The NARN Closer's playlist - 1/30/2022

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And as for me, I can sit here and bide my time.....

The first month of 2022 is nearly complete and, as always, a lot to get to on this week's edition of my radio show The Closer. The 2-hour blitz gets started at 1:00 PM Central Time. 

Right at 1:00, MN House Rep. Nolan West (R-Blaine) will be in studio. A week-and-a-half ago, Rep. West was physically assaulted while trying to attend a political event in his House District. He'll update us on the status of that incident. We'll also look to get a preview up the upcoming Minnesota legislative session. 

On a national front, President Biden continues to not resemble the competent and compassionate individual his supporters anticipated. Biden's past actions have shown why those sentiments were delusional to begin with. 

And finally, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is retiring this year, so Biden will have his first SCOTUS pick. 

So please call (651) 289-4488 if you'd like to weigh in on any of the topics we plan on addressing.

 

You can listen live in the Twin Cities at AM 1280 or, if you're near downtown Minneapolis/West Metro area, 107.5 FM on your radio dial. In and out of the Minneapolis-St Paul area you can listen to the program on the Internet by clicking this link, or check us out via iheart radio as well as Amazon Alexa (just say "Alexa, play The Patriot Minneapolis"). If you're unable to tune in live, please check out my podcast page for the latest show post.

And if you're so inclined, follow along on Twitter at #NARNShow or "Like" our Facebook page, where we also conduct a "Live Stream" of the broadcast.

Until then.....

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2021 NFL Playoffs: Conference Championship games

Cincinnati Bengals (+7-1/2) at Kansas City Chiefs: The Chiefs finished the regular season strong, winning 9 of their final 10 games. Their only loss in that span? Week 17 in Cincinnati against these same Bengals. After KC was lit up by Joe Burrow and Co., no way they take Cincy for granted this time around. 

The Bengals are playing with proverbial House money, as they weren't expected to get past the divisional round. They're definitely not going to go quietly this game but I think the Chiefs will pull away late. While it appeared KC's offense let off the gas in that Week 17 game, no way they slow down at all this week. 

Kansas City 45 Cincinnati 31

San Francisco 49ers (+3-1/2) at Los Angeles Rams: These division rivals met in the regular season finale in what was a win-or-go-home scenario for the Niners. In that game, the Rams scored on their first three possessions, taking a 17-0 lead.  However, the 49ers were within 24-17 with 1:27 remaining in regulation, no timeouts and needing to go 88 yards to score a touchdown. Inexplicably, much maligned Niners QB Jimmy Garoppolo led them down the field, culminating in a 14-yard touchdown pass to Jajuan Jennings to tie the game at 24. San Francisco would go on to win 27-24 in overtime. 

Prior to the 2021 season, the Rams acquired veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford from the Detroit Lions in exchange for their once touted franchise QB Jared Goff, a 2021 3rd round draft pick and two future first round choices (2022 & 2023) as compensation for the Lions taking on Goff's bloated contract. The Rams then acquired WR Odell Beckham, Jr. and elite pass rushing LB Von Miller during the season, sending a clear message that it's championship or bust this year. 

In the two regular season matchups between these two teams, the Niners won both largely on the strength of a smash mouth defense. In fact, those two games were the only ones in 2021 where the L.A. offense didn't even reach 300 total yards. While I don't have a whole lotta faith in Garoppolo, he will likely benefit from what I believe will be another strong game from his defense. 

The Rams are going to regret not delivering that knockout blow in Week 18. 

San Francisco 20 Los Angeles 17

My 2021 postseason record:

Against the spread: 8-2

Straight up: 7-3

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Bear down

It's rare that I dedicate a post exclusively to the Chicago Bears, but whenever I do, it's likely to have some fun at the organization's expense. 

Upon conclusion of the 2021 regular season, the Bears fired their head coach Matt Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace. The two were then replaced by Matt Eberflus and Ryan Poles, respectively. The rationale for the Bears organization making the personnel choices they did was their not wanting to go through the trouble of having to change over the office nameplates that read "Coach Matt" and "G.M. Ryan P."

OK, OK, this post is strictly tongue-in cheek. 

Or is it??????

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Quick Hits: Volume CCLXXIII

 - A major retirement announcement out of Washington, D.C. 

Justice Stephen Breyer will step down from the Supreme Court at the end of the current term, according to people familiar with his thinking.

Breyer is one of the three remaining liberal justices, and his decision to retire after more than 27 years on the court allows President Joe Biden to appoint a successor who could serve for decades and, in the short term, maintain the current 6-3 split between conservative and liberal justices.

At 83, Breyer is the court's oldest member. Liberal activists have urged him for months to retire while Democrats hold both the White House and the Senate — a position that could change after the midterm elections in November. They contended that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg stayed too long despite her history of health problems and should have stepped down during the Obama administration.

For as long as I can remember, the first SCOTUS pick in a given presidential administration has pretty much sailed through.....that is until President Donald Trump assumed office and nominated Neil Gorsuch to the bench. The Dems filibustered Gorsuch's nomination, resulting in Republicans (even moderate ones) invoking the nuclear option, thus lowering the threshold from 60 Senators to 51 in order to end debate on a nominee. 

With that in mind, any pick President Biden would put forth (provided said pick is more of a mainstream nominee) will likely result in a smooth confirmation process given the Dems are the majority party in the U.S. Senate. And as Guy Benson notes, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) has voted for every SCOTUS justice ever put forth by a Democrat President. As such, this should be an uneventful process......we hope.

- Almost a week ago, Rep. Nolan West (R-Blaine) was assaulted when attempting to join a publicly promoted event being held at a venue in the House District he represents. 

A video of the event posted separately on Facebook shows West being aggressively removed from the room by a person later indentified in the video as Tony LaLonde. 2/2 pic.twitter.com/usq9UaqRlm

— Michael Brodkorb (@mbrodkorb) January 21, 2022

In a post on Facebook, Rep. West indicated he was asked to leave due to this organization's unwritten edict that "politicians are not allowed" (pretty sure Rep. Erik Mortensen would have had a path of palm leaves laid before him had he showed up). 

In what I believe is the right move, West is looking to press charges. 

 

“I’m sure this is going to be a big pain, but with the way politics is now, this is completely insane,” West said in an interview Monday. “You can’t lay hands on people. Come on.”

I'm no lawyer, but the fact this LaLonde character specifically targeted West because he's a politician will cause him some serious problems. 

- Upon completion of the 2021 NFL regular season, my favorite NFL squad did some serious housecleaning of their front office and coaching staff. The first major hire in the rebuild has finally occurred. 

The Minnesota Vikings are hiring Cleveland Browns vice president of football operations Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as their new general manager, a source tells ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Schefter reports that Adofo-Mensah is getting a four-year deal to replace Rick Spielman, who was fired at the conclusion of the 2021 season after a 16-year stint as the Vikings' general manager that produced a 132-123-2 record.

