Ten Sacks of Coal for Christmas: A Captain's Corruption List

Topic: Perspective

Corporate and independent journalism share a few things in common.  Both cater to audiences who expect to be offered meaningful content at regular intervals.  Both may have access to talented writers or content producers who produce a variety of material covering arts, culture, politics, sports, or any number of different topics; however, there may be nothing these entities have more in common than the certainty of end-of-year wraps, reviews, and definitive, often emphatic, punctuation marks.

I am a fan of predictions, checklists, evaluations, and all things conclusive.  That is why I am here to present to you my Christmas List – a sh*tlist, if you will.  My old cavalry squadron in Alaska recognized an officer or NCO who had the biggest flop at the monthly leadership gatherings with an award called the Broken Spur, generally given in good nature.  I was nominated for it once, but did not win it, for rupturing my eardrum at a rifle range and wearing a blood-soaked gauze for the duration of the exercise.  During the presentation, they mocked (in good humor) my distrust of government and my penchant for bringing it up at the most inopportune times.

These 10 insufferable dingleberries (13 if we break up the group listing), in no order, are Broken Spur winners atop my own personal “Mount Rushmore” of ignoble American political figures in 2023:

I.               Peter Thompson

In all honesty, I could probably devote at least three of these slots to Arizona-based judges.  Things are really that bad there as the Evil Empire seeks to cover up its election maladministration in multiple counties.  Peter Thompson, an Army veteran who sits on the Maricopa County Superior Court, and supposedly a Republican, feigned concern over Kari Lake’s 2022 election lawsuits and on multiple occasions, refused to give relief despite glaring evidence of stunning criminality on the part of the defendants.  I have written about Judge Thompson in these pages here and here, and thoroughly outlined his dereliction of duty and gamesmanship in setting impossibly high bars for plaintiffs to hurdle in order to prevail.

II.             Ron DeSantis

I went with the chalk pick earlier in the year, believing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis would see the obvious writing on the wall (that the people want Trump back) and keep his powder dry for 2028.  It was a miss on my part, but one I’m happy about, because now we won’t need to figure out who owns the man most people reading this journal would have listed as the most popular Republican governor.

Does mere competition draw my ire? Hell no!  Running explicitly for four more years as governor while already knowing you’re going to secretly run for president, all while having no choice but to affirm the results of the 2020 election because to do anything else would only serve as an endorsement of Trump, earns a man a spot on this list.  Ron, go home and do the job you were elected to do.

III.            Kevin McCarthy

This selection might be a layup on any similar list, but probably not for the reasons most would cite.  McCarthy had one of the most regrettable Speakerships in the history of the U.S. House, breaking pretty much every promise he made to those he needed to extract his final few votes from and paying the piper dearly for it.  But what is his real crime here?  Stepping down, effective December 31, as the Representative for CA-20.

I’d love to see many more resignations, but out of an exposure of corruption, prosecution of political crime, or as an act of repentance.  It is clear McCarthy was only in it for himself, and ousted from the Speakership, is stomping off and slamming the door behind him.  Good riddance, Kevin.

IV.           Ronna Romney McDaniel

She may try to hide her middle name, but I won’t do her that favor here.  No one has concocted a lengthier and more personally prosperous career out of losing than Ronna Romney McDaniel, who refuses to engage with Republican grassroots efforts, picks all the wrong strategies for winning elections, and starves candidates who can’t be easily controlled if elected out of needed funds for competing against the left, who fuels everything through dark money and runs roughshod over its ill-prepared competition.  The unpreparedness of the Republican Party, which would be dead without Donald Trump, was on fully display in the sleepy, all-but-forgotten 2023 elections.

V.             Josh Shapiro

Somewhere in Pennsylvania, Toni Shuppe is reading this article and saying, “finally, he put a Democrat in here.”  Knowing full well that Pennsylvania is unwinnable for Joe Biden, or any Democrat, in 2024 against Donald Trump, he called his own number and declared Pennsylvania would implement automatic voter registration (AVR).  AVR is a death wish for free and fair elections and is the only reason Pennsylvania’s 2024 outcome is now in doubt.

Pennsylvania would be headed for a ten-point plus Trump victory margin (I have Trump’s margin at 6.4% in 2020 in an authentic race) in 2024 if the state were left to trend organically; unfortunately, Trump lost 18 of 20 states (243 electoral votes to 9) operating AVR at the time of the 2020 race, and now four more (Minnesota, Delaware, Hawaii, and Pennsylvania) have pulled the trigger on implementing it.  Shapiro is a good leftist, yet another in a long line of leftists who are willing to do what it takes for the cause – abuse of power or not.

VI.           Meagan Wolfe

Wolfe, the beleaguered administrator of the Wisconsin Elections Commission (a bureaucratic agency created by Republican Governor Scott Walker), is hanging on by a thread.  While he may shirk responsibility for the disastrous 2020 presidential election execution and outcome, she is ultimately responsible, just as a military commander would be, for the maintenance of the indefinitely confined voter list, which was abused and exploited for illegal absentee ballots,  and her own unwillingness to stand against ballot harvesting occurring in nursing homes, “Democracy in the Park,” and other abuses that decided a critical state by 20,682 ballots.  Watch James Tesauro in action telling it like it is here.

