I do not support Trump...

or anyone else, either.

I have never purported to be a Trump supporter.  I have also never come out in support of anyone else.  I post things that I think may be of interest and trust my readers to do their own research.

What I said yesterday about the National Review was not an endorsement for Trump, but rather a repudiation of the condescending attitude of the writers who chose to jump on the "dump Trump" bandwagon, much of which was directed at supporters of Trump.

No one likes being spoken to as though they're idiots by a bunch of beltway quasi-intellectuals who live in a smug little bubble of their own making.  Their arrogance knows no bounds.

The sites that have picked a side this early may be in for some big surprises as this dreary political year drags on.  And many of them are employing the same tactics as the NR writers by calling anyone who disagrees with them stupid or misguided, and often disseminating information that is misleading or even outright lies.

It is with that warning that I will link to an article about Ted Cruz by someone named Lauren Stephens that I found interesting.  Is it truthful?  I don't know.  There are many red flags to be pondered. 

The first red flag was that the link came from The Last Refuge (aka Conservative Treehouse), where their support for Trump is off the charts.  The Last Refuge is a source for many writers.  It is unusual to see negative comments there.  Are they being deleted? 

The second red flag was this person Lauren Stephens claims to be a political consultant.  In my opinion, political consultants rank pretty low in the area of trustworthiness.  Their job is to get people elected.  They are paid to get people elected.

Nowhere on this political consultant website she links to in her article can I find her name, or the name of anyone else for that matter.  It also doesn't appear that the website has been operational very long.  It's a slick site with lots of words, but very low on content.  Does someone hire a political consultant without even knowing who they are? 

Next up, the linked article, An Open Letter to Mark Levin, is on http://laurenstephens.com/, which has absolutely no other links or articles.  It just sits there all by it's lonely.  That's weird.

The closest I can come to tracking down the elusive Lauren Stephens is at an old Vote Smart page, which may or may not be, the Lauren Stephens in question. 

There's a lot of damaging Ted Cruz information in her "open letter."  As I asked earlier, "Is it true?"  I don't know.  There are plenty of links to follow, which I haven't had the time to do yet.

Why am I saying all of this, and why am I linking to an article that makes my spidey sense quiver?

Because it behooves each and everyone of us to do our due diligence with any information that is spewed out on the internet. 

All of the Republican candidates have their positions posted on their websites, and yet I see very little posted anywhere about those positions.  I've read Ted Cruz's tax plan, as well as Trumps.  I've even read Bernie Sanders tax plan (which is very scary.)  I've read their positions on immigration and healthcare.  There are points to like, and some things to not like, in every position.

As a counter to the linked article, let's listen to Ted Cruz defend his positions:





And here's Marco Rubio trashing Cruz:





If you live on the east coast - stay safe.