Updated with a correction and additional information at 4:54 p.m. ET
There we sat, ready to wrap up this week’s Friday Letter with some observations about Alejandro Mayorkas, the inept and truth-challenged Secretary of Homeland Security, and his assurance that everything is just swell on the border. Five hundred thirty-six words in the can.
We knew Joe Biden was finally going to hold a press conference, we knew he would only call on friendly journalists, we knew he had their questions in advance, we knew his answers would be scripted. All you had to do was watch him fumble though his playbook for answers to realize that no information of any relevance would be forthcoming today. The vacant stare was certainly a giveaway. But Alejandro will have to wait for our Tuesday Substack post. This was too good to pass up. Such is the peril of writing a Friday column on Wednesday .
Was it Joe’s announcement that he plans to run for re-election in 2024? Interesting enough, given that his declining mental capacity is too obvious to ignore, even by insiders. Was it his revelation that Trump is responsible for all the woes the country faces today? Hardly.
What caught our attention was no surprise at all. The scene played out exactly as scripted. And so we turn the rest of this section over to the CBS News chief White House correspondent, Nancy Cordeo, and the President of the United States, Joe Biden. As you hear her questions, imagine that she is grilling Donald J. Trump.
Nancy Cordeo, CBS News: I want to go back to voting rights. Republican legislators across the country are working to pass bills that would restrict voting. In particular, Democrats fear impacting minority voters and young voters – the very people who helped get you elected last November. Are you worried that if you don’t manage to pass voting rights legislation that your party is going to lose seats and possibly lose control of the House and the Senate in 2022?
Joe Biden, President of the United States: What I’m worried about is how un-American this whole initiative is. It’s sick. It’s sick. Deciding in some state that you cannot bring water to people standing in line wanting to vote. Deciding that you’re going to end voting at 5 o’clock when people are just getting off work. Deciding that there will be no absentee ballots under the most rigid circumstances. It’s all designed, and I’m going to spend all my time doing three things: (Note 1, below)
One, trying to figure out how to pass legislation passed by the House (H.R. 1). Number two, educating the American public. The Republican voters I know find this despicable. Republican voters . . . I am convinced that we’ll be able to stop this because it is the most pernicious thing. This makes Jim Crow look like Jim Eagle. This is gigantic what they’re trying to do. And it cannot be sustained. (Note 2, below)
Cordes: Us there anything else you could do besides passing legislation?
Biden: The answer is yes, but I’m not going to lay out a strategy in front of the whole world (Note 3)
Later, Biden asked, “Where am I here?” Wish we knew.
Notes 1. Joe promised three things but only gave two. Note 2. Jim Crow laws were enacted and enforced by your party, Joe, the Democrat Party. Note 3. The whole world being people who have a right to know.
Understanding the absurdity of both Cordes’ questions and Biden’s answers requires a minimal understanding of H.R. 1, described here and at Gov Track. How do state legislatures intend to “restrict voting”? Through the draconian practice of requiring people to prove who they say they are with photo identification – required on airplanes, Amtrak trains, car rental agencies, bank lobbies, doctors’ offices, and so on.
The conservatives’ rising star vetoed a popular bill that would require boys to play on boys’ sports teams and girls to play on girls’ teams after Amazon, the South Dakota Chamber of Commerce, and the NCAA threatened to retaliate. This video was shot on Monday, and the story is developing. We will have more on Tuesday.
Short takes on the news
So much for truth as a defense. The University of Cincinnati won’t renew the contract of an engineering professor because he called the Chinese coronavirus the Chinese coronavirus. . . .
Biden pulls Elizabeth Klein’s nomination as deputy Interior Department secretary after Sen. Lisa Murkowski objects. Klein advocated for climate change policy and renewable energy at a New York law school; Murkowski objects to her opposition to the oil and gas industry. Earlier Murkowski and Sen. Collins of Maine broke the tie and voted to confirm Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, an anti-energy industry activist. . . .
U.S. Rep. Jody Hice of Georgia will challenge Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger next year in the Republican primary. Conservatives say Raffensperger and Gov. Brian Kemp caved to Democrat pressure led by failed governor candidate Stacy Abrams and allowed voter fraud to steal Georgia’s electoral votes from Trump. Trump’s supporters are most outraged by Raffensperger signing a consent decree with Democrats that eliminated signature matching on absentee ballots. That point would be moot if H.R. 1, now before the Senate, passes. H.R. 1 would prohibit states from requiring identification to vote in national elections, and eliminates matching signatures. . . .
