Three Tests for the Ayatollah
Roger H. Leemis
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Hamilton Spectator
19 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Lindsey Graham gets GOP primary challenge from André Bauer, South Carolina's former lieutenant gov
CHAPIN, S.C. (AP) — Former South Carolina Lt. Gov. André Bauer is mounting a GOP primary challenge to Sen. Lindsey Graham, arguing the incumbent isn't conservative enough to represent the state. Bauer, a wealthy developer, is a longtime backer of President Donald Trump . His candidacy sets up a midterm grudge match with Graham, a four-term senator whose relationship with Trump has undulated through the years, but who has Trump's endorsement for reelection. Bauer has described himself as 'a real, America First conservative' intent on representing what he sees as South Carolina conservatives' true values. 'I think Graham's been there too long, and he votes like it,' Bauer told The Associated Press Tuesday night. 'I'm guaranteed, I'm conservative, and I don't think he is.' Republicans dominate South Carolina's statewide-elected positions, meaning that the most intense political competition takes place in GOP primaries. Graham has faced previous primary challenges from the right, with opponents accusing him of kowtowing to Democrats on issues from immigration to climate change. But he also hews to Republican priorities on national security; ahead of last month's U.S. strike on Iranian facilities, Graham called for Trump to 'go all-in' in backing Israel and destroying Iran's nuclear program. Graham kicked off his reelection campaign in February, and at least one other Republican has also announced a primary challenge. He has already secured Trump's endorsement. This week, Graham's campaign announced that Chris LaCivita, a co-campaign manager of Trump's 2024 bid, would serve as a senior adviser. On Tuesday, Abby Zilch, spokeswoman for Graham's campaign, noted that the senator had earned Trump's 'complete and total endorsement,' adding that Bauer 'has spent his career chasing titles to feed his ego.' Bauer said he understood Trump's need to use Capitol Hill relationships to advance his legislative priorities, like the tax cuts and spending bill that came before the Senate Budget Committee — which Graham chairs — before passing the chamber earlier Tuesday. 'Trump's got to work and get his bills passed,' Bauer said. 'Lindsey's chairman of a major committee. ... I get what you have to do.' Bauer has backed Trump since before his win in South Carolina's 2016 GOP primary. At his 2024 campaign's South Carolina launch event, Trump called Bauer — who served on his state leadership committee — 'a friend of mine, somebody that could I think run for almost any office and win.' Bauer served in the South Carolina legislature before, at 33, he was elected the youngest lieutenant governor in the country in 2002. After two terms, he mounted an unsuccessful 2010 gubernatorial bid, finishing last in a four-way GOP primary ultimately won by Nikki Haley. Two years later, Bauer ran for Congress, losing a GOP runoff to eventual Rep. Tom Rice in South Carolina's newly created 7th District. Asked how much of his own money he would commit, Bauer declined to give a figure, saying he would 'put skin in the campaign' and looked forward to returning to the trail. 'I'm going to cover this state like the dew covers Dixie,' Bauer said. 'I think you're going to see a movement.' ___ Kinnard can be reached at Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
New York Post
21 minutes ago
- New York Post
The Democratic party we knew died the same way it lived – with fear and hate
Zohran Mamdani's primary win marks the end of the Democratic Party as we once knew it. Truth is, it was already dead. Democrats spent 10 years going to war on Donald Trump while also using him to scare their voters to the polls with endless crises. Advertisement With the media behind them, they didn't have to offer the people much of anything — they would vote blue no matter who, as long as Trump was on the other side. Now, as Trump rounds the bases of an extraordinary couple of weeks, with major wins at home and abroad, it should be starting to sink in that the Democrats have lost this war. Trump defeated them in the courts, on the border, in schools and in the minds and hearts of Americans. But Trump didn't destroy the Democratic Party. They did it all on their own by never offering voters something better, or anything at all but Trump hate. No apology Advertisement Mamdani stood apart by doing the unthinkable: He ran as an unapologetic Democratic Socialist. He seemed to arrive almost magically to sell Gen Z the dream. A showbiz nepo baby and former rapper, he was a whole lotta charisma waiting for his ticket to ride. Has the Democratic Party found its new leader? It's not really his policies that brought him victory so much as his revolutionary spirit — he's the living embodiment of the Summer of 2020. Advertisement The demographic he appeals to might herald a real revolution, considering it's the same one that backed Obama in 2008: upper-middle-class white college kids. Like Obama, Mamdani is cut from their same cloth. He hung out with them. He went to college with them. He was indoctrinated alongside them. He speaks their language. He knows their world. They'll follow him anywhere. Note the viral songs already hitting TikTok, where young women shake that groove thing as they chant his name. Advertisement Mamdani tapped into Indoctrination Nation, the Evergreen generation that believes America is a corrupt, 'white supremacist' empire crippled by capitalism — but could you please hand me my iPhone so I can make a TikTok? This generation came of age in a convenience culture that gave them everything they wanted when they wanted it — Uber, Netflix, abortion, DoorDash, Tinder, TikTok, ChatGPT. Why can't they have democratic socialism if they want it? No more playing it safe Because they don't really know what it means, and they don't care. This is a generation ready for the big moves, no more playing it safe. The Democrats should have listened to David Hogg, a harbinger of things to come. But Democrats old enough to know the history must be in a panic. They know why Hillary had to crush the Bernie Sanders movement like a bug. Party elders recall the bad old days, when they were undone by the Eugene McCarthy faction of the party, perceived as too extreme for the silent majority. They remember the catastrophic loss of George McGovern. They recall Jimmy Carter's malaise and how Uncle Teddy primaried him, ushering in 12 years of Reagan and Bush. Advertisement Playing it safe worked until it didn't. Now they'll have to play it bold with an army at the ready, the same army they funded and praised all through the Summer of 2020 to tank Trump. The Democratic Party has fallen, but not because it's been overrun by Islamic extremism. Republicans who take that easy bait will only help make Mamdani an even bigger star. No, it's because of all of us, a generation of helicopter moms who coddled the American mind and raised our kids to be overly fragile. We've given them high self-esteem on the oppressor/oppressed Girl Boss scale. We've allowed them to believe not in hard work or long hours or merit, but that we should be ranked on our race or our gender identity. Created a monster Advertisement What did we think that filling their heads with critical race and gender theory would do to their perceptions of themselves and their country? They've been raised to be intolerant, judgmental and totalitarian toward anyone who isn't fully on board with their fundamentalism. The Democrats will realize all too late what they helped build. They were only watching Trump and it's cost them everything — even their own survival. Sasha Stone is a writer, publisher and former Democrat. Adapted from the Sasha Stone Substack.
Fox News
23 minutes ago
- Fox News
Danish national wanted in Germany arrested after allegedly spying on Jewish targets for Iran
A Danish national was arrested in Denmark on allegations of gathering information on Jewish locations and people in Berlin for Iranian intelligence and will be extradited to Germany, German and Danish authorities announced Tuesday. The man, identified only as Ali S. under German privacy law, was arrested Thursday in the Danish city of Aarhus, according to German prosecutors. He was directed by an Iranian intelligence service earlier this year to gather information on "Jewish localities and specific Jewish individuals" in Berlin, prosecutors said. The suspect is accused of spying on three locations in June, presumably in preparation for further intelligence activities, including possible terrorist attacks on Jewish targets, prosecutors said. Iranian Ambassador to Germany Majid Nili Ahmadabadi was summoned to the German Foreign Ministry Tuesday. "If this suspicion were confirmed, it would be an outrageous incident that would once again demonstrate that Iran is a threat to Jews all over the world," German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said after visiting a Jewish synagogue in the Ukrainian city of Odesa during a visit to the country. The Iranian Embassy in Berlin denied the allegations as "unfounded and dangerous accusations" that it argued appeared to be an attempt to distract from recent Israeli attacks on Iran. "Previous discussions with relevant German authorities have already highlighted that certain third parties are attempting to divert public perceptions from the actual events through artificial staging," the embassy said in a statement. German security authorities stepped up protection for Jewish and Israeli sites in response to the 12-day war last month between Israel and Iran. During the conflict, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Germany was prepared for Iran to target Israeli or Jewish targets in the country. The suspect allegedly took photos of buildings, including the headquarters of the German-Israeli Society and a building where the President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, was believed to sometimes stay, according to Der Spiegel magazine. "The extended arms of Iranian terror must have no place in Germany," a statement from the German-Israeli Society said, calling on the European Union to list Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps as a terrorist organization. Schuster added that "the German government should not only remain vigilant but also take active political action against the Iranian regime. There can be no other consequence for this allegedly planned terrorist attack." Ali S. will be moved from Denmark to Germany, where he will be brought before an investigating judge of Germany's Federal Court of Justice, prosecutors said. The suspect was remanded in custody until July 23, pending extradition to Germany, according to Denmark's national security and intelligence service.