Adofo-Mensah is the 10th person in franchise history to hold a general manager title and/or carry out the duties of the team's GM (current executive vice president of football operations Rob Brzezinski was the top football executive from 2002 to 2005 without an official GM title). He comes to Minnesota after spending the 2020-21 seasons in Cleveland working under general manager Andrew Berry.

Typically any front office person (outside of the GM, who makes the major personnel decisions) is going to be an unknown commodity, so I have no idea if the Vikings got this hire right. All I can tell you is Adofo-Mensah is held in high regard by those willing to speak on the record. 

Text today from someone who has worked with Kwesi Adofo-Mensah: #Vikings pic.twitter.com/5DjoKWlWdJ

— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) January 25, 2022

 

Phenomenal hire. Kwesi has a ton of respect from evaluators throughout the league. An outside the box process that could change the line of thinking with GM hires moving forward. Excited to see what he does in Minnesota. https://t.co/jH5EuL8qo5

— Jordan Reid (@Jordan_Reid) January 26, 2022

 

Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has an analytics background, but in both SF and Cleveland be bridged departments and had a major role in all parts of football ops. Said Browns GM Andrew Berry last summer, when Adofo-Mensah was on @TheAthletic’s 40 Under 40: https://t.co/Lkn5TzFJB7 pic.twitter.com/ETIE1pqZB3

— Lindsay Jones (@bylindsayhjones) January 26, 2022

Vikings ownership has also interviewed several candidates for their head coaching position, but were going to wait on an official hire until they consult with their newly hired GM. Now that the first domino has fallen, there is even more rampant speculation as to who will be the Vikes' tenth head coach in the franchise's history (a list of who has been previously connected to Adofo-Mensah is here).  

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Biden being Biden

I've been following politics for multiple decades now, especially closely throughout the entire 21st century. My consistent position that whole time has been that Joe Biden (whether he was a U.S. Senator of Vice President of the United States) comes across as smarmy and belligerent. 

So when asked by Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy if he felt the current out of control inflation would be a political liability for the upcoming midterms, now President Biden gave an answer which didn't surprise me in the least. 

Biden caught on hot mic calling Peter Doocy a "stupid son-of-a-bitch" when he asked a question about inflation pic.twitter.com/sA4dDIKTn1

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) January 24, 2022

 

Official White House transcript includes Biden’s special moment. #bidenpressconference pic.twitter.com/0AUHLo1X6s

— HARRISFAULKNER (@HARRISFAULKNER) January 25, 2022

Look, I agree with the general sentiment from leftists and media types alike that those who were silent on then President Donald Trump's open hostility towards the media don't have any credibility to decry Biden's remarks. But the exact opposite is also true. There were plenty of leftists as well as members of the media who clutched their pearls and ran for their fainting couches during the Trump era, many uttering a variation of how chilling it was for a sitting President to undermine a fabric of our democracy. But suddenly those concerns have dissipated when it's their guy in the White House. 

pic.twitter.com/28sf4bfHeK

— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) January 24, 2022

 

pic.twitter.com/iyXoEzm9L9

— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) January 24, 2022

 

pic.twitter.com/FAAMBvEkQ7

— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) January 25, 2022

 

pic.twitter.com/5MvRJG7MPN

— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) January 25, 2022

 

pic.twitter.com/jrwfiOIYfY

— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) January 25, 2022

And finally, the chef's kiss........

 

pic.twitter.com/q1zWVF1P8o

— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) January 25, 2022

In the end, every single solitary journalist can and should take a page outta Doocy's book in how to handle such barbs. 

Grace and self-deprecation. Two traits which are completely elusive to people like Jim Acosta.

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The NARN Closer's playlist - 1/23/2022

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And it's hard to say just how some things never change.....

Another Sunday, yet another edition of my radio show The Closer. The 2-hour broadcast gets started at 1:00 PM Central Time. 

This past Thursday marked the 1-year point of the President Joe Biden administration. Despite a favorable media environment, Biden's job approval numbers are absolutely dismal. 

On the local scene, there was more damning information which came to light regarding the December 8 drunk driving incident involving Hennepin County Sherriff David Hutchinson. I will also weigh in on the latest in the GOP race for MN governor. 

At 2:30 I will be joined in studio by Kelly Jahner-Byrne, who is vying to be the GOP nominee for MN Secretary of State. 

So please call (651) 289-4488 if you'd like to weigh in on any of the topics we plan on addressing.

 

You can listen live in the Twin Cities at AM 1280 or, if you're near downtown Minneapolis/West Metro area, 107.5 FM on your radio dial. In and out of the Minneapolis-St Paul area you can listen to the program on the Internet by clicking this link, or check us out via iheart radio as well as Amazon Alexa (just say "Alexa, play The Patriot Minneapolis"). If you're unable to tune in live, please check out my podcast page for the latest show post.

And if you're so inclined, follow along on Twitter at #NARNShow or "Like" our Facebook page, where we also conduct a "Live Stream" of the broadcast.

Until then.....

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2021 NFL Playoffs: Divisional Round

Cincinnati Bengals (+3-1/2) at Tennessee Titans: For the first time since the President George H. W. Bush administration, the Bengals are playing in a second game in an NFL postseason. After surviving the Las Vegas Raiders last weekend, Cincy now travels to Nashville to take on the AFC's top seed. Young gun slinging QB Joe Burrow has an opportunity to put up big numbers against the 25th ranked pass defense. 

Titans stud RB Derrick Henry was on pace for another 2,000-yard season when he injured his foot in Week 8. Despite Tennessee being 6-2 at that point, many critics left them for dead as it was determined Henry would be gone for the season. Inexplicably, the Titans finished 12-5 and earned that #1 seed in the AFC. Even better for Tennessee is Henry has been cleared to play this week, which will only enhance an already top 5 rushing attack. However, the Bengals are a Top 5 run defense, so this looks to be a gritty matchup in the trenches. 

While I'm certain the Bengals won't go another 30 years between playoff victories, their solid season ends this week. 

Tennessee 27 Cincinnati 21

San Francisco 49ers (+5-1/2) at Green Bay Packers: This is a rematch of one of the more exhilarating regular season games in 2021. In Week 3, the 49ers rallied from a 17-0 deficit to take a 28-27 lead with 37 seconds remaining. However, the Packers won 30-28 on a walk off 51-yard field goal after a frenzied drive by Aaron Rodgers & Co. just to get them in range. 

Given this game will feature single digit temperatures, it would behoove the Niners to break out that dynamic running game that gashed the Dallas Cowboys last week. This would appear to be a favorable matchup for San Fran as the Packers allowed 4.7 yards per rush in the regular season, which ranked 30th out of 32 teams. More good news for the 49ers is that DE Nick Bosa appears on track to play despite getting his bell rung against Dallas. 

On the Green Bay side of the ledger, Rodgers put forth another MVP caliber season in leading his club to their third consecutive 13-win campaign. The Pack will also benefit from reinforcements on their top 10 defense as they activated OLBs Za’Darius Smith and Whitney Mercilus from IR this week. 

