In his work “Politics and the English Language,” George Orwell explains that “In our time, political speech and writing are largely the defense of the indefensible.” If so, the news this week took a truly Orwellian turn as Democrats rationalized or even praised the effort in Alaska to put a decoy “Dan Sullivan” on the ballot to confuse Alaskans and cause mistaken votes. Other Democratic politicians are entirely silent on the allegation that the campaign of Democratic candidate Mary Peltola engineered this grossly unethical tactic. The very same people running on “saving Democracy” are, once again, defending ballot manipulation designed to negate the votes of citizens. It is the ultimate expression of rage politics, excusing any act needed to achieve power.
On NewsNation Now, Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA) went beyond many of his colleagues in saying that the Alaskan scandal shows precisely where all states, including Virginia, should go. When asked about the scandal, Subramanyam insisted that it showed how all states should embrace the widely criticized ranked-choice voting system. (Alaskans may finally reject the system this year). While asked about the use of a decoy candidate, Subramanyam bizarrely spun the question as third-party candidates — a bizarre claim since the fake Dan Sullivan has not campaigned, has never run for office, and is obviously on the ballot solely to confuse voters.
Nevertheless, Subramanyam insisted, while he would not run a decoy, “I also don’t have a ranked-choice voting system in Virginia. I wish I did, honestly. But, in Alaska, they have ranked-choice voting, and third-party candidates are very relevant. And so, if you recruited a third-party candidate who can take votes away from your opponent, that’s part of the process, and that’s just how it works in Alaska.” Previously, Subramanyam also supported the most radical gerrymandering effort in the nation (which was later struck down as unlawful).
Sen. Chris Murphy (D., Conn.) seemed to snowball as he tried to rationalize the move. He first attempted to blame it on one woman who was a “disgruntled former employee.” When CNN host Kaitlan Collins noted that The New York Times was relying on a large number of sources in the Peltola campaign, Murphy said it wouldn’t bother him at all to have decoys on his ballot because no one would be confused when voting. Of course, the entire reason you put another Dan Sullivan on the ballot is to confuse voters and cause citizens to throw away their votes on the wrong man. In a close election, that can easily make the difference in the outcome of the election. Murphy also praised the Peltola campaign and said he “trusts” them, despite the New York Times saying they actively sought to cause such voting errors.
In 2025, Murphy appeared on any cable show that would have him to declare that “those of us who believe that the threat to democracy is urgent” need to “act like it.”
Most Democratic leaders refused to say anything at all in the face of an open effort to nullify votes through candidate confusion.
Pundits and party officials have dismissed the scandal as brass-knuckles politics or even as humorous. The head of Alaska’s Democratic Party, Eric Croft, insisted that the sole consideration is whether it is a crime, not whether it is unethical: “I reread all of Alaska’s statutes. I’m kind of a recovering attorney up here. And there is nothing, there’s no legal issue to it. On your, you know, sort of dirty tricks thing, I think Alaskans have a different take there too.”
When pressed whether it is a good thing to try to confuse Alaskan voters and nullify their votes, Croft responded “No, I think it’s funny.”
That knee-slapper involves a politician and campaign that allegedly lied to the public about their involvement. It involves a decoy who is also accused of lying when he said he had no interaction with third parties and did not enter the race to confuse voters. (Notably, the decoy, when asked by the Division of Elections how his name should appear on the ballot, reportedly asked to use “S” as a middle initial (like the senator) as opposed to his own initial of “J.” ).
One would think that this would be an easy question for candidates who insist that they are defenders of democracy. However, in 2024, Democrats moved to remove Trump and other Republicans from ballots while claiming to be protecting voters by denying them the choice of candidates. The fact that the voters gave Trump the popular vote and swept every swing state only magnified the hypocrisy of these Democratic leaders. Yet, some of the same figures are back at it again with efforts to manipulate balloting to confuse or nullify votes in the name of protecting democracy.
Some of the same figures, such as Marc Elias, have reappeared in yet another election scandal. The Elias Law Group was named by the New York Times as involved in the controversy. Elias was a central figure in the Russian hoax as the campaign lawyer for Hillary Clinton. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) fined the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign for violating election rules in hiding the funding for the infamous Steele dossier. Before the election, Clinton officials denied any such involvement.
