Really Right

Before I get into what a mess this really is, let me start by saying that it has taken me several days to verify what was sent to me and research further to present what follows. If needed, I have only reluctantly relied on anyone’s thoughts, opinions, or remarks on the issue before us.

It’s been a while since we’ve looked in on Kirk Uhler and the Placer County Mafia. Uhler is up for reelection yet again. Reportedly he’s still up to his old tricks, although the law may finally be catching up to him. It’s a good thing that Republicans only believe in term limits for other people or he might have to find another way to personally enrich himself.

Recap

When we last left this ethically challenged politician in 2016, we had chronicled the following:

• 2009 Uhler got his wife a job on the county’s dime. The position was created just for Tami Uhler. It was never advertised. Oh, last we checked it was paying a salary of $92K. (More on that shortly)
• 2014 Uhler doubled his salary as a supervisor
• Uhler combines his Supervisor gig with his “day job.” This enables him to offer turn-key solutions to access all that Placer County has to offer in exchange for throwing a little business his way. Think pay-to-play, quid pro quo, or even Aaron Park’s “If you advertise here – it means an endorsement.”.
• Uhler also has his hand in an online gambling operation where he is listed as a vice-president of the corporation.
• 2015 Uhler along with the Just Us Brothers looted the Placer CRA treasury in a move only Adam Schiff or Bernie Madoff could truly appreciate.

Kirk Uhler’s Troubling Record

Kirk Uhler and The Just Us Brothers

Nepotism Defined

Recently, Supervisor Uhler was the subject of several emails that were sent to me from the bowels of his district. Attached were several hundred pages of information concerning the nepotism of Uhler’s wife living off the taxpayers while her husband engineers further pay increases for her and that fact that the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) has been repeated asked to get involved in the situation. (See Appendix 1 below for links to the eleven letters on file with the FPPC.)

Oh, for folks in Rio Linda, nepotism is “the practice among those with power or influence of favoring relatives or friends, especially by giving them jobs.”

Nepotism is against the law and has been for decades. This was one of the issues that Jerry Brown used as a reason to dismantle the Board of Equalization (BOE). BOE had about one in five employees being directly related and others hired as political favors.

Nepotism scandal embroils recently gutted state tax board

Summary of Initial Concerns

Per the emails that I received, in 2019 Uhler lead the charge to give his wife a thirty percent raise in one year. This caused a flurry of activity and correspondence with the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC). The FPPC is the State body charged with insuring that politicians and political campaigns follow state law. The correspondence which I shall go thru in detail is from the Office of the Placer County Counsel (the county’s lawyer) and the FPPC.

The issues of fact and law under dispute are related to Uhler’s wife, Tamara (a.k.a. Tami), and her employment by Placer County.

Tami’s Job

Let’s look at some nuggets in the document dump that I was sent and try to reconstruct what happened and when. The questions needing to be asked include whether Placer County can employ Uhler’s wife, is her $30K raise justified, and did Uhler engineer its approval behind the scenes. On the face of it, what happened doesn’t pass the proverbial “smell test.”

Tamara Uhler, the Placer County Assistant Director of Child Support Services (“Assistant Director”), is married to Kirk Uhler, a member of the Placer County Board of Supervisors. Assistant Director Uhler’s service began in July of 2009, after Supervisor Uhler was elected to the Board of Supervisors. The Assistant Director reports to the Director of the Department of Child Support Services (“Director”). The Assistant Director position is an at-will, unclassified management classification, with no written employment contract. An appointment to the Assistant Director classification was completed by the Department Head pursuant to County Code, and no confirmation or affirmative action from the Board of Supervisors was required.

FPPC letter 10-21-2019 File No. A-19-193 Page 2 (Appendix 3 below)

Let’s unpack the above quote.

The FPPC states above that Kirk Uhler was already a Supervisor. I was curious how long he had been a Supervisor, so I looked up.

Kirk returned to the Board of Supervisors on Dec. 19, 2006 to fill the vacancy created after 4th District Supervisor Ted Gaines was elected to the State Assembly in November. At the Dec. 19 meeting, the four remaining board members selected Kirk from a field of five candidates who applied to serve the final two years of Gaines’ term. Kirk was sworn into office immediately after the vote.

Kirk represented the 4th District on the Board of Supervisors from 1993-96. He was only 25 years old when elected to the post, becoming the second youngest Supervisor in California history.

KirkUhler.com

2009 Tamara Uhler was given the job of Assistant Director of Child Support Services.
This Assistant Director “position is an at-will, unclassified management classification.” This means Tami is not part of a labor union and can be hired or fired just like anyone in the private sector. To get this job, Tami required “no confirmation or affirmative action from the Board of Supervisors.”

Please note that no record has been produced that the job opening was advertised or that Tami ever had to compete for the position. Furthermore, as far as we know, no one other than her was ever interviewed for the job.

Allegations of a conflict of interest, a violation of public trust, unfairness in the Placer County hiring process and even nepotism surround the recent appointment of a county supervisor’s wife to a management position.

While wrongdoing has not been identified by an official investigative body, the move has raised concerns from citizens and county union leaders who are calling for action. The relatively high-paying position was not advertised, and the position had been vacant for two years.

Tami Uhler, wife of Placer County Supervisor Kirk Uhler, was appointed to the assistant director of the Placer County Department of Child Support Services July 7 with a starting salary of $92,000 plus benefits, according to county officials.

Uhler appointment raising concerns

Per an FPPC letter on the subject of conflict of interest, Tami’s hire was wrong. The letter is written in legalese but when you remove the double negative in the section and the excess verbiage, it boils down to this:

Accordingly, new Regulation 18702.5(b)(1) would expressly reinsert this exception, and would provide as follows:
a personal financial effect is … material if the decision would:
(1) Affect only the salary, …(of) the public official or a member of his or her immediate family receives from a … local government agency … the decision is to … promote … a member of his or her immediate family… when the member of the public official’s immediate family member is the only person in the job classification or position.

Repeal and Adoption of Regulation 18702.5 pages 2 & 3

So, if Tami was just one of many people working in the same classification, then this rule would not apply but since she is the only one, it’s a big problem.

Meanwhile Tami Gets Huge Raise

If you recall, when Tami was hired in 2009, she was making about $92K. Today, she is getting double that amount thanks to the Placer County Supervisors.

Folks, Placer County—like most government websites—doesn’t list and compile historic data on the pay of government employees, but there is a place you can go to find the information; namely, the Transparent California website.

Their data on Placer County only goes back to 2011 but here is what you will find on Kirk and Tami Uhler.

Note: The wages and benefits are estimates based on many factors since on the one hand pay scales are public information but an individual’s W-2 is confidential. For this reason, the numbers from Transparent California will not exactly match some numbers used from the Placer Country website.

Before going further, we need to clarify something for people that have never worked for a government agency. Most employees are paid a salary not an hourly wage. Pay increases are of three types and may occur on different anniversary dates. First, government normally gives employees cost of living increases each year. Usually, these increases are done at the beginning of a new fiscal year. In addition, you get step increases. You start at the bottom wage for your job classification and each year you get pay increases until after several years, you get to the top step. Step adjustment are often on the anniversary of the date you first started in that classification. Once at the top step, your wage will only go up via cost of living adjustments. Lastly, pay may be increased by negotiation with an employer. For many government workers, this is done via labor unions and not on the basis of individual merit.

Placer County Supervisors gave county employees a pay raise which took effect on August 3, 2019. Tami was the beneficiary of a huge raise that only applied to her. Based on comparisons with the county wage information and Transparent California, it is my opinion that Tami was at the top pay step in her job classification prior to the 2019 pay raise. I also think this is a reasonable assumption based on the fact that she has been in that position for over ten years.

Note: Pay numbers used in the remainder of this section can be found in Appendix 5 at the end on this blog post

In 2018, Tami Uhler was paid $132.433.60

She is classified as Position #19869 and her payrate is Management # 452

This is based on 2,080 hours at a salary of $63.67

So, after her raise in 2019 it should look like this:

She is classified as Position #19869 and her payrate is Management # 452

This is based on 2,080 hours at a salary of $63.67

Thus, her pay should be 2,080 hours at a salary of $64.94 or $135,075.20

This would be a two percent pay raise; however, this is not what really happened.

Instead Tami was raised from MNGT 452 to 477

She is classified as Position #19869 and her payrate is Management # 477

Thus, her pay actual pay is 2,080 hours at a salary of $83.30 or $173,264.00

Comparing this year and last year’s salary, Tami received a 23.57 percent pay raise–not including benefits or retirement.

But it gets even better, notice the little footnote on her classification?

Here’s the footnote.

When Tami leaves this position, the pay will drop down to MNGT 452. Thus, this pay raise is only for Tami and only for as long as she wishes to work for Placer County.

Yep, no favoritism or conflict of interest here, just business as usual in Placer County.

More Than Money

Uhler presided over the Board of Supervisor’s Meetings on July 9 & 23 when the pay raise for his wife was approved. He never stated that he had a conflict of interest and or recused himself. The pay raise was a consent calendar item at both meetings. On July 9, during the vote on item 14, Uhler reportedly left the room.

The account that I was given is:

At the July 9, 2019 meeting, after Board agenda item 12.A.l concluded, Board Chair Uhler stood, handed the gavel to Vice Chair Bonnie Gore, and left the room without stating a word about his departure. Although he left the room and remained out of the room for item # 14.A. l, he did not state his conflict of interest or recuse himself from the vote on the next agenda item # 14.A. l “Equity Adjustments for Classified and Unclassified Management Employees”. Kirk Uhler deliberately evaded the conflict of interest requirements by leaving the room and “making himself absent” just prior to item related to his wife, Tamara Uhler’s salary increase.

See Appendix 4 below

At the July 23 meeting, when the vote on item 19 occurred, Uhler abstained.

On July 23, 2019, as part of consent agenda 19.A. l “Equity Adjustments for Classified and Unclassified Management Employees” the Board of Supervisors took action to “adapt the ordinance” approving the salary increases for various management positions, including the salary increase for the position of Assistant Director of Child Support Services held by Tamara Uhler. Chairman of the Board, Supervisor Uhler personally called for the vote to approve the consent agenda, which included his wife’s salary increase. He called for ayes, noes and then stated he was “abstaining”, not recusing himself. He did not leave the room, and he did not give any reason for his abstention.

See Appendix 4 below

The item which was voted on stated that several people were getting an eight percent raise but not a word about the position held by Mrs. Uhler was in the narrative. Unless one took a calculary to it, chances are it would not be noticed.

As a result of this review and analysis of the costs associated with salary increases, the HRD is recommending salary adjustments for 13 management classifications to place them approximately eight percent (8%)…

Salary and benefit costs to maintain a minimum of eight percent (8%) between management
classifications and their highest paid direct report are estimated at $365,000.

Equity Adjustments for Classified and Unclassified Management Employees

The letter that I was sent also challenges the premise of giving Tami any raise on the basis of an 8 percent differential.

Prior to the July 23, 2019 salary increase, the salary differential between the Assistant Director of Child Support Services ($135,075 top step) and its highest paid direct report (Senior Administrative Services Officer top step $ I 05,348) was already at a 28% differential ($29,727). This 28% differential was greater than, and therefore not consistent with the rational for the 8% differential which was stated in the board memo.

See Appendix 4 below

Uhler as Pontius Pilot

On this issue, Kirk Uhler claims that he is innocent of any wrongdoing and any enrichment of his family is purely coincidental. However, those that know him best tell a different tale.

Some people I know are upset that Kirk Uhler endorsed Jim Holmes – who also endorsed Kirk. The record of Uhler is unassailable. So, let’s tell a Kirk and Jim Story.
Did you know that when the final, fateful vote was to occur on Pioneer Energy’s proposed massive rate hike came down the pipe – Jim Holmes called Kirk Uhler to ask him how he was supposed to vote on the issue. With Holmes opposing the 27% rate hike, that ended the debate forever. It is because of Uhler’s relationship with his colleague that this happened.

Aaron F. Park—Uhler Campaign Manager

Oh, Uhler is on the board of Pioneer Energy

“Pioneer Community Energy is about local control,” said Kirk Uhler, a Placer County supervisor and member of Pioneer’s governing board, in a news release.

With PG&E electric rate increase, Pioneer Community Energy gets cheaper

Two thoughts. First, why is Uhler involved in a county supervisor vote on rate hike for a utility that he works for? Second, why is he telling other supervisors how to vote?

Given this, how are we to believe that he had nothing to do with the massive pay hike for his wife?

This is the appearance of impropriety if not the substance.

Tami Wants a Promotion

But wait, there’s more. Tami wants to be Director of Child Support Services.

The Director position is currently vacant. Assistant Director Uhler has informed the Placer County Counsel and the Director of Human Resources that she intends to apply for the position. The Director, a County Department Head classification, is an at-will appointment and there is no employment contract. The Director reports to the County Executive Officer (“CEO”).

The California Family Code requires the Board of Supervisors to select the Director. Appointment of the prior Director was made by the Board on June 12,2007. Pursuant to the Placer County Charter, the CEO is responsible for the appointment, suspension or removal of all appointive department heads except County Counsel, “subject to confirmation by the Board of Supervisors.” Similarly, the Placer County Code identifies the CEO as appointing authority for all department heads other than elective officials “[e]xcept as specifically provided elsewhere …. “
The Board has routinely been involved in the appointment of department heads in the past, albeit not consistently through the years. As noted above, and as evidenced by the Board agenda summary of June 12, 2007, the prior Director was considered by the Board in closed session and his appointment was reported.

FPPC letter 10-21-2019 File No. A-19-193 Page 2 (Appendix 3 below)

To be promoted to Director, Tami must be approved by the Board of Supervisors. So even if her hire in 2009 was not nepotism or a conflict of interest—which I think it clearly was—promoting her to the corner office appears to be a line that can’t be crossed.

In fact, our friends at the FPPC said just that.

Remember that letter that I was quoting from the FPPC?

Here is the question that Placer County Counsel, Karin Schwab, asked the FPPC.

Under Section 1090, may the Placer County Board of Supervisors appoint a Supervisor’s spouse to the position of Director of Child Support Services, given that the spouse currently serves as the Assistant Director of Child Support Services?

See Appendix 3 below

The FPPC responded not just “no” but “hell no.”

No. The Board of Supervisors may not appoint the Supervisor’s spouse as Director, because a Supervisor has a financial interest in his or her spouse’s income under Section 1090, and no exception to Section 1090 is applicable given the circumstances.

See Appendix 3 below

Comments

On paper, Kirk and Tamara Uhler have finally been smacked down by the FPPC for violating the law; however, nothing has really changed. Like our Democrat controlled Legislature, when one political party runs a state (or county) with an iron fist, the interests of the political class inevitably come first. They enrich themselves and their families at the public trough, doing good for their friends (or contributors) and God willing, just neglecting the rest of us. They view the law as being for others and not themselves. They view themselves as too vital to be bound by the constraints of us mere mortals.

Not showing self-restraint, the attitude of corrupt officials is “if you don’t like it then sue us.” Those of us in the real world can only fund so many fights with city hall before throwing in the towel.

Mr. Uhler may have had good intentions when he first ran for office, I will give him the benefit of the doubt. However, the road to hell is paved with good intentions and Mr. Uhler lost his way many years ago.

I have barely touched on the laws concerning public officials and conflict of interest, nepotism, and the like. (See Appendix 4 if you want to read someone’s attempt to get into the conflict of interest issue in depth.) Uhler’s wife is a lawyer. Instead of following the law she once swore to uphold, she uses her training to skirt just so far over the line knowing that nobody is going to go to the trouble of jerking her chain, especially in Placer County. Kirk Uhler is the king of Placer County. Hail to the King baby.

Conclusion

As I was getting ready to post the above, a few things continue to bother me. After some thought, I have decided what will happen in the real world with this issue. Let me explain and I think you will be forced to agreed with me and simultaneous not like it.

The great political observer, Scott Adams of Dilbert fame wrote a whole book with the premise that “there is a right way, a wrong way, and the weasel way. ” Kirk Uhler has a track record of following the weasel way.

Given that the Assistant Director of Child Support Services position was empty for two years before being filled by Tami Uhler, and given that Tami wants a promotion, and given that the FPPC said no and given that the Director of Child Support Services position is currently empty and given that its duties are currently being performed by Tami Uhler, a reasonable person must therefore conclude that Tami will remain the de facto Director and the Board will not take any action to fill the Director position until such time as Tami chooses to voluntarily retire from Placer County with a full pension and benefits for the rest of her natural life.

Lastly, Tami already has some time in working for the District Attorney’s Office so I expect her exit will be in just a few years. You might want to add pension spiking to the list of grievances committed by the Uhlers against the taxpayers of Placer County.

Appendix 1 Citizen Complaints

Here are the eleven complaints on file with the FPPC concerning Uhler’s wife getting a raise via a vote of the supervisors.

• Bradley Cutler 09-19-2019
• Scott Vaughn 09-19-19
• Claudio Balboni 11-19-2019
• Cheryl Berkema 11-19-2019
• Larissa Berry 11-19-2019
• Lisa Hitomi 11-19-2019
• Dan Hubiak 11-19-2019
• Holly Johnson 11-19-2019
• Bob Peschko 11-19-2019
• Larissa Berry 12-19-2019
• Suzanne Schroeder 11-19-2019

Appendix 2 Placer Legal Counsel Letter to FPPC

Appendix 3 FPPC Response

FPPC related documents Advice Letter Report and Commission Review and Response to Karin Schwab letter

Appendix 4 Unsigned Letter

This letter is part of a 106 page document that I was sent. This is only the first few pages. The remainder of the letter was the author’s attempt to defend and document his concerns. I generally agree with what he said but as you can see I don’t just accept his word as authoritative on all points. Since it doesn’t seem to be publicly available and I quoted from it, I wanted to make the source available to my readers.

Appendix 5 Sources for Tami Pay and Step

• 2018 Schedule of Classifications and Salary Grades pg. 7
• 2019 Schedule of Classifications and Salary Grades pg. 3
• 2019 Salary By Bargaining Unit pg. 6 & 7
• 2019 Pay Increase for Tami–Step 452 to 477 pg 4

As Yogi Berra would say “Its Déjà vu all over again!” The liberals have found themselves in the same conundrum as 4 short years ago. Their solution, rigging the primary process against one of their own. As you may recall last presidential cycle, the unelected or voted on, so-called “super delegates”, were aligned solidly behind Himmler Hillary Clinton before a single primary vote was cast. The “super delegates” represent 1/3 of all convention delegates. So even in states where Bernie Sanders won more votes, Clinton continued to get more delegates to the Democrat convention. No result was more clearly rigged than West Virginia. Sanders won the primary with 51.41 percent to Clinton’s 35.84 percent, but Clinton ended up with more delegates than Sanders.

