Tag Archives: GOP

national news

Speaker losing shutdown battle?

Mike Johnson — bless his heart — is trying desperately to blame the government shutdown on Democrats who oppose Republican bills to reopen the government.

What the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatves never says while chastising his Democratic friends is the reason for the string of “no” votes. Republican honchos leave out the part about Affordable Care Act subsidies being swept away by these GOP efforts to unlock the doors of the federal government. Getting rid of the ACA only will send insurance premiums far into the deep blue sky. It will deny health insurance to millions of Americans who depend on what is referred to colloquially as Obamacare.

Do you remember when “Obamacare” was tossed around as an epithet? These days, even the former president, Barack Obama, uses the term when referencing the ACA at political rallies. The ACA was the 44th president’s signature piece of domestic legislation, which then-Vice President Joe Biden was heard calling a “big fu**ing deal.” And it is!

The government is shut down and heading for a record stint of governing inaction by the political party that runs both congressional chambers, has one of its own in the White House (which he is destroying with the ballroom construction), and yet these numbskulls can’t find their ass with both hands.

Speaker Johnson is losing the battle and possibly the public relations war over this government shutdown. To be honest, I don’t give a crap about Johnson and the Republicans’ standing in the polls. I do care that the government restarts and gets revved up to help those of who are paying for the services … which we aren’t getting!

national news

GOP fails to govern

Look for the common denominator … which happens to be one of my favorite pieces of advice I hand out.

If, after looking at all the tempests and tumult and you find something in common that runs through them, then you have a culprit you can separate from the pack of demons.

What, then, is the common denominator in all the government shut downs we have endured over the past five decades or so? One jumps out at me. It’s the Republican congressional leadership. All these shutdowns seem instigated by GOP hotheads intent on making names for themselves. They place notoriety over notable legislative achievement.

The latest government shut down is the on the verge of setting a dubious record for longevity. The GOP blames Democrats because they keep rejecting Republican efforts to pass continuing resolutions that would re-open the government. Democrats counter that the GOP plan includes the notion of ending Affordable Care Act subsidies that uninsured Americans need to continue receiving health insurance.

The stalemate drags on. We have found the common denominator. It mirrors prior such schemes from the same political party that has given us too damn many of these misadventures.

Donald Trump

Why do they hang with this guy?

Men and women of good will, a deep faith in God, of conscience and commitment to public service all swear allegiance with the same oath of office.

They all pledge to serve the Constitution of the United States without fear or favor.

Why then — I have to ask — do so many of them stand behind a man who has become the embodiment the perversion that has overtaken so many men and women who get into public service? Donald Trump has become the antithesis of what we once called the better angels of our society.

His vengeance campaign against his political foes is beginning to make many of his Republican allies squeamish. The longer we watch the GOP leadership back away from their unconditional support for Trump, the more concern I feel for the very fabric of our democratic republic.

I stand behind my earlier assertion that the Constitution will hold up under this intense pressure. That it will show how well it works even as the president does all he can to undermine it. That doesn’t mean I will enjoy seeing the Constitution being stretched beyond recognition as it faces pressure from all three government branches.

Through it all, we have 535 members of two congressional chambers who take an oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies. Too many of them don’t seem to realize that the founders implied strength for them by ensuring that their power matches that of Congress and the courts.

The sooner they snap out of their daze, the better for the nation.

national news

Look for common denominator

When we complain about policy disagreements and dysfunction in government, I am fond of reminding the complainers of a simple fact.

Look for the common denominator, I am bound to say. All the issues that erupt have something in common. It’s more or less like the dysfunction I have witnessed in my immediate family. I can point to an individual who is at the center of the dysfunction as the cause of it all.

So it is with government. What is the common denominator in the troubles that have befallen the federal government, which at this moment has shut down many offices that provide service to those of us who pay for it?

It’s the Republican Party, its leadership and in this moment the MAGA wing that just can’t find a way to negotiate with those dreaded Democrats. They are the common thread that runs through all of this. They were present when the government shut down during Donald Trump’s first term in office. Indeed, they were in power when Newt Gingrich was the GOP speaker of the House.

Government shutdowns don’t serve anyone any good. They simply deny essential services to millions of Americans whose tax money pays for the government to work for them. Right now, it ain’t working for anyone!

Democrats want to keep health care available for millions of Americans. Republicans don’t. Hmm. What’s wrong with this picture?

I am not going to predict an end to this latest shutting down of the government. I just want us all to understand who is responsible for its occurence in the first place.