VII.          Jenna Ellis

At Mike Lindell’s Moment of Truth Summit in August 2022, I was backstage and saw a face I had seen many times on social media and on television, but never in person.  Jenna Ellis was one of President Trump’s attorneys who took part in legal challenges after the 2020 quasi-election, and she did so with a lot of vigor.  We planned to do a show about election integrity, suggesting she still held her 2020 beliefs in the summer of 2022.

Out of all the “conservative” commenters out there, I’m not sure anyone has capitulated worse than Jenna – from her shameless backing of DeSantis over the man who put her on the map, to dunking on heroes like Kari Lake, to affirmation of the 2020 election results, to groveling before the Colorado Bar, and most lately, tearful pleading for mercy in Fulton County.

Anyone dying on the hill of election integrity in the public eye would be elevated to sainthood in the freedom movement for life – much like Sidney Powell is.  Instead, she chose to be part of the 90% my father said is just along for the ride.  It appears our show will never happen, and I’m alright with that.  I’m looking forward to the day President Trump finally gives her the recognition she so richly deserves.

VIII.        Dade Phelan

If Texas ultimately winds up in its own blue state nightmare, or if it just settles for artificially purpled Arizona-style corruption, House Speaker Dade Phelan will be largely responsible.  He, a Bush-legacy neocon with shady ties, has squandered a Republican majority that is much tighter than it should be in the House and prioritized the political persecution of Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is one of the few big name prize fighters out there willing to discuss the monster in the room – election fraud.

To make matters worse, Phelan shows no remorse for the humiliating debacle that ultimately saw the Texas Senate letting Paxton off the hook.  The Texas Speaker of the House is one of the least dignified members of the American political universe, as evidenced by his decorum while presiding over the House floor.  Dade should take Paxton’s advice and resign in disgrace.

IX.            Joe Lombardo

One big Republican name on Nevada’s 2022 midterm ticket managed to survive, even though Adam Laxalt (U.S. Senate) and Jim Marchant (Secretary of State) were cut down by the magical drop boxes after a week of counting in Las Vegas and Reno.  I am referencing the current governor and former Sheriff of Clark County, Joe Lombardo.  Lombardo courted Donald Trump’s favor early on by referencing Nevada’s many problems that cost Trump the Silver State’s electoral votes in 2020, but moderated his positions all the way to not just defending the outcome of the election, but by signing Senate Bill 406, making it a felony offense to threaten, intimidate, harass, or coerce elections officials regarding election matters (note: you aren’t the one who gets to decide what constitutes an offense).

That’s a shot across the bow to real patriots like Robert Beadles who have the means and brainpower to prove malfeasance in that area.  It appears Governor Lombardo is not so much about law and order as he is about covering up legitimate problems that go unresolved, such as extensive judicial corruption in his state and mass murders going on six years without answers.

X.             Group Award – Melissa Hart, Richard Gabriel, William Hood, and Monica Marquez

You’ve probably never heard these names, because no one knew who in the hell they were until the Colorado Supreme Court ruled to have President Trump removed from state ballots earlier this week; these names represent the four “justices” voting with the majority opinion on that decision.  I wrote about this sad occurrence in these pages and believe it will be a horrible boomerang for the left to wear right on the kisser.  Ask states removing Abraham Lincoln from the ballot in 1860 how things worked out there.

The right gets people into office who go along to get along.  The left gets soldiers into office who, no matter the cost or public opinion, do what the team demands is done.  Learn to spot the difference between key players and those who are just along for the ride, and you’ll be able to better anticipate the future.  Fortunately, I believe the U.S. Supreme Court will strike this decision down.

Conclusion

I get a lot of people on the left crying about me and my associations on the right and am mentioned along with other “right wing” names frequently.  While I am certainly nowhere near the left of the political spectrum, you may have noticed that 7 of 10 listings here are associated with the right, not the left.  The left, a very shallow term to describe the current leaders of Uniparty culture, is a known quantity.  They hate everything America was founded upon and seek to unravel it, whether slowly or abruptly, and will let no emergency go to waste.

The right, on the other hand, is made up of conniving political aspirants who want to ignore key issues and hope the left allows them a turn in charge by playing to their tune and nominating they people they won’t try to put in prison.

As to nominating a man who they won’t arrest or try to remove from a ballot – I echo General Anthony McAuliffe in his 1944 message to the German commander – “Nuts!”  His men were indeed surrounded, meaning the enemy couldn’t get away from them at that point. 

Author’s Note: In my own tradition, I wish you “Merry Christmas,” and a joy-filled season with your family and friends.  2024 is shaping up to be a big year, and I will create tons of informative content, some free, and some for paid subscribers in order to sponsor my mission of pursuing nationwide election reform.  You can sign up as a paying member here for a 25% discount, good through the rest of the month.  Thank you!