thetennesseestar--2020-12-07--Commentary: Southern Baptist Seminary Presidents Announce New Rejection of ‘Critical Race Theory’

In a stunning reversal on November 30 , presidents of the six Southern Baptist seminaries issued a joint statement that said , “ we … declare that affirmation of Critical Race Theory ( CRT ) , Intersectionality , and any version of Critical Theory ( CT ) is incompatible with [ our confessional standards ] .
” Just a year and half earlier , at their 2019 annual convention , Southern Baptists passed Resolution 9 , affirming CRT and intersectionality .
Had Southern Baptist leaders been unaware that CRT is a subset of CT , which itself is the main @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A clue that at least one Southern Baptist was preparing to bolt from the CRT train came on September 2 when atheist James Lindsay sat for an interview with Southern Seminary president Albert Mohler ( pictured above ) .
Lindsay is a renowned expert on and opponent of CT who has publicly praised Donald Trump for his anti-CRT executive order that tracks remarkably close to Lindsay ’ s own published attacks on CRT .
Mohler and other evangelical elites have meandered for four years between full-on Never Trumpism to agonized and tepid support @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mohler ’ s decision to choose a pro-Trump atheist to signal his impending break with the CRT social justice movement ?
By his own admission , no longer an “ old-guard atheist ” bent on the destruction of religion , Lindsay recognizes that Christianity poses no threat to Western civilization and the America he loves , but the neo-Marxist cultural revolution informed by Critical Race Theory ( CRT ) does .
Michael O ’ Fallon , the evangelical founder of Sovereign Nations , agrees .
As both sought allies to partner with in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ O ’ Fallon found each other through their shared horror at the 2017 violent CT-inspired social justice uprising that unfolded at Evergreen College in Washington state .
The statement by the seminary presidents not only brought them closer to James Lindsay , but also to President Donald Trump and his supporters , whom many of these evangelical elites have castigated and distanced themselves from for four years .
Months ago Trump denounced CRT and issued a masterful executive order designed to prevent tax-payer subsidized advancement of the CRT-driven contemporary social justice movement in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Institutions According to Lindsay , the spread of critical theories in America fulfills the dream of the founder of the Italian Communist Party , Antonio Gramsci : “ The story of critical pedagogy is genuinely the story of how the long-march-through-the-institutions ’ post-Marxist philosophy of Antonio Gramsci and the Neo-Marxist philosophy of the Frankfurt School came to colonize our education system at every level.
” Like Marxism , neo-Marxism trades on resentment grounded in injustice in order to foment revolutionary uprising in pursuit of a power-redistributing egalitarian utopia .
For Marx , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wealth between working classes and propertied ones .
But when the transnational revolution Marx predicted failed to materialize , neo-Marxists in the 1930s concluded that a new set of injustices was needed to induce resentments sufficient to achieve revolutionary change .
CT provides these resentments by dividing the world into an oppressor class or classes ( white , male , cisgender , Christian ) and oppressed classes ( people of color , women , and an ever-expanding array of gender and sexual orientation categories ) .
CRT demands conformity to intersectionality , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ oppressed in any conversation be privileged over those of the less oppressed .
So if two black males converse , one gay and one straight , the heterosexual must do more of the listening .
Homosexuality and blackness “ intersect , ” requiring a power shift to him over his heterosexual “ conversation ” partner .
CRT is the racial subset of the all-encompassing CT .
The work of anti-racism demands constant search for racism , but not for instances of racial discrimination as did the civil rights legislation of the 1960s .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ all white people and in the white colonial founding of America in 1619 .
So the question is not “ Is racism at work ?
” but “ How is racism manifesting itself here and now ?
” Lindsay chronicles the tribalism , hate , violence , and totalitarianism CRT-inspired neo-Marxism produces wherever it takes hold .
The White Guilt Ticket to the CRT Train So why did evangelical elites turn a deaf ear to Trump ’ s and Lindsay ’ s warnings for so long ?
Did they study CT and decide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ open ?
No .
They were desperate to dissociate publicly from racism , and the CRT language of the contemporary social justice movement promised a path to that goal .
And they were convinced that they had to get race right publicly to avoid alienating Gen Z and the millennials needed to ensure the future viability of the institutions they lead .
But , as Lindsay demonstrates , language drawn from the CT lexicon functions like the shiny decorations on a Trojan Horse that , once embraced , smuggles in insidious dogmas of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ intersectional power redistribution .
CT promises social justice , the end of racism , and an eventual egalitarian utopia .
Orwellian creation and cooption of language generates a specialized and expanding “ Newspeak ” that concocts new terms ( “ whiteness , ” “ systemic racism ” ) and redefines seemingly innocuous , laudable language ( “ equity , ” “ social justice , ” “ anti-racism ) .
The result is an expanding and poisonous revolutionary lexicon that would-be revolution-opposers draw from at their peril .
According to Lindsay , the trinity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ diversity , ” “ equity , ” and “ inclusion.
” Once the evangelical elites adopted language from the CRT Newspeak lexicon , they found themselves on board with CRT with not a thought of neo-Marxism in their heads .
But the Trojan Horse did its work .
They published CRT-affirming books , conducted panel discussions carefully exclusive of un-Woke voices , and hired professors who delight in CRT and praise Marxist liberation theologian James Cone .
And then the notorious Resolution 9 was adopted .
Widespread and organized opposition rose up , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ November 30 .
The Squelched and Ignored Un-Woke Evangelical Brain Trust But were evangelicals really bereft of voices within their own ranks able to sound warnings similar to those issued by Lindsay and Trump ?
Was Mohler reduced to using an atheist to signal his disenchantment with the neo-Marxism that had insinuated itself into the highest ranks of the largest Protestant denomination in America ?
No .
A formidable un-Woke evangelical brain trust echoed the Trumpian and atheist alarm bells and supplemented them with loads of Scripture as well .
Black theologian and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the CRT cultural revolution , was canceled and deplatformed once he failed to affirm the false Woke reconstruction of events in Ferguson , Missouri .
John MacArthur promoted the Dallas Statement on Social Justice , specially designed to reject the contemporary social justice movement on Biblical grounds .
Award-winning black author on white nationalism Carol Swain pled with her fellow Southern Baptists to rid the seminaries of neo-Marxism and CRT .
In 2019 , the Conservative Baptist Network formed to oppose the incursion of CRT into the Southern Baptist Convention .
An amendment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Founders Ministries designed to steer Southern Baptists away from neo-Marxism was formally deemed “ hostile ” from the podium by Resolutions Committee Chairman and CRT-lover Curtis Woods .
So not only did the elites refuse to tap the impressive un-Woke evangelical brain trust at their disposal , they repeatedly worked to squelch those voices .
But why ?
Because of a contradiction lodged deep in CRT ideology .
Though CRT teaches that black skin automatically privileges one ’ s voice over that of whites , in practice , ideology trumps skin color @ @ @ @ @ @ @ As Squad member Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley ( D-Mass . )
put it so succinctly , “ We don ’ t need black faces that don ’ t want to be a black voice.
” That meant that the Voddie Bauchams and Carol Swains of the world had to be excluded to facilitate the fake conversations on race needed to virtue signal on CRT terms .
This sad history accounts best for why Mohler interviewed white atheist Lindsay rather than black Baptist Baucham .
The seminary presidents ’ statement , though welcome , is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been necessary had they heeded the un-Woke brain trust .
It marks an essential but only an initial step in the direction of the about-face required to set them in true opposition to the neo-Marxism CRT nourishes .
Just last month , Southern Baptist chief ethicist Russell Moore pooh-poohed CRT to his fellow Never Trumper David French .
Southern Seminary ’ s website still boasts of its “ diversity ” according to CRT-dictated formulas .
Southeastern Seminary continues to maintain its Kingdom Diversity Department .
President Daniel Akin continues to trot the social @ @ @ @ @ @ @ want to be crystal clear that we oppose all forms of racism , personal , and systemic.
” In these revolutionary times , when the words “ systemic , ” “ structural , ” or “ institutional ” are used to modify “ racism , ” the resulting term boast roots neither in the Bible nor Stokely Carmichael , but in CRT Newspeak .
The seminary presidents welcomed many passengers , black and white , aboard the Woke train they ’ ve been riding on .
But some of those fellow travelers are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to reflexive , revolution-inspired charges of racism they desperately hoped to avoid .
By itself , their joint statement can not convey them back across the miles already traversed .
They ’ ll need to change trains at the next station , leaving behind the CRT Newspeak baggage they ’ ve claimed , the fake conversations on race they ’ ve facilitated , and some of the passengers they shared seats with .
Drawing from Scripture and the classic Christian tradition , evangelicals have long divided the world between saved and unsaved sinners @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and they pursue no revolution-justifying utopia on this Earth .
The deep bonds of unity Christians enjoy is grounded in the repentance , faith , and trust in Jesus Christ that brings adoption into the family of God without respect to any sinner ’ s sex or skin color .
No member of this family wins permanent oppressed status or suffers permanent oppressor stigmatization .
They become one in Him who purchased them with His blood on a cross to make them forever the sibling children of a shared heavenly Father .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ has pushed this ancient understanding to the margins and put in its place obsession with a strange , invisible , and elusive justice the Bible knows not of , obsession with grievance and relational power dynamics , and the spectacle of white men who pretend to privilege black voices in front of cameras while excluding those that can ’ t pass CRT muster .
It ’ s a ways back from that spectacle to the place the seminary presidents now say they wish to go .
They ’ ll need to board the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ direction .
They will know they have arrived when they see Tom Ascol , Voddie Baucham , Carol Swain , John MacArthur , and the Conservative Baptist Network on the platform at the depot to welcome them .
Mark DeVine teaches at the Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham , Alabama , and is the author of “ Bonhoeffer Speaks Today ” and “ Shalom Yesterday , Today , and Forever.
” Photo “ Albert Mohler ” by Albert Mohler .

