Kellyanne Conway Put Her Feet On a Sofa in the Oval Office and Social Media Lost its Mind

This is where we are, America. President Trump's counselor, Kellyanne Conway, caused a sustained meltdown on social media Monday after photos appeared showing her feet on a
sofa in the Oval Office. The Trump deranged have sunk to this level of criticism and others connected on the Internet play along.

Never mind that Conway was taking a photo of a large crowd of black pastors and religious leaders gathered with the president and her rather indelicate position was one on her knees, balancing for the best angle. The kicker? SHE KEPT HER SHOES ON!! The horror. From what I could see, she did no damage to the sofa's upholstery but let's all get indignant.

Can we all just take a breath and get a grip already? President Trump was signing an Executive Order concerning historically black colleges and universities. The group was gathered with him to witness that moment.

"White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, which was previously part of the Department of Education, back to the White House."

I read comments ranging from outrage at the lack of decorum in the Oval Office - then rational people posted photos of former President Obama resting with his shoed feet on his desk and the coffee table in that office for comparison - to phony prudish snark about a woman on her knees in a dress among a room full of men. The only thing missing was a racist component to note that she's a blonde white woman and they were black men.

The 24/7 level of continual outrage has produced a whole new level of irrational press coverage and social media commentary. How long this can be sustained remains to be seen.

@ShadowingTrump Trolls Trump on Twitter

According to a news item published by Mike Allen's Axios AM this morning, a group of far left ideologues has risen up and coordinated together to troll President Trump on Twitter. The objective is to tweet opposition to his policies and actions on social media. Using the Twitter handle of @ShadowingTrump, they were brought together by Bernie Sanders supporter New York City Public Advocate Mark Green and are led by Harvard Law School professor (and Clinton supporter) Laurence Tribe. Take a look at who they are:

• LAURENCE TRIBE, "Attorney General" -- Constitutional law professor at Harvard Law School.
• MARIELENA HINCAPIE, "INS/ICE/Immigration" -- executive director, National Immigration Law Center
• DERAY MCKESSON, "Justice Issues" - Co-founder, Black Lives Matter. civil rights activist.
• ROBERT REICH, "Labor/Commerce" -- Ex-Labor Secretary, best-selling author.
• LAURA TYSON, "Treasury/Trade" -- Ex-chair CEA, professor at Berkeley Hass Business School
• DAVID CAY JOHNSTON, "IRS" -- Pulitzer prize-winning journo/author. Founder of new DCReport.
• DIANE RAVITCH, "Education" -- Professor at NYU, author/editor of 24 books on education.
• JOAN CLAYBROOK, "Transportation" -- Ex-head of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
• ROB WEISSMAN, "Consumer Agencies" -- President, Public Citizen.
• DAVID FREEMAN, "Energy & EPA" -- Ex-head of TVA & NYS Power Authority.
• DAVID HIMMELSTEIN, STEFFIE WOOLFINDLER, "HHS/Health" -- Distinguished Professors at Pub. Health School, CUNY/Hunter; co-founders Physicians for National Health.
• COLIN KAHL, "NSA/Terrorism" - V.P. Biden's National Security Adviser.
• ROSA BROOKS, "State Department" -- Ex--DoD counselor, author, columnist Foreign Policy.
• ANDREW BACEVICH, "Defense Department" -- Author/historian, BU. Pardee School Global Affairs.

Times like this are when we should be relieved Republicans were able to put a street fighter in the White House to take on such tactics. The Tweeter-in-Chief has the left off balance - traditionally, Republicans don't bother to respond when the left goes to war. This, by the way, is another reason we now have President Trump - Americans were sick and tired of Republicans not fighting for them in a public way. Trump does.

So, if you are a part of the Twitterverse, keep an eye out for the latest from @ShadowingTrump. Knowledge is power. Stay outside the conservative bubble and know what the opposition is up to.

Trump Sends Media Fingers Flying on Social Media Over Decision on WH Correspondents' Dinner

For the first time in 30 years, the President of the United States will not be attending the White House Correspondents' Dinner and the Trump hating media is having a fit. Grown adults who have been sounding like unprofessional hacks and only too happy to run with stories from anonymous sources only to have to backtrack and retract the stories later now sound like jilted teenagers. How dare this guy they've abused since November not show up for more from them!

