Former RNC head Michael Steele stunned to learn that he was only hired as the token black.

CPAC communication director Ian Walters said tonight at the Ronald Reagan dinner: “We elected Mike Steele as chairman because he was a black guy, that was the wrong thing to do.”

Guests at tables apparently gasped in shock. https://t.co/pRJjNPsM29

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) February 24, 2018

Courtesy of The Hill: 

Former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele said Saturday that a suggestion from a CPAC official that Steele was only chosen to lead the RNC because he is black underscores a tense relationship with race within the GOP. 

"It’s the groupthink that has emerged within the party that has now poisoned the national dialogue," Steele said on his SiriusXM show "Steele & Ungar." 

"To hear it come from a young man ... a minority himself ... it makes it even crazier," Steele added. 

His comments came the morning after Ian Walters, the communications director for the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) being held at the National Harbor, Md., told an audience that Steele was only elected RNC chair because "he was a black guy."

Steele offered a bunch of excuses to try and explain why this statement was not true, but come on we all know that it is.

Steele was elected to head the RNC IMMEDIATELY after Barack Obama won the presidency.

The second they announced Steele's appointment I knew why they put him there.

It was for the same reason that they nominated Sarah Palin to be McCain's running mate.

It's called "tokenism" and it is rampant throughout the Republican party.

Remember how Trump referred to that guy behind him as "My black guy."

"See I can't be a racist because I have one of my own black people."

And we know they do this because of a little thing called "projection."

Think back to how many times you have seen some Right Wing dipshit accuse the Democrats of "using the black people," or of only treating them like property that they can manipulate into voting for them, without ever doing anything to meet their needs.

Of course that completely ignores the fact that many of the Democrats ARE African Americans who of course are sympathetic to the needs of their constituents.

But that is what projection is, taking your own despicable traits and projecting them onto others.

If Michael Steele did not realize that he was being used, well then he deserves to have been manipulated by a party that never gave a shit about him, or people like him.

Right after the RNC came under pressure for paying Trump's legal fees, they suddenly decided to pay an exorbitant amount of rent to Trump properties.

Hey, they stopped paying my legal fees. What more do you want?

Courtesy of CNBC: 

Soon after the Republican National Committee came under pressure for paying legal bills for President Donald Trump and his eldest son in the special counsel's Russia probe, it started covering expenses for the president's re-election campaign. 

The RNC is using campaign funds to pay Trump's company more than $37,000 a month in rent, and to pay thousands of dollars in monthly salary to Vice President Mike Pence's nephew, John Pence, party officials confirmed this week. The rent pays for office space in the Trump Tower in New York for the staff of Trump's re-election campaign. John Pence is the Trump campaign's deputy executive director. 

Campaign finance experts who spoke to CNBC said this type of spending by a party committee on behalf of a campaign is highly unusual but legal, and it appears the RNC disclosed it correctly.

"This is permissible and it's being reported properly, but why they are doing it is a mystery," said Brendan Fischer, senior counsel for the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center. "One would think the RNC could be spending their money more effectively right now on the 2018 campaign, rather than spending it to pay Trump's rent." 

So far, the party has spent more than $290,000 to cover the Trump campaign's expenses since September, the first month it paid the Trump Tower rent or Pence's salary. Before then, both expenses had been paid directly by the Trump campaign.

So the RNC stopped paying Trump's legal fees, and then just suddenly started paying the Trump campaign's rent at a Trump property?

Wow! What a coinky dink!

My favorite part of all this is that in Trump world this seems to be considered super sneaky and virtually undetectable. 

I suddenly have the feeling that Robert Mueller is having very little difficulty building a money laundering case against Donald Trump and his minions.

Petty Donald Trump makes Romney niece change name in order to get work.

Courtesy of WaPo:

Before Ronna Romney McDaniel took over as Republican National Committee chairwoman earlier this year, President Trump had a request: Would she be willing to stop using her middle name publicly? 

Trump followed up by saying in a lighthearted way that McDaniel, the niece of former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, could do what she wanted, according to two people familiar with the comments. But the change was soon plain for all to see. Though she had used her maiden name for years in Michigan, where her grandfather George W. Romney had been governor, McDaniel dropped “Romney” from most official party communications and has rarely used it since. 