In an age of rage, consistency, like decency, is a stranger to politics. We are left again in that moment with lawyer Joseph Welch in the Army-McCarthy hearings in 1954: “Have you no shame, sir, at long last? Have you no shame?” The answer today is clear: No, but I have the votes.
Jonathan Turley is a law professor and the New York Times best-selling author of “Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution.”
The Democrats embrace voter-confusion-tactics? I must have missed something. Who argues to this day that the 2020 election was rigged? Who argued recently that the Brazilian election was rigged? This blog has totally lost its balance from previous years. Simply a megaphone for MAGA.
Megaphone? You got facts or just delusions?
MAGA …. Make AMERICA GreatAgain . DEMORAT : Install a crooked POS named Joey Biden , Steal an election ,Throw protestors who did NO damage in an OPEN Capitol in jail for YEARS yet let killers go in less time . Klaus , Wake UP. You and others who support the rotten to the core demorat party . Most of the so-called media and 99% of all mentally ill people support demorats. MakeAmericaGreatAgain supporters honor our Constitution .
KK(K)
“The Democrats embrace voter-confusion-tactics?”
Yes, and they are embracing FRAUD.
This was not merely lying to voters about policies and positions – which to some extent we see all the time from both parties.
This was a deliberate attempt to deceive voters into wasting their vote.
” I must have missed something.”
Yup.
” Who argues to this day that the 2020 election was rigged?”
People who want elections with integrity.
People who do not want the rules changed at the last minute.
People who do not want the law to be wantonly ignored.
Of course the 2020 election was rigged – that is beyond any doubt.
The question we do not have an answer to is whether that rigging was sufficient to flip a nationwide election decided by less than 45000 votes.
Regardless telling people that an election was rigged – when it clearly was is not confusing voters.
” Who argued recently that the Brazilian election was rigged?”
It is highly likely the 2022 and 2026 Brazilian elections were rigged.
Even democrats now accept that the last Maduro election was rigged.
Most everyone grasps that All Russian elections are rigged.
What are you arguing ? That all challenges to an election are delusional ?
Rational people decide whether allegations are true based on facts and evidence and standards of proof relevant to the circumstances.
If Daniel J. Sullivan is tried in a court – he must be convicted by evidence of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
But that is NOT the appropriate standard in the marketplace of ideas.
Those of you on the left seem completely incapable of grasping the meaning of Madison in Federalist 51.
“If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.”
It is absolutely bizzare that those of you on th left presume that men are angels as socialism requires to work, or with respect to elections,
But ONLY on issues concerning the behavior of those on the left.
You rant about dark money. the evils of capitalism, the corruption of the Trump family. Lawfare, Political weaponization.
But you do so as if Only those on the right ever succumb to greed or the lust for power.
Further you idiotically want to obliterate a working system of economics and government and replace it with something that has failed everytime it has been tried BECAUSE MEN ARE NOT ANGELS,
Regardless the FACT is that MEN ARE NOT ANGELS.
Whatever system you have – of economy of politics, of elections, Some men – not most, will game the system for their advantage.
But even those who will game the system are not all equal. Some will do no more than exploit every flaw every legal loophole, they will behave unethically and immorally, but not illegally,
While others will do anything at all so long as they are unlikely to get caught,
and a smaller number still will misbehave even if they are likely to get caught.
As Madison notes we construct our system of govenrment with the very same people that we need to constrain.
“If you build it, They will come”
If you create a system where fraud is possible you will have fraud.
Anyone arguing that claims of election fraud should be ignored is obviously on their face a moron.
There is ample evidence of Fraud in 2020 – that was absolutely certain when we allowed an epidemic to drive hasty changes to our election laws, and rules.
Our political and legal systems MUST be designed to function unaltered under all circumstances. It is not possible to change laws overnight to address some temporary issue and do so in a fashion that myriads of new ways to game them are not created.
If you do not understand that you are a moron.
Whether such changes are good intentioned or oportunistic – they ALWAYS fall short of what existed and they ALWAYS will be exploited more rapidly that loopholes will be closed.
Government moves slow – as it MUST, those driven by lust for power, greed, or even the altruistic who beleive the ends justifiy the means will always act faster than govenrment can.
There are many reasons – ideological, demographic, etc. that the left will always be more dangerous than the right.
Just one of the simpliest is that the left is ALWAYS for change and change is nearly always worse than whatever preceded it.
