U.S. Senate Votes to Proceed with an Unconstitutional Impeachment Trial

February 9, 2021 6:47pm

Despite the Senate's vote to the contrary, this sham impeachment is clearly unconstitutional.

Article 2, Section 4 of our Constitution explicitly states who is subject to impeachment. To wit: "The President, Vice President and all civil officers of the United States". Note that "private citizens" are not included.

So what is Donald Trump? Is he the President? Is he the Vice President? Is he a civil officer? Let's eliminate the latter two. He is neither the Vice President nor is he a civil officer. So the relevant question is, "is he the President?"

Well, if Donald Trump is President, then Article 1, Section 3, Clause 6 mandates that "the Chief Justice shall preside." But Chief Justice Roberts is not presiding! Why not? Because Donald Trump is NOT the President.

So if Donald Trump is not the President, and he's not the Vice President, and he's not a civil officer, then he is quite clearly NOT subject to an impeachment trial!

But Democrats never let the Supreme Law of the Land get in the way of their political agenda. It's disgraceful.

Florida's Untold Coronavirus Success Story

January 28, 2021 9:49pm

Contrary to the lies the fake news is telling you, Florida is doing quite well with the Coronavirus.

The Democrats and their allies in the propaganda press have been telling us that Governor DeSantis is an irresponsible, science-denying, ideologue who has bungled the state's response to this pandemic. But that is false.

Governor DeSantis has kept the state open for commerce, respected our constitutional rights, and still managed to guide the state to far superior statistics than states with Democrat governors who imposed overly restrictive lockdowns that destroyed lives and decimated their economies.

The eleven states with the worst unemployment rates in the country all have Democrat governors (including DC which has a democrat mayor), who imposed severe COVID shutdowns. In order from 11th to worst, those states are New Jersey, Illinois, District of Columbia, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Mexico, Colorado, California, Nevada, and Hawaii. And the only reason Nevada and Hawaii have worse unemployment rates than California is because those two states are so heavily dependent upon tourism and tourism jobs. So with that taken into consideration, California has the highest self-induced unemployment rate in the country.

If you're wondering which Republican state ranks 12th, it's Arizona. And they're followed by the Democrat governed states of Michigan, Massachusetts, and Louisiana, which means Democrat governors are lording over 14 of the 15 states with the highest unemployment rates in the country. That is not coincidental. It is a direct result of the malicious policies of those Democrats.

Florida's unemployment rate ranks 25th. Right in the middle. But Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has not only NOT locked down the state, he has prohibited cities and counties from locking down themselves. So people must be dropping dead like flies from COVID in Florida, right? Wrong. Do you know where Florida ranks per capita in coronavirus cases and deaths?

We're 30th in cases. And we're 26th in deaths. That's per capita, which is the only fair metric. Raw numbers make the more populous states look worse than they are because you would expect a state with a lot of people to have a higher raw count than a state with few people. That is why I always use per capita numbers when comparing states coronavirus situations.

Would you like to guess which states are among the states with higher per capita death rates than Florida AND have higher unemployment rates than Florida? They're the economically destructive lockdown Democrat governed states of District of Columbia, Nevada, New Mexico, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Louisiana, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York in that order (with New York having, by far, the highest COVID death rate).

Have you heard those numbers anywhere else? Have you heard how well Florida is doing compared to the rest of the nation? No. Instead, we've been force-fed by the propaganda press in both Florida and nationally that Governor DeSantis is a science-denying dunce who has completely bungled the state's coronavirus response. But the facts prove otherwise. The facts prove that, despite not caving to the demands of the Democrats and the press, which are conjoined twins, that he lock down Florida, he refused. He respected our rights. He kept the state open for the most part - certainly more open than most other states and more open than ALL states governed by Democrats.

And here we are ranked 30th in coronavirus cases, meaning 29 states have a higher per capita case rate than us. And we're 26th in coronavirus deaths. We ranked 25th in per capita cases and 16th in per capita deaths the first week of December. So in a little less than two months, we've improved significantly compared to other states. We improved our ranking by 5 states in cases per capita and by 10 states in deaths per capita. Have you heard that before? No, of course not. Because the fake news is too busy telling you that Governor DeSantis is an irresponsible ideologue whose killing people instead. But I assure you it's the truth.

Florida's unemployment rate ranks 25th , which is incredible when you consider how many tourism and hospitality jobs we lost. Governor DeSantis has been fantastic. I don't give him an "A" on a fixed grading scale because he did some things early on that were improper. But if I'm grading him on a curve, he absolutely gets and "A." But the propaganda press is doing their best to convince you he deserves an "F".

Meanwhile, they keep telling us the Democrat Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, is the epitome of perfection. Yet that idiot not only presided over BY FAR the highest death count in America - and that's per capita as well as raw numbers. As of today, New York, the fourth most populous state, had 42,494 COVID deaths. California, the most populous state, had 37,527. Florida, the third most populous state, had 25,673.

But per capita, Florida had 119 deaths per 100,000. California had 94 per 100,000, and New York had a whopping 218 per 100,000. New York's per capita death rate is more than double California's. And it's almost twice Florida's per capita death - 83% higher to be exact. But according to the activists posing as journalists in the so-called "news" media, DeSantis is a failure and Cuomo has achieved God-like perfection! That's the narrative. That's what the fake news is telling us. But it is completely untrue. And provably so. Yet the fake news continues to report it that way.

Why? Because they know most people will just accept what they say as fact. They'll do no research or verification of their own. I know because I do my own research. I do my own verification. I got the COVID case count and death count numbers from the CDC myself. I got state populations from the Census Bureau. And I put all those numbers into a spreadsheet, did the math, and then sorted to get rankings. And I assure you my numbers are accurate. And so is my math. But I still hope you'll look up the numbers yourself and verify it.

So much of what the so-called "news" tells you is fake. And even when it's not fake, it can be deceptive. The fact that their COVID odometers report raw numbers is enough to be deceptive right there. And that applies to both state-by-state data and country-by-country data. When you look at their odometer numbers, the U.S. has the most cases and deaths in the world. By far!

But we're the third most populous country. Of course we're going to have a high raw death count. But we don't have the highest per capita case rate or the highest per capita death rate. Do you know where the United States ranks per capita versus other countries? We rank 9th. Still high, but not far and above everyone else as the fake news has been telling you for months.

Which eight countries have higher per capita death rates than the United States? In reverse order beginning with the 8th highest and finishing with the highest, they're North Macedonia, Liechtenstein, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Italy, Czech Republic, United Kingdom, Slovenia, and Belgium. So Belgium, that peaceful, high tax, European socialist utopia with free health care and that DIDN'T have Donald Trump as its leader, has the highest death rate in the entire world based upon population. I'm quite certain you've never heard that before. But I assure you it's true. I don't do fake news.

What do those facts tell you? It tells you that the shutdowns and infringement upon citizens' constitutional rights that so many Democrat tyrants imposed did little or nothing to reduce COVID deaths. But it did a lot to destroy the economy; which did a lot to destroy President Trump; which means they accomplished their goals. Because the goals of those Democrats wasn't to reduce COVID deaths. It was to reduce President Trump's chance of being reelected. And, of course, it was also used as the excuse to violate many election laws designed to safeguard the integrity of the vote. And so millions of illegal ballots were cast.

And we know the result of those illegal elections, don't we? Yep. And there's nothing we can do about it now. We're stuck with the outcome for the next four years. And we're FOREVER stuck with the results of the destructive policies that will be imposed by the people who "won" the 2020 elections.

Contrary to what you've been told, Florida is a Coronavirus success story. Florida Governor DeSantis should be praised not condemned.

The Democrats' Planned Impeachment Trial of Donald Trump Is Clearly Unconstitutional

January 26, 2021 9:11am

Yesterday, the House of Representatives officially transmitted their Articles of Impeachment to the Senate. So what now?

Except in the jaundiced view of dishonest partisans, the Capitol riot was clearly not incited by Donald Trump. So that would be grounds for acquittal. But the process should never reach that point. Instead, the Senate should dismiss the charges without trial. Why? Because an impeachment trial at this point would be unconstitutional.

Impeachment is a process to remove officials from office. If they are no longer in office, they are private citizens who are not subject to impeachment. Article 2, Section 4 states "The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." Since Donald Trump is no longer any of those, he is no more subject to an impeachment trial than I am.

An impeachment trial by the Senate would be based upon a legal fiction. It would be a process not authorized by the Constitution of the United States. But it wouldn't just be extraconstitutional; it would be UNconstitutional. And the Court should stop it.

Some so-called "legal experts" have been quoted in the propaganda press claiming the Supreme Court would refuse to rule on an impeachment question because the House of Representatives has "the sole power of impeachment" (Article 1, Section 2, Clause 5), and the Senate has "the sole power to try all impeachments" (Article 1, Section 3, Clause 6). While that hands-off approach has been precedent on other issues pertaining to Senate and House rules that have come before the Court, this situation is different because the rule that the Senate would use to try a former president contravenes the plain text of the Constitution.