The moment offers a window on Trump’s complicated and often tense relationship with the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, who has remained a frequent critic of the president and is considering a Senate campaign next year in Utah. The pair’s history stretches from Romney’s pained courtship of Trump’s endorsement in 2012 to Trump’s searing criticism of Romney in 2016, when he called his predecessor a “stone cold loser” who blew an easy chance to beat then-President Barack Obama. 

Those tensions were on display again this week, when White House aides scripted a trip to Utah with a single political goal in mind: to convince Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) to run for reelection and thwart Romney from mounting his own bid for the seat, according to a senior White House official involved in the preparations.

This guy simply never drops a grudge.

That's why he is still obsessed with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Hell I think his entire campaign was inspired by his desire to get back at then President Obama over those jokes he made during that 2011 White House Correspondents' Dinner.

And as for this suggesting to Romney McDaniel to change her name being "lighthearted," it was not lighthearted, it was a thinly veiled threat.

It was just like the "lighthearted" thinly veiled threat that he issued to James Comey about dropping the Flynn investigation.

Comey's refusal to comply cost him his job, should we actually believe that McDaniel would have this job if she did not knuckle under?

By the way have you noticed how Trump likes to surround himself with the female relatives of his vanquished foes?

I'm almost surprised that he has not offered Chelsea Clinton a job.

Oh that's right, she is far too intelligent to allow him to marginalize her and make her act like a brainless sycophant.

Trump campaign has paid over one million dollars in legal fees in response to Russia investigations.

Have you seen these legal bills?

Courtesy of Politico:  

President Donald Trump’s campaign paid more than $1 million in legal bills in the last three months as investigations continue into Russia’s role in the 2016 election, new disclosures made public on Sunday show. 

The Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee have now disclosed a total of more than $2 million this year in payments to law firms and to lawyers with a company owned by the president's family. 

The campaign reported spending almost twice as much on legal bills over the last three months as it did during the second quarter of this year.The campaign and the RNC have acknowledged that they are helping to pay legal bills for Trump family members who are facing scrutiny as part of investigations by congressional committees and special counsel Robert Mueller into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election. It’s legal for the president to spend the funds on legal bills so long as the expenses incurred are from aspects of the investigation related to the Trump campaign.

Yes apparently a good chunk of this money was spent to defend Junior.

Courtesy of Bloomberg:

President Donald Trump’s re-election committee paid almost $238,000 in the third quarter to the law firm representing Donald Trump Jr. in connection with ongoing investigations of Russian interference in the 2016 election, according to campaign finance disclosures. 

Trump’s campaign made two payments -- one in mid July, the other in early August -- to the law firm of Alan S. Futerfas, a lawyer for the president’s son, who is facing scrutiny over a 2016 meeting he had with a Russian lawyer while seeking damaging information about Democrat Hillary Clinton. The third-quarter disclosures with the Federal Election Commission didn’t specify what the legal expenses were for. 

Yeah but we know what they were for.

And that could be problematic since Junior was not officially with the campaign I think it is somewhat illegal for the campaign to pay his legal bills. 

And let's not forget that the RNC has also chipped in at leat $400,000 dollars as well.

Boy who knew that colluding with the Russians to undermine our democracy could end up being so damn expensive?

RNC chair bristles at comparisons between Harvey Weinstein and Donald Trump.

RNC chair says allegations about Harvey Weinstein and Donald Trump are “not even comparable” https://t.co/blAHyKbYw8 https://t.co/UreeUn2Pp4

— CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) October 9, 2017

Courtesy of TPM: 

RNC chair Ronna Romney McDaniel on Monday defended President Donald Trump against comparisons to Harvey Weinstein, a day after Weinstein was fired from the eponymous company he co-founded amid a flood of sexual harassment accusations. 

McDaniel said Trump’s remarks on the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape bragging about grabbing women “by the pussy,” released almost exactly a year ago, were not relevant to the discussion about the allegations against Weinstein. 

“It’s not even comparable, though,” she said on CNN. “To even make that comparison is disrespectful to the President.” 

McDaniel said Trump “didn’t have eight settlements” and said Weinstein “admits that he did that.” 

She also claimed Trump did not have “women coming forward” with such allegations, though multiple women accused Trump of sexual misconduct after the “Access Hollywood” tape was released. 

