Trump Cards, Con't

The annual CPAC gathering of conservative grifters is this week outside DC, and the capstone was Donald Trump's screaming, explicit two-hour tirade against his enemies list, giving his rank-and-file supporters marching orders about what to do when the Mueller report hits.

President Donald Trump on Saturday delivered a scorched-earth speech to conservative activists, calling the Russia investigation "bullshit," adopting a southern accent to mock his former attorney general, and asserting that some members of Congress "hate our country."

The rollicking two-hour-plus appearance at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland offered the president a brief respite from an otherwise miserable week in which his much-touted summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un ended in failure and his former personal lawyer delivered explosive testimony to Congress.

Trump, basking in the adoration of the crowd, largely glossed over the North Korea summit's collapse, instead reviving several of his greatest hits, from rehashing the 2016 election to obsessing over the crowd size at his inauguration.

The speech amounted to a boatload of red meat for conservatives, with Trump promising he’ll protect them from undocumented immigrants, socialism and liberal Democrats he claims are dead set on bankrupting the country with proposals like the Green New Deal.

“You know I’m totally off script right now,” Trump said at the beginning of his speech. As his meandering speech continued, it became clear that his assessment was an understatement.

At one point, Trump regaled the crowd with a story about a general he said was named "Raisin Caine" (it wasn't immediately clear who he was referring to). He said he always sits with the pilots when airplanes are landing: "They know what we’re doing." He said he has good eyesight and later added, "I don’t have white hair." He derided a Hawaii senator as a "crazy person." And he accused Hollywood of discriminating against conservatives.

He even revisited his campaign kickoff speech from June 2015. "From day one, I mentioned the word rape. If you look at that first speech, that was very innocent compared to what’s happening," Trump said. Trump came under fire for his 2015 comments, which appeared to broadly assert that Mexicans were rapists.

Throughout, Trump revealed himself to be a president deeply scorned by what he views as unfair media coverage and a lack of recognition from many in Washington. "I get no credit," he said multiple times throughout the lengthy speech.

But the crowd gave him credit.  It was a malignant narcissist's wet dream, Trump basking in the adoration of his hateful fans while he pumped them full of vitriol, screaming about how he has been persecuted and by inference, all of his voters.

And he dared them to get out there and to stop his enemies, promising he would force colleges to give conservative "free speech" or lose all federal funding, declaring Democrats to be enemies of the country who hate America, attacking Robert Mueller as a traitor, and worse, declaring America is "one people, one family and one nation."

This was a disturbing, demented, and dangerous speech.  We've now reached the point where Trump knows he's not going to make it to a second term, and he's going to see this country and millions burn on the way down.

E pluribus Unum went right out the window. Trump's America is what Dear Leader Donald says it is.  And anyone else will be dealt with...

Enemies Of The People

The Republican Party knows it lost the House in 2018 because of Trump, so now it is trying to demonize House Democrats by whatever means necessary in order to enrage its base to take action against them.  The GOP will tell you of course that the action they prefer is "voting" but, you know, whatever works to stop the Democratic party.

The reverberations of an anti-Muslim poster on display at the West Virginia Capitol rotunda continue, with the House Sergeant at Arms resigning and talk of possible discipline against a lawmaker who allegedly injured a doorkeeper Friday.

Sgt. at Arms Anne Lieberman resigned Friday afternoon after delegates accused her of using an anti-Muslim slur. "The sergeant of arms of this body had the nerve to say to us 'all Muslims are terrorists' that's beyond shameful and that's beyond freedom of speech," Del. Michael Angelucci, D-Marion, said.

The poster that sparked the controversy consisted of two photos. The upper photo was a picture of the World Trade Center towers during the 9/11 attack. A caption read, "'NEVER FORGET' - YOU SAID.."

Below it was a photo of Minnesota Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, wearing a hijab. Omar is Muslim, and was one of two Muslim women elected to Congress. That picture's caption said, "I AM PROOF - YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN."

The anti-Muslim display was outside the House of Delegates chamber as part of a “Republicans Take the Rotunda” event.

A lawmaker told us Friday evening that the House Rules Committee will meet at 8 a.m. Saturday to decide if Del. Mike Caputo, D-Marion, will face repercussions for allegedly injuring a doorkeeper during an angry outburst regarding the poster. Caputo is the minority whip in the House.

Caputo admitted to kicking the door because he wanted to get into the chamber and he said he was being blocked. "We have created an anger that I have never witnessed in 23 years in this body and it sickens me. It absolutely sickens me. So yeah, I kicked the door open I'll own it," Caputo said. The doorkeeper was taken to the hospital for evaluation.

Democrats in the House spoke out against the poster, saying it is the second hateful event to happen in that legislative body during this session. They referred back to when Del. Eric Porterfield, R-Mercer, compared the LGBTQ community to the Ku Klux Klan.

West Virginia Republicans essentially accusing Rep. Ilhan Omar and American Muslims of causing 9/11 is just expressing the vile hatred in their hearts.  They know that in the era of Trump they don't have to hide it anymore, they can freely post Facebook memes as recruitment posters for their two-minute hate sessions.

And if something happened to Rep. Omar, not a one of them would lose a wink of sleep.

America, this is your Republican party.

Meanwhile In Bevinstan...

Kentucky is the latest state to embrace the gun death culture as apparently our elected officials here feel we need to get rid of the background check, training, and permit fee for concealed carry.

Kentucky lawmakers sided with a powerful gun-rights organization Friday in approving a bill to let people carry a concealed handgun without a permit or training.

The measure, backed by the National Rifle Association, sparked impassioned debate in the House that veered between gun ownership rights and fears of more gun violence. The bill won final passage on a 60-37 vote and goes to Republican Gov. Matt Bevin.

"This comes down to a constitutional right. We have a right in this country to own and bear arms," Republican Rep. John Blanton said in supporting the measure.

Under the legislation, Kentuckians able to lawfully possess a firearm could conceal their weapons without a license. A gun-carrying permit in the state now carries a fee and a gun safety training requirement. Objections from opponents included dropping the training requirement as a condition for carrying concealed weapons.

"The right to carry a weapon in our society — as with all rights — comes with responsibility," Democratic Rep. Maria Sorolis said. "And this bill provides no protection for responsibility by gun owners to know their weapon, to be able to use them well."

Bevin's office did not immediately respond to an email asking if the governor will sign it into law. Bevin, a staunch conservative, is seeking re-election this year.

If Senate Bill 150 becomes law, Kentucky would become the 16th state to allow adults statewide to carry concealed firearms without permits, according to the NRA.

Kentucky now requires people to get a permit before they can carry a concealed firearm in the state. To do that, they have to undergo a background check, complete some gun safety training and pay a $60 fee.

The legislation would allow people who are at least 21 years old and meet other legal requirements for gun ownership to carry a concealed firearm without a permit.

Supporters said the measure makes no changes regarding where and when people can possess concealed weapons.

The bill sailed through the Republican-led Senate on a 29-8 vote last month.

Kentucky is already an open carry state on top of all this, but again, it's up to Matt Bevin.  This didn't pass the General Assembly by a veto-proof margin, although it was close.  Bevin I'm sure will sign the bill, he loses re-election for sure if he doesn't.

There will be consequences though, and those consequences will be deadly.