by Mark Devine
In a stunning reversal on November 30, presidents of the six Southern Baptist seminaries issued a joint statement that said, “we … declare that affirmation of Critical Race Theory (CRT), Intersectionality, and any version of Critical Theory (CT) is incompatible with [our confessional standards].” Just a year and half earlier, at their 2019 annual convention, Southern Baptists passed Resolution 9, affirming CRT and intersectionality. Had Southern Baptist leaders been unaware that CRT is a subset of CT, which itself is the main ideological underpinning of neo-Marxist revolutionary movements?
A clue that at least one Southern Baptist was preparing to bolt from the CRT train came on September 2 when atheist James Lindsay sat for an interview with Southern Seminary president Albert Mohler (pictured above). Lindsay is a renowned expert on and opponent of CT who has publicly praised Donald Trump for his anti-CRT executive order that tracks remarkably close to Lindsay’s own published attacks on CRT. Mohler and other evangelical elites have meandered for four years between full-on Never Trumpism to agonized and tepid support for the president. What lies behind Mohler’s decision to choose a pro-Trump atheist to signal his impending break with the CRT social justice movement?
Unheeded Warnings About CRT
By his own admission, no longer an “old-guard atheist” bent on the destruction of religion, Lindsay recognizes that Christianity poses no threat to Western civilization and the America he loves, but the neo-Marxist cultural revolution informed by Critical Race Theory (CRT) does. Michael O’Fallon, the evangelical founder of Sovereign Nations, agrees. As both sought allies to partner with in the fight against CT, Lindsay and O’Fallon found each other through their shared horror at the 2017 violent CT-inspired social justice uprising that unfolded at Evergreen College in Washington state.
The statement by the seminary presidents not only brought them closer to James Lindsay, but also to President Donald Trump and his supporters, whom many of these evangelical elites have castigated and distanced themselves from for four years. Months ago Trump denounced CRT and issued a masterful executive order designed to prevent tax-payer subsidized advancement of the CRT-driven contemporary social justice movement in America.
The Long Neo-Marxist March Through the Institutions
According to Lindsay, the spread of critical theories in America fulfills the dream of the founder of the Italian Communist Party, Antonio Gramsci: “The story of critical pedagogy is genuinely the story of how the long-march-through-the-institutions’ post-Marxist philosophy of Antonio Gramsci and the Neo-Marxist philosophy of the Frankfurt School came to colonize our education system at every level.”
Like Marxism, neo-Marxism trades on resentment grounded in injustice in order to foment revolutionary uprising in pursuit of a power-redistributing egalitarian utopia. For Marx, injustice was rooted in disparities of material wealth between working classes and propertied ones. But when the transnational revolution Marx predicted failed to materialize, neo-Marxists in the 1930s concluded that a new set of injustices was needed to induce resentments sufficient to achieve revolutionary change. CT provides these resentments by dividing the world into an oppressor class or classes (white, male, cisgender, Christian) and oppressed classes (people of color, women, and an ever-expanding array of gender and sexual orientation categories).
CRT demands conformity to intersectionality, which insists that the voice of the more oppressed in any conversation be privileged over those of the less oppressed. So if two black males converse, one gay and one straight, the heterosexual must do more of the listening. Homosexuality and blackness “intersect,” requiring a power shift to him over his heterosexual “conversation” partner. CRT is the racial subset of the all-encompassing CT. The work of anti-racism demands constant search for racism, but not for instances of racial discrimination as did the civil rights legislation of the 1960s. CRT teaches that racism is endemic in all white people and in the white colonial founding of America in 1619. So the question is not “Is racism at work?” but “How is racism manifesting itself here and now?” Lindsay chronicles the tribalism, hate, violence, and totalitarianism CRT-inspired neo-Marxism produces wherever it takes hold.
The White Guilt Ticket to the CRT Train
So why did evangelical elites turn a deaf ear to Trump’s and Lindsay’s warnings for so long? Did they study CT and decide to embrace it with their eyes wide open? No. They were desperate to dissociate publicly from racism, and the CRT language of the contemporary social justice movement promised a path to that goal. And they were convinced that they had to get race right publicly to avoid alienating Gen Z and the millennials needed to ensure the future viability of the institutions they lead.
But, as Lindsay demonstrates, language drawn from the CT lexicon functions like the shiny decorations on a Trojan Horse that, once embraced, smuggles in insidious dogmas of unquestioned oppression, requiring pre-prepared solutions like intersectional power redistribution. CT promises social justice, the end of racism, and an eventual egalitarian utopia. Orwellian creation and cooption of language generates a specialized and expanding “Newspeak” that concocts new terms (“whiteness,” “systemic racism”) and redefines seemingly innocuous, laudable language (“equity,” “social justice,” “anti-racism). The result is an expanding and poisonous revolutionary lexicon that would-be revolution-opposers draw from at their peril. According to Lindsay, the trinity of CRT Trojan Horse terminology is “diversity,” “equity,” and “inclusion.”
Once the evangelical elites adopted language from the CRT Newspeak lexicon, they found themselves on board with CRT with not a thought of neo-Marxism in their heads. But the Trojan Horse did its work. They published CRT-affirming books, conducted panel discussions carefully exclusive of un-Woke voices, and hired professors who delight in CRT and praise Marxist liberation theologian James Cone. And then the notorious Resolution 9 was adopted. Widespread and organized opposition rose up, and now comes the announced 180 of November 30.
The Squelched and Ignored Un-Woke Evangelical Brain Trust
But were evangelicals really bereft of voices within their own ranks able to sound warnings similar to those issued by Lindsay and Trump? Was Mohler reduced to using an atheist to signal his disenchantment with the neo-Marxism that had insinuated itself into the highest ranks of the largest Protestant denomination in America? No. A formidable un-Woke evangelical brain trust echoed the Trumpian and atheist alarm bells and supplemented them with loads of Scripture as well.
Black theologian and educator Voddie Baucham, an expert on the CRT cultural revolution, was canceled and deplatformed once he failed to affirm the false Woke reconstruction of events in Ferguson, Missouri. John MacArthur promoted the Dallas Statement on Social Justice, specially designed to reject the contemporary social justice movement on Biblical grounds. Award-winning black author on white nationalism Carol Swain pled with her fellow Southern Baptists to rid the seminaries of neo-Marxism and CRT. In 2019, the Conservative Baptist Network formed to oppose the incursion of CRT into the Southern Baptist Convention. An amendment to Resolution 9 offered by Tom Ascol of Founders Ministries designed to steer Southern Baptists away from neo-Marxism was formally deemed “hostile” from the podium by Resolutions Committee Chairman and CRT-lover Curtis Woods.
So not only did the elites refuse to tap the impressive un-Woke evangelical brain trust at their disposal, they repeatedly worked to squelch those voices. But why? Because of a contradiction lodged deep in CRT ideology. Though CRT teaches that black skin automatically privileges one’s voice over that of whites, in practice, ideology trumps skin color. Only Woke voices are allowed. As Squad member Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) put it so succinctly, “We don’t need black faces that don’t want to be a black voice.” That meant that the Voddie Bauchams and Carol Swains of the world had to be excluded to facilitate the fake conversations on race needed to virtue signal on CRT terms. This sad history accounts best for why Mohler interviewed white atheist Lindsay rather than black Baptist Baucham.
No CRT Means No Social Justice Newspeak
The seminary presidents’ statement, though welcome, is long overdue and wouldn’t have been necessary had they heeded the un-Woke brain trust. It marks an essential but only an initial step in the direction of the about-face required to set them in true opposition to the neo-Marxism CRT nourishes. Just last month, Southern Baptist chief ethicist Russell Moore pooh-poohed CRT to his fellow Never Trumper David French. Southern Seminary’s website still boasts of its “diversity” according to CRT-dictated formulas. Southeastern Seminary continues to maintain its Kingdom Diversity Department. President Daniel Akin continues to trot the social justice language of CRT — “We want to be crystal clear that we oppose all forms of racism, personal, and systemic.” In these revolutionary times, when the words “systemic,” “structural,” or “institutional” are used to modify “racism,” the resulting term boast roots neither in the Bible nor Stokely Carmichael, but in CRT Newspeak.
Changing Direction Means More Than Making Announcements
The seminary presidents welcomed many passengers, black and white, aboard the Woke train they’ve been riding on. But some of those fellow travelers are now abandoning them, leaving them open to reflexive, revolution-inspired charges of racism they desperately hoped to avoid. By itself, their joint statement cannot convey them back across the miles already traversed. They’ll need to change trains at the next station, leaving behind the CRT Newspeak baggage they’ve claimed, the fake conversations on race they’ve facilitated, and some of the passengers they shared seats with.
Drawing from Scripture and the classic Christian tradition, evangelicals have long divided the world between saved and unsaved sinners, not between oppressed and oppressor classes, and they pursue no revolution-justifying utopia on this Earth. The deep bonds of unity Christians enjoy is grounded in the repentance, faith, and trust in Jesus Christ that brings adoption into the family of God without respect to any sinner’s sex or skin color. No member of this family wins permanent oppressed status or suffers permanent oppressor stigmatization. They become one in Him who purchased them with His blood on a cross to make them forever the sibling children of a shared heavenly Father.
The intrusion of CRT into evangelical life has pushed this ancient understanding to the margins and put in its place obsession with a strange, invisible, and elusive justice the Bible knows not of, obsession with grievance and relational power dynamics, and the spectacle of white men who pretend to privilege black voices in front of cameras while excluding those that can’t pass CRT muster.
It’s a ways back from that spectacle to the place the seminary presidents now say they wish to go. They’ll need to board the anti-CRT train and travel in the opposite direction. They will know they have arrived when they see Tom Ascol, Voddie Baucham, Carol Swain, John MacArthur, and the Conservative Baptist Network on the platform at the depot to welcome them.
– – –
Mark DeVine teaches at the Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Alabama, and is the author of “Bonhoeffer Speaks Today” and “Shalom Yesterday, Today, and Forever.”
Photo “Albert Mohler” by Albert Mohler.