“Harvey Weinstein brought women into his hotel room,” McDaniel claimed.

Touchy, touchy.

By the Trump ALSO took women back to his hotel room and used his influence and power to get them to have sex with him in exchange for favors he promised to do for them, that is well documented.

Hell he essentially admits to that in a number of interviews with Howard Stern.

However Romney McDaniel (Yes, she IS Mitt Romney's niece.) is right in that there ARE differences between Harvey Weinstein and Donald Trump.

For one thing there do not appear to be any allegations that Weinstein raped a 13 year old girl, and the political party that he is most affiliated with did not nominate him to be their candidate for president.

Other than that though, not a whole lot of difference.

Turns out the Mercer family billionaires are helping to fund Trump's Russia defense.

Robert Mercer

Courtesy of Newsweek: 

Billionaire Robert Mercer and his wife Diana donated almost $200,000 to the legal defense fund of the Republican Party on the day that President Donald Trump fired former FBI Director James Comey, financial filings show. 

The combined $193,400 donation the Mercers made on May 9 went to the GOP legal fund that Trump has been drawing from to pay the lawyers defending him during the investigation into whether Russia interfered in the 2016 election. 

The Mercers are just one of several billionaire couples donating heavily to the fund in recent months, according to the filings with the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

Interesting, that a man who claims to be worth multiple billions of dollars is always expecting others to pick up the check. 

I don't really think their money will prove sufficient to protect Donald Trump from justice.

Not with Robert Mueller on the case.

Sean Spicer kept copious notes?

Courtesy of Axios:  

When Spicer worked at the RNC, he was said to have filled black books emblazoned with the party's seal. Spicer was so well-known for his copious notes that underlings joked about him writing a tell-all. 

One source familiar with the matter said that the records were just to help him do his job. 

"Sean documented everything," the source said. 

That surprised some officials of previous White Houses, who said that because of past investigations, they intentionally took as few notes as possible when they worked in the West Wing. 

When we texted Spicer for comment on his note-taking practices, he replied: "Mike, please stop texting/emailing me unsolicited anymore." 

When I replied with a "?" (I have known Spicer and his wife for more than a dozen years), he answered: "Not sure what that means. From a legal standpoint I want to be clear: Do not email or text me again. Should you do again I will report to the appropriate authorities."

Well that's an awfully defensive response.

Kind of makes one think that Spicer has already been legally required to hand those notebooks over, and is not allowed to discuss it.

Yes in case you are wondering Spicer is indeed one of the people identified as on Mueller's list of folks he wants to interview.

One White House official said that people are going to wish they had been much nicer to Sean Spicer because he was at a whole lot of meetings.

Methinks that Donald Trump might be one of those who will regret how he treated Spicer.

Trump campaign using reelection money and RNC funds to pay legal fees resulting from Russia probes.

Courtesy of CNBC:

U.S. President Donald Trump is using money donated to his re-election campaign and the Republican National Committee to pay for his lawyers in the probe of alleged Russian interference in the U.S. election, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters. 

Following Reuters exclusive report on Tuesday, CNN reported that the Republican National Committee paid in August more than $230,000 to cover some of Trump's legal fees related to the probe. 

RNC spokesperson Cassie Smedile confirmed to Reuters that Trump's lead lawyer, John Dowd, received $100,000 from the RNC and that the RNC also paid $131,250 to the Constitutional Litigation and Advocacy Group, the law firm where Jay Sekulow, another of Trump's lawyers, is a partner.

It should be noted that they are still soliciting donations on the Trump reelection website.

That means that the party of Ronald "Tear down this wall" Reagan is donating money to help the campaign of the current president fight charges that they may have colluded with the Russians to steal this last election.

Just let that sink in for a moment.

However according to Law Newz there is nothing necessarily illegal about this:  

“I have a hard time envisioning the FEC having a problem with this,” Paul S. Ryan told Law Newz in a phone interview. He’s the Vice President of Policy & Litigation at Common Cause, a watchdog group. He said these expenditures are probably legal, especially after the passage of the “Cromnibus” bill in December 2014, which relaxed campaign finance rules. In short, yes, politicians can use campaign funds to pay for legal frees arising from an election. 

