Senate
June 23, 2026 — Scott Johnson
There is much more to be said about the terms of the ceasefire under which the Iranian regime is now raking in the billions (under the general license granted by Secretary Bessent that I posted yesterday in “First tango in Lake Lucerne”) . We must have lost the war. President Trump has posited the alternative to the deal as a global depression. I didn’t think a master dealmaker would reveal
»
May 31, 2026 — Scott Johnson
Maine Democrat Graham Platner is about to become the Democrats’ nominee to take on incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins in the 2026 elections. The Nazi tattoo Platner sported for years — until he decided to enter politics — would be enough to kill the dreams of most candidates, but it appears to be no problem for Democrats. CNN’s Michael Smerconish calls out Graham Platner over n*zi tattoo, “He didn’t cover
»
May 29, 2026 — Scott Johnson
Maine’s Graham Platner is one of the vile candidates for the United States Senate that the Democratic Party has vomited up and into public prominence. He recently attacked Army combat vet and Purple Heart recipient Teddy Daniels. I have posted a thumbnail photo of Daniels on the home page. Fox News caught up with Daniels for a video response to Platner that is posted here. The editors of the Wall
»
May 20, 2026 — John Hinderaker
It is a remarkable fact about the Democrats’ Senate candidate in Maine, Graham Platner, that his Nazi tattoo is not the most reprehensible thing about him. His social media history is appalling and is just now coming to light. Thus: Seven years ago, Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner cruelly mocked an American soldier who was caught on camera taking fire from the Taliban in Afghanistan. The viral helmet footage
»
April 21, 2026 — Scott Johnson
Jewish Insider’s Melissa Weiss draws attention to a post by Senator Chris Murphy yesterday on X. In the post Murphy appears to cheer on the unconfirmed report that more than two dozen Iranian ships evaded our blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Perhaps he was being sarcastic. It’s hard to tell. He certainly opposes our efforts to throttle the Iranian regime. awesome https://t.co/nRj1trI3rF — Chris Murphy 🟧 (@ChrisMurphyCT) April 20,
»
March 17, 2026 — John Hinderaker
The SAVE America Act is going to the Senate floor for debate, which likely will last for several days. That doesn’t mean it will pass, of course: Majority Leader John Thune says he doesn’t have the votes to eliminate the filibuster from Senate rules, a radical step that is opposed by many conservatives, or to impose a “talking filibuster,” as in bygone times. So the bill will be debated, but
»
February 13, 2026 — Scott Johnson
Senator Josh Hawley has participated in the transformation of congressional hearings into performance art, but he hasn’t done much to elicit information in the process. At least he didn’t with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison yesterday. I wish he would have asked a question or two whose purpose was to obtain an answer to something we don’t know. Let’s take the matter of the Feeding Our Future fraud. FOF was
»
February 12, 2026 — John Hinderaker
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison testified this morning before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. It did not go well for Ellison, although as usual, the hearing consisted mostly of speeches, not questions and answers. Josh Hawley went after Ellison on the Minnesota fraud scandal: The Minnesota Attorney General just PERJURED himself when I asked why he took campaign donations from the crooks who defrauded the US taxpayer
»
February 4, 2026 — John Hinderaker
Today the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing, chaired by Ted Cruz, on fraud in government programs in Minnesota. The hearing is embedded below. It featured several witnesses, not of equal quality. The most significant was my friend Rep. Kristin Robbins, whose testimony starts at 51:40. The most remarkable thing about the hearing was the performance of Democratic senators. Having nothing whatsoever to say about the subject of the hearing–fraud
»
January 31, 2026 — Bill Glahn
News from Washington: the “shutdown” has been kicked down the road for two more weeks. From Politico, Senate passes $1.2T government funding deal — but a brief shutdown is certain. The “T” stands for “trillion.” If the U.S. House of Representatives goes along with the deal Monday evening, all but a few federal agencies will be full funded through the end of September, with parts of Homeland Security just getting
»
January 21, 2026 — John Hinderaker
A vacant Senate seat is up for election in Minnesota this year, as the faceless and little-known Democrat Tina Smith is retiring. Peggy Flanagan, a far-left activist and our current Lieutenant Governor, is the favorite on the DFL side. Today my friend Michele Tafoya announced her candidacy as a Republican. Michele is a well-known sportscaster–Monday Night Football, Sunday Night Football, the Olympics, and much else–who has hosted a successful podcast
»
January 3, 2026 — Bill Glahn
From The Hill newspaper, Minnesota fraud scandal poses danger for Democrats in Senate race. The Hill reports, The massive statewide fraud scandal in Minnesota is threatening to become a liability for Democrats in the state’s closely watched Senate race this year. This has been my working hypothesis for the past two months: national Democrats want Tim Walz out of the picture as his bid for a third term as Minnesota governor threatens
»
December 8, 2025 — John Hinderaker
I am so old, I can remember when Texas had a Democratic governor–most recently, Ann Richards, a vicious left-winger, who departed in 1995 after losing to George W. Bush. And a Democratic senator–most recently, Bob Krueger, who filled the last five months of Lloyd Bentsen’s term, and left office in 1993. So it has been a long drought for Texas Democrats. But hope springs eternal. To their credit, Democrats have
»
November 17, 2025 — Bill Glahn
Bill Melugin of Fox News reports, Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) notifies ICE she has fired a staffer who was accused by ICE of pretending to be the attorney of a previously deported illegal alien in an effort to free him from federal custody. Duckworth tells ICE in [the] letter that she was not aware of, and didn’t authorize or direct the staffer’s conduct. Sen. Duckworth sent a one paragraph letter
»
November 13, 2025 — Scott Johnson
The longest government “shutdown” to date — 43 days — is now officially over. Late last night President Trump signed the bill to end the “shutdown.” The next funding deadline does not arrive until midnight January 30, 2026. It was a long and winding road to passage of the bill that went to Trump. The final vote in the House yesterday was 222-209. Two Republicans voted against it. Six Democrats
»
November 11, 2025 — Bill Glahn
There is a concept in con games called “cooling the mark out.” After the “mark” (victim) has realized he’s been had he must be convinced that he shouldn’t exact any revenge, like calling the cops. It’s the exit strategy in a long con. You will recall that moment in The Sting (1973) after Robert Redford and Paul Newman had succeeded in stealing the $500,000 from Robert Shaw in the gambling
»
November 10, 2025 — Bill Glahn
The shutdown continues, although its days are numbered. Last night, Senate Democrats lent 8 votes to reach 60 to end the filibuster on the bill to end the shutdown. I don’t believe a word of the “outrage” directed against Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (NY) or the eight “defectors” in his caucus. It seems to me to be entirely performative. A show for the rubes who bought into the con.
»
