We Need To Think of Impeachments as Room Fresheners

 

"The first Attorney General to go to prison [John N. Mitchell] did so because he convinced himself that the ends justified the means and that the law was pliable in his hands. Pam Bondi should take that to heart, if she has a heart."

--Rick Wilson

And the way you consolidate and perpetuate power is by so thoroughly demonizing opponents — by blasting so much contempt at them — that your own failures, corruption and cruelty become irrelevant. You needn’t answer for your fatal thuggery in Minneapolis if you can render its casualties sufficiently contemptible. You needn’t answer questions from a “washed-up, loser lawyer” or a “failed politician” at all....

Pam Bondi opted for contempt. It’s the Trumpian way. But is it the American one? Has the country sunk quite this far? I don’t think so. She and her fellow insult mongers aren’t owning the libs; they’re beclowning themselves. And it’s a repellent circus.

--Frank Bruni 

“I don’t think Pam Bondi has confidence in Pam Bondi. She wasn’t confident enough to engage in anything but name-calling in a hearing. And so no, I don’t have confidence in her.”

--Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky 

From where I was sitting, it looked like the attorney general pretty much invited the United States Congress to impeach her.

--John Stoehr, Raw Story

 

Joey Osborne Goes Foxx-Hunting

I've paid little attention to Congresswoman Virginia Foxx's primary opponents. She always has 'em. She always beats 'em. They're like the mayflies of politics, so I don't invest much time in them. But I may have missed the boat with Joey Osborne, a millionaire entrepreneur running in the 5th District Republican primary with two others, Roman H. Chad Williams II and Steve Girard, all three diluting each other's potential solo strength against Foxx if, say, Joey Osborne had the Foxx opposition to himself. 

Joseph "Joey" Osborne got his start as an entrepreneur growing a family business in mosquito control into the largest mosquito control company in the US, headquartered in Hickory, with some 500 locations across the nation. He says on his Linked-In page, "I've created more than 50 business models for myself and others. Businesses that I've founded have generated more than half a billion dollars in revenue, creating more than 100 millionaires in the process." Some of those businesses: BizLab, 10X Innovations, Mainline Brands.

He's a very rich entrepreneur conservative who tells us he's conservative in the Calvin Coolidge mold, and I believe him. Old Cal was an honest man. There was not one ounce of greed in him, none of the me-first ethos of later times. Osborne talks intelligently about Coolidge in a 5-minute video titled "What My Conservatism Actually Looks Like," in which he makes the implicit comparison to trumpist politicians who grab and grow rich in office rather than actually practicing conservative values. "I don’t believe leadership should enrich the officeholder. I believe it should serve the public." Who has enriched herself the most in office if not Virginia Anne Foxx? She's known as one of the most high-volume stock traders in Congress, and it makes you wonder. (I can't copy Osborne's 5-min video here but you might want to watch it here.)

I looked deeper into Mosquito Authority and was pleased to read this about the ingredients in his spray: "We utilize all-natural, plant-based mosquito solutions with alternative botanical ingredients. The ingredients in our essential oil blend have been used for centuries to keep mosquitoes away." "Alternative botanical ingredients" sound delicious, but I'd like to know more. I'm naive about what else may be in his spray that I wouldn't brag about, but I take note that Osborne developed it to protect his three little girls who liked to be in the yard past dark on summer nights, and it doesn't seem likely to me that he would expose his daughters to toxins. He's not a greed-ass.

He seems more than merely intelligent -- actually downright bright (you can see it in his eyes) -- and calm and reasonable (even if I'm going to disagree with him on everything else, from abortion to well fare), with the inherent good sense of a practical man looking to make things work. He hinted in a most cryptic way that he was a solution-seeking moderate back in 2020 when he and 10 others ran in the Republican primary for the NC-11 seat. Osborne came in seventh. Lynda Bennett and Madison Cawthorn went to a run-off, which Cawthorn-of-Blessed-Memory won. Anyway, in 2020 Osborne said this to a reporter from the Asheville Citizen-Times: "I would never say that I would compromise my principles, but I think there always is a space between the divides.” I like the way he thinks, if I understand what "space between the divides" means.