One major restriction is that such money cannot be used for personal bills. Ryan referenced the legal battle surrounding Ex-Sen. Larry Craig, who used campaign funds to defend himself after his arrest for an incident at an airport report. The courts ruled that he illegally used that money for personal use. But since the Russia probe arises from allegations linked to the election, Ryan said the Trump team has a strong argument to show that this is a campaign-related matter.

Keeping that last part in mind there is also this bit of news courtesy of Raw Story:

After revelations that President Donald Trump is using funds from his campaign and the Republican National Committee to pay for his legal defense, news broke that the RNC also paid almost $200,000 to lawyers representing Donald Trump, Jr. 

According to the Wall Street Journal‘s Rebecca Ballhaus, the RNC paid $166,000 to Trump Jr.’s personal lawyer Alan Futerfas, and paid another $30,000 to Washington, D.C.-based firm Williams & Jensen. Both payments took place in the month of August. 

Futerfas, Ballhaus pointed out, received a $50,000 payout a few weeks before Trump Jr.’s infamous Trump Tower meeting with Russian operatives last June. 

In total, the RNC and the Trump campaign combined have shelled out at least $500,000 to defend the president and Trump Jr.

I would assume that since the Trump Tower meeting happened during the election, that they are still on relatively firm legal ground. Relatively firm.

However since this is supposedly a billionaire family, one might wonder why they do not pay their own fucking legal bills and leave the money donated to the RNC by hardworking Americans where it belongs?

Oh, and remember that promise to donate the left over inaugural funds to charity? 

Yeah, I'm going to assume that the money is now lining the pockets of Trump's legal team.

The RNC tells staff not to destroy any records that might be needed to put Donald Trump in jail. (Well, essentially.)

I'm sorry, what documents are we talking about here?

Courtesy of Buzzfeed: 

Republican National Committee employees have been asked to preserve all documents related to last year’s presidential campaign — a step RNC lawyers describe as precautionary, but necessary, as investigations continue into Russia’s meddling in the election. 

“Given the important role that the RNC plays in national elections and the potentially expansive scope of the inquiries and investigations, it is possible that we will be contacted with requests for information,” reads a July 28 memo to staff from the RNC counsel’s office. 

"Therefore, we must preserve all documents potentially relevant to these matters until they are resolved or until we are informed by all necessary parties that preservation is no longer necessary." 

BuzzFeed News obtained a copy of the memo, which orders employees not to “delete, destroy, modify, or remove from your paper files, laptop computer, desktop computer, tablet, mobile device, e-mail, or any storage system or device, any documents, records, or other materials that relate to the 2016 presidential election or that may relate to any investigation concerning the election.” An RNC source confirmed the memo’s authenticity Monday morning.

The memo went on to say that the RNC had not yet been contacted (Really?) but that they needed to prepare for that possibility by preserving potentially relevant materials.

So I have a couple of thoughts.

My first one was, well good for the RNC for being so responsible.

Then I had a second thought that since these were Republicans we were talking about perhaps memos like this were actually written as a warning to shred everything immediately couched in some kind of conservative opposite speak.

That was followed by my third thought which was that perhaps the RNC knew they had documents that could be beneficial to the investigation and this memo was their way of getting the investigator's attention and letting them know to it.

After all the Donald Trump presidency is not only a cancer on the colon of this country, he is also a significant danger to the survival of the Republican party.


Well whatever the reason, I think the Robert Mueller and his staff may want to make a visit to the RNC post haste. Before the Trump supporters get a chance to burn the place down.

Did the RNC suggest that Donald Trump was the second coming of Christ? On Christmas? Maybe.

#MerryChristmas pic.twitter.com/5GgDmJrGMS

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 25, 2016

The above was Trump's season greetings to his deplorable followers.(Yes I know he has decreed that we all say "Merry Christmas," that's why I didn't!)

As you might imagine he was mocked mercilessly over that tweet, as well he should have been.

@realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/kX0nzR2ktt

— Orli Matlow (@HireMeImFunny) December 25, 2016

However even more disturbing was this message from the RNC:

In a holiday message sent out by the GOP, Reince Priebus, the outgoing RNC Chairman and incoming chief of staff, wished a "Merry Christmas to all!" 