I have a feeling this game will go right down to the wire. And I also have an inkling that 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo will throw an ill-timed interception this game as he did against the Cowboys last week. However, San Francisco survived that blunder due to Dallas continually shooting themselves in the foot. No way they'd survive such a mistake in Lambeau Field. 

Green Bay 27 San Francisco 24

Los Angeles Rams (+2-1/2) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: This is also a rematch of a Week 3 regular season game. The Rams won 34-24 in an offensive shootout which featured more than 850 yards of total offense between the clubs. 

The Rams put forth the kind of defensive effort last week which they envisioned when they acquired OLB Von Miller from the Denver Broncos. In a 34-11 rout of the Arizona Cardinals, L.A. allowed under 200 total yards. 

All things being equal, I believe the Bucs are the better team, particularly on their home field. However, things are not equal as Tampa will be without running back Ronald Jones and wide receiver Breshad Perriman this game. Also, RB Leonard Fournette is still listed as questionable having been on IR with a bum hamstring the past four weeks. But perhaps the biggest concern for the Buccaneers is the fact two of their starting O-Linemen, right tackle Tristan Wirfs and center Ryan Jensen, are listed as questionable for this game. It's gonna be difficult enough to block Rams' premier pass rushers Miller and Aaron Donald when healthy to say nothing of being hampered with injuries.

This is uncharted territory for Rams QB Matthew Stafford, as this is the first time in his 13-year career he'll be coming off a playoff win. Is he up to the moment? I'm calling this game a "toss up."

Los Angeles 21 Tampa Bay 20

Buffalo Bills (+1-1/2) at Kansas City Chiefs: In a Week 5 regular season matchup, the Bills went into KC and obliterated the Chiefs 38-20. In the process, the Bills top ranked NFL defense forced four turnovers. 

After losing to this same Chiefs club in last year's AFC title game, the Bills are no doubt licking their chops for this rematch. The lasting image from last year's game is Buffalo WR Stefon Diggs forcing himself to stay on the Arrowhead Stadium field to watch KC celebrate a berth in the Super Bowl. The idea being that Diggs & Co. didn't ever want to get that close again while falling short. 

Whatever ailed the Chiefs through their first seven regular season games (they were 3-4 at that point), they seemed to have figured it out. They won 9 of their final 10 contests, catapulting that explosive offense to the third most yards in the NFL. They also showed a little razzle dazzle last week with former Vikings RB Jerick "Jet" McKinnon gaining more than 100 yards total offense in the Chiefs' rout of the Pittsburgh Steelers. KC will also have RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire back in the fold. If Buffalo's #1 defense is vulnerable anywhere, it's against the run where they were merely middle of the pack. 

Again, call it a hunch.

Buffalo 31 Kansas City 30

HOW 'BOUT LAST WEEK'S PICKS, HUH?!?!?

👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇

My 2021 postseason record:

Against the spread: 6-0

Straight up: 6-0

via GIPHY

OK, not so humble. But definitely a brag.

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Support for Hutch? Not much

It's been a little more than six weeks since Hennepin County Sheriff David Hutchinson totaled the SUV he was driving while under the influence of alcohol. The wreck occurred on I-94 near Alexandria, MN in the squad vehicle issued to him by the county. In barely more than a week after the incident, Hutchinson's case was wrapped up as he agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor DUI. 

Many ascertained that Hutchinson got off too easy, especially since anyone without law enforcement connections would not have been allowed to continue carrying a gun in the aftermath. Heck, you could argue that an independent journalist investigating the crash's aftermath (specifically the condition of Hutchinson's vehicle and its contents) was subject to more scrutiny than the Sheriff himself. 

As more details came to light this week about Hutchinson's accident, we're now beginning to understand why he personally was in such a rush to plea this out. 

Hennepin County Sheriff David Hutchinson was not only drunk, but driving at more than 126 miles per hour without his seat belt on last month when he crashed his official SUV on Interstate 94 near Alexandria, Minn., according to the investigative file released Thursday by the State Patrol.

Authorities also released Douglas County Sheriff's Office squad video from the crash scene, where Hutchinson initially told responding law enforcement and witnesses that someone else was driving.

Hutchinson was sentenced Dec. 20 to two years' probation on a misdemeanor drunken-driving charge after he crashed his SUV around 2:30 a.m. on Dec. 8.

Keep in mind that state law mandates someone going at such a high rate of speed (100 MPH or more) has their license revoked for six months. This is one aspect of the case which would have behooved Douglas County officials to not plea it out. Hutchinson not only gets to continue carrying a firearm but is also able to maintain his driving privileges, two courtesies which, again, a civilian would not be afforded. 

After remaining conspicuously silent on this case in the immediate aftermath, Dem elected officials (many of whom supported Hutchinson in his 2018 bid for HenCo Sheriff) are now piling on. 

 

The details released Thursday were met by growing calls for Hutchinson's resignation.

Gov. Tim Walz said Thursday that while he is grateful neither Hutchinson nor anyone else was killed, the sheriff's actions were "a breach of trust" and he should step down.

"I'm not a resident of Hennepin County, and I'm speaking as an individual on this, but I think most Minnesotans know and most Minnesotans understand that there's consequences for decisions like that. I just wish that he gets the help that he needs to move on with his life," Walz said in response to news media questioning.

Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan said that as a Hennepin County constituent, "I would say it is time for him to resign."

It was January 6 (nearly one whole month after the crash) that 5 of 7 Hennepin County Commissioners called on Hutchinson to resign despite being veritable church mice up to that point. So what prompted those folks to finally speak up? My guess is a mere 24 hours earlier a woman by the name of Suwana Kirkland declared she would be running for Hennepin County Sheriff this year. Given that Ms. Kirkland checks off two boxes on the intersectionality scorecard (black and female), her candidacy trumps the one checkmark for Hutchinson (gay). As such, the current Sheriff suddenly became expendable. 

How do those bus wheels feel, Hutch?

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One year in.

It was one year ago today when Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States. 

After enjoying 6-7 months of a majority of Americans approving of his job performance, things took a disastrous turn in August with the Biden administration's bungling the withdrawal of U.S. military personnel from Afghanistan. He's been underwater in his job approval ratings ever since. 

To me, this is the most damning stat: 

Gallup: Joe Biden's job approval drops eight net points, falling to 40-56 (was 43-51) - the worst approval of his presidency.

Donald Trump's approval on Gallup at the end of January 2018 (end of first year)? 39-57.

— Josh Jordan (@NumbersMuncher) January 19, 2022

Trump's approval numbers were slightly worse one year in to his presidency (-18 to Biden's -16). However, Trump had a full court press of negative media coverage plus the perpetuation of a true "Big Lie," which was his election having been illegitimate due to his colluding with Russia. Biden's dismal numbers have been earned on merit due to the Afghan withdrawal in addition to 40-year high inflation, gas shortages, supply chain issues, bumbling through the response to COVID-19, etc. 