thetennesseestar--2020-12-07--Legislatures in States Like Georgia Could Name Electoral College Electors, Giuliani Says

Rudy Giuliani , President Donald Trump ’ s election lawyer , on Sunday laid out a possible path to victory through legislatures in states that include Georgia , as well as the Supreme Court .
The legislatures in states like Georgia could take action against voter fraud by naming Electoral College electors , which would likely push the election into the Supreme Court , Rudy Giuliani told Fox News on Sunday .
He appeared on Maria Bartiromo Sunday Morning Futures .
Video of his interview is here .
Also on Sunday , Giuliani told John Catsimatidis during his radio show @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Trump ’ s legal team hopes to prevail in Wisconsin through the courts and Georgia , Arizona and Michigan in the legislatures , the Washington Examiner reported .
On Sunday Morning Futures , Giuliani talked about multiple issues in states like Wisconsin and Georgia , including video of people producing suitcases full of ballots after hours in the latter state .
Giuliani played that video Thursday at a Georgia Senate hearing , as The Georgia Star News reported .
He had tweeted , “ WATCH : Video footage from Georgia shows suitcases @ @ @ @ @ @ @ table AFTER supervisors told poll workers to leave room and 4 people stayed behind to keep counting votes ” .
Georgia ’ s General Assembly started a petition to hold a session , making them the first to do so , he told Bartiromo .
Later in the interview , Bartiromo said , “ It sounds like you ’ re counting on the state legislatures to recognize this .
What about the Supreme Court ?
” They spoke briefly about a lawsuit that U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly ( R-PA-03 ) is bringing to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state ’ s election laws .
Kelly asked the Supreme Court to issue an emergency order to block the state from taking further action to certify its election results , CNBC reported .
“ If any of these state legislatures change the electors based on their own analyses , of course , that ’ ll be taken to the Supreme Court , ” Giuliani told Fox News .
In other Electoral College news , the Amistad Project of the Thomas More Society last week issued a white paper making the case that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ selection of electors , the assembly of the Electoral College and the tallying of its votes are imposed by a federal statute and not the U.S. Constitution , The Star News reported .
Furthermore , the organization said these artificial deadlines are preventing the states from fulfilling their constitutional — and ethical — obligation to hold free and fair elections .
Jason M. Reynolds has more than 20 years ’ experience as a journalist at outlets of all sizes .
Image “ Rudy Giuliani ” by Rudy Giuliani and “ Georgia Legislature ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .

Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump’s election lawyer, on Sunday laid out a possible path to victory through legislatures in states that include Georgia, as well as the Supreme Court.
The legislatures in states like Georgia could take action against voter fraud by naming Electoral College electors, which would likely push the election into the Supreme Court, Rudy Giuliani told Fox News on Sunday. He appeared on Maria Bartiromo Sunday Morning Futures.
Video of his interview is here.
Also on Sunday, Giuliani told John Catsimatidis during his radio show The Cats Roundtable on WABC 77 AM that Trump’s legal team hopes to prevail in Wisconsin through the courts and Georgia, Arizona and Michigan in the legislatures, the Washington Examiner reported.
On Sunday Morning Futures, Giuliani talked about multiple issues in states like Wisconsin and Georgia, including video of people producing suitcases full of ballots after hours in the latter state.
Giuliani played that video Thursday at a Georgia Senate hearing, as The Georgia Star News reported.
He had tweeted, “WATCH: Video footage from Georgia shows suitcases filled with ballots pulled from under a table AFTER supervisors told poll workers to leave room and 4 people stayed behind to keep counting votes”.
“WATCH: Video footage from Georgia shows suitcases filled with ballots pulled from under a table AFTER supervisors told poll workers to leave room and 4 people stayed behind to keep counting votes” https://t.co/zMejoys7Lc — Rudy W. Giuliani (@RudyGiuliani) December 3, 2020
Georgia’s General Assembly started a petition to hold a session, making them the first to do so, he told Bartiromo.
Later in the interview, Bartiromo said, “It sounds like you’re counting on the state legislatures to recognize this. What about the Supreme Court?”
They spoke briefly about a lawsuit that U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA-03) is bringing to the Supreme Court challenging changes to the state’s election laws.
Kelly asked the Supreme Court to issue an emergency order to block the state from taking further action to certify its election results, CNBC reported.
“If any of these state legislatures change the electors based on their own analyses, of course, that’ll be taken to the Supreme Court,” Giuliani told Fox News.
In other Electoral College news, the Amistad Project of the Thomas More Society last week issued a white paper making the case that the December 8 and 14 deadlines for the selection of electors, the assembly of the Electoral College and the tallying of its votes are imposed by a federal statute and not the U.S. Constitution, The Star News reported. Furthermore, the organization said these artificial deadlines are preventing the states from fulfilling their constitutional — and ethical — obligation to hold free and fair elections.
– – –
Jason M. Reynolds has more than 20 years’ experience as a journalist at outlets of all sizes.
Image “Rudy Giuliani” by Rudy Giuliani and “Georgia Legislature” is by the Georgia House of Representatives.


thetennesseestar--2020-12-07--Another California Sheriff Refuses to Send Deputies to Enforce Masks, ‘Social Gatherings, or Stay-at

Another California Sheriff Refuses to Send Deputies to Enforce Masks, ‘Social Gatherings, or Stay-at-Home Orders’

A California sheriff on Saturday joined a growing list of law enforcement leaders in the state who refuse to enforce recent coronavirus orders .
Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes tweeted an announcement vowing not to send his deputies to enforce mask violations , “ social gatherings or stay-at-home ” violations .
Democratic California Gov .
Gavin Newsom had issued a state-wide quarantine order for localities where intensive care unit capacity drops below 15 % , according to the New York Times .
“ Compliance with health orders is a matter of personal responsibility and not a matter of law enforcement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ Orange County Sheriff ’ s Deputies will not be dispatched to , or respond to , calls for service to enforce compliance with face coverings , social gatherings or stay-at-home orders only .
“ To put the onus on law enforcement to enforce these orders against law-abiding citizens who are already struggling through difficult circumstances , while at the same time criticizing law enforcement and taking away tools to do our jobs , is both contradictory and disingenuous , ” he continued .
Barnes joined law enforcement chiefs from Riverside County @ @ @ @ @ @ @ County in rejecting the governor ’ s order .
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco announced Friday that he would not be “ blackmailed ” into enforcing the mandate on the residents of his county .
“ [ Newsom ] is expecting us to arrest anyone violating these orders , cite them and take their money , close their businesses , make them stay in their homes and take away their civil liberties or he will punish all of us , ” Bianco said in video statement .
“ I believe that all jobs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the governor ’ s office and the state has threatened action against violators , the Riverside County Sheriff ’ s Department will not be blackmailed , bullied or used as muscle against Riverside County residents in the enforcement of the governor ’ s orders , ” Bianco continued .
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva on Thursday vowed to “ stay away from business , ” and told Fox LA ’ s Bill Melugin that he was limiting the enforcement of Newsom ’ s order to large gatherings only .
“ I want @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ] that are trying to comply , ” Villanueva told Melugin .
“ They bent over backwards to modify their operations to conform to these orders and then they have the rug yanked out from under them .
“ That ’ s a disservice , ” Villanueva continued .
“ I don ’ t want to make them more miserable.
” The San Bernardino Sheriff ’ s Department , although it has not released a formal statement , told the local reporter that deputies will not be responding to complaints pertaining to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation .
Photo “ Sheriff Don Barnes ” by Sheriff Don Barnes and “ OC Jail Complex ” is by D Ramey Logan CC3.0 .

by Jake Dima
A California sheriff on Saturday joined a growing list of law enforcement leaders in the state who refuse to enforce recent coronavirus orders.
Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes tweeted an announcement vowing not to send his deputies to enforce mask violations, “social gatherings or stay-at-home” violations. Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom had issued a state-wide quarantine order for localities where intensive care unit capacity drops below 15%, according to the New York Times.
“Compliance with health orders is a matter of personal responsibility and not a matter of law enforcement,” Barnes said in the statement. “Orange County Sheriff’s Deputies will not be dispatched to, or respond to, calls for service to enforce compliance with face coverings, social gatherings or stay-at-home orders only.
“To put the onus on law enforcement to enforce these orders against law-abiding citizens who are already struggling through difficult circumstances, while at the same time criticizing law enforcement and taking away tools to do our jobs, is both contradictory and disingenuous,” he continued.
Please see my statement regarding Southern California being placed under the Governor’s regional stay-at-home order. pic.twitter.com/lgvvHGnasp — OC Sheriff Don Barnes (@OCSheriffBarnes) December 5, 2020
Barnes joined law enforcement chiefs from Riverside County, Los Angeles County and San Bernardino County in rejecting the governor’s order.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco announced Friday that he would not be “blackmailed” into enforcing the mandate on the residents of his county.
“[Newsom] is expecting us to arrest anyone violating these orders, cite them and take their money, close their businesses, make them stay in their homes and take away their civil liberties or he will punish all of us,” Bianco said in video statement. “I believe that all jobs are essential to someone.
“While the governor’s office and the state has threatened action against violators, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department will not be blackmailed, bullied or used as muscle against Riverside County residents in the enforcement of the governor’s orders,” Bianco continued.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva on Thursday vowed to “stay away from business,” and told Fox LA’s Bill Melugin that he was limiting the enforcement of Newsom’s order to large gatherings only.
“I want to stay away from business [sic] that are trying to comply,” Villanueva told Melugin. “They bent over backwards to modify their operations to conform to these orders and then they have the rug yanked out from under them.
“That’s a disservice,” Villanueva continued. “I don’t want to make them more miserable.”
The San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department, although it has not released a formal statement, told the local reporter that deputies will not be responding to complaints pertaining to the recent COVID-19 orders.
– – –
Jake Dima is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Sheriff Don Barnes” by Sheriff Don Barnes and “OC Jail Complex” is by D Ramey Logan CC3.0.


