Holiday cheer or political fear? Cancel culture hits the dinner table



One of my big takeaways from the 2024 presidential election is that allowing politics to consume your life — and relationships — is deeply unhealthy. The most rabid progressives in politics have been advising Kamala Harris supporters to cut off loved ones who voted for Donald Trump at the time of year when families should be coming together, not splitting apart.

MSNBC’s Joy Reid put out a video the week before Thanksgiving explaining why some people might not feel “safe” around their MAGA relatives. She also had a Yale psychiatrist on her show who said LGBTQ+ people should feel free to avoid conservative family members.

The worst thing anyone can do this holiday season is cut off family or friends over politics. We need stronger connections.

“So if you are going through a situation where you have family members or you have close friends who you know have voted in ways that are against you, that are against your livelihood, then it’s completely fine to not be around those people and to tell them why,” Reid said.

After the 2020 election, I don’t recall any conservative articles encouraging Republicans to cut ties with liberal family members after Joe Biden won the White House. Yet, political divorce stories have become a genre of their own in progressive post-election commentary.

One Huffington Post contributor announced she was canceling Thanksgiving and Christmas because her husband and his family voted for Trump. Similar stories of people distancing themselves from relatives over politics have appeared in USA Today and Newsweek. This trend is troubling, but it aligns perfectly with the modern left’s approach to personal relationships.

The recent election revealed the anti-family ideology increasingly prevalent in progressive politics. For instance, the “Your Vote, Your Choice” political ad narrated by Julia Roberts in late October targeted married white women. The ad seemed designed to make wives feel a stronger allegiance to the “sisterhood” than to their husbands.

It’s bad enough that Democrats openly try to sow discord within families and divide husbands and wives. What makes their tactics even more egregious is the party’s unwillingness to define the word “woman” publicly. Democrats avoid doing so out of fear of offending a small group of men who believe they were born in the wrong body.

Anti-family and anti-human rhetoric isn’t just another Democratic Party talking point; it reflects a larger societal problem.

Nearly 30% of Americans now identify as religiously unaffiliated “nones” when asked about their personal faith. However, this doesn’t mean they lack deeply held beliefs. Every religion offers its followers a moral framework for distinguishing good from evil, a sense of community, and a set of deeply held convictions.

Although America has become less religious in recent decades, people remain passionate about their beliefs. In fact, those willing to sever ties with family members and destroy lifelong friendships over politics often display more zeal than the candidates running for office.

Consider this contrast: Joe Biden recently met with Donald Trump to congratulate him and discuss the transition process. The two men shook hands in front of a blazing fireplace as photographers captured the moment. Yet, some people won’t even share a meal with their parents because they voted for Trump.

Cutting off family over politics is shortsighted and extreme, especially when candidates often trade insults and baseless accusations they likely don’t even believe themselves.

Americans should spend more time with loved ones and less time online, where partisan politics dominate. Technology may give the illusion of greater connection, but in reality, American society is becoming increasingly fragmented.

People are delaying marriage and parenthood until later in life — or skipping them altogether. Families sit together at the dinner table or in restaurants, staring at screens like zombies. The politicization of companies, sports, and entertainment has turned the products we buy and the teams we root for into battlegrounds in the culture wars.

Meanwhile, our most important institutions have weakened, while partisan politics has grown unchecked, like an athlete on a human growth hormone. This imbalance is not a sign of a healthy society.

The worst thing anyone can do this holiday season is cut off family or friends over politics. We need stronger connections with those who care about our well-being. Political parties see us as voters, but our family and friends see us as real people and love us despite our flaws. No one should put politics over personal relationships.

This holiday season, my hope is that families will gather to eat, drink, and celebrate together, regardless of their political preferences. Karl Marx famously said, “Religion is the opiate of the masses,” but the progressives urging people to cut ties with family members who voted for Donald Trump are a reminder that politics has become a religion for far too many Democrats today.

The Media Lied To Create Biden’s ‘Decency’ Illusion. Biden Himself Exposed It.

Joe Biden is only in a position to have pardoned his criminal son because the corrupt media lied about his fake decency.

'Your brain is broken': Dave Portnoy blasts Democrats as 'scumbag liars' after President Biden pardons son Hunter



Barstool Sports owner Dave Portnoy torched Democrats and their supporters after President Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter Biden.

Even though the Democrats and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre consistently stated in 2024 that the president wouldn't offer a pardon to his son, Biden issued a "full and unconditional" pardon on Sunday, despite the consistent claim by Democrats that "no one is above the law."

In a social media video, Portnoy played a clip of Jean-Pierre repeatedly saying "no" to the idea of President Biden pardoning Hunter, before laying into the party and its supporters.

"What's he do? Of course, he pardons him. Of course he does. Not only that. It's for 11 years. So anything he could have possibly done in the history of time, he is pardoned for," Portnoy claimed.

While he admitted he would do the same if it were one of his family members, Portnoy said he wouldn't "lie about it."

The 47-year-old went on to say that those supporting Democrats, while still believing they're "morally superior to everybody else," have had their brains broken by the party's messaging.

"They always [say] 'yeah. Trump. Trump.' Your brain is broken! Your brain is broken! You don't get it. Because here's the thing. What the Democrats have done for, I don't know, 12 years, taken this moral high ground that 'we're the righteous party, the truth, honesty, integrity, and Trump is a threat to the markets.'"

Portnoy recalled Trump being referred to as Adolf Hitler and a Nazi despite Democrats doing "worse than anything Trump's ever done." He directly referred to the lack of a primary process by Democrats before nominating Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024.

'You're no morally better than anybody else. Stop pretending it. We see through you.'

Portnoy recently stated that DNC policy and the party's consistent lies were what inspired him to vote for Trump over Harris. Furthermore, he noted that he had been targeted by leftists since he interviewed then-President Trump in 2020.

"It's the Democrats, this engine, just lying straight to our face, pretending they're the moral, righteous authority and thinking the American people are so stupid that we don't see through it. Blow up the Democratic Party," Portnoy said.

Calling for a complete wash of the party's leadership, Portnoy called the Democrats "f***ing scumbag liars" who sit on a "throne of lies."

"You're no morally better than anybody else. Stop pretending it. We see through you," Portnoy added.

The entrepreneur said he hoped to be done with political rants for the time being and ended his monologue by begging Democrats to "just give up."

"Start over. We'll see you the next election."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

WATCH: 'It's Still a No, It Will Be a No': All the Times the White House Said Biden Wouldn't Pardon Hunter

As far back as last July and as recently as last month, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said President Joe Biden wouldn't pardon his son. On Sunday, Biden did just that.

The post WATCH: 'It's Still a No, It Will Be a No': All the Times the White House Said Biden Wouldn't Pardon Hunter appeared first on .

Democratic strategist begs Kamala Harris not to run again



Kamala Harris' first attempt to secure the White House was a colossal failure. While struggling to break out of the single digits in early state polls, Harris learned that a majority of Democrats in her home state of California wanted her to call it quits. She obliged them in December 2019. Years later, she supplanted the candidate who single-handedly salvaged her career only to suffer an even more humiliating defeat, burning through over $1.5 billion for the privilege of losing in the Electoral College by a landslide.

Apparently, the 60-year-old leftist thinks the next time might be different and has signaled an interest in trying again. On Tuesday, Democratic strategist Theryn Bond begged the vice president to throw in the towel on her presidential ambitions.

Last week, a Morning Consult survey indicated that 43% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents would now vote for Harris in a presidential primary of the kind effectively voided by the party earlier this year. A recent Echelon Insights snap poll indicated that 41% of respondents would vote for Harris in a Democratic primary held today.

'Please don't.'

Politico reported Monday that Harris, likely aware that a great many Democrats are willing to overlook her repeated failures, "has been instructing advisers and allies to keep her options open — whether for a possible 2028 presidential run, or even to run for governor in her home state of California in two years."

Harris has repeatedly told reporters, "I am staying in the fight."

Five individuals in the vice president's inner circle who spoke to Politico on the condition of anonymity suggested that Harris will think over her political options with family members over the Christmas season.

On Tuesday, within hours of Democrats releasing a bizarre and widely ridiculed video of Harris, Theryn Bond urged the vice president on Newsmax's "National Report" "not to run again in 2028. Please don't."

'If they're dumb enough to run her again, I can't wait.'

"I can't really speak for governor of California. Californians seem to support her significantly. We haven't yet been able to measure what that support looks like after this current run she just had," said Bond.

The Democratic strategist suggested that a gubernatorial bid might "make sense for her to consider, but another shot at the presidency — I hope she doesn't. And if she is relying on those same advisers that advised her this cycle, that's not who I would listen to."

Conservative political strategist Luke Ball largely agreed with Bond's assessment, noting that in California, Harris would have "high name ID, but if she ran anywhere else in the country, I don't think she'd be able to get elected to dog catcher."

Conservative filmmaker Robby Starbuck noted, "Wow. This Echelon poll asked Democrats who they'd vote for in the 2028 Presidential primary and 41% said Kamala Harris. If they're dumb enough to run her again, I can't wait."

