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Author: Mike LaChance

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Mike LaChance

Mike LaChance has been covering higher education and politics for Legal Insurrection since 2012. He has also written for American Lookout, Townhall, and Twitchy.

Since 2008 he has contributed work to the Daily Caller, Breitbart, Gateway Pundit, the Center for Security Policy, the Washington Free Beacon, and Ricochet.

Mike is a Generation X, New England lifer who describes his political views as conservative and libertarian.

You can find him on Twitter @MikeLaChance33

Posted by Mike LaChance on May 18, 2014 9 Comments
Republican Lee Zeldin is running for congress in New York and is an Iraq War veteran. That didn't stop the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee from accusing Zeldin of being a coward. Alex Pappas of the Daily Caller reported:
In a post on its website, the campaign arm of the House Democrats is asking whether Republican Lee Zeldin is being cowardly about Republican Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget. “Over a month after his House Republicans passed Paul Ryan’s reckless budget, Congressional Candidate Lee Zeldin is still too scared to admit how he would vote for the plan, even though he wants Long Islanders to send him to Congress,” the DCCC said in a release. “Even though every member of Congress had no choice but to vote yes or no weeks ago, what’s taking him so long to decide? There’s only one answer: Zeldin is either woefully uninformed, willfully ignorant or a coward.”
Zeldin responded on FOX News. Comments and video via NewsBusters:
Well, you have some liberal Democrat hack who is hiding behind his Twitter account, stuffs his face with cheese doodles, sending out press releases on DCCC letterhead, shameful attacks. And the fact is Nancy Pelosi, Steve Israel, Tim Bishop, they've never served a day, and I think when I was sitting at the door on that Blackhawk and the drill master hits the back of your head, and you do what's so unnatural, jumping out with your parachute, here you are, fast forward to today and you have these Democratic hacks out of Washington who want to change the subject and fling insults, saying that I'm a coward. It just doesn't fit.
Here's the video: Democrats now are retreating from the claim, as reported at Newsday:

Posted by Mike LaChance on May 18, 2014 21 Comments
After New York State passed the "SAFE Act" gun control law, there were fears that Remington Arms, a major employer in the economically depressed upstate area would leave. Slowly, that appears to be happening.  First, Remington announced it was opening a plant in Alabama, for future expansion.  But politicians assured us that the jobs in Upstate were safe. Now we learn that Remington is moving two production lines out of New York to Alabama, and the jobs are going with them. The Buffalo News reports...
Remington to move production of two gun lines from New York to Alabama Nearly 200 years after Eliphalet Remington II forged his first rifle in Ilion, residents of the small central New York village are getting the bad news they have feared for more than a year: Remington Arms is moving production of two of its gun lines to Alabama. While the company did not announce the outright closing of the facility that has been home to Remington since 1816, gun rights advocates said that day is now likely moving closer and they blame the state’s 2013 NY SAFE Act gun control law. “This could very well be the beginning of the end of Ilion,’’ said Tom King, president of the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, the state chapter for the National Rifle Association.
Syracuse.com is reporting that even if workers want to move, there's no guarantee they can keep their jobs...

Posted by Mike LaChance on May 17, 2014 7 Comments
A better question might be should Dr. Ben Carson run for president? It's no secret that Dr. Carson enjoys tremendous support from American conservatives. When he spoke at CPAC in March of this year, the audience was sprinkled with signs which read "Run Ben, Run" but that doesn't necessarily form the basis of a campaign. Then again, maybe it does. Fred Barnes of the Weekly Standard recently reported...
Ben Carson Moves Toward Presidential Run Ben Carson is warming to the idea of running for president. Since the famous brain surgeon retired last year from Johns Hopkins Hospital, he’s been speaking around the country to enthusiastic audiences. And they’ve affected his thinking about seeking national office. “Over the years, there have been many attempts to get me to throw my hat in the political arena,” Carson writes in his new book, One Nation: What We Can All Do to Save America’s Future. “I have been offered support from around the country and tremendous financial resources if I decide to run for national office. But I have not felt the call to run.”
Ramesh Ponnuru offered a counterpoint at Bloomberg News...