So how does the administration plan to stem the tide of this tsunami of incompetence? Why, call in Tom Hanks to put lipstick on the proverbial hog of course. 

Yep. The Biden presidency is pretty much a manifestation of The Simpsons.

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Guv candidate forum

On Tuesday evening, I finally had the opportunity to see all six (possibly more in the near future) Republican gubernatorial candidates looking to unseat Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz this November. The Wright County Republicans did a great job putting on this forum in Otsego, including selecting our personal friend Carisa Rasmussen as the event's moderator. 

I may be stating the obvious here, but any one of the six GOP candidates would be a significant upgrade from Walz (a low bar, I realize). That said, whomever will ultimately prevail as the Republican nominee will need to execute a Glenn Youngkin type campaign in that there will need to be 100% message discipline along with a helpful gaffe from their opponent. Victory is still a longshot though, as befits a party which hasn't won a statewide race since 2006.

Having never heard Dr. Neil Shah or Lexington, MN Mayor Mike Murphy speak in person, I was very impressed with both gentlemen. Dr. Shah has an inspirational story of his parents immigrating to America from India 50 years ago with literally nothing but dreams for a better future. Certainly those dreams were manifested with their son becoming a dermatologist. And while Murphy, to quote my friend and NARN colleague Jack Tomczak, has the appearance of a guy who just hopped outta bed, got dressed and headed to an event, he definitely is making a name for himself among the grassroots having won the MN Gun Owners Caucus straw poll over the weekend. While these two candidates have different speaking styles (Shah very even-keeled while Murphy can come off as a firebrand), both were very articulate and on message the whole night. 

Kendall Qualls, who in 2020 ran for U.S. House in Minnesota's Third Congressional District, is the newcomer in this race.....and it showed. Qualls often struggled to answer questions within the allotted two minute time frame, though he was very passionate in responding to inquiries related to what is being taught in schools. Sadly, I see no realistic path for Qualls going forward given that Shah and Murphy are in a better position to assume the "political outsider" role. 

Paul Gazelka, who has been the Senate Majority Leader for the past six years, is the one candidate who catches the most shrapnel from the rest of the field. For the past four years, Gazelka has had to make difficult compromises with a DFL Governor and DFL House Speaker when negotiating end of session policy and spending. Given he's outnumbered, he had to make difficult concessions in order to hold the line on his one non-negotiable -- tax increases. Nevertheless, those compromises have run afoul of conservatives, and it's Republicans of those ideological stripes that will lkely be the lion's share of the delegates at May's endorsing convention. As such, Gazelka likely won't get the endorsement, which he made a pledge to abide by. 

Of all the candidates in the race, Dr. Scott Jensen, who was the first to declare his candidacy, has gotten the most name recognition (even on a national scale) due to his openly questioning COVID-19 policy. He's also raised north of $1 million, mostly via small donors. But, again, I don't believe the party delegates are sold on him, which means he will likely take the GOP race to a primary this summer. While the other five candidates vowed to honor the delegates' choice, Jensen's reply to that inquiry was basically that he plans on winning the MNGOP endorsement. I interpreted that as he will NOT drop out of the race if he doesn't prevail at the state convention this spring. 

Then there's Michelle Benson. As I've mentioned in this space previously, Benson and her husband Craig are personal friends of my wife and me, so there is nothing short of an outrageous scandal that would cause her to lose our support. So yeah, I could tell you Benson was terrific last evening (she was) and that she actually had passion behind her articulate answers (she did), but what else am I gonna say? It's darn near impossible for me to be unbiased here. 

I leave you this from local media guy Blois Olson's Wednesday edition of Morning Take. 

STRAWPOLL: Wright County is among the most intense Republican areas of the state. It’s Rep. Tom Emmer’s home turf, and activists are among the most influential in the state party. The party unit for the area, will be the largest or one of the largest to the state convention. Last night, State Sen. Michelle Benson won the Wright County Republican Straw Poll by a wide margin. Organizing and persuading activists and likely delegates is the secret sauce of success in the GOP path to endorsement. Benson hasn’t been flashy, but she showed her campaigns organizing strength with her win in Wright County. Here are the results: Benson 35%, Shah 16%, Murphy 15%, Jensen 14%, Gazelka 11%, Qualls 8%.

BENSON: via memo, from the Benson for Governor campaign VERBATIM: “Michelle Benson has organized a grassroots campaign that is reaching out to traditional and new donors, especially those left behind in Tim Walz's Minnesota like small business owners. Michelle Benson has been in the race for Governor for only 120 days and raised $213,203 by building new, authentic relationships with Minnesotans…To date, Michelle accomplished this through hundreds of donor calls, dozens of in- person meetings and events, and mailing to the top donors in Minnesota and across the country. Tapping into her roots, Michelle has found incredibly strong support in the state's agricultural community. Minnesota agriculture is a powerhouse economic engine in our state; our farmers and ranchers know that Michelle is the only candidate in this race who will always work to support and strengthen them. At this point in previous campaigns, former leading Republican candidates for Governor had raised the following:

• 2009 Marty Seifert for Governor - $255,272
• 2009 Tom Emmer for Governor - $98,466
• 2013 Jeff Johnson for Governor - $242,689
• 2013 Marty Seifert for Governor - $150,151
• 2013 Dave Thompson for Governor - $124,648
• 2013 Scott Honor for Governor - $596,680 (includes a $100K loan)
• 2013 Kurt Zellers for Governor - $402,600
• 2017 Jeff Johnson for Governor - $258,992

So y'see, it's not just my wife and me who ascertain what a phenomenal leader Michelle can be. 

Game on!

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Potential Vikings GM hire might be problematic for one media guy

My Minnesota Vikings are in the midst of interviewing multiple people for both their General Manager and Head Coach vacancies. 

One GM candidate was particularly intriguing. 

We have completed an interview with Eagles Vice President of Football Operations Catherine Raîche for our open General Manager position.

📰: https://t.co/BRKJ9VCEmF pic.twitter.com/YuuLiEpqCs

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) January 18, 2022

It is believed that Ms. Raiche is the first woman ever to interview for a NFL GM position. And if she is deemed eminently qualified for the position, I would have zero issue with her being hired. In fact, there's a large part of me which hopes that she is the most qualified and thus lands the job. 

You see, it was about a week ago when smug, insufferable Star Tribune columnist Jim Souhan essentially said that Vikings owners Zygi and Mark Wilf are not sufficiently anti-racist unless they hire a black guy for both job openings. So if Ms. Raiche is indeed hired as Vikings GM, this would have to be unsatisfactory in the eyes of Souhan given the very specific criteria he outlined for this job opening. So by proggie Souhan's logic, he would not be sufficiently anti-misogynist. 

Again, I don't make the rules. 

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2021 NFL Playoffs: Wildcard (Monday game)

Arizona Cardinals (+3-1/2) at Los Angeles Rams: The Cards were arguably one of the best teams in the NFL in the first half of the 2021 season, getting off to a 7-0 start. However, key injuries hampered them over the final ten games as they went 4-6, with four of those losses coming against non-playoff teams. 