PPACA is a beautiful example – we have reached a point where most people still on PPACA can actually buy private insurance with the same coverage cheaper. Subsidies ALWAYS fail.
But the more important point is that change nearly always fails – and that is why we do not make changes through government, or if we do we takes decades to condiser what we are doing first. Outside of govenrment, change that fails – and nearly all change fails, nearly all the time, is allowed to FAIL – and we move on. Or someone refines it to work better – over and over until it finally actually works – and works better than what came before.
It is almost never true that some change reshapes the world in its first iteration.
Change is both critically important and incredibly difficult.
Yet core to the left is constantly pushing significant – sometimes massive change in and thru government.
Aside from the near certainty of failure, change is oportunity – and that includes the oportunity for Fraud.
Mean are not angels. We must always govern with the CERTAINTY that atleast a few will exploit any flaw.
This is sleezy politics and if the Dems don’t push against this it is on them and the future low of the Party. What a terrible stain on Alaska and on the Democrat party. Is this the future for our politics? If this doesn’t stop with Alaska, it will only escalate. Is this how the Dems plan to map out their party’s future?
So you want to talk about sleazy politics, which, according to MAGA is only practiced by Democrats? First of all, in Alaska, there are only allegations, which are denied, but because Trump is so toxic and has done such a terrible job of pretending to be President, MAGA grabs onto anything they can use to attack Democrats.
Trump made false promises to get elected— no new wars, lower costs for energy, food, housing and everything else. He barely squeaked by— getting less than half of the votes cast and only 1.48% more of the popular votes than Kamala Harris.
Since taking office, he has driven up inflation, wages have not kept up, enacted tariffs and started a war which has driven up the cost of fuel and consumer goods. He has alienated our allies, including Canada, and obsesses about vanity projects that no one wants, like a ballroom, a vanity arch, a helipad and trying to take over the JFK Center. Republicans let him do whatever he wants, including helping himself to the Treasury.
People are taking to the streets in record numbers to protest, so Republicans have tried to rig the midterm elections by adding more red districts, trying to intimidate voters by sending federal agents, trying to grab ballots and making up lies about “ineligible voters”.
So you wonder about the future of the Democratic Party? Why not clean up the mess in your own party first?
Is TDS painful ANON? I sure hope so!!!!
Okay Dustoff go to bed. Or is it still wet from yesterday?
https://www.thetrumpderangementsyndrome.com/_files/ugd/59ce46_8a98411366534b7e84e634a8d3a313dd.pdf
First, regarding the 2024 election outcome, claiming the victory was illegitimate or minor ignores constitutional and historical frameworks. Under Article II of the U.S. Constitution, presidential elections are determined by the Electoral College, where Donald Trump secured 312 electoral votes to Kamala Harris’s 226 while winning all seven major battleground states. Winning the national popular vote by over 1.4 percentage points—a margin of more than 2.2 million votes—represents a decisive victory by modern standards, particularly when compared to historical presidential contests such as 2000 or 1968.
Second, on economic policy, attributing global price pressures exclusively to domestic executive decisions overlooks broader macroeconomic conditions. The administration’s tariff strategy was executed to address foreign trade imbalances,reshore essential American manufacturing, and protect key domestic industries from predatory competitors. While supply chain realignments can involve temporary price adjustments, long-term economic indicators—including strong GDP performance and historic market highs—demonstrate underlying industrial resilience, while broader energy price movements remain heavily tied to volatile global supply dynamics.
Third, regarding federal property and executive capital projects, claims of financial impropriety misrepresent federal budget laws and project funding. Under the Antideficiency Act and Article I of the Constitution, executive officials cannot draw unappropriated funds from the U.S. Treasury. Major capital updates to federal grounds are routinely undertaken to meet evolving Secret Service security mandates and restore aging infrastructure, while high-profile venue projects have relied heavily on hundreds of millions of dollars in private donations, directly limiting the impact on taxpayer funds.
Finally, allegations surrounding election administration and redistricting mischaracterize standard legal authority. Under Article I, Section 4 of the Constitution, state legislatures hold primary responsibility for drawing congressional boundaries following decennial census updates. Furthermore, the deployment of federal law enforcement and the enforcement of voter verification standards are legal measures focused on upholding statutory compliance, maintaining public order, and ensuring transparent election administration.
