This retired Oregon attorney first learned of the concept of “lawfare” in 2014 when Oregon Democrats created a “crime” with which to remove an elected judge from the bench.
I respect the sentiment of this article here, but we must not let our emotions control our behavior. Pursuing lawfare against Democrats would be mostly an exhausting waste of our time and money, something that we absolutely cannot afford. Lawsuits are very expensive, they tend to require years to conduct, they often end in failure to convict, and even upon conviction they are frequently overturned on appeal. While all this is underway, Democrats remain in office. Even if we put them away, they are then replaced with other Democrats.
Revenge is really a bad strategy. For example in Minnesota we ran a revenge candidate for governor in 2022. On our side was Scott Jensen, a really competent doctor who was justifiably enraged at our Governor Walz, who had locked down Minnesota in the same manner as other Democrat tyrant governors. The race wasn't even close; Jensen lost approximately 52%-44%. Several other revenge candidates, fully justified in their sentiments, also lost lesser races here. Republicans must understand that the general public is not hip to our causes. Most people aren't very bright. You have to promise them something or they'll turn you off. They don't understand what Democrats did to them during COVID, they don't understand the forces that installed Joe Biden in 2020, and they certainly don't understand lawfare. I wish more Republicans would realize that most of the voting public is attending boxing matches and watching Jerry Springer reruns.
We should have ONLY ONE PURPOSE, which is to remove as many Democrats from office as possible. We should drop our delusions that we are going to win statewide offices in blue states. We should use the same bottom-up approach that Democrats use so successfully: determine which lower-level offices in swing districts are winnable, and win them. Build power from the ground up. Build the ecosystem that will support bigger candidates for bigger offices later. Appeal to the baser instincts of the not-so-bright voters. Do everything systematically and logically. Anything else, any other distraction, is a losing proposition. Remember: the REAL revenge is winning.
This is NOT a revenge strategy. This is using DEMOCRAT tactics against them in the hopes they will stop using lawfare against us. If not, they WILL continue torturing Republicans, Christians, etc by using the courts. It has been quite successful so far. Did you read what they did to Judge Day, in the footnote of my article?
I use the term "revenge" to describe any action we might take that is induced by attacks from our enemies, particularly any action that we would not otherwise have pursued. For example in Minnesota, Dr. Scott Jensen would never even have contemplated running for governor had it not been for our Democrat governor's COVID-lockdown actions. Several other candidates for lesser office in Minnesota, formerly non-political people, ran for office because our beloved Guv had shut their businesses down. Not one was successful.
I understand your point about threatening them with their own medicine, but I believe that they are totally off the rails, and that nothing will stop them. We are dealing here with people who go on record claiming that "trans women are real women". Why should we expect them to respond rationally to threats? If anything, they might become even more rabid. I do not expect sane behaviors from bona-fide lunatics.
More broadly, I should say that we should not allow Democrats to divert us away from our core activity. Our core activity at ALL TIMES must be to SYSTEMATICALLY AND RATIONALLY REMOVE DEMOCRATS FROM OFFICE. Until we render them powerless in all matters, the insanity will continue.
In some states, state bars can have some (frequently abused) power stripped away by the state legislature. The Texas GOP and Libertarians are increasingly getting behind such a reform movement, as these platform planks help shows:
News of the ongoing lawfare has added fuel to the movement, fortunately. We are blessed to have activist journalists like Diane Gruber who help raise awareness.
Some folks retire after they retire. Diane rebooted and reloaded. Hopefully she'll see fit to continue making a difference and helping folks learn more about what they can try to help improve in our states and countries. I say countries because Oregon (Greater Idaho), New Hampshire (Nhexit), Texas (Texit) and other U.S. states are becoming increasingly fed up with pouring their hard-earned tax dollars down a federal sinkhole: http://www.USDebtClock.org . Stay tuned, folks. The feds are increasingly financially bankrupt and they'll get more and more reckless as their financial desperation inevitably grows. Many federal retirees want to keep their lavi$h pensions, and they'll blackmail others in the federal gubmint if they don't keep feeding the elitist federal retirees what they demand. What could possibly go wrong for the feds especially as Donald Trump increasingly promises to reign in the administrative state? Plenty.