How so? If the Senate adopted a rule that a bill could pass with 30% support, would the Supreme Court invalidate that rule? Or would they allow it to stand because Article 1, Section 5, Clause 2 says the Senate “may determine the rules of its proceedings”? Your answer to that question is the same answer as to why they should and would also toss any post-service impeachment proceedings.

In 1876, the House impeached President Grant's Secretary of War William Belknap after he left office. The Senate acquitted him. But had Belknap sued, the Court would certainly have invalidated the impeachment as unconstitutional.

Donald Trump should file such a lawsuit immediately.

How the Democrats Are Waging Political Genocide Against Republicans

January 23, 2021 9:49am

On today's radio program, I exposed how the Democrats have gone far beyond the hyperbolic rhetoric that is typical of today's political discourse and crossed the line into waging actual war to literally destroy the lives of Republicans.

In his inaugural address, Joe Biden said his "whole soul" was committed to "bringing America together, uniting our people, uniting our nation." And he asked every American to join him in that cause.

He went on to say, "so today at this time in this place, let’s start afresh, all of us. Let’s begin to listen to one another again. Hear one another, see one another, show respect to one another. Politics doesn’t have to be a raging fire, destroying everything in its path. Every disagreement doesn’t have to be a cause for total war." But his supporters did not heed that call. Instead, they are doing everything they can to prevent unity and to divide us farther apart. They are actively seeking the eradication of Republican thoughts and the personal destruction of those who advocate it.

Leftist thugs who are now in charge of government, Big Tech, the so-called "news" media, entertainment media, sports, academia, non-profits, and many major corporations want to destroy Donald Trump and anyone who has ever expressed support for him or his policies. We are witnessing a nationwide political cleansing of anyone who doesn't tow the party line of today's socialist Democrats.

Twitter permanently banned Donald Trump. Facebook and Instagram have suspended him indefinitely. Google suspended Trump's YouTube channel.

Twitter banned the President of the United States for tweeting opinions that in no way called for violence of any sort. But the Supreme Leader of Iran has never been banned despite tweeting out calls for the killing of Jews and the destruction of Israel. Twitter has suspended official Twitter accounts of the United States Government after tweeting objective facts that the Stalinists who run Twitter didn't want to public to know.

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google, and other tech services have deleted accounts whose content advocated conservative views in a perfectly lawful manner. Amazon Web Services removed Parler from its servers taking it and its account holders completely offline.

Facebook suspended former Congressman Ron Paul's account. Was it because Ron Paul called for violence in his posts? No. It was because Ron Paul wrote criticism of Big Tech's censorship.

Benjamin Franklin said, "Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech." That's why today's tech titans are dangerous enemies of our Republic. I have written about the perils of Big Tech's censorship. And my September 12th radio show was about how Big Tech's censorship threatens to destroy our elections and our Republic.

Elected Democrats are abusing the powers of their offices to destroy Donald Trump on matters that have nothing whatsoever to do with his presidential actions.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city is taking steps to cancel its contracts with the Trump Organization to operate the Central Park Carousel, the Ferry Point Golf Course, and both Central Park skating rinks. Has the Trump Organization mismanaged those properties? No. The sole reason is political animus. It is part of the Left's total eradication of all things Trump.

Palm Beach County, Florida announced they will try to prematurely terminate the lease with Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. Trump pays the county $88,338 per month to rent the property. But Palm Beach County is one of the most heavily Democrat counties in Florida, and their county commission wants to hurt Trump more than they want that million dollars per year in lease fees. Because as usual, DemonRat politicians put their hate-based agenda above everything else. Fiscal ramifications are rarely a concern.

Private businesses have played their roles in the economic assassination of Donald Trump also. The massive global e-commerce platform Shopify took down TrumpStore.com. Not because Trump was late on payments. Not because Trump was selling illegal merchandise. Not because Trump was engaged in deceptive trade practices. Not because Trump's site was getting hacked and disrupting their servers. No. They did it because Trump was Trump. The decision to kick him off the service was 100% political.

The PGA pulled next year's Championship from the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster because they want to disassociate from Donald Trump for purely political reasons. The PGA of America Board of Directors didn't say whether they canceled the use of the Trump golf course because they themselves hate Trump or if they're afraid other people who hate trump will somehow hurt the PGA if they played their tournament there. Either way, it is yet another disgusting example of the politicization of sports.

At least three banks, Florida-based Professional Bank, New York-based Signature Bank, and Germany-based Deutsche Bank, have all announced they will sever ties with the Trump family.

According to Bloomberg News, Donald Trump has $25 million deposited at Professional Bank and it holds the $11 million mortgage on one of Trump's houses. The amortization schedule on that mortgage goes through 2048, and I seriously doubt they can call the note. So I don't know what they'll do with it. Maybe the bank will sell the paper. But if that mortgage is current - and it certainly must be - then why would the bank want to get it off their books? Especially since it has a 4.5% interest rate, which is well above current rates. Why would they want to get rid of it? It's purely political. It is intended to hurt Donald Trump and nothing more.

Donald Trump has personal accounts at Signature Bank worth about $5.3 million. But the bank will be closing those accounts. They also announced they will not do business with any lawmaker who voted against accepting Biden electors from Arizona or Pennsylvania. I don't know if any of those lawmakers even have money or loans at Signature Bank. But if they don't, then that makes the announcement even worse. Because Signature bank is announcing they won't do business with people they're already not doing business with; for purely political reasons. Are we heading to the point in this country where we'll have Democrat banks and Republican banks? Are the Democrats going to so divide this country along ideological lines that we can't do business unless we openly support them? My God! Do you realize what the end result of this is?

Deutsche Bank holds more than $300 million in loans to the Trump Organization. They are balloon notes with renewals coming up in the next few years. So is Deutsche Bank simply not going to renew the loans? They've said they won't conduct any future business with the Trump family or the Trump Organization. So what will happen if Deutsche Bank won't renew those loans? Well, if Trump can't move them to another bank or pay them off, he'll default. And that would not be good for Trump or for Deutsche Bank. But Deutsche Bank doesn't seem to care. These are not business decisions. These are political decisions. These banks are refusing to do business with someone based entirely upon differences in political ideologies. And that is a very dangerous practice to allow.

But the Democrats are not satisfied only with the complete destruction of Donald Trump and his family. Democrats have also targeted individual citizens, both in and out of government, who have expressed support for him.

Dozens of corporations have announced they will no longer make PAC contributions to the 147 Republican lawmakers who voted to reject some of Biden's Electoral College electors. While these companies have the right to choose which politicians to support, they should be donating to politicians whose positions benefit their industries and not donating to politicians whose positions are detrimental to their industries. But that is not what they're doing. They're halting donations based solely upon a perfectly constitutional congressional vote that was not industry-specific at all. This is pure politics. And that is completely inappropriate.

Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik of upstate New York was removed by Harvard University from her volunteer position on the Senior Advisory Committee of the Kennedy Institute of Politics. She graduated from Harvard in 2006 and was an active member of the Institute when she was a student. She has also hosted a student member of the Institute as an intern in her congressional office every year since she was elected. But none of that matters. What matters is that she supports Donald Trump. And the Democrats who run the university believe she should be punished for that. It is yet another example of Republicans being purged from society based solely upon their political beliefs. Also, as if kicking Congresswoman Stefanik off the committee wasn't enough political genocide by itself, the university also prohibited any Harvard students from serving in her congressional office as part of their internship program.

Harvard, like almost every university in America has turned into a cesspool of Leftist monoculturalism. There are active petitions circulating around Harvard demanding that the university revoke the degrees of Republicans like Senator Ted Cruz, Representative Dan Crenshaw, and former Trump Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany. Those petitions are not just signed by malcontent students that are too stupid to know they're stupid. A lot of Harvard professors have also signed those petitions demanding that the university revoke the degrees of people based solely on their lawful political beliefs and lawful political activities.

Missouri Senator Josh Hawley had a contract with Portofino Bay Hotel in Orlando to host a fundraiser event. But the hotel unilaterally canceled the event because the senator voted to reject some of Biden's electors.

The Democrat president of the Association of Flight Attendants, Sara Nelson, wants everyone arrested for the Capitol protest to be put on the government's No-Fly List. Did she ever ask the Department of Homeland Security to do that with people arrested at Antifa or Black Lives Matter protests? No, of course not. She agrees with their agenda. Further, she is not limiting her demand to just those who have been arrested. She also wants the people who yelled at Mitt Romney in the airport to be put on the No-Fly List too. Apparently, she thinks flying should be a privilege reserved only for Democrats and any Republicans who quietly submit to the superiority of the Democrat overlords.