You should stop confusing garbage like OZERO and Joey Bid-on-me , BJ Bubba Clinton , crooked ,murdering ,blowhard LBJ and the former residents of the now closed ( by the crooked demorat party ) who voted for them, mental asylum’s with honest people who LOVE America , honor the Constitution and PROUDLY serve to defend her . I don’t wonder about the Demorat party of Lies , thievery and just plain filth .
Clean up the ” Mess ” in the Republican party ??? Like all the mentally weak folks who voted for garbage like LBJ , Bubba , Joey and support the freaks of antifa , college ” students ” who failed kindergarden , remove a babies genitals ???? No , the REAL mess IS the democrat party . Republicans have been cleaning out the phonies who side with the insane donkeys.
“So you want to talk about sleazy politics, which, according to MAGA is only practiced by Democrats? “
Please tell me who has said that ?
There are demographic and ideological factors that make various forms of fraud more likely on the left than right.
But a portion fo the people – left and right will always be willing to work outside the norms, outside what is moral , and outside what is legal.
“First of all, in Alaska, there are only allegations, which are denied”
False – the NYT article provides texts, emails, interviews, You are free to decide that NYT is engaged in fraud – it is not like jounralists defy Madisons obsrervation that men are not angels. Regardless NYT provided actual evidence. You can decide yourself whether that evidence is fraudulent or whether the fraud is with Petola, Elias, the DSCC, and Decoy Dan. But we are well beyond mere allegations.
Further there is evidence we can directly observe – Decoy Dan has no platform, has done no press conferences, has no campaign staff, has no campaign events, has done no interviews. Has done none of the things that legitimate candidates typically do to get elected.
The evidence may not for you constitute proof beyond a reasonable doubt but it is still evidence, significanly more than mere allegations.
The standard in a criminal court will be proof beyond a reasonable doubt – that is not the standard in public discourse.
“but because Trump is so toxic and has done such a terrible job of pretending to be President, MAGA grabs onto anything they can use to attack Democrats.”
That is your personal opinion – one shared by many and not shared by others.
ICE has deported nearly 2M illegal aliens – atleast half of which are criminals. Crime is dropping. Another 3M illegal aliens have self deported.
Rents in areas with large illegal populations are dropping.
You are free to decide that this is all or mostly bad. But many think it is good, and it is exactly what they voted for.
Inflation is higher than hoped – but REAL WAGES (after inflation) have risen by nearly $5000/working class family after dropping by $3500/ under Biden.
Real Growth – AFTER inflation is 3.8% Real growth under Biden was zero, Real Growth under Obama was 1.48%
The US is re-industrializing – that started before Trump, but it is accelerating under him.
The world is changing – again much of this is independent of Trump but is accelerating under Trump.
We can all cheer that Ukraine is doing well against Russia – but Ukraine is not a US national interest. It is a European interest.
Europe is deindustrializing. Europe is in decline. They have had worse growth over the past 2 decades than the US under Biden and Obama.
The socialism lite of Europe that the US left wishes to emulate is failing right in front of us.
It is failing violently. There are riots throughout europe right now – while those at the moment are by the left – the European right is angry too, and europe is much more polarized than the US.
Whatever the problems you think the US has – those of Europe are far worse. Europe is in decline – the US is ascendant
Again more so under Trump, but the US has been improving while Europe decline d even under Democrats.
Despite – or arguably because of the current conflict in the mideast there is a real prospect for a permanent peace int he mideast.
Further this conflict is likely the US’s last hurah in the mideast. Europe needs mideastern oil – China needs mideastern oil.
The US does not. The US is not providing Saudi Arabia or Yemen much support against the Houthis. Egypt, France, Britan and very quietly Israel are. The Suez is a European interest – not an american one. Even the gulf itself is barely a US interest.
Most every rational person grasps that the conflict with Iran will end – and likely soon, and however it ends – it will end with an Iran that is no longer a nuclear threat and no longer a fountain of terrorism in the region.
Israel and Lebanon are united in ending Hezbollah – which can not receive aide from Iran and is dying. For the first time in my lifetime Lebanon is emerging from failed state status.
Israel has emerged not just as the regional power in the mideast – but as a global power. As the US leaves the mideast – only Israel exists to fill the vaccum. The arab nations are coming to terms with Israel – because they need to.