I remember what the Democrats did to Judge Vance Day. It was reprehensible and despicable. But before Judge Day was lynched with lawfare, Oregon’s persistent and successful tax fighter, Bill Sizemore and his wife, Cindy were taken down by the Democrat-owned Oregon state courts for not paying their personal income taxes. Recall, Sizemore had twice succeeded in getting Oregon’s property taxes lowered with property tax initiatives passed by the people. In 2011, the state got him. It was the classic lawfare play — plead guilty to tax evasion and go to prison, or we’ll bankrupt you and your wife and imprison both of you. Mr. Sizemore took the plea, and a 30-day prison sentence, which kept his wife out of prison. Both the Day and Sizemore cases are heartbreaking. Good, honest, hardworking, God-fearing American families doing what they thought was best for their friends and fellow Oregonians were broken by Democrat lawfare. These two cases, Sizemore in 2011, and Judge Day in 2014, may well be the genesis of Democrat lawfare.
I vaguely remember the take down of Sizemore. He was a familiar figure in Oregon politics starting in the 80s? Or, was it the 90s? I did not recognize it as lawfare then, BUT Day's persecution certainly was. I emailed him in 2019 when I was writing for another blog, and asked him why he did not file a lawsuit against the prosecutors for Prosecutorial Malfeasance. He said four years was all his family could stand. He did not want to drag out litigation any further. BTW, check out his YouTube interview right after the case was dismissed. I linked it in the footnote of this article. You won't believe his attitude. I would be screaming mad!!!
I respect the sentiment of this article here, but we must not let our emotions control our behavior. Pursuing lawfare against Democrats would be mostly an exhausting waste of our time and money, something that we absolutely cannot afford. Lawsuits are very expensive, they tend to require years to conduct, they often end in failure to convict, and even upon conviction they are frequently overturned on appeal. While all this is underway, Democrats remain in office. Even if we put them away, they are then replaced with other Democrats.
Revenge is really a bad strategy. For example in Minnesota we ran a revenge candidate for governor in 2022. On our side was Scott Jensen, a really competent doctor who was justifiably enraged at our Governor Walz, who had locked down Minnesota in the same manner as other Democrat tyrant governors. The race wasn't even close; Jensen lost approximately 52%-44%. Several other revenge candidates, fully justified in their sentiments, also lost lesser races here. Republicans must understand that the general public is not hip to our causes. Most people aren't very bright. You have to promise them something or they'll turn you off. They don't understand what Democrats did to them during COVID, they don't understand the forces that installed Joe Biden in 2020, and they certainly don't understand lawfare. I wish more Republicans would realize that most of the voting public is attending boxing matches and watching Jerry Springer reruns.
We should have ONLY ONE PURPOSE, which is to remove as many Democrats from office as possible. We should drop our delusions that we are going to win statewide offices in blue states. We should use the same bottom-up approach that Democrats use so successfully: determine which lower-level offices in swing districts are winnable, and win them. Build power from the ground up. Build the ecosystem that will support bigger candidates for bigger offices later. Appeal to the baser instincts of the not-so-bright voters. Do everything systematically and logically. Anything else, any other distraction, is a losing proposition. Remember: the REAL revenge is winning.
This is NOT a revenge strategy. This is using DEMOCRAT tactics against them in the hopes they will stop using lawfare against us. If not, they WILL continue torturing Republicans, Christians, etc by using the courts. It has been quite successful so far. Did you read what they did to Judge Day, in the footnote of my article?