"Over two millennia ago, a new hope was born into the world, a Savior who would offer the promise of salvation to all mankind. Just as the three wise men did on that night, this Christmas heralds a time to celebrate the good news of a new King," the message said. "We hope Americans celebrating Christmas today will enjoy a day of festivities and a renewed closeness with family and friends."

 "Just as the three wise men did on that night, this Christmas heralds a time to celebrate the good news of a new King."

 Say what?

Now I don't know about you but that seemed to say that not only does Donald Trump want to take ownership of the phrase "Merry Christmas," but that he would like to co-opt the entire season and make it all about him.

"Who needs that Jesus Christ dude now that you have a new savior in town?"

Spokesguy Sean Spicer was quick to correct the record.

Christ is the King. He was born today so we could be saved. Its sad & disappointing you are politicizing such a holy day. https://t.co/NEOkLNd1Mz

— Sean Spicer (@seanspicer) December 25, 2016

Yeah, fuck us for simply using reading comprehension and NOT utilizing our Republican to English phrase book.

So according to this guy Donald Trump is NOT trying to replace Jesus in the hearts and minds of the American people.

At least no yet, but I think we all know that is on the agenda.

The guy who wrote that RNC speech for the mom whose son died in Benghazi which blamed Hillary Clinton, is now thinking of voting for her.

Courtesy of Politico:  

The lifelong Republican who wrote the powerful speech delivered by the mother of one of the Benghazi victims says he won’t vote for Donald Trump this fall and could end up voting for Hillary Clinton. 

Richard Cross, a former staff member for Maryland Republicans such as former Gov. Bob Ehrlich and former Rep. Helen Bentley, wrote in a Baltimore Sun op-ed that he penned the scathing remarks delivered by Patricia Smith, whose son Sean was killed in the 2012 Benghazi attack. Smith, delivering Cross’ speech, asked the Cleveland crowd "If Hillary Clinton can't give us the truth, why should we give her the presidency?" 

Despite what he wrote in Smith’s speech about Clinton, Cross said he “may yet have to vote for her because of the epic deficiencies of my own party's nominee.” The GOP speechwriter said the deal-breaker on Trump was his proposal to ban Muslims from entering the U.S., a plan the Manhattan billionaire has modified in recent weeks in favor of a ban on immigrants from certain countries. 

“President Eisenhower would have never proposed banning Muslims from America. Nor would President Nixon. Nor would President Reagan,” Cross wrote. “Donald Trump has betrayed and perverted their legacies. Consequently, I no longer recognize my party.”

Man you know that Donald Trump is losing big when the guy who wrote a speech essentially accusing his opponent of murder is thinking of voting for her instead of him.

Think I'm exaggerating?

Then go ahead and watch the video of that speech again.

Disgraced police officer and current Trump supporter calls on militia members to arm themselves and show up at RNC convention to do battle with BLM protesters.

Source

Courtesy of Raw Story:  

A disgraced police officer called on militia members and “lone wolf patriots” to bring their guns to Cleveland to do battle with black protesters at the Republican National Convention. 

“I am encouraging patriots and Trump supporters and those that support liberty and freedom to come lawfully armed with lethal and non-lethal weaponry,” said Jim Stachowiak, a right-wing activist and former police officer, in a video posted on his YouTube channel. 

Stachowiak, who has been banned from Facebook and charged with criminal defamation for falsely identifying a LinkedIn user as a terrorist, said Black Lives Matter activists — a group he calls “Black Lies Matter” — had threatened to kill Donald Trump. 

“They have threatened to cause riots in Cleveland and nationwide,” said Stachowiak, who lost his police certification following a misconduct investigation after just three years as a public safety officer. “It is our sworn duty and obligation for all those like me and many of you who have taken the oath to defend this country against all enemies foreign and domestic.”

If ever there was a perfect example of a Donald Trump supporter it is this guy.

Now as it turns out there actually was a young black man, who may or may not have been loosely associated with BLM, who uploaded a video threatening to kill Trump back in May.

A ton of Right Wing media outlets ran with the story even though there is no proof the guy has any real affiliation with BLM.

Jesus can you imagine if a bunch of heavily armed racist rednecks show up in Cleveland to confront the combative Black Lives Matter protesters?

