Contributor Post Created with Sketch. A Disgrace

 

Judicial Watch has obtained a memo that shows that John McCain and his Senate staff sought to collude with the Obama Administration to target conservative advocacy groups.

In the full notes of an April 30 meeting, McCain’s high-ranking staffer (Henry) Kerner recommends harassing non-profit groups until they are unable to continue operating. Kerner tells (Lois) Lerner, Steve Miller, then chief of staff to IRS commissioner, Nikole Flax, and other IRS officials, “Maybe the solution is to audit so many that it is financially ruinous.” In response, Lerner responded that “it is her job to oversee it all.”

McCain, of course was piqued because the Supreme Court overturned his precious legacy, the McCain-Feingold Act in Citizens United. The senator is legendary in his pettiness. Colluding against his President, his party, the Supreme Court and, worst of all, the Constitution he was sworn to defend – both in the Navy and the Senate – is a bridge too far.

Anyone want to tell me right now important it is to return the GOP back to the “acceptable pre-Trump norms?”

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  1. Franco Inactive
    FrancoJoined in the first year of Ricochet Ricochet Charter Member

    Mendel (View Comment):

    Percival (View Comment):

    Mendel (View Comment):
    And looking beyond Ricochet to the broader conservative movement, who actually sings McCain’s praises aside from Lindsey Graham and that insufferable guy from AEI?

    The New York Times, the Washington Post, Politico … all the usual suspects.

    The liberal press loves to praise John McCain when he’s fighting the Republicans. Then they turn around and label him Trump Jr. two days later when he says something vaguely conservative.

    That’s not a cult of personality, that’s manipulative friendship.

    There is not and has never been a cult of personality around McCain the way there was/is around Obama or Trump (or Bill Clinton for that matter). But there seems to be a number of people here who require the existence of a McCain personality cult to prop up their stilted worldview.

     

    I would like to hear your definition of “cult of personality”. Personally, I think it’s overused and misapplied. In a sense, every politician has followers who like his personality- if he has one – and then there are followers who like the other type precisely because he has no personality. Mike Pence?

    My loose definition is people voting for charisma over substance. It also carries an implication that the followers are being duped and are somewhat naive or stupid.

    I have seen little evidence that Trump has much of a cult following due to his personality. It’s actually the opposite. Most people don’t like his personality. (I’m actually coming around, myself). Trump candidacy had all the indications of a movement as Bernie Sanders’ was.

    Obama didn’t have much of a personality, his was a cult of racial identification and white liberals having him as their clean well-spoken pet black guy a la Joe Biden.

    Clinton was well-liked by the ladies, if that counts. He was supposed to be personally very charming- which is the hallmark of that type of narcissist.

    • #121
    • June 24, 2018, at 8:28 AM PDT
    • 6 likes
  2. Instugator Thatcher
    InstugatorJoined in the first year of Ricochet Ricochet Charter Member

    Moderator Note:

    Please return to the matter of the post. Thanks.

    Instugator (View Comment):

    Jamie Lockett (View Comment):

    Percival (View Comment):

    Jamie Lockett (View Comment):

    Percival (View Comment):
    The New York Times, the Washington Post, Politico … all the usual suspects.

    They’re part of the broader conservative movement?

    They are the ones whose praise will be the most effusive.

    So?

    [Redacted]

    Deliberate obtuseness ought to be graded as a backhand ad hominem attack too.

    [Redacted]

    • #122
    • June 24, 2018, at 3:35 PM PDT
    • 4 likes
  3. Gumby Mark (R-Meth Lab of Demo… Thatcher

    Some of you might be interested in this post from Patterico regarding Henry Kerner, the McCain staffer mentioned in the Judicial Watch piece. It provides a different take on what he was doing.

    • #123
    • June 24, 2018, at 8:41 PM PDT
    • 2 likes
  4. Jamie Lockett Inactive

    Gumby Mark (View Comment):

    Some of you might be interested in this post from Patterico regarding Henry Kerner, the McCain staffer mentioned in the Judicial Watch piece. It provides a different take on what he was doing.

    I read that today as well. Given what was revealed in the Patterico piece and subsequent retraction by Gateway Pundit I think I can safely call this entire controversy: FAKE NEWS!!!

    • #124
    • June 24, 2018, at 9:25 PM PDT
    • 1 like
  5. EJHill Podcaster
    EJHillJoined in the first year of Ricochet Ricochet Charter Member

    Jamie Lockett: Given what was revealed in the Patterico piece and subsequent retraction by Gateway Pundit I think I can safely call this entire controversy: FAKE NEWS!!!

    It’s certainly not fake as the documents exist. As I said earlier in the comments, it had to be either malice or stupidity. Patterico (unwillingly) comes down on the side of stupidity. If Mr. Kerner went into it thinking anyone in the Obama Administration was interested in equal treatment of conservative and liberal groups then he’s hopeless. Of course, he’s working through intermediaries and not addressing the issue himself so we still only have the documentation and his boss’s past hostilities.

    • #125
    • June 24, 2018, at 10:47 PM PDT
    • 6 likes
  6. Jamie Lockett Inactive

    EJHill (View Comment):

    Jamie Lockett: Given what was revealed in the Patterico piece and subsequent retraction by Gateway Pundit I think I can safely call this entire controversy: FAKE NEWS!!!

    It’s certainly not fake as the documents exist. As I said earlier in the comments, it had to be either malice or stupidity. Patterico (unwillingly) comes down on the side of stupidity. If Mr. Kerner went into it thinking anyone in the Obama Administration was interested in equal treatment of conservative and liberal groups then he’s hopeless. Of course, he’s working through intermediaries and not addressing the issue himself so we still only have the documentation and his boss’s past hostilities.

    Fake News.

    • #126
    • June 25, 2018, at 6:14 AM PDT
    • Like
  7. Instugator Thatcher
    InstugatorJoined in the first year of Ricochet Ricochet Charter Member

    Jamie Lockett (View Comment):

    EJHill (View Comment):

    Jamie Lockett: Given what was revealed in the Patterico piece and subsequent retraction by Gateway Pundit I think I can safely call this entire controversy: FAKE NEWS!!!

    It’s certainly not fake as the documents exist. As I said earlier in the comments, it had to be either malice or stupidity. Patterico (unwillingly) comes down on the side of stupidity. If Mr. Kerner went into it thinking anyone in the Obama Administration was interested in equal treatment of conservative and liberal groups then he’s hopeless. Of course, he’s working through intermediaries and not addressing the issue himself so we still only have the documentation and his boss’s past hostilities.

    FAKE NEWS.

    Isn’t putting things in all caps supposed to be moderated? Particularly, when that is the sole reply. We have gone from Obtuse Olympics to Outrage Olympics.

    You could save time by flagging yourself.

    • #127
    • June 25, 2018, at 8:05 AM PDT
    • 3 likes

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