Bed Bath & Beyond, a publicly traded company with a fiduciary responsibility to its shareholders, so it shouldn't be playing politics for reasons outside the scope of its business, will be removing the My Pillow from all its stores because the owner of My Pillow, Mike Lindell has been a very vocal supporter of President Trump and helped sponsor the January 6th protest in Washington. Mind you, he helped sponsor the speech at The Ellipse not the breach of the Capitol Building. What Mike Lindell sponsored was 100% legal. Yet the people who run Bed Bath & Beyond think it's necessary to punish Mike Lindell for having the audacity to lawfully support a president and a cause they don't agree with. Kohl's is also dropping the My Pillow from its inventory as are some online-only retailers.

These companies are pursuing a political agenda that believes conservative voices need to not only be silenced, but the people who speak anything that doesn't align with the Groupspeak sanctioned by the authoritarian Left needs to be personally destroyed and denied gainful employment.

Nicholas Rodean worked for a direct mail marketing company in Maryland until he was fired when his employer saw a picture of him at the protest. The employer explained the termination by saying, "While we support all employees’ right to peaceful, lawful exercise of free speech, any employee demonstrating dangerous conduct that endangers the health and safety of others will no longer have an employment opportunity with Navistar Direct Marketing.” Do you have any doubt that if that employee had been photographed at a violent Black Lives Matter protest, that he'd still have a job?

Libby Andrews, a real estate agent from Chicago, was fired because she was at the January 6th protest. She never entered the Capitol Building. She committed no crime at all. But her mere presence at a political protest cost her her job. And prior to being fired, when she was still on the company website, dishonest Leftist liars who had never met her or done business with her posted defamatory negative reviews about the quality of her real estate work and ethics. In other words, they made things up to hurt her professionally.

Rick Saccone was a professor at Saint Vincent College in Pennsylvania until he was forced to resign after college administrators saw a video he had posted on Facebook of himself in Washington the day of the protest. The video was taken on the National Mall. He never entered the Capitol Building. He says he never even got close to the Capitol Building. And no one says he did. But the fact that he had the audacity to exercise his First Amendment Right to attend a political protest in support of a cause college administrators opposed cost him his job.

Paul Davis was employed as a lawyer for an insurance company in Texas. But after posting to social media that he had been teargassed in Washington on January 6th, he was fired. I couldn't find out how close he got to the Capitol Building, so I don't know if he even trespassed. Regardless, he was fired because he expressed support for Donald Trump.

Therese Duke had been working as a medical assistant at UMass Memorial hospital for 15 years. But she was fired because she had been, in the words of the hospital, "involved in this week's violent events at the nation's capitol." Yes, Therese Duke had been "involved" in violent events. Her "involvement" was that she was on the receiving end of an illegal punch to her face for which her assailant was arrested and charged with assault. What was Duke charged with? Nothing! She was the victim of a crime not the criminal. And it occurred the night BEFORE the Capitol was breached. But the Democrats who run UMass Memorial hospital fired her anyway.

We are witnessing a nationwide political cleansing of anyone who doesn't tow the party line of today's socialist Democrats.

What they seek is the complete destruction of people and businesses based solely upon their political ideologies. This is not a matter of disassociating with convicted criminals - although even that is not allowed under most circumstances. This is refusal to do business with people who have expressed perfectly legal political opinions that differ from the doctrine of what is now a one-party state.

That's not just referring to government. Leftist totalitarianism permeates almost all of society. We're rapidly getting to the point where conservatives will not be able to buy or sell or engage in lawful commerce because the authoritarian Left has decided we are not welcome in the Left's New World Order. And they won't stop until they deny, denigrate, delegitimize, deplatform, and destroy every one of us. It's undemocratic, disgraceful, and dangerous.

Democrats are doing to Republicans today what the Nazis did to the Jews in the 1930s. The Nazis boycotted Jewish-owned businesses because the Nazis said Jews were bad people who posed a danger to Germany. They demonized the Jews with false propaganda. They blamed them for all the country's troubles. They denounced them, dehumanized them, and harassed them on the streets. They attacked the Jews economically. They demanded that Jews be fired from their jobs, even when those jobs had nothing to do with politics. They systematically isolated the Jewish people from the rest of society and drove them either into poverty or out of the country.

The parallels to what the Democrats are doing to Republicans today are alarming. And before you report me for so-called "hate speech" to the Anti-Defamation League or the Southern Poverty Law Center - two organizations that used to be decent until they were taken over by radical Leftists and weaponized for partisan political purposes - note that I said "what the Nazis did to the Jews in the 1930s." The mass killings didn't begin until 1941, so my description is historically accurate whether you like the comparison or not.

A common deceptive technique of the Left has been to accuse their opponents of what they themselves are doing. Going back to at least the Administration of George W. Bush, Democrats have accused Republicans of being Nazis. But it is the Democrats who are emulating the Nazis not the Republicans. Already, some Democrats have suggested that Republicans should be sent to reeducation camps. If this un-American insanity is not stopped, it's only a matter of time until the Democrats decide to kill us.

Do President Biden and the Democrats really want unity? No. They want conformity. They want to permanently entrench themselves as rulers in charge of a one-party state And they are committing political genocide to achieve it.

My radio program went into far more detail than this blog post did. If you'd like to hear it, that episode is archived online as a podcast at www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/podcasts/210123

Trump Was the FIFTEENTH President to Not Attend His Successor's Swearing-In Ceremony

January 20, 2021 11:02am

The fake news is so fake that they can't even report historic facts correctly when their falsehoods can help cast Trump in a bad light. They've been telling us Donald Trump is the fourth President to not attend the swearing-in ceremony of his successor. That is false. There have actually been fourteen!

Kennedy did not attend Lyndon Johnson's swearing in ceremony in 1963.

Roosevelt did not attend Harry Truman's swearing in ceremony in 1945.

And Lincoln did not attend Andrew Johnson's swearing in ceremony in 1865.

Also absent from their successor's swearing-in ceremonies were Harrison (1841), Taylor (1850), Garfield (1881), McKinley (1901), and Harding (1923).

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm sure you've noticed the pattern. But among still-alive presidents, Nixon didn't attend Ford's on August 9, 1974 (he was airborne enroute to California when Ford recited the oath of office at The White House). Also:

John Adams didn't attend Thomas Jefferson's inauguration in 1801.

John Quincy Adams didn't attend Andrew Jackson's inauguration in 1829.

Martin Van Buren didn't attend William Henry Harrison's inauguration in 1841.

Andrew Johnson didn't attend Ulysses S. Grant's inauguration in 1869.

Woodrow Wilson didn't attend Warren G. Harding's inauguration in 1921.

But that's SIX still-alive presidents prior to Trump who were not at the inaugurations of their successors. So why is the fake news telling us it was only four?

Phony Impeachment 2.0

January 13, 2021 10:22pm

Well, today we saw the Democrats take a big step toward uniting this country as they impeached President Trump a second time. I'm joking, obviously. Unity? Can you think of anything those Democrat enemies of our Republic could have done to be more divisive than they already are?

With less than a week left in office - because it happened after noon, the House voted 232-197 to impeach President Trump. Every Democrat and ten disgusting Republicans went along with the hateful and vindictive scheme to tarnish Donald Trump's historical legacy as the only president to be impeached twice. And that's all it was. It served no purpose other than to try to embarrass the President and to throw red meat at the Leftist haters who want blood. The Left in this country will not be satisfied until Donald Trump is dead. And they want that death to happen soon. They are that hateful and despicable.

The Senate won't even hold a trial on it while Trump is in office. And the House knew that when they impeached him. So despite all the dishonest, holier-than-thou rhetoric they spat during the impeachment hearing, the only goal was to further entrench their hatred of the man.

That's the REAL reason. But what was the STATED reason? There was only one Article of Impeachment. It stated the reason as "Incitement of Insurrection." It went on to claim that "Donald John Trump engaged in high Crimes and Misdemeanors by inciting violence against the Government of the United States" and specifically alleging that "He also willfully made statements that, in context, encouraged and foreseeably resulted in lawless action at the Capitol, such as: 'if you don’t fight like hell you’re not going to have a country anymore.' Thus incited by President Trump, members of the crowd he had addressed unlawfully breached and vandalized the Capitol, injured and killed law enforcement personnel, menaced Members of Congress, the Vice President, and Congressional personnel, and engaged in other violent, deadly, destructive, and seditious acts." It also claimed that on a January 2nd phone call, President Trump "urged the Secretary of State of Georgia, Brad Raffensperger, to 'find' enough votes to overturn the Georgia Presidential election results and threatened Secretary Raffensperger if he failed to do so." Gee, hyperbole much? Actually, that's not hyperbole. Those are outright lies. NONE OF THAT IS TRUE. So what did the President REALLY say?

Donald Trump never told his supporters to go break into the Capitol Building and stop the tabulation of the Electoral College votes. He never even hinted that they should. But violence did occur and the Democrats jumped at the chance to falsely blame the President and impeach him for it.

The House of Representatives impeached the President of the United States for only the fourth time in history. Donald Trump got half of those. In the first impeachment, Andrew Johnson committed no crime, and he was acquitted. In the second impeachment, Bill Clinton did commit a crime - felony perjury - but he was acquitted. Donald Trump committed no crime for his first impeachment and was acquitted. And today, Trump's second impeachment, our nation's fourth, Donald Trump again committed no crime. But all the treacherous Democrats and ten traitorous Republicans impeached him anyway. And just like Trump's first impeachment, it was motivated by vindictive politics. So what happens next?

There is no chance whatsoever that the Senate will remove him from office. Even if an impeachment trial were to begin under the Republican majority - remember, Mike Pence's vote means the Republicans control the Senate until noon on the 20th when Kamala Harris replaces him as the tie-breaking vote - there is no chance such a trial would end before noon on the 20th when Trump's term ends anyway.

But don't be surprised if Chuck Schumer decides to go ahead with an after-the-fact impeachment trial because he likes the optics. And if two-thirds of the Senate did vote to convict, it would trigger a second vote. And that second vote is on whether or not to disqualify Donald Trump from ever holding any federal office again, meaning he would not be eligible run again in 2024 - which I don't think he'll run then anyway. But an impeachment conviction by the Senate could disqualify him.

So what evidence would be presented at a Senate trial? The prosecution's "Exhibit A" will be a video and transcript of Donald Trump's January 6th speech. But do you know what will be "Exhibit A" for the defense? A video and transcript of Donald Trump's January 6th speech! Because that speech PROVES Donald Trump didn't say what the Democrats claim he said.

President Trump asked his supporters to "cheer on our brave Senators and Congressmen" not to "attack the Senators and Congressmen." He also said to "peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard" not "violently and illegally break into the Capitol to disrupt the proceedings."

These are the relevant excerpts:

1) "Now it is up to Congress to confront this egregious assault on our democracy. After this, we're going to walk down and I'll be there with you. We're going to walk down. We're going to walk down any one you want, but I think right here. We're going walk down to the Capitol, and we're going to cheer on our brave senators, and congressmen and women. We're probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them because you'll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong. We have come to demand that Congress do the right thing and only count the electors who have been lawfully slated, lawfully slated. I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard. Today we will see whether Republicans stand strong for integrity of our elections."

2) "So we're going to, we're going to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue, I love Pennsylvania Avenue, and we're going to the Capitol and we're going to try and give... The Democrats are hopeless. They're never voting for anything, not even one vote. But we're going to try and give our Republicans, the weak ones, because the strong ones don't need any of our help, we're going to try and give them the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country. So let's walk down Pennsylvania Avenue. I want to thank you all. God bless you and God bless America. Thank you all for being here, this is incredible. Thank you very much. Thank you."

NOTHING in his speech was incitement. NOTHING is his speech called for violence. NOTHING in his speech asked that crowd to do anything illegal. But the fake news told you he said to violently breach the Capitol building. The fake news told you he said to vandalize Nancy Pelosi's office. The fake news told you he said to force lawmakers to seek shelter in the basement. The fake news told you he said to kill police officers. But he said none of that. He didn't even say anything close to it. He said just the opposite. He said to "peacefully and patriotically" make their voices heard. But the fake news told you he incited the mob and told them to mount a coup to overthrow the government. Why did the fake news say that? They said that because the fake news is well, fake. Today's so-called "news" media is the enemy of the truth. And that makes them the enemy of the people.

Now in that speech, Trump did falsely say that Vice President Mike Pence had the authority - on his own - to reject certified electors. I don't know who told Trump that, but it is absolutely untrue. And he was wrong about how his big leads on election night being whittled away is proof of fraud. It was expected that Trump's percentage of the vote would peak on election night and then decline as vote-by-mail ballots were counted in the days after. I wrote about that too. Everyone paying attention knew the election night peak would happen. We didn't know it would be a lead. And we didn't know it would then be less than Biden's percentage. But we knew election night would be Trump's peak. So I don't know why the President keeps citing that as evidence of fraud. And frankly, as I've been saying all along, the stronger argument is not that there was fraud because there can be a rebuttal to the fraud allegations. I'm not saying fraud didn't happen. I'm saying the claim that it did can be rebutted. A counterargument can be made that it didn't happen.

That is why the focus should have been on the constitutionality of the election processes instead. Because those processes are not disputed. Those processes are established facts that everyone knows happened, so there is no rebuttal. The only argument in response is that "yes, those processes happened, but they were not unconstitutional." But nobody can say they didn't happen. Last week, I spent the first half of the show explaining those processes that I believe were unconstitutional.

But the President's claim that his election night lead going away proves fraud is nonsense. And I wish he'd quit making it because it weakens his credibility and detracts from the real arguments that should be made. In his January 6th speech he did cite the unconstitutional manner that many states conducted their elections. But he should have been making those constitutional arguments since election day.

So if Democrats think Donald Trump's words asked for violence, do they think the following words asked for violence?

“You can’t be civil with a political party that wants to destroy what you stand for and what you care for." - Hillary Clinton

“Michelle (Obama) always says, ‘When they go low, we go high.' No. No. When they go low, we kick 'em. That's what this new Democratic Party is about." - Attorney General Eric Holder

"You have to be ready to take a punch. You got to be ready to take a punch. And therefore you have to be ready to throw a punch." - Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

"I don’t think, even in states where Donald Trump won big, that it does you any good running away from Donald Trump. I think you need to go back and punch him in the face. I mean the truth is this guy is bad for this country." - Senator Jon Tester (D-MT)

"We will challenge him in every way that we can. We'll challenge him here in Congress. We'll challenge him in the courts. We'll challenge him on the streets and protests. We'll do everything that we can to push back on what the President does." - Congressman Joaquin Castro (D-TX)

"Let’s stay the course. Let's make sure we show up wherever we have to show up. And if you see anybody from that cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd, and you push back on them, and you tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere.” - Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA)

"That's my call to action here. Please don't just come here today and then go home. Go to the Hill today. Get up and - please! Get up in the face of some Congresspeople." - Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ)

"I just don’t even know why there aren’t uprisings all over the country, and maybe there will be when people realize that this is a policy that they defend” - Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

Now, if you go fact check those quotes, the so-called "fact-checkers" in Big Media, who have so much advocacy bias that they misrepresent real facts in such a manner as to claim they're false, will tell you all those quotes were taken out of context. Or they'll tell you the Democrats were speaking figuratively not literally. And that much is true - at least for some of them. But Maxine Waters was instructing her sycophantic supporters to LITERALLY harass Republicans. Corey Booker was telling the protesters to LITERALLY "Get up in the face of some Congresspeople." But when Donald Trump says the word "fight," as in "if you don’t fight like hell you’re not going to have a country anymore," the lying Democrats in Congress and in the press say that Trump meant to literally "fight" as in "go to war with machine guns and kill everyone on the other side."

If it was just inflammatory rhetoric by the Democrats, we could dismiss it as typical Democrat dishonesty amplified by their allies in the propaganda press. The President used the word "fight" in the exact same way other politicians ask their supporters to fight for the cause. He in no way asked for violence. In fact, he asked for exactly the opposite when he asked the crowd to march "over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard."

But they impeached the President over it! And the narrative going forward for at least the next decade, and probably longer, will be that the Republican Party is the party of armed insurrection that tried to overthrow the government of the United States, so don't vote for any of 'em. They're traitors. They're the party of sedition, of violence, of rioters, of Nazi soldiers following illegal orders from party leaders.

The Democrats and the media will misrepresent and weaponize those words for the next generation. And because Republicans are weak and cowardly, they won't push back on that false narrative. Instead, they'll cower in the corner and push each other under the bus saying THAT Republican is a seditious traitor but not me! Please reelect me. Please. Please. Pretty please. And it won't work. The damage to the Republican Party that that breach of The Capitol and the gross misrepresentation of its cause is immense. And because the party failed to push back on the lies that were told about the riot and reasons for it, the damage to the party will be severe and perhaps irreparable.

And it is all based upon lies. Democrats lied about what Donald Trump said. And they lied about what Republican lawmakers did. When Republicans objected to accepting some Electoral College votes, Democrats accused them of sedition and called them traitors. But when Democrats did THE EXACT SAME THING and objected to Ohio's Electoral College votes in 2005, it was "saving our democracy!"

Democrat hypocrisy and double standards are nothing new. If it wasn't for double standards, Democrats would have no standards at all; not just in what they say, but also in what they do.

Democrats are dangerous enemies of our Republic.

ADDENDUM ADDED January 20, 2021 6:13pm:

Now that Donald Trump is a former president, the House should not transmit the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate. But if they do, the Senate should dismiss them.

Impeachment is a process to remove officials from office. If they are no longer in office, they are private citizens who are not subject to impeachment.

In 1876, the House impeached President Grant's Secretary of War William Belknap after he left office. The Senate acquitted him. But had Belknap sued, the Court would almost certainly have invalidated the impeachment as unconstitutional.

