Month: March 2016

I watch “With All Due Respect” on MSNBC.  Halperin and Heileman  wrote “Double Down” the definitive history of the 2012 campaign.  They get access, and try not to let their personal liberalism interfere with their reporting and analysis.  Some of the stuff they have on is interesting.  I have some respect for these guys.

They smell Trump’s blood in the water, just like I do.  Judge Napolitano, on Fox, feels the same way.  You can sense it.  This isn’t wishful thinking.  Abortion, and the general attitude a man has toward women, are very big deals.  The Moron has the misogynist vote sewed up.  I just don’t think that there are too many of them.

The thing is, Trump is a bullshit artist, a con man.  He thinks he’s really, really smart, and can handle things on the fly.  He doesn’t need to read a lot, or even think a lot.  He just needs to be quick on his feet, follow his instincts, and bullshit his way through the entire  campaign.  It’s amazing, when you think about it, is that he’s gotten this far.  This has got to  be the Greatest Bullshit Artist in American history.

And Ted Cruz gets to be the man who takes him down.  That’s a demonstration of political leadership, and skill, rarely seen in American politics.  It’s a sign of what his Presidency will be.

All that remains is execution.  The path is clear.  Cruz is superbly organized in California.  He has an issue, which the Moron probably doesn’t even know about, which will win him 2/3 of the state.  I’m sure his California team is well aware of this issue, and it’s a good one.   I happen to have some ideas about how to exploit it.

Back in Alaska, and my little project plugs along.  No hurry.  I’m not going to get all worked up about it.  But I see it happening.  Again, the path is clear.  All that remains is execution.  I just can’t try to do too much of that myself.

I had the politics of the 2016 Presidential election all wrong.  I never thought Trump could get this far.  To me, it proves that there are a whole hell of a lot of really pissed off people in this country, and I’m just as pissed off as they are.  What they’ll eventually learn is that Cruz is just as pissed off as all of us are.

And Monday is opening day.  Is that a coincidence, or what?

That’s the way I was brought up.  That’s not the Donald’s way. “Treat them like s—” is what Trump has publicly advocated.

Hat’s off to Chris Mathews for pinning the Moron down on abortion.  It all started with his attack on Heidi Cruz.  That was the tipping point we’ve all been waiting for.  Since then it just gets worse and worse.  The media has been very easy on Trump.  Chris Mathews put an end to that.  It’s all down hill from here for this cowardly buffoon.

The Marquette Poll, giving Cruz a ten point lead, was taken before Gov. Walker’s endorsement.  The two of them will be campaigning together on Monday.  It really shouldn’t  be that close.

After Wisconsin, and even before, the new story line which will emerge is the Collapse of Donald Trump.  It’s going to get great ratings, and it’s going to keep up as long as he’s in the race.  His lead looks insurmountable in New York, so he’ll probably survive to fight in Pennsylvania on April 26th.  Here’s a little inside dope from the Keystone State: regardless of the outcome of the presidential preference poll, well over 2/3 of the Pennsylvania delegates will be backing Cruz.  Sorry, Donald, them’s the rules.  I don’t know anything about CT, RI and MD, but Delaware looks interesting on the same day.

I was relieved yesterday by the continuing excellence of the Cruz campaign.  Today I can start to see the air coming out of Trump’s balloon.  Thank you, Chris Mathews.  Your admission that Obama made your leg tingle is forgiven.  You’re a stand up guy. Sort of.

I may not make it to Cleveland.  CA-4 is Tom McClintock’s district, and he doesn’t know me.  He knows Lew Uhler  — he used to work for Lew.  But since he’s a strong Cruz supporter I imagine he has some say in who the delegates are from his district, and he’s got somebody else in mind.  I called Lew and asked him to put a good word in for me with McClintock, and emailed Ron Nehring, the Cruz California Chair, who I don’t know.  So we’ll see.

The only time I saw McClintock was at a Republican luncheon in Angel’s Camp, about fifteen miles from where I live.  When Babbie was a young woman she and some of her friends went there and entered a frog in the annual Frog Jumping Contest.

This was right before the government shutdown in October of 2013, and I went there to ask him a question, which I did.  “Does the Congress still have the power of the purse?”  To his credit, he stepped right up and said it sure as hell did, and I believe he stood with Cruz in the whole fight.  So he and I see eye to eye.

Two years ago I decided to be a Democrat for a while, so I could run and draw votes away from any liberal Republican that took Tom on in our jungle primary.  I told a few people about it, and maybe some people didn’t understand what I was up to.

One of my best buddies in Alaska was Bill Choquette.  I got along with his three brothers too, and his dad.  They made me an honorary Choquette, which I really liked.  These were all my kind of guys.  Bill taught me how to hunt, and gut a moose.