Then we need to respond accordingly when the time comes to vote on whether to keep these dipshits in power.

national news, political news

Meanwhile, a shutdown looms … again!

As the political world frets and ponders the fate of the Epstein files, a James Comey indictment over a frivolous perjury allegation, Congress and the so-called president are locking horns over whether to allow the federal government to shut down … again!

No one is governing. Not on Capitol Hill. Not in the White House. Congress is grappling with yet another continuing resolution and whether to enact it and fund the government for a few more weeks. If not, then we shut the government down — or much of it, anyway — while Congress and the so-called POTUS argue among themselves.

This is a shitty way to run the world’s greatest democratic republic. I say that with caution, because our greatness is being whittled away by Donald Trump’s efforts to usurp power from Congress and grant himself power the founders never envisioned.

I continue to be utterly flabbergasted that this Congress allows a president to strip the legislative branch of the authority granted it by the founding fathers. The founders created a presidency with limited power. They limited the legislative branch’s power, too. A president proposes legislation, but Congress disposes it. That’s how it’s supposed to go. Presidents are asked to work hand-in-hand with Congress, including with members of the opposing party, to fund the government. Is any of that occurring? Hah!

The federal court system, meanwhile, is juggling issues that have nothing to do with governance, but everything to do with presidential conduct.

Our government is broken. I won’t say it’s destroyed, but man … the damage is piling up.

I know this sounds a little like a “both sides at fault” argument, but in the case of the budget shutdown, I have to lay blame at the two governing branches’ feet. It would be up to the courts to determine if either sides does something in violation of the US Constitution.

However, I am sickened by Trump’s ongoing petulance and the revenge he continues to seek against his political foes. It is Trump’s vengeance that is driving Democrats away. As the only politician elected by the entire nation, it falls, therefore, on the president to step up and do what is right.

Find a solution to this ongoing budget crisis!

local news, political news

Making a personal plea

I did something today I don’t normally do, which isn’t a big deal per se, but it’s big enough of a deal for me to post a brief item on my blog.

U.S. Rep. Keith Self, a Collin County Republican, is going to get a letter from me. It’s not a long tome. I am asking him to rethink his rock-solid support for Donald J. Trump. Self is my congressman. He is a Republican. He also is a good guy who I happen to like personally. He and I are acquainted. We have shared some things we have in common, such as the fact that we both lived in Amarillo. Self grew up there; I got there in January 1995 to advance my career in journalism.

Self, though, stands behind a man who I believe is trampling on the founding fathers’ graves by seeking to seize more power for the presidency than the founders envisioned. The Justice Department indictment of James Comey, the former FBI director, was the final straw for me.

I want Self to rethink his loyalty to Trump. The president is a menace. He poses a dire threat to our very form of government.

Keith Self fought for this country. He is an Army infantry officer, a Ranger and a man with high honor. He is a devoted patriot. Trump has never served his country. Even now he occupies an office that he aims to serve his needs. I am baffled beyond belief that Keith Self, with his background and history of serving the United States of America, would stand so firmly behind a politiician who spits on the memory of those who have served with valor.

I harbor no illusion about whether a single letter from a single constituent is going to do the trick. I’m hoping that others out there will take a moment to let Keith Self know this indisputable fact: He works for you and me … and not for the president of the United States.

national news, political news

Charley Kirk Day? Are they serious …?

Did I hear this correctly, that congressional Republicans are lining up for an effort to create a national holiday honoring the memory of a man slain because he espoused right-wing nut-job policies and supported the agenda put forth by the MAGA moron in chief, Donald Trump?

I believe I did hear it. Yep. GOP members of Congress want to create Charlie Kirk Day. A national holiday, yes? This can’t possibly be serious. But wait! The GOP is no longer a serious political party. It is the mouthpiece for the MAGA movement led by Trump and his sycophants.

One of them was Kirk, a 31-year-old conservative influencer. Kirk was speaking the other day at a rally at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, when a nitwit with a rifle shot him in the neck. Kirk died almost immediately.

Yes, it was a shock. Yes, I condemn political violence. Yes, it was a political assassination. And yes, Kirk leaves behind a wife and two small children, which alone is enough to cause great sadness and sympathy.

He is no martyr. He blustered some highly offensive policies, such as saying that Black Americans aren’t as smart as white Americans. He wanted to deport all immigrants. He was anti-gay, anti-transgender. He spewed hate at every event where he was featured.

To elevate this young man’s memory to a level reserved for the likes of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and presidents of the United States (starting with George Washington and Abraham Lincoln) insults the intelligence of rank-and-file Americans, not to mention the memories of those truly great men.