I use the term "revenge" to describe any action we might take that is induced by attacks from our enemies, particularly any action that we would not otherwise have pursued. For example in Minnesota, Dr. Scott Jensen would never even have contemplated running for governor had it not been for our Democrat governor's COVID-lockdown actions. Several other candidates for lesser office in Minnesota, formerly non-political people, ran for office because our beloved Guv had shut their businesses down. Not one was successful.
I understand your point about threatening them with their own medicine, but I believe that they are totally off the rails, and that nothing will stop them. We are dealing here with people who go on record claiming that "trans women are real women". Why should we expect them to respond rationally to threats? If anything, they might become even more rabid. I do not expect sane behaviors from bona-fide lunatics.
More broadly, I should say that we should not allow Democrats to divert us away from our core activity. Our core activity at ALL TIMES must be to SYSTEMATICALLY AND RATIONALLY REMOVE DEMOCRATS FROM OFFICE. Until we render them powerless in all matters, the insanity will continue.
You might be inspired by this ongoing multistate litigation, then. Diane's been at the forefront of it: http://www.TexasBarSunset.com/Janus .
Lawfare has been substantial, nationwide, against attorneys who represent conservatives and conservative causes:
https://x.com/texasbarsunset
In some states, state bars can have some (frequently abused) power stripped away by the state legislature. The Texas GOP and Libertarians are increasingly getting behind such a reform movement, as these platform planks help shows:
http://www.TexasBarSunset.com/platforms
There is much to reform: http://www.TexasBarSunset.com/reforms
News of the ongoing lawfare has added fuel to the movement, fortunately. We are blessed to have activist journalists like Diane Gruber who help raise awareness.
Ongoing multistate litigation is underway, as well. Diane's been at the forefront of it, in fact: http://www.TexasBarSunset.com/Janus .
Some folks retire after they retire. Diane rebooted and reloaded. Hopefully she'll see fit to continue making a difference and helping folks learn more about what they can try to help improve in our states and countries. I say countries because Oregon (Greater Idaho), New Hampshire (Nhexit), Texas (Texit) and other U.S. states are becoming increasingly fed up with pouring their hard-earned tax dollars down a federal sinkhole: http://www.USDebtClock.org . Stay tuned, folks. The feds are increasingly financially bankrupt and they'll get more and more reckless as their financial desperation inevitably grows. Many federal retirees want to keep their lavi$h pensions, and they'll blackmail others in the federal gubmint if they don't keep feeding the elitist federal retirees what they demand. What could possibly go wrong for the feds especially as Donald Trump increasingly promises to reign in the administrative state? Plenty.
I remember what the Democrats did to Judge Vance Day. It was reprehensible and despicable. But before Judge Day was lynched with lawfare, Oregon’s persistent and successful tax fighter, Bill Sizemore and his wife, Cindy were taken down by the Democrat-owned Oregon state courts for not paying their personal income taxes. Recall, Sizemore had twice succeeded in getting Oregon’s property taxes lowered with property tax initiatives passed by the people. In 2011, the state got him. It was the classic lawfare play — plead guilty to tax evasion and go to prison, or we’ll bankrupt you and your wife and imprison both of you. Mr. Sizemore took the plea, and a 30-day prison sentence, which kept his wife out of prison. Both the Day and Sizemore cases are heartbreaking. Good, honest, hardworking, God-fearing American families doing what they thought was best for their friends and fellow Oregonians were broken by Democrat lawfare. These two cases, Sizemore in 2011, and Judge Day in 2014, may well be the genesis of Democrat lawfare.
I vaguely remember the take down of Sizemore. He was a familiar figure in Oregon politics starting in the 80s? Or, was it the 90s? I did not recognize it as lawfare then, BUT Day's persecution certainly was. I emailed him in 2019 when I was writing for another blog, and asked him why he did not file a lawsuit against the prosecutors for Prosecutorial Malfeasance. He said four years was all his family could stand. He did not want to drag out litigation any further. BTW, check out his YouTube interview right after the case was dismissed. I linked it in the footnote of this article. You won't believe his attitude. I would be screaming mad!!!