They are going to have to call in the Cleveland PD, the state police, and the freaking National Guard to finally get control back of their city.

P.S. After I wrote this post last night, and scheduled it to publish this morning, I came across a story of an actual person who tried to wrestle a gun away from a police officer in order to kill Donald Trump.

Teen arrested at Trump rally in Vegas, intended to grab officer's gun & kill the candidate @jeffpeguescbs has more pic.twitter.com/qlGJ3hU7vk

— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) June 20, 2016

As it turns out he is white, British, and not affiliated with BLM in any way.

Donald Trump's out of control behavior sparks new talk of convention challenge.

Courtesy of Political Wire:  

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) told the AP that the Republicans cannot win in November with Trump as the party’s standard-bearer. 

Said Flake: “Let’s face it: meet the old Trump, just like the new Trump. We’ve got what we’ve got. That’s not somebody who can win the White House.” 

He added: “Where there’s no talk of a convention challenge or anything else, this might spur it.”

Tomorrow's front page:
I'M WITH RACIST! Ryan still supports Trump, "definition of racist" https://t.co/0C1JIaQxwN pic.twitter.com/AxlnLYWcv2

— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) June 7, 2016

Jonathan Bernstein of Bloomberg View had this to add:

I don’t think the Republicans who chose to accept Trump as a done deal in April are at a panic point yet, but it's worth noting: All it would take to dump him in Cleveland would be a vote to free the delegates, followed by having at least half of the convention oppose him on the first ballot. 

Technically, they wouldn’t even have to have an alternate candidate. Trump dissenters could vote for various other candidates -- or Mickey Mouse, for that matter -- as long as a total of 1,237 of them don’t vote for Trump. 

Now we're talking.

If I were a Republican, and this were my candidate for the most important office in America, I would be too embarrassed to show my face in public. 

Right now the very best thing for progressives is for Bernie Sanders to accept reality and get out of the way, for the Democrats to then unify and focus on the general election, and for the chaos at the RNC convention to happen just like we all expected it to in the first place.

Then everything will be right in the world again.

But remember Democrats are notorious for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. So everybody needs to stay focused and do their part.

Somebody wake up Bernie and tell him that.

Bernie Sanders' campaign manger heaps praise on RNC Chairman Reince Priebus.

Courtesy of Politico:  

Noting a report that quoted a Clinton source remarking that DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz "poured gasoline on the fire" in the wake of the chaos of the Nevada Democratic Convention, Jeff Weaver told MSNBC's "Andrea Mitchell Reports" that she "really escalated the situation."

Weaver dismissed the notion that there are back-channel conversations about replacing her as chairwoman but remarked that, "I think unity in the party is much easier to achieve if we have consensus and a chair who was committed to playing the traditional role that the chairs of parties play." 

What Wasserman Schultz did is "really not the role a party chair should traditionally play," he continued. "I mean, if you look at the Republican side, the party chair there has been working day and night to try and you know, keep everybody together and to try unify the party." 

I'm sorry what?

By just about every standard Reince Twice and Priebus has been an unmitigated disaster since the very beginning of his tenure.  And he lost control over his party the minute that Donald Trump started winning primaries.

Weaver's hatred of Debbie Wasserman Schultz has blinded him to the facts, and I have very little doubt that the same is true of his boss.

Speaking of blinded to the facts, the Sander's campaign recently demanded that Kentucky recanvass the primary results searching for some malfeasance, and guess what?

Fayette County election officials finished the recanvass in Lexington in 20 minutes and they didn't find anything wrong.

So yes Bernie Bros Hillary Clinton DID indeed win Kentucky.

And the lesson for today is that the system is not rigged just because you lose.

The Secret Service says no guns at the Republican convention, breaking ammosexual hearts everywhere.

Courtesy of The Hill: 

The Secret Service says people attending the Republican National Convention in Cleveland this July will not be allowed to carry guns. 

The statement comes in response to a petition that calls for allowing open carry of guns inside Quicken Loans Arena, the host venue. 

The petition has amassed more than 43,000 signatures as of Monday morning. 

Secret Service spokesman Robert Hoback said in a statement that “only authorized law enforcement personnel” working with the agency will be allowed to carry firearms inside protected areas. 

