There's no back." Matt Vespa at Town Hall, How Trump Threw Nikki Haley's Words Back at Her in Super Tuesday Victory Speech. Philip Melanchthon Wegmann@PhilipWegmann, "Trump: "Success will bring unity to our country." Reagan Reese at Da Caller hears ‘It’s Ready To Go Republican’: Trump Says He Wants To Go All In On One State GOP Hasn’t Won In Decades, Virginia. Well, it could happen.

From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 03.05.24 (Afternoon Edition)  At Am Con, Tulsi Gabbard Should Be Secretary of State, Not Vice President. "The rising star should keep the hawks from the war cabinet." I'm OK with that. Atop Da Hill, Trump tells Fox News: ‘Get rid of Karl Rove’. Fox would rather get rid of Trump.  

Regarding the interesting case in California, Stacy McCain asks California Democrats Why Do They Hate Women and Black People So Much? after they pushed out Barbara Lee and Katie Porter in favor of Adam Schiff. Althouse, It's Super Tuesday, and the only interesting thing seems to be whether the California Senate race will be between Adam Schiff and Katie Porter or Adam Schiff and Steve Garvey. "I'm reading "Schiff’s insider support trumps Porter’s outsider appeal/Polling shows Rep. Katie Porter running in third place, behind fellow Rep. Adam Schiff and a Republican he helped boost" (WaPo)." Joe Cunningham at RedState points out Katie Porter Gave Up a Swing Seat in Congress to Lose to the Establishment. 

At WSJ, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema Won’t Run for Re-Election "Centrist has played pivotal role in series of bipartisan deals but angered progressives." Which is bad for the GOP because she would split the Democrat vote. John Sexton, Sen. Sinema Will Not Run for Reelection. Sundance, Here We Go – Senator Krysten Sinema Is Out and Will Not Seek Reelection. Manu Raju@mkraju, "NEWS- Kyrsten Sinema announces she’s leaving Senate. “Because I choose civility, understanding, listening, working together to get stuff done, I will leave the Senate at the end of this year. “" 

Da Wire's Dan Chaitin reports Thune Enters Race To Become Senate GOP Leader. Sundance says Listen to the Way He Says It – John Thune: “I hope to be” Senate Majority Leader  "Thune talks about assuming the role as the natural outcome of his time with McConnell.  Unfortunately, almost all the GOPe Republicans will support this passing of the baton.  The only thing that makes the Deep State professional Republicans nervous, is the potential for President Donald Trump to intercede in the anointing." From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 03.05.24 (Afternoon Edition), at Da Fed, McConnell’s Retirement Marks The End Of The Disastrous Bush Era.

From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 03.05.24 (Afternoon Edition) at Da Fed   Biden Department Of Justice Declares War On Voter ID And Other Election Security Lawsand In Georgia And Elsewhere, Officials Sow Distrust In Elections By Dismissing Voters’ Integrity Concerns. Also from DaFed, Shawn Fleetwood explores 9 Ways The Feds Are Using ‘Bidenbucks’ To Rig The 2024 Election.

Stephen Kruiser at PJM, Everything But the Skirt — WaPo and NY Times in Helpful Cheerleader Mode for Biden's SOTU. Most of them do wear skirts. From the Free Bacon, Democratic Socialists of America Tells Members To Oppose Biden, Accuses Israel of 'Genocide', Keith Naughton at Am Spec frets that House Republican Incompetence Boosts Biden and Democrats, "The Impeachment flopped. House GOP needs to focus on improving Americans' lives." At Am Think, Dale Lowdermilk wonders Is Jill Biden aspiring to be ‘Gucci’ Grace Mugabe? At Althouse, Biden mutters to himself, frets aloud about "getting in trouble," looks around worried/confused, and mutters to himself again. Hat Hair's KT assures us No, Michelle Obama Is Not Running for President. Althouse  You have to say "If drafted, I will not run; if nominated, I will not accept; if elected, I will not serve." "That's the unambiguous "Sherman statement.""  From the Babylon Bee, Dems Quietly Ask SCOTUS If They Can Ban Biden From Ballot.

Steve Richards at JTN reports He ‘closed the deal': Biden role in son’s deals with foreign clients exposed in testimony. ""Joe the Closer?" Oversight Chairman James Comer told Just the News on Friday that President Joe Biden played a specific role in his son’s business dealings." Tristan Justice at Da Fed, Biden Business Associate Jason Galanis Says Hunter Used Joe To Get Deals ‘Across The Finish Line.’ Paul Sperry at NYPo claims Hunter Biden helped hire aides who mishandled Joe’s classified documents "Without identifying them by name, special counsel Robert Hur narrowed the suspects to two former aides: “Executive Assistant” and “Staff Assistant 3.” He said they gathered up more than 180 classified records totaling more than 600 pages and packed them into 15 boxes as Biden left the White House in January 2017. Documents confirm that the staffers in question are Kathy S. Chung, who worked with Hunter Biden at the Commerce Department, and Anne Marie Muldoon, nee Person, who worked for him at Rosemont Seneca Partners, a key pass-through for foreign wire payments to Hunter Biden."