Vice President Mike Pence and Chief of Staff Reince Priebus will attend in the president's place.

First, media outlets began announcing the cancellations of their swell parties before and after the White House Correspondents' Dinner. It's all fun and games until the president turns his back on them, though. They want to set the narrative - they want to reject him, not the other way around! 

"The White House Correspondents’ Dinner is taking place despite President Trump’s constant attacks on the media, but The New Yorker and Vanity Fair have pulled out of the festivities, according to The New York Times.
The New Yorker will cancel its annual kickoff party, magazine spokeswoman Natalie Raabe told the Times. In addition, Vanity Fair will not co-sponsor the afterparty, which is typically among the hottest tickets in town and packed with celebrities.
Vanity Fair editor and longtime Trump rival Graydon Carter said, “Trump,” when asked why he will spend the weekend fishing instead of hosting the party, the Times reported."

That's right. In the case of Vanity Fair, it is an old grudge against Trump - it goes back to the 1980's, for heaven's sake. Bloomberg and The New Yorker followed suit.

Today, President Trump tweeted out his decision not to attend the dinner.

"I will not be attending the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner this year. Please wish everyone well and have a great evening!"

The reaction on Twitter by reporters was predictable. The delicate, overblown egos of the members of the press cannot be overstated.
Jeremy W. Peters  (NYT) Retweeted Donald J. Trump:

"The latest salvo in his war on the media."

The senior Senate reporter for Roll Call, Niels Lesniewski,‏ tweeted this:

Sounds like someone wants the media talking about itself for the rest of the weekend.

Discredited liberal propagandist Dan Rather tweeted this:

"When the cat's away the mice will play. Wondering how this will play out?"

Senior Entertainment Editor at Daily Beast, Marlow Stern, tweeted that SNL's Alec Baldwin should attend in Trump's place. "The White House Correspondents' Association should invite @AlecBaldwin (as Trump) in his place".

Comedy Central's Kristina Wong tweeted directly to Trump: " realDonald Trump This dinner is going to be so good now."

Dave Weigel, political reporter for the Washington Post tweeted:

"Whatever your politics, this is a great development. Good riddance."

Inaccurately, New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman tweeted: "The last president to outright skip the WHCD was Nixon." I know the trend is for leftists to make the Nixon/Trump comparison but she should at least get the facts right. Ronald Reagan was the last president to "skip" the dinner. He was recovering from his injuries received in his attempted assassination.

The dinner will still take place. The dinners have taken place since 1920. Four dinners have been cancelled or downsized due to death or crisis. Calvin Coolidge was the first president to attend.

"The WHCA takes note of President Donald Trump's announcement on Twitter that he does not plan to attend the dinner, which has been and will continue to be a celebration of the First Amendment and the important role played by an independent news media in a healthy republic," association President Jeff Mason said in a statement.
"We look forward to shining a spotlight at the dinner on some of the best political journalism of the past year and recognizing the promising students who represent the next generation of our profession," he added."

You may remember the dinner in 2011 when private citizen Trump was the butt of scorching "jokes" from then President Obama and Keynote Speaker Comedian Seth Meyers. Trump was in his birther years and Fox's Greta Van Sustern invited him as a guest.

The dinner has turned into an overblown, gaudy spectacle of Washington insiders, politicians, reporters and celebrities all patting each other on the back and preening for cameras. It highlights the corrupt closeness of the Fourth Estate to the powerful in Washington, D.C.  Most of today's press serve as mouthpieces for the DNC and Democrats. I guarantee most of America has never watched one on C-SPAN or will care about who attends. If it is only a dinner to recognize colleagues and award journalism scholarships, why should any of them care if the president attends and speaks or not? With all that hot air in the room, there are plenty to choose from if a substitute is needed.  

Support Republican Politicians From Protesting Leftists

Looks like lots of Congress people are avoiding Town Hall meetings in their districts, even during the current recess. That is unfortunate. It is as though they have learned nothing. The left has organized and financially supported protesters and groups to come to conservative elected officials' meetings and cause a disruption. Texas Republicans are on the hit list. 

According to the Texas Tribune, in Texas only Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso, has a scheduled Town Hall during the recess.

