Vintage Pink Hats on Vintage Heads. What Does the Left Mean by ‘Democracy’? Byron York on The Succession: Now There Are Two. Angel Father at Sanctuary City Hearing. More
The “No Kings” protests drew record crowds Saturday across the U.S. and Europe (where there is still a smattering of kings). PBS continued:
Minnesota took center stage, with thousands of people standing shoulder-to-shoulder to celebrate resistance to Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement.
Minnesota’s flagship event on the Capitol lawn in St. Paul drew Bruce Springsteen as its headliner. He and other speakers praised the state’s people for taking to the streets over the winter in opposition to a surge of U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement agents.
Springsteen performed ” Streets of Minneapolis,” the song he wrote in response to the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents. Springsteen lamented Good and Pretti’s deaths but said the state’s pushback against ICE has given the rest of the country hope.
The protests turned violent in Portland, Dallas, and Los Angeles and took a bizarre turn near Mar-a-Lago:
A large mob of demonstrators waving Palestinian and other flags hurled cement blocks towards Department of Homeland Security agents in Los Angeles….
Outside Mar-A-Lago, in Palm Beach, Fla., female protesters lifted up their shirts Saturday as counterdemonstrators peppered them with insults including “w–re mongers” and “butch d–es.”
Trump haters like actor Robert De Niro and state Attorney General Letitia James were in attendance at the demonstrations.
A group of demonstrators waving red hammer and sickle flags chanted “there is only one solution communist revolution” outside Times Square.
USA TODAY’s Susan Page found the protests a “show of political force” and a “red flare” for President Trump. But Page didn’t hide the zany white lady aspect I observed in D.C:
“A divine entanglement of democracy,” Sarah Elizabeth Greer, 56, called it as she marched in Manhattan, pushing her two tiny dogs in a cart festooned with a pair of handwritten signs: “NO barKING” and “BITE the Power!”
Accessory of the day, as observed by Ms. Must at her nearby subway stop: a dingy, vintage pussy hat clamped on the steel grey head of a vintage female. The Federalist discerned in the “No Kings” gatherings “the sound of a tired old thing trying not to die.”
An editorial in the New York Post rightly labels the “kings” idea a conceit. The editors go on to contend that the left loves kings with a “D” after their names. “What Do Democrats Mean by ‘Democracy’?” is the headline on a Wall Street Journal op-ed by Bruce Gilley. Good question. Gilley writes:
Talk of a “transition to democracy” further belies the claim of democratic backsliding. Such a transition would require a reform faction within the Trump tyranny to emerge to bring it down. Yet nobody on the Democratic side is engaged in negotiations even with disaffected Republicans like Liz Cheney or a Bush scion. That they continue to work within the confines of traditional partisan politics suggests they don’t really believe their premise.
This leads to a troubling conclusion: What Democrats and leftist activists mean by a “transition to democracy” is a transition to permanent Democratic Party rule.
Gilley does not let Republicans entirely off the hook.
The Iran war is making even hawks nervous. President Trump is said to be weighing a military operation to go in and remove Iran’s uranium. Despite its decimated leadership, Iran boldly calls the U.S. 15-point plan “unreasonable.” Tehran loosened its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, allowing 20 oil tankers to go through it. The jitters over the market are intense but James Mackintosh argues in the Wall Street Journal that the market can endure the war. President Trump says U.S. could seize Kharg Island and take Iran’s oil but remains optimistic that a deal with Iran can be made soon. Israel doesn’t believe you can negotiate with Iran. Mark Penn comments on energy prices on X:
Obviously the Iran war and the disruption of Iran’s global terror network seems to have come down to fear of energy prices. Perhaps FDR’s famous line would now be “we have nothing to fear but fear of oil prices.”
So, let’s do the math. …
Meanwhile, North Korean is supplying weapons to Iran, and Israeli police, citing security concerns, refused to permit the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa to enter the Holy Sepulcher on Palm Sunday. Prime Minister Netanyahu intervened and restored access. Whatever the security worries, it was not a good look.
As you probably know, the House Republicans rejected the Senate deal to end the shutdown. Miranda Devine lets the “cowardly” Senate Republicans have it:
The worst offender last week was Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who hightailed it out of DC on Friday morning, hours after stitching up a duplicitous 2 a.m. deal to end the shutdown by caving to Democrat demands to defund ICE and border enforcement, at least for the time being.
Elements of the Department of Homeland Security were funded in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last year, but Thune’s deal freezes out immigration enforcement and border security functions that are all-important as we go to war against the world’s largest sponsor of Islamic terrorism. He knew this would be unacceptable to the Republican base.
In one fell swoop, Thune ceded the moral high ground to Democrats who now can blame Republican intransigence for their shutdowns.
Similarly, The Federalist’s Brianna Lyman also proposed that Americans shouldn’t need the House to save mass deportations from weak Senate Republicans.
“More Right-Wingers Ban Trans Athletes ” is the headline on a Wall Street Journal editorial—but the “right wingers” are actually the not-right-wing International Olympic Committee:
Are Democrats ever going to wake up to reality on women’s sports? The International Olympic Committee said Thursday it is implementing a one-time genetic screening for the 2028 games, because competition can’t be fair—or even safe—if biological women are forced to face off against athletes born male.
To most people this sounds like common sense. In the U.S., however, many Democratic politicians still act as if transgender participation in women’s and girl’s sports has become a matter of public debate only because of right-wing paranoia. Well, the IOC isn’t exactly a MAGA convention.
The Conservative Political Action Conference has just closed in Dallas. Thanks to Examiner Chief Political Correspondent Byron York for telling us “What the CPAC straw poll says:”
Start off by saying the CPAC straw poll is wildly unscientific. There have been allegations of various types of skullduggery in the past. …
That said, the notable aspect of what happened is that last year, there was only one heir apparent for President Donald Trump among the attendees. This year, there are two.
The new poll is just one more indication that the rise of Marco Rubio has changed the face of the 2028 presidential race. As secretary of state, he has emerged as one of the stars of the new administration. He has defended American values abroad — as has Vance — but has not suffered from the widespread belief that he is uncomfortable with U.S. military interventions, as Vance has.
Meanwhile, “Democrats Have a Rahm Emanuel Problem,” according to Politico:
The 2028 Democratic presidential field — whether they realize it or not — has a Rahm Emanuel problem. His campaign is likely to be a rolling Sister Souljah moment for the Democratic Party’s left-leaning orthodoxy, particularly on social issues. His pugilism and his critique of the party’s leftward lurch will create a gauntlet his would-be rivals will have to navigate. And years in politics — plus countless hours on CNN — have helped him further hone his sharp-edged debate blade.
In “They Wouldn’t Even Say My Daughter’s Name,” Joe Abraham recounts his experience at a Senate hearing on sanctuary cities and the rule of law. Mr. Abraham is one of the tragically growing number of parents whose children were killed by illegal aliens. Her name was Katie.