thetennesseestar--2020-12-07--Reports: Twenty Federal Agencies Have Wasted $2.3 Trillion in Taxpayer Money Since 2004

Improper payments made by federal government agencies totaled $ 175 billion last year , or $ 15 billion per month , according to PaymentAccuracy.gov , a website of the U.S. government .
This is in addition to $ 2.25 trillion worth of taxpayer money spent on improper payments from 2004 to 2018 , according to a Congressional Research Service brief on the Improper Payments Act .
Improper payments are “ payments made by the government to the wrong person , in the wrong amount , or for the wrong reason , ” according to PaymentAccuracy.gov .
It notes that , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ small percentage of a program ’ s total outlays .
Data collected on improper payments is available for download .
This includes data on rates , recoveries , dollar amounts , root causes , and more.
” But improper payments “ erode trust and hinders the government ’ s ability to finance everything from defense to health care , ” said Adam Andrzejewski , CEO of OpenTheBooks.com , a government spending watchdog .
OpenTheBooks.com published a 24-page oversight report analyzing “ why , how , and where ” federal agencies wasted tax dollars @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the most wasteful federal programs were Medicaid , Medicare and the Earned Income Tax Credit .
In these three programs alone , 69 percent of the money spent – $ 121 billion – were improper payments .
Dead people received $ 871.9 million in mistaken payments through Medicaid , Social Security , federal pensions and farm subsidies because agencies primarily failed to verify deaths .
Over four years , money sent to dead people has cost taxpayers $ 2.8 billion .
The wasted $ 175 billion worth of taxpayer money through improper payments @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the equivalent of a full year of all federal salaries , perks and pension benefits for every employee of the federal executive agencies .
Instead , it is “ a stunning example of institutionalized incompetence , ” he said .
The Internal Revenue Service says that its improper payments will continue .
It stated that “ … the IRS does not have the resources to audit every return claiming return tax credits … Without legislative change to greatly improve effective tools to administer these credits , the improper payment rate will not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ IRS made $ 17.4 billion in improper payments .
Bethany Blankney is a Contributor for The Center Square .

by Bethany Blankney
Improper payments made by federal government agencies totaled $175 billion last year, or $15 billion per month, according to PaymentAccuracy.gov, a website of the U.S. government.
This is in addition to $2.25 trillion worth of taxpayer money spent on improper payments from 2004 to 2018, according to a Congressional Research Service brief on the Improper Payments Act.
Improper payments are “payments made by the government to the wrong person, in the wrong amount, or for the wrong reason,” according to PaymentAccuracy.gov.
The site lists improper payment resources, including agency specific data, laws and implementing guidance.
It notes that, “improper payments typically account for a small percentage of a program’s total outlays. Data collected on improper payments is available for download. This includes data on rates, recoveries, dollar amounts, root causes, and more.”
But improper payments “erode trust and hinders the government’s ability to finance everything from defense to health care,” said Adam Andrzejewski, CEO of OpenTheBooks.com, a government spending watchdog.
OpenTheBooks.com published a 24-page oversight report analyzing “why, how, and where” federal agencies wasted tax dollars in 2019.
Its auditors found that the most wasteful federal programs were Medicaid, Medicare and the Earned Income Tax Credit. In these three programs alone, 69 percent of the money spent – $121 billion – were improper payments.
Dead people received $871.9 million in mistaken payments through Medicaid, Social Security, federal pensions and farm subsidies because agencies primarily failed to verify deaths. Over four years, money sent to dead people has cost taxpayers $2.8 billion.
The wasted $175 billion worth of taxpayer money through improper payments, Andrzejewski argues, could have paid for the equivalent of a full year of all federal salaries, perks and pension benefits for every employee of the federal executive agencies.
Instead, it is “a stunning example of institutionalized incompetence,” he said.
The Internal Revenue Service says that its improper payments will continue. It stated that “… the IRS does not have the resources to audit every return claiming return tax credits … Without legislative change to greatly improve effective tools to administer these credits, the improper payment rate will not drastically change.”
In 2019, the IRS made $17.4 billion in improper payments.
– – –
Bethany Blankney is a Contributor for The Center Square.


thetennesseestar--2020-12-07--Commentary: Faith in Fairness Is Shattered Beyond Recovery

Many people , including some good friends , believe that Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election fair and square .
Many others – and I place myself among them – believe that something is rotten in the state of Denmark , or , to be more specific , in the cities of Milwaukee , Atlanta , Philadelphia , Pittsburgh , and Detroit , not to mention Maricopa County , Arizona .
I think what happened was so rotten that I regard the election as illegitimate .
What proof , you might ask , do I have ?
Quite a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ ll get to some of it in a moment .
First , I want you to behold the evolution of the Narrative about voter fraud in the 2020 election .
At first , the memo came down and said , “ There was no voter fraud.
” On November 12 , for example , the Cyber and Infrastructure Security Agency issued a “ Joint Statement From Elections Infrastructure Government Coordinating Council and The Election Infrastructure Sector Coordinating Executive Committees ” that “ The November 3rd election was the most secure in American @ @ @ @ @ @ @ official U.S. government entity – so game over , right ?
Not quite .
The CIA and the FBI are also official government entities .
Do you trust them ?
Anyway , stray ballots started turning up , analysis revealed massive statistical anomalies in voter turnout , the size and timing of votes for Joe Biden , and other irregularities .
There were troubling videos of Democratic vote counters pulling out hidden suitcases of ballots after they kicked the GOP observers out of the room , for example .
Another seemed to show @ @ @ @ @ @ @ drive to another minutes before a massive influx of votes appeared for Joe Biden .
There have been scores of affidavits attesting to voter fraud and scarifying testimony from witnesses who reminded their questioners that they made their statements under penalty of perjury .
We ’ ve all heard a lot about Dominion Voting Systems .
How easily can the company ’ s machines be hacked ?
What is their connection to China ?
Maybe we ’ ll find out .
It is interesting , is it not , that a Dominion representative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ got cold feet and bowed out .
Why ?
What about reports that “ the firm which owns Dominion Voting Systems received $ 400 million from a Swiss bank with close links to the Chinese government less than a month before the election.
” To me , that seems interesting .
Not to the media , though .
Still , all that static meant that the Narrative had to receive a tweak : “ Yes , of course there was voter fraud , but there is always voter fraud .
There just wasn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Stephanopoulos tried a variation of that on Kristi Noem , the governor of South Dakota .
It did not go well for George .
As more and more “ anomalies ” surfaced , the Narrative had to shift again .
A couple of weeks ago , the line became , “ Maybe there was pretty widespread fraud – it ’ s a big country , after all – but it was not so serious as to alter the course of the election.
” I thought that an odd response because – speaking of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s margin of victory varied between thin and razor thin : some 11,000 votes in Arizona , about the same in Georgia , 20,000 votes in Wisconsin .
Biden ’ s margin in Pennsylvania is 80,000 , but that , too , is thin when one considers that around midnight Trump was ahead by some 700,000 votes .
What happened ?
I think I know , but let ’ s check back in on the Narrative here next weekend .
Now the voice of the Narrative is saying , “ Maybe be there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just maybe , it affected the outcome in some places , but it is too late now .
The electors meet on December 14 , and to persist with any challenge would be to disrupt the process , which is sacrosanct.
” Ah , the process !
When Donald Trump won in 2016 there was incredulity followed by hysteria followed by resistance weaponized by the strong arm of the actors in the Justice Department , our intelligence services , and deep-state bureaucrats .
That has continued for four years .
Now the nearly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump are supposed to acquiesce calmly to a process that appears to be thoroughly rigged .
What happened ?
Let ’ s leave Dominion Voting Systems and direct cyber interference out of account for the moment .
Think about this .
Generally , about 5 percent of the vote is by absentee ballot .
Traditionally , the presumption was that one would vote in person if possible .
If , for some good reason , it was not possible , one would request an absentee ballot .
This time , under the cover @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ballots were sent out .
Somewhere between 90 million and 100 million were returned – 60 percent of the vote .
What checks were in place to authenticate them ?
Essentially none .
No signature verification , no easily audited trail from voter to vote counter , nothing really .
It was an invitation to vote manipulation .
I suspect the 2020 election was rigged six months ago , when the Democrats understood that they could use the hysteria over COVID-19 as a cover for the most massive ballot stuffing scam in history @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but did nothing .
Maybe he couldn ’ t do anything .
Maybe the inertia of the bureaucracy was too strong .
I do not know .
Some observers who are upset by the fraud put their faith in state legislatures , whom they expect to refuse to certify electors .
Others look to the courts .
Perhaps some of those appeals will prevail .
But I would not be surprised if the pressure of the Narrative wins out .
“ It is too late , ” the courts will say .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because then people will not have faith in our electoral process.
” But what of those nearly 74 million people who voted for Trump , who are convinced that the election was stolen , and who see in the process , not an affirmation of orderliness but a permanent betrayal ?
What of them ?
Hard cheese , probably .
I write in the afternoon of December 5 .
In just a few hours , Donald Trump will take the stage in Valdosta , Georgia for his first post-election rally .
He is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ GOP Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler , who are battling in a close-run race to hold on to their seats in a run-off election January 5 .
If they lose , the Senate will be split 50-50 , handing effective control of the body to the Democrats—assuming that Joe Biden assumes office January 20 and Kamala Harris is his vice president and therefore also president of the Senate , able to cast the tie-breaking vote when the Senate is deadlocked .
I am told that something like $ 1 billion is being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is hugely important , and I believe that Lin Wood and others who seem to be advising Republicans not to vote are advising a destructive course of action .
( Is Lin Wood even on the side of the GOP ?
For all his very public stomping for Trump , some people have questioned that . )
I think that maintaining Republican control of the Senate is an essential stopgap to the triumph of the radical Left agenda that put up Joe Biden as its moderate-looking puppet who was in fact a sort @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is anything but moderate .
But I also believe that if Biden prevails , our electoral system will not be vindicated but violated .
We ’ ll hear people like Chris Wallace assuring us as the inauguration unfolds that “ the orderly process of the transfer of power has once again prevailed.
” Very few people who voted for Trump will believe that .
It ’ s not just that they remember what happened in 2016—where were the newscasters then warming each other with their bromides about the orderly transfer of power that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It ’ s also that they know that the election of 2020 was rigged , awash in voter fraud and voter manipulation .
In 2016 , the deep-state machine did not do much to rig the election because it assumed that Donald Trump could not win .
Hillary was a shoo-in , so why bother ?
In 2020 , they knew that Trump could win , so they intervened beforehand to make sure that he wouldn ’ t .
I believe that is what happened , which makes all the talk about “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ voice of the people ” ring hollow .
If the legislative and legal powers being asked to scrutinize the election acquiesce in the Narrative and reject Donald Trump , I believe that the “ process ” they affirm will be that process through which the election was manipulated and then stolen .
It will be an affirmation of illegitimacy in the guise of principled face-saving .
The real goal – unstated but omnipresent – is to make sure that no one like Donald Trump can ever again be elected .
They might @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will be the further , perhaps fatal , undermining of our electoral system ’ s legitimacy .
I understand , of course , that for the Democrats and their flaks the issue is not legitimacy but control .
It used to be that we ’ d have an election , often hard fought , and one side would win , the other would lose .
The losing side would accept the result partly because it had faith in the fundamental fairness of the system , partly because it assumed that everyone involved maintained @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of life .
Despite our differences , we were all Americans , in it together .
The faith in fairness has been shattered beyond recovery and the assumption of anything like a shared consensus seems more and more like a naïve pretense when it isn ’ t just a cynical hustings gambit .
Roger Kimball is editor and publisher of The New Criterion and the president and publisher of Encounter Books .
He is the author and editor of many books , including The Fortunes of Permanence : Culture and Anarchy in an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s Press ) , The Rape of the Masters ( Encounter ) , Lives of the Mind : The Use and Abuse of Intelligence from Hegel to Wodehouse ( Ivan R. Dee ) , and Art ’ s Prospect : The Challenge of Tradition in an Age of Celebrity ( Ivan R. Dee ) .