The regular protests are continuing nationally and locally. The media loves to run clips of rowdy disruptors at the Town Halls and the protests outside offices of elected officials. Even President Trump acknowledges what is going on.

On February 21, 2017 at 5:23 PM @realDonaldTrump tweeted:
"The so-called angry crowds in home districts of some Republicans are actually, in numerous cases, planned out by liberal activists. Sad!"

That tweet was re-tweeted by @townhallproject with this response: "At Town Hall Project, we are inspired by increased civic engagement and are proud to make democracy more accessible. Amazing!"

Townhall Project's Twitter profile reads: "Town Hall Project is a grassroots effort that empowers constituents across the country to have face-to-face conversations with their elected representatives." This is a liberal organization. They exist to create havoc at conservative Town Hall meetings.

See how this is playing out? Some activists on our side are using social media skills by instructing others on how to get involved. Some are doing so on Facebook, some on Twitter or other platforms. It's all good but the main point is not being driven (mostly because they don't care) - this is war and we have to stick together and stick up for our own. Our own. That means conservative leaning voters stick up and defend elected Republicans against the attacks on the left. Whether that elected official is your favorite one or not doesn't matter in these situations. Republicans are not the enemy. The opponent is the left. Keep that in mind. And, yes, party loyalty matters.

We have to defend our own against the left. That doesn't mean you can't criticize your elected officials or give them a piece of your mind. It means there is a time and place for everything. The time to fight leftists hoping to block the conservative agenda in Washington, D.C. is now.

Not happy with the incumbent in our party? That's fine. Get off the sofa and stop bitching on the Internet. Recruit a viable primary opponent. Run for the job yourself. Don't know how to do that? Learn. It's that simple. Don't get behind someone who has zero chance of winning - no money, no name recognition, unable to articulate a message - find someone who can get the job done. Beating an incumbent is easier said than done.

Support groups who are able to get an elected official as a meeting speaker. Yesterday there was a protest outside the office of Senator Ted Cruz. I saw video clips of protesters airing their grievances but no response from local GOP leadership. This is a mistake. We have to get on offense, not remain on defense. Fortunately, HCRP is asking for those who are so inclined to be a part of a counter-protest at a local Republican women's club meeting today. The protest planned by the leftists is sponsored by  #ResistHouston, Greater Houston Democrats and the Human Rights Campaign. The #Resist movement is coordinated nationwide with Democrat money - they are part of the #Indivisible plan.

Support our elected Republican politicians against coordinated protests from the left. It's that simple.

UPDATE:

Thank you to Mary Sergesketter for checking it out and allowing me the use of her photos. I understand that the crowd was about 125-150 total (of both sides) people on the street outside the country club. Republicans showed up and that is a good thing.

Don't let anyone tell you it doesn't matter. Or quibble over 'optics' of a location. That's not what is important at this point. A deeply divided nation, evenly split, has moved on from all that.

A Look at Hillary's Cabinet Choices & Trump's First 30 Days

Remember that binary choice I referred to in my last blog post? This is what those who call themselves conservatives or Republicans who morphed into permanent #NeverTrump scowls were willing to give America in a President Hillary Clinton administration. This list is what a Hillary Clinton cabinet would look like.

According to Mike Allen in Axios, this was the list of Hillary Clinton's picks for her cabinet:

Secretary of State - John Podesta
Attorney General - Loretta Lynch

Labor Department - Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz
Defense Department - Michèle Flournoy
Health and Human Services - Center for American Progress executive director Neera Tanden
Environmental Protection Agency and/or the Department of Education -"an African-American candidate"
Brian Fallon - press secretary
Nick Merrill - traveling press secretary
Huma Abedin - deputy Chief of Staff
Ron Klain - Chief of Staff
Robby Mook - senior adviser
Philippe Reines - counselor
Karen Dunn - White House counsel
Heather Samuelson - White House deputy counsel (you may remember this name from email scandal at State Dept)
Jennifer Palmieri -“whatever she wants” in the West Wing
Sara Latham - deputy Chief of Staff for operations (you may remember this name from the Podesta password hack scandal)
Jake Sullivan - National Security Advisor (Hillary's State Dept deputy who sent classified emails to her private server)
Tom Donilon - CIA Director (Hillary's State Dept)

The list also shows Hillary wanted former Secretary of Labor, Tom Perez, to be DNC chairman.

