Criminal Justice Reform and getting legislation passed...

87-12: Senate overwhelmingly passes criminal justice reform...
Bipartisan victory for Trump...
Unlikely group of allies...
JARED'S BIGGEST WIN... 








Drudge had this today on the top of his page. If you read the CNN synopsis of how it happened, it does give some insight of what President Trump is up against in the Swamp on other issues he cares about. It ain't all Schumer and the left. If you are frustrated on why things are not happening, a lot of the blame goes to the GOP.  

I am all for locking up violent dangerous felons. I am also for diminishing federal powers--discretion and reform in federal criminal sentencing is warranted. Most criminal prosecutions should be left to the individual states to deal with. 

It is also odd that criminal justice reform had to wait until after the mid-terms. Wouldn't it passing sooner have helped the GOP (am I missing something here)?

Rush Limbaugh: Great Day for the Swamp, No one in Washington, D.C. wants Trump's wall, Veto the spending bill and go to Mar-a-Lago, Trump delivered what Kaepernick kneeled for, and Feds raise rates to slow Trump economy

AoSHQ: Morning Report 12.20.18: Border Wall or Downfall, Morning Report 12.19.18: Secure the Border, Stop Crime: The Criminal Justice Reform We Really Need

Michelle Malkin: FIRST STEP: Pro-cop, pro-borders, and pro-criminal justice reform

Washington Examiner: Trump is right to embrace criminal justice reform

Don Surber: The wall and criminal justice reform

Hot Air: Opposite Day and Eye-Or Allah

The media seems really intent on stirring the Trump pot...

My advice to the President, his Administration and Trump supporters is 

DON'T TRUST THE MEDIA!

Or as Stacy McCain likes to caution us occasionally, using the Father Merrin quote from the Exorcist:

Especially important is the warning to avoid conversations with the demon. We may ask what is relevant but anything beyond that is dangerous. He is a liar. The demon is a liar. He will lie to confuse us. But he will also mix lies with the truth to attack us. The attack is psychological, Damien, and powerful. So don't listen to him. Remember that - do not listen.

Trump and his administration need to avoid being played by these media stories. Now granted, there is infighting and there are grains of truth in these stories. Trump advisors also need to keep their mouths shut and stop running off to blab to the media. Trump advising Kushner and Bannon to lay off fighting each other is in a general sense the correct thing for the President to say.

I personally want President Trump to be advised by a variety of voices. But while the Trump Administration should monitor what they say, the last place to take direct advice from is from the Leftist Media and the Democrats (or let them manipulate things). And if Rebekah Mercer talked Bannon into staying for the greater good, that was a good thing. It is the long term play.

EBL: Save Steve Bannon 

NYT/Frank Bruni: Steve Bannon was doomed Isn't this more of Bruni's hope that Bannon is doomed? I would rather want to see Trump win big in 2020 and guys like Bruni more despondent.

Don Surber: Trump supporters are not abandoning him because they are focused on successes not set backs and Blaming Trump for an election yet to come (I remember certain voices blaming Trump for the crushing defeat the GOP would face in 2016...) and another review of Trump and the Establishment (Thank God for Don Surber!)

Rush Limbaugh: Media desperate for a scalp: Bannon's will do, Where were all the media stories on Obama's aides?, Palace Intrigue at the White House, Trump's policies are popular, and Judge Napolitano was right, the world was spying on Trump

Instapundit: Foolish to choose Morning Joe crowd over Bannon and his voters, Trump's base still strong, Who brought ya?, and The Violent Black Bloc Left

This is spot on: The battle isn’t Bannon v. Kushner as some in the press would have us believe, it’s Washington v. Trump.

PJ Media: An open letter to Antifa

Save Steve Bannon

I know Steve Bannon is an asshole. People who have worked with him (and generally agree with him philosophically) can and do attest to that. Just because he is an asshole, does not mean he's wrong. Some say he is sinister and will destroy Trump (I generally like Ben Shapiro, but that is OTT). President Trump benefits from having a team of rivals among his advisers. Bannon is right about the dangers of the administrative state and putting American interests first. I am with Halperin with this, Trump is better off with Bannon than without him (Halperin is way smarter, by the way, than Joe Scarborough).

Trump should not lead with Bannon or give him too much authority. Trump's son-in-law's advice  is also important (and I would not give Kushner too much authority either). It is a ying and yang thing. Trump needs to keep Bannon and Kushner from throttling each other, while getting the benefit of their respective advice and counsel. Trump will not always agree with one or the other, but it helps to hear from both.

And the left absolutely loathes Bannon. Trump should keep him around just to drive them nuts. And why not? Do you think the left and media will suddenly like Trump more if he throws them Bannon? Hell no, it will just embolden them to attack Trump more.

Legal Insurrection:  Halperin on Bannon

WFB:  Hollywood Reporter admits Trump not covered fairly by media

Rush Limbaugh: Something's not right with this Bannon story, Trump Madman Strategy and Obama Russian ties

Powerline: Ousting Steve Bannon would be a blow to conservatives and Has Trump's 'wire tapped' tweet been vindicated?

Instapundit: Scarborough likes McMuffin--enough said, Trump won't confirm if he still likes Bannon, Bannon 'gunfight', Bannon out at National Security Council and threatening to leave

New Republic: Trump would fail even worse with Kushner centrism.  Ok, the New Republic is playing passive aggressive with this, but while their rational is a bunch of lefty garbage (and Trump is not failing by the way), the underlying thesis is right. Trump benefits by having Bannon around.

Wombat: Mark Steyn: How Dare You Distract Us From Our Distraction!, also, Trump Hits A Reset Button For The World

DRUDGE REPORT:


BANNON FUTURE AT WHITE HOUSE IN DOUBT...

MERCERS PLOT CONTINGENCY...

Trump takes centrist course...

Hot Air: Is Trump trying to get Bannon to resign?

The Week: The Bannon Irony

Politico: Pot Stirring

Why Trump Won

Forbes: How Jared Kushner Won Trump The White House

This is a great article and definitely read the whole thing. There are a lot of interesting things in this article. Short sum up: Jared Kushner (with input from his father in law) put the campaign system together that won Donald Trump this election.  

Heavy: Five Facts About Jared Kushner

Mr. Kushner also addresses the charges of the left about the Alt Right and Trump support:

Kushner insists today that there will be no hate element in the Trump Administration, starting at the top. “You can’t not be a racist for 69 years, then all of a sudden become a racist, right?” he says. “You can’t not be an anti-Semite for 69 years and all of a sudden become an anti-Semite because you’re running.” 

His reaction to fringe elements, like the KKK and the white nationalist alt-right, who have embraced Trump? “Trump has disavowed their support 25 times. He’s renounced hatred, he’s renounced bigotry, and he’s renounced racism. I don’t know if he could ever denounce them enough for some people.” He then paraphrases a quote he attributes to Ronald Reagan: “Just because they support me doesn’t mean that I support them.” 

Kushner’s support extends to Steve Bannon, Trump’s strategic advisor, who had been accused by his ex-wife of making anti-Semitic comments (he denies it) and whose website, Breitbart, has often published articles that dog-whistle racist, anti-Semitic sentiments. “Do you hold me accountable for every single thing that the Observer’ s ever written, like they came from me?” Kushner says. “All I know about Steve is my experience working with him. He’s an incredible Zionist and loves Israel. He was one of the leaders in the anti-divestiture campaign. And what I’ve seen from working together with him was somebody who did not fit the description that people are pushing on him. I choose to judge him based on my experience and seeing the job he’s done, as opposed to what other people are saying about him.”

EBL: The Borking of Steve Bannon

Town and County: Jared Kushner

Don Surber: Lapsed Jew Lectures Observant Jew

Hot Air/Jazz Shaw: Media heading to the fainting couch again! and Hamas is now saying Trump "possibly" a Jew (YouTube took down the video for "copywrite" claims)

Instapundit: Wall Street Journal: Steve Bannon on Politics as War

Who is palling around with Antisemites again? 

Rule 5 and FMJRA

Wombat: Powerline: The Trouble with Keith Ellison and Don Surber: How to talk at Thanksgiving this year