After spending the first 12 years of his career in Detroit, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford finally takes the helm of a team built to make a sustained playoff run. In 2021, Stafford tied a career high in touchdown passes with 41 but he also threw 17 INTs. 

These division rivals split the two regular season meetings with the road team prevailing in each contest. Despite an impressive 8-1 road record, the Cardinals still have too many injuries to overcome. As such, Stafford will secure his first career postseason victory. 

Los Angeles 28 Arizona 21

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The NARN Closer's playlist - 1/16/2022

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Get out of the city and into the sunshine......

Yep, it's one of those Sundays where I could use an extra hour on my radio show The Closer. Alas, we'll be going with the usual 2 hours, starting at 1:00 PM Central Time. 

In the first hour I'll cover President Joe Biden's terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week. Then sometime in the second hour I'll weigh in on the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul instituting a COVID vaccine mandate for those looking to patronize bars and restaurants. 

At 2:00 PM I will welcome Dennis Smith to the Patriot bunker. Mr. Smith is vying for the GOP nominee in the 2022 race for MN Attorney General, so he'll be on to tout his candidacy. 

So please call (651) 289-4488 if you'd like to weigh in on any of the topics we plan on addressing.

 

You can listen live in the Twin Cities at AM 1280 or, if you're near downtown Minneapolis/West Metro area, 107.5 FM on your radio dial. In and out of the Minneapolis-St Paul area you can listen to the program on the Internet by clicking this link, or check us out via iheart radio as well as Amazon Alexa (just say "Alexa, play The Patriot Minneapolis"). If you're unable to tune in live, please check out my podcast page for the latest show post.

And if you're so inclined, follow along on Twitter at #NARNShow or "Like" our Facebook page, where we also conduct a "Live Stream" of the broadcast.

Until then.....

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2021 NFL Playoffs: Wildcard (Sunday games)

Philadelphia Eagles (+7-1/2) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The reigning Super Bowl champion Buccaneers begin defense of their title in a rematch of an October regular season game, won by Tampa 28-22. Despite the final score being close, the Bucs thoroughly dominated that game in all phases. 

Of the Eagles' nine wins this season, only one came against a team with a winning record. I think Tom Brady and Co. cruise to victory in this one.

Tampa Bay 38 Philadelphia 17

San Francisco 49ers (+3-1/2) at Dallas Cowboys: These two franchises had some of the more memorable playoff battles in the respective teams' histories. 

It was 40 years ago last week that the Niners earned their first berth in a Super Bowl in a game defined by two words: "The Catch." That launched the San Francisco dynasty as they would win four Super Bowls in the decade of the 1980s.

If the 49ers were the team of the '80s, then the Cowboys were the team of the 1990s, winning 3 Super Bowls in a four season span (1992-95). In fact, the Cowboys and 49ers matched up in three consecutive NFC title games (1992-94) at one point in the decade, spawning an intense renewal of their rivalry.

While this weekend's matchup lacks the star power of the '80s and '90s, it looks to be one of the tighter contests of the NFL postseason's opening weekend. The conventional wisdom is this is the most likely game to result in an upset. I believe it'll happen, but not because of San Francisco QB Jimmy Garoppolo. No, it'll be the Niners' stingy defense giving Dak Prescott et al fits. 

San Francisco 21 Dallas 17

Pittsburgh Steelers (+12-1/2) at Kansas City Chiefs: Had Las Vegas Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson missed a field goal in overtime of last week's regular season finale against the L.A. Chargers, the Steelers wouldn't even be here. However, QB Ben Roethlisberger's career lives on for at least one more week. 

After a 3-4 start to their season, the Chiefs won 9 of their final 10 games, including week 16 shellacking of the Steelers, 36-10. 

If the Steelers can keep it close, maybe they can grind out an upset by running the ball down KC's throat, as the Chiefs allowed 4.8 yards per rush (31st in the NFL). The only team worse? The Steelers run "D," which allowed 5.0 yards. 

I say this will be Roethlisberger's final NFL game. 

Kansas City 34 Pittsburgh 14

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2021 NFL Playoffs: Wildcard (Saturday games)

Las Vegas Raiders (+4-1/2) at Cincinnati Bengals: The Raiders have done a nice job navigating a chaotic season caused by the upheaval surrounding former head coach (and raving bigot) Jon Gruden. They amassed a winning season for only the second time since the franchise's Super Bowl XXXVII appearance 19 years ago. They've also managed to get into the postseason without a lot of star power in that they don't have a 1,000 yard rusher and the only pass catcher to surpass 1,000 yards was Hunter Renfrow (1,038). They also had a minus-65 point differential for the season, the worst of the 14 postseason teams. Yet here they are. 

The Bengals franchise is currently on an 8-game postseason losing streak, having not won a playoff game since one week prior to ending Bo Jackson's career ---- 31 YEARS AGO! The good news for Cincy is second year QB Joe Burrow looks like the real deal. In 2021, Burrow set the Bengals' all-time record for passing yards and TD passes in a season. He also became the fifth QB in NFL history to throw for 400+ yards and 4+ touchdowns in consecutive games (weeks 16 and 17). 

I believe the Bengals finally get a playoff win for the first time since the George H.W. Bush administration. 

Cincinnati 34 Las Vegas 24

New England Patriots (+4-1/2) at Buffalo Bills: For the first time since 1998, the Patriots are heading to the postseason with a quarterback not named Tom Brady. Yes, back then the coach-QB duo was Pete Carroll and Scott Zolak. This season, the Pats turned to rookie Mac Jones to lead the club in the post-Brady era. Jones was solid if not spectacular, which I believe will suit coach Bill Belichick just fine. 

Just a year after reaching the AFC title game, the Bills feel a sense of urgency to make another run. While putting forth lackluster offensive performances in the middle of the season, the Bills averaged 30 points and 378 yards in their final four regular season games (all wins) to snatch the AFC East division championship from the grasp of the Pats. The Bills are also rocking the top ranked defense in the NFL, so this doesn't bode well for the rookie Jones. 

These division rivals split their two 2021 matchups, with the road team prevailing in each. The only spot where Buffalo is somewhat vulnerable defensively is against the run. The Pats exploited that on a Monday night in December, running it 46 times for 222 yards in their 14-10 win. Given the temperature will be in the single digits Saturday evening, that might not be a bad strategy for New England to employ. However, I just think the Bills are one level above the Patriots at this point. 

Buffalo 24 New England 10

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It was a good run, MSP

I believe Vivian Ward summed up Minneapolis and St Paul's vaccine mandate perfectly. 

via GIPHY

Minneapolis and St. Paul will require customers to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test to enter restaurants, bars and other entertainment venues, among the most aggressive steps the Twin Cities have taken to date to curb the spread of COVID-19, mayors from both cities announced Wednesday.

The action comes as officials are trying to temper a spike in infections and hospitalizations fueled by the fast-spreading omicron variant, which is already causing staffing shortages across industries.

