A Contrarian View on Election 2026: Trump Was Right, GOP Was OK, Voters Are Wrong

 

I don't blame President Trump for the terrible fallout of Election 2026. 

President Trump has done everything that he can to make America great again. 

This is going to offend some people, but I don't blame the vast majority of candidates across the country, either

The fallout falls fully on the voters. They are wrong, and they foolishly voted against their own interests out of short-term outrage.

Across the country, Americans chose to punish the Republicans by punishing themselves even more. No matter how frustrating one may feel about incumbent Republican politicians at the state level or the federal level, the voters are not going to fix the problem by giving power to a political party which openly fraternizes with socialists, communists, nazis, and antisemites. 

This is a major failing. The real outrage is the American voter throwing an electoral temper tantrum and hurting America. 

Before I continue, I should recognize that structural issues may have forced voters’ hands.

There have been two major parties since the Civil War, and third-party efforts never succeed nationally. When a major party struggles with unpopularity, its values also struggle. Wouldn’t it be great if conservatives could form another party, ditching the stigma of the failing Republican brand, but continue advancing the values? In Argentina, the United Kingdom, and other countries, conservatives disaffected with establishment political parties formed outlier challenger movements, which capitalized on voter discontent without abandoning the conservative cause! Since voters can’t vote for a better Trump party, they stay home or vote Democrat—and thus hurt themselves.

What should they have done, then? More on that later.

Pundits condemn President Trump’s decision to bomb the nuclear facilities in Iran as the catalyst for electoral failure. I don’t care: I am glad Trump did it. If doing the right thing cost him Congressional majorities, so be it. Part of making America great again is defending America from threats both foreign and domestic. President Trump has put America first, and that included taking out the megalomaniacal Ayatollahs and the IRGC.

Trump has put America First by cracking down on illegal immigration and mass legal immigration, protecting kids and families, keeping men out of women’s sports, and improving our economy with drastic deregulation and energy production. Instead of measuring his successes, voters complained about pain at the pump. What’s the point of cheap gas if your city gets wiped out in a nuclear holocaust? 

The angry Republicans and Independents who voted for Trump in 2024 will chime: “President Trump said no more wars. And he should have known that “No new wars” means No New Wars to us!” 

What planet do these people live on? Should our chief executive just sit on his hands every time there's aggression against us? Are we supposed to do nothing when drug cartels go after our citizens? Are we supposed to sit by and allow Communists to take over Latin America, causing more humanitarian crises and immigration to our country?  Review President Trump's remarks on Iran over the last four decades, and he repeatedly stated his belief that Iran should never have a nuclear weapon. Trump did not betray MAGA. He did the right thing, and he will go down in history as one of our greatest presidents for doing so. 

What do we make of the Republican drubbing at the state level?

If voters are unhappy with Republican incumbents, they should have taken them out in the primary. Texas is a perfect example. Liberal leaning Republican Congressman Dan Crenshaw lost to state representative Steve Toth, who had established his credentials as a conservative grassroots fighter for years in the Texas state legislature. 

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton upset RINO incumbent US Senator John Cornyn, too. Come the general election, Texas voters turned on him. This is just wrong. Paxton was a national treasure. This man didn't just say nice things about President Trump, but he fought aggressively for Trump's agenda in Texas and around the country. He was the chief litigator who fought the voter shenanigans during the 2020 election. He took successful legal action to protect life, election integrity, and the well-being of children and families. Did he have a stable family home himself? No, but he fought for everyone else. I am really disappointed with Texas voters, so disgusted by his private failings that they allowed a public failure like James “God is Non-Binary and I Love Trans Kids” Talarico to become their next us senator. What the hell were they thinking?! Ten years ago, Christians and conservatives forgave President Trump for his private failings, and they elected him. Why couldn't they have extended the same grace to Paxton? 

Let’s talk about the Vivek Ramaswamy in Ohio. Sure, he was a tech elitist. Yes, he supported H-1B visas and allowing more legal immigration. But those are Federal positions, and he was running for a statewide office. As Ohio governor, he would have no control over H1B or anything else. On the campaign trail, he advocated for conservative values and committed to implementing them. I agreed with him when he stood up to the Young Americans for Freedom conference and challenged them: “Do you want to be a winner or a whiner?” Real leaders stand up to dissident youth and tell them to stop feeling sorry for themselves. 

If that's bad politics, then there's a larger problem in this country. Don't get me wrong: Vivek wasn’t the best candidate, but why allow a leftist to govern Ohio?

It all smacks of cutting off your nose to spite your face. It's foolishness. 

US Senator Darlene Graham was not a conservative darling. Why would South Carolina suffer six years of Democratic representation in the US Senate because they didn't like Lindsey Graham's sister? This is not good strategy, folks. The same goes for the other US Senate seats and the other statewide offices that went blue this year. I respect the frustration about high gas prices and the lingering inflation. But how is voting for Democratic control across the country going to fix any of that? Many of these Democrats have campaigned on raising taxes, implementing more regulation, and cutting off energy!

Voter frustration is not an excuse for me this time. This election was a bad turnout, and American voters need to wake up and recognize that sometimes you have to tolerate some stuff you don't like so that you'll have better outcomes in the future. President Trump showed that kind of foresight. Republican and conservative-leaning Independents should have done the same.

Election 2026: Reflections on the Deep Blue Victories

Election 2026 is over, and it didn’t go well. Final tallies are still trickling in for California (they always do), but those elections are a foregone conclusion. The AP called the California Governor’s race at the closing of the polls, and I am too jaded by liberal Californians’ repeated votes for failure to scream about voter fraud. No matter how much fraud there may be, I have witnessed enough town halls and political discourse in this state to recognize that Californians are afflicted with Republican Derangement Syndrome and Trump Derangement Syndrome in particular.

Perennial politician and policy non-entity Xavier Becerra is the governor-elect. He crumbled in debates, then hid from voters and reporters during the campaign season. In contrast, Republican Fox News host-turned-populist author Steve Hilton campaigned everywhere, in heavily Democratic areas as well as Republican strongholds. Hilton hustled; he had good ideas; he even posted advertisements on major freeways (unheard of for a Republican candidate), yet he still fell short.

Across the country, Democrats made unprecedented gains in ruby red states. These states have election integrity measures and voter protections. Democrats swamped the vote and won fair and square.

Sure, my predictions were wrong, but hope has to take that risk. I choose to be optimistic about every election, no matter how daunting the odds. No matter how severe the odds or how disappointing the losses, I have learned to persevere, and hopefully the country will, as well. We survived Joe Biden, and voters rejected Kamala Harris in 2024 to give Trump a second mandate.

Then what happened? Trump rode a wave of strong support at the outset of his second term. Americans wanted a return to order, and he reversed the damage of the Biden years. Two years later, voters have given Congressional power to the woke Democrats committed to the cults of climate change, transgenderism, and socialism.

Did high gas prices and inflation so embitter American voters that they would allow woke communists to take power? Sadly, yes. They should have looked past the high gas prices and reflected on President Trump’s accomplishments: record job creation, mass deportations, lower rents, protection of life and family, and restored prestige for the American military and the American experiment.

Regarding the war in Iran, President Trump did the right thing in targeting that rogue regime’s nuclear enrichment program. The United States would have stood helpless against an Islamic nuclear holocaust, along with the rest of the civilized world, if the Ayatollahs and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps had established an impenetrable wall of missiles to protect their nuclear enrichment. Since Jimmy Carter, no president has wanted to take on and take down the fanatical, megalomaniacal Islamic regime. Trump showed the necessary political courage.

