Erick-Woods Erickson
First, it is my birthday today. Please consider ordering my book. It will be out this month. The book is an explanation of what is happening in the world today as secular progressivism turns into a new form of a very old pre-Christian religion and how we should navigate it. It is perfect for Pride Month. LOL.
Second, I always ask people to donate to a non-profit on my birthday. This year, please consider donating to the non-profit closest to my family and me. We have been thoroughly blessed by our kids’ classical Christian school. The school focuses on Christian families, where the families must share the faith to attend. It is a small school where many families struggle financially and sacrifice so their kids can get a great education that is classical and Christian. The kids learn Latin in elementary school and have to take logic, systematic theology, and public speaking in high school. Right now, the school is trying to reach its fundraising goal of $75,000.00. They really could use some help with just a few weeks left to reach their fundraising goal. All donations are tax deductible. You can contribute here. Thank you.
Now, on to the news.
I’m old enough to remember the polling that showed the Access Hollywood tape would be a fatal blow to Donald Trump’s presidential ambitions in 2016. That tape came out closer to the election than this verdict. Democrats should probably take note that Ken Buck, Susan Collins, and Mitt Romney have all expressed their concerns about the verdict. Democrats should also not be advising Joe Biden to make “Donald Trump is a convicted felon” the centerpiece of his campaign because it just amplifies how political it all was.
A Democrat who campaigned for office on prosecuting Donald Trump, working with a judge who donated money to Biden and earmarked it to “stop Trump”, have together gotten Trump in a city that hates Trump. If you think an upside down flag on a house has the appearance of impropriety, this actually is an impropriety and the GOP has a real opportunity here, more so if Biden uses the verdict as a political cudgel. That the left is defensively pushing back on this and dragging in Judge Canon — who has refused to dismiss the case against Trump even though she could — against a judge who gave money to a fund literally designated as “stop Trump and his right wing legacy” tells you just how damaging this can be for the left.
The left’s response is that an ethics advisory committee allowed the judge to stay in charge of the case. That just tells me there is greater corruption and bias in the system in New York.
I don’t know that I know how this will play out, but voting is still several months away and people still have to buy groceries and gas. Trump can change the dynamic pretty dramatically with a vice presidential pick.
I don’t think there are people out there now rushing to vote for a convicted felon. I do, however, think there are people out there who will now vote for him because they are opposed to the precedent setting lawfare. I do think there are low information voters who could sit it out, but that might help Trump more than Biden. I do also think there are a lot of people who are muttering, “I hate all these a—holes” who could vote for Trump if he picks a VP who is perceived as not an a—hole. I don’t think the media, which will do everything possible to vilify that VP pick, has the same level of cultural clout it once did to lock in the perception that Trump’s VP pick is just as bad.
Put it to you this way — I am unpersuaded by the GOP argument that Trump will now get a massive wave of people ready to stand with him after this conviction. I am also unpersuaded that people who were going to not vote for Biden will suddenly change their mind and vote for Biden to stop Trump. So right now I am in the “this won’t matter that much” camp. Early voting is still several months away.
Likewise, I do think Americans do not like dirty pool. You point out the DA campaigned on prosecuting Trump and the judge gave money to stop Trump and you could provoke a sympathetic reaction to Trump. And I think the media knows this because they’re all rushing now to characterize the DA as a man who did not campaign on prosecuting Trump. The revisionism is Orwellian and it will not work.
Jeff Colton has a positively hacktastic piece in Politico entitled “This reluctant prosecutor just made Donald Trump a felon.” Here is this from the New York Times on June 2, 2021:
“I have investigated Trump and his children and held them accountable for their misconduct with the Trump Foundation,” Mr. Bragg said. “I know how to follow the facts and hold people in power accountable.”
Mr. Bragg acknowledged that Mr. Trump could seek to make an issue of his history if he wins. Asked how he would contend with accusations of bias from the former president, Mr. Bragg said he had been attentive to what he had said publicly — and what he had not said.
