Update: Matt Bruenig explains what happened this weekend. 

Michael Tracey raises an interesting question. 

Keith Ellison’s loss is noteworthy for a number of reasons, many of them unrelated to the fact that his victorious opponent will be the first self-identifying Hispanic to preside over the Democratic National Committee. Yes, ethnicity/race did play a pivotal role in this intra-party election, but not in the way that the mainstream media and Democratic shills would have you believe. Perez’s victory is not so much a case of Democrats implicitly rebuking President Trump and his purportedly anti-latino immigration policies as Barack Obama’s man on the inside once again stepping on the Bernie Bros.

The party hatchet-man who did so much to pave the way for Hillary Clinton’s disastrous candidacy, crafting the message which social justice warriors and feminists gleefully vomited at Bernie Sanders and his backers in the Democratic primary, is now in a position to run the Democratic Party. The former President who has done so much to divide his own party, which continues to be riven by the parallel political institutions he created, now has his own Machiavelli steering the course of the DNC.

This is not only a ratification of the open borders, corporatist, elitist vision which animated the Hillary Clinton campaign-progressives be damned-it is yet another slap in the face of African-Americans, i.e. the foundation of the contemporary Democratic Party. How do woke individuals continue to reconcile their support for Barack Obama with the concrete policies and decisions made by a man who, beyond empty gestural politics, has done absolutely nothing for the black community? To the contrary, the legacy of the 44th President is one of neglect and indifference towards the people most responsible for helping him make history.

We have just witnessed an elite cross-section of Democrats from around the country reject someone who is literally a black Muslim in favor of a Brown alum who’s whiter than Steve Bannon, and whose campaign manager would fit in perfectly at a Huffington Post editorial meeting. Don’t expect national Democrats to curtail their moral preening and sanctimony as we enter the Perez  Era. Just as we’re forced to endure lectures attacking this country from a smarmy talking head for The Reconquista whose fame and fortune were given to him by Americans, we will now experience four years of privileged leftists telling us why white people need to check their privilege. Apparently, the new head of the Dems seems to agree that white people are entitled to fewer rights based upon their skin color.

I can’t wait until 2020.

Update: A felony conviction rate of over 70 percent. 

The hysterical reaction among open borders fanatics to this weekend’s ICE raids merely serves to illustrate how the President’s opposition continues to not take him seriously. Despite the repeated comparisons to every tinhorn dictator, strongman and despot the world over, from Vladimir Putin to, naturally, Adolf Hitler, the people who despise Donald Trump have no faith in his ability to actually follow through on his promises. Foremost among them, the enforcement and application of federal immigration law.

These raids, which are being denounced by the usual suspects, targeted a range of individuals who should never have been allowed into this country.

About 150 of the suspects have criminal histories, including felony convictions for serious or violent offenses, according to an ICE statement. There were 10 people with no criminal history but five had orders of removal or had been previously deported.

In other words, almost every single one of the people detained was a criminal alien or alien absconder. The fact that vast swathes of the American political class is vehemently opposed to enforcing the law should give you an idea of why these types of operations-although a limited step-are absolutely necessary. One can only hope that Senator De Leon’s relatives are paying close attention to the news.

Update: Plot twist. 

The White House won’t immediately appeal this ruling. 

Josh Blackman has an interesting post explaining the possible paths going forward for the Trump administration. 

The temporary restraining order against President Trump’s executive order is still in effect, as you probably know. Josh Blackman has a good analysis of the ruling on his website, which I would recommend reading. There are a number of fascinating and disturbing elements of this decision, including the imposition of a “no evidence” standard upon the Trump administration. Although some are attempting to put the best face on what is a sweeping, unprecedented ruling, the truth is that we are entering uncharted waters. We have the largest circuit court in the federal system essentially erasing the plenary power doctrine as it relates to immigration matters.

The fact that the administration was intentionally hamstrung in its appeal is irrelevant in the larger context, i.e. we are dealing with a federal judiciary that’s unwilling to recognize Congressional and presidential authority to execute immigration law. What’s more, the reasoning, such as it is, behind this decision is so shoddy that it would be laughable if the consequences weren’t so dire. The idea that universities and colleges have a vested interest, i.e. continuing the flow of tuition dollars from the coffers of foreign students, which supersedes the national security concerns of the President and his cabinet would be an absurdity in any other era. Keep in mind, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the defiant architect of the 9/11 massacres, was brought to the United States along with other Muslim students from abroad in order to pad the enrollment and keep afloat a struggling North Carolina college.

Even if the statutory and Constitutional rationales for enjoining the President’s executive order are incredibly weak-which they are-that doesn’t make the path forward any easier. Whether the administration decides to rewrite this EO from scratch, as some have suggested, or simply appeals to the Supreme Court, those of us who believe that American interests outweigh those of foreign nationals and international organizations have already been dealt a grievous blow by a judiciary which no longer recognizes itself as a co-equal branch of government.

How long before this quasi-ironic tweet becomes a reality? I suppose we’ll find out soon enough.

Update: Jill Stein, Green Party standard-bearer, drops a pipe bomb. 

The plot thickens. 

A Clinton supporter explains what’s wrong with this decision. 

A less than enthusiastic appraisal of Hillary’s problems by a liberal columnist in D.C. 

Spic ‘n’ Span. 

He said, she said. 

Relevant.

One of the most remarkable admissions during this press conference was that Hillary Clinton was not being punished because she is Hillary Clinton. The final point of Patrick Howley’s analysis is worth committing to memory and bringing up the next time someone starts rhapsodizing about the equal application of the law we have in the United States. 

Former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy’s reaction to today’s events is worth reading. 

I’m loathe to link to Red State, but this seems like a pretty accurate summation of what occurred a few hours ago. 