Bernie decried this process as rigged and the power brokers made some “behind the scenes changes” to make things appear on the up and up; however, this same disconnect between the popular vote and the delegate count continued in state after state. This time, Democrats are playing their same games, just using a different playbook page this time around.

You see Bernie is a problem that will not go away for the Democrats. He has a fiercely loyal following and they show no signs of playing nice with the establishment’s nominee. Think Woodstock, but far, far worse. Bernie is similar to Trump in some ways; he calls a spade a spade, and the insiders don’t like it very much. He is a powerful force within the Party that most refuse to admit… as stated here before, his supporters either sat out 2016 or voted for Trump as a protest vote. Truth be told, Bernie never really endorsed Clinton, and as you saw last night, there is no love lost between them. Hillary lobbed some verbal grenades at the socialist from Vermont.

“Nobody likes him, nobody wants to work with him, he got nothing done. He was a career politician,” she said. “It’s all just baloney and I feel so bad that people got sucked into it.” Asked by The Reporter recently if that assessment still held, she replied, “Yes, it does.”

‘Nobody Likes Him’: Hillary Clinton Risks a Party Split Over Bernie Sanders

You see establishment Democrats have always viewed the presidency as a throne and thought of themselves as a political family (think mafia). In essence, certain political families look at the White House as their entitlement; hence, it’s my turn now*…everyone else step aside. Don’t believe me…look at the actions of the 2016 primary. The Clinton’s called in every favor possible, from super delegates, party power brokers, insiders, and any and all media to get her across the finish line. Oddly enough, the only place Bernie claimed he was treated fairly was on Fox…oh the irony.

Fast forward 4 years and the same set of issues plagues the Democrats. Bernie remains a force, but the “next in line” is Joe Biden, a horrendous failure of a candidate. So, once again the Democrats needed a plan of action, enter “fauxahontas” Liz Warren. Liz was needed because she and Bernie line up on most issues and the Democrats figure they can fight over the same 33% of the electorate in each state, thus leaving 67% for; Biden, Booty Judge, and Klobuchar to fight over. Then to their dismay enter billionaires Tom Steyer and Michael Bloomberg, money is no object to either of them. Again, they will be fighting over the same 67% as Biden. The plan failed, after Warren saw a surge in the polls, she was scalped by Bernie and is now in the mid/low teens in Iowa.

That split over what direction the party should take is now a major issue in the current primary, with Mr. Sanders arguing for the full-throated leftist agenda and others counseling moderation. At the same time, he is engaged in a standoff with his liberal ally in the 2020 race, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts…

So, a new plan was needed to help Biden cross the finish line, so Comrade Nancy Pelosi held the impeachment papers for over a month in the House to ensure Biden’s victory. This plan will work because impeachment puts Amy Klobuchar, Liz Warren, and Bernie Sanders in a spot where they must report back to DC as William astutely pointed out. This allows Joe to barnstorm Iowa and likely emerge as the victor. Keep in mind, the goal is not just for Joe to win Iowa, it’s for him to win it somewhat convincingly, so everyone can get behind the “presumptive nominee.”

The Democrats are already floating the narrative only Joe can beat Trump. Their surrogates have latched on to this narrative and are hammering away at Bernie supporters daily. Problem is that Bernie is 78 and is basically your senile grandparent at the family reunion who is still mad about schools being de-segregated. He knows this is his last stand and doesn’t intend to go quietly. Bernie knows he should be winning Iowa, and now he is forced to sit in meaningless impeachment hearings where every minute of his observations and any questions he asks, or comments he makes will be closely scrutinized. He is in a no-win situation. Quietly I think Democrats hope this carries on for a few weeks so he loses in New Hampshire and Nevada as well so he can be persuaded to throw in the towel. However, he won’t, remember he is 78 and knows this is the last hurrah.

Hillary Clinton on Sanders, “She worries he will not drop out of the race even if it becomes clear he cannot win the nomination, a situation that could exacerbate divisions in the party.”

On Twitter, the hashtag #ILikeBernie became a top trending topic. Many supporters pounced on Mrs. Clinton’s remarks, arguing that she remained out of touch with the working-class Americans who back Mr. Sanders.

“No apologies, no backing down, the scorn and hatred that all of official Washington D.C. and the Democratic Party has for him and his supporters is his closing case,” Will Menaker, a host of the progressive podcast Chapo Trap House, wrote on Twitter on Tuesday. “They are corrupt and evil, they hate him and they hate you because you are not.”