The Berger/Page Meet-Up

 

I found the time to watch the Phil Berger vs. Sam Page "town hall." The event was hosted by the Rockingham Co. Republican Party on Feb. 5th and featured an odd format: the two candidates had been given four questions -- some of them pretty sharp and specific about negative advertising -- and both Berger and Page got to read aloud what they had written -- essentially, canned talking points (and Berger's much better at that than Page) -- so there was nothing alive or spontaneous about their "joint appearance" -- except my getting to witness Phil Berger, seated not two feet from his nemesis and looking like death, hear without wincing Sam Page blame him for the repeal of the Bathroom Bill. The repeal. So Sam Page wants to bring back the Bathroom Bill.

A high point for me was when Berger read his accusation that the Democratic Party was actively meddling in the primary. "They want Sam Page to win because I'm so effective in the Senate." That's a paraphrase. And it's the absolute truth. I don't know a Democratic operative who wouldn't applaud a Berger loss. If Berger collapses ... is grist for fantasy.

But Sheriff Sam Page? He presents as kind of a clown to be honest. With Berger beside him in "business casual" (no tie), Page shows up like he's playing an 1890s Utah sheriff, in red plaid shirt overlaid by a grey outdoorsman vest, the ensemble topped by a big black Western hat. Page takes himself very seriously. His white handlebar mustache added just the right splash of light under the dark brim of that cowboy hat.

They both touted their devotion to Trump and their closeness to trumpism, though Sam Page actually implicated the president for offering a bribe. The President called me, Page said, and I was very appreciative of the call. He actually offered me a high level job in his administration. 

Give the sheriff credit for not taking the bribe.

Josh Stein Still Fighting for Control of SBOE. Bless Him!

 

Dallas Woodhouse

Gov. Josh Stein is suing the GOP-controlled General Assembly over its last-minute seizure of the State Board of Elections, which they gave lock-stock-and-barrel to their new bestie, Dave Boliek, the brand new State Auditor and conservative fan boy. ("There's no fanatic like a new convert.") The General Assembly pulled off the blatant power grab between Josh Stein's landslide victory over Mark Robinson on November 5th, 2024, and the swearing in of Josh Stein as our 76th governor on January 1st, 2025. Now that's hustling for any deliberative body (maybe not so much for one in lockstep like the Berger/Moore congregation was).

Very shortly after Stein whupped Robinson, GOP lawmakers introduced Senate Bill 382, cleverly attaching Hurricane Helene relief to their plan to sneak in provisions stripping the governor's control of the State Board of Elections, among other things. (They also took powers from Attorney General Jeff Jackson and other members of the Council of State.) Gov. Cooper, still in office, vetoed S 382. Republicans overrode. Immediately, the new czar of elections, Dave Boliek, hires extreme partisan Republican hit-man Dallas Woodhouse to "teach" local county boards of election how best to suppress the vote. The very recent elimination of three university polling sites testifies to Woodhouse's malign presence. 

Of course Stein took it to court, and he won at the trial court level. A panel of three superior court judges agreed that the section of S 382 taking powers from the executive was unconstitutional. The Court of Appeals -- dominated 12-3 by Republicans -- quickly stepped in and blocked that ruling, allowing the law to take effect on May 1st.

Stein is right now back in court asking a new panel of Appeals Court judges to overturn previous court orders that allowed Boliek to take over elections board appointments last spring.

Kyle Ingram was there in court February 10th -- yesterday -- to hear the arguments, and he captured the essential gist:

Attorneys for Stein argued that the power shift — which transferred appointments to Republican State Auditor Dave Boliek — sets a dangerous precedent for separation of powers, wherein the legislature can consistently reassign responsibilities to whichever executive office holder agrees with their policy preferences.

“The legislative position is that there are no limits on their power to assign executive duties on the Council of State,” Eric Fletcher, a lawyer for Stein, said. “They say that they can assign, tomorrow, election administration to the Commissioner of Agriculture. That they can send agricultural policy to the Commissioner of Insurance. And they can assign road-building to the Superintendent of Public Instruction.” 

Attorneys for legislative leaders argued that it was within the General Assembly’s duty to reassign executive powers as they please, so long as the powers in question are not explicitly assigned in the constitution.