If Republicans suffered because Trump put America First by taking out the world’s biggest geopolitical threat, so be it. I reject the dismissive commentary of Matt Walsh, who declared: “I'd rather Iran have a nuke than my country be run by communists.” Can’t we have both? We should seek both outcomes, and we should not disparage Trump for doing the right thing, even if he didn’t get the messaging right or struggled to corral other Republicans to focus on more domestic victories.

What other lessons can we draw from this midterm mess?

1.      Let’s start with a lighter note: Guam’s results are not indicative of the election results to come across the country.  I was so hopeful yesterday afternoon when I read Trump’s announcement about our little territory far away in the Pacific Ocean.

In 2022, a Republican won the Congressional delegate seat, the first time in thirty years, yet Republicans enjoyed only a red trickle across the rest of the country. In 2026, Republicans won Guam’s governor’s race, but the results were even worse for Republicans elsewhere.

• Guam’s election results were not a perfect harbinger by any means. Lesson learned.
• Republicans in red states took their longstanding dominance for granted, and voters are tired of it. Iowa, Texas, and Ohio turned blue this season, after years of Republican rule in the legislature and statewide offices, because they were angry with the lack of results at the state level.  Some candidates were so damaged, like Ken Paxton, or had so upset the Republican base, like Vivek Ramaswamy, that Republican voters did not turn out for them.
• Mississippi’s US Senate seat is trending Democrat, as well: unthinkable to some, but I have followed statewide election trends in the Magnolia state, and the Republican gubernatorial candidates have been winning by diminishing margins. Corruption issues and lack of conservative legislative success have outraged voters there, too.
• Republican voters feel betrayed by Trump, and they took it out on his party. Whether those feelings are justified is another story, but telling people “Everything is fine” while they face rising costs is not a winning electoral strategy. Then again, Trump’s leadership has been nothing but winning, even if Congressional Republicans didn’t step up.

What are the silver linings to the Republican Election Disaster of 2026?

• 1.      My favorite executive, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, is the biggest winner. Throughout his excellent and effective tenure, he committed himself to policy goals and gains, no matter what happened in Washington. He made promises, he kept them, and turned Florida into a Republican stronghold so stable that Republicans carried all statewide offices this year despite the blue tsunami. Governor-elect Byron Donalds owes him a great deal. Voters want results and a mission, not memes and noise, and DeSantis delivered. He is a strong contender for 2028 now, despite MAGA naysayers offended by his 2024 primary challenge.
• 2.      Idaho’s abortion initiative, Proposition One, failed despite the motivated liberal turnout on Election Day. Conservative values can withstand and win against unfavorable political environments. The pro-life movement mobilized early to fight this horrid attempt to enshrine abortion rights in the Gem State, and they succeeded. This is a huge win because abortion measures had been passing around the country up to now.
• 3.      Voter ID and “Citizen Voter Only” initiatives won big across the country, despite Democrats replacing Republicans in GOP strongholds. President Trump’s efforts to secure the vote should not be scuttled or dismissed. Republicans need to focus on these popular issues and accomplish them!
• 4.      Initiatives to protect women’s sports from confused men have won in Arizona and Nebraska, and they are winning even in deep-blue Colorado. Even Washington State’s initiative to keep boys out of girls’ sports is succeeding. This is great!
• 5.      In uber-liberal California, voters rejected the awful Millionaire’s Tax, Prop 40, with the help of massive donations from wealthy job creators who would have fled the state if it passed. Voters also supported Prop 42 to protect savings and other property from taxes. When there’s no partisan messaging but a clear commitment to doing what is best for voters, good initiatives can succeed in California.

Democrats may have won big this year, but not because their ideas are great. Republicans need to make MAGA happen consistently, not just talk about it. Am I worried for the future? No. Democrats in Congress and across the country will overplay their hand, and Republicans will capitalize on their failures to surge back in 2028.

Barack Obama: Old, Tired, Tone-Deaf Elitist

 

The Democrats are desperate, or so it seems, based on the aggressive campaigning despite the usual odds that the party out of party does well in the midterms. The betting markets suggest that Democrats are heading for a big win, but I think they should hedge their bets. For evidence that they are running on fumes, hoping to stay ahead of their worst-case scenario, they brought out the big guns (despite their relentless record on gun control) and rolled out former President Barack Obama to salvage their candidates.

Obama is the very elite whom the Democrats claim to be campaigning against. He lives in Martha’s Vineyard; he headlines all the big-name stars; and he focuses on himself when other people are in need. If there’s anyone who should be the Incredible Shrinking Ex-President, it’s this guy. Democrats have him to thank for losing power in the South—which is gaining more people while turning more Republican. Rust belt states suffered under Obama’s globalist, free-trade anti-industry agenda, and they looked elsewhere for relief. They have him to thank for giving us President Trump, since the New York real estate mogul turned greatest President of my lifetime brought the real hope and change to hurting Americans.

Trump took advantage of Obama’s political arrogance and incompetence, restored Republican power in Washington, gave the party a broader vision, and possibly political dominance for years to come.

Obama arrogance is so off-putting that Laura Ingraham rightly called him out on it recently during a campaign stop in Michigan. Ingraham mocked Obama for claiming that the country has become so bitterly divided and hateful. Why does it have to be this way? He opines to the crowd, acting like some saint. His nasty remarks about Cheesecake Factory didn’t help, either!

Obama campaigned on hope and change, but he gave this country nothing but division and dissolution. He's the reason for the division! He was Cloward Piven personified, committed to reducing this country to a one-among-many second-place also-ran. From his apology tour to the Arab nations to his insistence that the United States is not a Christian nation, Obama had one mission: make America no longer great.

Conservative commentator and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza exposed the communist roots of this neophyte constitutional professor, useless state senator, and weak US Senator who, out of nowhere, became the next President of the United States. For his due diligence in exposing one of the biggest frauds in American history, Obama’s DOJ persecuted him with maxim severity over a flimsy campaign contribution violation. The modern era of politicians’ siccing the Department of Justice on political opponents started with Obama, too. How’s that for rancor?

The current, long-running falsehood that the United States is a racist country suffused with hatred started with Obama. The Black Lives Matter hate movement, masquerading as an extension of the Civil Rights movement, started under Obama, from Trayvon Martin to Ferguson, Missouri, going up in flames. The saturation of LGBT propaganda, from the normalization of same-sex “marriage,” obscene, pornographic sex-ed curriculum, and transgenderism as another civil right, including confused men in women’s sports, spaces, and very selves, all started under Obama.

Obama opened up the borders by defying federal law, refusing to deport illegal aliens. He allowed “the kids” to stay under DACA, and then tried to protect their parents through DAPA. The Supreme Court struck down both orders. And the pre-eminence of Islam on the political sphere via refugee programs and mass legal immigration started under Obama, too.

For his signature act, he forced through a massive government boondoggle to take over our healthcare system, Obamacare, which Democrats today have admitted has been a big failure. Healthcare is more expensive than ever.  Exploiting a 60-seat filibuster-proof majority in the U.S. Senate, he disregarded the will of the voters and the interests of the opposing party. He didn’t govern. He campaigned like an everyday American, but he governed like an Alinskyite organizer seeking his own ends with no regard or respect for anyone. People can hate FDR or Bill Clinton, and there’s plenty to dislike, but at least those two Presidents loved America.

Obama didn’t. He cared for himself, and a middle finger to anyone who complained.

He mocked his opponents with unserious glee; he went out of his way to bury Republican compromises in Congress; then, when he faced opposition in Congress, he lied to Republicans to their face, stating, “I am not an ideologue.”

Sure, Barack.

Obama has been an elitist fraud from the beginning, an aggressive leftist who deceived millions into thinking he cared about the country, desiring to unite and unify a fractious public frustrated with extended wars in the Middle East, and outrage over Wall Street bailouts.