"Those Who Make Peaceful Revolution Impossible Will Make Violent Revolution Inevitable."

January 6, 2021 2:22pm

President Kennedy said, "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." Similarly, those who allow our Constitution to be flagrantly violated will make its violent restoration inevitable.

That the U.S. Supreme Court refused to even consider one shred of evidence that there was wrongdoing in the 2020 elections is an absolute travesty of justice and a disgraceful dereliction of the Court's constitutional duty. And THAT is the reason The Capitol was breached by protesters today.

I will never accept Joe Biden as the legitimate President of the United States unless the Supreme Court agrees to hear the evidence that this election was tainted and issues a detailed opinion explaining their decision. Although I can't imagine any valid defense to the unconstitutional election processes that occurred in at least six states, if the Supreme Court validates it, so be it. That's our system.

But to refuse to hear the evidence and rule on it is inexcusable. And it will inevitably lead to violence. The resulting blood will be on the hands of every person - both in and out of government - who opposed pursuit of the truth as to what happened in the election.

We are witnessing the death of our Republic.

ADDENDUM ADDED January 9, 2021 10:18am

If you are truly interested in why I am angered by the results of the 2020 election, I discussed it in great detail this morning on my radio show.

In the macro sense of trying to preserve our nation, it was probably the most important program I've done in 41 years of being on the air.

I described how the government of a free republic derives its power from the consent of the governed, and why THAT is the reason Trump's voters are so angry about the disputed results of the 2020 election. And I did it far more articulately than Donald Trump could ever do.

If you want to prevent a violent revolution in this country, I encourage you to listen to it. Even if you hate Donald Trump (which is understandable 'cause he's kind of a dick), the program will reveal why 82% of his supporters refuse to accept Biden's victory as legitimate. And that reason is NOT due to proven fraud.

I also explained who is to blame for Wednesday's breach of The Capitol Building in Washington.

The critical segments are the first two. It would take you 25 minutes to listen to them both at www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/podcasts/210109

The 3rd and 4th segments consist of an interview with Sam Mullins who was at The Capitol during Wednesday's protest.

No, Donald Trump Did NOT Ask Georgia's Secretary of State to Commit Election Fraud

January 4, 2021 10:18am

As usual, the activists posing as journalists in the propaganda press are lying. Unless you have listened to the ENTIRE 62 MINUTE PHONE CALL, you have no clue what President Trump said. The so-called "news" media has only reported a small fraction of the call and grossly misrepresented what was said in it.

I have listened to the entire phone call. If you care about the truth, you should too. It's at https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/listen-full-audio-trump-s-phone-call-georgia-secretary-state-n1252696?cid=sm_npd_nn_fb_ma&fbclid=IwAR0Bd8_JwEHZWlM4Um34ZkZUN4tRTzNzCdB96tLxzRHGO2YfNTohUOo_1zI

Near the end of the call, President summed up what he wants done with, "Brad, we just want the truth. It's simple. And everyone's gonna look very good if the truth comes out. That's OK. It'll take a little while. But let the truth come out." Have you seen that anywhere in the fake news? No, of course not. Instead you've heard that Trump asked Georgia's Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to commit election fraud, which is a total and complete lie. Trump never even came close to doing that.

Elsewhere on the call, Donald Trump's use of rally attendance numbers as proof he won at the ballot box was absurd. But also during the call, he went through a list of known irregularities that support his belief that the election was not conducted properly.

Not once did President Trump ask Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to throw out any legitimate ballots, fabricate any fake ballots, falsify any records, or commit any kind of election fraud whatsoever. All the President (and his staff as they were on the call too) asked for was an investigation into the allegations of election malfeasance, which he believed - rightly or wrongly - would result in a Trump victory.

Trump also asked reasonable questions that Raffensperger failed to answer - although a few of his answers were interrupted by the President, so there's no way to know what the Secretary of State would have said if allowed to complete his responses.

The purpose of this post is not to defend Trump's election fraud theories. Those theories have not been adequately investigated by any court, so "the jury is still out" on that - if you'll pardon the expression since the case has been nowhere near any jury. The purpose of this post is to expose the propaganda press as the liars that they are.

The so-called "news" media deliberately omitted the part of the call where President Trump said "We won Georgia easily. We won it by hundreds of thousands of votes" and where his team said they repeatedly asked the State of Georgia for voter data and were refused every time.

It was very clear throughout the entire phone call that President Trump believes he won Georgia, and that all he wants is an investigation that will discover the truth - whatever that truth may be. Contrary to how the fake news is reporting it, PRESIDENT TRUMP NEVER ASKED ANYONE TO COMMIT ELECTION FRAUD. So don't believe the Democrats' and the so-called "news" media's lies saying he did.

But don't just take my word for it. Listen to the call yourself. I posted a link to it above. Why? Because my only agenda is the truth.

The media’s dishonesty is a recurring disgrace. My list of 45 other lies the fake news has told about Donald trump is at www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/blog/201031-1010. It includes links proving the lies were lies.

Why the 2020 Election Put the United States in Great Peril

January 3, 2021 3:30pm

It is indisputable that Joe Biden did not win the election lawfully. But most Republicans are spineless cowards who are willing to accept the theft of the very foundation of a free republic; the sacred right of the people to legitimately choose their leaders at the ballot box.

Even the handful of Republicans in the House and Senate who have said they will challenge electors during the January 6th tabulation of Electoral College votes are just pandering to their vocal constituents and will do absolutely nothing to prevent Biden's inauguration. Their challenge scheme will only delay Biden's majority vote by a few hours.

The brutal truth is that the ONLY way Biden doesn't get inaugurated on January 20th is if the U.S. Supreme Court invalidates the certified election results in the six states that conducted their elections in an unconstitutional manner (Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia, California, and New Jersey) and disqualified their electors to the Electoral College.

Such a ruling would allow those state legislatures to choose new electors, in which case Trump/Pence would win. If for any reason the state legislatures failed to do so, then the U.S. House of Representatives would choose the President, and the U.S. Senate would choose the Vice President. Trump/Pence would be reelected in that scenario also.

IN ANY OTHER SCENARIO, INCLUDING GOP SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES OBJECTING TO SOME ELECTORS DURING THE TABULATION ON JANUARY 6TH, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be inaugurated.

Even if EVERY REPUBLICAN in the House and Senate objected to Biden's illegally obtained electors, Biden/Harris would still win because electors are only rejected if BOTH congressional bodies agree to reject them. And the Democrat majority in the House would never vote to reject any illegally obtained Biden electors no matter how certain they were of the illegality of the elections that resulted in their selection.

The ONLY way to remedy this stolen election is for the Supreme Court to rule in favor of the Constitution. But they have simply dismissed all such cases without hearing any evidence whatsoever. I understand why Justices Breyer, Kagan, and Sotomayor don't care about our Constitution. They are extreme Leftists who hold no principles other than total partisan victory at all costs. Why Chief Justice Roberts is abrogating his oath of office and his responsibility to the Constitution is a bit murkier. The unproven allegations that he has been blackmailed would explain it, but absent confirmation of it, I will not state that reason as certain. But five justices (Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett) could force a case before the Court over the Chief Justice's objection. It is inexcusable that they haven't.

It's disgraceful. And it's dangerous. Because the Court's refusal to do its duty is an affirmation that a state may violate its Constitution and the Constitution of the United States with impunity; and that election laws may be violated by officials any time they want with no repercussions whatsoever. And a constitutional republic cannot survive that.

And of course, the propaganda press isn't even reporting the fact that so much evidence of malfeasance has been discovered. But it is not necessary to prove fraud to justify invalidating the election. Constitutional violations are sufficient even if there was no fraud. If you're interested in what those constitutional violations are, they are listed at www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/blog/201214-1104

So far, the Supreme Court has refused to do their job and even hear a single shred of evidence. Their dereliction of duty is disgraceful. And so is every Senator and Representative who refuses to abide by their oaths and uphold the rule of law.

Why are Democrats so afraid of every effort to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the 2020 election??? I would think the Democrats would welcome any investigation if they really believed there was no malfeasance. Wouldn't you want the legitimacy of a Biden victory to be confirmed with absolute certainty? I would. But if charges of election malfeasance are not investigated properly IN COURT, there will always be doubt. And that doubt is what would undermine our Republic; not the pursuit of the truth.

I will never accept Joe Biden as the legitimate President of the United States unless the Supreme Court agrees to hear the evidence that this election was tainted and issues a detailed opinion explaining their decision. Although I can't imagine any valid defense to the unconstitutional elections that occurred in at least six states, if the Supreme Court validates it, so be it. That's our system. But to refuse to rule on the evidence is inexcusable. And it will hasten the demise of our Republic.

The Last Day of 2020

December 31, 2020 6:06am

2020 was the year timid Americans agreed to destroy the economy, infringe upon constitutional rights, violate our election laws, and usher in a socialist government to unnecessarily save us from an illness that 94.1% of us didn't get, and 98.2% of those who did get it survived.

I shudder to think what stupidity 2021 has in store for us.

The raw numbers in case you want to verify my math:

U.S. Population – 331,829,531 (Census Bureau)

Total Coronavirus cases - 19,432,125 (CDC)

Total Coronavirus deaths - 337,419 (CDC)

It Is Not Necessary to Prove Fraud to Invalidate Election Results

December 14, 2020 11:04am

The 2020 election was UNCONSTITUTIONAL in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Georgia because the constitutionally mandated due process and equal protection clauses were not followed.

We can ignore the fraud. We can ignore the dead people voting. We can ignore the computers switching votes (which I doubt occurred anyway). We can ignore the illegal ballot harvesting. None of that is necessary for the U.S. Supreme Court to throw out the results in those states and let those state legislatures choose their electors as our Constitution allows.

WHAT OUR CONSTITUTION MANDATES IS NOT OPTIONAL. We release murderers and rapists back into society because the police make mistakes that invalidate all the proof of guilt. And now we're going to just ignore our Constitution when it comes to electing one-third of the U.S. Government for the next four years???

That this election was a sham does not require proof of fraud (even though we know it occurred). The election should be invalidated based upon constitutional principles alone. The unconstitutional processes that occurred are not in dispute. Oh, sure, some people say the processes were not unconstitutional, but they don't dispute that the processes happened.

Do the courts think those processes were unconstitutional? We'll never know because they refuse to even hear the arguments. But it is indisputable that unconstitutional election procedures occurred in several states. So, what were the unconstitutional processes that justify tossing results?

The following are all undisputed FACTS that prove the elections in several states were unconstitutional (violating both the plain language of the Constitution and the case law established in Bush v. Gore):

It is an undisputed FACT that Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Georgia all changed their election procedures by means other than through the legislatures who have the sole plenary power to do so.

It is an undisputed FACT that Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Georgia all treated vote-by-mail ballots in manners not authorized by either state law, the state's constitution, or both.

It is an undisputed FACT that the validity of vote-by-mail ballots in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Georgia were not judged via uniform statewide standards.

It is an undisputed FACT that Pennsylvania accepted late vote-by-mail ballots.

It is an undisputed FACT that election officials in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania counted ballots that lacked legally required information.

It is an undisputed FACT that Pennsylvania's Secretary of State, with the concurrence of the commonwealth's Supreme Court, voided signature requirements for absentee ballots without getting approval from the legislature.

It is an undisputed FACT that Michigan's Secretary of State solicited millions of absentee ballots without the lawful authority to do so AND allowed online ballot requests to be processed without the signature verification required under Michigan law.

It is an undisputed FACT that 70% of absentee ballot poll books in Detroit, Michigan were are out of balance but certified anyway.

It is an undisputed FACT that big city Wisconsin mayors set up unmanned ballot collection boxes despite a state law specifically prohibiting them from doing so.

It is an undisputed FACT that Wisconsin election officials counted ballots that were delivered to their offices by means not permitted under Wisconsin law.

It is an undisputed FACT that Wisconsin election officials counted vote-by-mail ballots that did not contain voter information required by statute.

It is an undisputed FACT that Georgia's Secretary of State and state election board bypassed the legislature to impose new rules that materially altered the rules required by Georgia law.

Those are undisputed FACTS. And while people may argue that those factual occurrences were perfectly constitutional, how could they be??? This is not a matter of interpretation. Either the plain text was followed or it was not. And in this instance, it was not. That makes those elections prima facie unconstitutional.

California and New Jersey also conducted unconstitutional elections. And if someone were to sue about it, the results in those states should also be thrown out.

As for the allegations of fraud? They are numerous. You can read them in the Texas v. Pennsylvania lawsuit at https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/images/admin/2020/Press/SCOTUSFiling.pdf. It is 154 pages, but it's worth the time it takes to read it because it contains the raw claims unfiltered by the media. Supporting affidavits can be read at https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/22/22O155/163048/20201208132827887_TX-v-State-ExpedMot%202020-12-07%20FINAL.pdf

But fraud is more difficult and time-consuming to prove. And it is not necessary to invalidate the elections anyway. That the elections were conducted in violation of the U.S. Constitution, state constitutions, and statutes is sufficient basis to toss the results and allow the legislatures of the affected states to choose electors as permitted by our Constitution.

Anything less is affirmation that a state may violate both its Constitution and the Constitution of the United States with impunity; and that election laws may be violated by officials any time they want with no repercussions whatsoever. And a constitutional republic cannot survive that.

ADDENDUM ADDED ON 12/19/20: I explained the proper constitutional remedy on my radio show this morning. It is available online as a podcast at www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/podcasts/201219

Biden “Wins” via Unconstitutional Election and a Shameful so-called “Justice System”

December 11, 2020 7:03pm

An upside down American flag is a sign of distress or great danger.

This nation is in great distress and great danger. For the U.S. Supreme Court to dismiss the Texas v. Pennsylvania case, and others, without hearing any evidence whatsoever of election irregularities, malfeasance, unconstitutional processes, and outright fraud (of which there is much) is disgraceful.

Biden will be inaugurated next month. All the malfeasance will be swept under the rug. The evidence will be destroyed. And this dirty election will be chalked up by the propaganda press and Leftist historians as "Trump and his sycophantic Trumptard supporters being gullible fools and sore losers who tried to steal an election and subvert our democracy."

THIS ELECTION WAS STOLEN. PERIOD. There is no need to prove specific instances of fraud (even though there were many). Through KNOWN PROCESSES, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Georgia conducted blatantly unconstitutional elections. But no one seems to care. No one who can do anything about it anyway.

I predicted a Trump loss months ago. But I thought that loss would be legitimate. The loss that just happened was not legitimate.

Our government of the people, by the people, for the people, will soon perish from the earth. That is not hyperbole. Time will prove me right. And I will take no joy in being right.

Florida's Coronavirus Situation Is Not As Bad As You've Been Told

December 5, 2020 9:32am

Florida surpassed one million COVID cases this week. And, as is so typical, the so-called "news" media's portrayal of that milestone has been deliberately misrepresented to make Governor Ron DeSantis look as bad as possible. But DeSantis' handling of this pandemic, while not perfect, has been far better than most governors.

Raw numbers are meaningless as evidence of the pandemic's severity. Florida is the third most populous state in the country, so it would be reasonable that Florida would have the third highest number of COVID cases (as it does). But when using the per capita infection rate, which is the only fair metric to use, Florida ranks 25th. Twenty-four states have higher infection rates than Florida! And Florida ranks 16th in deaths per capita - at a rate far below the unconstitutional Democrat lockdown states of New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Illinois, Michigan, and the District of Columbia.

The media has portrayed Governor Cuomo of New York as the gold standard for handling the Coronavirus. But Cuomo has been the second worst governor in the entire country as measured by the disregard for Constitutional Rights (Governor Whitmer of Michigan has been the worst). But the fake news loves Cuomo because he's a Leftist Democrat. They're presenting him as the perfect governor because they're grooming him for the presidency. This is despite the fact that New York has far more COVID deaths than any other state. And that's not because of its population. New York is the fourth most populous state, but it has 79% more COVID deaths than California, the most populous state; 59% more COVID deaths than Texas, the second most populous state; and 84% more COVID deaths than Florida, the third most populous state.

But we are spoon-fed by the propaganda press that Cuomo is a god and DeSantis is a dunce, even though the actual numbers prove otherwise. On a per capita basis, New York has 4 1/2 times more COVID deaths than Florida (4.35 times more to be exact). Those are the real numbers. Those are the real facts. But most people never see the real facts. The fake news sure as hell ain't gonna share 'em. The propaganda press would rather lie to you. Don't believe their lies!

This blog post only hit the highlights. If you'd like to hear more details, they are in today's episode of The Mike Bates Show which is now archived online as a podcast at www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/podcasts/201205 (segment 3).

Election Malfeasance HAS BEEN PROVEN

November 21, 2020 11:57am

Contrary to what the fake news is telling you, election malfeasance HAS BEEN PROVEN in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Georgia. If the courts throw out the election results in two of those states, Trump would win reelection. Irregularities have been proven in Nevada also, but Trump wouldn't win Nevada if the results there were tossed.

On my radio program today, I described in detail what those proven irregularities and malfeasance are. And I explained how Donald Trump does have a clear - but long shot - path to victory. AND NONE OF IT HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH COMPUTERIZED VOTE SWITCHING. Just as importantly, I discussed the so-called "news" media's dangerous censorship of what the Trump Campaign is alleging.