The three judges hearing the arguments: John Arrowood (D), Valerie Zachary (R), and April Wood (R). Wanna guess how invested in partisanship those two Republican judges are?

Fire Sale

 

“In a country that amended the Constitution to ban beer… then fixed it when we realized it was dumb… surely we can amend it again to say corporations aren’t people and money isn’t speech.” 

--Pete Buttigieg, 16 January 2025, LaCross, Wisconsin town hall

Analyst Brian Allen said Amen! 

"We corrected Prohibition. We can correct Citizens United. Democracy shouldn’t be for sale."

Hubbard and Creekmore Face Off in an Appstate Town Hall

 

Jack Yordy, guest-posting:

On Thursday, I attended an event hosted by the College Democrats of Appalachian State University with special guests Chuck Hubbard and Kyah Creekmore: the Democratic candidates for the 5th congressional district of North Carolina.

I’ve known of Mr. Hubbard since his run for Virginia Foxx’s seat in 2024. While somewhat awkward initially and slow to talk about himself, he struck me as a well-meaning man interested in serving the people of this district. The first time I met him, he told me about his daughter and her wife, and about how worried he was for them in the post-Roe vs. Wade America. Chuck didn’t strike me as a progressive but certainly not as a centrist ideologue or ‘do-nothing-democrat’ either. Over the last two years I’ve watched him evolve as a candidate, building out his operation and beginning to grow into what might be a unique campaign brand. Though there’s a lot he could do to improve, I would be happy to see him win our blood-red district. He’s never failed to show up for us in Watauga and at App State when asked, and it’s clear to me that he cares about the people of this district.

Kyah I had not known until very recently, when he showed up uninvited to a town hall for Chuck Hubbard late last semester after apparently ignoring prior outreach by the App College Democrats. My first impression of Kyah was, therefore, not great, but I am not one to rule out ambitious young people who make mistakes. After checking out his social media and website, I reached out to him to express my disappointment and let him know that I felt his actions reflected poorly on other young people attempting to run for office. He apologized and explained that he had not ignored the College Democrats outreach, rather that he had unfortunately missed their correspondence and had made the assumption, upon seeing the College Dems’ post about a town hall with Chuck, that they were deliberately leaving him out. He expressed regret for making this assumption and resolved to do better.

I was skeptical, especially when I saw “Democratic Socialist” in his bio on Instagram. Though I lean toward that side of the party, after his assumption that there was some kind of establishment plot by the App State College Democrats to leave him out of their event, I worried that he might take a hostile (and unnecessary) posture toward local parties and auxiliaries. I was very glad to see him return to App State in a different context Thursday evening. Some candidates might have decided their efforts would be better spent elsewhere after a bad first impression, but not Kyah.

Leading up to the discussion between the two candidates, I was open-minded. I think Chuck Hubbard is a good man, and that he would be a good congressman who would contribute to the progressive agenda. I think Kyah is a highly passionate, unique, and intelligent communicator, and though he’s a bit of a wildcard, I believe we need more young progressives running for office. I was wondering if tonight, he would show me he’s the kind of young person we need winning those races.

The event was a success. The College Democrats achieved the highest turnout I’ve seen at a meeting at least since 2024. The participants were very engaged and asked questions for nearly an hour. The discussion by the candidates was in-depth, respectful, and interesting. I was very surprised by Chuck Hubbard’s performance. My frank expectation was that Kyah would outflank him by speaking to the progressive moment, and while Kyah is no doubt the most progressive candidate in the race, Chuck looks like a pragmatic but passionate progressive. The only issue I took with Chuck was his support of Hakeem Jeffries as Speaker of the House, though he lambasted Chuck Schumer and stated emphatically, “He’s got to go.” Kyah brought the typical young left-wing energy and analysis. His communication style and some of his novel policy proposals, while perhaps over-ambitious or even extreme, impressed me and, I think, the room. I walked out of the event feeling grateful that we have two strong, progressive candidates running in this race. I will keep my voting intentions private, and while I have thoughts on who the stronger candidate to beat Virginia Foxx is, I would be happy with either of these gentlemen representing the 5th district in Congress.

Below are my unedited notes from the town hall:

Did Virginia Foxx kill her neighbor?