For me, the most notorious example of this out-of-touch, tone-deaf elitist arrogance manifested during his 2010 town hall, when he was desperate to save his Democratic Party from the much-needed shellacking it deserved during that midterm election. One of the ladies in the audience, a big supporter of his, Velma Hart, told President Obama, “I am tired." She feared that her family would end up barely making it, eating beans and wieners just to get through the day. Her situation was not improving, despite all the big talk.

Obama’s answer was all about himself, and he dismissed her concerns. His first sentence said it all: “Now, as I said before, times are tough for everybody right now, so I understand your frustration.”

The only frustration he heard was his having to rebuff people’s complaints about the terrible economy under his watch, because of his policies.

Then he talked about his kids (all about himself, right?), then he championed his overregulation of the credit card companies as well as his disastrous plan to take over the healthcare industry via Obamacare. Towards the end of his disdainful diatribe, he wrapped up with this ridiculous phrase: “But what I am saying is that we’re moving in the right direction.”

Nope! Middle-class Americans still struggled under Obama’s crushing failure of a Presidency, but it was all part of the plan. This country went in the right direction when President Trump got elected in 2016 and re-elected in 2024.

As expected, Barack Obama still doesn’t get it, or rather, he hopes to avoid the stark realization that he helped create the mess the country has slogged through, which President Trump is reversing with great speed. The fact that a Democratic former President has to campaign in a state, Michigan, which had gone solidly for the Democratic Party for thirty years but switched because the voters weren’t getting results, says it all.

Election 2026: A Dem to GOP Realignment in Michigan?

 

Election 2026 was supposed to be the year the Democratic Party struck back at Trump 2.0. They expected to win with easy, glee-filled pickup opportunities across the country and in Congress. Yet no matter how frustrated the voters may be with Republicans, Democratic Party operatives pushed extreme or failed candidates to their party’s detriment. They have turned off working people with their racist and socialist rhetoric, and voters are increasingly likely to hold their noses and support the tough reality of Republicans rather than tyrannical Democrats who have lost touch with reality entirely. 

Republicans made this mistake four years ago. They thought they had the upper hand so strongly after two years of Joe Biden’s failed, miserable, and extremely unpopular leadership that unvetted MAGA types of all sorts--with little government experience or credibility or proper connection to their constituents—ran for office. Republicans' chances went from a red tsunami to a red trickle in Election 2022. 

Democrats are having this problem now. They never learn! The Democratic Socialists of America, the growing fringe of the DNC, still burned over what happened to Bernie Sanders in 2016 and 2020, are on a revenge tour against the Establishment Democrats. They want the radical socialist agenda that party leaders have promised but never delivered. They’re building on major victories in New York City with the mayor's race as well as removing three democratic incumbents in the Congressional races. Chuck Schumer probably won't be in Congress much longer once AOC decides to challenge him for the US Senate seat in 2028. 

With the rise of the DSA, legacy Democratic voters are starting to have second thoughts about their party.

There is no better proof of a disturbing realignment on the horizon than the radical reversals revealing themselves in the Wolverine State. Since 2016, this state has witnessed Republican pushback like never before. Who would have predicted that a Republican presidential candidate would win Michigan? Not since George Herbert Walker Bush have Republicans carried this or other major Rust Belt states besides Ohio. 

Trump has won Michigan twice, and this year a Republican will likely win the US Senate as well, in part because of a growing wave of defecting Michigan Democrats disgusted with their US Senate standard-bearer. Republican Mike Rogers, the former congressman and chairman House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, lost his previous bid for US Senate by less than a percentage point in 2024. Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin squeaked by for the win, but has done nothing but put her foot in her mouth while pretending to be some kind of common-sense moderate. Her latest fascist scheme: go after conservatives if Democrats take the majority in Congress, which has exposed her embrace of the extreme fringes of her party. 

She’s not helping her potential colleague Abdul El-Sayed. He was a controversial candidate during the primary, and he has not moved toward the center since. El-Sayed’s family has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, and he has openly fraternized with abusive anti-American communist podcaster Hasan Piker, who has declared that "America deserved 9-11." An ardent opponent of Israel, alienating Jewish voters, El-Sayed has advertised himself as a medical doctor, when he’s not a licensed physician at all. Rather than recovering from mistakes and moderating his message and platform, this Democratic nominee is doubling down on socialist extremism. 

The Michigan Democratic debacle has become a welcome turn of events for the Republican Party and the conservative movement. For years, Republican candidates had to push away the charges of extremism, radicalism, and fascism from a hostile media and unscrupulous progressive operatives. Over and over, conservatives had to overcome Democratic attacks linking Republicans to QAnon or anti-Semitic podcasters. Now the tables have turned, and now Democrats are struggling to shake off the extreme fringes of their Left flank, or face further losses in elections to come. 

Speaker emerita and retiring Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi has bashed Abdul. US Senator John Fetterman has joined the pile-on, distancing himself from this radical who puts Palestine ahead of General Motors. Democrats realize that Islamic fascist radicalism is hurting their brand in otherwise safe areas, further dividing the Democratic grassroots between pro-Zionist Jewish Democrats and their allies versus pro-Palestinian activists and their violent activist allies. 

The Democratic Party cannot afford this breach right now, especially having lost the last presidential election by large numbers, while enduring unprecedented Republican and conservative victories from the Congressional Republican majorities. Hoping to stem the worst outcomes, Michigan Democrats in the legislature and throughout the state have pulled their support for El-Sayed. The longtime Democratic Saginaw County sheriff switched to independent and announced his support for Mike Rogers. Former Democratic Congressman Hansen Clarke has also announced his support for the Republican.

The biggest proof of Michigan realignment from Democrat to Republican can when Michigan Congresswoman Haley Stevens (and El-Sayed’s primary challenger) endorsed Mike Rogers. This is a calculated move, surely, as she admitted in a November 1st, 2026, press conference/announcement that she is still a proud Democrat. The Michigan Democratic Party apparatus is not showing any favor or restraint. They have officially announced that she is no longer a Democrat; they have taken away her access to Democratic voter rolls; and they have stripped her name and picture from the Michigan Democratic Party website. 

Black Democratic voters in Michigan are fed up with a party that doesn't support their interests. They have endorsed Rogers. Jewish Democrats feel increasingly isolated and alienated by a political apparatus which panders to Palestinian terrorism and activist tyranny. They are voting for Rogers. These two ethnic voting blocs have been reliable Democratic voters for generations. And a Republican former congressman is about to capitalize on their disillusionment with the party of their youth and win a US Senate seat. 

This was unthinkable even after Trump's victories, since Michigan Republicans have stumbled at the state level in the state elections. But the Wolverine State going Republican at the federal level could highlight an unprecedented political realignment, which will have implications for years to come. 

Democrats have much to fear in this election cycle, and it was supposed to be a walk for them!

 

What the Latest No Kings No Show Showed Me

 

In Torrance, California, a large and influential suburb of Los Angeles, the No Kings protests have shown up with frequent vengeance.

From June 14, 2025, to the current election season, registered Democrats, wokesters, progressive leftists, democratic socialists, the full-blown socialists, and the racialist ethno-nationalists have shown up in large numbers to tell the world how much they hate Trump.

They love setting up along the main thoroughfare of the city, standing in front of Torrance City Hall, holding up their banners, calling the President all kinds of evil. Speakers from the main liberal, left-wing, progressive, Berniecrat (you get the idea) clubs throughout the South Bay rally in the main plaza outside of City Hall, urging everyone to vote.

Since last year, the Torrance No Kings protests have been a significant hallmark, gauging the growing resolve of this moment. The numbers of angry protests have rivaled the Black Lives Matter demonstrations and the opposition to COVID-19 health mandates from 2020 to 2021.

