polecat news and views

Thursday, May 7, 2026

*Created by Brandon Morse for RedState.com*

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is at it again — anointing preferred candidates in hotly contested 2026 primaries and being accused, by their own party, of openly "putting its thumb on the scale" to protect establishment candidates.

Which is a fancy way of saying they're being called out for rigging the primaries.

Shocker, I know. The party that feigns being warriors for 'saving democracy,' but then installed Kamala Harris and Hillary Clinton when their voters chose Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, respectively, is at it again.

In the latest round of “Red to Blue” endorsements, the DCCC jumped into multiple tight Democratic primaries to boost candidates they have unilaterally decided can win in the general elections. Some of those candidates are trailing their opponents in both endorsements and fundraising.

They're trying to intervene and sway the primaries before their own voters can truly have their say.

As Axios reports, "The blowup is dredging up an intense, long-standing debate about whether Democratic leadership is acting un-democratically to boost the candidates they view as more electable."

Wait, the “defending democracy" crowd is being called out by their own for going against democracy? That simply can't be. I was reliably told by the resistance party and the media that they are the only ones who can save democracy.

Dems Rush to Block ICE Near Polls for the Midterms—It Doesn’t Take a Genius to See Why

The move has prompted infighting, with progressives accusing the DCCC of interfering in elections. And they're using phrases normally reserved for their opposition.

In one race, Jasmeet Bains, a California State Assembly member running in California's 22nd district, was endorsed by the committee despite being out-raised by progressive Randy Villegas.

A group of Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC leaders responded by issuing a blistering statement, saying, "We disagree with the DCCC's decision to attempt to tip the scales in this race."

The Working Families Party chimed in, accusing "the Democratic establishment" of "putting its thumb on the scale—not to support the stronger candidate, but the candidate who will bend to party leadership."

Villegas issued a statement to CNN reiterating, "It is undemocratic to see DC elites putting their thumb on the scale in this race."

Tipping the scales and/or putting one's thumb on said scale of democracy hardly seems like they're defending it.

"Voters, not the DCCC, should pick Democratic nominees," the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC added.

The significant criticism echoes outrage leveled at the DCCC earlier this year, when it initially intervened in several other primary races.

“You cannot argue that democracy is on the ballot in November while narrowing democracy in the primaries from now through August,” a coalition of Democratic congressional candidates wrote in a scathing letter to the committee. "Voters must choose those nominees freely. Open primaries, transparent processes, and robust debate are not obstacles to victory — they are the path to it."

To Democrats, voters apparently are the obstacle. Accusing the DCCC of "narrowing democracy" and "tipping the scales" is just a polite way of saying they're rigging the primaries.

Again.

https://redstate.com/rusty-weiss/2026/05/05/dccc-caught-putting-thumb-on-the-scale-in-2026-primaries-narrowing-democracy-n2202010?utm_source=rsmorningbriefingvip&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl

Gee, It's Almost Like Iran Can't Be Trusted at All

Gee, It's Almost Like Iran Can't Be Trusted at All

Stephen Kruiser

Top O' the Briefing

Happy Tuesday, dear Kruiser Morning Briefing friends. The Sine Qua Non Sequitur is attending a Bob Ross Memorial "Happy Little Clouds" intensive somewhere in central Florida.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has become the Swiss Army Knife of the Trump 47 administration. He's pinch-hitting for White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt while she's on maternity leave. Sarah wrote yesterday that President Trump is sending Rubio to Italy to calm things down with Pope Leo IV and the Italian government. Here's something from that post:

Several MSM outlets are saying that he will meet with the pope and Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's foreign minister, on Thursday. He'll most likely also meet with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, and possibly even Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni herself, but the State Department didn't specify that information.
We all know the background. The pope has repeatedly criticized the United States and Israel's conflict in Iran, calling for more dialogue and peace talks — you know, the sort of thing that hasn't worked for decades.

I don't write about these brouhahas between popes and presidents. A pope being against war isn't really a stretch. It's rare to get a hard line on these things from the Vatican. Sarah is dead-on about dialogue and peace talks not working, especially when Iran is one of the parties involved.

