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Strategically Speaking, I Do Not Understand the Point of Larry Elder’s Campaign

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Former radio host and failed California gubernatorial candidate Larry Elder is running for president because, apparently, some people thought the “kids’ table” debates in 2016 were a good thing.

I will not lie to you and say he has a path to victory. I cannot even pretend to you that there is even a path to double digits in the polls. He could surprise us and get to five percent, but that would require just somehow staying financially afloat while all the other candidates drop out. I don’t see it happening.

But Elder really thinks he has a shot, and he’s proving that he’s all-in on Larry Elder (because someone has to be) with recent media hits. Recently, he did a lengthy interview with Elex Michaelson of Fox 11 in Los Angeles (the full video of the interview can be found at the end of this op-ed). During that interview, he essentially argued that he could be Trump without being Trump, and he seems to think he’s got a great path to suburban women.

For years, people asked Rush Limbaugh to run for office. Dan Bongino, one of the 1142 hosts trying to occupy the old Limbaugh spot on the radio, ran for office before getting his radio gig. Both men would tell you the same thing if you asked them both right now: Under no circumstances would they run.

The thing about talk radio is that you can have great ratings and be really popular among your audience. But the moment you become a partisan political candidate, the very nature of your talk radio program means roughly half of the electorate is not going to vote for you ever. You may get lucky and get some independents, but the fact remains that you are a talk show host and that’s it. There’s nothing else that makes you appealing as a political candidate.

Elder began his professional life as a lawyer before becoming a political commentator. Unlike Trump, he’s never run a business, and he doesn’t have the same level of charisma Trump has. He can say he’s all “America First” and what have you, but part of what made Trump so successful at it is how he inspired (and still inspires) people to die on various hills defending him. Elder doesn’t inspire that. Not even close.

When it comes to some of the other non-Trump and non-DeSantis candidates in the race, you can at least see a path to victory, even if it’s a longshot candidacy that will probably not succeed. Tim Scott is making a play for evangelicals and trying to win back Republicans who care less about the fighting and more about working toward solutions and common ground. Nikki Haley is hoping to bring in the war hawk wing of the party, as well as women. Mike Pence is likewise popular among evangelicals and hopes to use his faith to gain traction.

Elder doesn’t have any of that to run on, and as you watch the interview, you realize he doesn’t even seem all that serious about trying to find a path. He’s running, but that’s about all you get out of the interview. It sort of seems like a waste of time.

California Justice: Hatchet-Harboring Former Bank Robber Torches Student’s Head, Gets No Prison or Probation

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We hear a lot about “social” justice, but how is actual justice being dished across our once-united states? When it comes to serving red-hot punishment, California, for one, isn’t on fire.

Consider the case of Brandon McGlone. According to witnesses, on September 14th, 2020, he accosted a slew of strangers in Alameda County.

Per the Berkeley Scanner:

[Brandon] told a man sitting at a Durant Avenue parklet that he “wanted to light someone on fire,” saying, “If I don’t get to see my family tonight, someone else doesn’t get to see their family tonight. And I choose you.”

The man testified (in court) that he had been sitting…outside Artichoke Basille’s Pizza…when he noticed [Brandon] bothering some students nearby.

The contents of a person’s hands occasionally indicate avoidance is well-advised…

[Brandon] walked up to the man while holding a can of WD-40 in one hand and a lighter in the other, he testified.

At some point, [Brandon] began chasing the man down Durant and sprayed him with WD-40, according to testimony.

From there, reportedly, Brandon chemically coated a customer in line at Taco Bell Cantina. The recipient skedaddled before a pyro party could get lit. At the Feng Cha Tea House, however, a couple of UC Berkeley students lacked such luck.

[Brandon] sprayed…them with WD-40 and used a lighter to ignite the gas, creating a massive fireball, witnesses said.

But don’t take their word for it:

The students’ friends subsequently scuffled with Brandon in the street. But the flaming felon was packing more than firepower:

During the fight, according to testimony, [he] first pulled out a knife and then pulled out a hatchet.