Note that any African American name was good for Dept of Education and/or EPA - in Hillary Clinton's world, it is all about token identity preferences and politics. Just fill the quota.

We dodged a bullet when Trump won the election. This is why I was #NeverHillary from the get-go. Any Republican administration was going to be better for America - if you are of the belief that the Republican principles and philosophy are best - than a Hillary Clinton/Democrat/Socialist administration. There is no doubt in my mind that she would have continued to kowtow to Bernie Sanders and his supporters of the Socialist movement to gain their favor, just as she allowed herself to be pushed farther to the left by him in her campaign.

I shudder to think of who her Supreme Court nominee choices would have been.

The election was a binary choice. With 30 days in, Trump has nominated a conservative dream of a Supreme Court justice choice. He has rolled back regulations killing small businesses in America and sending businesses overseas. American corporations are announcing plans to remain or move back to this country and the amount of jobs that this will produce. He has surrounded himself with military officers willing to advise on the war on radical Islamic terrorism. He is pushing Congress to advance tax reform legislation and to repeal and replace Obamacare. He has begun the process of restoring working relationships with allies - Great Britain, Japan, Canada, Israel - all invited to the White House. He went to Dover AFB on the return of the casket of a fallen hero and pay his respects to the family. He honored their request for privacy - no pictures taken there.

Not a bad first month, if you ask me.

#NeverTrump Suffer Unintended Consequences in Binary Choice

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Happy Presidents Day! If, like me, you have been following along with the opposition to the current President's first term in office you may find yourself shaking your head in disbelief. Or maybe, like me, you understand there are a whole lot of displaced and confused folks out there who have lived large on either political party and now find themselves displaced. Maybe not so much that it has hit their bank account or opportunity to write a column or bloviating on television, but it has punched egos and brought about a loss of feeling powerful. Feeling important. Feeling smart.

Welcome to 2017. It's a whole new political world out there. Just as I absolutely know that the 2016 presidential election was a binary choice (despite the best arguments from voters not willing to stop Hillary Clinton's ascension to the Oval Office), I know that those now displaced are having a tough time finding a way to support the new order in Washington, D.C. Now is a time of prime opportunity for advancement of Republican policy and ideas yet some are too mired down in personal feelings to understand that. Just like Democrats, they are feelings-driven and lacking in a larger vision of what is possible. How sad for them.

If you, like me, find yourself checking in on social media throughout the day or evening, you know what a challenge it can be to tune out the anger and ugliness of the displaced. Conservative leaning voters and operatives now align fully with the leftists who cannot go for one day without ugly tweets or Facebook posts either wishing ill of people hoping for a successful presidency or going a step further and cheering for impeachment. What is lost is the fact that if this president is successful in office, all of America wins. And you will never win another person over to your side of an argument by belittling their intelligence, name calling, or other nastiness. Dismissing another's opinion keeps you in a bubble and unable to hear what the other side is saying. Why not arm yourself with the whole picture?

This longtime lefty columnist for the New York Times writes that even though the president has substantial support, it is time to use Section 4 of the 25th Amendment, though it has never been done before. Yes. This is the rational of the opposition to a GOP controlled Congress and White House. If you read this op-ed, you will see he asks the opinion of longtime lefty law professor, Laurence Tribe, who goes on to call the president's cabinet as "bizarre." Hmm. Sounds like Tribe make my argument - I assume the cabinet is bizarre in Tribe's world because it is generously composed of business people. You know, the people who have met payrolls and answered to stockholders. Unlike career government employees, they know a thing or two about accountability. In Tribe's world, this president is unstable and unfit to govern.

This odd piece is written as though the author is surprised that the president has lived through a month in the office. No doubt she is quite sad. It's sick.

And the "Not My President" rallies - predictable. As I've written about, a well-funded and well-organized has been grown on the left (and their willing allies on the conservative side) to protest as often as possible. Often these rallies turn violent and destructive. It is not organic - many are paid, professional agitators and political groups looking to raise money - and it is not like the Tea Party. The dinosaur networks and media are only too happy to do wall to wall coverage of these rallies, unlike Tea Party rallies in their infancy. The double standard is alive and well. CNN, for example, first nicknamed Clinton News Network is now 24/7 anti-Trump panels and stories.