Iran has been one of the world's worst and least trustworthy actors ever since the Islamists took over in 1979. Whatever cobbled-together regime is running things there at the moment is most likely even more unreliable than the old guard that was sent to the Great Beyond.

This is from Catherine:

The genocidal Iranian regime has just violated its ceasefire agreement again, this time by bombarding the United Arab Emirates.
Within two hours of the original U.S. ceasefire announcement, the Iranian regime had already violated it by raining missiles down on multiple neighboring countries, especially Israel. It has continued to harass and even attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz and encourage its terror proxy Hezbollah to kill and displace as many Israeli civilians as possible. Now, the UAE is again coming in for its share of cowardly Iranian regime attacks.

A big mistake a lot of people make when dealing with Islamic fanatics is that they severely underestimate the intensity of the fanaticism. Too many people in the West are naive about dealing with religious zealots and assume that there is some common ground to be found. One thing about the Jihadis is that they don't sugarcoat anything. They are very clear about wanting to destroy Israel and the West. For reasons that I will never understand, power players from Western countries tend to not believe the very clear signals coming from the Islamic fundamentalists.

The media coverage of Operation Epic Fury/Roaring Lion has been maddeningly irresponsible. Everything President Trump says is parsed out to the nth degree and treated with scorn and outrage. To the hacks in the mainstream media, Trump is always the bad guy. The lunatic fanatics who have been bankrolling terrorism in the Middle East for half a century get the benefit of the doubt, though.

Trump has the resolve to deal with whatever is going on in Iran right now. That the delicate sensibilities of the flying monkeys in the mainstream media are being offended means he's definitely on the right track. As long as the Muslim clerics are in charge in Iran, there won't be any good faith negotiations. Trump and Company know that. The people who are afraid to be called "Islamophobic" remain the problem.

https://pjmedia.com/stephen-kruiser/2026/05/05/the-morning-briefing-gee-its-almost-like-iran-cant-be-trusted-at-all-n4952509/?utm_campaign=nl_pm&utm_medium=email&utm_source=pjmediambvip

Jonathan Capehart Had a Bad Night on PBS Newshour

Jonathan Capehart Had a Bad Night on PBS Newshour

Amy Curtis

Jonathan Capehart Had a Bad Night on PBS Newshour — *Townhall Media*

Jonathan Capehart, co-host of MS NOW's "The Weekend," went on PBS Newshour over the weekend, where things did not go well for him, at all.

Some of his favorite narratives, including the Left's support of violence, the Supreme Court, and gun control, were all destroyed. We'll start with the Left's support of violence. Poll after polls shows that the Left supports using violence as a tool for political gain.

David Brooks pointed out the Left's propensity for violence, and Capehart did not like that.

"And if you look at who thinks violence is justified, it tends to be younger people by a lot. Most progressives and most conservatives oppose violence, but you get two and a half times as many progressives say it's justified than not," Brooks said. "But what strikes me about this guy, about the guy who shot in Butler, about the guy who shot Charlie Kirk, they hadn't seemed to have thought about it that much."

"It seems almost flippant, the way they go into these things. Almost like half thought through and jokey," Brooks continued, "and I can't quite make sense of what that kind of lighthearted nihilism that drives people to, on a whim, almost, do something that is horrific and life-changing."

"The thing now, a week out, that I've been thinking about and I keep coming back to it, when I heard the five bangs ... my immediate action was so instinctive: drop to the floor, under the table, and be quiet," Capehart said. "I've never been in a situation like that, but as an American and certainly as a journalist, having to cover all these things, and to listen to the recordings and the films, you sort of learn through osmosis what to do. And to me the bigger issue here is gun violence. That, why was I not surprised that this happened?"

Maybe because Democrats routinely call for the President to be assassinated? Maybe because most of the mass shootings are carried out by members of the Democratic Party's base, whether it's trans individuals or career criminals that Democrats refuse to throw in prison?

But Capehart didn't stop there. He said the Supreme Court is taking us back to the time before 1965.

"The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is what killed Jim Crow. The VRA is only 61 years old. When it was passed and became law, it was the first time that America truly was a democracy," Capehart said. That's part of the problem, of course. We're not a democracy, we're a republic.