Most of the conservative political commentary reviewing the No Kings movement has mocked their self-righteous hypocrisy. These protesters call President Trump a king, but they said nothing when Barack Obama bragged about his phone and pen, and that he was not afraid to use them. They lavished slavish praise on Michelle Obama when she dressed to the nines for White House engagements: “Bow down to the Queen!” they laughed. Of course, they had no problem with senile Joe Biden’s health mandates and repeated efforts to use taxpayer dollars to pay off student loan debt, plus his repeated refusal to secure our border from millions of illegal migrants.

Yet they slam Trump as a wily, overbearing monarch. Of course there’s nothing serious about these protests. If the United States labored under the tyranny of an absolute monarch, they wouldn’t be allowed to protest him in the first place!

The last No Kings protest on October 17^th, 2026, in front of Torrance City Hall had all the markings of a big bust. No Kings turned into a No Show. There was even another planned protest in nearby Hermosa Beach, according to some ads, but one of the protesters in Torrance told me she hadn’t heard about it.

Walking up and down Torrance Blvd. on that Saturday morning, instead of the ten thousand progressive militants (mostly old hippies who missed the memo that the country has long moved past the 1960s), I saw a mere scattering of old woke white liberals standing still and sullen.

I remembered last year the organizers blaring chants on their bullhorns up and down Torrance Blvd. Last year, the sidewalks were teeming with angry liberals demanding the impeachment and removal of Trump while calling for mass confiscation of Elon Musk’s wealth and property. Since Musk’s falling out with the President and his departure from the White House following the DOGE reforms, the No Kings crowds don’t complain about him as much. With less than a month until Election Day, “low energy” was the vibe, and it was a weak one, at that.

This time, despite the lower numbers, the lack of wisdom, nuance, or appreciation for complexity was still considerable. Signs and banners were displaying all kinds of profanity and obscenity, just like before, and there were children present!

I had the opportunity to interview some of the No Kings people, and they didn’t disappoint in terms of the level of imbecility. One guy carried a “No More Stupid Wars” sign. When I asked him about Ukraine, he said he supported that. When I asked his thoughts about World War II, he supported that military effort to stop fascism around the world. When it came to Israel and Gaza, he talked about proportionality. What? War is about defeating the enemy so that they don’t attack you anymore. It’s not tit for tat!

Another discussion about the Democratic bench for the 2028 presidential election was really interesting. I had to ask, since Trump is not on the ballot in 2026, and he won’t be on the ballot in 2028 either. They should be thinking about the future! Strangely enough, the first few that I spoke with didn’t have any strong candidates to consider. How can they not be thinking about 2028? If they hate Trump so much, you would think they would have some candidate to idolize as the solution to all the nation’s ills. I brought Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, and one lady remarked that he would be a great candidate. When I pointed out that the increasing anti-Semitism among Democratic grassroots could frustrate his campaign, another reluctantly agreed. Democrats are divided going into the next presidential election season, which might have explained why fewer people showed up at this No Kings Rally.

That’s good news for Republicans already, since Shapiro is the Democrats’ best bet for 20218.

I talked with a few other No Kings baby boomers, and they are leaning more towards retiring California Governor Gavin Newsom. This is lunacy on a whole new level. They live in California, too, I presume. I asked them how they feel about the homeless issue or the lack of road repair, or the high taxes and fees. They always turn the subject to something else. They prop up their candidate as a great leader, but when disaster or dysfunction defines their tenure, these progressives seem to think that the ideal candidate has no power or responsibility in the matter! One thing these protesters all agreed on: They don’t want Kamala Harris to run again!

In my last interview at the Torrance No Kings protest, I met an elderly couple demanding another impeachment of Donald Trump. Democrats tried twice to remove the guy, and not only did they fail, but Trump bounced back stronger than ever. The two senior Democrats were convinced that the third time would discourage Trump and he would just resign. “Are you prepared for President Vance?” I asked them. They didn’t want to discuss that. From there, they went on and on about trumped-up (pun intended) corruption charges against the President, while I asked them if they were OK with open borders under Joe Biden. We had a pretty civil conversation until the end, when the older man got in my face and told me he didn’t want to be recorded. His wife had to drag him away so that he didn’t cause more trouble.

Such was my experience at the latest No Kings protest: a lot of angry, old liberals who can’t explain or justify their anger with President Trump, who had no clear plans for the future, and, judging by the limited turnout, don’t have a lot of enthusiasm going into November!

Grenell Harasses Hermosa Beach Resident for Complaining About Campaign Text

(Response to Ambassador deploys FBI to former Hermosa commissioner’s home)

I wish that The Beach Reporter and written about this, so I am sharing what happened. On October 6th, 2026, Kent Allen, a Hermosa Beach resident, received an unexpected visit from the FBI. Ric Grenell , the former Ambassador to Germany under the Trump Administration, claimed that Kent Allen threatened him. What did he say? We don't know, because Grenell doesn't tell us, pretty much proving that Allen did nothing wrong. The fact is that Grenell got upset with a Hermosa Beach resident because he complained about a text message Grenell had sent out during the campaign season. If Grenell can't handle Hermosa Beach residents complaining about his campaign text messages, then he needs to get out of politics entirely. It is unconscionable and unbecoming for a former official to dispatch law enforcement after a private citizen simply for exercising his First Amendment rights. Trump did the right thing by getting rid of Ric Grenell. What an embarrassment he is! Perhaps the FBI should pay Grenell a visit for filing a false report!

The Demonic DSA Possession of The City of Angeles

Last year, I told New Yorkers to vote for Republican Guardian Angel (and perennial candidate) Curt Sliwa, but prepare for the worst.

Democratic Socialist Mamdani was the favorite from May to November 2025, with polling consistently giving him the edge. Former governor Andrew Cuomo, forever corrupt and incompetent and glorying in self-aggrandizement, was the last person who should have been mayor.

Democrats and Republicans who didn’t want a crazy commie taking over their city glided toward Cuomo. Mamdani had the momentum, though; he had the outsider star power (the fact that he never held down a real job made that edge even easier), and he offered a bold set of ideas … at least to anyone ignorant of history, which describes the vast majority of the educated chattering classes in New York City Upper East or Lower West or anywhere else.

The communist won, and New Yorkers are getting what they voted for. They wanted government grocery stores? They will get lines of people waiting for bread, when across the country the bread waits in line for us. They wanted potholes filled? Good luck keeping the police officers on the force, as well. They wanted cheaper housing? They’re getting rent control, less housing, higher prices, and a feeling that they are better than the suburbs.

New York City is on its last legs, and the voters deserve what’s coming.

A silver lining shines out, though. Democrats to the left of Hochul are failing in New York City. How about electing a governor to the right? Blake ______ is gaining on the incumbent governor, and Democratic celebrities are lining up behind a Republican to keep the Empire State from turning into a rump failed state.

What about Los Angeles?

The same dynamic of left-wing getting its wings is flying on the West Coast. Another deep blue city is looking at voting between bad and worse, dumb and dumber, corrupt and more corrupt as their final choices for next mayor of Los Angeles.

During the June primary, LA voters had a chance to elect common sense, results, and accountability: Spencer Pratt. A victim of the Palisades fires, which devoured multiple homes while Mayor Karen Bass was celebrating the inauguration of the next president of Ghana, Pratt demanded a city that would work for everyone. His campaign? Lock up the criminals, clean up the streets, protect the businesses, and allow everyone to enjoy a better quality of life.

Voters also had the choice of repeat failure, politician-for-life incumbent Karen Bass, or Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)-aligned city councilwoman Nithya Raman.