PJM's Chris Queen thinks Laken Riley's Murder Is the Fault of Democrats at Every Level of Government. Betsey McCaughey at Front Page observes  Migrant Surge Brings Killers and Criminal Gangs. "And the Dems' "sanctuary city" policies make the danger worse." Althouse hosts a clip of a Biden impersonator , "Let's get our fact straight. There's no crisis at the border. C'mon..." "Funny." Not so funny, Elon Musk@elonmusk, "Treason indeed! Ushering in vast numbers of illegals is why Secretary Mayorkas was impeached by the House. They are importing voters. This is why groups on the far left fight so hard to stop voter ID requirements, under the absurd guise of protecting the right to vote." At TNP, Biden Campaign Co-Chair Claims Deporting Illegals Will Harm America. PJM's VodkaPundit notes NY Offers Huge Bribe to Get Illegals to Leave But There's Just One Problem... "Only five of New York state's 62 counties — Westchester, Suffolk, Erie, Monroe, and Albany — currently accept illegal aliens from New York City. But Suffolk County might drop out, leaving only four." Mary Chastain at LI reports ‘Non-Sanctuary City’: Aurora, CO, Rejects Illegal Immigrants From Denver, "The City Council affirms remaining a Non-Sanctuary City and asserts the City does not currently have the financial capacity to fund new services related to this crisis and demands that other municipalities and entities do not systematically transport migrants or people experiencing homelessness to the City.”" But WaEx reports Katie Hobbs vetoes Arizona immigration bill making illegal crossings punishable by six months in jail. Mike Cantrell at PJM, Former Border Patrol Chief Reveals Biden, Harris 'Never' Talked to Him About Border Crisis. At  Cato, Border Patrol: 70 Percent Drop in Successful Evasions Since Title 42 Ended.

Insty, HOW IT STARTED:

Yet even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. Well, I say to them tonight, there’s not a liberal America and a conservative America – there’s the United States of America. . .  — Sen. Obama’s Keynote Address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.

How it’s going: Biden will ask America ‘Whose side are you on?’ in State of the Union this week and accuse Trump of being with Putin, less democratic freedom and higher health costs.

Virginia Kruta at Da Wire reports Biden Takes Aim At Clarence Thomas In New Yorker Interview, "referring to him simply as “the guy who likes to spend a lot of time on yachts.” Nick Arama at RedState, Biden Attacks Clarence Thomas in New Interview—but Accidentally Levels Himself. "But has Biden looked in the mirror? Seriously? Has he checked the millions that his family got from all kinds of foreign nationals? He should be the last one to talk about any such things. The hypocrisy is something to behold."

I&I notes Even Biden Doesn’t Want To Talk About ‘Bidenomics’ Anymore: We Have The Receipts. From Bidenomics.com Is Bidenomics Working? Rhetoric vs. Reality.  mrcTV reports Bidenistas Release Latest Diktats For Sale Of Clothes Washers, Dryers "Biden Energy Regulations Impact: Hiked Costs for Home Appliances" At Breitbart, Atlanta Fed’s Bostic Warns Rate Cut Could Reignite Inflation. Hat Hair's KT is amused Frank Oz Responds to a Tweet From Cookie Monster...No, Really, when Cookie Monster complains about "shrinkflation." Not so amusingly, the Peacock reports The U.S. national debt is rising by $1 trillion about every 100 days. Thanks, Brandon!