Posted by Mike LaChance on May 17, 2014 20 Comments
Much has already been written about the Satanic black mass which was supposed to take place at Harvard last week but I feel MSNBC's recent participation in the story warrants one more post on the subject. In the video below, MSNBC's Chris Hayes attempts to make some moral equivalency between Satanism, Christianity, freedom of speech and freedom of religion. What he fails to understand and neglects to adequately explain to his handful of viewers is that the outrage over the Harvard black mass wasn't an attempt to squelch the religious rights of Satanists as much as it was recognition of extremely poor taste on Harvard's part. Whether you like the school or not, Harvard is one of the nation's most prestigious institutions of higher learning and is therefore held to a higher standard. In short, people expect better from Harvard. As a spiritual entity, Satanism would not exist without Christianity. The very central premise of Satanism is the rejection and mockery of Christianity, which explains why a host on MSNBC would rush to defend it. One has to wonder if MSNBC would defend free speech and freedom of religion if a group of Harvard students decided to burn a Koran on campus. Jim Geraghty of National Review recently noted the irony...
Dear Harvard Satanists: Go to Hell. I Hear You’re a Fan of the Management:

Posted by Mike LaChance on May 17, 2014 7 Comments

Checking your privilege is all the rage on college campuses these days. Harvard’s Freshmen May Be Forced into ‘Check Your Privilege’ Training College Theater Production Features “White Privilege” Blame Game Funding for Cornell Student Groups Depends on ‘Diversity and Inclusion Plan’ Of course, if you don't want to check...

Posted by Mike LaChance on May 11, 2014 19 Comments
We have covered Migroaggression Mania before, 2014 – Year of the Microaggression. It's no secret that MTV leans left but a new PSA from the channel aimed at young people clearly plays into the left's everyone-is-racist-and-sexist meme. Truth Revolt, for which Ben Shapiro serves as editor, recently noted that MTV partnered with organizations such as CAIR and the Southern Poverty Law Center to create the ad...
MTV Launches Project to Fight 'Hidden Bias' Among Millenials On Thursday, MTV announced that it would be launching a “Look Different” initiative designed to uncover “hidden racial, gender and anti-LGBT bias.” MTV will be creating a documentary on Millenials’ perceptions of race and fairness temporarily titled “Untitled Whiteness Project,” a public service announcement series, an “Implicit Bias Quiz” and a week-long “Racial Bias Cleanse” program to help re-educate young Americans about their bias. The campaign will be co-sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League, the National Partnership for Women & Families, The Trevor Project, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, National Council of La Raza, and the NAACP, among others.

Posted by Mike LaChance on May 11, 2014 11 Comments
Legal Insurrection readers are likely familiar with the harassment of Scott Walker supporters in Wisconsin. George Will addressed the issue with some follow up in his column this week...
Wis. prosecutors abuse the law for partisan ends U.S. District Judge Rudolph T. Randa, revolted by the police-state arrogance of some elected prosecutors, has stopped a partisan abuse of law enforcement that was masquerading as political hygiene. Last Tuesday, Randa halted the corruption being committed by people pretending to administer campaign regulations — regulations ostensibly enacted to prevent corruption or the appearance thereof. The prosecutors’ cynical manipulation of Wisconsin’s campaign laws is more than the mere appearance of corruption. Eric O’Keefe’s refusal to be intimidated by lawless law enforcement officials produced Randa’s remarkably emphatic ruling against an especially egregious example of Democrats using government power to suppress conservatives’ political speech... As a director of Wisconsin Club for Growth, which advocates limited government, O’Keefe had participated in his state’s 2012 debate surrounding attempts by Democrats and state and national government-employee unions to recall Gov. Scott Walker (R) and some state senators. The recalls were intended as punishment for legislation limiting the unions’ collective bargaining rights. Walker prevailed. The Democratic prosecutors, however, seeking to cripple his 2014 reelection campaign and to damage him as a potential 2016 presidential aspirant, have resorted to a sinister Wisconsin process called a “John Doe investigation.” It has focused on the activities of O’Keefe and 28 other conservative individuals or organizations.
Between this and the IRS harassment of Tea Party groups, progressives have shown the depths they will sink to when they can't win based on their ideas. Tactics they would decry as abuses of power if the situation was reversed come quite naturally to them when used against their opponents. WAJ adds:  I was honored to see O'Keefe at Anne's wedding this weekend (second from right, seated):

Posted by Mike LaChance on May 11, 2014 7 Comments

There's been much speculation over whether or not Elizabeth Warren will run for president. Some folks have also suggested that Joe Biden may run for president. Here's a new question: What if they ran together? CNN's Peter Hamby reports...

Posted by Mike LaChance on May 10, 2014 13 Comments

If you think Senator Harry Reid has been acting a little crazy lately, you're not alone. In response to Reid's behavior, the Editors of National Review have written a thoughtful note on his behalf...

Posted by Mike LaChance on May 10, 2014 9 Comments

Have you gotten a sense that idiots have taken over higher education? UCLA Considers Diversity Requirement for Undergrads Student Alleges Prof Warned Ted Cruz-Teabaggers to Leave Class or go Home in Body Bag Professor Tries to Ban God at Graduation, Fails College in NM Spends $5 Million on Solar...

Posted by Mike LaChance on May 09, 2014 32 Comments

If you've ever read my blog, you may know that I'm a big fan of Bill Whittle and his series of Afterburner videos from PJ Media. In his newest video, titled Time to Go, Bill looks at Mitch McConnell and John Boehner with an eye to...

Posted by Mike LaChance on May 04, 2014 17 Comments
Obama adviser David Plouffe appeared on ABC's This Week today and in a classic case of liberal projection, he tried to blame the GOP for politicizing the attack in Benghazi. Conservative talk radio host Laura Ingraham was also on the panel and took Plouffe to task. Transcript via ABC News...
David Plouffe, you're actually on that email that caused so much trouble this week. It was an email to you and several others from Ben Rhodes. And everybody keying on this line in the -- in the -- in the email, to underscore -- this is the goals of the Sunday morning appearance -- "to underscore that these protests are rooted in an Internet video, not a broader failure of policy." A lot of Republicans saying this is the smoking gun. I know you dismiss that, but was it a mistake not to release this email earlier? DAVID PLOUFFE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: No, I think, you know, lawyers have spoken to this and it's out now. I think, listen, what Benghazi was was a tragedy. What we need to do is figure out how to prevent it from happening again and to try and hold those accountable, as we did bin Laden. Took a while, but after 11 years, we did. I think what you see wasn't the U.S.S. Cole bombing, 17 of our sailors died. The weeks before the 2000 election. What did then-Governor Bush say? It's time for our nation to speak as one voice. Now you couldn't handle that in this party. This has been politicized like we've never seen before.

Posted by Mike LaChance on May 04, 2014 5 Comments
The senate race between Democratic incumbent Jeanne Shaheen and Republican challenger Scott Brown is going to be a pricey one. Some are even speculating that it could set records. Chris Cassidy of the Boston Herald reports...
Scott Brown-Jeanne Shaheen N.H. race costs may set record The heavyweight U.S. Senate showdown between Jeanne Shaheen and Scott Brown — already off to a fast and snippy start with both sides accusing each other of breaking federal elections laws — could shatter records for campaign spending and even top the amount racked up by GOP presidential primary hopefuls in the Granite State two years ago. “It wouldn’t shock me if it topped $50 million,” said Dante Scala, a campaign finance expert at the University of New Hampshire. “I suspect the spending on the Senate race will dwarf the New Hampshire Republican primary spending in the 2012 presidential primary. ... In all likelihood this would set a record.” Spending during Shaheen’s last U.S. Senate race against John Sununu in 2008 hit about $37 million, Scala said. Even by his most conservative estimate, Scala expects to see $45 million in spending — $20 million combined by both campaigns and $25 million by super PACs and other outside groups. All this in a state with just 1.3 million people and less than 800,000 registered voters.
The stakes are high and both sides know it. In addition to hitting her support for Obamacare, Brown is taking Shaheen to task for the Keystone pipeline. Brown published the following letter in the New Hampshire Union Leader...
Will Jeanne Shaheen join me in supporting the Keystone pipeline?
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