Kyah: She’s a Karen, annoying, riled up, snitch, bad neighbor - not someone you want to be in community with. Policymaking: she sides with predators and billionaires in Epstein files

Chuck: Virginia didn’t let neighbor cross her property. Road had not been fixed and neighbor had a 4-wheeler accident. We’re supposed to look after our neighbors and be good neighbors, she isn’t. She was fired from App State. Helene- Virginia damaged FEMA

Criticism of Democratic Party: low integrity, not aggressive enough pushing back against GOP. Do you guys have the confidence to maintain a strong integrity while playing aggressively against GOP?

Chuck: If you don’t have integrity you don’t have much. You have to be able to believe what I say, that’s important to me. Also, we are too passive and we need to fight GOP. I spent my whole career in journalism promoting the truth.

Kyah: Integrity is absolutely pivotal. We have two parties full of people who could care less about integrity. Grandstanding on LGBTQ+ and abortion but no ideas on how to fix it or make stronger legislation to safeguard our rights. They didn’t do roe v wade protection or Medicare for all--Obama got nothing done. Centrist Democrats block legislation. Israel-- we send our money to bomb children and centrist Dems vote for that but never for healthcare or helping Americans. We can do so much more as a minority. Force impeachments. Stand for something! Fascist collaborators.

Labor Unions and Workers Rights

Chuck: Pro labor, endorsed by AFL - CIO - largest labor union in the US. NC is tough for labor, 2nd least organized labor state in America. We must improve that. Union wages are living wages. Protect labor

Kyah: Largest reforms we’ve ever seen have come through a strong labor movement. Our country has gutted labor unions. “immigrants taking our jobs,” no -- corporations cutting jobs. Replacing with AI. Creating a workers constitution: Guaranteed worker rights. Breaking up monopolies.

Hakeem Jeffries for Speaker?

Chuck: Yes. He’s served his time, done his time. He’s going to be speaker, I don’t necessarily like everything he does, but I respect him and the time he’s put into congress.

Kyah: He’s a joke. He’s the reason Trump is doing what he’s doing right now. We need people that actually want to fight. Where is his presence? Ro Khanna would be a better leader as an example. Chuck Schumer also has to go. We need new leadership.

Chuck: Chuck Schumer is a different matter. He needs to step down. Cory Booker is fantastic and becoming a central voice for the party.

Abolish ICE?

Kyah: We should abolish and prosecute every lawless, murderous ICE agent. Make sure they never get roles in government again.

Chuck: First we need to take away their money - $50 billion is larger than the FBI. Dismantle ICE. Fund a new agency under proper rules or rebuild it constitutionally. They’re Trump’s private police - Nazi Germany parallel. It’s a priority for me to deal with ICE and create a pathway to citizenship that is not cruel.

Kyah: ICE budget larger than most countries entire militaries. We need to also redirect those funds. Criticism of high military spending-- redirect toward social programs. For-profit prisons.

Reproductive rights

Chuck: Completely pro-choice. Absolutely determined to codify roe vs. wade.

Kyah: The demographics in congress is 53+ older, senate is 63+ older - menopause. Women and Men in congress do not know what’s going on there and it does not affect them. Health proposal: People’s health and rescue act. 3 free abortions a year.

3rd trimester abortions

Kyah: I’ve had to experience an abortion. It was hard but I understand people have abortions out of necessity- just like crime. They’re doing this because it’s in their best interest and in the best interest of the baby. The woman should get to choose.

Chuck: Third trimester abortions are extraordinarily rare.

Question for Kyah: As a minority, what does it take to be the next representative of this district?

Putting yourself out there and realizing the importance of the message. Friend passed away and told him not to be afraid. Trying to represent the right ideas, values, and principles.

What does a pathway to citizenship look like?

Chuck: make sure that people who are here undocumented already have a humane way to apply for asylum first and citizenship later (instead of having to leave the country first). We need secure borders but also a pathway to citizenship

Kyah: We need some kind of reform. At one point we didn’t have borders and we were very safe, we didn’t used to have a wall. We need a very fast immigration process-- less than one year. We have a lack of judges and lack of funding. That funding could come from ICE’s budget. My grandma was on a green card and it took her so long, maybe decades, to get citizenship -- it has to be faster.