I ran unopposed in 1986, and hoped for the same in 1988.  It was a good Republican district.  I almost didn’t run.  I’d done six years, and it was a serious strain on Babbie.  I was really asking too much.  But somehow I convinced myself that the Republicans would get in the majority, and I could be Speaker for two years, and I’d be all set to run for the U.S. Senate.  So I ran.  Just one last time.

And then Crazy Dave Choquette, my honorary brother, switches his party registration from Democrat to Republican, and primaries me.  No Democrat files, so we’re the only two names on the ballot.  All the Democrats hated me, and there were Hickel and Stevens Republicans who couldn’t stand me either.

So much for brotherhood.

And stupidity sucks.  The evidence mounts that the Donald is stuck on stupid, and Cruz knows how the game is played.

This gives me a feeling of deep satisfaction.  After one minor slip up in Iowa, the Cruz campaign has never disappointed.  I can’t really second guess anything they’ve done.  The candidate himself has been almost as good.  He’s not a machine.  He gets tired, and I’m sure he gets pissed off as well.  But he hasn’t skipped a beat.  I’m only an outside volunteer, so I can only give an outsider’s view.  It’s damned impressive to me.

The latest move, sending Cruz to the North Dakota and Colorado State Conventions, is a very smart one.  He’ll get 28 out of 28 in ND, and 37 out of 37 in CO.  The ND guys are pledged to go “uncommitted”.  That doesn’t mean they won’t have an opinion.

In between is Wisconsin, where everything seems to be going right.  Scott Walker would make a smart VP pick.  You’ll get Rubio’s help in Florida, and Kasich’s in Ohio, without having to put them on the ticket.  Walker could get you Wisconsin, and you are on your way to 270.

On March 16th is Wyoming, which Cruz will win whether he goes or not.  So over the course of one month, from March 16th to April 16th, Cruz will have a record of splitting Arizona and Utah with Trump, and then winning four in a row  — North Dakota, Wisconsin, Colorado and Wyoming.  That’s a nice streak.  Who’s got the hot hand heading to New York?  And who looks like a loser?

The really strange thing to me, being where I’m from, is what do they see in this guy in New York?  They actually like this guy?  My God, you’d think the more you were exposed to this ignorant lout the more you’d despise him.  It’s a very diverse country, but I feel like I’ve got more in common with a black sharecropper in Alabama than I do with people in Manhattan.

The Moron continues to whine about Louisiana.  Wait until he finds out how Pennsylvania works.  This nitwit seems to think that state Republican Parties are some how required to give him the percentage of delegates he thinks he’s “earned” in these states.  But that’s not how it’s ever worked, and that’s not going to change.  In a way, it won’t be all bad if the fool goes third party.  He’ll just continue to  make Cruz look normal by comparison.

I was in on a FOSSIL meeting today, put together by my old friend Rep. Mike Szymanski, Democrat, South Anchorage.  There must have been twenty former legislators present in Anchorage, and another dozen on the phone, as I was.  Boy, do these guys like to talk.  The purpose of the meeting was to discuss Alaska’s budget crisis, and what to do about it.  When my turn came I told them to hold off making any crisis driven moves, because when Ted Cruz is elected he’s promised to transfer the federal lands to the states, and most of their problems would be solved.

They kept on talking about taxing this and taxing that and I’d had enough.  I’d heard my old buddy Rick Halford’s voice earlier, and I wanted him to call me.  I’ve left him messages, but he hasn’t called back.  So I said I had to leave, but asked Rick to write down my phone number and call me.  Then I said, “As Joe Biden would say, I’ve got three words for you  — economic development.”

I heard one old guy say, “That’s only two words!”

Rick’s voice sounded strong.  He’s had some issues, and I’m sure he doesn’t want to talk about it.  We never talked about personal things, too much.  I don’t want to inquire about his health.  I want to pick his brain.  I want Rick to do a little scheming with me.  I think we both have something to offer each other, and all I need from him is some counsel.  It’s better not to do things completely alone.

What I really need is an active partner in crime in Anchorage, and I may have stumbled across him today.

And stupidity sucks.  The evidence mounts that the Donald is stuck on stupid, and Cruz knows how the game is played.

This gives me a feeling of deep satisfaction.  After one minor slip up in Iowa, the Cruz campaign has never disappointed.  I can’t really second guess anything they’ve done.  The candidate himself has been almost as good.  He’s not a machine.  He gets tired, and I’m sure he gets pissed off as well.  But he hasn’t skipped a beat.  I’m only an outside volunteer, so I can only give an outsider’s view.  It’s damned impressive to me.

