U.S. Senator Josh Hawley delivered a speech on the floor of the senate that deserves some attention.  The larger issue outlined by Senator Halwey surrounds the recent Supreme Court Bowstock decision authored by Justice Gorsuch.  However, in overlaying the judicial outcome, Hawley hits on the central issue he calls the “conservative bargain.”

The entire speech is worth listening to, as the senator encapsulates many of the frustrations within the recent decision; but the segment at 07:15 cuts to the heart of the distinction between MAGA-Trump republicanism and the pathetic GOPe wing of the Mitch McConnell UniParty. We have previously called this “The Decepticon”  WATCH:

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The COVID shutdown was an exceptional event. The consequences from the shutdown do have ripple effects; however, the strength of the underlying economic foundation is now coming back into focus as the rebound starts taking shape.

Last week most economic analysts were stunned by the 2.5 million jobs added to the economy in May. As we shared earlier, the result wasn’t so surprising when you consider the framework of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) worked exactly like President Trump and Treasury Secretary Mnuching planned. The incentives within the PPP program did what they were intended to do; small and mid-sized businesses retained or rehired their employees.

Inside the foundation of the Trump Main Street economy, the cement that binds the America-First policy, are a series of pre-established economic policies that specifically targets middle-class workers. The foundation is made strong by net wage gains and earnings amid mid-tier workers; those wage gains are made more important by policies that keep inflation in check.

Blue-collar workers, on average, were fortunately positioned to ride-out the COVID shutdown. With the shutdown over; Main Street now quickly fires back into action.

The demand for mortgage applications rose five percent last week, resulting in year-over-year growth over 13 percent. Again, this result stuns the experts. Demand for home purchases remains high and people are confident in their income security to make big decisions on home financing. The visible strength of Main Street cuts against the naysayers and doomsayers who thought the COVID shutdown would collapse the economy. It didn’t.

It did not, because (a) the shutdown was an exceptional event; and (b) the underlying foundation is stronger than the blow it took from the COVID sledgehammer.

(Via CNBC) “The recovery in the purchase market continues to gain steam, with the seasonally adjusted index rising to its highest level since January,” said Joel Kan, an MBA economist. “Purchase activity increased for the eighth straight week.”

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Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski proclaims today that she may not be able to support the reelection of President Donald Trump.  President Trump fires back:

Long term CTH readers will well remember how Tea Party candidate Joe Miller was backed by Sarah Palin when he stunningly defeated Lisa Murkowski during the republican primary in 2010.  However, Murkowski would not accept the primary defeat and the entitlement-minded incumbent ran as a write-in candidate, and enlisted the assistance of democrats in Alaska to retain her seat in the general election.

The Tea Party was furious at the level of elitist refusal to accept the primary defeat in 2010, and Senator Murkowski has been a thorn in the side of conservatives ever since.

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The testimony of former Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein is now complete and we are able to make an honest assessment into the motives and intents of the Senate Judiciary Committee; and specifically Chairman Lindsey Graham.

Without a doubt, it is now clear Senator Lindsey Graham is executing the familiar chaff and countermeasure approach to cover-up the former administration surveillance abuses.

Here are four specific reasons that clarity is assured.  Ranked in order of brutality:

♦ Number Four:

While there was some cursory inquiry into the reasoning of Rod Rosenstein to authorize the direct targeting of Trump campaign officials, not a single Senator inquired about the specifics behind how the August 2, 2017, scope memo was created:

Who specifically identified the targets; what justification was provided by the special counsel to target the officials; why were those specific persons selected; and under what predicate was Rosenstein authorized to expand the Mueller investigation?

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Today at 10:00am EDT former Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein will be testifying to the Senate Judiciary Committee about the issues and events surrounding Spygate, the DOJ/FBI weaponization, FISA abuses and his role in the Mueller investigation.

This testimony should give us a good indication of whether Chairman Lindsey Graham is serious about revealing the truth behind three years of intelligence abuses; or whether the legislative objective is to cover for serious abuses of power in the Obama surveillance era.

Senate Judiciary Link – CSPAN Livestream – Fox Livestream – FBN Livestream

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It is difficult to believe that Senator Marco Rubio could possibly be chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee with statements like this.  Difficult, that is, until you recognize the chair of the SSCI is a political appointment intended to shape public perception regardless of reality.   Thus Rubio was the ideal candidate to fill the shoes of Richard Burr.