As stated in court papers, he was “in possession of matches, two lighters, clothing that smelled of gasoline, a can of WD-40, and four glass bottles filled with gasoline subsequently identified as Molotov cocktails.”

Fortunately for the accused, a deft defense was offered. Per his attorney, Brandon had been experiencing “a very dark time, a very bad time.” That potent argument ostensibly won the room.

There had also been an earlier incident, to which Brandon alluded amid his WD-40 spree:

[P]olice said he attacked his (school teacher) wife (on September 1st), striking her repeatedly with a pistol and punching her in the face. He then fled the scene, leaving her with an open head wound…

…

[Brandon] had agreed to bring over groceries but showed up empty-handed, she said. The two were still married, with an 11-year-old daughter, but did not live together.

[He]…accused her, out of the blue, of being a prostitute, she said. … The woman said [he] became irate when she laughed. He insisted she was “in a prostitution ring” with two of her friends.

He must not have been carrying his canister of combustion…

The woman testified that [Brandon]…choked her and pushed her against a wall on the porch, which was near their daughter’s bedroom. …

…

Then he punched her in the face and told her to “shut up” over and over as she repeated “Oh my God,” she said.

Enter an altogether different kind of heat:

Then [he] pulled out [a] gun…and pointed it at her face, just two inches away. The black Glock had an Air Force logo on it and was [his] favorite gun, she said.

Due to a 1999 federal bank robbery conviction, he wasn’t legally allowed to possess a pistol.

Continuing:

[He] struck her twice in the head, she said, splitting open her scalp.

Brandon, who worked as an EMT after being honorably discharged, was described by his lawyer as suffering from PTSD. His time in the service had also caused his substance abuse.

It seems that was an excellent explanation, as he secured a plea deal. Brandon entered no-contest to the following:

  • Assault with a deadly weapon
  • Possession of a destructive device
  • Three counts of assault with caustic chemicals
  • Assault with a firearm
  • Carrying a loaded firearm (concerning the domestic violence case)

All other charges were dropped.

A 10-year protective order was set for his wife and daughter. Additionally, the judge issued stay-away orders related to nine other people across Oakland and Berkeley.

Sentencing would be postponed for two years, Judge (James) Cramer explained, with the cases to be dismissed at that time upon successful completion of [a “diversion program”].

Forty-nine-year-old Brandon is no longer in custody, but don’t get it twisted — leniency won’t be his:

In closing remarks, the judge also observed that the court’s referral to the diversion program was not in itself a guarantee: If [Brandon] was ultimately not accepted into treatment, “I’ll rip all these papers up and we’ll be back at square one,” Cramer said from the bench.

On June 2nd, he’s required to appear in Veterans Treatment Court. From the website:

This court accepts veterans with misdemeanors or felonies, pre- or post-plea. Veterans in this program are dealing with PTSD, alcoholism, military sexual trauma and other issues. This program connects veterans with the benefits they have earned in service to our country. This program helps veterans change their lives and gain legal relief.

There was a time when setting people ablaze was so frowned-upon as to produce a prison sentence. These days, we’re a more sensitive society — at least toward perpetrators whose propellants are partnered with PTSD. Will Brandon’s story serve as a cautionary tale, convincing would-be criminals not to set strangers on fire or critically assault school teachers? We can hope — with any luck, they’re all deathly afraid of diversion programs.

-ALEX

See more content from me:

Iconic Gun Brand’s Rep Tweets Her Way Into Bud Light Territory, Company Reverses Course Fast as a Six-Shooter

Anti-Woke Actress: Marvel Star Defends Macho Men Unafraid to ‘Punch Someone in the Face’

Sex Ed: State University Film Class Enjoys Instruction by Award-Winning Porn Star

Find all my RedState work here.

Thank you for reading! Please sound off in the Comments section below.

Poll: In a Head-to-Head Matchup for Senate, Republican Eric Early Comes out on Top, Increases Dems’ Urgency to Replace Feinstein

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A Berkeley IGS poll is showing some surprising strength for the Republican candidate running for California Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein’s seat. If offered a head-to-head matchup between attorney Eric Early and the currently declared candidates: Rep. Katie Porter (D-Orange County), Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland), Early comes out on top.