by Roger Kimball
Many people, including some good friends, believe that Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election fair and square.
Many others – and I place myself among them – believe that something is rotten in the state of Denmark, or, to be more specific, in the cities of Milwaukee, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Detroit, not to mention Maricopa County, Arizona. I think what happened was so rotten that I regard the election as illegitimate.
What proof, you might ask, do I have?
Quite a lot, in fact, and I’ll get to some of it in a moment. First, I want you to behold the evolution of the Narrative about voter fraud in the 2020 election. At first, the memo came down and said, “There was no voter fraud.”
On November 12, for example, the Cyber and Infrastructure Security Agency issued a “Joint Statement From Elections Infrastructure Government Coordinating Council and The Election Infrastructure Sector Coordinating Executive Committees” that “The November 3rd election was the most secure in American history.” That’s from an official U.S. government entity – so game over, right?
Not quite. The CIA and the FBI are also official government entities. Do you trust them?
Anyway, stray ballots started turning up, analysis revealed massive statistical anomalies in voter turnout, the size and timing of votes for Joe Biden, and other irregularities. There were troubling videos of Democratic vote counters pulling out hidden suitcases of ballots after they kicked the GOP observers out of the room, for example. Another seemed to show one Democratic worker surreptitiously hand a thumb drive to another minutes before a massive influx of votes appeared for Joe Biden. There have been scores of affidavits attesting to voter fraud and scarifying testimony from witnesses who reminded their questioners that they made their statements under penalty of perjury.
We’ve all heard a lot about Dominion Voting Systems. How easily can the company’s machines be hacked? What is their connection to China? Maybe we’ll find out. It is interesting, is it not, that a Dominion representative who was supposed to testify in Pennsylvania got cold feet and bowed out. Why? What about reports that “the firm which owns Dominion Voting Systems received $400 million from a Swiss bank with close links to the Chinese government less than a month before the election.” To me, that seems interesting. Not to the media, though.
Still, all that static meant that the Narrative had to receive a tweak: “Yes, of course there was voter fraud, but there is always voter fraud. There just wasn’t widespread voter fraud.” George Stephanopoulos tried a variation of that on Kristi Noem, the governor of South Dakota. It did not go well for George.
As more and more “anomalies” surfaced, the Narrative had to shift again. A couple of weeks ago, the line became, “Maybe there was pretty widespread fraud – it’s a big country, after all – but it was not so serious as to alter the course of the election.”
I thought that an odd response because – speaking of “after all” – Biden’s margin of victory varied between thin and razor thin: some 11,000 votes in Arizona, about the same in Georgia, 20,000 votes in Wisconsin. Biden’s margin in Pennsylvania is 80,000, but that, too, is thin when one considers that around midnight Trump was ahead by some 700,000 votes. What happened?
I think I know, but let’s check back in on the Narrative here next weekend. Now the voice of the Narrative is saying, “Maybe be there was widespread fraud, and maybe, just maybe, it affected the outcome in some places, but it is too late now. The electors meet on December 14, and to persist with any challenge would be to disrupt the process, which is sacrosanct.”
Ah, the process! When Donald Trump won in 2016 there was incredulity followed by hysteria followed by resistance weaponized by the strong arm of the actors in the Justice Department, our intelligence services, and deep-state bureaucrats. That has continued for four years.
Now the nearly 74 million people who voted for Donald Trump are supposed to acquiesce calmly to a process that appears to be thoroughly rigged.
What happened? Let’s leave Dominion Voting Systems and direct cyber interference out of account for the moment. Think about this. Generally, about 5 percent of the vote is by absentee ballot. Traditionally, the presumption was that one would vote in person if possible. If, for some good reason, it was not possible, one would request an absentee ballot. This time, under the cover of COVID-19, millions upon millions of ballots were sent out. Somewhere between 90 million and 100 million were returned – 60 percent of the vote. What checks were in place to authenticate them? Essentially none. No signature verification, no easily audited trail from voter to vote counter, nothing really. It was an invitation to vote manipulation.
I suspect the 2020 election was rigged six months ago, when the Democrats understood that they could use the hysteria over COVID-19 as a cover for the most massive ballot stuffing scam in history. Donald Trump warned about it, but did nothing. Maybe he couldn’t do anything. Maybe the inertia of the bureaucracy was too strong. I do not know.
Some observers who are upset by the fraud put their faith in state legislatures, whom they expect to refuse to certify electors. Others look to the courts. Perhaps some of those appeals will prevail. But I would not be surprised if the pressure of the Narrative wins out. “It is too late,” the courts will say. “We can’t overturn the process because then people will not have faith in our electoral process.”
But what of those nearly 74 million people who voted for Trump, who are convinced that the election was stolen, and who see in the process, not an affirmation of orderliness but a permanent betrayal? What of them?
Hard cheese, probably. I write in the afternoon of December 5. In just a few hours, Donald Trump will take the stage in Valdosta, Georgia for his first post-election rally. He is due to be joined on stage by GOP Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, who are battling in a close-run race to hold on to their seats in a run-off election January 5. If they lose, the Senate will be split 50-50, handing effective control of the body to the Democrats—assuming that Joe Biden assumes office January 20 and Kamala Harris is his vice president and therefore also president of the Senate, able to cast the tie-breaking vote when the Senate is deadlocked.
I am told that something like $1 billion is being spent in that Senate battle. It is hugely important, and I believe that Lin Wood and others who seem to be advising Republicans not to vote are advising a destructive course of action. (Is Lin Wood even on the side of the GOP? For all his very public stomping for Trump, some people have questioned that.)
I think that maintaining Republican control of the Senate is an essential stopgap to the triumph of the radical Left agenda that put up Joe Biden as its moderate-looking puppet who was in fact a sort of Trojan Horse for a program that is anything but moderate.
But I also believe that if Biden prevails, our electoral system will not be vindicated but violated. We’ll hear people like Chris Wallace assuring us as the inauguration unfolds that “the orderly process of the transfer of power has once again prevailed.” Very few people who voted for Trump will believe that. It’s not just that they remember what happened in 2016—where were the newscasters then warming each other with their bromides about the orderly transfer of power that the election of Donald Trump represented? It’s also that they know that the election of 2020 was rigged, awash in voter fraud and voter manipulation.
In 2016, the deep-state machine did not do much to rig the election because it assumed that Donald Trump could not win. Hillary was a shoo-in, so why bother?
In 2020, they knew that Trump could win, so they intervened beforehand to make sure that he wouldn’t.
I believe that is what happened, which makes all the talk about “respecting the electoral process” and the “voice of the people” ring hollow.
If the legislative and legal powers being asked to scrutinize the election acquiesce in the Narrative and reject Donald Trump, I believe that the “process” they affirm will be that process through which the election was manipulated and then stolen. It will be an affirmation of illegitimacy in the guise of principled face-saving. The real goal – unstated but omnipresent – is to make sure that no one like Donald Trump can ever again be elected. They might just succeed in that. The cost will be the further, perhaps fatal, undermining of our electoral system’s legitimacy.
I understand, of course, that for the Democrats and their flaks the issue is not legitimacy but control.
It used to be that we’d have an election, often hard fought, and one side would win, the other would lose. The losing side would accept the result partly because it had faith in the fundamental fairness of the system, partly because it assumed that everyone involved maintained an underlying allegiance to the American way of life. Despite our differences, we were all Americans, in it together. The faith in fairness has been shattered beyond recovery and the assumption of anything like a shared consensus seems more and more like a naïve pretense when it isn’t just a cynical hustings gambit.
– – –
Roger Kimball is editor and publisher of The New Criterion and the president and publisher of Encounter Books. He is the author and editor of many books, including The Fortunes of Permanence: Culture and Anarchy in an Age of Amnesia (St. Augustine’s Press), The Rape of the Masters (Encounter), Lives of the Mind: The Use and Abuse of Intelligence from Hegel to Wodehouse (Ivan R. Dee), and Art’s Prospect: The Challenge of Tradition in an Age of Celebrity (Ivan R. Dee).