Nothing substantively within this statement is accurate.  The violence, looting, robberies, physical attacks, murders, beatings and arson all stem from conduct of activists groups on the far-left within Antifa and radical elements of Black Lives Matter.  However, Rubio cannot admit the truth because it is adverse to his political interests.

Senator Rubio, denies the obvious, obfuscates known and demonstrable facts and reality, and pushes a false and fictitious narrative that aligns with national media.  Rubio joins with national democrats to blame China, Russia, Venezuela and some mysterious group of domestic white nationalists that no-one has seen.  WATCH:

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Perhaps Senator Rubio would like to explain which intelligence briefing he has seen that identifies “far right” activists within his expressed narrative. Pure nonsense.

The most dangerous force in any battle is not the enemy you face, but rather the ally beside you who refuses to admit the enemy exists. The denying ally has the ability reduce your force strength before the battle begins.  That is exactly Rubio’s motive in 2020.

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Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Senator Ron Johnson, appears on Fox News for an interview with Maria Bartiromo.  Senator Johnson outlines the evidence he has uncovered and the next steps in his senate investigation into intelligence abuses against candidate Trump and the incoming administration.

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Johnson Timeline and Data Below:

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We are entering a very precarious phase.  I doubt congress has a full grasp on just how much the American electorate are aware of their prior activity.

Senator Marco Rubio was moved into the position of Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) for the specific purpose of defending the interests of the senate.  The SSCI under republican leadership was weaponized against Donald Trump and was a participating unit in the soft-coup against a sitting U.S. president.

The corrupt intent crosses over party designations; this is a unified self-interest.

Rubio previously shielded SSCI Vice Chair Mark Warner for his covert contacts with Christopher Steele after a series of “would rather not have a paper trail” text messages were discovered during the investigation of SSCI Security Director James Wolfe’s leaks.

The Florida Senator was moved into position recently as surfacing documents started to put more sunlight on the Senate Intel Committee.  Rubio’s role is to cover their tracks.

As an outcome we see this – Rubio Defending Obama-Era IC Weaponization:

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Something 99% of American voters do not understand.  Congress doesn’t actually write legislation. The last item of legislation written by congress was sometime around the mid 1990’s. Modern legislation is sub-contracted to a segment of operations in DC known as K-Street.  That’s where the lobbyists reside.

Lobbyists write the laws; congress sells the laws; lobbyists then pay congress commissions for passing their laws. That’s the modern legislative business in DC.

CTH often describes the system with the phrase: “There are Trillions at Stake.” The process of creating legislation is behind that phrase. DC politics is not quite based on the ideas that frame most voter’s reference points.

With people taking notice of DC politics for the first time; and with people not as familiar with the purpose of DC politics; perhaps it is valuable to provide clarity.

Most people think when they vote for a federal politician -a House or Senate representative- they are voting for a person who will go to Washington DC and write or enact legislation. This is the old-fashioned “schoolhouse rock” perspective based on decades past. There is not a single person in congress writing legislation or laws.

In modern politics not a single member of the House of Representatives or Senator writes a law, or puts pen to paper to write out a legislative construct. This simply doesn’t happen.

Over the past several decades a system of constructing legislation has taken over Washington DC that more resembles a business operation than a legislative body. Here’s how it works right now.

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The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence voted today to approve Rep. John Ratcliffe to be the next US intelligence director. Senators approved Ratcliffe in an 8 to 7 vote along party lines during a closed-door meeting. The previous SSCI vote to approve Dan Coats in 2017 was 14 to 2.  DNI Coats turned out to be a disappointment protecting the swamp.

Mr. Ratcliffe now moves to be confirmed by the full Senate before replacing acting Director of National Intelligence Richard “Ric” Grenell, who also is US ambassador to Germany. As acting DNI Grenell built a strong foundation for Ratcliffe to build upon; and there is a strong likelihood Grenell will stay close to the administration and lead President Trump’s Intelligence Advisory Board.

The ODNI position is important within the intelligence apparatus as the DNI is the hub for all intelligence agencies and the director controls the overall intelligence community.  The DNI also coordinates the declassification and release of executive branch documents.

Politico reports Ratcliffe is expected to be confirmed by the full Senate in a vote likely to be held after Memorial Day, according to Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo).