We talked last time about profiles in courage, Mike Willett being one of them. His colleague on the Dane County Board Ronn Ferrell another.

 

I admire Mitt Romney for the same reason. He spoke up forcefully against Donald Trump when it still could have made a difference. Republicans today would be in a stronger place if, say, Ted Cruz had been elected. Same conservative agenda, same counter-punching style, without the personal baggage or the school recess bullying.

Cruz and my man, Evan McMullen, would hold the high ground on the sexual harassment issue, instead of being Me Too.

It looks like Democrats are going to outflank Republicans on the issue, now approaching a feeding frenzy. (Have you ever seen anything like this?) Our liberal-progressive-socialist acquaintances are clearing the decks to use the issue in next year’s mid-term elections. Look for Al Franken to resign his U.S. Senate seat soon. (“Giant of the Senate,” indeed!) Rep. John Conyers has already quit. In the Wisconsin state capitol, State Rep. Josh Zepnick, D-Milwaukee, is a non-person. The party that indulged Ted Kennedy, slut-shamed Bill Clinton’s accusers, and posed with Harvey Weinstein and took his money is, today, retroactively recalibrating its moral compass.

Meanwhile, President Trump and the Republican National Committee have jumped head first into the briar patch. They’ve gone all-in for Roy Moore in Alabama. The Wall Street Journal’s editorial this morning (12-6-17) is priceless:

Republicans have an unusual political problem in Alabama. Their candidate may win.

Thanks to Alabama Democrats nominating a John Nichols/Elizabeth Warren clone. The Policy Werkes calculus is the Senate could expel Moore, once seated, and Alabama’s Republican governor could then name a replacement. But Trump and the RNC’s endorsement is will be the gift that keeps on taking. Perhaps not in Alabama but in other states. They have soiled the brand immeasurably.

Wisconsin Republicans, despite the Nichols spin, can stand proud. Scott Walker, Ron Johnson, and Paul Ryan all urged Moore to drop out.

Platinum subscriber bonus leftovers

• Every so often, The Capital Times bemoans the lack of civility in public discourse. Otherwise it is business as usual, as in calling Wisconsin’s attorney general a “toadie” (12-6-17) for siding with the governor in the Tony Evers dispute. What, then, would be the proper term for a news outlet that always sides with Democrats? (Plenty to say about Roy Moore but nothing about Al Franken?)
• Recognizing Jerusalem is the said to endanger peace in the Mideast. What peace? The U.S. has recognized the State of Israel since 1948. Jerusalem is its capital. Embassies are located in a nation’s capital. Recognizing Jerusalem will tell the Arab hotheads it’s over. Kowtowing to the Assads of the world has got us nowhere.
• LaVar Ball blames UCLA coaches for his brat’s shoplifting drama in China. That’s the problem, isn’t it? No accountability. When someone else is to blame, no one is to blame.
• Townhall.com’s conservative political editor Guy Benson, a gay man himself, on the Left’s acceptance of diversity: “Bake me a cake, bigots.”