Free Republic

A headline I read this weekend proclaimed that Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, the Klan-hood-wearing gent formerly known at VMI as “Coonman,” was “working on” possible gun confiscation in Virginia now that money on the Left has successfully buried his racism and bought the legislature for their party. Aside from the obvious commentary about what happens when Democrats obtain power, the headline suggests a far deeper problem confronting our country. It is only a matter of time before anti-constitutional forces seize control of the Senate, or perhaps the White House, and when they do, what historically American citizens consider to be...

A Georgetown Institute poll finds that two-thirds of us believe we are edging closer “to the brink of a civil war.” Yet Americans cannot properly analyze this “gathering storm.” We lack a framework, a lexicon, and the historical data (from other civil wars) to see clearly what is happening to us. Civil war is, at root, a contest over legitimacy. Legitimacy—literally the right to make law — is shorthand for the consent of the citizens and political parties to abide by the authority of a constitutional order. Civil war begins when this larger political compact breaks down. Civil War means...

The United States was founded in a violent revolution and then, "fourscore and seven years" later, found itself in the midst of a brutal civil war that cost the lives of three quarters of a million Americans, more American deaths than in any other war. Could another violent internal war in America erupt yet again? While it is not probable, the possibilities are sobering. In 1776, the impetus for war had been brewing for many years. Indeed, as the Declaration of Independence made clear, "mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing...

On the House floor Thursday, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) said the way House Democrats were running the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump was “about to push this country to a civil war.” Gohmert said, “Never in the history of this country have we had such gross unfairness that one party would put armed guards h guns to prevent the duly authorized people from being able to hear the witnesses and see them for themselves. And then, oh, we hear from this resolution today, we’re going to send you the depositions after we get through doctoring and looking at and...

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) said on Thursday that House Democrats’ ongoing inquiry into the president's dealings in the Ukraine is “about to push this country to a civil war if they were to get their wishes.” Gohmert, speaking after the House voted along party lines to approve a measure establishing procedures for the impeachment process, added, “And if there’s one thing I don’t want to see in my lifetime, I don’t want to ever have participation in, it’s a civil war. Some historian, I don’t remember who, said, guns are only involved in the last phase of a civil war."...

We are two-thirds along the way to a new American Civil war—at least, that’s what almost 70 percent of voters questioned by Georgetown University’s Institute of Politics and Public Service poll believe. When asked to express on a scale from 0 to 100, how far we are on our way to the brink of a civil war, the mean response was 67.23. This conclusion features in the second Civility Poll by GU Politics this year released on Wednesday. The Battleground Civility Poll is the second component of the bipartisan Battleground Poll. The survey found a generally held belief in over...

Partisan political division and the resulting incivility has reached a low in America, with 67% believing that the nation is nearing civil war, according to a new national survey. “The majority of Americans believe that we are two-thirds of the way to being on the edge of civil war. That to me is a very pessimistic place,” said Mo Elleithee, the executive director of Georgetown University’s Institute of Politics and Public Service. And worse, he said in announcing the results of the Institute’s Battleground Poll civility survey, the political division is likely to make the upcoming 2020 presidential race the...

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A jury in Wisconsin has awarded $450,000 to the father of a boy killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting after he filed a defamation lawsuit against conspiracy theorist writers who claimed the massacre never happened.

Your Second Civil War: It Ain’t Happening. OPINION: By Jeffrey A. Friedberg <——-> PICTURE: The Real USA General George S. Patton, With Ivory-Handle Revolver. I have read articles. And I have read “Comments,” that follow the articles. I see references to, “a second civil war.” I see calls for “molon labe…or for, ‘lock and load.’” I am told that, “70 million Americans stand ready.” I see other militant opinions, and analyses. But, in my opinion, there can be no “second civil war.” Unless whoever commands America at that time is leading it. If there were to be an armed uprising...

The moment may come when soldiers have to choose between the Constitution and Donald Trump. No doubt most will embrace the Constitution. But some will see that as a tough call. Earlier this week Donald Trump, commander in chief of the U.S. armed forces, tweeted that his impeachment “will cause a Civil War” from which the country might never recover. Picking up on remarks made by an evangelical pastor on Fox News, Trump did not just say his removal would lead to a huge electoral defeat for the Democrats, or even mass demonstrations. He said “civil war”. Americans taking up...

