Quick Hits: Volume CDXII

 - New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart appeared at a rally for GOP Congressman Mike Lawler. His appearance culminated with introducing the keynote speaker for the evening - President Donald J. Trump. 

Upon learning of this interaction, Dart's teammate Abdul Carter expressed incredulity over Twitter. 

Naturally, Carter was roasted on Twitter for this take. 

The fact of the matter is NFL players who have been the most outspoken against Trump during his time in the White House have been given huge platforms within mainstream media. But even tacit support of Trump triggers some of the more visceral and unhinged reactions. 

Carter's response to the backlash over his tweet was stunning in its lack of self awareness. 

Uhhh....*our* narratives???? This would have been little more than a footnote were it not for Carter himself reacting to it in the manner he did. Clearly he was not pleased with his teammate associating with Trump, so I'm not really sure why he seems taken aback to the reactions. 

Realizing he was out of his depth, Carter ultimately deleted both tweets. 

Offseason workouts for the Giants are slated to resume on Wednesday. No doubt that new coach John Harbaugh will answer all the inevitable inquiries about this flap and then look to move on ASAP. 

- GOP Senate hopeful out of Minnesota (and my next door neighbor's cousin) Adam Schwarze recently gave an interview to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. 

The candidate himself seemed proud of this particular excerpt of the story. 

He is largely unknown to the general public. A February poll of Minnesota Republican primary voters released by the campaign arm of Senate Republicans found nearly 60% had never heard of him.

Yet he’s now a front-runner to win the Republican endorsement this weekend at the party’s convention in Duluth, a remarkable development for a candidate facing two rivals with wider name recognition.

Hmmm. This feels like an implementation of Mitch Berg's Eleventh Law of Inverse Viability, which states  "The conservative progressives “respect” for their “conservative principles” will the the one that has the least chance of ever getting elected."

The fact of the matter is the leading GOP candidate, Michele Tafoya, is a legit moderate who may have trouble locking in staunch right wingers but appeal to moderate Dems and Independents in a way no Minnesota Republican has since Gov. Tim Pawlenty. And who was the last GOP candidate to win a statewide race in Minnesota???? Why, that would be Pawlenty. 

As a staunch conservative myself, I would guess my ideological bent more closely aligns with Schwarze over Tafoya. But I would give far better odds to Tafoya to win a statewide race. And the Strib legitimately fears that as well, which is the answer to the question of why they would seemingly prop up a "Trump conservative" like Schwarze.

- Another incumbent GOP Senator loses his primary battle. Just over a week ago it was Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. On Tuesday, it was the senior Senator from Texas. 

BREAKING: Trump ally Ken Paxton defeats Sen. John Cornyn in Texas’ bitter Republican primary war.

Trump targeted Cornyn as "VERY disloyal" as he backed Paxton, a MAGA firebrand, in the final days of the runoff campaign.

Paxton now faces off against state Rep. James Talarico — a… pic.twitter.com/hEo4SJiEGY

— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 27, 2026

The victory for Paxton may be red meat for MAGA-ites, but it puts the GOP Senate majority in more jeopardy than if Cornyn remained the candidate. The reason being is a significant number of MAGA members are low propensity voters, essentially only showing up when Trump is on the ballot. So while I believe Paxton likely prevails over the kooky Talarico, it's going to take a lot more financial resources for Republicans to defend this seat. And that means less cash to unseat incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) as well as make a play for open Dem seats in Minnesota and Michigan. Also, Republicans are playing defense in Maine (incumbent Susan Collins is in a tight race) and North Carolina (Democrat Roy Cooper, who was very popular two-term governor, is prime to flip this open seat), but, again, they may not be prioritized as a result. 

So for all you MAGA-ites celebrating these victories, I would advise you to keep that same energy through the general election. These primary election wins aren't a culmination but rather the very beginning. 

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Box Score of the Week

Minnesota Twins at Boston Red Sox - June 15, 1994. 

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The Twins completed a three-game sweep of the BoSox this series. It would be the last time they'd sweep a series in Fenway Park until literally this past weekend. 