Conservative commentator Michael Knowles said that Harris, "who lost in a massive landslide, who allowed the Republican to win the popular vote for the first time in 20 years — the Republican who we had all been told was Hitler incarnate, who was running for an implausible nonconsecutive second term — that woman wants to run again in 2028? I strongly encourage this. I might donate to the Kamala primary campaign."

A Democratic strategist granted anonymity by Politico said, "I can't conceivably imagine the party turning to her a second time."

Speculation now abounds about the possibility that another failed Democratic presidential candidate might try her luck again in 2028.

After the the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported Wednesday that Bill and Hillary Clinton will give speeches in Little Rock in December to help mark the Clinton Presidential Center's 20th anniversary, senior Trump adviser Jason Miller responded, "SHE'S RUNNING!"

"Just when I thought I couldn't be more thankful," tweeted Donald Trump Jr.

Elon Musk replied to the prospect of a third Clinton campaign with a laughing emoji.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Democrat Activists Exploit Tragic Miscarriages Like Mine To Sell Abortions

Unlike miscarriage, abortion directly and intentionally kills an innocent child who is living, growing, and developing.

This November, voters chose price tag over awkward conversation



Discussing politics on Thanksgiving is a tradition that many of us could live without but can’t seem to get away from. It’s especially poignant every four years after the tidal shifts accompanying presidential elections. This year, we saw remarkable outcomes, most notably that voters prioritized bringing down the cost of their Thanksgiving meal over bringing the family together for a civil conversation.

OK, that is an oversimplification, but let’s take a look at the numbers.

Clearly, voters were less concerned about civility than they were about costs.

The two of us, a Republican and a Democrat, have been conducting polling together around civility in our political discourse for decades. For the last five years, we’ve partnered with the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service to dive into just what this means for the state of our politics. We conducted our most recent poll of 800 likely voters right after the outcomes of the 2024 elections. We asked voters which candidate they believed ran a more divisive campaign, who messaged the ability to get things done more effectively, which candidate they thought represented their shared values the best, and much more.

We learned that many voters found Vice President Harris to be someone who is a unifier and ran a less negative campaign as opposed to President Trump, but President Trump had advantages in key areas that propelled him over the top. He was able to effectively message himself as the candidate who addressed the kitchen table issues that most stood out to voters. We’ve seen in exit poll after exit poll that the economy was the issue most on people’s minds on Election Day, and when you look at our findings, you see a pattern that reflects Trump’s win.

When voters were asked, “Which candidate is talking to you about this issue?” we see some of the dynamics in the race represented. Vice President Harris outperformed President Trump in addressing abortion, protecting democracy, sharing my values, and caring about people like me. Fifty-two percent found that Vice President Harris was the candidate who better messaged bringing the country together.

Conversely, voters found that President Trump more effectively talked about the economy, inflation, and immigration, and a majority thought he would be better at getting things done, but most do not expect him to be a unifier in the White House.

Clearly, voters were less concerned about civility than they were about costs. The overall outcome has surprisingly resulted in a drop in political tensions based on the measure we have used for the last five years — largely driven by Republicans who are feeling relief after Election Day.

We measure tension by asking folks where they feel the country is on a scale of one to 100, with one being no division at all and 100 being civil war. We saw a four-point drop since our last poll in March from 70 to 66, the lowest mark in the last five years that we have done this poll. Division scores are highest among Democrats at 70, while independents are at about the total sample’s mean (66) and Republicans see the least division (61). These scores reflect a significant 14-point drop for Republicans, specifically from March, with independents remaining largely the same and Democrats seeing a small, two-point uptick.

Of particular note is the hope respondents share about a brighter future and the possibilities of collaboration between the parties. Despite President Trump’s “trifecta" control, 95% of those polled agreed with the statement, “I want President Trump, Republicans in Congress, and Democrats in Congress to work together to solve the major problems facing this country.” Also, 82% of respondents agreed, “It will be good for the country if President Trump and Congress compromise to find solutions even if this means I will not always get everything I want.”

In what could be a reflection of these hopes, when asked how much division they expect in the country a year from now, respondents predicted a 61 out of 100, a more than 12-point decrease led largely by Republicans in projected division from September 2023.

So how does this impact your Thanksgiving meal this year? Prices are projected to drop this year, pretty significantly, dropping nearly $10 compared to this time last year, when the average cost for a Thanksgiving meal was $67.84, all the way to $58.08. Your Republican relative might take a minute to brag that this is the market reacting to President Trump’s win, but your Democrat relative might say that it’s a sign that Bidenomics is working and the country went down the wrong path on Election Day.

Either way, we know that politics will be debated this Thanksgiving in many homes across the country. We only hope that it’s a little more civil this time around.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published by RealClearPolitics and made available via RealClearWire.