In unrelated news. 

A foretaste of what another Clinton presidency will look like. 

 Justice is not blind, evidently. 

Dissenting voices.

14 damning revelations from the Comey presser. 

What just happened, in black and white. The scale of Hillary’s non-negligence is staggering. 

Read Comey’s statement in full at the FBI’s website.

It looks like Judge Mukasey’s instincts were wrong. Watch Director James Comey’s press conference as it happens. Apparently, it’s good to have low friends in high places.

I had the dubious honor of being invited to participate in Good Morning America’s first presidential town hall Monday morning, featuring Senator Cruz and his wife Heidi. Although I did not learn anything new, the experience did reaffirm some preexisting beliefs about both the news media-particularly, the way it frames narratives-as well as Ted Cruz, almost none of them flattering. I suppose you shouldn’t expect much from a segment billed as Coffee with the Candidates, yet I still entered the studio with relatively high expectations, most of which would be dashed over the course of the next hour.

The trouble began with the first audience question, which was asked by an extraordinarily tall, dapper African-American gentleman, who prefaced it with the caveat that he was a former drug dealer/gang member who had, presumably, turned his life around by becoming a youth pastor. I later spotted some copies of his self-published memoir, which he had brought to what was undoubtedly an advantageous marketing opportunity for his business/church. He wanted to know what Senator Cruz would do about those dastardly southern gun dealers who were flooding his community with illegal firearms, relying upon talking points derived from the thoroughly discredited Bloombergian campaign ascribing violent crimes in this city to legal, constitutionally protected businesses.

Lest you think this an aberration, the next question, asked by a gay pizzeria owner, pertained to the recently enacted North Carolina law forbidding the use of certain restrooms by transgendered individuals. A law that, even using the loosest definition of that term, might impact a tenth of one percent of the population of that state-and very few registered Republicans. Granted, there are probably lingering pockets of Rockefeller/Lindsay Republicanism in this city-most likely in neighborhoods like the Silk Stocking District and the tonier parts of Brooklyn Heights, prime Kasich territory based upon last night’s primary results-but the opening sequence of this town hall would give you the impression that they formed the majority-or at the very least, a decisive plurality-of New York State Republicans.

You don’t have to be a conspiracy theorist to believe that this message-broadcast to the rest of the country-was deliberate. Much like the Jeb Bush plant of Internet acclaim, these individuals were carefully vetted by Good Morning America’s producers before being selected to appear on national television. Just as I was vetted before my question-dealing with the negative impact H-1B visas have upon American workers-was rejected. Regardless of whether you are in favor of open borders or support constructive immigration enforcement, the idea that this issue is inconsequential-especially to Republican primary voters-is hard to countenance. However, if you’re a member of the mainstream media, the boutique concerns of leftist members of the press corps must always take precedence over those of conservative Republican voters-even if you are hosting an ostensibly Republican campaign forum.

The natural counter-argument to this is, what do you expect from Bill Clinton hatchet man and Hillary Clinton sycophant George Stephanopoulos and liberal reporter Robin Roberts? That is precisely the point! We have become so desensitized and inured to the media manipulating how we discuss issues of public import, which issues we discuss, and what weight we give to those issues, that we have forgotten how divorced these “gatekeepers” are from the reality of most Americans’ lives. While the triviality of a question about ‘New York values’ and a lightning round consisting exclusively of non-political ephemera is to be expected from a show like GMA, we should demand that at least a few questions have some bearing on the concerns of ordinary, conservative Republican voters.

The 15-20 million illegal aliens who are lobbying for political representation in Washington, to say nothing of the tens of millions of legal immigrants who already wield a decisive influence over our electoral process, and the priorities of America’s chief news organs are not wholly unrelated. The media narratives that we blithely accept have disastrous, if largely unacknowledged, consequences for our country, problems which Senator Cruz purportedly hopes to address. However, it’s hard to see how that will happen if we don’t confront the root of the problem. The pervasive political correctness and distortion of the meaning of words, the veil of dissimulation, which obscures what’s wrong with our government. We can’t make any progress until we first deal with this massive impediment to honest discussion.

Tomorrow, I’ll discuss my thoughts on Ted and Heidi Cruz.

Debate begins this week on the Gang of Eight amnesty. Much like Obamacare-another legislative monstrosity imposed upon an unwilling American public-this was crafted exclusively by special interests, some of them foreign governments which represent no Americans. The views of those tasked with enforcing-or not enforcing-the law were disregarded, even as those who have a vested interest in further distortion of immigration law had their views prioritized. Senator Jeff Sessions explains what is about to happen in the week ahead.

As this administration continues to defy the American pubic, as well as Congress, and implement its plan to enact amnesty by fiat, the supporters of these lawbreakers become bolder in their attempts to intimidate. I’ve just received word from Joanna Marzullo, president of NY ICE, that the shock troops of the treason lobby will be demonstrating their contempt for this country’s laws in Union Square a week and a half from now. Here’s a link to the relevant details, which are republished below. 

WHAT:  NY ICE counter-protest of D.R.E.A.M. amnesty supporters
WHEN:  Thursday, March 28, 2013  at 2:30pm
WHERE:  14th Street and Union Square South in Manhattan (across the street from Whole Foods Supermarket)
BRING:  Anti-D.R.E.A.M. amnesty signs, or just anti-amnesty signs.  Here’s one idea for a sign:  “Their D.R.E.A.M. is our NIGHTMARE”. Bring cameras!

I urge those of you who can attend to join NY ICE in its rally against this violation of American security and the well being of thousands of hardworking American citizens that are being sacrificed upon the alter of political expediency. Say “no” to an administration that cares more about cosseting illegal aliens and their enablers than protecting Americans.