A bit more from the Supreme Court decision putting Trump back on the ballot in Colorado, and other states. At the New Reform Club, The Law of the Case: Trump v. Anderson. At the Volokh Report John Adler wonders Were There Last Minute Changes to Trump v. Anderson?. Capt. Ed,  "To the extent that the finished product lacks synchronicity (which Professor Adler notes), it's likely because the court felt it was necessary to publish this before Colorado's primary and other primaries that might be impacted by it."  Breitbart, Maine Secretary of State Withdraws Determination That Donald Trump Should Be Banned from Ballot. “Consistent with my oath and obligation to follow the law and the Constitution, and pursuant to the Anderson decision, I hereby withdraw my determination that Mr. Trump’s primary petition is invalid”  Also, Marlow on ‘Kudlow’: Democrats Got Bailed Out by the Supreme Court Decision " “They have been walking around telling us they are the authorities on democracy. If they were literally keeping the Republican nominee off the ballot in one state or multiple states it would have been such a horrible look. They never could have never defended that across the next six months. Now they don’t have too." Cathy Salgado at PJM, Exclusive: Lawyer Celebrates SCOTUS Ballot Ruling as a 'Win' for 'Federalism'. Natalia Mittelstadt at JTN hears  SCOTUS decision on Trump ballot may reveal how court will rule on his presidential immunity case "I'm hoping the Supreme Court will write a narrow decision granting some immunity but not nearly as much as Trump asked for," Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz said."  From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 03.05.24 (Afternoon Edition), The Geller Report, VICTORY: Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Trump to Stay on Ballot, Reverses Colorado, Victory Girls Victorious Again-Donald Trump Speaks On Supreme Court Decision, Volokh Conspiracy, Supreme Court Rules for Trump in Section 3 Disqualification Case, also, The Modern Supreme Court Agrees With Chief Justice Chase: Trump Cannot Be Removed From The Presidential Ballot, The Federalist, Media Extremely Upset SCOTUS Just Robbed Voters Of Chance To Hear Yet Again That Trump Is A ‘Threat To Democracy’, The Supreme Court Is The Last Functioning Institution In America,

And the Rom-com in Fulton County keeps generating comedy gold. It appears that Fani may have indulged in a bit of witness tampering of her own. Althouse, "They are coming after us. You don't need to talk to them about anything about us." "Fani Willis allegedly said to Terrence Bradley, quoted in this tweet from Jonathan Turley. "So Willis and Wade are now prosecuting defendants in the case for some of the same misconduct that they have been accused of from filing false statements with courts to influencing witnesses...." Nick Arama at RedState, New Witness Reveals Terrence Bradley Contradictions and Bombshell Call He Got From Fani Willis.  Scott Johnson at Power Line, Whole lotta lyin’ goin’ on, cont’d. "My guess is that Judge McAfee has heard enough. He knows how he wants to decide the disqualification motion. Anyone with half a brain could see that Bradley was lying. Bradley could not have made it more obvious if he had wanted to, although (with apologies to the great Jeremiah Denton) he might have blinked out “I-M-L-Y-I-N-G” in Morse Code if he knew it." Ace, Another Witness Comes Forward, Alleging That Terrence Bradley Freely Admitted His Own Personal Knowledge of the Details and Start Date of the Fani-Sweetdick Affair. "I'm starting to think that Judge McAfee will have to re-open evidence. We now have two witnesses alleging that Terrence Bradley committed perjury when he claimed he could not remember a single detail about the Fani-Sweetdick PayPig Arrangement." From Da Wire, Former Trump Org CFO Pleads Guilty To Perjury In Connection With NY Civil Business Fraud Case. Perjury is illegal when Republicans do it. 

Harold Hutchinson at Da Caller hears Andy McCarthy Tells Panel Overlooked Case Could ‘Blow Up’ Jack Smith’s Prosecution:  ‘Catastrophic. The J6 obstruction cases. “The case to keep your eye on is the obstruction case,” McCarthy told “America’s Newsroom” co-host Bill Hemmer. “We miss it because Trump is not a party to that case. They are looking at the same statute that is key to Smith’s prosecution of Trump in Washington, and if they — as I expect they may, if they — if they say the Justice Department has not been correctly applying that statute, that’s going to have a catastrophic impact for Smith on his indictment.” MSN actually published news that a Bombshell Report Alleges Jack Smith Was Unconstitutionally Appointed Special Counsel. "Former Attorney General Ed Meese and two constitutional scholars argue that Smith lacks the authority to represent the United States in the Supreme Court due to his appointment violating the “Appointments Clause” of the Constitution. They contend that only Congress can create federal offices, and Smith’s position has not been authorized by Congress."

 From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 03.05.24 (Afternoon Edition),The Geller Report: Appeals Court Overturns Jan. 6 Defendant’s Sentence, Impacting Dozens of Cases and James Nault at LI, Sentence Reduction for J6 Defendant Ordered By Appeals Court May Have Implications For Other Defendants.

Shawn Fleetwood again, NBC News Trivializes Blaze Reporter’s FBI Arrest To Legitimize Police State Tactics From Da Blaze, Steve Baker’s attorney to federal prosecutors: ‘Game on’

Before the appearance with the magistrate, because the FBI had “arrested” Steve, the U.S. Marshal’s Office and courthouse security added a belly chain, box cuffs, and leg shackles. That involves a chain around the waist, with handcuffs in the front attached to the chain so the defendant can’t move his arms up and down or side to side. Another chain goes from the belly chain down to a chain attaching two ankle cuffs to each other. Shackled that way means all a defendant can do is shuffle his feet with security officers usually on both sides.