"This is a critical next step to avoid closures," Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said at a virtual news conference. "We want to stay open, and we need to stay safer."

The new restrictions — which will apply to businesses where food or beverages are sold for on-site consumption — will go into effect for most businesses on Jan. 19. Patrons can provide either proof of vaccination or proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken under medical supervision within the last 72 hours. Booster shots are not required.

The requirement would apply to stadiums, movie theaters, bowling alleys, convention centers and other venues that serve food or drink. St. Paul's mandate will apply only to businesses that are licensed by the city.

"Our expectation is the vast majority of businesses will comply, will participate and will see this as an opportunity to keep their business open, to keep their employees working and to keep our whole community moving forward together," St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter said at the news conference.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, I have rarely set foot in Minneapolis given the alarming spike in violent crime of late. But St. Paul is a little tricky given my mother resides in the Highland Park neighborhood. However, if we're going to break bread within the city limits, we'll make it a point to patronize a suburban establishment for takeout and then bring the grub to mom's place. 

As is usually the case, my friend and NARN colleague Mitch Berg brilliantly points out the unintended consequences of such draconian policies. 

But this is not only moronic - it disproportionally impacts minorities. Black males are the least-vaccinated population in the state; you're basically adding a "color bar" to Twin Cities public spaces. And the businesses affected - by barring their customers, and employees, as well as by people taking their business elsewhere - are disproportionally POC and immigrants as well.

 

This moronic rule is going to turn yet more small, especially minority-owned, businesses into empty storefronts.

How very "progressive" of our state's two largest cities. 

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The incredible shrinking presidency

For a guy who spent nearly 40 years in the U.S. Senate and 8 as Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden sure comes off as politically inept.

A mere 12 hours after the University of Georgia football won its first national championship in 41 years, Biden and VP Kamala Harris traveled to the Peach State Tuesday morning in an attempt to revive support for a "voter rights" bill. 

Unfortunately for team Biden, there were a couple nagging issues before they even uttered a word Tuesday. First, Stacey Abrams, arguably the state's most visible Democrat making a push for voter reforms, would not even be in attendance. She's also going to be the 2022 Dem candidate for Governor yet couldn't be bothered to be seen with the highest ranking elected official in her party (Huh. I wonder why). And second, many Georgians were likely still hungover due to celebrating the Georgia Bulldogs' huge victory the night before. I'm certain the last thing on their mind was to attend a political gathering. 

Once Biden finally got around to taking the podium, his divisive speech was full of lies and demagoguery, on which, of course, Republicans POUNCED.

As Erick Erickson explains, team Biden flat out does not have a firm grasp on reality. 

Here’s the problem for Democrats and I genuinely and sincerely mean this not as a partisan talking point, but as the objective truth. You can’t sell voters on this as the defining issue when they are struggling with pocketbook issues. You can’t make this your legacy when people are scared to go back to work over a virus. You can’t campaign on this when your own party cannot even pass it because of your party’s own opposition to it.

Joe Biden managed to piss off and incite Republicans at the same time his base is getting demoralized because they control it all and can’t get this passed. They actually won’t get this passed. It was dead before Biden even went to Georgia and it was dead because of Democrats, not Republicans.

I know Democrats care passionately about this. But in listening to the old white guys who pontificate on television, they’re going to lose in November. That, frankly, is the hilarious irony here. Jon Meacham has never won an election, but he’s about to cost the Democrats everything by virtue of Biden and Ron Klain giving disproportionate attention to men like him.

Politics 101 is very simple: don’t risk your political capital on a cause you fundamentally cannot get passed, particularly when you can’t pass it because of your own party. Joe Biden and Ron Klain don’t get that. Because they don’t get that, the Republicans will get the wins in 2022.

The elevator scene in the 1980 horror flick The Shining immediately comes to mind. 

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Finally getting around to this

I saw this news this past Sunday, but only after I went off the air on my weekly radio show. 

Kendall Qualls announced a run for governor Sunday in a brief, exclusive appearance on "Fox & Friends," joining a crowded field of GOP candidates looking to unseat DFL Gov. Tim Walz.

The Army veteran and former health care executive who unsuccessfully ran as a political newcomer in Minnesota's Third Congressional District in 2020 repeated some of the talking points from that campaign during his gubernatorial announcement on Sunday.

Qualls told Fox that he was filing as a candidate on the Republican ticket "because in our state we were ground zero — all of the rioting, looting and defunding the police initiatives all started and spread across the country."

"And even now, two years later, we're suffering from record crime across our state," he said. "And in the center of it all is our governor, Tim Walz, for allowing that to happen, his weak leadership..."

Over the final few months of 2021, I had on multiple occasions received fliers in the mail promoting a "Draft Kendall Qualls for Governor" movement. One of the first hints that Qualls was inspired by these efforts was late December when he resigned his leadership post with TakeCharge MN, an organization which he founded. Qualls then confirmed the speculation with his announcement a few days ago. 

Oh, and the DFL response to Qualls' candidacy? Boilerplate stuff. 

 

In a statement about Qualls' candidacy, DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin wrote that Qualls endorsed and voted for Donald Trump, "whose policies put millions of Americans' health care and livelihoods in jeopardy, and now he is traveling the state pushing extreme (DRINK!!! - ed.)  Republican talking points in order to divide us."

"Minnesotans in the Third Congressional District already rejected Kendall Qualls's candidacy and I have no doubt it will happen again," Martin wrote. "This move only makes the messy GOP primary messier with no benefit to Minnesotans."

I'm all for several options when it comes to choosing a party's candidate to run in a general election, but I fear Qualls is a bit late to the party. While I am no longer a GOP activist, I get a sense from those in the know that Dr. Neil Shah is the sleeper candidate to compete with the likes of Dr. Scott Jensen (who's compiled an impressive fundraising haul) and State Sens. Michelle Benson & Paul Gazelka. As such, I just don't see where Qualls peels away support for those candidates unless there are more MNGOP "undecideds" than I am aware of. 

The good news for Qualls is there seems to be multiple candidate forums at which he can appear and make his pitch. If indeed he's abiding by the MNGOP endorsement (which I doubt), he'll have to make a significant impression within the short amount of time before caucuses. For now, he's definitely a long shot to be the party's nominee. 

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Commence housecleaning

My favorite NFL squad has been lingering in competitive purgatory for the past four seasons. As such, changes needed to be made and boy howdy were they made. 

On Monday morning, the Vikings made what might have been the most sweeping set of leadership changes in the Wilf family's 16 years of owning the team.

The team fired coach Mike Zimmer and General Manager Rick Spielman on Monday morning, parting with two men who'd been in their positions longer than most of their peers around the NFL. Both Zimmer and Spielman had two years remaining on the contract extensions they signed in 2020, but a day after the team finished 8-9 and missed the playoffs for the second straight season, the Vikings opted for a total reset.