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On assignment.......still

Once again I will be off the air today for radio show The Closer. However, the show is in good hands as NASCAR Kelly Gunderson will be taking the reins of today's broadcast, 1-3 PM Central Time. 

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

Until then.....

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Box Score of the Week

Chicago White Sox at Washington Nationals - September 6, 1933.

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At the age of 39 years and 161 days, Nationals pitcher Alex McColl became the oldest pitcher to have tossed his first career complete game, a record which still stands today.

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On assignment

I have obligations to fulfill for my day job, so former MN State Senator Dave Osmek has been called on to fill in on today's edition of my radio show The Closer. The 2-hour barn burner (how Osmek is promoting it) will get started at 1:00 PM Central Time. 

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

Until then.....

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These aren't your grandparents' Dems (or even your parents')

Many Democrats of the Civil Rights era would stage sit-ins in areas where black people were not allowed to be present. Today's Dems (specifically elected Minnesota DFLers) also prefer to participate in such activities, but this time to *undermine* civil liberties. 

Minnesota Democrats continued to stage a sit-in on Friday in the House chamber to protest the lack of a vote on gun control measures.

On Thursday night, a procedural motion to force a vote on a gun control package passed by the state Senate earlier this month failed along party lines following hours of debate. Republican Speaker Lisa Demuth then adjourned the House until noon Saturday.

House Republican leaders called for Rep. Aisha Gomez, DFL-Minneapolis, to be removed as the Democratic co-chair of the tax committee after a verbal altercation with Rep. Elliot Engen, R-Lino Lakes, that Republicans claim included threatening language.

Rep. Engen verified this via his Twitter account. 

 

Can confirm.

Didn’t have multiple Democrat colleagues yelling at me to “go f’ing shoot myself” on my bingo card… https://t.co/veol1CXzxT

— Elliott Engen (@elliottengenMN) May 15, 2026

In the aftermath of legislative colleagues Rep. Melissa Hortman and Sen. John Hoffman (as well as their spouses) being shot by a crazed gunman last year, Minnesota legislators of all stripes made a vow to be more unified and tamp down divisive rhetoric in the aftermath of such horrific incidents. Sadly, I wasn't terribly optimistic those sentiments would be sustained. And, as always, these people lived up to my low expectations. 

The 2026 session officially ends Sunday night, which isn't nearly soon enough. 

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Quick Hits: Volume CDXI

- It doesn't require keen insights to ascertain that Los Angeles, CA is becoming a hell hole. And the fact the city (and state where it's located) is run by vapid progressives played no small part in a once vibrant area essentially cratering. 

Spencer Pratt, whose family's home was destroyed in the Pacific Palisades wildfires last year, is running a dynamic campaign to unseat incumbent L.A. Mayor Karen Bass. One of the visuals he's put forth is how he lives in an airstream trailer on the property where his house was located before it's fiery demise. But Pratt is taking on the Democrat machine, so it's obvious they're looking to undermine his story as well as destroy his credibility. And they sure thought they had him with this. 

😳 EXCLUSIVE: Spencer Pratt is staying at the Bel Air hotel, not his airstream trailer.

Details: https://t.co/aMYI685oaT pic.twitter.com/r8VXLhiG9F

— TMZ (@TMZ) May 13, 2026

Sooooo......why exactly is he living in a hotel (albeit a swanky establishment) as opposed to his home? Have these brilliant opposition researchers asked themselves that question? I'm guessing not, because if they had they would've realized this isn't quite the epic "gotcha" as they would seem to believe. 

Democrats will burn your house down with incompetence, not issue the permits to rebuild it, and raise your taxes in the meantime, while attacking you for having to go live in a hotel.

You can't imagine how depraved that is. pic.twitter.com/KxinQo4XuS

— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) May 13, 2026

Indeed.

 

- I'm obviously not on any of the dating apps, so I wouldn't have been able to advise this young lady as brilliantly as the gentleman who replied to her "wish." 

I dunno about her dating apps, but she at least followed this directive for her Instagram bio. 

- It isn't exactly a new development that elected Democrats are demonizing billionaires for merely existing. But do they realize that a few high profile ones have large platforms dedicated to helping them attain power? 

 

It never ceases to amaze how utterly awful today's Dems are at politics. 

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