Tag Archives: GOP

State news

Special sessions loom

So much, it seems, for setting priorities before the start of a legislative session.

The Texas Legislature reportedly had placed property tax reduction at the top of its to-do list. Well … the list’s major priority remains something “to do.” The Legislature adjourned at the end of May and property tax reform wasn’t completed.

I spoke at the beginning of the session with state Rep. Gary VanDeaver, a New Boston Republican, who said the state had to do something to relieve Texans of the property tax burden. His view had been echoed loudly and clearly by other legislators of both parties, not to mention from Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dade Phelan.

What the heck happened?

Special sessions loom in the weeks to come. There might be several of them, the Texas Tribune reports.

The failure to enact any property tax reform guarantees, according to the smart money, that a special session will occur. Likely will be soon, too.

I have trouble following the Legislature’s rhythm at times. Lawmakers venture to Austin from hither and yon across the vast state. They spend — seemingly — forever and a day to get busy. I sense a good bit of lollygagging in Austin. Then they seek to rush to get these bills enacted and sent to the governor’s desk.

Too often, though, they run out of time.

If property tax reform was such a big deal, why can’t the Legislature act in a manner that demonstrates its importance?

The Legislature didn’t act. They’ll have to shuttle back to Capitol Building and do what could have been done during the 140 days legislators were gathered.

This time, ladies and gentlemen, get it done! The Senate has another big matter with which it must deal … the trial of Attorney General Ken Paxton. That’s a big … deal, too.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

crime news

‘Something has to change’

Brett Baier, one of the propagandists who works for the Fox Propaganda Network, said this week, “Something has to change dramatically. There may be events that we don’t know. There may be other legal challenges that he faces” in order for Ron DeSantis to secure the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

OK, here’s a dramatic change for you to ponder. GOP voters have to come to their senses if they have any hope at all for their party to defeat President Biden next year.

By that I mean the Republican core of fanatics must abandon any thought of nominating a twice-impeached, indicted former POTUS for another go-round that is assuredly going to end in defeat for him and for what once was known as the Republican Party.

On second thought, if GOP primary voters are stupid enough to hang with Donald John Trump, they will deserve the shellacking they are going to get come Election Day.

And, yes, Trump is going to face “other legal challenges” along the way. You are welcome to take that straight to the bank. It’s gonna happen.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

economic news

Mr. Speaker, for whom do you work?

Kevin McCarthy clearly needs a lesson on public service, because the House speaker is listening to the wrong “bosses” as he digs in against efforts to raise the national debt ceiling.

Mr. House Speaker, you work for the people of south-central California, who sent you to Congress to do their bidding, not the bidding of the MAGA crowd that is pulling your strings.

McCarthy appears to be resisting President Biden’s effort to reach common ground because the MAGA cabal that comprises the vocal minority within the GOP House caucus is demanding it of him.

What will happen, then, if the nation defaults? If it fails to pay its debts by the June 1 drop-dead date established by the Treasury Department?

A lot of folks in McCarthy’s home district are going to go without Social Security or military benefit checks, they will watch their mortgage interest rates skyrocket, they will lose their jobs.

Do you think that will piss a lot of ’em off?

The House once had a Republican leader named Eric Cantor of Virginia who listened too closely to the GOP leadership and didn’t listen enough to those who sent him to Congress. Cantor ended up getting booted out of Congress when the GOP primary voters cast their ballots for someone else. Cantor was deemed out of touch with the home folks.

Mr. Speaker, you had better pay attention to who is going to feel the harm of a national default on our debt.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

economic news

GOP goes phony on budget concern

Congressional Republicans’ phony concern over federal government standing would be laughable if the consequences of their stubbornness in lifting the debt ceiling weren’t so catastrophic.

Let us remember this fact. When Donald Trump sought to raise the national debt ceiling during his term as POTUS, Republicans went along with their Democratic colleagues. No questions asked. Not a single concern raised about spending, the national debt, the annual budget deficit … all of which grew during Trump’s time in office.

Trump lost the 2020 election to a Democrat. Now the MAGA crowd in Congress who controls the agenda in the House of Representatives has become all worked up over spending. Now they want to cut spending dramatically before lifting that debt ceiling.