Raman had won her city council re-election outright in 2024, despite residents and business owners complaining about the neglected, dilapidated state of her district, which stretches from Silver Lake to Encino, with Sherman Oaks and Studio City thrown in for good measure. A richer, higher echelon of voters still voted for the least of all candidates. Homelessness has gotten so bad, that residents staged their homeless sit-in protest outside of her home! How do you like it,  Nithya? The stunts, the anger, the despair spilling onto the City of Angeles might not matter if the polling proves accurate, since all of them point to a Raman victory over incumbent Bass come November.

The Democratic Socialists of America will have realized their greatest feat yet: control over the two largest cities in the country. From there, they can build on the big donor base in the two largest cities and run one of their own for President and more US Senate seats.

Raman, an immigrant from India, educated at Harvard and MIT, blessed with all the goodness that is America, has campaigned on grievance and gain at the expense of those who work for their money or own their property. She hates the West, the wise, the good, and the common-sensical. What Democratic Party apparatchiks have promised for decades, she will deliver: voters for non-citizens, single-payer healthcare, abolition of law enforcement, etc.

California Election Law does not permit a write-in at the General election for mayor, so the voters are stuck between a rock and a prison. Indie journalist Daniel Guss urges LA voters to vote for both to spoil the county and tally their outrage and opposition, but one of them will still win.

The winner is looking more and more like Raman.

And the voters of Los Angeles deserve everything that happens to them.

Can’t they get their act together and vote for someone worthwhile? Decent? Not evil?

Los Angeles hasn’t enjoyed a Republican mayor since philanthropist Richard Riordan, who brought class and competence to city government during his tenure. Despite his endorsement of President Bill Clinton in 1996, Riordan did well by the city. Democratic successors demonstrated some competence of their own, as well as controversy. With the rise of the DSA in the last five years, and their en masse takeover of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, Los Angeles County and Los Angeles city have witnessed a sharp veer to the political Left.

Land Acknowledgements, defunding of the police, LGBT celebrations everywhere, ethnic months and non-profit pandering, reparations boards, protests against Israel, and more attacks on churches and Jews communities have erupted across every level of government in the wake of the socialist spread.

And now the mayor’s race will broaden the bad.

Bass is desperate for support, touting endorsements of local leaders in a recent spate of commercials. She expected a walk in the park as the First Female (and First Black Female) mayor in the city’s history. She’s getting walked and will likely get put out to pasture. Identity politics aren’t getting her across the finish line this time. The LA-aera progressive left has gone full commie, and they want their workers’ revolution NOW! They can out-organize the establishment, overcoming the institutional inertia of the labor unions, big business, and the many lobbyists who made Downtown Los Angeles their second home.

Nithya Raman is the face of the rising socialist uprising, and Los Angeles should get ready for the Bolshevik takeover.

The one silver lining in all of this: Karen Bass deserves to go. She’s a political climber from state assembly to assembly speaker to Congress, who had a shot at Joe Biden’s VP slot, and now LA mayor. To see her political career crash and burn will be fun.

The one question that Raman needs to consider: Is she ready for them when they turn on her, just as the DSA Left has taken Mamdani to task for not moving fast enough to enact their demented agenda? Silly DSA politicians, they never learn: the Revolution always eats its own, especially its enthusiastic thought leaders who fail (because they can’t succeed) to live up to and enact their utopian aspirations.

Finally, here’s my question to the Los Angeles electorate: will four years of DSA madness at the helm of your angelic city awaken you from your regressive leftist woke slumbers to vote for common sense? Perhaps you will vote for Spencer Pratt in four years, perhaps even a Republican? Or are you prepared for the fully demonic DSA possession of your city? Are you prepared to pay for the political exorcism once the city breathes its last?

Mayor Sharon Kalani Morning Meeting at Torrance Bakery (Full Videos)

 

Mayor Kalani wouldn't provide specifics about how she would bring in more police officers. She stated during the campaign that the previous mayor had failed to bring in more police officers. I wanted to know what specifically the previous mayor had failed to do, and she wouldn't speak to that.

On a positive note, she announced her opposition to red light camera ticketing and all the other schemes.

Big win! This is great, and I sense that this whole scheme is going to crash and burn. Don't let this issue slip by!

She provided everyone an opportunity to introduce themselves. Some of the people attending the meeting were city commissioners. I think that more residents should be attending. With all due respect, I think that commissioners attending is not the most representative for the city.

This was a bigger discussion, for sure. The deadline for filling councilwoman-turned-mayor Kalani's seat on the council was today at 5:00pm.

The city council will appoint the next councilmember on August 25th, 2026.

I brought up that the city needs to change the charter and the process so that the voters get to choose the next city councilmember. It's unfair for the city council to make the first choice and set up the successor with an election advantage on the council.

Either we allow a special election to fill the seat, or we should change the policy so that whoever is appointed cannot run for election for a full term. I am open to other suggestions, but this is wrong.

I recall in 2014 how local leaders were hoping to put Ray Uchima in the seat. They had had numerous discussions behind the scenes to make this happen. It was really dirty. Ultimately, the city council appointed Mike Griffiths to fill the seat vacated by newly elected Pat Furey as mayor.

I am glad that Sharon wants to change this process, too, but we need to organize the elections so that the successor election will take place in November after the city elections in March. Those are my thoughts. Another lady at the meeting agreed with me that we should figure something out.

Homeless issues came up. If anyone wants to challenge the points made, I am listening. For my part, I am glad to see far fewer homeless people wandering and loitering about. There are still issues here and there, but it's not nearly as bad as it used to be. Commissioners at this meeting also shared that the homeless moving into tiny housing have gotten care and training so that they move into housing and off the streets.

It costs less to replace sidewalk pieces than to clean them. Who knew? Is there another way to fix these issues?

Another resident asked why the city is taking control of all of Hawthorne Blvd. This is a big issue, but at least the city will have more say on how to run and clean and reorder the whole thoroughfare.

I have not been following the Hawthorne Metro takeover as closely as other issues, but the LA Metro Board has voted to shove this project onto our city, and there's nothing we can do about it ... so far.

There have been so many legal and political delays, however, that we may never (have to) see any Metro trains coming down Hawthorne Blvd. That works for me!

LA Does Not Love LA

 

Rolling down Imperial Highway 

Sweet Nasty Redhead on my side

Santa Ana winds blowing hot from the north 

We were born to ride.

I love Randy Newman, and I love his signature song “I Love LA.” When he won the mayor’s race in 2001, James Hahn played that anthem to celebrate his victory. From city attorney to mayor, Hahn worked to ensure some decency and competence in the city.

Fast forward to today, and Los Angeles is a hollowed-out, burned-out, blown-out shell of what it was.

Hollywood is leaving, and last year, Pacific Palisades went up in flames.

There’s no Richard Riordan or Sam Yorty to save the city now.

Two Democrats, a Bolshevik and a Menshevik, will fight for what’s left.

Los Angeles had a chance to build on the county’s election changes in 2024. In an unprecedented reversal, a Republican turned independent, Nathan Hochman, took on George Soros's handpicked District Attorney George Gaston. He received the support of numerous Democrats, and certainly of Republicans and independents, and he wiped out George Gaston. 

Los Angeles County residents were tired of lawlessness. They were tired of seeing the intimate scenes of incarcerated gangbangers raising a toast to a pro-criminal district attorney who was fast-tracking their early release. The same year, California voters overwhelmingly approved Prop 36, which re-criminalized property theft and gave local and state law enforcement more tools to crack down on crime. The work isn't done, since County courts are stuffed with woke judges putting personal preferences and idiotic ideologies ahead of public safety. But Los Angeles County is going in the right direction, and even the city of Los Angeles voted in larger numbers for Hochman. 

