Paul Manafort

The trial of Paul Manafort is the first show trial of our own incipient version of covert Stalinism or Stalinisme sans Gulag. The groupthink behind this is extreme. Facts are less important than feelings motivated largely by the need to belong. There is the sense among these people that even if Trump didn't collude with the Russians, he wanted to. And even if he didn't want to, he's still bad and deserves to suffer for this non-existent collusion he didn't do or want.

Putting it all together, yes, Gates was "in contact with a Russian intelligence officer." And who knows? Perhaps they were plotting to fix the U.S. presidential election for President Trump. But the evidence that Mueller has revealed, and the statements he has made, suggest something more prosaic. CNN's Ron Brownstein was right when he advised caution in drawing conclusions about the Mueller investigation. There is still too much that is hidden.

A group of principled conservatives in the U.S. House of Representatives did what Speaker of the House Paul Ryan will never do – they went on offense against Robert Mueller and the rest of the insiders protecting Hillary Clinton and the worst villains of the Obama-era swamp.

The big takeaway from the Manafort indictment is its lack of connection to purported Trump-campaign collusion in Russia’s cyber-espionage attack on the 2016 campaign. I believe the indictment’s only potential relevance lies in its usefulness in pressuring Manafort to cooperate. Assuming that is the goal, I think Mueller’s team could have improved the indictment’s credibility by toning down what is included and adding in what appears to have been left out.

What would have happened if Hillary Clinton’s very real email scandal — with its mountainous evidence of felony mishandling of classified information and destruction of government records — had been investigated with the no-holds-barred vigor Mueller and his band of Hillary donors are applying to the surmise of Trump collusion in Russian espionage?

We now know that Manafort, who by the way has a residence in Trump Tower, was indeed subject to a federal wiretap. Unprecedented unmaskings, wiretapping opposition campaigns, spying on journalists, directing federal agency power against political opponents: All of these actions were committed by unaccountable federal agency personnel in pursuit of retaining power and influence.

Connect the dots and it looks like the same group of dictator-friendly Democrats who got the the spurious dossier on then-candidate Donald Trump into the news have chosen this moment to leak information on Donald Jr. to keep the phony Russian collusion story alive.

Tonight’s third presidential debate promises to be a battle for the ages if Trump can hit hard and stay substantive at the same time. Plus, President Obama’s “whining” comment proves once again how out of touch the elites are; Trump receives surprising support for the concept of “rigged” elections, and, Donald Trump thinks Hillary prepared for tonight’s debate by napping.

#NeverTrump joins with their allies in the mainstream media to declare Hillary the winner. Plus, Despite doomsday predictions, down ballot Republicans seem to be doing just fine; If a Trump wave develops it will render the Electoral College competition meaningless, and, Mike Pence asks supporters to help combat voter fraud.

Polls that buck the trend of showing Crooked Hillary Clinton comfortably ahead may end up being more accurate than the others on Election Day. Plus, Why Evan McMullin is the perfect Don Quixote candidate for #NeverTrump; Even by the numbers, media coverage is heavily slanted against Trump, and, Concerns about election integrity are more legitimate than the establishment’s dismissal of them.

Donald Trump’s defamation suit against the New York Times shows voters he’ll fight back against the establishment and could help him win the race. Plus, So-called “conservatives” bash Jeff Sessions for supporting Trump; Reassessing the reasons why Donald Trump won the GOP nomination, and, How are the potential 2020 Republicans “seeing” the Trump candidacy now?

Lost in the media’s fixation on Donald Trump’s personality and questionable character is any discussion on the issues that will impact America for the next four years. Plus, Will Trump’s war on the establishment cause the GOP to lose Congress?; #NeverTrump’s fallacy is they cannot justify their position on the issues, and, Huma Abedin asks if Hillary can avoid taking questions from the press.

It’s a sad dose of reality when Republicans are fighting a civil war while Democrats narrow their strategy to “Just win, baby.” Plus, What will an “unshackled” Donald Trump really look like?; Marco Rubio joins Ted Cruz in continuing to support Trump, and, Looks like calls for Trump to step down will keep coming, no matter how fruitless.

Donald Trump’s debate performance was atypical to say the least, but Americans seem ready for something outside the political norm. Plus, Removing Donald Trump at this point would not only be foolish, it’s not possible; It’s only one sample of voters, but Luntz focus group puts Trump right back in the race, and, Ted Cruz still supports Trump, doesn’t fall for the media hysteria.

Amidst a storm of criticism and censure over the now infamous Trump audio tape, Donald Trump needed a solid debate performance to change the conversation. For the most part, he got it. Plus, Could pollsters be cooking their poll results to make a Trump election seem illegitimate?, and, Reports of the RNC’s meltdown over Trump were greatly exaggerated.

With Hurricane Matthew ravaging the east coast this weekend it could have an effect on the dialogue in Sunday night’s debate. Plus, Pence offers some debate advice of his own for running mate Trump; Is there any such thing as a right NOT to vote?, and, Open letter blasting Trump represents the last gasp of the dying Republican establishment.

Mike Pence’s stellar debate performance on Tuesday night provided a great illustration of what Donald Trump needs to do against Crooked Hillary on Sunday. Plus, Plus, To destroy the Clinton Death Star, Trump should work with Pence on debate prep; Obamacare is the political hot potato in 2016 for both parties, and, Ratings are in for the VP debate and they’re down from past years.

Mike Pence won Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate because he was able to advance the message of change that the Republican ticket represents. Plus, Donald Trump doesn’t have much of a ground game strategy. Will it matter?; Did Mitt Romney just endorse no-name Evan McMullin?, and, Michelle Obama mocks Trump, tells us what we need in a candidate.

Tonight’s vice presidential debate provides Mike Pence the chance to highlight the Republican ticket’s superiority on the issues. Plus, Does Trump’s odd behavior of late really betray a desire to lose the election?; Supreme Court gives Trump a “gift horse” to talk about immigration again, and, Even after eight years in the White House, Obama still does not understand Americans.

No matter who Donald Trump might have called heavy twenty years ago will have little bearing on this year’s issues and economics-driven election. Plus, Workforce participation numbers reinforce Trump’s economic message; World Trade leaders quaking in fear at the prospect of a President Trump, and, Mike Pence will help squelch the media frenzy over Trump’s temperament.