Of all the reasons to start a civil war, preserving slavery is the worst. But keeping President Trump in power is pretty high up on the list. On Sunday, Trump tweeted the following statement by evangelical pastor Robert Jeffress: "If the Democrats are successful in removing the President from office (which they will never be), it will cause a Civil War like fracture in this Nation from which our Country will never heal." Jeffress isn't the only one predicting civil strife. Rudy Giuliani warned that impeaching Trump would risk "domestic tranquillity [sic]." Franklin Graham said that impeachment "could lead to...

President Donald Trump tweeted and retweeted 80 times between Friday and Sunday, a seemingly panicked flurry of activity that showed just how big a threat the Ukraine scandal and impeachment inquiry are. Among those tweets was a quote from Fox News contributor Robert Jeffress, an evangelical pastor from Texas, who warned that if Trump were successfully removed from office, civil war would follow. Apocalyptic rhetoric often flows readily from preachers' pulpits and politicians' platforms. Yet this warning of a looming civil war takes on a different meaning when it appears on the President's Twitter feed -- not only because of...

Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.) on Sunday criticized President Trump for quoting a pastor saying impeachment could trigger a "Civil War-like fracture" in the country. "I have visited nations ravaged by civil war," Kinzinger tweeted. "I have never imagined such a quote to be repeated by a President. This is beyond repugnant." I have visited nations ravaged by civil war. @realDonaldTrump I have never imagined such a quote to be repeated by a President. This is beyond repugnant. https://t.co/a5Bae7bP7g — Adam Kinzinger (@RepKinzinger) September 30, 2019 The rare rebuke from a Republican member of Congress came in response to Trump...

Hell yes, we're gonna take your AR-15.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a resolution on Tuesday declaring the National Rifle Association a “domestic terrorism organization” due to its opposition to more stringent gun-control legislation. The resolution accuses the NRA of not only resisting legislative reforms that its drafters believe would help curtail the country’s “epidemic of gun violence,” but also of “incit[ing] gun owners to acts of violence.” “All countries have violent and hateful people, but only in America do we give them ready access to assault weapons and large-capacity magazines thanks, in large part, to the National Rifle Association’s influence,” the resolution says....

Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love pvc. Sometimes you just have to admire the chutzpah of the Commie-Democratic party. They live in an insane fantasy world were unicorns leap over rainbow pride flags and we are all just one more law away from living in complete peace and harmony. The only thing is that one law keeps on changing, this time around it’s magic of confiscating guns with red flag laws. To hear them talk, all they need is the power to send in a SWAT team in at 3:00 AM on a no-knock warrant, kill everyone...

Sen. Kamala Harris (D–Calif.), who is seeking the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, says that if elected she will push legislation that would authorize federal courts to issue gun confiscation orders against people who express opinions that may indicate an intent to commit a hate crime. These "domestic terrorism prevention orders" would "temporarily restrict a person's access to guns if they exhibit clear evidence of dangerousness," including "violent racist threats or anti-immigrant manifestos."

It would be difficult to argue that the political environment in America has not grown significantly more toxic and hostile over the last several years. I pointed out in my column of two weeks ago that the political left cites the culture of the Trump administration for the recent deterioration in race relations. Similarly, the left blames the culture of the Trump administration for this dramatic downturn in civility. Again (as I detailed in the earlier column), this decline actually began during the Obama administration and represents the left’s reaction to the popular rejection of socialist policies by the electorate....

(Video at Source)Wednesday on CNN’s “Newsroom,” 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) said mandatory buybacks of assault rifles with the threat of criminal prosecution was a “strong” idea. Poppy Harlow said, “So on the assault weapons issue, you have talked openly about being in favor of an assault weapons ban. I’m interested if you are supportive of a mandatory buyback program for assault weapons. It was brought up first by Eric Swalwell, who was running for president in your party. Cory Booker has talked about that. Some are gone as far as to say not only should it...

How should red states prepare? How should blue states prepare? (with maps)