Then came January 2025, and the untouchable Palisades went up in flames. Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass was attending the inauguration of the next president of Ghana, and she could not be reached.  The Palisades Inferno was a massive failure on many levels—and preventable if anyone had heeded the warnings. Seven years ago, entire sections of Northern California went up in flames. Families desperate to flee the raging infernos ended up stuck in traffic and consumed by the rushing flames. The California Democratic political class didn't care then. 

 

Surely, the Democrats in Sacramento and Los Angeles would care about the left-leaning Pacific Palisades, wouldn't they? 

Nope.

This year’s primary results clearly indicate that Los Angeles city voters have not listened to their better angels. The demons have come in seven times stronger, too, since they find the place burned up and empty, and since no one's there, they've brought more of their vile hordes. How was it possible that voters across the city would embrace more of the same destructive progressive ideology when it's crystal clear to anyone that these failed policies—plus the arrogant lack of concern--are a direct result of this progressive madness?  Even in San Francisco, a growing cohort of voters has started taking over the county Democratic Party, and they have fought for some restoration of common sense, law & order, and commitment to enforcement in public safety. It's not enough, but there have been some steps, however minute.

In sad contrast, Los Angeles continues to double down on the same stupid. This isn't just foolish; it's absolutely dangerous. Unwise people with no regard for the well-being of the everyday citizen have no problem putting more of them in danger. Trump Derangement Syndrome and allergies to anything Republican truly are a mental malady, which has trapped Angelenos in a perpetual doom loop. 

A few weeks ago, TMZ host Harvey Levin complained about what has happened to Los Angeles during his lifetime. A multi-generational Angelino, Levin has seen the best of the city. Now, he cannot ignore how crappy it has become. The relentless homeless shelters, the skyrocketing crime rates, the overall lack of cleanliness and peace, and the desecration that has overrun a once-getaway destination and a second home for the rich and famous are unavoidable. 

Yet the same Harvey Levin repeatedly castigated, shamed, and openly mocked the one candidate who had a campaign platform, character, and commitment to remedy all these problems. Spencer Pratt may have been a reality TV star. But he was also a father and a homeowner who lost everything in the fires. He was fed up, and he decided that he was going to run. He launched AI commercials slamming opponents Bass and Raman with an impressive media blitz. He did a fantastic job in the debates. He cut an incredible cloth as a truly independent candidate. Not beholden to any political party, he didn't care about Trump or Biden or Kamala Harris. He did care about the incompetence of incumbent mayor Karen Bass and her socialist left-leaning challenger Nithya Rahman. 

He's a common-sense guy, and anyone with sense would have elected him mayor. But common sense is no longer common—or welcome—in the City of Angels. They stopped electing Republican mayors in 2001, and then they stopped electing Democrats with any regard for the well-being of the city after 2013. 

It's a tragedy to see the once-heavenly Los Angeles turn into a hellscape. It's a tragedy that so many voters don't love LA, that their hatred of Trump, their disdain for Republicans, and their insistence on all of the shallow, shameful progressive issues are far more important than the necessities to make sure that their city can function. 

I never thought it would come to this, but Angelenos simply haven't hurt enough. How many more homes have to go up in flames? How many more families have to be torn apart by the death of a mother or a father because of crime or natural disaster? How many more businesses have to be destroyed, desecrated, forced to shut down because City Hall refuses to use its power to do what is best for the rest? 

These problems festered two years earlier. Before anti-American immigrant socialist City Councilwoman Nithya Raman Challenger made it into the runoff against Karen Bass, she had won re-election to City Council outright in 2024! For weeks during the March 2024 primary, business owners and homeowners repeatedly complained about the homeless and the crime in the streets. And yet for all their complaining then, and a recent protest test of makeshift homeless encampments outside of Rahman's home this year, voters still sent the elitist socialist to city hall.

Los Angeles, be afraid.

The Democratic Socialists of America have aggressively targeted you. Four of the city council members are DSA all the way. They are vying for a city council majority and the mayor's seat. Registered Republicans can’t help you now: they have given up on voting or moved out of the city altogether. 

What will it take? I am astounded at the destruction and degradation. New York City was one thing. President Trump had pretty much solved the migrant crisis and allowed some degree of enforcement, so New Yorkers got complacent, perhaps? But Los Angeles witnessed the unprecedented disaster that destroyed homes. We all saw the unconscionable incompetence of Los Angeles's political class. 

Yet even with that, LA voters voted for more of the same. 

I love LA, but clearly LA no longer loves LA.

LA Does Not Love LA

Rolling down Imperial Highway 

Sweet Nasty Redhead on my side

Santa Ana winds blowing hot from the north 

We were born to ride.

I love Randy Newman, and I love his signature song “I Love LA.” When he won the mayor’s race in 2001, James Hahn played that anthem to celebrate his victory. From city attorney to mayor, Hahn worked to ensure some decency and competence in the city.

Fast forward to today, and Los Angeles is a hollowed-out, burned-out, blown-out shell of what it was.

Hollywood is leaving, and last year, Pacific Palisades went up in flames.

There’s no Richard Riordan or Sam Yorty to save the city now.

Two Democrats, a Bolshevik and a Menshevik, will fight for what’s left.

Los Angeles had a chance to build on the county’s election changes in 2024. In an unprecedented reversal, a Republican turned independent, Nathan Hochman, took on George Soros's handpicked District Attorney George Gaston. He received the support of numerous Democrats, and certainly of Republicans and independents, and he wiped out George Gaston. 

Los Angeles County residents were tired of lawlessness. They were tired of seeing the intimate scenes of incarcerated gangbangers raising a toast to a pro-criminal district attorney who was fast-tracking their early release. The same year, California voters overwhelmingly approved Prop 36, which re-criminalized property theft and gave local and state law enforcement more tools to crack down on crime. The work isn't done, since County courts are stuffed with woke judges putting personal preferences and idiotic ideologies ahead of public safety. But Los Angeles County is going in the right direction, and even the city of Los Angeles voted in larger numbers for Hochman. 

Then came January 2025, and the untouchable Palisades went up in flames. Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass was attending the inauguration of the next president of Ghana, and she could not be reached.  The Palisades Inferno was a massive failure on many levels—and preventable if anyone had heeded the warnings. Seven years ago, entire sections of Northern California went up in flames. Families desperate to flee the raging infernos ended up stuck in traffic and consumed by the rushing flames. The California Democratic political class didn't care then. 

 

Surely, the Democrats in Sacramento and Los Angeles would care about the left-leaning Pacific Palisades, wouldn't they? 

Nope.

This year’s primary results clearly indicate that Los Angeles city voters have not listened to their better angels. The demons have come in seven times stronger, too, since they find the place burned up and empty, and since no one's there, they've brought more of their vile hordes. How was it possible that voters across the city would embrace more of the same destructive progressive ideology when it's crystal clear to anyone that these failed policies—plus the arrogant lack of concern--are a direct result of this progressive madness?  Even in San Francisco, a growing cohort of voters has started taking over the county Democratic Party, and they have fought for some restoration of common sense, law & order, and commitment to enforcement in public safety. It's not enough, but there have been some steps, however minute.

In sad contrast, Los Angeles continues to double down on the same stupid. This isn't just foolish; it's absolutely dangerous. Unwise people with no regard for the well-being of the everyday citizen have no problem putting more of them in danger. Trump Derangement Syndrome and allergies to anything Republican truly are a mental malady, which has trapped Angelenos in a perpetual doom loop. 