Today marks the one month point in this new presidency. One month. Before this man was even raised his hand and repeated the words as directed from Chief Justice John Roberts on Inauguration Day, leftist political pundits and protest signs called for his impeachment. Those that claim that this president is shredding the Constitution clearly could use a refresher course themselves. Self-awareness is hard.

Conservatives in social media used to criticize other conservatives for re-tweeting 140 characters from leftists on Twitter or re-posting a Facebook post yet now this is exactly what they do. You may also notice the hypocrisy in their demand for conservative purism as they align so easily with the left now. The unintended consequence of the continual criticism is this - those who voted for the current President because of being aware of what a disaster Hillary Clinton would be for a conservative agenda and for appointments to the Supreme Court - not the ardent fans of Trump - now feel obligated to defend Trump from the media and #NeverTrump people. Also, the critics are being tuned out, not listened to. We will see how this all plays out in 2018.

In the presidential primary, I was #NeverTrump. In the general election, I was #NeverHillary. It was a binary choice. I'll take Republican leadership over Democrat rule any day.

The #Resistance is here, Republicans. Are you ready?

What began with the Woman's March the day after President Trump's inauguration has produced regular protests and marches, mostly on weekends, ever since. Welcome to the #Resist movement. The biggest resource currently being used is the Indivisible Guide. Their website provides information on protesting congressional town halls, among other actions.

A mere three weeks into the new administration, what have we seen? Let's look at recent events.

Former President Obama (how much do I love typing that? A LOT!) broke traditional decorum just nine days into the new administration when he tweeted out criticism of Trump's travel ban. Both he and two time failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton regularly taunt Trump on Twitter now. Obama's political machine is alive and well, as evidenced in this article.

"A super PAC formed to reelect Barack Obama in 2012 is driving activists to congressional town halls. Veterans of Bill Clinton’s administration are joining marches and plotting bigger ones for the spring. Democratic senators who had befriended Jeff Sessions in the Senate voted — 47 to 1 — against his nomination for attorney general."

A social media platform used to organize events, @Matchup, tweeted out their support for the movement and emailed subscribers to their site:

"Feeling powerless? We launched 1,000+ free Meetup groups to make it easier to take action. #Resist"

Kudos to the conservatives and Independents on social media who have cancelled their memberships on @Matchup and exposed this organization for what it is - just another social media platform promoting the leftist agenda.

Despite an obvious misfire in typing out the tweet ( I think 'pouch' should have been 'loud'), the message is clear, Planned Parenthood is prominent among the leftist grievance alliance and part of the new #Resistance movement. This tweet was from an annual luncheon in Houston hosted by Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast - note that they proclaim that 2,000 were in attendance.

"We're 2,000 strong at our @PPGulfCoast Roe v. Wade annual luncheon. The people of TX are speaking pouch & clear. #WeWontGoBack #IStandWithPP"

A major sponsor of the Woman's March (a more honest title would be the Liberal Woman's March) Planned Parenthood encourages women to wear pussy hats and vagina costumes as they march their public streets to protest a fake war on women. Frankly, as a woman, this behavior embarrasses me. How demeaning and uninspiring their actions are. Anger doesn't persuade, civil discussion does. Have you noticed most of the marchers are older white women and the children they drag along to shamefully use as their props?

The real challenge, though, will be if these groups truly consolidate and become the progressive answer to the Tea Party or if it is a new version of Occupy Wall Street. Often these protests are infiltrated by the Black Bloc thugs - those violent looters who dress in black from head to toe and violently assault innocent by-standers while they destroy property. They are anarchists.

Republican groups - be vigilant. The protesters are coming for your meetings and for political town halls. Do not let a few leftists disrupt and derail local meetings. The DCCC has announced a list of congressional races they have targeted - it includes my congressman, John Culberson.

Democrats are counting on voter fatigue with Trump by the time mid-term elections come around. They are organized and well-funded. Besides the Obama machine, the old Clinton people are active and many groups are being funded by socialist George Soros.

Are you ready?