"takes every occasion to strut and preen his moral superiority as a member of the Coup Cucks Clan Conservative Inc. Con Artists

JJ Sefton brings us news from Ohio.

Good morning kids. Last weekend of 2018 is here so let's get with it. Before getting to anything else, I want to address the loathsome pillock that goes by the name of John Kasich and his equally detestable underlings in the Ohio state legislature. First, this floating fog bank of halitosis who takes every occasion to strut and preen his moral superiority as a member of the Coup Cucks Clan Conservative Inc. Con Artists vetoed legislation that would have banned abortions on infants in utero that have a detectable heartbeat. But not to be outdone by the son-of-a-postage stamp, the Ohio GOP failed to override the veto by just a single vote. It was right to blast the likes of Chief Justice Errant Crockovich and Associate Justice Kavanaugh (I hold out hope that this was a one-off for him) in losing the multi-state lawsuit over Planned Parenthood funding, but it's our state and local jurisdictions that must do the heavy lifting in breaking up Big Eugenics. Tragically, Ohio has failed us big time.

Enthusiasm for Kasich

pic.twitter.com/MIqvAlI6x4

— Matt’s Idea Shop (@MattsIdeaShop) November 3, 2017

Leave the poor guy alone

Donald Trump is now ridiculing John Kasich's eating habits. I think it is unfair, don't you?

Kasich finishes fourth in three man race in Arizona

Dr. Tar reports at IOTW,

While Donald Trump cruised to an easy win in Arizona and Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) picked up Utah, Governor John Kasich (R-OH) suffered the indignity of finishing behind Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) in Arizona.

He utterly failed to pick up a single delegate last night.
Read more at http://iotwreport.com/kasich-finishes-fourth-in-three-man-race/#tPGkp4ox0lDjjCUJ.99

"Let's Make a Deal" time?

Dick Morris says this morning that the big question now is whether Cruz or Kasich will make a move toward the other in order to stop Trump from getting the nomination. Will Cruz offer Kasich Vice President? If Kasich frees his delegates to vote for Cruz, then Cruz and Trump go into the convention with similar vote totals. But maybe Kasich prefers Trump, or maybe Trump makes a deal with Kasich before Cruz does. Then it is all over for Cruz. Watch the Morris video here.

Down to three

Will Kasich and Cruz get in each other's way?

Julia Azari writes at Five Thirty Eight,

Cruz has a significant following among conservative leaders. So there may be at least two kinds of races going on there — a “stop Trump” race and a “stop Trump and Cruz/nominate an establishment candidate” one.

The important question that remains is whether there’s a “nominate Kasich” movement. One possible lesson from the last eight months or so is that campaigns might actually matter. If this is true, then a single, focused “establishment lane” campaign could make a difference going forward. But if we simply see a “stop Trump” campaign in which Kasich and Cruz get in each other’s way, then it will probably be a two-person race pretty quickly. But not for very long.

Who will get media coverage this week?

Nate Silver writes at Five Thirty Eight,

But in terms of the media coverage of the next few weeks of the campaign, notching a win somewhere could be important for Cruz. My guess is that Kasich will get a lot of attention for having won Ohio, despite it being his home state and his not really having a path to the nomination before the convention. Trump got big wins in Florida and Illinois, meanwhile, while Rubio will make headlines by having dropped out. That’s not a lot of news cycles left for Cruz, who will need to make up some ground to claim winner-take-all Arizona next week.

Anti-Trump divided vote gives Trump Illinois

Harry Enten writes at

Five Thirty Eight

,

ABC News and NBC News have called Illinois for Trump. Call it a case of the anti-Trump vote being divided. Trump leads with 40 percent, while Cruz is at 26 percent, Kasich is at 22 percent and Rubio is at 10 percent.

Play-fascisim versus real fascism

Dennis Prager writes in Town Hall that lefts may just inadvertently give us President Trump!

...the truth is that the left-wing attack on Trump's Chicago rally had little, if anything, to do with what the incendiary comments Donald Trump has made about attacking protestors at his events. Leftist mobs attack and shut down events with which they differ as a matter of course. They do so regularly on American college campuses, where conservative speakers -- on the rare occasion they are invited -- are routinely shouted down by left-wing students (and sometimes faculty) or simply disinvited as a result of leftist pressure on the college administration.

...Yet the mainstream media simply ignore this left-wing thuggery -- while reporting that the shutting down of a pro-Trump rally is all Trump's fault for his comments encouraging roughing up protestors at his events.