Porter, Schiff, and Lee’s campaigns are passing out the smelling salts.

The poll covered voters’ views on Sen. Feinstein’s health problems and whether she should remain in the Senate.

From the Berkeley IGS poll director, Mark DiCamillo’s overview:

The latest statewide Berkeley IGS Poll completed this week asked California voters for their opinions about the state’s senior U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, who only last week returned to the Senate after an extended absence due to a health setback from complications related to shingles. The Senator had previously announced that she would not seek re-election in 2024, but also said she intends to serve out the rest of her term through the end of next year.

As RedState has reported, Feinstein is truly not doing well, and key Democrats, including California Governor Gavin Newsom, are demanding she resign before she finishes her term. My colleague Sister Toldjah wrote:

We have been reliably informed going back decades about how Democrats are allegedly the party of “compassion.” But on the issue of Dianne Feinstein’s future in the U.S. Senate, we’ve seen a whole lot of masks slipping, which in the process has revealed a level of ugliness rarely put on such obvious display by Democrat “leaders.”

When last we left you with Feinstein, the Democrat/media conundrum over her situation was taking an unseemly turn, with the additional, previously unknown “medical complications” she faced during her prolonged shingles bout taking center stage in a way the press has in the past been very reluctant to do with Democrats.

As I noted at the time, though concerning information about an elected official’s health is something voters deserve to know about, my issue with the piece was in the timing, because it came at an awfully convenient time for the contingent of Democrats and media types – including the Times – who want Feinstein to resign now so someone more “woke” can be installed in her place.

Newsom is salivating like a rabid dog to appoint another Senator, with the guarantee that once incumbency is established, it’s pretty much inevitable that they will never be voted out (he’s not wrong). His latest float: California’s own Dalai Lama, Oprah, because, why not?

But according to the poll, Californians are also very concerned about Feinstein’s current health situation, viewing it as “increasingly problematic.”

Two-thirds of the registered voters polled (67%) agreed with the statement, “Feinstein’s latest illness underlines the fact that she is no longer fit to continue serving in the U.S. Senate.” Agreement extends to voters of all political stripes. Voters are less one-sided when asked what the best resolution would be for Feinstein. The largest proportion (42%) believes it would be best for Feinstein to resign from the Senate and allow Governor Gavin Newsom to appoint a successor, while27% favor her continuing to serve and end her long Senate career on her own terms. But many voters (31%) are undecided or are choosing to withhold judgement.

Significantly, support for Feinstein’s resignation and the appointment of a replacement by the Governor is greatest among fellow Democrats and liberals, who favor that outcome greater than two to one. By contrast, more Republicans and strong conservatives oppose than support her resignation ostensibly because it would enable Newsom to appoint her successor.

Shorter: They don’t think their opinion will matter, because if Feinstein resigns, Newsom’s gonna Newsom (they’re not wrong).

But a surprise outlier found in this poll is probably putting chills up Democrat spines.

In addition, the poll finds Feinstein’s overall standing with voters continuing to decline. Just 29% of the state’s voters now view the Senator favorably, down 8 percentage points from February and nearly 20 points lower than when she ran for re-election in 2018.The poll also asked likely voters in next year’s March 2024 primary election their voting preferences for U.S. Senate, and the results indicate that the race remains a wide-open affair.

Bunched closely together atop the field are the only major Republican to have entered the race, attorney Eric Early, with 18%, Democratic Congresswoman Katie Porter at 17% and Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff at 14%. Democratic Congresswoman Barbara Lee trails at 9%. But a huge 32% remain undecided in the race, while another 10% say they would support “someone else.”

It’s a one-point difference, and Porter is shiftier than Adam Schiff, but the fact that Early is leading at all should give people pause, and should get the California GOP off their asses, particularly since 32 percent of those polled are essentially undecided.

Although Democratic voters outnumber Republicans nearly two to one in California, Early’s relatively strong standing in the poll is due to his being the top choice of large proportions of Republican and conservative voters, while the state’s much larger pool of Democratic voters are dividing their support among the three major Democratic contenders.