I am sad that Charlie Kirk died in such a violent manner. I won’t ever justify the actions of the idiot who’s in custody and faces a death sentence if he’s convicted of aggravated murder.

But … c’mon folks! Settle down with this national commemoration nonsense!

national news

Wanting a return, again, to normal

Every living, breathing, thinking American should join me in this simple request … a return to normal conduct by the president of the United States, his/her Cabinet, the political team that works for the individual in charge and a Congress that doesn’t demonize the other side as the spawn of Satan.

I soiught such a return at end of Donald Trump’s first term in office. Voters delivered it by elected Joe Biden president of the United States. Biden had spent his entire professional life in public service. He knew how the government works — or doesn’t work, in some cases — and sought to bring normal behavior back to the White House.

President Biden succeeded famously.

He served one term before the wheels flew off and he got caught in the mental acuity rumor mongering. Trump managed to parlay a weird public desire for weirdness into an electoral victory in 2024 and now we’re in the midst of a hostile dismantling of our democratic process.

Trump promised to exact revenge on his foes. He’s delivering the goods. All the while he is conducting himself in an amped-up version of his first presidential term. Who in the world knows where this is headed?

With all of that I want to wish out loud once again for a return to normal behavior. A return to what the late John McCain called “regular order.” I want spirited debate, but I don’t want recrimination and revenge when the lights go out.

The American political system appears to be broken. I do not believe it is beyond repair. Joe Biden managed — to the extent he could with GOP control of Congress — to restore a sense of normal behavior during his single term as president. He left the presidency after getting plenty of constructive things done for the country.

Trump is now well into the first year of his final term in office. I want him to succeed, too. I also want there to be a return to normal behavior, decorum, dignity and grace among opponents. With this guy in charge of the executive branch — and his penchant for surrounding himself with sycophants — my hope is fleeting.

However, I will keep the faith.

political news

Democrats are doing their job

Texas’s legislative Democrats are holed up in locations outside of Texas and of Austin, where they had been called to take part in a special legislative session.

Republicans such as Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton are livid because they cannot fulfill the dictates of Donald Trump, who instructed the Legislature to redraw five congressional districts to make them more GOP friendly in advance of the 2026 midterm election.

Democrats are now denying a quorum in the Legislature, stopping the body from doing any business. Abbott and Paxton are saying that Democrats are derelict in their duty.

What a pile of horse dookey! Democrats are acting legally and they are doing their duty as stewards of the policies they were elected to uphold.

Trump has targeted mostly minority districts in Texas. He wants them flipped to protect against a possible midterm surge against the Republican majority in Congress. Yes, Donald Trump is seeking to rig the 2026 election … and Democrats are having none of it.

Trump has been yammering about siccing the FBI on the wayward Democrats. Wait a minute! They aren’t breaking any law, let alone breaking any federal law. Abbott said he is pondering whether to issue “civil arrest” warrants against Democrats who have left for Illinois and locations in New England.

This clearly is a purely political maneuver being orchestrated by Texas Democrats. However, I and others in this state believe theirs is a noble cause. They want to protect the seats to which they were elected against an incursion by out-of-state Republicans who want to dictate how our legislators should do their job.

Stand tall and firm, Texas Democrats.

local news

Diversity being tested

My family — immediate and extended — is a diverse lot, comprising “yellow dog Democrats” and “rock-ribbed MAGA Republicans.” So, I cannot say they influenced my own world view, as I have charted my own path over the course of my 75-plus years on this Earth.

One of my family members, who considers herself to be a mainstream, social and fiscal conservative Republican, has just informed me that, in her view, “Texas is really screwing the Democrats.” How so? In her mind, it’s the midstream reapportionment debacle unfolding in Austin that just gets her motor running.

My aunt is a kind and serious woman. She is not prone to latch onto cults the way many in both political parties seem prone to do on occasion. Therefore, the target of her anger is the MAGA cult that has attached itself to Donald Trump’s world view, such as it is. Trump has singled out Texas, with its strong GOP ties, to help him solidify the slim Republican majority in the U.S. House. He declares the Legislature, which is meeting in special session, can redraw five strong Democratic House districts into five GOP districts.

Trump wants to disenfranchise minority voters who are represented in Congress by representatives who reflect their views. We can’t have that, Trump has said.

The guy’s a maniac! And a dimwitted one at that! If he can piss off a reasonable Republican such as the member of my family I have just illustrated in this brief post, imagine how many others out there might be willing to rebel against the elected officials who are so damn willing to crater to this dipshit’s cravings.