"This morning we met with Rick Spielman and Mike Zimmer to notify them we will be moving in a different direction at the general manager and head coach positions in 2022," co-owners Zygi and Mark Wilf said in a statement. "We appreciate Rick and Mike's commitment to the team's on-field success, their passion for making a positive impact in our community and their dedication to players, coaches and staff. While these decisions are not easy, we believe it is time for new leadership to elevate our team so we can consistently contend for championships. We wish both Rick and Mike and their families only the best.

Our comprehensive search for a new general manager and head coach will begin immediately and will be led internally. We are determined to have sustained success and bring Vikings fans the Super Bowl championships they expect and deserve."

I said from day one of the 2021 season that Zimmer would be gone if the Vikings missed the postseason. So when the Vikes were trounced by the Green Bay Packers in Week 17, thus officially eliminating them from playoff contention, this was a fait accompli. That said, I never got a good feel if Spielman would survive. If there were any rumors surrounding his job status, the conventional wisdom suggested he'd be removed as GM but remain with the club in a different capacity given the Wilfs' great admiration of him. But gassing Spielman was ultimately the right move. 

The pressure is on the Wilfs to get this GM hire right but this was absolutely the right move. I really thought Spielman would stay with a new title but this opens the door now for GM candidates who would have been concerned about Spielman's influence.

— Judd Zulgad (@jzulgad) January 10, 2022

So the big question now is how attractive these vacancies will be to prospective hires. The Vikings have a lot of good young talent on the offensive side of the ball, but it appears they're going to have to (AGAIN!) go back to square one at the quarterback position. 

 

So, what happens with Kirk Cousins now?

I can tell you this... There is *zero* chance a new GM/coach combo walks in and says, "Let's extend him for 3 years and attach our careers to Kirk Cousins."

So, he's getting traded.

— Phil Mackey 🎙 (@PhilMackey) January 10, 2022

It was the worse kept secret in the NFL that Zimmer was not enthused over signing Cousins to a 3-year, fully guaranteed contract prior to the 2018 season. Unless Cousins suddenly morphed into Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes or Aaron Rodgers, committing 13% or more (as of 2022 it'll be 21.6%) of the team's salary cap to one player was going to hamstring the club long term. While Cousins has put up fine numbers in his four seasons with the Vikings, he was abysmal in late-game situations where his team trailed by one score. As such, this one move in early 2018 ultimately cost the GM and head coach their jobs. 

As it stands right now, the Vikes are approximately $22 million over the salary cap, so some key veterans on defense (i.e. Danielle Hunter, Anthony Barr, Harrison Smith) may well be cap casualties, resulting in a rebuild of that unit. So while the immediate future appears questionable at best, the right hires could expedite the rebuilding process. So who are the potential coaching candidates? Mark Craig at the Star Tribune put together a comprehensive list. 

In the end, it appeared Spielman and Zimmer differed in their philosophy on what was best for the team moving forward. So with the Wilfs now having a clean slate, they have ample opportunity to bring in a more cohesive decision making unit. Don't screw this up, Zygi and Mark.

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The NARN Closer's playlist - 1/9/2022

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There's a sign on the wall, but she wants to be sure......

Cold enough for ya?!?!?! Well then, it would appear to be a perfect day to remain indoors and tune in to my radio show The Closer. The 2-hour blitz begins at 1:00 PM Central Time. 

This past week, progs and "Never Trump" types commemorated the 1-year anniversary of the riots at the U.S. Capitol. As you can imagine, it was every bit the smug fest we anticipated. 

Also, certain members of the U.S. Supreme Court acted like legislators as opposed to jurists when hearing the case against President Joe Biden's vaccine mandate. 

At 2:00, author Mark Milke will join the broadcast to tout his newest book The Victim Cult: How the culture of blame hurts everyone and wrecks civilization.

So please call (651) 289-4488 if you'd like to weigh in on any of the topics we plan on addressing.

 

You can listen live in the Twin Cities at AM 1280 or, if you're near downtown Minneapolis/West Metro area, 107.5 FM on your radio dial. In and out of the Minneapolis-St Paul area you can listen to the program on the Internet by clicking this link, or check us out via iheart radio as well as Amazon Alexa (just say "Alexa, play The Patriot Minneapolis"). If you're unable to tune in live, please check out my podcast page for the latest show post.

And if you're so inclined, follow along on Twitter at #NARNShow or "Like" our Facebook page, where we also conduct a "Live Stream" of the broadcast.

Until then.....

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Where's the lie?

 Matt Walsh of The Daily Wire had his Twitter account suspended over this tweet: 

For all the progress the feminist movement has made over the past half century, the trans movement would appear to be setting it back significantly, if not eradicating it all together. We were told at the outset that the feminist movement was started due to the fact that women have been "uniquely oppressed and marginalized throughout history," thus men are wholly incapable of understanding their plight. But these days it would appear that men can actually become women, and any feminist who objects to that faces the danger of being ostracized from polite society. 

How ironic that a collective such as the LGBTQ+ movement was so hellbent on "smashing the patriarchy" that they ended up enhancing it. 

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You can cut the self-righteousness with a knife

I am sticking with my vow to stay off social media today, which is the 1-year anniversary of the riots at the U.S. Capitol. 

Today is a day for pearl-clutching progs and media types to make themselves the story, particularly how they feared for their lives over a "coordinated coup" orchestrated by Donald Trump supporters and how to this day they're still "triggered" by those events. 

While I will never excuse the actions of a few hundred idiots, we shouldn't be surprised at how we arrived at that moment on 1/6/2021. Erick Erickson explains. 

The truth is it was not an insurrection. It was definitely not a coup or attempted coup. But it was wrong, no one should pretend otherwise, and no one should trust any politician who does attempt to condone it instead of condemning it.

But there are other truths too. These truths the press and Democrats would prefer not to talk about. They’d prefer to scream “what-about-ism” or claim that bringing them up is to excuse or to mitigate January 6. Unfortunately for them, to truly understand January 6, we must understand other events and how those were handled.

In (2011), progressive activists stormed the State Capitol in Madison, WI. The Wisconsin State Journal reported it in eerily similar language to January 6. “Thousands of protesters rushed to the state Capitol Wednesday night, forcing their way through doors, crawling through windows and jamming corridors,” reported the paper. Progressives were trying to stop a vote making Wisconsin a right-to-work state, which would undermine labor union powers. Speaker Nancy Pelosi called it an “impressive show of democracy” and said she stood with the protestors. The media was mostly matter of fact about it and by no means condemnatory.

In Texas, protestors stormed the State Capitol in Austin to stop Republicans from passing a pro-life measure. Most news anchors and reporters who covered it for the national press almost all explicitly excused the protestors and made Texas State Senator Wendy Davis a national figure and heroine for feminism. She rode the fame to several electoral defeats in Texas and talking head gigs on CNN and MSNBC.

In Washington, D.C. progressive activists stormed the United States Capitol to stop the vote on Brett Kavanaugh and to intimidate United States Senators. Major news outlets were almost all uniformly on the side of the protestors. Some reporters explicitly cheered on the protestors on their social media accounts. News networks like NBC all but colluded with Democrats to stop Kavanaugh.