thetennesseestar--2020-12-07--Intel Chief Urges John Durham to Release Interim Report in Order to Protect Investigation

John Ratcliffe , the Director of National Intelligence , urged U.S. Attorney John Durham on Sunday to release an interim report on his investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia probe , saying that the American public should have record of the investigation in case the Biden administration shuts it down .
“ I think the American people should know what ’ s happening in a two-year investigation into this and I hope that that report will be forthcoming , ” Ratcliffe said in an interview on Fox News ’ s “ Sunday Morning Futures.
” Attorney General William Barr @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to continue his investigation into whether government officials broke the law during the investigation of the Trump campaign .
Barr ’ s order says that Durham must produce a final report of his investigation and that he can release interim reports before the probe is over .
Some Democrats have questioned whether Durham is a duly appointed special counsel .
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff ( D-CA ) noted in a Tuesday interview that the regulations for the appointment of special counsels requires that the prosecutor come from outside government .
Schiff @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attorney general should review Durham ’ s investigation to consider whether to allow the investigation to remain open .
“ I would presume the next attorney general will look to see if there is any merit to the work that John Durham is doing and make a rational decision about whether that should continue at any level , ” Schiff said in an interview on MSNBC .
The California Democrat called the Durham investigation “ politically motivated ” and indicated that he believes it should be shut down .
Barr tapped Durham , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ May 13 , 2019 , to conduct a review of the FBI ’ s investigation of the Trump campaign and other U.S. agencies ’ Trump-related intelligence-gathering activities .
The inquiry has since morphed into a full criminal investigation .
Durham is investigating the findings of a Justice Department inspector general ’ s report that said the FBI misled a federal court in order to obtain warrants to surveil former Trump campaign aide Carter Page .
Ratcliffe said that Schiff ’ s remarks show that “ an interim report be appropriate .
“ It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s a good faith basis to continue and protect the work that ’ s been done , ” Ratcliffe said .
“ I would encourage my colleagues over at the Department of Justice and at the FBI and in particular , special counsel Durham , to consider doing that , so that the American people can get the full accounting that they deserve.
” Ratcliffe has provided hundreds of intelligence documents to Durham ’ s team as part of his investigation .
He announced on Oct. 7 that he had sent 1,000 pages @ @ @ @ @ @ @ support the probe .
Ratcliffe has also consulted with Durham regarding the declassification of FBI and intelligence documents regarding the Trump campaign and Russia .
Ratcliffe , a former U.S. attorney and former member of the House Intelligence Committee , also said on Sunday that he believes that Durham should issue additional indictments in his investigation .
Durham has prosecuted one case so far in the probe .
Former FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmith pleaded guilty on Aug. 19 to altering an email from the CIA regarding Carter Page .

by Chuck Ross
John Ratcliffe, the Director of National Intelligence, urged U.S. Attorney John Durham on Sunday to release an interim report on his investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia probe, saying that the American public should have record of the investigation in case the Biden administration shuts it down.
“I think the American people should know what’s happening in a two-year investigation into this and I hope that that report will be forthcoming,” Ratcliffe said in an interview on Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures.”
Attorney General William Barr appointed Durham special counsel on Oct. 19 to continue his investigation into whether government officials broke the law during the investigation of the Trump campaign.
Barr’s order says that Durham must produce a final report of his investigation and that he can release interim reports before the probe is over.
Some Democrats have questioned whether Durham is a duly appointed special counsel. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) noted in a Tuesday interview that the regulations for the appointment of special counsels requires that the prosecutor come from outside government.
Schiff suggested that Biden’s pick for attorney general should review Durham’s investigation to consider whether to allow the investigation to remain open.
“I would presume the next attorney general will look to see if there is any merit to the work that John Durham is doing and make a rational decision about whether that should continue at any level,” Schiff said in an interview on MSNBC.
The California Democrat called the Durham investigation “politically motivated” and indicated that he believes it should be shut down.
Barr tapped Durham, the U.S. attorney for Connecticut, on May 13, 2019, to conduct a review of the FBI’s investigation of the Trump campaign and other U.S. agencies’ Trump-related intelligence-gathering activities.
The inquiry has since morphed into a full criminal investigation. Durham is investigating the findings of a Justice Department inspector general’s report that said the FBI misled a federal court in order to obtain warrants to surveil former Trump campaign aide Carter Page.
Ratcliffe said that Schiff’s remarks show that “an interim report be appropriate.
“It would show whether or not there’s a good faith basis to continue and protect the work that’s been done,” Ratcliffe said. “I would encourage my colleagues over at the Department of Justice and at the FBI and in particular, special counsel Durham, to consider doing that, so that the American people can get the full accounting that they deserve.”
Ratcliffe has provided hundreds of intelligence documents to Durham’s team as part of his investigation. He announced on Oct. 7 that he had sent 1,000 pages of records to the Justice Department to support the probe.
Ratcliffe has also consulted with Durham regarding the declassification of FBI and intelligence documents regarding the Trump campaign and Russia.
Ratcliffe, a former U.S. attorney and former member of the House Intelligence Committee, also said on Sunday that he believes that Durham should issue additional indictments in his investigation.
Durham has prosecuted one case so far in the probe. Former FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmith pleaded guilty on Aug. 19 to altering an email from the CIA regarding Carter Page.
– – –
Chuck Ross is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.


thetennesseestar--2020-12-07--Rubio Calls for More Small Business Loan Money in Compromise COVID-19 Relief Bill

The $ 908 billion pandemic stimulus compromise package being discussed in the U.S. Senate is a hopeful sign of progress , Florida Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio said , but it won ’ t garner his support until more assistance is tabbed for small businesses .
The four-month emergency package introduced Tuesday by a bipartisan coalition of senators and House representatives on Capitol Hill would fund transportation , food assistance , coronavirus testing centers and the Paycheck Protection Program ( PPP ) crafted by Rubio ’ s Small Business and Entrepreneurship Senate Committee to help businesses pay their employees during @ @ @ @ @ @ @ After adopting the $ 2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid , Relief and Economic Security ( CARES ) Act in March , House Democrats and Senate Republicans have failed since July to approve another stimulus package .
The $ 908 billion compromise measure would allocate $ 288 billion for a PPP extension .
Senate Leader Mitch McConnell ’ s counteroffer is a $ 500 billion package that includes $ 255 billion for PPP .
House Democrats passed in October the $ 2.2 trillion HEROES Act , which has gained little traction in negotiations with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ billion for PPP while allowing expenses paid for with PPP funds to be tax deductible .
Congress needs to pass a budget by Dec. 11 to avoid a federal shutdown .
The compromise measure presented this week would expire March 31 .
It is crucial for small businesses that Congress adopts an assistance package before year ’ s end , Rubio said in a statement , applauding “ my colleagues for coming together to provide a COVID Relief Framework , including a much-needed second round of Paycheck Protection Program loans for small businesses.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ far more than $ 300 billion to reactivating and extending the PPP , he said , and replicate the $ 700 billion in PPP funding authorized under the CARES Act .
“ It is important to note that at its current ( funding ) level , the proposal barely provides enough to fund a second round of Paycheck Protection Program loans , and does not provide sufficient funds to help small businesses , restaurants , entertainment venues , and others to help them weather the second wave , ” Rubio said .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It needed to happen this fall .
Enough is enough .
Let ’ s get this done.
” In addition to more PPP money , Rubio called for more funding for Economic Injury Disaster Loans ( EIDL ) .
PPP was designed partially by the Senate Small Business panel Rubio chairs as a forgivable government loan to small businesses affected by the pandemic .
Essentially , businesses that employ 500 or fewer people can use the loans to cover payroll and business expenses .
In many instances , if they sustain payroll and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to repay the loans .
According to data on borrowers and loan amounts released by the U.S. Small Business Administration ( SBA ) this week , nearly 423,000 Florida businesses used $ 32 billion in PPP loans authorized under the CARES Act to pay the salaries of 3.3 million Florida workers between April and November .
That ’ s nearly one-third more than the 2.12 million newly jobless Floridians who applied for unemployment benefits during the same time span .
Florida businesses received 381,455 PPP loans under $ 150,000 each , totaling around @ @ @ @ @ @ @ businesses received PPP loans of more than $ 150,000 , totaling $ 20.7 billion , according to the SBA .
“ It ’ s clear that the PPP has been the most successful piece of the bipartisan CARES Act , and it ’ s great news that so many Florida small businesses were able to take advantage of this historic lifeline to prevent from closing and to keep their employees paid , ” Rubio said in a statement to the Miami Herald .
John Haughey is a contributor to The Center Square .