A few weeks ago, TMZ host Harvey Levin complained about what has happened to Los Angeles during his lifetime. A multi-generational Angelino, Levin has seen the best of the city. Now, he cannot ignore how crappy it has become. The relentless homeless shelters, the skyrocketing crime rates, the overall lack of cleanliness and peace, and the desecration that has overrun a once-getaway destination and a second home for the rich and famous are unavoidable. 

Yet the same Harvey Levin repeatedly castigated, shamed, and openly mocked the one candidate who had a campaign platform, character, and commitment to remedy all these problems. Spencer Pratt may have been a reality TV star. But he was also a father and a homeowner who lost everything in the fires. He was fed up, and he decided that he was going to run. He launched AI commercials slamming opponents Bass and Raman with an impressive media blitz. He did a fantastic job in the debates. He cut an incredible cloth as a truly independent candidate. Not beholden to any political party, he didn't care about Trump or Biden or Kamala Harris. He did care about the incompetence of incumbent mayor Karen Bass and her socialist left-leaning challenger Nithya Rahman. 

He's a common-sense guy, and anyone with sense would have elected him mayor. But common sense is no longer common—or welcome—in the City of Angels. They stopped electing Republican mayors in 2001, and then they stopped electing Democrats with any regard for the well-being of the city after 2013. 

It's a tragedy to see the once-heavenly Los Angeles turn into a hellscape. It's a tragedy that so many voters don't love LA, that their hatred of Trump, their disdain for Republicans, and their insistence on all of the shallow, shameful progressive issues are far more important than the necessities to make sure that their city can function. 

I never thought it would come to this, but Angelenos simply haven't hurt enough. How many more homes have to go up in flames? How many more families have to be torn apart by the death of a mother or a father because of crime or natural disaster? How many more businesses have to be destroyed, desecrated, forced to shut down because City Hall refuses to use its power to do what is best for the rest? 

These problems festered two years earlier. Before anti-American immigrant socialist City Councilwoman Nithya Raman Challenger made it into the runoff against Karen Bass, she had won re-election to City Council outright in 2024! For weeks during the March 2024 primary, business owners and homeowners repeatedly complained about the homeless and the crime in the streets. And yet for all their complaining then, and a recent protest test of makeshift homeless encampments outside of Rahman's home this year, voters still sent the elitist socialist to city hall.

Los Angeles, be afraid.

The Democratic Socialists of America have aggressively targeted you. Four of the city council members are DSA all the way. They are vying for a city council majority and the mayor's seat. Registered Republicans can’t help you now: they have given up on voting or moved out of the city altogether. 

What will it take? I am astounded at the destruction and degradation. New York City was one thing. President Trump had pretty much solved the migrant crisis and allowed some degree of enforcement, so New Yorkers got complacent, perhaps? But Los Angeles witnessed the unprecedented disaster that destroyed homes. We all saw the unconscionable incompetence of Los Angeles's political class. 

Yet even with that, LA voters voted for more of the same. 

I love LA, but clearly LA no longer loves LA.

Who's the Boss? Trump, That's Who!

 

He sets the stage.

He makes the demands.

Trump’s in charge, ladies and gentlemen of the Republican Party. Get in line, get out of way, or you will get gone. You push back on his agenda, and you are gone.

Congressman Thomas Massie is the latest to learn this lesson too late. He could talk about “his principles” all day long, but what did he accomplish?

Nothing.

He went along with Speaker-designate Kevin McCarthy in January 2023. In exchange for Massie’s support, McCarthy gave him a coveted spot on the House Rules committee.

In May 2023, McCarthy was pushing through another porkulus spending debt-ceiling increase. Fiscal conservatives were clamoring for its failure. It came before the must-pass House Rules Committee, where it squeaked by to the floor on a 7-6 vote. Thomas Massie, Mr. “National Debt Alarm Clock” principled libertarian conservative, was the tie-breaking vote.

At that point, I realized that Massie was all talk and no walk. There were no principles he was willing to fight for, if it meant losing a seat on a key committee or not being able to grandstand against President Trump.

The same President Trump had endorsed him in 2020, even though Massie had made him mad by calling for a voice vote on the COVID-19 pandemic spending. The same President Trump backed him in 2024, as well.

When 2025 rolled in, with Trump at the helm and Republicans running both chambers of Congress, Massie just threw a fit and stalled the Speakership vote. Instead of incumbent Speaker Mike Johnson, Massie nominated Tom Emmer. The Minnesota Congressman had withdrawn his name for consideration two years ago because he was too liberal, more liberal than Johnson!

And yet, “principled conservative libertarian” whatever Massie chose the liberal Minnesotan. Make it make sense!

It doesn’t.

Massie was a grandstander, a virtue-signaling grifter throughout the Second Trump Administration. He voted against immigration enforcement. He voted against the spending reforms (and cuts!) in the Big Beautiful Bill.

Then he started bellyaching about Israel and the Epstein list.

Massie had long cast contrarian votes on bills and resolutions relating to Israel. There’s nothing wrong with voting the will of one’s constituents when they clash with Trump.

Massie picked too many fights, though, and he lost. He angered the general conference by forcing votes. He set off Christian Zionists with his hostility to Israel. He then outraged Trump and his MAGA base by voting down the BBB, then blasted the President over the Epstein files and voted against the party’s main-line agenda.

Massie should have limited himself to two targets, and one of them should not have been Trump.

As Scott Jennings shared on a recent CNN roundtable, Trump has transformed himself into the consummate party boss. And not a moment too soon! The Republican Party has long struggled with unity and organization. An incumbent President often serves as the leader of the party, but the boss-like maneuvers that Trump has employed rival all of his previous Republican presidential colleagues. Bush I and II, Reagan, Ford, Nixon, and onwards into the past all showed more of a deferential attitude toward the GOP conference, oftentimes because Republicans not in the majority to begin with. Playing along was essential in those days.

Trump has changed political dynamics, ensuring Republican majorities with sustained party discipline.

If you cross Trump, you'd better knock him out, step aside, or get ready to lose your seat.

By and large, this kind of policy and political discipline is refreshing. Republican voters have long had to tolerate campaign conservatives who moved in line with the Potomac two-step once in office. Voters didn’t realize the importance of holding incumbents accountable until the Tea Party movement, and even then, it was a hit-and-miss effort.

With Trump, bad incumbents are getting the heave-ho, and it’s all for the better.

Louisiana’s Bill Cassidy was always a moderate, and he showed his conciliatory (read, backstabbing) ways when he voted to convict Trump. That kind of wishy-washy failure has no place in the larger movement.

Sure, some will complain that Trump is turning the GOP into a Trump-Only cult. The truth is that some Republicans in both chambers have voted against the President, even criticized him openly, and yet Trump doesn’t trash them or force them out. Consider Congressman David Valadao (R-CA) and US Senator Susan Collins (R-ME). Both of these moderate-to-liberal RINOs are popular in their respective Democrat-majority constituencies. They have to lean to the left to scoop up enough votes.

Collins and Valadao don’t showcase their resistance to Trump, though. They just disagree with him, vote against the party on some bills, but they support the GOP leadership across the board, which enables the majority of conservative priorities to pass.

Trump is bossing out the RINOs, the sellouts, the grifters, the bad Republicans in deep-red districts who insist on selling out and undermining the larger cause. The Republican conference needed this kind of cleaning out for a long time, and I am grateful.

Of course, Trump as the boss has had some misses. He bombed during Election 2022, when all of his US Senate nominees challenging open seats or Democratic incumbents exploded. This year in California, his endorsement frustrated two Republican gubernatorial candidates from getting into the Top Two.

Nevertheless, Trump’s endorsement misfires are getting rarer with each election cycle, and with Election 2026, we have witnessed TWO RINOs get the boot, with clear assurances that stronger Republicans will take their place. We can look back at 2010 and 2012, when the Tea Party Movement was stretching its legs and learning to flap its wings. There were more devastating misses, like the US Senate races in Delaware and Alaska, and then bigger US Senate failures in Missouri and Indiana in 2012.