The conflict in Gaza is over – Hamas has lost. Gaza will be managed by a regional commission of arab states who want an end to the palestinian problem. Gaza is likely to prosper in the coming decade.
Trump did not promise no new wars – NO PRESIDENT would ever make such a promise. He promised no forever wars. This conflict is less than a year old, it has only been kinetic for a tiny portion of that year. US casualites are a tiny fraction of those killed in peace time.
Energy costs are lower than under Biden and adjusted for inflation within the norms of the past 50 years. And they will drop precipitously as this conflict ends – which it must.
Again – Housing costs are dropping – that is what MUST happen when 5M people leve the country.
Atleast think a tiny bit before manufaturing claims – atleast keep them from being absurd.
“Since taking office, he has driven up inflation,”
Inflation is nearly the same as it was at the end of Biden’s term. It is too high – but it is well inside the Feds acceptable norms.
“wages have not kept up”
Just false – wages have risen significantly faster than inflation.
“enacted tariffs”
Yup. So ?
“started a war which has driven up the cost of fuel and consumer goods.”
To a small extent – AGAIN – both costs are within historical norms and lower than Biden era peaks.
” He has alienated our allies, including Canada,”
Canada is an absolute disaster. There will be a deal with Canada – Canada has no choice. They are no longer a Nation – they are a US dependency with delusions of independence. Canada is totally dependant on the US – and could not change that is less than decades if it tried. Canadian export infrastructure is geared towards exporting the the US. Canada produces automotive parts just north of Detroit – they are not suddenly shipping them to European automakers – which itself is moving production to the US. Canadia oil, Canadian Timber, Canadian Milk can not be expoted anywhere but the US without spending trillions on infrastructure that does not currently exist.
Canadian GDP is growing faster than Europe – but slower than the US under Obama.
“obsesses about vanity projects that no one wants, like a ballroom, a vanity arch, a helipad and trying to take over the JFK Center.”
Many of which have been in planning since Obama so the “nobody wants” claim is nonsense.
Regardless why do you care – your not paying for it.
Those of you on the left are obsessed that Trump will leave an imprint on the US and be remembered the way Reagan is remembered – or greater.
“People are taking to the streets in record numbers to protest,”
But they are not – the ICE protests have fizzled as have the no kings protests. They were astro turf anyway. They did not sway public opinion. Support for deportations INCREASED during the protests according to harvard/harris.
Outside the far left – no one cares about your protests.
“Republicans have tried to rig the midterm elections by adding more red districts”
Yup and there is still more blue gerrymandering than red.
“trying to intimidate voters by sending federal agents, trying to grab ballots and making up lies about “ineligible voters”.”
Have not seen anyone grabbing ballots – DOJ following US election law is seeking voter registration data to verify that stated have conformed to federal voter regstration laws – which we KNOW they have not, and we have KNOWN that for a long time.
We KNOW that illegal aleins are registered to vote everywhere – we just do not know how many – and while illegal aliens are the point of the spear – voter registrations in general include massive numbers of eople who are dead, never existed, or now live in another state or district.
While most states now require voter ID – almost none actually impliment it. Most states claim to check the eligability of registrants to vote – but pretty much none do. Everything is on an honor system with no enforcement. Most people are honorable. 95% of people are honorable.
But elections are frequently decided by less than 1% of the vote.
“So you wonder about the future of the Democratic Party? “
It is the democratic party that is in chaos, that has a civil war. Halley Stevens husband is voting for Mike Rogers. Stevens was disinvited from an Al Sayed event. Pelosi said that runny fake candidates was a crime and democrats do not do that – yet they do. Bernie Sanders spoke out against this.
All the hosts on the View spoke out.
We have democrat blaming jews for high food prices – you have accused Trump whose daughter converted to Judiasm and who you claim is a rent boy for Bibi of anti-semitism – but it is rife within your own party.
“Why not clean up the mess in your own party first?”
Not a republican. Regardless Republicans have plenty to clean up. But they are well past democrats in restructuring for the future.
MAGA is the core of the GOP for the foreseable future. Trump will be gone in 2028 – and he will be missed. It is unlikely that a replacement for his charisma exists. But there are still plenty of capable YOUNG republicans warmed up for the future. Democrats mostly have a long list of failures or people who can not succeed nationwide.