by John Haughey
The $908 billion pandemic stimulus compromise package being discussed in the U.S. Senate is a hopeful sign of progress, Florida Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio said, but it won’t garner his support until more assistance is tabbed for small businesses.
The four-month emergency package introduced Tuesday by a bipartisan coalition of senators and House representatives on Capitol Hill would fund transportation, food assistance, coronavirus testing centers and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) crafted by Rubio’s Small Business and Entrepreneurship Senate Committee to help businesses pay their employees during shutdowns rather than lay them off.
After adopting the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act in March, House Democrats and Senate Republicans have failed since July to approve another stimulus package.
The $908 billion compromise measure would allocate $288 billion for a PPP extension. Senate Leader Mitch McConnell’s counteroffer is a $500 billion package that includes $255 billion for PPP.
House Democrats passed in October the $2.2 trillion HEROES Act, which has gained little traction in negotiations with the Senate. It also earmarks $288 billion for PPP while allowing expenses paid for with PPP funds to be tax deductible.
Congress needs to pass a budget by Dec. 11 to avoid a federal shutdown. The compromise measure presented this week would expire March 31.
It is crucial for small businesses that Congress adopts an assistance package before year’s end, Rubio said in a statement, applauding “my colleagues for coming together to provide a COVID Relief Framework, including a much-needed second round of Paycheck Protection Program loans for small businesses.”
Whatever stimulus package emerges must allocate far more than $300 billion to reactivating and extending the PPP, he said, and replicate the $700 billion in PPP funding authorized under the CARES Act.
“It is important to note that at its current (funding) level, the proposal barely provides enough to fund a second round of Paycheck Protection Program loans, and does not provide sufficient funds to help small businesses, restaurants, entertainment venues, and others to help them weather the second wave,” Rubio said. “It should have happened this summer. It needed to happen this fall. Enough is enough. Let’s get this done.”
In addition to more PPP money, Rubio called for more funding for Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL).
PPP was designed partially by the Senate Small Business panel Rubio chairs as a forgivable government loan to small businesses affected by the pandemic. Essentially, businesses that employ 500 or fewer people can use the loans to cover payroll and business expenses. In many instances, if they sustain payroll and expenses, they don’t need to repay the loans.
According to data on borrowers and loan amounts released by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) this week, nearly 423,000 Florida businesses used $32 billion in PPP loans authorized under the CARES Act to pay the salaries of 3.3 million Florida workers between April and November.
That’s nearly one-third more than the 2.12 million newly jobless Floridians who applied for unemployment benefits during the same time span.
Florida businesses received 381,455 PPP loans under $150,000 each, totaling around $11 billion, and 41,686 Florida businesses received PPP loans of more than $150,000, totaling $20.7 billion, according to the SBA.
“It’s clear that the PPP has been the most successful piece of the bipartisan CARES Act, and it’s great news that so many Florida small businesses were able to take advantage of this historic lifeline to prevent from closing and to keep their employees paid,” Rubio said in a statement to the Miami Herald.
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John Haughey is a contributor to The Center Square.


thetennesseestar--2020-12-07--Commentary: A Date Which Will Live in Infamy

Seventy-nine years ago today , the Japanese launched a surprise attack against the United States at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii .
The devastation was immense , but the action did not knock the United States out of the war as the Japanese hoped .
Here is President Roosevelt ’ s complete speech to Congress requesting a declaration of war .
It includes the famous line “ a date which will live in infamy , ” which is often mistakenly quoted as “ a day that will live in infamy.
” Mr. Vice President , Mr. Speaker , Members of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Representatives : Yesterday , December 7th , 1941 — a date which will live in infamy — the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan .
The United States was at peace with that nation and , at the solicitation of Japan , was still in conversation with its government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific .
Indeed , one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American island of Oahu , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and his colleague delivered to our Secretary of Statea formal reply to a recent American message .
And while this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations , it contained no threat or hint of war or of armed attack .
It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago .
During the intervening time , the Japanese government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces .
I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost .
In addition , American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu .
Yesterday , the Japanese government also launched an attack against Malaya .
And this morning , the Japanese attacked Midway Island .
Japan has , therefore , undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area .
The facts of yesterday and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation .
As Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy , I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense .
But always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us .
No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion , the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory .
I believe that I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost , but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us .
Hostilities exist .
There is no blinking at the fact that our people , our territory , and our interests are in grave danger .
With confidence in our armed forces , with the unbounding determination of our people , we will gain the inevitable triumph — so help us God .
I ask that the Congress declare that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Japan on Sunday , December 7th , 1941 , a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese empire .
Devin is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Charlemagne Institute , which operates Intellectual Takeout , Chronicles : A Magazine of American Culture , and the Alcuin Internship .

by Devin Foley
Seventy-nine years ago today, the Japanese launched a surprise attack against the United States at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The devastation was immense, but the action did not knock the United States out of the war as the Japanese hoped.
Here is President Roosevelt’s complete speech to Congress requesting a declaration of war. It includes the famous line “a date which will live in infamy,” which is often mistakenly quoted as “a day that will live in infamy.”
Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, Members of the Senate, and of the House of Representatives:
Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy — the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.
The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific.
Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American island of Oahu, the Japanese ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our Secretary of Statea formal reply to a recent American message. And while this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or of armed attack.
It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time, the Japanese government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.
The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost. In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.
Yesterday, the Japanese government also launched an attack against Malaya.
Last night, Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong.
Last night, Japanese forces attacked Guam.
Last night, Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands.
Last night, the Japanese attacked Wake Island.
And this morning, the Japanese attacked Midway Island.
Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.
As Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense. But always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us.
No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.
I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us.
Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger.
With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph — so help us God.
I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7th, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese empire.
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Devin is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Charlemagne Institute, which operates Intellectual Takeout, Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture, and the Alcuin Internship.


thetennesseestar--2020-12-07--Loeffler Attacks Warnock as ‘Radical Liberal’ in Georgia U.S. Senate Debate

Georgia Republican U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler lambasted her Democratic opponent Raphael Warnock for his liberal proposals during a debate Sunday night .
Loeffler faces Warnock in a high stakes runoff election Jan. 5 – one of two U.S. Senate runoffs in Georgia that will determine which party holds power in the Senate moving forward .
Loeffler called Warnock a Marxist and a socialist who would raise taxes and change Georgia ’ s values .
“ The Democrats want to fundamentally change America , and the agent of change is my opponent , radical liberal Raphael Warnock , ” Loeffler said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the pulpit .
Someone that has attacked our military .
Someone that has agreed to raise taxes on hardworking Georgians as much as $ 2,000 per family , off the bat.
” Warnock said Loeffler , who is the wealthiest member of Congress , does not care about “ ordinary Georgians ” and uses her political power for financial gain .
He said Loeffler ’ s attacks aim to stir attention away from her poor policy track record while in office .
“ I ’ m concerned that Washington is not focused @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ You can ’ t tell the difference between Washington backrooms and corporate boardrooms .
My opponent represents the worst of that kind of problem.
” The outcome of the race and a second runoff race between Republican incumbent Sen. David Perdue and Democrat Jon Ossoff will determine partisan control of the U.S. Senate .
Republicans are fighting to maintain their majority hold .
If both Democrats win , a 50-50 balance of power will exist , with the vice president holding a tie-breaker vote .
Loeffler , a businesswoman , was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the resignation of former Sen. Johnny Isakson .
Loeffler has a net worth of $ 800 million , Forbes estimated , but referred Sunday to her early life on an Illinois farm .
Loeffler has been criticized and was investigated by the U.S. Justice Department for trading stocks after advance warning of the COVID-19 outbreak .
However , investigators closed the case , finding no wrongdoing on Loeffler ’ s part .
Loeffler touted the coronavirus relief package passed by Congress in late March as one of her achievements as a senator .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus aid for Americans .
“ My opponent radical liberal Raphael Warnock would be a rubber stamp for [ Sen. ] Chuck Schumer and [ House Speaker ] Nancy Pelosi as they try to use this pandemic to put the cost on the back of hardworking Georgians in the form of high taxes to fundamentally change America , and I ’ m not going to stand by and let that happen , ” Loeffler said .
Warnock said his comments about law enforcement and the military were taken out of context , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ I actually brought together the law enforcement officers here in this city , the chief of police , Black Lives Matter activists , the sitting attorney general , families , parents , all in my church , focused on working on these issues that we ’ ve seen emerge time and time again , ” said Warnock , who serves as senior pastor at the Atlanta church that was led by the Rev .
Martin Luther King Jr. Loeffler also criticized Warnock for a sermon in which he said , “ you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ military.
” Warnock said the ceremony originated from a text in the Bible that says , “ you can ’ t serve God and mammon , ” which refers to not serving “ two masters.
” Both opponents used the Bible as a reference for the debate Sunday , as Warnock was questioned about his ability to separate church from state .
Warnock said the political position would allow him to continue his ministry , advocating for health care , voting rights , essential workers and ordinary people .
Loeffler vowed to keep @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 if reelected .
“ The Jobs Act that Raphael Warnock would overturn would raise taxes on single moms , making $ 39,000 with two kids .
Their taxes would go up 20 % , ” Loeffler said .
“ That ’ s not a way to help hardworking families here in Georgia succeed.
” Perdue and Ossoff also were invited to participate in the debate series hosted by the Atlanta Press Club on Sunday , but Perdue declined .
Reporters interviewed Ossoff during the time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ staff reporter for The Center Square .
She was the managing editor for the South Florida Media Network and a staff writer for The Miami Times .
Daniel ’ s work has also appeared in the Sun-Sentinel , Miami Herald and The New York Times .