Republicans, following Trump’s more media-savvy messaging, have learned to knock out the RINOs but maintain a more mainstream message. They win the independents and some of the disaffected Democrats. State your MAGA principles, but focus on the bread-and-butter issues, and you win more elections.

Trump the Boss is calculating with long-term wins in mind, not just the next election cycle. It’s about principled victory through pragmatic means, ensuring that liberal Republicans, feckless consultants, and retired GOP brass keep their mouths shut or go away.

Trump the Boss is also finishing off the left-leaning podcasters, pundits, Woke Right wrecks who have spent more time targeting Jews and Israel rather than focusing on the needs of America and Americans. Corporate media did its best to prop up anti-Trump wannabe America First candidates, and they have all crashed and burned. 

Boss Trump’s current coalition is managing internal and external opposition, but he’s trouncing the dying corporate media, decaying academia, and fussy big business interests trying to get cheap labor. Trump has maintained a warm and ready steady hand of leadership, pushing his agenda through. 

His aggressive stance has taught Republicans how to fight, or has forced them to fight, or has forced them out because they fight him or won't fight at all. That's what a good boss should do:  Maintain the well-being of the party, ensure that the mission is accomplished, and provide good standing for everyone so that they're all getting the job done.

Sore Loser: Cagey Kaji Plays the Race Card Following Election Loss

Now this is just shameful.

Towards the end of the campaign, Councilman Jon Kaji was the subject of an FCC complaint from the FBI.

Here's how he responded:

Whether the "FBI" is an acronym for a private entity or the letters refer to the actual Federal Bureau of Investigation is immaterial to my point.

Why does Kaji mention 1942?

Because he's tying this political attack to Executive Order 9066 and the discrimination, incarceration, deportation, and internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.

He literally compared his campaign setback to the Internment of Japanese-Americans.

This response is not serious.

In fact, it's quite offensive.

I don't recall David Kartsonis:

1. Forcing Kaji to sell his goods.

2. Forcing Kaji and his family to move out of their home.

3. Forcing Kaji to live in a horse stall as temporary shelter

4. Forcing Kaji and family to live in an internment camp

Did David Kartsonis do any of this?

Last time I checked, Kaji and his family are still safe and sound in North Torrance. There are no internment camps. Japanese-Americans in general are facing nothing like that level of discrimination today.

Most importantly, Kartsonis has done nothing of the sort to suggest or advocate for such treatment.

People are more than welcome to have their differences with Kartsonis (I certainly do).

But to implicate him with such abject racism and abuse is a low blow.

To disparage and exploit the Internment of Japanese Americans because you lost an election, that is just despicable.

Kaji was his worst enemy this election, and I must say at this point, he deserved to lose.

Update (July 16, 2026)

The Rational Animal summarized the base character of Kaji's retort very well, responding to disgraced Congressman Ro Khanna's racist remark earlier this week:

And here comes the race card. Not long ago I thought Khanna was the Democratic frontrunner for 2028. He's been spiraling fast, and now he grabs the oldest trick in the playbook: address a policy fight as racial martyrdom.

Bowman and Bush didn't lose over "Black martyrdom." They…

— The Rational Animal 🤔 (@theobjectivist) July 15, 2026

Aurelio Mattucci's Huge Win Against Two-Time Loser RINO Dishonest Mike Griffiths

 

I cannot rejoice enough over Councilman Mattucci's major win over former city councilman Mike Griffiths for the Torrance City Treasurer position.

Griffiths has a horrid reputation for lying to people in the city.

In 2018, I wanted him to support a Resolution against the Sanctuary State Law, SB 54. He made a bunch of excuses, stating that he didn't want to bring a "circus" of protesters to the city council.

How ironic that another circus--Black Lives Matter--would show up and shut down city council business for years. But that's another story for another day.

Griffiths said he would not support it. And yet, at the next city council meeting, there was a request for concurrence on a resolution against SB 54. Griffiths voted for it, along with Mattucci and Chen.

Councilman Milton Herring voted against it, along with Rizzo, Furey, and Goodrich, so the request for concurrence failed. Why would Griffiths tell me he opposed it, then went along with it when he had the chance?

This kind of double-dealing became commonplace with this guy.

I have shared before that Griffiths was particularly rude to me--as well as diffident--about supporting a Resolution of No Confidence in George Gascon. How could anyone find this problematic? 

Of course, there was his long of history of arrogance toward the general public. I remember when he attended some of the Beach Cities Republicans meetings, and he would snap back at some of the questions posed by the members.

On the council, once George Chen became mayor, Griffiths would routinely remind the public: "Well, since I am the city councilmember with the most experience ..."

Of course, having experience does not make one an expert. The 15th US President, James Buchanan, had more political experience than most presidents before and after--and yet he's regarded as one of the worst presidents in our nation's history. Experience is not enough. Elected officials have to have class, honesty, and integrity.

Those are characteristics which Griffiths has long lacked.

He ran for Treasurer in 2022, and one would think that as a sitting city councilmember, he would have had the best chance. There were four other candidates, including, at that time, former city councilman Tim Goodrich (who left his seat for career reasons, I guess?). The current treasurer, Dana Cortez, was not showing up to work, and there were two other candidates, including conservative Rick Marshall (who managed to send out a mailer that year, too!)

Goodrich won. Griffiths couldn't beat a former city councilman, one who had quit his job before the end of the term! That is pretty sad. I also remember visiting Griffith's campaign Facebook page, and someone had posted my blog post calling out Griffiths for not wanting to take a stand against Gascon!

After George was elected mayor, Griffiths didn't want to issue a Resolution of No Confidence in the Los Angeles Health Director Barbara Ferrer. His opposition failed, since Sharon Kalani went along with it, and Asam Sheikh abstained (something he does quite a lot on the city council dias).

Griffiths supported tax increases. Griffiths was OK with the Pride Resolution. Griffiths wanted to increase the spending. He was never a true Republican.

Then he ran again for city treasurer.

What kind of support did he muster for his second bid for city-wide office?

Councilman Jeremy Gerson endorsed him, but do you notice anything funny about the photo?

It's AI! You can see the Google Gemini logo in the bottom right corner.

It's fake, just like the persona that Griffiths tried to present to the public over his last two campaigns.

Why didn't Gerson bother to show up for a photo shoot, anyway?

Gerson is a Democrat now, by the way, so that showed where his growing interests lie.

Speaking of Democrats, look who else endorsed Dishonest Mike:

If you can't read the circled section, here's a larger print:

Yes, the liberal Democrat state assemblyman, who thinks it's OK for teachers to keep secrets from parents about their children, who made it easier for sex offenders to avoid the sex-offender registry, who wanted to make it harder to fire pervert teachers, who raised our gas taxes, he endorsed Griffiths.

If this doesn't scream RINO, I don't know what will.

I was stunned when I first saw this, and I had hoped to write something about it, time permitting. What a betrayal! Why would anyone, especially a supposed Republican, promote an endorsement from an abusive Democratic lawmaker like Muratsuchi? The state assemblyman even pushed for his chief of staff, Andrew DeBlock, to run against Griffiths in 2020!

I didn't have the time to go after this perverse endorsement. Getting out the vote for Mattucci was more important. Thankfully, that decision paid off.

Former city councilman and two-time loser for city treasurer, Mike Griffiths, has used the domain name "I Like Mike" for his campaign website ever since he ran for office, starting with the city council in 2014. It's time for him to get the message: No, we don't like him, and it's time for him to move on.