“Individuals determined to be carrying firearms will not be allowed past a predetermined outer perimeter checkpoint, regardless of whether they possess a ticket to the event,” Hoback wrote in an email. 

The Secret Service cited federal law that allows the agency to prevent firearms from being carried into venues with protectees present, even in open-carry states. 

Well so much for any hopes of a shoot out at the GOP Corral. 

I guess we will simply have to be entertained with the fistfights, hair pulling, and eye gouging. 

Online petition to allow guns at the Republican convention exceeds 35,000. Donald Trump wants to study the fine print.

Courtesy of USA Today: 

Donald Trump says he wants to study a petition that calls for allowing the open carry of guns at the Republican convention this July in Cleveland. 

While proclaiming himself "a very, very strong person for Second Amendment," the Republican front-runner told ABC's This Week that "I have not seen the petition. I want to see what it says. I want to read the fine print." 

Posted on the website change.org, the petition of unknown origin notes that "though Ohio is an open carry state, which allows for the open carry of guns, the hosting venue -- the Quicken Loans Arena -- strictly forbids the carry of firearms on their premises." That "is a direct affront to the Second Amendment and puts all attendees at risk," said the petition that has more than 35,000 signers as of Sunday. 

The other Republican presidential candidates -- Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich -- have not commented on the open carry petition.

Yeah I'll bet Donald Trump wants to study the fine print.

Could you imagine being in that building along with a crowd of armed Trump supporters at the very moment that they find out he DIDN'T get the nomination?

Not that I think there will actually be a better response from the other armed Republicans if he DOES get the nomination.

Let's face it, chances are SOMEBODY is getting shot.

Not that I necessarily condone violence but perhaps its past time for these assholes to have to dodge bullets like all of the young men and women that they helped send to the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan based on the lies told by the President they voted into office.

Call it karma.

Donald Trump threatening to sue over how delegates are divided up in primaries. Does Trump solve every problem with a lawsuit?

Just to show you how unfair Republican primary politics can be, I won the State of Louisiana and get less delegates than Cruz-Lawsuit coming

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 27, 2016

Reading this started me thinking that Trump essentially sues just anybody who irritates him.

Courtesy of the Daily Beast:   

Trump sues when he is made to feel small, insufficiently wealthy, threatened or mocked. He sues for sport, he sues to regain a sense of control, and he sues to make a point. He sues as a means of saying “you’re fired” to those he does not employ.

In the article they point out that Trump has sued his ex-wife Ivanka, comedian Bill Maher, television producer Merv Griffin, the Chicago Tribune, New York state, New York City, New Jersey, Palm Beach, Florida, the entire country of Scotland, a former Miss USA contestant, and that is only a small portion of the number of lawsuits filed by this thin skinned, stubby fingered vulgarian.

Does anybody really want this litigation loving lunatic near the nuclear codes?

Probably worth noting that the not really a Republican is threatening to sue the RNC, while the not really a Democrat files a lawsuit against the DNC. 

I guess that is the new political paradigm in 2016.

RNC boots the National Review from upcoming debate for daring to offend Donald Trump.

Source

Courtesy of Salon: 

The Republican National Committee has now booted both of its media partners for the February 26 Republican presidential debate in Houston, Texas. The reason for the drastic punishment: Daring to offend Donald Trump. 

After the editors of the conservative National Review published their “Against Trump Symposium” Thursday night, the party swiftly moved to sanction the magazine, stripping it of it’s media partnership for the pre-Super Tuesday debate on CNN. A debate they were to share co-hosting duties with Telemundo and Salem Radio Network. 

But then National Review editor Rich Lowry corralled “22 prominent conservative thinkers,” including The Weekly Standard’s William Kristol, RedState’s Erick Erickson and The Blaze’s Glenn Beck, for a collection of essays assailing the dominant Republican frontrunner.

Here are the 22 conservatives calling out @realdonaldtrump in a special edition of @NRO https://t.co/4qhYjjDUsI pic.twitter.com/hvmCnfrtfy

— Independent Journal (@INJO) January 22, 2016

Of course it's easy to guess how Trump responded to all of this.

