Briefly Noted: Kushners, SCOTUS, Etc.
We start the week with a bit of a news roundup--one which points toward the road ahead for conservatives.
Gavin Wax has takedown of the influence the Kushners--Jared and Ivanka--had over Trump. And probably still have:
The 800 Pound Gorilla in Trump’s Inner Circle
If the president cannot learn from his most glaring mistake, Jared Kushner, it is time for the Republican Party to move on and find a worthy successor for the MAGA revolution he started .
The list of Kushner related miscues is long and disquieting. Most involve the Kushners' obvious antipathy for the Trump base, especially social conservatives. It also involves the Kushners advancing unqualified and venal cronies, such as Brad Parscale. This is a highly recommended read.
Where we may see some of this play out in coming months could be with Trump's endorsements. There are a number of GOP senators who will not be running for reelection in 2022 or who richly deserve to be primaried. The question will be, Will Trump make smart, principled choices when it comes to endorsements? Choices that will truly advance the agenda he has proclaimed and that has been embraced by so much of the country.
This next is hardly news:
Once the SCOTUS abdicated its constitutional responsibilities--there's no other way to put it--by declining the TX case, there was no reason to expect they would do anything other than what they have done--decline to take any election cases, without comment.
I've read the commentators who think Roberts has some sort of strategy to keep the SCOTUS out of politics and put the onus on the States to get their own electoral houses in order. While I hope that happens, I can't accept that the strategy itself--if that's the idea--is truly responsible from a constitutional standpoint. That the State legislatures should act forcefully to prevent a repeat of the usurpation by governors and other executive actors would obviously be a Very Good Thing--but like so many Very Good Things it's a lot easier said than done in our messy "system." The consequences of a SCOTUS abdication combined with a failure on the part of State legislatures to retake their constitutional role doesn't bear thinking for the future of America.
At the same time, Red States aren't the only States experiencing serious problems that could impact elections. We're all watching CA and NY, where Dem governors are in big trouble that could affect the fortunes of their parties. Well, perhaps at the margins. OTOH, there are other Blue States where the issue of school reopening is becoming a hot electoral issue that could play out in 2021--giving a preview of what could be a major issue in 2022 on a national level. Here's one article today that discusses this:
Democratic refusal to open schools is on the ballot in Virginia and New Jersey in 2021
Playing into the continued refusal of Dems--especially assisted by their Teachers Union proxies--to reopen, slowly spreading information and transparency on the scale of the Covid Hoax could finally factor in. This was an area that I felt that Trump really did fail, perhaps also as a result of heeding the Kushners. Here's just one tidbit:
Will the public finally become fed up with oppression by Covid hypochondriacs and their Globalist/Dem enablers and grifter special interest constituencies? There are finally some hopeful signs, but not nearly enough.
Finally, the wave of resentment directed at PC Woke oppression may swell anew as a result of the tsunami of Executive Orders emanating from behind the Border Fence surrounding the Imperial City on the Potomac. In addition to those EO's there have been numerous other actions taken to re-empower the Woke activists at the local level. Here's a good example:
Department of Education Reverses Decision that Found Race-Based ‘Affinity Groups’ Discriminatory
Technically, what actually happened is that the Zhou Baiden regime--as early as 1/22/21--simply suspended all investigation and investigation in this matter. It's finished, back to the Obama normal. What was the Obama Nornal? Try this example:
The practices carried out in the Evanston-Skokie School District were found to be in violation of civil rights law under Title 6. Among the practices that were found to be blatantly racist and discriminatory were “racially exclusive affinity groups” that not only separated students, but also parents and community members by their race, as well as an “explicit direction” policy that directed teachers to consider a student’s race when determining disciplinary action. The practices also involved a “Colorism Privilege Walk,” where White students would be told to step forward ahead of their non-White classmates, and would be shamed in front of the entire class for their “privilege.”
Now, understand that Evanston--home to Northwestern University--recently voted reparations for African Americans. The city proposes to pay $25K "reparations" per head--I'm sorry, I was too disgusted to sort out the details. Nevertheless, I continue to believe that all this will prove hugely unpopular. Time will tell, but all this is in the mix in the leadup to Election 2022, which promises to be an enormously consequential election.