The latest move, sending Cruz to the North Dakota and Colorado State Conventions, is a very smart one.  He’ll get 28 out of 28 in ND, and 37 out of 37 in CO.  The ND guys are pledged to go “uncommitted”.  That doesn’t mean they won’t have an opinion.

In between is Wisconsin, where everything seems to be going right.  Scott Walker would make a smart VP pick.  You’ll get Rubio’s help in Florida, and Kasich’s in Ohio, without having to put them on the ticket.  Walker could get you Wisconsin, and you are on your way to 270.

On March 16th is Wyoming, which Cruz will win whether he goes or not.  So over the course of one month, from March 16th to April 16th, Cruz will have a record of splitting Arizona and Utah with Trump, and then winning four in a row  — North Dakota, Wisconsin, Colorado and Wyoming.  That’s a nice streak.  Who’s got the hot hand heading to New York?  And who looks like a loser?

The really strange thing to me, being where I’m from, is what do they see in this guy in New York?  They actually like this guy?  My God, you’d think the more you were exposed to this ignorant lout the more you’d despise him.  It’s a very diverse country, but I feel like I’ve got more in common with a black sharecropper in Alabama than I do with people in Manhattan.

The Moron continues to whine about Louisiana.  Wait until he finds out how Pennsylvania works.  This nitwit seems to think that state Republican Parties are some how required to give him the percentage of delegates he thinks he’s “earned” in these states.  But that’s not how it’s ever worked, and that’s not going to change.  In a way, it won’t be all bad if the fool goes third party.  He’ll just continue to  make Cruz look normal by comparison.

I was in on a FOSSIL meeting today, put together by my old friend Rep. Mike Szymanski, Democrat, South Anchorage.  There must have been twenty former legislators present in Anchorage, and another dozen on the phone, as I was.  Boy, do these guys like to talk.  The purpose of the meeting was to discuss Alaska’s budget crisis, and what to do about it.  When my turn came I told them to hold off making any crisis driven moves, because when Ted Cruz is elected he’s promised to transfer the federal lands to the states, and most of their problems would be solved.

They kept on talking about taxing this and taxing that and I’d had enough.  I’d heard my old buddy Rick Halford’s voice earlier, and I wanted him to call me.  I’ve left him messages, but he hasn’t called back.  So I said I had to leave, but asked Rick to write down my phone number and call me.  Then I said, “As Joe Biden would say, I’ve got three words for you  — economic development.”

I heard one old guy say, “That’s only two words!”

Rick’s voice sounded strong.  He’s had some issues, and I’m sure he doesn’t want to talk about it.  We never talked about personal things, too much.  I don’t want to inquire about his health.  I want to pick his brain.  I want Rick to do a little scheming with me.  I think we both have something to offer each other, and all I need from him is some counsel.  It’s better not to do things completely alone.

What I really need is an active partner in crime in Anchorage, and I may have stumbled across him today.

 

Her name is Stephanie Cegielski, and you’re going to hear a lot more about her.  I know virtually nothing myself. But if what she writes is true, and it rings very true indeed, she’ll be on the Megyn Kelly show very soon.  And she’ll nail Donald Trump’s hide to the wall.  He’s going to lose Wisconsin, it’s just a question of how bad it’s going to be.

His last national talk show host, Michael Savage  — a complete nut  — abandoned him today, unless something changed in the last couple hours.  And now Stephanie, who saw everything unfold in the Trump campaign up close and personal.  She knows this guy, and she’s spilling the beans.  She’ll bury him.  John Fund has a link to her blog at NROnline.  My computer refuses to do links any more.

A few days ago I asked my Alaska readers to email me at fritzpettyjohn@gmail.com if they had an idea of who should run against Murkowski. (By the way, our opponent’s name is Murkowski, not Lisa.)   I didn’t get a big response, but the few that did come in were no surprise.  It confirmed my own thinking.  I have a candidate, a strategy, and a deadline — June 1st, 63 days away.

The next move is the formation of a Draft Committee.  I’ll need some start up  money.  There’s a way for people to donate to the Reagan Project on this website.  Now I have a specific cause to ask money for.  This will be temporary.  As soon as we’ve raised a little money, we’ll have a traditional website, with any number of ways to donate or volunteer.

I think a big win for Cruz in Wisconsin, on April 5th, will virtually seal the deal.  At that point I can take full advantage of my contacts with the Cruz people, in order to assist me in my Draft effort.  I will ask for a lot, and I’ll be at my most persuasive.  If you are serious, and have a suggestion, email me at the address above.

My Next Big Project, is what I’m personally calling it.

Right now, here in the California  Foothills, it’s the prettiest time of the year.  I think that’s appropriate, somehow.