Polling shows most Americans presume Trump got a fair trial. Point out the judge gave money earmarked to a “stop Trump” fund and that is going to start shifting. Every Republican who goes on TV and talks about this has to start with “The judge in the case gave money to a fund to “stop Trump” so if you’re worried about Sam Alito’s flag being an appearance of impropriety, you should concede that this is, in fact, an actual impropriety.”¹
That polling also shows that people’s view on the matter has not changed since before the trial so why should people’s views on who they will vote for change?
Not to be repetitive, but when you have Ken Buck, Susan Collins, and Mitt Romney all calling foul on this, there is something the Democrats do not understand at play, i.e. Americans really hate it when politicians use the legal system to screw their opponents.
It is too soon to tell how this plays out. I continue to suspect the economy, the border, and public safety will be bigger issues than Trump getting convicted of whatever crime New York claims he committed. People already thought Trump wasn’t a good guy. They still voted for him over Clinton in 2016 and they hate Biden’s tenure in office more than Trump’s. In fact, people’s views of Trump’s tenure in office have grown more positive over the past two years in contrast to Biden’s current time in office.
If “grab her by her . . . .” didn’t stop Trump against Clinton, I’m not sure this will stop him against the man who drove up grocery prices. But, again, anyone sure on either side isn’t really sure, just pretending to be. Early voting is still a long way off. We still haven’t gotten to the June debate or the party conventions.
Okay, Boomer. You Can Stop Now.
Y’all, can we please stop with the comparisons between Jesus Christ and Donald Trump. They are bordering on blasphemy. If you don’t understand why you should not compare the trial and execution of Jesus Christ to the trial and non-execution of Donald Trump, you might not be as strong in the faith as you think you are.
Comparing a completely innocent Christ, God Almighty and creator of the entire universe, to a man who cheated on his third wife with a porn star after his wife had given birth, and then used a sleaze bag lawyer to pay her hush money resulting in a trial, is a bridge too far even as I agree that what Trump did was not a crime and this was a show trial. But it was the playing out of sin. Christ was both sinless and blameless and also, again, God Almighty himself, the second person of the Trinity.
I find the comparison both offensive and particularly notable that the people most apt to push it on social media are people at, very near, or well past retirement age.
“No Negative Effects”
The left wing news site Axios is pushing the line that twenty years after the Supreme Court imposed gay marriage on the nation, there have been “no negative effects.” The story was timed for the start of June, which the alphabet gang has insisted we call Pride Month.
Were there no negative effects for Jack Philips, who has been repeatedly taken to court for his refusal to bake cakes for gay weddings and transitions?
Were there no negative effects for Baronelle Stutzman whose business and property were confiscated by the state for declining to provide flowers for a gay wedding of long time patrons of her business?
Were there no negative effects for Elaine’s Photography in New Mexico for not wanting to take pictures at a gay wedding?
What about Captain Jeffrey Little who has, just recently, been disciplined by Los Angeles for his objection to hoisting the rainbow flag at his fire station?
“How does my marriage affect you?” is a common refrain from alphabet activists. They don’t want to actually hear the answer — businesses have been shuttered and jobs lost by conscientious Christians trying to both love their neighbor and honor their God’s commandments. That’s a lot of negative effects and probably why support for gay marriage is on the decline in the United States.
- I dare say one of those Republican Super PACs should be running an ad with just the basic facts:
- FACT: New York DA Alvin Bragg campaigned on prosecuting Donald Trump.
- FACT: Judge Merchan gave money to Democrats and earmarked it to “stop Trump.”
- FACT: Together, the DA and Judge oversaw a trial where for the first time in American history someone was charged at the state level with a federal campaign finance charge even though the federal government never charged Donald Trump with a crime.
- FACT: In Joe Biden’s America you can’t buy groceries and you can’t get a fair trial.