Democratic Primary in NC-03 (What's Up, Doc?)

Thomas Mills published something today that perked me up: "If 2026 becomes a big Democratic wave year, both NC-01 and NC-03 could be Democratic after the votes are counted." I've looked more at NC-01 because of the travails of Democrat Don Davis, trying to hang on to the seat that Republicans gerrymandered anew and at the behest of Donald Jethro Trump just to get rid of him. So I'm a little surprised to hear NC-03 mentioned so optimistically. Republican Greg Murphy's historically very safe seat, immediately next door to Don Davis's, had to become just a little less Republican in order to torture Davis. Mills is alert for surprises, like what just happened in a special election in Texas for a state senate seat. The Democrat beat the Republican there by 14 points, in a district that Trump won in '24 by 17 points. In Texas!

I felt called to educate myself a little about the Democrats running in the NC-03 March primary.

Raymond E. Smith Jr.

Raymond E. Smith Jr.

He's an impressive candidate on paper, a former member for two terms of the NC House representing Wayne and Sampson counties and a member at large of the Wayne County Board of Education. He likes to go by "Dr. Raymond E. Smith," displaying a degree he earned the hard way. He's proud to have earned actually three degrees from North Carolina HBCUs -- Bachelor’s Degree in Supply Chain Management, a Masters in Public Administration, and a Doctorate in Education Leadership. Leadership and civic service runs in his family. His father was a Marine and served with distinction, and his mother was herself an 18-year veteran on the School Board. Raymond Jr. is a decorated Gulf War combat veteran, former military policeman, and a statewide transportation planner for the NCDOT. Among other impressive things.

He recently got a huge boost. The Congressional Black Caucus in DeeCee endorsed him, which means more than just money -- and the money ain't nothing to sneeze at -- for there's tactical support as well. “It means access to resources. It means that our base can be energized by the thought that they have a legitimate candidate in this race,” Smith said.

Smith filed to run on December 15, some two weeks after the opening of filing. Was he recruited by the Congressional Black Caucus?

I looked closely at his record and found a couple of things he doesn't go into on his website.

2018 -- 1st election to NCH-21, took 52.65% of the vote.

2020 -- reelection, took 53%.

2022 -- did not run for reelection to NCH-21 but elected to run for NCS-4 in the Democratic primary against incumbent Democratic Senator Toby Fitch. Fitch got 54.5%; Smith, 45.5%.

2023 -- ran for Mayor of Goldsboro and lost by six votes. That's the kind of loss that can actually energize and count as a kind of moral win.

Allison Jaslow

Beginning my research into Jaslow, I immediately encountered a very disturbing sentence in a press article (which I certainly hope is a misprint). This passage appeared in Reflector.com and prominently featured the Republican opinion that the Democrats are whistling Dixie if they think they can win NC-03, so I'm wary of a bias here:

Democrat Raymond Smith, a U.S. Army veteran and former member of the North Carolina House of Representatives from Goldsboro, filed to seek the seat on Monday. Then on Thursday, the party fielded Allison Jaslow, a former Army captain and Iraq War veteran who touted her military background in an announcement. Jaslow currently has Cary and and Washington, D.C., addresses, but her campaign said she will relocate to District 3.

"The party fielded Allison Jaslow"? Holy crap. If that's true, then someone important considers Smith a loser (perhaps based on his last two outings? or who knows what else?), for Jaslow is pretty much a star in her own right, a combat veteran with two tours in Iraq, a chief of staff on Capitol Hill to a congresswoman, served in the Obama administration as part of the White House communications team, and is currently CEO and spokeswoman for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA). She's been on CNN and MSNBC panels numerous times and handles herself well. The fact that she doesn't -- or didn't -- have a residence in NC-03 also strongly suggests some third-party recruitment. Dunno, but I'm suspicious.

Jaslow is clearly a ball of fire, an accomplished political operative, and extremely confident of herself. Whatever the outcome in less than a month, I'm going to be following up.

I'm All About Bruce

 

Bruce Is Angry. So Are We All!

 

He wrote the song on Saturday, the same day they shot Alex Pretti 10 times, and released it yesterday.