The Patriot Post® · Thursday Short Cuts

Observations: “Contrary to the Democrats’ story, regurgitated in Schiff’s report, there is no contradiction in believing both that Russia hacked to harm Democrats and that Ukraine meddled to harm Trump.” —Andrew McCarthy

For the record: “A new Economist/YouGov poll … asks Americans the question: ‘Are you better off now than you were four years ago?’ Among registered voters, 50% say yes and just 32% say no, while 17% say they’re not sure. Even among the President’s opponents there is some acknowledgment of progress in the Trump era.” —James Freeman

Upright I: “I get it. You’re mad. The president’s mad. My Republican friends are mad. My Democratic friends are mad. My wife is mad. My kids are mad. Even my dog seems mad and Luna is a golden-doodle and they don’t get mad. So, we’re all mad. Where has it taken us? Will a slipshod impeachment make us less mad or will it only give an invitation for the madness to follow in every future administration? That is why this is wrong.” —George Washington University Law Professor Jonathan Turley

Upright II: “I am concerned about lowering impeachment standards to fit a paucity of evidence and an abundance of anger. If the House proceeds solely on the Ukrainian allegations, this impeachment would stand out among modern impeachments as the shortest proceeding, with the thinnest evidentiary record, and the narrowest grounds ever used to impeach a president. That does not bode well for future presidents who are working in a country often sharply and, at times, bitterly divided.” —Jonathan Turley

Upright III: “I’m not a supporter of President Trump. I voted against him. My personal and political views of President Trump are irrelevant to my impeachment testimony, as they should be to your impeachment vote. As I have previously written, such misuses of impeachment would convert our process into a type of no-confidence vote of Parliament. Impeachment has become an impulse buy item in our raging political environment.” —Jonathan Turley

Nope: “My campaign is evolving the same way President Obama’s did.” —Sen. Cory Booker

World’s smallest violin: “You know, I went to the inauguration of Donald Trump, which was one of the hardest days of my life, to be honest. Obviously, I was crushed, I was disappointed, and I was really surprised because I couldn’t figure out what had happened.” —Hillary Clinton

Gender dysphoria? “Well, contrary to what you may hear, I actually like men.” —Hillary Clinton

Non compos mentis: “I was personally surprised at how popular Reagan is in the Soviet Union.” —Bernie Sanders in the 1980s

And last… “The Democrats’ major complaint against Trump is that he has abused his power, yet everything they’re doing is abusive of their power. They have handled this so poorly, they have concealed their true intentions so ineptly, that they are going to be in worse electoral trouble.” —David Limbaugh