May 16, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
Sen. Marco Rubio is the U.S. Senator best attuned to and most focused on the problem China poses to the U.S. and the world at-large. At least that’s what I infer from his public pronouncements on the subject. In an interview with the Washington Post, Rubio maintained that a significant part of our problem with China stems from shortsighted American corporate CEO’s. He stated: If you go to China, they
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May 15, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio will announce his candidacy for president on Thursday. I’ve lost track of the number of Democrats now in the field. but I believe it’s almost two dozen. In trying to get a handle on this mad scramble of a race, I have suggested that there are three Democratic lanes — the establishment lane, the hard left lane, and the diversity lane. De Blasio
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May 15, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
I normally don’t suggest that Power Line readers vote for a Democrat. If I have ever done so, I’ve purged it from my memory. However, voting for a Democrat is something that readers who are registered to vote in Arlington County, Virginia should consider. The race in question is the Democratic primary contest for Commonwealth’s Attorney. The Democrat worthy of support is the incumbent, Theo Stamos. The primary is “open”
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May 15, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
In this post, I discussed Donald Trump Jr.’s refusal to appear for second time before the Senate Intelligence Committee. I argued that he should testify. Now, following the issuance of a subpoena, Trump Jr. has agreed to testify. Under a deal reached with the Committee, he will testify for up to four hours and questions will be limited to six broad categories, not ten as the Committee contemplated. It’s a
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May 14, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
Bloomberg reports: A senior Labor Department official with outsize control of agency operations is leaving after a White House investigation into complaints about mistreating staff and misleading Trump administration personnel, sources with direct knowledge of the probe told Bloomberg Law. That aide is Nick Geale, Alex Acosta’s chief of staff. Bloomberg’s sources declined to identify who made the final decision to demand Geale’s ouster. However, Bloomberg notes that Mick Mulvaney,
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May 14, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
Seeking to follow the path blazed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, someone called Mckayla Wilkes is challenging House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer in the Democratic primary in Maryland’s 5th congressional district. Wilkes doesn’t quite have Ocasio-Cortez’s credentials. As far as I can tell, she never tended bar. Instead, Wilkes is (according to The Intercept) a 28-year-old administrative assistant, part-time student, and mother of two. Thus, even without bartending, her resume is sufficiently
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May 14, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
It’s way too early to answer this question in the affirmative. However, it’s not a ridiculous question. Reportedly, Kavanaugh has been in the majority more often than any other Justice so far this term. This suggests that Kavanaugh, not Chief Justice Roberts, is at the ideological center of the Court — the place where Kennedy resided after Justice O’Connor retired. It doesn’t mean that Kavanaugh is as centrist as Justice
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May 13, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
Rep. Rashida Tlaib is under fire for saying this: I think two weeks ago or so we celebrated, or just took a moment I think in our country to remember the Holocaust. There’s always kind of a calming feeling I tell folks when I think of the Holocaust, and the tragedy of the Holocaust, and the fact that it was my ancestors — Palestinians — who lost their land and
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May 13, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
I filed this post under “media bias.” “Media stupidity” might be a better tag. Today, President Trump tweeted: Has anyone noticed that all the Boston @RedSox have done is WIN since coming to the White House! Others also have done very well. The White House visit is becoming the opposite of being on the cover of Sports Illustrated! By the way, the Boston players were GREAT guys! At Politico, Caitlin
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May 13, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
Joe Biden’s entry into the presidential race has solidified his status as the clear frontrunner for the Democratic nomination. He’s the first choice of around 40 percent of Democrats, according to polls . No other candidate is close. But how do the friends and associates of Barack Obama feel about Biden? The Washington Post tried to find out. It says it interviewed 53 “former Obama advisers, senior White House and
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May 12, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
That’s the headline of a Washington Post story (print edition) about the clash between the White House and House Democrats over the latters’ investigations of the former. The article notes that President Trump “is blocking more than 20 separate Democratic inquiries.” According to the Post, this “amount[s] to what many experts call the most expansive White House obstruction effort in decades. The Post’s claim of obstruction is dishonest in at
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May 12, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
On May 12, 1969, the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 at Busch Stadium. Bob Gibson pitched a complete game for the Cards, allowing two runs on seven hits. He struck out six and walked one. There was nothing exceptional about Gibson’s pitching performance that day. It was a typical one for him that year, except for the relatively low number of strikeouts. But Gibson’s contributions weren’t
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May 11, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
Donald Trump doesn’t think so. Here is the relevant passage from the president’s interview with Politico: POLITICO: What do you think about [South Bend Mayor] Pete Buttigieg? I know you mentioned him once in your rally, but do you think he’s a threat in any way? TRUMP: Alfred E. Neuman cannot become president of the United States. What, Trump worry? This put down reminds me of when Trump said of
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May 11, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
Many Trump supporters are incensed at Sen. Richard Burr for issuing a subpoena for Donald Trump Jr. to return and testify before the Senate Intelligence which Burr chairs. Here are the facts relating to the subpoena, as I understand them: The Senate Intelligence Committee is conducting an intelligence investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. It is not conducting a criminal investigation, as Robert Mueller was. However, it is
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May 10, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
Paul Sperry of Real Clear Investigations reports that special counsel Robert Mueller spent more than $732,000 on outside contractors, including private investigators and researchers, but his office refuses to say who they were. I’m not sure anyone cares who provided computer support for the Mueller investigation. However, it would be interesting to know who performed investigations for the team. This question seems particularly relevant because there is speculation — by
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May 10, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
I’m not saying our politics are weird, but that’s a conclusion one might easily draw from, among other things, this report that Sen. Mitch McConnell’s re-election campaign is selling “Cocaine Mitch” T-shirts. The T-shirts feature a faceless illustration of the Senate Majority Leader on the front alongside the image of a fine white powdery substance. The back of the shirt reads: “Team Mitch Cartel Member.” The reference is to the
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May 10, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
Robert Pear, a reporter for the New York Times, died earlier this week due to a stroke. Pear reported on health care issues for the paper. I’m not a fan of the Times, but was a big fan of Pear. I don’t see how you couldn’t be a fan if you took a serious interest in the health care debate. The obits from the Times and the Washington Post provide
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