Trust me folks it will be fun to watch the next several weeks, because Bernie is going to come unhinged…not just with his policies but towards the establishment in his Party. Bernie is going to burn the whole thing to the ground, even if that means Trump gets a second term. He knows Joe Biden stands for nothing more than status quo, and if Biden wins, his policies of socialism will be ignored. His supporters know this, hence why they either sat it out or voted for Trump last time. Too bad this all could have been avoided…all Hillary had to do 4 years ago was look at Bernie before the first debate started and ask the moderator “Why is he allowed to be up here when he is a registered socialist?” “I must be in the wrong room, I thought this was the Democrat Party debate?” Bernie would have never recovered, instead the Democrats created this monster…one they have no idea how to contain or silence.

Bernie is not settling for VP or a cabinet position folks, it’s going to be a fun few weeks.

Chief

* Editor’s Note: Both parties have candidates that lay claim to “its my turn now.” These folks are the consummate politic insiders. Republicans experienced this phenomenon in candidates like Bob Dole and John McCain. They also had the Bush family (George HW, George W, Jeb). Democrats had the Kennedys (John, Bobby, Ted) and in recent years have the Clintons (Bill & Hillary). Joe Biden is making that claim in the current cycle. Often dynasty is used in the media to identify such a claim by a member of a well connected political family.

Told ya! Pelosi’s deny on impeachment was to clear the field for Biden to win Iowa. Here’s the polling data to prove it.

With two weeks to go until the Iowa caucuses, a new poll indicates that former Vice President Joe Biden has a slight edge over his 2020 rivals for the Democratic nomination in the state that kicks off the presidential primary and caucus calendar.

Biden stands at 24 percent support among likely Democratic caucusgoers in Iowa in the survey released Monday by Focus on Rural America…

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts registers at 18 percent, with former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg at 16 percent, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont at 14 percent, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar of neighboring Minnesota at 11 percent.

While Biden’s numbers were basically unchanged from the Focus on Rural America’s previous poll – released in September – Warren dropped 5 percentage points, Sanders soared 5 points, Buttigieg jumped 4 points and Klobuchar rose 3 points.

New poll: Biden with slight edge in Iowa with caucuses 2 weeks out

As I understand the impeachment rules, Senators are to be seen but not heard during the presentation of the case against Trump. Also, due to conflict of interest, Sanders, and the other two may be asked to recuse themselves from voting. So, what was that about the Democrats being unified? Lastly, if Sanders and Pocahontas aren’t on the record for an impeachment vote, will that hurt them with their base?

Folks, on last night’s conference call with our editorial board, a subject crystalized that needs to be documented; namely, the Broad Squad and socialist insurgent’s future in the Democrat Party hinges on Bernie Sanders. While I believe that no Democrat can beat Donald Trump, except perhaps if there was a complete implosion of the stock market which neither Party wants, whoever is the nominee for the Democrats is the de facto leader of the Party for the next four years. If Sanders loses in the primaries, AOC and company are history.

Let’s break this down.

Previously, we documented that New York Democrats are planning to gerrymander AOC’s district out of existence. New York will lose one Congressional seat in the next census and they are clear that she will be the first to go. Politics is about people and is local and AOC is not a team player with the State Party in New York. Neither is she a team player with the national party as we also documented. If you missed that, AOC is the biggest Dem fundraiser in Congress and won’t pony-up her share of dues to elect other Democrats to Congress. Instead, she is running her own PAC to run candidates against incumbent Democrats. This, in political terms, is the unpardonable sin.

Other members of the Broad Squad are under investigation by the FBI and other federal agencies for fraud and campaign finance violations. By their behavior, the Broad Squad faces an existential threat to their existence. They also face the threat of declining Congressional representatives in their respective states. They have pinned their hopes and hitched their political wagons to Bernie Sander.

This brings us to impeachment. Nancy Pelosi is balancing several things on the impeachment show. Nancy needs to impeach Trump because much of her caucus wants to do this at any cost, including AOC and her Broad Squad. But why the delay?

Sanders is a sitting Senator and needs to be present at the impeachment show to provide red meat to his base, but the timing keeps him and Pocahontas out of Iowa and other early primary states. If Pelosi had promptly turned over the impeachment to the Senate, Senate leadership had said it would be over by Christmas. Remember that?

Because of the impeachment delay, slow Joe Biden now has a clear field to campaign to his heart’s content with no serious competition in Iowa and other places. Nancy has cleared the decks with this delay to give Biden the best opportunity that he will ever have to establish himself as a frontrunner and seal the deal.