"Meaning that the words in the Constitution equally applied to all of its citizens, including African Americans, by giving them the right to vote," Capehart continued, "61 years. I am 58 years old. My mother is 84, so my mother is older than true American democracy and so for those justices in the majority to say that ... racism is over in voting and we don't need this anymore, I keep thinking about what Justice Ginsburg said in her dissent in the Shelby v. Holder case which invalidated Section V ... she wrote, 'Throwing out pre-clearance when it has worked and is continuing to work to stop discriminatory changes is like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet."

"For Justice Alito to focus on the elections of 2008 and 2012, when there was a black man on the ballot, to say that racial disparities are no longer a problem, and then ignoring that Shelby in 2013 led to just a rush of changes in voting laws in the states, is to ignore reality and to ignore history and to drag us back to a time when America was not America," Capehart said.

That is also not true. What this did was give representation back to all voters, rather than allow Democrats to racially gerrymander districts that concentrated the power of urban areas over rural voters, including rural Black voters.

This is true. Facts are anathema to the Left's narrative.

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/amy-curtis/2026/05/04/jonathan-capehart-pbs-n2675475?utm_source=thdailypmvip&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl&utm_content=ncl-uDEZAMG9Tc&utm_term=&_nlid=uDEZAMG9Tc&_nhids=ncjmMH8WHyBYls

Wednesday, May 6, 2026

It Looks Like the Southern Poverty Law Center Wasn't Only Funding White Supremacists

It Looks Like the Southern Poverty Law Center Wasn't Only Funding White Supremacists

Jeff Charles

It Looks Like the Southern Poverty Law Center Wasn't Only Funding White Supremacists — *AP Photo/Brynn Anderson*

Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) is already in a precarious position when it comes to keeping his seat in the upcoming midterm elections. His relationship with the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) might make things even worse.

Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings revealed that the SPLC contributed over $700,000 to his campaign during the 2020 race, according to Fox News. Oddly enough, this places Ossoff in the same category as the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist groups whose leaders have received oodles of cash from the organization.

Ossoff and the SPLC have a longstanding relationship. The organization was so zealous in their advocacy for the center that it even dedicated a page on its website to him.

The Justice Department brought an 11-count indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center in April, alleging that it secretly used donor money to pay informants inside potentially violent extremist organizations. The DOJ claims the organization concealed those payments and lied to financial institutions.

The organization faces charges of wire fraud, making false statements to a federally insured bank, and conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering. Investigators claim the group opened bank accounts in the names of “fictitious entities” so it could pay the informants without anyone knowing where the money was really coming from.

The SPLC then allegedly used the accounts to route more than $3 million in contributions to informants between 2014 and 2023 who occupied leadership roles in groups that the SPLC publicly labeled as dangerous hate groups.

Prosecutors allege that at least nine informants tied to the Ku Klux Klan, the National Alliance, the Aryan Nations, and other white supremacist groups were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars each. One informant allegedly received over $1 million over several years.

While the SPLC was paying these individuals, it told donors they were using their funds to dismantle these extremist organizations. Prosecutors said the organization defrauded donors by not telling them about the informant program.

This comes as polling continues to show Ossoff is fighting for his political life against his Republican challengers. An Emerson College Polling/Nexstar survey shows him narrowly defeating Rep. Buddy Carter 47 percent to 44 percent, Rep. Mike Collins 48 to 42 percent, and Derek Dooley 49 percent to 41 percent. He does not have enough of a lead to make victory certain over any candidate. These revelations will not exactly benefit Ossoff’s bid to remain as senator.

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/jeff-charles/2026/05/04/it-looks-like-the-southern-poverty-law-center-wasnt-only-funding-white-supremacists-n2675506?utm_source=thdailypmvip&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl&utm_content=ncl-q6NYaR6D3M&utm_term=&_nlid=q6NYaR6D3M&_nhids=ncW4xIm7fqYpls

NEW: Trump Warns Iran to Get Ready to Be 'Blown Off the Face Of the Earth'

NEW: Trump Warns Iran to Get Ready to Be 'Blown Off the Face Of the Earth'

Ed Morrissey

The sound you heard is the rattle of millions of pearls being clutched to media chests. The last time Donald Trump threatened to completely destroy the IRGC "civilization," we heard the same sound, only to watch the Iranian regime remnant call for a ceasefire. Today, they have openly violated that ceasefire by attacking a United Arab Emirates oil facility with four cruise missiles and shooting at several commercial ships, damaging at least one.