Ten minutes after the hearing ended, Steve walked out of the courthouse through the front doors like anyone else. He could have — and should have — walked into the courthouse the same way. Nothing justifies what Department of Justice put Steve Baker through on March 1. All for a journalist who spent 37 minutes inside the Capitol recording the events of January 6 as they unfolded.

The criminal complaint is dated February 21, 2024. It took 1,141 days for the Department of Justice to decide that a journalist covering an international news event was a legitimate target of a federal criminal prosecution.

The Justice Department had been threatening to take this step for more than two and a half years, ever since the FBI first contacted Steve and asked for him to sit for an interview in North Carolina. Eventually Steve did sit for that interview, answering their questions about his recollections of the day and his actions. Later he handed over all the video he had taken to the FBI and federal prosecutors.

It seems noteworthy that the Justice Department finally felt the need to take this step just weeks after Steve broke stories for Blaze Media about members of the U.S. Capitol Police who likely committed perjury during one or more January 6 trials. Steve also happens to be one of a very small number of journalists working closely with multiple House committees studying video evidence of the events of January 6 that has not yet been made public.

Our defense will make plain for the entire country to see that there were dozens of journalists — some working for media companies and others who were freelancers like Steve was at the time — who both were present on “restricted grounds” and went inside the Capitol in the same manner that has resulted in hundreds of protesters being prosecuted — through broken windows and doors. One in particular, a freelancer, had his lengthy story published in the New Yorker only nine days after and was later promoted for a Pulitzer Prize. He’s never been charged.

This has all the earmarks of “selective prosecution.” The government — foolishly in my view — noted in the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint that Steve made comments after January 6 that endorsed or supported the actions of protesters on that day.

That is political speech and has always been political speech, and the inclusion of that information gives away the game regarding the government’s motives in singling out Steve among the dozens of journalists who could be charged but have not been.

 From Insty, GREAT MOMENTS IN SELF-AWARENESS: T. Becket Adams@BecketAdams, "The funniest thing about the intern who runs Dan Rather’s Twitter account is that the intern has no idea who Dan Rather is and why he isn’t a news anchor anymore." Dan Rather@DanRather "If I may, there’s something I need to get off my chest. As democracy remains under siege, it has been frustrating to watch how the press covers politics these days .. . . " Althouse, "By limiting its restrictions to a list of ideas designated as offensive, the Act targets speech based on its content." ""And by barring only speech that endorses any of those ideas, it penalizes certain viewpoints — the greatest First Amendment sin." Wrote Judge Britt C. Grant, quoted in "Appeals court blocks Fla. ‘Stop Woke Act,’ says it’s a ‘First Amendment sin’/A three-judge panel upheld a previous ruling that said the state law violates private companies’ right to freedom of speech and expression" (WaPo). Twitchy, 'This Article Seems Racist': AP in Hot Water Over Story About Diversity Being 'Under Attack'

Campus Reform reports Dept. of Ed investigates anti-Semitism at Swarthmore College. Mary Chastain at LI, ‘I Live in Fear’: Jewish Teachers Sue Brooklyn School That Won’t Discipline Antisemitic Students. “She [interim principal Dara Kammerman] is perpetuating an antisemitic environment and a school of hate…The students continue these behaviors because they know there won’t be any consequences.” Pete Van Buren at Am Con frets that SCOTUS OKs Admissions Discrimination at TJ High "By refusing to hear the case about the school’s admissions practices, the Court effectively gutted last year’s decision against affirmative action." Shawn Fleetwood again, Why Won’t Youngkin Commit To Veto Bill Forcing Health Workers Into ‘Unconscious Bias’ DEI Lectures?

Ashley Bateman at Da Fed thinks Jill Biden’s $100 Million Women’s Health Initiative Won’t Make Up For The Ways This Administration Hurts Them. Da Wire, Meet The Biden Official Making Six Figures To Travel The Globe Pushing Transgenderism. "Bureaucrat Spotlight: State Department's 'LGBTQI Special Envoy' has visited 22 countries on 6 continents in position reestablished by Biden" From Breitbart, ‘Blood Money’: Two of the Biggest Funders of the Radical Transgender Movement in the U.S. Are China-Linked Billionaires "China-based American Neville Roy Singham and Alibaba co-founder Joseph Tsai." The Telegraph (archive), BBC tried to discipline journalist for claiming men cannot scientifically be women. From Twitchy, What Were They Thinking? Doritos Fires Transgender Activist Brand Ambassador After Two Days. Like Bud Lite, they were hoping the normies wouldn't notice. At TNP, Bud Light Fumbles Its Super Bowl Hail Mary. "Despite the brand’s multi-million dollar Super Bowl ad blitz, Bud Light continues to fumble." It's easier to get into shit than get out of it. 

The Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: The Shame of Life ready for your digital pleasure at The Other McCain.