The only problem is every time Biden opens his mouth or is near young women, you never know what will happen next. Whatever you think of Biden, he has proven to be a hands-on candidate.

On the flip side, Pelosi needs to put on a good show of going after Trump but cannot let Hunter Biden anywhere near the impeachment show. If Biden Jr. get called, all her work for Joe is for naught.

If Pelosi loses control of this gambit, her political career is over ever though she will easily be reelected. If Sanders is the eventual nominee, then look for her to resign to spend time with her family or some such excuse. If Republicans retake the House, look for her to resign.

Pelosi must thread the political needle just right to survive. With impeachment she must check all these boxes.

• Joe Biden must win Iowa and other early primary states.
• Joe Biden must be the eventual Democrat nominee.
• Hunter Biden must not testify at the impeachment show.
• Democrats need to unify and hold the House.
• AOC, the Broad Squad, and their fellow travelers must go away. Any that remain must pledge fealty to Nancy Pelosi and her leadership team or be persona non grata.

Politics is about power, especially in Washington. Next time you hear that impeachment is about getting Trump, remember my post. Impeachment is about saving Nancy Pelosi and unifying Democrats while eliminating the insurgents in their ranks.

Since Cory Booker threw in the towel on his presidential campaign, conservatives has been mocking the remaining field incessantly. Frankly, I think Dinesh D’Souza is gloating and ready to respond with a hearty “told ya.”

Babylon Bee

It started with the Babylon Bee.

DES MOINES, IA—Authorities are warning that a gang of known criminals is currently holding a meeting to debate various plots to steal your money.

The criminals are debating exactly how much of your money to steal. Some are suggesting stealing all of your money, while others would just like to steal most of your money. Whatever the case, they all agree on two things: A.) you have money and B.) it must be stolen.

“I know!” shouted one of the criminals, an older man with frizzy hair, known throughout the criminal underworld as a seasoned veteran when it comes to stealing people’s money.

Warning: Gang Of Known Criminals Holds Meeting To Discuss How Much Of Your Money To Steal

Democrats, however, were unhappy with the news, insisting their party deserved better, more diverse candidates. “These people are all rich, white, privileged scum,” said Bernie Sanders as he rubbed a balloon on his head to prep for the debate. “If my opponents cared at all about diversity, they would drop out and let me win.”

The FCC will soon ask viewers to upgrade to color television in advance of the presidential debates this fall, as the incumbent will require televisions that display a brilliant orange hue.

Reminder: You No Longer Need A Color TV To Watch The Democratic Debates

Talk shows commented too

Then radio talk show host Kevin Jackson piled on.

The other day President Trump held a rally in New Orleans, and a college championship football game broke out.

Not to be outdone, Democrats held a Klan rally where a debate broke out.

Sadly for Democrats, they have nothing to run on. Baby Black Jesus is gone, and secretly Democrats are happy. They showcased their feelings about Obama, as they overlooked two of his proteges, namely Harris and Booker. Both are junior senators, black with no Negro dialects. A chip off the old Obama block. Yet they, and two other blacks get no love from the Party of Lynching Negroes”.

Democrats Latest Klan Rally They Called a ‘Debate

Subway Restaurant Ad

Last night, I noticed that fast food sandwich chain Subway had swerved into the fray too.

It happened like this, I was at guy’s night out watching other folks drink beer and talk about being good husbands to their wives—an honorable goal for a man—when over the shoulder of the pastor was a graphic on the television that said, “Seasoned all white meat.”

My first thought was the articles above which I had read and thought what a perfect description of the 2020 Democrat field. How else would you describe them? All the front runners are very old, angry, seasoned citizens, full of preservatives and antibiotics, and everyone is white.

Folks I really don’t care what color someone is because I do agree with MLK that you should judge a person not by the color of their skin but the content of their character—something anathema to Democrats who claim the mantle of this black, Republican minister. Sadly, Democrats only care about your category not your character.

Yeah, I know when he was hanging out with John McCain that statement would have made me cringe too but since John went to his eternal reward, Lindsey Graham seems to have found his spine—at least on occasion. In a story on Fox New today, Senator Graham validated my basic statement on the Senate and House getting the impeachment nonsense out of the way because President Trump has a speech to give on the House floor February 4th.

“On February the fourth when the president comes into the house chamber to deliver the State of the Union, he will have been acquitted by the Senate, [he will be] the strongest he has been politically.”
–Lindsey Graham

Graham expects ‘bipartisan acquittal for Trump’ in Senate trial

“By the time the trial is over and we have an election in November, there will be a backlash … I will tell you why,” Graham said. “Most Americans zealously guard the right to pick their own leaders. I think they will hold it against politicians trying to take that away.”

“We will get the House back,” Graham concluded, “the Senate majority … and President Trump will be reelected.”