Trump had warned Iran not to interfere with commercial shipping when he launched Project Freedom. After today's attacks, Trump told Fox's Trey Yingst that the US can and will return to full combat operations if Iran continues its attacks on American allies and international shipping. This time, Trump warned again that he's prepared to use all assets to blow Iran "off the face of the earth."

Will this get Ahmad Vahidi's attention again?

US President Donald Trump threatened Iran would be "blown off the face of the Earth" if US vessels were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz during an interview with FOX News on Monday.
“We have more weapons and ammunition at a much higher grade than we had before," Trump said. “We have the best equipment. We have stuff all over the world. We have these bases all over the world. They’re all stocked up with equipment. We can use all of that stuff, and we will, if we need it.”

Trump followed up his interview with Yingst on Truth Social. His warning on the social media site is more ambiguous, but hints that the ceasefire status will change before the Pentagon briefing tomorrow:

Iran has taken some shots at unrelated Nations with respect to the Ship Movement, PROJECT FREEDOM, including a South Korean Cargo Ship. Perhaps it’s time for South Korea to come and join the mission! We’ve shot down seven small Boats or, as they like to call them, “fast” Boats. It’s all they have left. Other than the South Korean Ship, there has been, at this moment, no damage going through the Strait. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Caine, will have a News Conference tomorrow morning. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP

One reason that Iran may have launched missiles and drones today: the US claims it has cleared a path through Iran's mine-laying operations. Right now, only an exit lane through the Strait of Homuz has been cleared, but the US Navy plans to open an entry lane soon:

The U.S. used underwater drones to clear a path for commercial ships to exit the Strait of Hormuz in recent weeks, according to U.S. Central Command. Centcom commander Adm. Brad Cooper spoke about the “low-observable capability” during a call with reporters on Monday.
“We used our own military technology in a unique way to clear a free lane that's not obstructed in any way, shape or form through the strait,” Cooper said.
To encourage ships to use the path, the U.S. kicked off its freedom of navigation effort, known as Project Freedom, by moving U.S.-flagged ships through the waterway first. By doing so, the U.S. assumed the risk and set the example for other vessels, Cooper said.

The sudden move toward the Strait may have panicked Vahidi and the IRGC into using threats to keep ships bottled up in the Persian Gulf. Trump's warning makes the existential stakes of that choice clear. Trump's not alone in this warning, either; Benjamin Netanyahu spent today briefing Israel's cabinet on the developments, and the IDF warned that their posture has not changed since before the ceasefire:

Despite an Iranian attack on the United Arab Emirates and Oman on Monday night, a senior IDF official said that there was still no change to Israel’s home front rules.
According to the official, “The IDF is following the situation and is at a high level of readiness.”
“We emphasize that there are no changes to the home front rules,” the official said.
Further, the IDF official stated, “Our air defense systems and attack capabilities are prepared at a high level, which is something that has not changed since the ceasefire decision.”

The decision to target the UAE may be Vahidi's way of keeping the escalation limited. If Israel detects a ballistic missile coming its way, all ceasefire bets are off for both Iran and Lebanon. Trump apparently wants to give Vahidi a moment to rethink his approach, but it doesn't sound like it will matter much. Darkness will fall around Iran soon, and the decision may have already been made ... by Vahidi.

https://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2026/05/04/trump-get-ready-for-lights-out-in-iran-n3814577?utm_source=thdailypmvip&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl&utm_content=ncl-QgyA8VAxzg&utm_term=&_nlid=QgyA8VAxzg&_nhids=ncW4xIm7fqYpls

Trump’s Strait of Hormuz Move Blends Power and Mercy

Trump’s Strait of Hormuz Move Blends Power and Mercy

David Manney

President Donald Trump announced Sunday that the United States will begin helping ships from “neutral and innocent” countries leave the Strait of Hormuz starting Monday morning. He called the effort Project Freedom and framed it as a humanitarian move for ships trapped by the Iran war.