Quote for today
“The fact that the White House is instructing federal agencies to replace ‘Biden’ with ‘Biden-Harris’ after less than 60 days is indicative of the struggle Joe Biden is already having being president. This is a signal that he can’t do the job alone.”
– Richard Grenell, former ambassador to Germany and former acting Director of National Intelligence
Letters
The clear unconstitutionality of H.R. 1
I highly doubt a Democrat has ever taken the time to actually read and comprehend the U.S. Constitution. In fact, putting the two words “Constitution” and “Democrat” in the same sentence is a dichotomy itself.
H.R. 1 – the so called “For the People Act of 2021” – passed in the House without a single Republican vote and is now before the Senate. It would decimate election integrity across the country by codifying into law all the fraudulent schemes that occurred during the last election cycle.
This bill would mandate same-day and automatic voter registration, encourage vote trafficking of absentee ballots, eviscerate state voter ID laws, and limit the ability of states to verify the accuracy of their voter registration lists. If not stopped, then Americans may never be able to trust the fairness and credibility of future election outcomes.
It says in the US Constitution, Article 1, Section 4.
“The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of choosing Senators.”
Clearly, Congress has no right to prescribe blanket election laws for all the states, as it is attempting to do with H.R. 1. They only have the authority to speak to those laws in the several states on issues of integrity or correction.
Engaging their usual genius, the Founders recognized the potential for evil intention and thus created a process for decentralizing election activities among the states in order to mitigate any widespread fraud.
Called out by the Founders almost 250 years ago, the Democrats are now, in their lust for power, attempting to create centralized, command and control elections that will allow for massive wide-spread fraudulent activity.
The states need to push back on this one.
Jim Kallinger Tallahassee
A former member of the Florida House of Representatives, Mr. Kallinger is founder of the National Association of Former State Legislators, currently in organization
Share this post
Surprises that aren't: Joe's first presser
Share this post
The Friday Letter No. 433 / Orlando, Florida
Passover begins at sundown Saturday / Palm Sunday
Updated with a correction and additional information at 4:54 p.m. ET
There we sat, ready to wrap up this week’s Friday Letter with some observations about Alejandro Mayorkas, the inept and truth-challenged Secretary of Homeland Security, and his assurance that everything is just swell on the border. Five hundred thirty-six words in the can.
We knew Joe Biden was finally going to hold a press conference, we knew he would only call on friendly journalists, we knew he had their questions in advance, we knew his answers would be scripted. All you had to do was watch him fumble though his playbook for answers to realize that no information of any relevance would be forthcoming today. The vacant stare was certainly a giveaway. But Alejandro will have to wait for our Tuesday Substack post. This was too good to pass up. Such is the peril of writing a Friday column on Wednesday .
Was it Joe’s announcement that he plans to run for re-election in 2024? Interesting enough, given that his declining mental capacity is too obvious to ignore, even by insiders. Was it his revelation that Trump is responsible for all the woes the country faces today? Hardly.
What caught our attention was no surprise at all. The scene played out exactly as scripted. And so we turn the rest of this section over to the CBS News chief White House correspondent, Nancy Cordeo, and the President of the United States, Joe Biden. As you hear her questions, imagine that she is grilling Donald J. Trump.
Nancy Cordeo, CBS News: I want to go back to voting rights. Republican legislators across the country are working to pass bills that would restrict voting. In particular, Democrats fear impacting minority voters and young voters – the very people who helped get you elected last November. Are you worried that if you don’t manage to pass voting rights legislation that your party is going to lose seats and possibly lose control of the House and the Senate in 2022?
Joe Biden, President of the United States: What I’m worried about is how un-American this whole initiative is. It’s sick. It’s sick. Deciding in some state that you cannot bring water to people standing in line wanting to vote. Deciding that you’re going to end voting at 5 o’clock when people are just getting off work. Deciding that there will be no absentee ballots under the most rigid circumstances. It’s all designed, and I’m going to spend all my time doing three things: (Note 1, below)
One, trying to figure out how to pass legislation passed by the House (H.R. 1). Number two, educating the American public. The Republican voters I know find this despicable. Republican voters . . . I am convinced that we’ll be able to stop this because it is the most pernicious thing. This makes Jim Crow look like Jim Eagle. This is gigantic what they’re trying to do. And it cannot be sustained. (Note 2, below)
Cordes: Us there anything else you could do besides passing legislation?