I obviously will not put an hour of detail into this post. But these are the highlights:

In Georgia, more than 5000 lawful votes were simply not counted in Floyd and Fayette counties. And during the hand count audit, DeKalb County gave Joe Biden almost 10,000 phantom votes - 9626 to be exact. One batch of the manual count had 10,707 votes for Biden and 13 votes for Trump. But the actual count was 13 for Trump, but only 1081 for Biden. That one batch of ballots gave 890% more votes to Joe Biden than he actually got! The error - which might be too generous of a word - was discovered by Republican observers. That 890% error in Biden's favor had been verified and signed off on by not one but TWO official ballot counters before it was corrected at the insistence of Republicans.

In Michigan, it is a fact that 94 of Detroit's 134 absentee ballot poll books didn't balance, meaning the number of absentee ballots received and processed does not match the number of votes that were cast by absentee ballot. It would be bad enough if it was one. It was 70% of 'em!

In Nevada, election officials found so many discrepancies in their election process that they threw out the results and will hold a redo special election next month. No, I'm not referring to the presidential election. They threw out the results of the election for Clark County Commissioner District C. But if the process was so flawed that they don't know who won a county commission election, how can they be confident they know who won the presidential election? They can't.

In Pennsylvania, officials counted nearly 2500 mail-in ballots that voters failed to properly complete. Under Pennsylvania law, that means the votes shouldn't have been counted. But officials in Allegheny County simply ignored state law and counted the ballots. Andy Szefi, an attorney for the county, justified that illegal act with, "What we have here is essentially a technicality that we don't want voters to get disenfranchised with." No, that is not a technicality. It is the law. And election officials broke it.

Pennsylvania also has the issue of ballots being properly completed by the voter but not received by the deadline established by state law. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court said that was OK, even though their ruling was in direct contravention of Pennsylvania law. The U.S. Supreme Court foolishly refused to overturn that blatantly unconstitutional action. But the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling was a 4-4 tie because the Court was Ruthless. Amy Coney Barrett hadn't been confirmed yet. With Amy Coney Barrett now on the Court, they might see it differently should the case get to them.

All these are absolute, indisputable, easily verified, and proven FACTS. But you have to find them yourself because the national media is not reporting it. But if you read the state newspapers, it's all there. You're not going to learn it if you're waiting for the fake news to spoon-feed it to you.

If President Trump's attorneys are able to convince the Court that the election was so improperly conducted that they toss the election results in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, or Arizona, all those states have Republican legislatures who could assign their electoral college votes to Trump. And to win the electoral college majority, Trump would need any three of those five. Or he could win with just two if the two are from Pennsylvania, Michigan and Georgia.

It is highly unlikely that Donald Trump will ultimately win the 2020 presidential election. But he absolutely has the right to try. And the so-called "news" media should not be censoring or misrepresenting the facts as they are doing.

The bottom line is that the 2020 presidential election is not as final as the fake news is telling you it is. Details are online as a podcast at www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/podcasts/201121

A Marine’s Medal of Honor from the World War II Battle of Iwo Jima

November 14, 2020 9:56am

On today’s radio show, I spent three segments talking about the incredible Veterans Day event at Pensacola’s Veterans Memorial Park and the dedication of the new Gold Star Families Memorial Monument. It included an interview with Hershel "Woody" Williams. The 97 year-old Williams is one of two Medal of Honor recipients from World War II who are still alive. He earned it at the Battle of Iwo Jima!

That interview is now archived online as a podcast at www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/podcasts/201114 (4th segment).

The citation for his Medal of Honor, which describes his conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty, is at www.cmohs.org/recipients/hershel-woodrow-woody-williams. It is absolutely worth reading. Read it, and you'll see that it's miraculous the medal wasn't awarded posthumously. He had balls of steel. But as he described in the interview, he wasn't without fear.

Stolen Election? Or Stolen Election Fraud?

November 12, 2020 9:22pm

It is indisputable that some fraud was committed during the presidential election. And it is indisputable that there was also some process malfeasance by election officials. But if it can't be proven to have been enough to change the outcome of the election, the courts will not do much about it.

I wish the courts would get moving on these lawsuits, so we have some idea as to whether or not the claims are substantive. Because if they are, we need to get on to the remedy sooner rather than later. And if they're not, then Donald Trump needs to begin the peaceful transition process sooner rather than later.

There are also many unsubstantiated rumors about how the election was stolen from President Trump. And those need to be addressed with objective analysis of known facts and not with wishful thinking by those who want Trump to have a second term.

I must address the two biggest conspiracy theories making the rounds on social media that are almost certainly complete nonsense. One is the claim that ballots were watermarked by Trump's allies, so they could later prove which ballots were frauds. First of all, each county prints their own ballots. There's no single print shop that prints all the ballots in America. So it's not even possible. And yeah, I know the claim is that it's not those ballots that were watermarked. But it is still nonsense. There is no way that happened. And there is no way President Trump is going to prove in one fell swoop that Democrats engaged in widespread vote fraud by revealing some blockchain invisible watermark. That ain't gonna happen.

The other rumor is that traitorous deep state actors in the American intelligence community weaponized two computer programs - one called "Hammer," that breaks into voting computers and another called "Scorecard," that changes vote counts within those systems. As the theory goes, the CIA developed those programs to manipulate election results in other countries, but deep state never-Trumpers in America used it domestically. That is such an absurd theory that I don't even know how to debunk it other than to say "without evidence to back it up, it belongs in the rubbish bin."

I'm sure some of you are thinking, "Yeah, Mike. But the CIA is really good at doing illegal stuff and covering their tracks. And they hate Trump." Well, that's true. But without evidence, it's the stuff of spy novels not the real world.

If I am shown convincing evidence, I'll change my mind. But I base my opinions on facts. And so far there are no facts to support that theory. Oh, there's plenty of people claiming it. Even people I respect like retired General Thomas McInerney are pushing this conspiracy theory. But it seems like nonsense to me. Don't misunderstand. It would be great if it could be so easily proven that the election was stolen from Trump. But c'mon, it has to be based in reality. And the Hammer & Scorecard theory ain't.

But even if you don't want to accept my analysis that both those theories are without merit, ask yourself this question: If either theory was true, wouldn't Donald Trump be tweeting and screaming about it? Frankly, that's enough evidence right there to indicate they're not true.

Do I think it's too soon for Joe Biden and his supporters to declare victory? Yes, I do. Election results aren't certified any ANY state yet.

And do I think it's too soon for Donald Trump and his supporters to declare victory? Yes, I do. We're still awaiting recounts, and there's no telling what the courts will do with his legal challenges.

But even if the courts acknowledge that the fraud and process malfeasance Trump alleges did actually occur, what will their remedy be? There 100% won't be a redo election. So will they invalidate some votes but not others? Can that even be done? It's not like there was one bin marked "fraudulent ballots" and other bin marked "ballots that were illegally counted." If the ballots were commingled, and certainly most were, there's no way to separate them now.

So would the Supreme Court just invalidate the entire election and leave it to the state legislatures to pick their slate of electors to the Electoral College? If they do - and if those legislators vote along party lines - Donald Trump would have a chance. The House and Senates of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Georgia, and Arizona all have Republican majorities. Nevada's legislature has a Democrat majority. Governors would play no role in it.

Would any of those legislatures choose their electors? Florida's Republican majority in 2000 was going to do just that if the courts didn't settle the Bush v. Gore issue before the Electoral College deadline. But the court did settle it, so the legislature didn't. But had they, it would have been 100% constitutional.

And then there's the question of whether or not Congress would accept electors chosen that way. They wouldn't be required to. Both Congressional bodies would have to agree to reject them, so it would be extremely unlikely. But if they did, it's possible nobody would have the 270 Electoral College votes necessary to win. And that would mean the House gets to choose the President, and the Senate gets to choose the Vice President. If they voted along party lines, Donald Trump and Mike Pence would be reelected.

Republicans will have a 50-48 majority in the U.S. Senate on January 6th - the date those votes would happen. And although the Democrats will have a majority in the House of Representatives, that's irrelevant if they have to choose the President because not every congressman gets a vote. There wouldn't be 435 votes. There would be 46 votes. Each state delegation gets one vote. And in the new Congress that gets sworn in January 3rd, Republicans have majorities in 26 delegations; Democrats have majorities in 20; and four states are evenly split, so they wouldn't get a vote.

Can you imagine what would happen if four states don't have any say whatsoever in who our next president will be? And if 2020 can't get any more interesting, do you know who those four tied states are? Minnesota, Iowa, and... wait for it.... Michigan... and Pennsylvania!

But all these scenarios may just be an academic refresher course on our Constitution. Because unless Donald Trump is pulling a Muhammad Ali-style rope-a-dope, and he's about to unleash a flurry of punches that deliver a knockout blow that drops the vote count to the canvas, it's only a matter of time before the referee raises Joe Biden's hand in the middle of the ring, and Joe Biden puts on the title belt.

President-Elect Biden? Yeah, Probably. But Not Definitely.

November 8, 2020 1:13pm

Who won the 2020 presidential election? Donald Trump thinks he won. Joe Biden thinks he won. And the media has declared Joe Biden to be the winner. But nobody really knows who will be inaugurated on January 20th because the vote counts in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada are not final. Actually, the vote counts are not final in any state. The soft deadline for certifying the vote count is December 8th. And the hard deadline isn't until December 14th. That's the day electors cast their votes in the Electoral College.

But the votes in all the states I mentioned above are very close. Some will have recounts. And allegations of irregularities or fraud in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Nevada are compelling enough to call their existing counts into question in the courts. And that is exactly the avenue to victory President Trump is pursuing. We he prevail? I doubt it. But since it's not impossible, it is premature to declare that Joe Biden won. Of course, it is also absurd for Donald Trump to claim that he won.

Was there voter fraud? Absolutely. There is always some voter fraud. The question is, was it widespread enough to have possibly changed the outcome? (as has been proven in eight recent local elections).

What kinds of fraud are being alleged?

Some people are claiming that Wisconsin had more votes than registered voters. That is not accurate. Those making the allegation used the pre-election day count of registered voters to calculate turnout. But Wisconsin has same day voter registration, and tens of thousands of people registered to vote and voted on election day. When turnout is calculated with that number of voters, it does not exceed 100%.

Biden's vote count in Michigan jumped by 138,000 votes without a single increase in Trump's vote count, and many Trump supporters cried foul. But election officials say it was the result of a correction made to a data entry error. And that explanation seems reasonable.

Also in Michigan, there is a lawsuit alleging that spoiled ballots were being duplicated without Republican observers present. That would be very illegal if true. But is it true? I don't know.

There was a notable problem with the vote tally in Antrim County, Michigan. In 2016, Trump won 62% of the vote in Antrim County. But this year he only got 41%. That's an impossible swing, so Republicans cried foul, elections official recounted, and Trump actually won with 56.5% of the vote. I'm not saying there was anything nefarious about it. But it's things like that that call the legitimacy of the count into question.

Some voters in Arizona sued because they were given Sharpies to complete their ballots instead of being given ball point pens. And their Sharpie marks bled through to the back of the ballots. But the issue is whether or not that bleed-through would cause the tabulators to not read their votes. Election officials say it didn't. And the lawsuit has already been dropped. It wasn't dismissed by a judge. It was dropped by the plaintiffs.

Nevada had problems with poll watchers not being allowed to observe to vote count. Plus, Nevada had universal mail in balloting. And although it was implemented through the constitutional legislative process, it still resulted in thousands of ballots being sent to dead people and people who no longer reside in Nevada, all of whom were obviously ineligible. Many of those ineligible ballots were completed, returned, and counted. Mailed ballots were also accepted for counting after the lawful deadline has passed.

Poll watchers in Pennsylvania were not allowed to observe the tabulation. And even after a court ordered election officials to allow access, they didn't fully comply. That made it very difficult to observe what was actually happening. Why wouldn't they allow the counting process to be observed? I was an appointed official observer in the Florida recount of 2018, so I know what observers are supposed to see. We were not auditors for each ballot. But we could see every ballot being processed and could ask questions if we noticed an anomaly. Equal and unfettered access by observers is critical to both the integrity of the count and to the public's acceptance that the tabulation process was objective and lawful.

Another allegation of procedural malfeasance in Pennsylvania is that some election officials notified Democrat operatives of mailed-in ballots that contained errors which would prevent them from being counted. And those operatives were given a list of who those invalid ballots belonged to. So the Democrats got the voters to correct them. While I do believe voters should be given an opportunity to correct procedural mistakes they make, Pennsylvania law does not allow it! And not all counties offered it! And in the counties that did, only Democrats were given the opportunity to correct their ballots! That is a huge violation of the due process and equal protection clauses of the U.S. Constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court was very clear that the tabulation process had to be universal across the entire state . It was the primary reason they decided Bush v. Gore as they did.

Also in Pennsylvania, the law requires mailed in ballots to arrive by the time the polls close. But the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, in direct contravention of the law, ordered that late ballots - even those without any postmark showing proof that they were put into the postal system before polls closed - had to be accepted. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to intervene in that, which I think was a mistake. There are also allegations that postal workers were back-dating postmarks in areas dominated by Democrats.

If tainted ballots in those states were commingled with proper ballots, there is no way to go back and remove those votes. The ballot pool has been contaminated and there is no way to decontaminate it. We can't just assume that every fraudulent vote was for Biden and remove that many from Biden's count, even though it is certain that the vast majority were for Biden because the overwhelming percentage of voter fraud that occurs is committed by Democrats.

Other allegations of improprieties and violations of election law are too numerous to mention them all here. But are they sufficient to justify the courts invalidating the entire vote counts of the affected states? Probably not. But Donald Trump has the right to seek it.

In the extremely unlikely event that the courts did throw out the results, it wouldn't result in a redo. The legislatures of the affected states would choose their state's electors. It's not crazy or far-fetched. That's what the Constitution allows. In 2000 with Bush v. Gore, the Florida legislature was prepared to throw out the people's vote and choose Florida's electors themselves. The reason they didn't is not because they lacked the constitutional authority; they had that. They didn't do it because the vote count was not invalidated. The recount simply stopped. Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, and Arizona all have Republican majorities in both chambers of their legislatures.

What would happen if that occurred? Well, Congress could refuse to accept those electors' Electoral College votes on January 6th when they're tabulated in a joint session of the new congress. But the House and Senate would BOTH have to vote to reject them, and that is extremely unlikely. But if they were rejected, that would probably mean nobody would reach the 270 Electoral College votes necessary to win. And that would put the decision in the hands of Congress. The House of Representatives would choose the President, and the Senate would choose the Vice-President. That would result in a Trump/Pence victory.

Assuming votes are along party lines, the Senate would choose Pence because the Republicans will have a 50 - 48 majority on January 6th. The House of Representatives, despite having a Democrat majority, would choose Trump. Because in such a vote, each Representative doesn't get a vote. Each state delegation gets one vote. And Republicans have majorities in 26 states (both currently and after the new Congress is sworn in on January 3rd).

So will we have a President Biden next year? Yeah, probably. But this is 2020, a year in which even the impossible is possible.

My Flight with the Blue Angels

November 8, 2020 11:11am

25 years ago today, I flew with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels over the Gulf of Mexico south of NAS Pensacola.

During our 45 minute flight, we went through various maneuvers, pulled 7.1 Gs, and went supersonic as we broke the sound barrier (to Mach 1.06). I had the stick for some of it, but Lieutenant Ryan Scholl was in control for most of the flight. Scholl is now an Admiral who commands Carrier Strike Group Eight in Norfolk.

In this video where it looks like I'm holding my breath when pulling high Gs (which I sort of am), that's called the "hook." It is a taught technique that deliberately squeezes the chest muscles to force blood to remain in the brain to prevent passing out from a lack of oxygen.

My flight in the Blue Angels F/A-18 Hornet was the most fun I've had in the back seat since high school. Ha Ha. Of course, if you knew me in high school, you know that's a meaningless statement. Because the only thing I was doing in the back seat in high school was looking for loose change, so I could buy a Slurpee at the 7-Eleven.

The flight was an incredible once-in-a-lifetime experience.

And the Winner Is...

November 3, 2020 2:09pm

When will we know who won today's election? Not today. And not tomorrow either.

Nationwide, 100 million people voted early or by mail. That's 75% of the 134 million votes cast in 2016. But most states haven't even started to count their mailed-in ballots until today; and many won't start until their polls close tonight. Only 15 states (AZ, CO, DE, FL, HI, KS, MD, MT, NE, NJ, NC, OK, OR, TX, and VT) have counted mailed-in ballots already.

We should know Florida's results tonight because Florida has been counting vote-by-mail ballots as they've arrived (but no human knows the count, only the tabulation machine knows). And state law requires that tally to be released within 30 minutes of the polls closing.

It doesn't matter that California, Massachusetts, and other dark blue states won't complete their mailed ballot counts for a while. Nor does it matter in dark red states like Alabama and Wyoming. But delayed counts in the battleground states of Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin are problematic. Even delays in Georgia and Minnesota could be a problem this year.

It doesn't help matters that mailed ballots have historically weighed heavily in favor of Democrats. Add to that the fact that Democrats fear the coronavirus more than Republicans fear it (meaning they are more likely to vote by mail for that reason), and that sets up a scenario where Donald Trump's percentage of the vote will drop at the release of every post-Election Day report.

So unless it's a clear landslide, it's gonna be a while until we know who our next President will be. I expect us to go to bed tonight with the Electoral College vote tied at 218 each. The remaining 102 won't be known for many days.

Election Day Expectations

November 3, 2020 7:00am

It is Election Day in America. But instead of celebrating the hard-earned freedom to elect our own government, businesses across the country are closing down and boarding up. Why?

Because if Trump wins, Leftist malcontents will riot in anger.

If Trump loses, Leftist malcontents will riot in celebration.

Either way, Leftist malcontents will riot. It's what they do.

Leftists are dangerous enemies of our Republic.