“The House will be able to make their case for 24 hours. Hopefully, we do this in a couple of days. Then the defense team of the president will make their case based on the record established in the House,” Graham said.

“I hope this is done in about a week and I predict a bipartisan acquittal of President Trump,” he added.

Graham is 100 percent right. Trump will be acquitted and the backlash from flyover country will be mind boggling to the Democrats. Pelosi will be put out to pasture and then the fun will begin. If the Broad Squad is able to take out a few incumbent Democrats along the way, they just might shift their party even more to the Left. Can you saw overreach?

Meanwhile, the impeachment show is the 2020 Presidential campaign. If they can’t cripple Trump and separate him from his base, they have no chance. The words of our good friend of the blog—good friend because she gives us so much material to poke fun at both here and on social media— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez a.k.a. (AOC)’s words still ring as true now as they did when she said them last November:

“At the end of the day, we have to be able to come together as a caucus, and if it is this Ukrainian allegation that is what brings the caucus together, then I think we have to run with however we unify the House,” Ocasio-Cortez told Wolf Blitzer…

AOC Says Impeachment Necessary to Unite Dems, Stop ‘Potential Compromise of the 2020 Election’

Impeachment isn’t about removing Trump, this is their way to unite Democrats and try to nationalize the election. Unlike Newt and the gang back when Clinton was President, Democrats don’t want to unite their party with ideas or a platform but with raw hatred. However, as Rush Limbaugh pointed out many years ago, you can’t live on an emotion because you can’t genuinely sustain it. Most people want their lives, their country, and their world to be better for the next generation not live to burn it down because they lost one election four years ago.

The irony is, if Democrats followed the Constitution, it wouldn’t matter who was President because what happened in Washington wouldn’t affect your daily life. But of course, if we followed the Constitution, there wouldn’t be any need for a fulltime person in Congress and thus no career politicians. Without fulltime politicians, there is no need for Democrats.

Nancy Pelosi and the boys in the House are expected to send the articles of impeachment to the Senate as soon as tomorrow. Reportedly, House Democrats are meeting today to decide what to do being as they never got this far with Richard Nixon and they aren’t totally sure what comes next.

Unconfirmed reports from Capitol Hill insiders say that Democrats are playing musical chairs to such inspirational tunes as “Baby Shark” to decide who gets to grandstand on the cable networks and present their case to the American people. Being that this is an election year, those in swing state districts that Trump is leading are being discouraged from participating.

Another contentious issue faced by House members in going forward with the prosecution of President Trump is negotiations with the Senate. These negotiations are reportedly delicate and complex in nature. A few such examples are listed below.

When on camera, House members want their names displayed during the live broadcast in several languages including Spanish, Farsi, and Chinese; plus a deaf interpreter inserted in the broadcast. Since they will accept nothing less than the ultimate penalty for the President, they want Trump’s name shown only in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. (Harvard Law Professor Laurence Tribe assured Democrats that there is common law precedent for crucifixion when accusations are written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.)

During the broadcast, there is a chance that viewers might see bottled water in front of participants of the trial. This became a thorny problem since the Senate commissary is run by union employees and they have an exclusive contract supplying the Senate’s proceedings. Since no impeachment endorsement deal could be reached with a bottled water manufacturer, and potential conflicts with existing union vendors, some changes will be made. An additional complication was that some House members felt being seen with plastic bottles would promote pollution of the world’s oceans. Thus it was agreed that labels would be removed from the water and the smaller size bottles would be used so there was less likelihood of them being seen on TV. AOC tried to amend the agreement to allow open containers but was shot down by leadership.

Reluctantly, House prosecutors agreed to the Senate demand to limit the length of each prosecution question to five minutes and the witness answer to thirty seconds. Being this is the Senate, this rule will not apply to Senators.

Also at issue is which beloved jurist should preside over the trial. Chief Justice John Roberts has been negotiating for a way to get out of appearing. It turns out that Roberts is a big supporter of the current ban on television cameras in proceedings involving the Supreme Court. By tradition, the Court members are seen but not heard at the State of the Union show each year.

Insiders claim that Roberts had suggested both Judges Judy and Napolitano but Senate leader Mitch McConnell objected. Radio talk show host Mark Levin refused to leave his undisclosed bunker to preside over the affair so in the end, nobody wants Robert’s job.

While all this is happening, NPR reported that Senator Cory Booker is planning to pay a visit to the House Democrat caucus to pass out impeachment participation awards to the entire caucus. This is in addition to the t-shirts crafted by Mitch McConnell which will be given to each House member that visits the Senate for the trial.

Lastly, on his radio show today, Mark Levin did remind House and Senate leaders to hurry this process to its conclusion because Trump is already booked at the House for the State of the Union speech on February 4, 2020.