Here is where canvassing, knocking doors, and the art of policy persuasion can make a huge difference between just being in the race and actually winning the race. Remember, California’s primary is a top-two vote getter—no matter what the party affiliation. With three Democrats splitting that vote, it’s Early’s race to lose. If Early is smart, he’ll take advantage of this and do the work to win those undecideds over.

Porter and Schiff are no doubt spitting nails, whether they have to face an election or an appointment. Schiff has done enough damage in Congress and desperately wants to become a Senator, so he can do more. If Newsom is given the opportunity to appoint Feinstein’s successor, he knows it won’t be him. Same with Porter, who has milked her single-mom, fight the power schtick beyond its sell-by date. Newsom is intent on playing the diversity card, and white, effeminate, and female no longer make that cut. Perhaps Schiff and Porter should consider becoming transgender. There’s a frightening thought.

Lee, who is Black, is at the bottom of this pack in an electoral matchup, barely trailing at two percent. Newsom loves the bright, shiny object of celebrity, along with the diversity. He also needs to make amends for his moon walk on reparations, so if he is truly considering Oprah, and Oprah wants it, you know that’s a done deal—bye, bye, Barbara.

Democrats may also be playing with fire by pushing Feinstein over the proverbial cliff. While she is an inconsistent vote, she’s a guaranteed vote for their agenda. Bringing in an appointed Senator at this point, while they would be a consistent vote, is no guarantee that they would vote in the direction Schumer and the other Democrat senators want. See, Arizona, Sinema, Kyrsten.

Any way you slice it, Democrats are on the ropes and rending their garments. That alone is worth the popcorn.

Now the Left Is Attacking Target Too: Here Comes Gavin Newsom With a Shameful Hot Take

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We’ve been reporting on the controversy involving Target and the promotion of LGBTQ clothing/products to children, including things like children’s books such as “Bye Bye Binary” and “I’m Not a Girl.”

There are also these books with the suggested age from 4-8 years old in the “juvenile fiction” genre.

Here’s a “fun sing-along book” that “encourage[s] kids to “embrace all the playfulness of drag culture.”

Some of the Target stores have now reportedly removed some of the LGBTQ merchandise and/or moved it to the back of the store, although they haven’t identified what items were removed. While the store is blaming “threats,” it’s likely more in response to the economic backlash from some calling for a boycott against the company because of items directed toward children.

Now, prepare for the boycott coming from the left, as California Gov. Gavin Newsom (otherwise known as “He Who Wants to Be President” if Joe Biden steps aside) attacked Target for removing the products.

“CEO of Target Brian Cornell selling out the LGBTQ+ community to extremists is a real profile in courage. This isn’t just a couple [of] stores in the South. There is a systematic attack on the gay community happening across the country.

Wake up America.

This doesn’t stop here. You’re black? You’re Asian? You’re Jewish? You’re a woman?

You’re next.”

This is a dishonest response from Newsom as to what’s being said here. What you have is people objecting to products that are targeted at kids, not attacking the gay community as some who are gay told Newsom. Notice how He Who Would Like to Be President also speaks dismissively of a “couple of stores in the South.”

Newsom also got busted for the rest of that screed for trying to push fear-mongering in regard to other groups. Some noted that he hasn’t stood up for defending women against biological men competing in women’s sports, for example.

As our Managing Editor Jennifer Van Laar also observed, where was Newsom when it came to the anti-Catholic group that mocks nuns who are being “honored” by the Los Angeles Dodgers?

Strangely, Newsom seems to be among the missing when it comes to speaking on behalf of real nuns or Catholics. That doesn’t appear to fit into the liberal narrative.

Plus, as we noted, despite moving the products, Cornell seems to be doubling down with his remarks claiming that woke marketing was “just good business,” digging an even bigger hole for the company. But that’s not saving him from Newsom’s attack.

One of the reasons that Newsom is making comments like this is because he couldn’t possibly promote himself based on his record in California. If he were honest, he’d have to say how so many have fled the state because of the horrible Democratic policies that he pushes. If he were honest, he would have to acknowledge things like how much more of a hellhole places like San Francisco have become under his regime.