To his credit, President Biden isn’t swallowing all the bait whole, although he appears willing to give up some of the high ground he has staked in this standoff with the GOP caucus.

The president has proposed a budget that reduces the budget deficit, bites into the national debt and meets many of the GOP’s demands for “fiscal responsibility.” He also wants to force the mega-rich to pay more in taxes. Is Joe Biden seeking to make billionaires less than rich? Hardly. They will continue to be richer than God.

All of this posturing, though, appears to be for show. The MAGA crowd is not interested in governing. It is interested instead in making a spectacle of themselves and of the Constitution they took an oath to “defend and protect.”

Thus, we see House GOP leadership marching to the cadence the MAGA cabal is calling.

I will hold on to my sincere belief that there will not be a default on our national debt. The consequence of any of this is just too dire to fathom.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news

Why the hoodie and shorts?

I have spoken in the past about the value of decorum in public life and service, which prompts me to offer a brief comment on the criticism being leveled at a freshman U.S. senator from Pennsylvania.

Democrat John Fetterman stood before a microphone the other day in the presence of his colleagues … while wearing a hoodie and shorts. The other guys were dressed in their customary dark suits, slacks and ties.

Conservatives, quite naturally, jumped all over Fetterman over his, um, attire. They make a good point.

Fetterman has recovered from a stroke. He said he’s been treated for depression. He also says he’s cured and is feeling “great.”

Therefore, I do not understand why a grown man, a sitting U.S. senator, cannot dress himself appropriately while representing his constituents and speaking to the rest of the nation about important public policy matters.

What in the world gives with this guy?

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news

Missing the GOP

You may choose to believe or disbelieve this; it doesn’t matter to me. However, I am going to speak the truth about something that has troubled me since the arrival of the MAGA/QAnon/Big Lie crowd.

It is that I miss the Republican Party I used to know and that I grew up studying and seeking to understand.

The Republican Party has been consumed, swallowed whole and re-cast into a political organization I don’t recognize.

It’s not that I am a closet Republican. Indeed, I consider myself to be an independent who tilts more toward Democratic policies than to Republicans’ world view.

I do favor a strong national defense; I generally support nuclear energy; I am a strong family values American patriot.

I also believe rich Americans should pay more in taxes; that government can be an instrument to help those who need assistance; and that American Civil Liberties Union’s mission to embrace our Bill of Rights should be a model for all pols to emulate.

The Republican Party is now run by a cabal of kooks who insist that our 2020 presidential election was stolen from the most recent GOP president; that a tyrant in Moscow is somehow justified in invading a sovereign nation; that we should overturn a standing law that legalized abortion in this country; that conservative judges indeed can legislate from the bench; that climate change is a hoax; and that globalism — in a world that is shrinking — means we are surrendering our sovereignty.

How in the world does one debate with that crowd?

Thus, it is that Republican Party that once stood for principles worth defending no longer exists. The Grand Old Party is being run by wackos, fruitcakes and extremists. What’s more, the GOP insists that everyone else in this great country join them! Those of us who disagree with ’em are the “enemy,” and must be destroyed.

I want a return to some semblance of what we used to have in this land: two major political parties that could debate their differences and then honor the decision of the voters who then decide which side has won the argument.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

crime news

GOP goes after the FBI?

Can this really be happening, that a once-great political party that spoke to the virtues of a strong system of law and order now wants to dismantle the FBI?

Yep. It is happening in real time. Frankly, it astounds me beyond my ability to comprehend.

I have a theory as to why it is occurring. Here goes.

The FBI became the Republican Party’s go-to federal agency when it was investigating anti-Vietnam War protesters, Black activist organizations, those who opposed big business.

These days? The FBI has been active investigating alleged criminal activity among prominent GOP politicians, starting with Donald John Trump. Now we hear yammering from the MAGA crowd and other right-wingers about how the FBI is “weaponizing” law enforcement.

These same GOP pols also are on the record opposing congressional resolutions honoring police and other first responders who acted heroically to — and this is truly astonishing — save the lives of the very politicians on 1/6 who now oppose honoring them!

What the hell is wrong with this picture?

