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The House Ethics Committee and its subordinate Office of Congressional Ethics may be slow-walkinga decision on whether to open aninvestigation into whether two Democrats, Rep. Adam Schiff and Rep. Jackie Speier, both of California, disclosedclassified information when criticizing President Donald Trump.

The concern that the two House ethics agencies are unusuallytardy to advance their consideration of the matter strikes a large contrast withhow quickly they moved on a House Republican last month arguably over a smaller matter.

I fear Democrats are manipulating the process for partisan gain.

On March 22, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) spoke to the media about a discovery he made about incidental intelligence-gathering that affected President Donald Trumps transition team. Nunes said that not only the intel was gathered, but that federal officials unmasked Americans in their spying. Unmasking U.S.identities can only be done for specific, valid purposes andhas a high bar for approval.

It was a major news revelationthat enragedliberal pundits and Democratic lawmakers.

The discovery such intelligence had been collected, and unmasking was done, was a huge blow to Trumpscritics, who blasted the president for his March 4 tweets claiming that former President Barack Obama had wiretapped Trump Tower in Manhattan.

Nunes, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, traveled to the White House to brief Trump on what he found. He then gave a press conference outside the West Wing.

Liberal commentatorsand Democrats erupted after the revelations disrupted their narrative that Trump was unhinged to suggest the previous administration had been involved in surveillance of his team. Keith Olbermann, the oddball former MSNBC commentator now at GQ.com, went so far as to sayNunes should turn himself into the FBI, in one of the more unhinged reactions.

It was only a few weeks later, on April 6, that Nunes recused himself from the House Intelligence Committees work on Russia because the House Ethics Committee decided to investigate a complaint thatNunes may have confirmed the existence of classified information in a press conference. The GOP-led committee, chaired by U.S. Rep. Susan Brooks (R-Ind.), a moderate Republican, moved with unusual speed, and may have even decided to not wait for a recommendation from the Office of Congressional Ethics.

In total, about 15 days passed between Nunes press conference and an official opening of an investigation by the House Ethics Committee.

Nunes protested and said the charges were baseless. Nunes has said repeatedly that he did not break any rules on classified information in making his public statements. He remains chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

One of the complainants against Nunes was MoveOn.org, the famously left-wing organization, which has been trying to dog Trump. The complaintcentered on Nunes response when askedif the information he had seen was related to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Officials are not supposed to discuss FISA data. Nunes said he didnt know. That was neither a confirmation or a denial.

On the other hand, citing public remarks by Schiff and Speier, the right-leaning watchdog organization Judicial Watch filed a complaint (using hand delivery) to the Office of Congressional Ethics on April 13. That was four weeks ago.

The Office of Congressional Ethics is evenly balanced between Republicans and Democrats. Its board can recommend action, which would lead to a full-on investigation by the House Ethics Committee.

But because the process is confidential, it is hard to know if a case is proceeding.

Tom Fitton, the president of Judicial Watch, is so far willing to cut the office and the larger committee some slack.

I expect we will be hearing something soon, said Fitton, speaking to LifeZette on Thursday. I dont think the issue can be avoided, thats for sure.

At least one House Republican official is not happy with the pace. The Democrats in the office and on the House committee are simply not interested in looking into public comments by Schiff and Speier about classified information, the source told LifeZette, requesting anonymity.

Schiff and Speiers dilemma is far worse than that of Nunes, the source said.

Schiff, who loves talking to TV cameras, is accused of telling the liberal-leaning Brookings Institution on March 21 about a conversation that Trumps former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, had with the Russian ambassador. By talking about it, Judicial Watch claims, Schiff brokerules confirming classified data.

Speiers disclosure was more explicit. Judicial Watch cited an April 3 report by the Daily Caller, in which Speier said we do know the contents and context of the conversation between Flynn and the Russian ambassador. That is a textbook confirmation.

Both disclosures are said to be worse than what Nunes did, according to the House Republican source. But why Brooks, the House Ethics Committee and the office are hesitant to move with as much speed and vigor is anyones guess.

Republicans are also curious as to when Nunes case will be closed.

Fitton said if the ethics office and the House Ethics Committee dont act on Schiff and Speier, they will be seen as just another Establishment apparatus being used to get at Trump. There is also concern that Democrats are more keenly taking advantage ofthe process than the Republican majority.

I fear Democrats are manipulating the process for partisan gain, said Fitton.

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House Ethics Officials Move Slowly on Democrat Disclosures - LifeZette

Still searching for their first major electoral victory against President Trump, Democrats are pinning their hopes on a cowboy poet to channel the energy of the grass roots into winning a Montana seat that Republicans have held for two decades.