Report: Gavin Newsom Considering Cowardly Move in Event Dianne Feinstein Retires Early

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While the push has been on in woke Democratic circles to shove Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) out the door before her last term in office is over, there has also been a coordinated effort among Feinstein’s “allies” to make sure she doesn’t.

The reasons are obvious but nevertheless intriguing even to those not predisposed to obsessing over the finer points of behind-the-scenes political machinations.

The most vocal proponent on the “Feinstein must retire” side has been Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who is rumored to be considering a future run for president but who for now seems content with being the co-chair for Rep. Barbara Lee’s (D-Calif.) 2024 Senate run.

Khanna has on the surface tried to make this about Feinstein and her allies needing to “put country over party,” but in reality, an early Feinstein retirement has the potential to benefit Khanna by making Lee’s path to the Democratic Senate nomination easier.

Why? Because Gov. Gavin Newsom has in the past stated that he would pick a “woman of color” to replace Feinstein in the short term. Appointing Lee obviously would give her a running head start over her competitors.

That last point is something that seriously concerns former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), whose daughter, Nancy Corinne Prowda, has been acting in a caregiving role for Feinstein in recent weeks and has been seen close by her side during some of her recent appearances on Capitol Hill.

Ostensibly, this has been to ensure Feinstein’s well-being, but the rumor mill has it that Pelosi is having her daughter keep close tabs on Feinstein to make sure she doesn’t retire early, which would hurt Pelosi’s choice for the seat – Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who is also a declared candidate.

But back to Newsom, as the unseemly debate continues over whether Feinstein should stay in the Senate or retire to her California home, he is reportedly considering his options to replace her in the event she decides to go ahead and head for the exits.

One person who is said to be on the list of people he has in mind to fill her seat? Longtime talk show host and big-money Democrat backer Oprah Winfrey:

In filling a Senate vacancy, Newsom has the authority to name a successor. He could even pick himself, though that is unlikely. State rules dictate when an election would have to be held.

Newsom’s choices all run risks.

He could get entangled in the ongoing Senate campaign and choose one of the declared candidates to fill a Feinstein vacancy.

Another option would be to select a caretaker, and then leave it to voters to decide in next year’s election — someone who would hold the seat but is not a Senate candidate. That’s where names like Winfrey come up — a celebrity who is Black and happens to meet Newsom’s appointment pledge. However, Newsom also might find it challenging to land on someone willing to take a short-term appointment.

If he picked one of the declared Senate candidates, Newsom would unsettle the growing field and elevate that person to frontrunner status. U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, who is Black, is already running against fellow Democratic Reps. Katie Porter and Adam Schiff, who both are white.

According to the California politics experts at SFGate, there’s a “solid chance” this rumor is “something more” than just one being mindlessly “floated in California circles”:

The Associated Press does state that “a range of names, from obscure to famous” have been “floated in California circles,” so this could simply be a case of the publication deciding Winfrey, with her celebrity status, was the only one worth mentioning. But there’s a pretty solid chance it’s something more.

If so, this would absolutely be the coward’s way out for Newsom, who would avoid any cries of “favoritism” from his party in the event he chose Winfrey, who doesn’t have an ounce of political experience, over the others being floated to fill the seat.

But in a way, this would be par for the course for the “New Newsom,” should it come to pass. After all, he’s the guy bizarrely running around the country portraying wokesters in his party including himself as the “sane” alternatives to “extremist MAGA Republicans” who he says would take this country back decades if they get any more powerful – all while leaving out the fact that the Democrat policies he supports, like transgender women in women’s sports, are actually doing just that.

It would be just like him at this point to play the “middle of the road” placator type in the Senate race, trying not to ruffle the feathers of any of the major political power players he would need to make a formidable presidential run in the future a reality.

Then again, this isn’t really the “New Newsom” here at all, come to think about it. In fact, it sounds like the same Newsom we’ve always known, willing to put his personal and political ambitions ahead of doing what’s right for the residents of his state.

In other words, same crap, different day, same feckless “leader.” Despite continually picking the wrong people for the job, Californians really do deserve better than this.

Related: Ted Cruz Spills the Tea on Backroom Democrat Campaign to Replace Dianne Feinstein