Tea at Trianon: And Do Not Split the Vote

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Thursday, September 24, 2026

And Do Not Split the Vote

From Tierney's Real News:

Voting third-party (Libertarian, independent, or any other) in a tight race does nothing but help Democrats win. In America’s winner-take-all system it functions as a split of the conservative vote. Those ballots come disproportionately from voters who would otherwise support the Republican.
Those of you who have followed me for years know that I despise the Koch Libertarians and the fake influencers for this very reason. They are a greater danger to America than the Democrats. Why? Because their entire purpose is to fool conservatives into voting for 3rd party candidates in the name of Liberty. They convince good conservatives and Christians to waste a conservative vote on a Koch Libertarian or "Freedom” candidate.
What does this do? It takes votes away from Republicans so that Democrats win, every time! In most states, let’s say that roughly 51% of the population is conservative, 49% liberal. If the Koch Libertarians can convince just 3% of the population to vote Libertarian or independent - the end result looks like this: Democrats 49%, Republicans 48%, Libertarian 3%. DEMOCRATS WIN. EVERY TIME.
3rd party ringers (Libertarians & Independents) ALWAYS HELP DEMOCRATS win. That's how Bill Clinton, a Democrat, won the presidency with only 43% of the vote - because Ross Perot took HALF THE CONSERVATIVE vote and helped the Democrats win in 1992!
The Kochs saw how successful this approach was to flip the country BLUE and have been running with it ever since.
If you want conservatives to govern, vote Republican and MAGA - not third party. Otherwise you’re just helping the Democrats win. (Read more.)