That the left shuts down people with whom it differs is a rule in every leftist society. The left -- not classical liberals, I hasten to note -- is totalitarian by nature. In the 20th century, the century of totalitarianism, virtually every totalitarian regime in the world was a leftist regime. And the contemporary American university -- run entirely by the left -- is becoming a totalitarian state, where only left-wing ideas are tolerated.

Tens of millions of Americans look at what the left is doing to universities, and what it has done to the news and entertainment media, and see its contempt for the First Amendment's protection of free speech. They see Donald Trump attacked by this left, and immediately assume that only Trump will take on, in the title words of Jonah Goldberg's modern classic, "Liberal Fascism."

And if these millions had any doubt that Trump alone will confront left-wing fascism, Trump's opponents seemed to provide proof. Like the mainstream media, the three remaining Republican candidates for president -- John Kasich, the most and Marco Rubio the least -- blamed Trump for the left-wing hooligans more than they blamed the left. It is possible that in doing so Senators Cruz and Rubio and Governor Kasich effectively ended their campaigns and ensured the nomination of Trump as the Republican candidate for president. The combination of left-wing violence and the use of it by the other GOP candidates to wound Trump rather than label the left as the mortal threat to liberty that it is may clinch Trump's nomination.

And if the left continues to violently disrupt Trump rallies, they -- along with the total absence of condemnation by the Democratic Party and its presidential candidate -- may well ensure that Donald Trump is elected president. Between the play-Fascism of Trump and the real Fascism of the left, most Americans will know which one to fear most.

Some advice from our wisest analyst

I caught a few minutes of Rush Limbaugh's show today. Rush believes Kasich's secret ambition is to become Postmaster General!

On a serious note, Rush advises Cruz that Trump's 35% is "locked in." The only person who can unlock them is Trump. Rush advises Cruz not to make any more comments about Trump supporters being "low information," or any other similar insult. Go after the other 65%, and, if Trump ever releases his supporters, you will eventually need them in the general election.

Sounds like good advice to me.

When will someone offer specifics on economics?

I listened to parts of the Larry Kudlow show tonight on the radio. Although he said Donald Trump had always been nice to him, he was very critical of Trump on economics. He is afraid Trump's policies will be protectionism, trade war, and tariffs, because of Trump's comments about China and Mexico. Kudlow was positive about the fact that Bush, Rubio, and Kasich at least talked about growth, but where are the specifics? He mentioned Ronald Reagan and JFK as two presidents who were outstanding on economics.

August 6 debates: could the second tier be the one to watch?

Noah Rothman writes at Commentary about the two debates that will take place on August 6.

It’s counterintuitive, but the second-tier debate may be the one to watch and the one that has the most effect on the trajectory of the race.

...There is a reason each of these candidates has failed to capture the imaginations of the Republican electorate – the field is too crowded, too accomplished, too dynamic. The second string of debate participants would be foolish to waste this moment of earned media attention flailing impotently at the Republicans polling at or near the top. In contrast to the prime time debate that, if the egotist leading the pack has his way, will fast devolve into a food fight, the second-tier debate could turn out to be a clarifying and policy-oriented affair. By virtue of its novelty, that debate will draw substantially more viewers than is warranted by virtue of the participants’ support in the polls. There is an opportunity here for some of these candidates to jump out of the also-ran pack and make a name for themselves with GOP primary voters.

...Santorum performed better than any other candidate running for the party’s nomination in 2012, and his socially conservative views are not well represented in the current crop of leading candidates. Jindal, too, could make a claim to represent the socially conservative wing of the party, but his compelling personal story has the potential to appeal to marginal general election voters who would otherwise not give the GOP a second glance. Fiorina has proven especially adept on the campaign trail, and polls suggest her rising favorability rating among Republicans provides her with the most room for her support to grow. Kasich has adopted the Jon Huntsman approach to winning the nomination. He will advocate for a style of compassionate conservatism that might have fallen out of favor, but which also last won the GOP the White House. Graham will undoubtedly advocate for a robust approach to foreign affairs and will devote much of his focus to the myriad challenges facing America overseas. Pataki, a three-term governor of one of the bluest states in the nation, can tout his ability to work with the opposition party in order to generate consensus for conservative reforms. Should fortunes shift, one or two of these candidates might be replaced with the likes of a Texas Governor Rick Perry or a New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, which would make this debate even more of a must-see moment in the 2016 campaign.

Read more here.