National Review is a failing publication that has lost it's way. It's circulation is way down w its influence being at an all time low. Sad!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 22, 2016

The late, great, William F. Buckley would be ashamed of what had happened to his prize, the dying National Review!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 22, 2016

Actually I'm pretty sure that if William F. Buckley were alive today he would have his hands firmly around Donald Trump's chubby neck and would be attempting to choke the life out of him.

Okay what does it mean that the RNC is now punishing news outlets for irritating the Donald?

Have they simply given up and reconciled themselves to the fact that he is going to be their candidate in 2016?

Seriously?

Michigan RNC chairman knows exactly how to stop Hillary. By impeaching President Obama.

Courtesy of M Live: 

A presidential impeachment process could damage Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign and satisfy the "grassroots" of the Republican Party, Dave Agema said. 

The Republican National Committeeman from the Grand Rapids area wants the GOP at its winter meetings later this month to pass a resolution calling for the impeachment of President Obama. 

"(The resolution) has no binding requirements in it," Agema said. "It's basically just requesting that our GOP leaders do what the grassroots have been yearning for and show a little backbone and stand up to the Obama Administration. 

"We're a nation of laws and (Obama) has to abide by the law like everyone else. He has blurred that separation of power consistently. Are we doing it right by just letting them get away with this? Our grassroots is looking for leadership."

I imagine that impeaching Obama will hurt Hillary's chances of being elected about as much as the impeachment of her husband is hurting her chances.

Not one little bit.

In fact I would argue that the attempt, and let's face it there would only be a failed attempt, would in fact energize the Democratic base and turn them out in numbers that would ensure that Hillary wins by a landslide.

By the way this Agema guy is the same guy who said that homosexuality was a "filthy lifestyle" and that the gays want free healthcare "because they're dying between 30 and 44 years old."

So yes he is just brimming over with intelligence. 

Republican candidates break from the RNC to negotiate their own debate guidelines. Guess who was not satisfied to stop there.

Courtesy of Newsweek:  

Over the weekend, top staffers from all but one of the campaigns (Carly Fiorina didn’t send a representative) met in a hotel conference room in Virginia and agreed to take over the debate negotiating process. The Sunday night meeting effectively pushed the Republican National Committee out of the loop. The RNC had previously sought to control the primaries more than it did in 2012, when a long debate season forced eventual nominee Mitt Romney to shift farther to the right and open himself to criticism.

My understanding is that many of the candidates were upset that the moderators asked  them something called "questions" for which they were completely unprepared.

Okay so now after stomping their feet and acting like two year olds the candidates got their way and hopefully everybody is happy now.

What's that you say? They now want even more?  

After negotiating format changes to the CNBC Republican debate last week, the GOP’s presidential candidates have even more demands for the upcoming debates. 

The campaigns want more control over screen graphics (Jeb Bush’s campaign complained that CNBC misrepresented his accomplishments by showing a graphic that emphasized his work in private finance over his career as a governor), more leverage in determining the number of questions each candidate receives (several have complained that they don’t get enough speaking time), the institution of a two-hour time limit and the inclusion of opening and closing statements.

Seriously?  What are these morons going to do if they win the GOP nomination and have to face off against Hillary in debates they will have no control over? Hold their breath until the moderators give them a lollipop?

Well whatever, at least now things can move for.....wait, who is not breaking from the pack to negotiate his own deal?

Who else?

Donald Trump and his advisers have decided to work directly with television executives and take a lead role in negotiating the format and content of primary debates, which have become highly watched and crucial events in the 2016 race, according to Republicans familiar with their plans. 

Trump will reject a joint letter to television network hosts regarding upcoming primary debates drafted Sunday at a private gathering of operatives from at least 11 presidential campaigns, the Republicans said. 

The move by Trump, coming just hours after a group of Republican strategists huddled in the Washington suburbs to craft a list of possible demands, thwarts an effort by the campaigns and the letter’s drafter, longtime GOP attorney Ben Ginsberg, to find consensus and work collectively to negotiate terms.

So to be clear, the Republican candidates broke with the RNC to get debate conditions more to their liking, and Trump broke with THEM so that he could get those conditions ore to HIS liking.

You know if I had sat down to plan the destruction of the Republican presidential chances in 2016, I could not have come up with a better scenario.

I am spending a quarter of my monthly budget on popcorn these days, and I still keep running out.