After losing a Kansas race, being forced into a runoff in Georgia and all but ignoring a South Carolina special election, Democrats need a marquee win somewhere to show that anti-Trump anger can translate into votes at the ballot box.

Enter Rob Quist, a 69-year-old guitar-toting political newcomer who is the Democratic nominee for the May 25 showdown with Republican Greg Gianforte for Montanas lone U.S. House seat.

Montanas special, maybe offers a little bit of an opportunity for [Democrats], because it is not as red as the Kansas 4th Congressional District. But nonetheless, Donald Trump won Montana by over 20 points, said Geoffrey Skelley, of the University of Virginia Center for Politics.

Four Republican-held seats in the U.S. House opened up this year after their occupants took jobs in the Trump administration. Each of them was in fairly red territory, but Democrats predicted that an anti-Trump surge would energize their base and give them chances to fill those vacancies.

However, a Republican has already won the Kansas election and is expected to win the South Carolina race, leaving the Montana and Georgia contests as Democrats best bets.

Republicans are not taking anything for granted.

Donald Trump Jr., the presidents son, campaigned with Mr. Gianforte on Thursday for the second time in a less than a month. Vice President Mike Pence is slated to campaign on Friday with the Republican businessman, who lost his bid for governor last year.

The Congressional Leadership Fund, a political action committee dedicated to defending House Republicans, has emptied $2 million into the race, funding attack ads casting Mr. Quist as more Nancy Pelosi than Montana. The National Republican Campaign Committee rolled out a television ad Thursday raising questions about the singer-songwriters financial history.

Rob Quist hired us to build a dance floor at his house, a man named Kraig says in the ad. After we completed the job, he stiffed us.

Tina Olechowski, a Quist spokeswoman, said the attacks show that the Democrat is gaining ground in the race.

The momentum is behind Rob Quist, with Montanans across the state supporting Rob as an independent voice who will protect Montanas public lands, fight for affordable health care and support tax cuts for small businesses and working families, not millionaires, Ms. Olechowski said.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has invested $600,000 into pro-Quist television ad buys and get-out-the-vote efforts, and populist Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont is slated to campaign with the Democrat this month.

Tightening polls

A Gravis poll shows that Mr. Quist has cut Mr. Gianfortes lead to 8 percentage points in a district that Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke won by 15 points in November. Mr. Zinke stepped down to become Mr. Trumps interior secretary.

Our grass-roots momentum is unstoppable, the Quist campaign said in one of a series of fundraising emails this week. Thats why D.C. Republicans are scrambling to stop us theyre terrified that were going to win this seat. So folks, lets deal them a defeat that they wont forget.

Mr. Sanders and other liberal activists are hoping national Democratic power brokers dont shortchange the race. They criticized the party for not putting more effort into the Kansas race last month, when Democrat James Thompson came within 7 percentage points of defeating Republican Ron Estes. Mr. Trump carried the district by 27 points in November.

Mr. Skelley said Georgia, where Democrat Jon Ossoff narrowly missed winning the race outright last month, is still the partys best shot but that their battles are all uphill. Democrats now are struggling to find a balance between keeping activists bullish while tempering expectations.

Most of the special elections are taking place in districts that Democrats would need absolutely everything and then some to go their way to actually win, Mr. Skelley said.

The special election in Montana will be the first since the House narrowly voted last week to repeal and replace Obamacare, which has added to the liberal outrage against Mr. Trump and his Republican allies on Capitol Hill.

The New York Times reported last week that Mr. Gianforte has sent mixed messages about the health care bill, telling donors in a private phone call that he was thankful for its approval in the House, while his aides said he would not have voted for the bill because he did not know what was in it.

Tom Perez, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, blasted out a fundraising email this week reminding voters that the last time Democrats held Montanas lone seat in the House was 20 years ago.

But in a couple of weeks, we have a chance to flip that seat from red to blue and elect someone who will represent Montana values in Congress standing up for working people, protecting affordable health care and Medicare, and demanding equality and fair treatment for all, Mr. Perez said.

Christy Setzer, a Democratic strategist, said both parties could walk away from the special election season with bragging rights.

In this case, everyone has reason for optimism: Republicans can take heart that Democrats havent yet outright won a new seat; Democrats can feel good about overperforming by double digits in deep-red states, Ms. Setzer said. These seats are the Everest of uphill climbs seats that Republicans won by 20 points which means that Democrats could go winless in special election season and still take back the House next year.

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Rob Quist, Montana candidate, gives Democrats hope for House seat - Washington Times

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In opposition to the then-pending Senate Bill 4, legislation that makes law enforcement officials in sanctuary jurisdictions subject to civil and criminal penalties if they ignore immigration detainers, Sheriff Hernandez joined with Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar, Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez, El Paso County Sheriff Richard Wiles, and Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, in an op-ed published in the Austin American-Statesman. PolitiFact looked into claims made by the sheriffs and rated their statement as Half-True. Politifact defines Half-True as The statement is partially accurate but leaves out important details or takes things out of context.

In my book, a half true for an open borders study from Politifact means it was definitely bogus, Center for Immigration Studies Director of Policy Studies Jessica Vaughn told Breitbart Texas on Wednesday evening.It means we would like it to be true but it wasnt.

After declaring the FBI report cited by the sheriffs of Texas five largest counties did not exist, PolitiFact went on to try and salvage their statement.

Travis County Spokesperson Kristen Dark told PolitiFact the sheriffs drew their claim from what the fact checkers dubbed a liberal public policy research and advocacy group, the Center for American Progress. That report claims that 2015 crime statistics in 608 sanctuary counties was significantly lower than in counties that were more frequently honoring immigration detainers. PolitiFact then challenged that report because it did not identify any counties. The reports author, University of California Political Scientist Tom K. Wong, responded to the fact checkers and cited a report from the San Francisco-based Immigrant Legal Resource Center. He also forwarded an alleged ICE spreadsheet he said identifies counties that do or do not accept immigration detainers.

The Center for Immigration studies identifies 300 jurisdictions as sanctuaries, according to Vaughan.

After analyzing all of the information they could find on the matter, the publication concluded Any implication the FBI reached this conclusion is wrong; the agency has not aired such findings. The fact checkers then backtracked one more time stating, Still, an outside analysis of 2015 FBI-collected crime statistics supports the idea that communities offering sanctuary to unauthorized residents have less total crime. Then again, thatanalysis didnt independently confirm the sanctuary status of each county nor did it fine-tune the crime statistics as much as criminologists would prefer before reaching cause-effect conclusions.

On balance, we find the sheriffs statement Half True, PolitiFact stated.

Bob Priceserves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter@BobPriceBBTXandFacebook.

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Democrat Texas Sheriffs Tell 'Half-Truth' About Crime in Sanctuary Cities, Says PolitiFact - Breitbart News

Joe Manchin, the Senates most conservative and Donald Trump-friendly Democrat, is facing a primary challenger. Paula Swearengin, a coal miners daughter and environmental activist, plans to run for the senators West Virginia seat in the 2018 Democratic primary election.

The Aftermath of James Comey's Dismissal

Manchin is now facing opponents from the left and the right. West Virginia Republican Representative Evan Jenkins announced on Monday that he will run against the senator in 2018. Manchin has supported most of presidents cabinet picks, and voted in line with the presidents agenda more often than notand more than any other Senate Democrat. That could help him win re-election in a state that Trump won by double digits in November, but it has also made Manchin a top target of the activist left at a time when progressives are calling for all-out opposition to the president.

Swearengin has the backing of Brand New Congress, a group formed by former Bernie Sanders campaign staffers and volunteers to support primary opponents against Democrats and Republicans in 2018. She also has the support of Justice Democrats, a group whose mission statement is to run congressional campaigns that lead to a progressive and un-bought congress in 2018 and WeWillReplaceYou.org, a group that says it is dedicated to challenging establishment Democrats unwilling to resist Trumps agenda.

Her platform calls for universal healthcare, free in-state public university tuition, and a multi-billion dollar investment in West Virginias economy. I plan to primary Joe Manchin in 2018, and Im asking you to stand with me, and hopefully, hopefully we can build a better tomorrow, she says in a video announcing her candidacy on Tuesday.

The primary challenge highlights a central tension in the Democratic Party as it seeks to rebuild after its 2016 presidential election loss. Manchins defenders argue that hes not only an invaluable member of the party, but the kind of lawmaker who can offer lessons to other Democrats hoping to win in red states. The senators critics, on the other hand, believe he represents a centrist-establishment-status quo that the party must reject in favor of a progressive-populist agenda. The race will also test how well a Sanders-style progressive candidate can do in a conservative state.

Manchin starts out with advantages that his primary challenger lacks. The senator is well known, has a proven ability to raise money, and a deep political network as well as the support of the Democratic establishment in both Washington and West Virginia.

Everybody knows who I am. The state knows me, Im branded pretty well, but I would never, ever discourage anybody from running, Manchin said in a brief interview in the Capitol when asked about the primary and general election challengers. The process is the process, its a wonderful process, and everybody can jump in, he said, but later added: You either run scared, or unopposed, so you always run tough, hard.