How can it be that the political parties’ roles are so dramatically reversed? Republicans once chided Democrats for being “soft on crime,” for wanting to weaken our law enforcement agencies. These days we hear Democrats beating their chests as champions of democracy and strong police while needling Republicans as belonging to the party that favors foreign autocrats and seeking to disband nation’s premier federal law enforcement agency.

All of this provides one more example of how the principles that govern political policy have changed in such dramatic fashion. So help me, my head is spinning.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

State news

Cornyn says Trump can’t win? Hah! Ya think?

The minute I heard about what Sen. John Cornyn said about Donald Trump’s chances of become POTUS once again, I thought instantly of a friend of mine in Amarillo … who called Cornyn a RINO.

I chuckled when my friend said such nonsense, because Cornyn is nothing of the sort. The San Antonio native is as rock-ribbed a Republican as you’ll find. He just happens to believe that the GOP is going to lose the 2024 presidential election if it nominates the twice-impeached former POTUS to run against President Biden.

It’s time, Cornyn said, to nominate someone without all the baggage that Trump is lugging around. Starting with the very real probability he is facing multiple future indictments for criminal activity.

Frankly, I don’t know why I am even remotely concerned about any of this. I try like heck to shove Trump aside. I am refusing to comment on every single lie that flies out of his pie-hole.

It’s just that when a solid GOP politician such as John Cornyn says Trump would take his party down the drain, the party ought to heed the advice this Texas wise man has to deliver.

Then again, were he to run for POTUS yet again, maybe it’s good that he would lose once more.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news

DeSantis will need to sharpen his long knives

Ron DeSantis appears ready to declare his campaign for the U.S. presidency in 2024. This is going to be fun to watch.

Why? Because he is a Trumpkin … sort of.

Meanwhile, the other leading (alleged) Republican already has hung an unflattering nickname or two on the Florida governor, referring to him as Gov. De-Sanctimonious.

Here’s the question of the day: Will the GOP governor respond to Donald Trump’s digs at him, poking fun at his name?

As a follow up, I will pose this: Or will he continue to tiptoe around the idiotic notion that Trump — as the GOP frontrunner for the ’24 nomination — is too formidable a foe to take on directly?

To be honest, I have trouble understanding why Trump has decided to strip the bark off of DeSantis. The governor is following the Trump agenda battling “wokeism” (whatever that means), embracing a “don’t say ‘gay'” policy, declaring war on transgendered Floridians and attacking the Disney Co. for being tolerant of gay Americans.

I guess the only way Trump can maintain his frontrunner status is to take down any other politician who poses a threat to him.

And just so you know, it pains me greatly to even acknowledge that the twice-impeached, once-indicted (for now), convicted sexual abuser is even in the hunt for the GOP nomination. I will maintain my fervent hope that the law will swallow him whole.

As for DeSantis, well, the fellow has some tough decisions to make about how he intends to fight Donald Trump if he truly wants the Republican Party to nominate him for the White House.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news

Why no remorse?

There likely isn’t a good reason to ask this question of a disgraced former Texas state legislator, but I’ll ask it anyway.

Is Bryan Slaton a dyed-in-the-wool sociopath? 

Here’s the deal. Slaton, a Royse City Republican, was caught having sex with an intern. He filled her with alcohol and then had his way with her in his apartment in Austin. The House General Investigations Committee got wind of it, examined the allegation, and then recommended his expulsion from the Texas House.

Slaton testified before the committee and according to sources on the scene, he expressed zero remorse, contrition or offered nothing resembling an apology for his hideous action. He resigned his House seat, but the House expelled him anyway in a unanimous vote.

Isn’t that the behavior of a sociopath?

Contrast that with the reaction that came from another Republican politician, former U.S. Rep. Van Taylor of Plano. Taylor was running for re-election 2022 when it was revealed he had an affair with a woman who once was married to an Islamic State officer.

When word of his misbehavior got out, Taylor issued a statement calling his action the “worst decision I ever have made.” He apologized to his wife and children and then backed out of his re-election campaign.

Taylor at least had the good sense and appropriate contrition to apologize to everyone involved.

Not so with Slaton, who ran for election and re-election as a “Christian conservative” dedicated to the family values espoused by the Republican Party.

He’s nothing more than a sociopathic chump.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com