This does not even include the coordinated and concerted Democratic efforts starting in 2000 to treat any election they lose as illegitimate with the media mostly amplifying those claims. Bush was “selected not elected” they said and Trump was fraudulently accused of being bought and paid for by the Russians. Stacey Abrams still denies her loss with press complicity, but Republicans are bullied and denounced for denying the legitimacy of 2020.

While the prog narrative these days is how it's so unpatriotic to question election results, that sentiment will be memory holed come November 2022 if indeed Democrats take a shellacking at the ballot box. And they will have their usual willing accomplices in the leftist lapdogs employed at CNN, MSNBC, etc. 

So while leftists will use this day to tout how courageous they are in talking about an event which triggers them so, they aren't going to get a lotta accolades from those who are concerned about their kids having to go back to distance learning or Americans enduring spikes in violent crime or the continued higher cost of living. And therein lies the endgame. The Dems have no real agenda for the 2022 election cycle, so they'll continue to shout "JANUARY 6TH!!!!" from the hills as an attempt to use as a cudgel against Republicans. Now if only the GOP would be smart enough to not take the bait.......

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Gearing up for 24 hours of sanctimony

January 6, 2021.

That was the day the U.S. Congress was set to ratify the electoral college results declaring Joe Biden the winner of the Presidential election two months earlier. It was also the date when a handful of disgruntled Donald Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, where Congress was convening at the time, in protest over what they believed were fraudulent election results. Some have called it an "attempted coup" while others have referred to it as an "insurrection." Whatever the case, many "progressive" elected officials and media types alike have commemorated the sixth of each month over the past 11 months as the "--- month anniversary of perhaps the darkest day in American history." 

Initially the outrage (OUTRAGE, I tell ya) was expressed to demagogue the incident in an effort to rubber stamp a prog agenda which would get us as far away as possible from the stink of Trump. But now the mythical vapors are being conveyed to distract from the disastrous administration of President Joe Biden while also attempting to stem the tide of Dems being wiped out in the 2022 midterms. 

According to political commentator Erick Erickson, it ain't workin'.

(W)hile I think (Jan. 6, 2021) was a no-good, terrible, bad day, the American media wants you to believe that it was the absolute worst day ever. Why is this?

To understand what's going on here, you need to understand a report from the website Morning Consult that does a lot of data-driven analysis. One of the things that they say is the views of the Republican Party are back to normal. People do not hold the Republican Party in contempt for January 6th. In fact, their views of Donald Trump have rebounded as their views of Joe Biden have gone down. Now, this is everything to do with Joe Biden being president, not Donald Trump. But at the same time, Republicans are no longer associated per se with January 6th. The public does not hold it against Republicans.

You will recall that James Carville was on television and said that the Democrats needed to do their best to tie Republicans to January 6th in the same way Republicans have tied Democrats to the riots across the country and that their failure to do so would mean doom in 2022. As perception of the Republican Party has rebounded, the bottom line is the media has to go into double hysterics over January 6th because they've got to convince the American public that they cannot restore Republicans to power. The media is doing this on behalf of the Democratic Party.

Hell, CNN is devoting an entire primetime special to the events of 1/6/2021. Given the network's cratering numbers since Trump left office, one would understand airing this broadcast in an effort to resurrect sagging ratings for a night. However, it'll have little impact for CNN long term and it sure as heck won't have any bearing on the 2022 midterm elections. 

With all that said, I am staying completely off of social media for all of Thursday. While I have no issue acknowledging that the perpetrators of the Capitol riot need to face consequences, anything less than saying said incident was on par or worse than the events of 9/11/2001 is (according to the Twitterverse) tantamount to treason. 

So enjoy your day of self-righteous indignation, progs. Come Friday morning you'll still have the trough-like stink of the Biden administration emanating from your beings. 

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Quick Hits: Volume CCLXXII

 - There may be some hope for New York City yet! Now that the deplorable Bill de Blasio is no longer Mayor, the new leadership sounds downright reasonable by comparison. 

Eric Adams has started his tenure as New York City mayor by rejecting a request from the city's largest teachers' union to temporarily move public schools to remote learning, capping off a frenetic first 72 hours of his administration.

Adams' focus on keeping children in-person for school -- even in the face of opposition from the teachers' union -- is one of the clearest examples of how the former Brooklyn Borough president will offer the nation's largest city a different brand of leadership for the next four years.

The request from the United Federation of Teachers came as coronavirus cases across the country -- including in New York City -- have spiked dramatically with the spread of the Omicron variant in recent weeks. In a statement to his members on Sunday, President Michael Mulgrew said the union asked Adams to temporarily move to remote learning to mitigate staffing challenges caused by positive Covid-19 cases but that the mayor felt "strongly" that schools needed to remain open despite the surge.

"We advised the new mayor that it would be safest to allow our school system to go remote temporarily until we could get a handle on the staffing challenges that each school is about to face as we return," he wrote. "However, he feels strongly that schools need to remain open."

Adams remained rooted in his position on Monday.

"We're staying open," the mayor said.

There have been numerous studies recently showing the adverse impact on kids being isolated for long periods of time, particularly when it comes to their mental health and emotional maturity, to say nothing of their education lagging. 

Kudos to Mayor Adams, a Dem who actually follows the science. 

- For the first time in the era of head coach Mike Zimmer, the Minnesota Vikings will miss the NFL playoffs in consecutive seasons. 

With that in mind, it wouldn't be the worst idea to start rookie quarterback Kellen Mond in Sunday's season finale against the Chicago Bears (who also have nothing to play for). But when broached with that possibility, Zimmer sounded less than enthusiastic. 

When asked if he wants to get a look at rookie QB Kellen Mond next week in the meaningless regular season finale against the Bears, Zimmer quickly said "not particularly."

Why not?

"I see him every day," Zimmer replied.

This is the coldest thing I’ve ever heard from a coach. My goodness. pic.twitter.com/0FaufxxoQw

— Ian Kenyon (@IanKenyonNFL) January 3, 2022

Oh, and take a look at who bookmarked that tweet containing the Zimmer clip. 

Good news though, Zim? You only have less than a week to further endure Mond, but not because he is going anywhere. 

- Patton Oswalt shared a New Years Eve photo op he had with fellow comedian (and, as Oswalt claims, his friend for the past 34 years) Dave Chappelle. 

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt)

Given some of the comments which ensued on this post, Oswalt quickly realized his fellow secular progressives still hold ill will towards Chappelle because he doesn't subscribe to the far left orthodoxy on transgenderism. As such, Oswalt felt the need to grovel for his fans' forgiveness for having the audacity to tout a decades long friendship. 

Closed circuit to Patton: It's ain't gonna be enough. The only way to satisfy the woke mob is via total capitulation, which will likely include demands to disavow your friendship with Chappelle. But hopefully you have more integrity than that. You have an ample opportunity here to stand much taller than your 5'3'' frame. 

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