Its possible that a more left-leaning primary challenger could tap into the kind of grassroots fundraising that has benefited previously unknown candidates such as Democrat Jon Ossoff in Georgias sixth congressional district, who is believed to have set a record by raising more than $8.3 million in his race. Even if that happens, however, there are reasons to doubt whether a progressive candidate can succeed in West Virginia.

Though West Virginia was once a Democratic stronghold, the partys power has significantly eroded in recent years. The state currently has a Democratic governor, Jim Justice. But West Virginia voters have picked the Republican candidate in every presidential election since 2000. Republicans took control of the state legislature in 2014, seizing power from Democrats who had held a majority in both the state Senate and state House for over two decades. Jenkins, the Republican congressman challenging Manchin, used to be a Democrat until 2013 when he switched to the Republican Party.

Even West Virginia Democrats lean right. A majority of the people who voted in the states Democratic primary during the 2016 presidential election identified as either conservative or moderate. Only 17 percent identified as very liberal, while 28 percent described themselves as somewhat liberal, according to exit polling.

Sanders beat out Hillary Clinton during the West Virginia primary. In exit polling, however, a plurality of primary voters said the next president should pursue a less liberal policy agenda than former President Barack Obama, including 51 percent of people who voted for Sanders. Its possible that many voters who pulled the lever for Sanders did so as a rejection of Clinton.

I think that folks looking at the primary election results are drawing the wrong conclusion if they think that means that Joe Manchin is vulnerable to a challenge from his left, Mike Plante, a West Virginia Democratic strategist said. Bernie won, most of all, because he was not Hillary Clinton. He was the outsider, and he was anti-establishment. Plante added: West Virginia is not just a state leaning to the right. In actuality, it has become one of the reddest, red states.

Some West Virginia liberals believe, however, that the Democratic Party could win back ground it has lost in the state if it unapologetically embraced a progressive-populist agenda, instead of fielding conservative Democrats, like Manchin.

I believe Bernie Sanders agenda should be our partys platform in West Virginia. It is the only democratic platform that has had success here, said Chris Regan, the former vice chair for the West Virginia Democratic Party who endorsed Sanders during the primary. The way I see it you lose voters on both sides of the spectrum with the Manchin strategy. Youre trying to appeal to conservative voters, but they can just go and vote for a Republican, and at the same time you alienate progressive liberal voters.

Even if there is an opening for a populist economic message in West Virginia, however, that doesnt necessarily mean any candidate who runs in a mold similar to Sanders will succeed.

While Swearengin may not have much of a political profile in the state, she appears to have something of a reputation, or at the very least an online presence, as an environmental activist.

One video uploaded to YouTube shows Swearengin asking, Whos going to clean up the mess when coals gone? and saying: Fracking is not acceptable either. Her website states: The question we face today is: What are we going to do when the coal is gone? And make no mistake its going. No one has given us an answer that doesnt require the sacrifice of our health and our environment. I believe our future is in building a 21st-century, clean economy.

The coal industry is indeed under threat from market forces, the most prominent of which is the cheap cost of natural gas. The coal industrys decline, which Republicans have blamed on government regulations and a Democrat-waged war on coal, has lead to questions over what can be done to fill the economic void it has left behind.

That said, Democratic primary voters in the state wont necessarily be receptive to a message that its time to move on from the industry. In 2016, polling in West Virginias second congressional district found that 65 percent of Democratic primary voters believed that supporting coal jobs should be a major priority, according to Plante, the West Virginia Democratic strategist.

Plante added that polling in 2014 in the states first congressional district indicated that a majority of Democratic voters preferred a candidate who would promote West Virginias coal industry, and stand up to the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] to protect coal jobs, over a candidate who would move the state away from its reliance on coal and build a new future by creating a more diversified energy economy.

Coal is a cultural touchstone here, Regan said. To say that you are against it is seen as taking a stand against West Virginia itself. Its very much a part of the identity of the state. He added: I think a message of bringing back jobs, and bringing healthcare to everyone could be a winning progressive message in this state. But you cant be hostile to coal. That just paints you into a corner.

A primary challenge against Manchin could divide Democratic voters in West Virginia, and leave the senator more vulnerable to a general election challenge, even if he prevails in the primary. On the other hand, a progressive challenger to Manchin could work in his favor if it helps him remind a conservative electorate that hes no liberal.

The senator reportedly dared activists to try and unseat him during a conference call in February. What you ought to do is vote me out, the senator said, according to Politico. Im not changing. Find somebody else who can beat me and vote me out.

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West Virginia's Conservative Democrat Joe Manchin Gets a Primary ... - The Atlantic

In 1936, prior to German boxing champ Max Schmelings first fight with the up-and-coming Joe Louis, Max was watching a movie of Louis in the ring. I sink I see somesing! said the German. He noticed that Louis had a habit of lowering his left hand after a left jab.

That observation paid off big for Schmeling, who crashed across with a match-winning right-hand blow that rendered Louis unable to continue.

Now I sink I see somesing far more important than any boxing match.

I think I see a way for the Republicans to land a blow that will eviscerate the Democrats by causing massive defections in their ranks.

This bit of background explains why this idea chose me to connect with. I didnt meet my first Republican until the age of 25! But thats not amazing if you grew up in North Carolina in the era when Republicans were very rare.

The Democrats you met were fine, normal, wonderful people salt of the earth, oregano of the universe. They worked hard, played fair, attended church, supported the Boy- and the Girl Scouts and the Red Cross, went uncomplainingly to fight in World Wars, aided the poor and obeyed laws. The men didnt beat their wives and did not knowingly associate with those who did, and they lived praiseworthy lives keynoted by what we now call traditional values.

The lives of all those Democrats I grew up with were light-years away from todays Schumerites and Pelosicrats.

Wars have been won when military intelligence learns the enemy is weak around the middle. Thats Step-1 in divide-and-conquer. They may never think of it. They may not realize it. They may want to slap you or slug you if you bring it up. But never mind that.

The majority of those who call themselves Democrats may not be Democrats at all!

Theres a chasm separating those who run the Democrat machinery and the Democrats I grew up with. That chasm is wide and tempting.

The Republicans should get busy and find a polite way to ask the millions of Democratic voters, Are you sure youre still a Democrat?

The Republicans should then utilize the ways and means of letting most of them know theyre not!

Former Democratic presidents, like President John F. Kennedy, would not be allowed to speak at Democratic Conventions these days. Abortion! Contraceptives handed out to high school students! Government-run medicine! Fuhgeddaboudit!

Are you going to tell me theres a similarity of political DNA linking todays leading Democrats and the likes of Scoop Jackson, Hubert Humphrey, Harry Truman, Adlai Stevenson? Shake the tree of Democratic discontent and dodge all the nice falling fruit.

Theres no need for secrecy. Take the provable truths only theres no need to fabricate or exaggerate. Take those truths, put it all out there, spread it around and pound it home.

Are you sure youre still a Democrat? is the question. Reagan gave us a good quote, namely, I didnt leave the Democratic Party. The party left me! Then, using media, town halls, word of mouth, everything short of carrier pigeons, lay out, as comic Jimmy Durante used to say, da conditions dat prevail!

Hillary Clinton offers a nice contrast between the Democratic Party that once attracted them and todays conditions that prevail. The leading Democrats today apparently hate Trump more than they love Americans. Weve got every kind of falsification of government figures twisted to make the Obama crowd look not-so-bad. Weve even got falsification of temperature data to make climate change seem more plausible. Weve got Loretta Lynch and her sneaky airport visit with Bill Clinton. Weve got Debbie Wasserman Schultz greasing the skids for Hillary who, without the cheating, may well have lost the Democratic nomination to a socialist independent.

Weve got the attempted flood of Mideast refugees who could have been much better served by American support of safe zones. Weve got hostility against Israel (the only democracy between the Mediterranean Sea and the Pacific Ocean), plus Susan Ross, John Podestas emails alongside Hillarys, rock-solid obstruction of all Trump initiatives, breathtaking quotes from the DNC team of Perez and Ellison. One of our talking points can be just one word Chicago!

The Vietnam War could have ended much earlier if the arrogant peace movement in America, instead of denouncing those who joined them late, had taken the position of Welcome, Brother!

The GOP should praise the Democratic Party of old. And let this huge mass of Democrats-by-Amnesia know theyre not being attacked. Theyre being reminded. The Happy-Days-Are-Here-Again Democratic Party has tectonically shifted. Maybe millions of you would be more comfortable as Republicans today.

This initiative needs no funding, no meetings, no RNC committee approval.

Hey there, Brother. Theres a good possibility you belong with us!

Are you sure youre still a Democrat?

Asking people if theyre sure theyre what they most likely are is not a static absurdity. It once was unthinkable to ask someone, Are you sure youre female? No more! Rodney Dangerfield once said the most romantic thing a woman ever said to him in bed is Are you sure youre not a cop?

Its much nicer and possibly nation-saving to ask, Are you sure youre still a Democrat?

Media wishing to interview Barry Farber, please contact media@wnd.com.

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NOT YOUR FATHER'S PARTY - WND.com