Plenty of politicians mention compassion when cameras are rolling, but Trump continues to demonstrate how removed he is from “regular” politicians, tying the decision to action, sea power, and safe passage through one of the most dangerous waterways on Earth.

The Strait of Hormuz carries enormous weight in global commerce, and energy markets still watch it like a man watches smoke near a dry field. Hundreds of ships and roughly 20,000 seafarers have been stranded as the conflict involving Iran disrupts traffic through the region.

Iran has been blocking nearly all shipping from the Gulf apart from its own for more than two months. Last month, the U.S. imposed its own blockade of ships from Iranian ports.
It was not immediately clear which countries the U.S. operation would aid or how the operation would work. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter and the Pentagon declined to comment.
Trump threatened that any interference with the U.S. operation would "have to be dealt with forcefully."
Iran said on Sunday it had received a U.S. response to its latest offer for peace talks a day after Trump said he would probably reject the Iranian proposal because "they have not paid a big enough price."

Many crew members come from South and Southeast Asia; they had nothing to do with the war. They didn't start it, write Iran's threats, or choose to become bargaining chips in a dangerous waterway.

Ships and seafarers, many on oil and gas tankers and cargo ships, have been stuck in the Persian Gulf since the war began. Crew members have described to The Associated Press watching intercepted drones and missiles explode over the waters, and running low on drinking water, food and other supplies.
Many sailors come from India and other countries in south and southeast Asia.

Those people were doing ordinary work when an extraordinary crisis fell on them like an ex-Iranian cleric cannonballing in a pool.

Trump's statement cut through the usual fog, saying the United States had told those countries that America would guide their ships safely out of restricted waterways so they could “freely and ably get on with their business.”

The wording set the mission's tone: America isn't rescuing hostile actors; it's notifying neutral nations that lawful commerce and helpless crews won't be abandoned because Iran turned a vital shipping corridor into a danger zone.

The market noticed.

Oil prices fell after Trump's announcement. Brent crude dropped $1.83 to $106.34 per barrel — it's not much, but better than a stick in the eye — while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate fell $1.72 to $100.22. Markets don't reward speeches because the words sound cool; they move when a president signals that chaos won't be allowed to spread.

Nobody should pretend Project Freedom will be simple; public details remain limited, and follow-up from the White House and Pentagon hadn't filled in every operational blank by Sunday afternoon. I'm not a CNN reporter; I'm smart enough to avoid asking the president his military plans.

Trump's posture is clear; he's telling Iran, shipowners, seafarers, and energy markets that the United States sees what's going on and intends to move. In a region where hesitation often gets read as weakness—or, as in the case of U.S. mainstream media, thinking Trump is overmatched—the announcement gives America’s allies and neutral partners something firmer than diplomatic shrugging.

The compassion angle deserves notice because strength doesn't only count when it punishes. American power protects supply lines, calms markets, and helps stranded crews get home or get moving again. The same Navy that deters enemies also clears a path for working sailors who just want to leave a dangerous place alive.

People on the left will find reasons to complain because some people find a scandal when the rest of us call it Monday. They'll argue over timing, tone, risk, wording, tie color, head angle, and whatever else can be fed into the outrage machine before breakfast.

Mike seems to get hangry before breakfast.

Meanwhile, the ships still need passage, crews still need safety, and oil prices still affect American families filling their tanks and paying their bills. Trump is acting in the space where leadership has to live, between danger and delay. Or between the space of $4.25 gas and the Biden-era genius of calling paralysis a policy.

Project Freedom gives the country a clean view of Trump's governing style in a crisis; he didn't offer sympathy cards to the gay, comatose Iranian leader; he's offering safe passage to neutral nations trapped near Iran. Trump's not treating energy markets as abstract numbers on a screen: he understands that every barrel eventually touches a household budget somewhere.

Strength and mercy don't have to be enemies; sometimes they work best when they sail together.

https://pjmedia.com/david-manney/2026/05/03/trumps-strait-of-hormuz-move-blends-power-and-mercy-n4952467