Biden: The answer is yes, but I’m not going to lay out a strategy in front of the whole world (Note 3)
Later, Biden asked, “Where am I here?” Wish we knew.
Notes 1. Joe promised three things but only gave two. Note 2. Jim Crow laws were enacted and enforced by your party, Joe, the Democrat Party. Note 3. The whole world being people who have a right to know.
Understanding the absurdity of both Cordes’ questions and Biden’s answers requires a minimal understanding of H.R. 1, described here and at Gov Track. How do state legislatures intend to “restrict voting”? Through the draconian practice of requiring people to prove who they say they are with photo identification – required on airplanes, Amtrak trains, car rental agencies, bank lobbies, doctors’ offices, and so on.
Ø Steve’s new video: Did Kristie cave?
The conservatives’ rising star vetoed a popular bill that would require boys to play on boys’ sports teams and girls to play on girls’ teams after Amazon, the South Dakota Chamber of Commerce, and the NCAA threatened to retaliate. This video was shot on Monday, and the story is developing. We will have more on Tuesday.
Short takes on the news
So much for truth as a defense. The University of Cincinnati won’t renew the contract of an engineering professor because he called the Chinese coronavirus the Chinese coronavirus. . . .
Biden pulls Elizabeth Klein’s nomination as deputy Interior Department secretary after Sen. Lisa Murkowski objects. Klein advocated for climate change policy and renewable energy at a New York law school; Murkowski objects to her opposition to the oil and gas industry. Earlier Murkowski and Sen. Collins of Maine broke the tie and voted to confirm Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, an anti-energy industry activist. . . .
U.S. Rep. Jody Hice of Georgia will challenge Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger next year in the Republican primary. Conservatives say Raffensperger and Gov. Brian Kemp caved to Democrat pressure led by failed governor candidate Stacy Abrams and allowed voter fraud to steal Georgia’s electoral votes from Trump. Trump’s supporters are most outraged by Raffensperger signing a consent decree with Democrats that eliminated signature matching on absentee ballots. That point would be moot if H.R. 1, now before the Senate, passes. H.R. 1 would prohibit states from requiring identification to vote in national elections, and eliminates matching signatures. . . .
Quote for today
“The fact that the White House is instructing federal agencies to replace ‘Biden’ with ‘Biden-Harris’ after less than 60 days is indicative of the struggle Joe Biden is already having being president. This is a signal that he can’t do the job alone.”
– Richard Grenell, former ambassador to Germany and former acting Director of National Intelligence
Letters
The clear unconstitutionality of H.R. 1
I highly doubt a Democrat has ever taken the time to actually read and comprehend the U.S. Constitution. In fact, putting the two words “Constitution” and “Democrat” in the same sentence is a dichotomy itself.
H.R. 1 – the so called “For the People Act of 2021” – passed in the House without a single Republican vote and is now before the Senate. It would decimate election integrity across the country by codifying into law all the fraudulent schemes that occurred during the last election cycle.
This bill would mandate same-day and automatic voter registration, encourage vote trafficking of absentee ballots, eviscerate state voter ID laws, and limit the ability of states to verify the accuracy of their voter registration lists. If not stopped, then Americans may never be able to trust the fairness and credibility of future election outcomes.
It says in the US Constitution, Article 1, Section 4.
“The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of choosing Senators.”
Clearly, Congress has no right to prescribe blanket election laws for all the states, as it is attempting to do with H.R. 1. They only have the authority to speak to those laws in the several states on issues of integrity or correction.
Engaging their usual genius, the Founders recognized the potential for evil intention and thus created a process for decentralizing election activities among the states in order to mitigate any widespread fraud.
Called out by the Founders almost 250 years ago, the Democrats are now, in their lust for power, attempting to create centralized, command and control elections that will allow for massive wide-spread fraudulent activity.
The states need to push back on this one.
Jim Kallinger
Tallahassee
A former member of the Florida House of Representatives, Mr. Kallinger is founder of the National Association of Former State Legislators, currently in organization
The Friday Letter is updated later Friday at The News-Guardian.