by Nyamekye Daniel
Georgia Republican U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler lambasted her Democratic opponent Raphael Warnock for his liberal proposals during a debate Sunday night.
Loeffler faces Warnock in a high stakes runoff election Jan. 5 – one of two U.S. Senate runoffs in Georgia that will determine which party holds power in the Senate moving forward.
Loeffler called Warnock a Marxist and a socialist who would raise taxes and change Georgia’s values.
“The Democrats want to fundamentally change America, and the agent of change is my opponent, radical liberal Raphael Warnock,” Loeffler said. “Someone that has attacked police from the pulpit. Someone that has attacked our military. Someone that has agreed to raise taxes on hardworking Georgians as much as $2,000 per family, off the bat.”
Warnock said Loeffler, who is the wealthiest member of Congress, does not care about “ordinary Georgians” and uses her political power for financial gain. He said Loeffler’s attacks aim to stir attention away from her poor policy track record while in office.
“I’m concerned that Washington is not focused on ordinary people,” Warnock said. “You can’t tell the difference between Washington backrooms and corporate boardrooms. My opponent represents the worst of that kind of problem.”
The outcome of the race and a second runoff race between Republican incumbent Sen. David Perdue and Democrat Jon Ossoff will determine partisan control of the U.S. Senate. Republicans are fighting to maintain their majority hold. If both Democrats win, a 50-50 balance of power will exist, with the vice president holding a tie-breaker vote.
Loeffler, a businesswoman, was appointed to the seat last year after the resignation of former Sen. Johnny Isakson. Loeffler has a net worth of $800 million, Forbes estimated, but referred Sunday to her early life on an Illinois farm. Loeffler has been criticized and was investigated by the U.S. Justice Department for trading stocks after advance warning of the COVID-19 outbreak. However, investigators closed the case, finding no wrongdoing on Loeffler’s part.
Loeffler touted the coronavirus relief package passed by Congress in late March as one of her achievements as a senator. She blamed Democrats for holding up additional coronavirus aid for Americans.
“My opponent radical liberal Raphael Warnock would be a rubber stamp for [Sen.] Chuck Schumer and [House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi as they try to use this pandemic to put the cost on the back of hardworking Georgians in the form of high taxes to fundamentally change America, and I’m not going to stand by and let that happen,” Loeffler said.
Warnock said his comments about law enforcement and the military were taken out of context, and he is against defunding the police.
“I actually brought together the law enforcement officers here in this city, the chief of police, Black Lives Matter activists, the sitting attorney general, families, parents, all in my church, focused on working on these issues that we’ve seen emerge time and time again,” said Warnock, who serves as senior pastor at the Atlanta church that was led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Loeffler also criticized Warnock for a sermon in which he said, “you can’t serve God and the military.” Warnock said the ceremony originated from a text in the Bible that says, “you can’t serve God and mammon,” which refers to not serving “two masters.”
Both opponents used the Bible as a reference for the debate Sunday, as Warnock was questioned about his ability to separate church from state. Warnock said the political position would allow him to continue his ministry, advocating for health care, voting rights, essential workers and ordinary people.
Loeffler vowed to keep taxes low and protect school-choice programs and the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 if reelected.
“The Jobs Act that Raphael Warnock would overturn would raise taxes on single moms, making $39,000 with two kids. Their taxes would go up 20%,” Loeffler said. “That’s not a way to help hardworking families here in Georgia succeed.”
Perdue and Ossoff also were invited to participate in the debate series hosted by the Atlanta Press Club on Sunday, but Perdue declined. Reporters interviewed Ossoff during the time slot instead.
Watch the full debate:
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Nyamekye Daniel is a staff reporter for The Center Square. She was the managing editor for the South Florida Media Network and a staff writer for The Miami Times. Daniel’s work has also appeared in the Sun-Sentinel, Miami Herald and The New York Times.


thetennesseestar--2020-12-07--Georgia GOP, in New Complaint, Says Jon Ossoff Works Illegally with Chuck Schumer

Georgia GOP Executive Director Stewart Bragg on Sunday filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission alleging that Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jon Ossoff coordinates — illegally — with a group tied to Chuck Schumer .
Schumer ( D-NY ) is the U.S. Senate Minority leader .
Bragg ’ s complaint specifically alleges that Ossoff works with The Georgia Way , a Schumer-affiliated PAC .
This , according to an emailed press release that the Georgia Republican Party released Sunday .
As reported , U.S. Sen. David Perdue ( R-GA ) and U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler ( R-GA ) are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the U.S. Senate against Ossoff and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Raphael Warnock , respectively .
“ The Georgia Way is a Super-PAC that was recently organized on November 16 , 2020 in an apparent effort by the Senate Majority PAC and Senator Chuck Schumer to make targeted campaign efforts for Senatorial candidate , Jon Ossoff , in the Georgia Senatorial run-offs , ” according to Bragg ’ s complaint .
“ With receipts of over $ 5,050,000.00 to date , Georgia Way has already disbursed $ 4,922,487.00 on federal operating expenditures and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to have been coordinated with Jon Ossoff for Senate in efforts to defame Senator David Perdue.
” As of Sunday night , Ossoff and members of his campaign had not mentioned the complaint on his campaign ’ s Facebook page .
Bragg , in his complaint , said The Georgia Way released an ad “ directly tracking language , sources , and claims made on Jon Ossoff for Senate ’ s campaign website.
” “ The sudden organization and immediate sequence of The Georgia Way ’ s advertisement indicates that it is in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ publishing communications of similar conduct and content , ” according to the complaint .
“ This type of behavior is contrary to federal law prohibiting candidates from coordinating with super PACs , and the Commission must immediately investigate and enforce the law.
” Bragg said in the complaint that Jon Ossoff for Senate , last month , published a campaign update on its website , electjon.com .
The campaign update referenced a link for individuals to click to learn more .
That link , the complaint added , directed users to a “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Know ” newsletter including other research links .
Four days later , on November 16 , 2020 , The Georgia Way filed their statement of organization .
Later that month , The Georgia Way released an ad titled “ Cashed In.
” The ad concerned the same conduct and context as Ossoff ’ s campaign update on Perdue , the complaint said .
“ Based on the timing , messaging , conduct , and context of the campaign update and the advertisement , Jon Ossoff for Senate is coordinating its message against Senator @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s newly formed committee , The Georgia Way .
This conduct has resulted in the airing of at least one advertisement that likely constitutes an illegal $ 690,200 in-kind donation to Jon Ossoff for Senate ’ s campaign , ” according to the complaint .
“ The Commission should investigate what we see as a clear violation , otherwise we believe that candidates will continue coordinating with outside groups in violation of the FECA .
As such , GAGOP respectfully requests the Commission immediately investigate and hold the Respondents accountable.
” Chris Butler @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Star .
Follow Chris on Facebook .
Email tips to [ email protected ]

Georgia GOP Executive Director Stewart Bragg on Sunday filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission alleging that Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jon Ossoff coordinates — illegally — with a group tied to Chuck Schumer.
Schumer (D-NY) is the U.S. Senate Minority leader.
Bragg’s complaint specifically alleges that Ossoff works with The Georgia Way, a Schumer-affiliated PAC.
This, according to an emailed press release that the Georgia Republican Party released Sunday.
As reported, U.S. Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) and U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) are on the January 5, 2021 ballot for the U.S. Senate against Ossoff and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Raphael Warnock, respectively.
“The Georgia Way is a Super-PAC that was recently organized on November 16, 2020 in an apparent effort by the Senate Majority PAC and Senator Chuck Schumer to make targeted campaign efforts for Senatorial candidate, Jon Ossoff, in the Georgia Senatorial run-offs,” according to Bragg’s complaint.
“With receipts of over $5,050,000.00 to date, Georgia Way has already disbursed $4,922,487.00 on federal operating expenditures and independent expenditures, all of which appear to have been coordinated with Jon Ossoff for Senate in efforts to defame Senator David Perdue.”
As of Sunday night, Ossoff and members of his campaign had not mentioned the complaint on his campaign’s Facebook page.
Bragg, in his complaint, said The Georgia Way released an ad “directly tracking language, sources, and claims made on Jon Ossoff for Senate’s campaign website.”
“The sudden organization and immediate sequence of The Georgia Way’s advertisement indicates that it is in coordination with Jon Ossoff for Senate in publishing communications of similar conduct and content,” according to the complaint.
“This type of behavior is contrary to federal law prohibiting candidates from coordinating with super PACs, and the Commission must immediately investigate and enforce the law.”
Bragg said in the complaint that Jon Ossoff for Senate, last month, published a campaign update on its website, electjon.com. The campaign update referenced a link for individuals to click to learn more. That link, the complaint added, directed users to a “Campaign Update: What Georgians Need to Know” newsletter including other research links.
Four days later, on November 16, 2020, The Georgia Way filed their statement of organization. Later that month, The Georgia Way released an ad titled “Cashed In.” The ad concerned the same conduct and context as Ossoff’s campaign update on Perdue, the complaint said.
“Based on the timing, messaging, conduct, and context of the campaign update and the advertisement, Jon Ossoff for Senate is coordinating its message against Senator Perdue with the Senate Majority PAC’s newly formed committee, The Georgia Way. This conduct has resulted in the airing of at least one advertisement that likely constitutes an illegal $690,200 in-kind donation to Jon Ossoff for Senate’s campaign,” according to the complaint.
“The Commission should investigate what we see as a clear violation, otherwise we believe that candidates will continue coordinating with outside groups in violation of the FECA. As such, GAGOP respectfully requests the Commission immediately investigate and hold the Respondents accountable.”
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected]