Tag Archives: GOP

national news

Only half of a Congress …

Here’s something to ponder: At this moment, we have only half of a Congress.

There is no House of Representatives. All 435 members of the House are congresspeople-elect. None has taken the oath of office. Why? Because a cabal of Republican hardline, extremist, MAGA-supporting nut jobs are withholding their support for Kevin McCarthy as the next speaker of the House.

Nothing gets done without a speaker. No votes. No committee assignments. No swearing-in ceremonies. Not a damn thing, man!

Yes, the fruitcake caucus is holding our government hostage because they want the next speaker of the House to do its bidding … as if McCarthy isn’t already on board.

This isn’t good government. It is no government!

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news

RIP, David Swinford

I am saddened to hear of the death of one of the more interesting and provocative public officials I had the pleasure to know and to cover while I worked as a journalist in the Texas Panhandle.

David Swinford of Dumas has left us. He died on the final day of 2022 at the age of 81.

I actually knew of Swinford, a Republican state legislator a good bit before I made the move from the Gulf Coast to the Caprock in January 1995.

He took his House District 87 seat in 1991 and almost immediately caused a ruckus with a proposal for the Panhandle to break away from the rest of the state. His stated reason was a doozy. Swinford reportedly didn’t like the fact that on most state highway maps, the Panhandle was relegated to “other side” of the map, forcing anyone interested in traveling to, say, Dumas, had to turn the map over to find it.

After moving to Amarillo to become editorial page of the Globe-News, I asked Swinford about that notion. He kind of gritted his teeth and admitted it was true, that he was irked at the “mistreatment” the Panhandle got from cartographers … but then said he was only half-serious about the pitch for the Panhandle to separate itself from the rest of the state.

Our relationship developed over time.

He was one of the first Texas officials to tell me he saw legislative battles turning on rural vs. urban lines, rather than partisan divisions. He was right. He fought for the rural constituents he represented, as well as those who lived in the Potter County portion of Amarillo — which straddles the line separating Potter from Randall County.

Swinford got sideways with the newspaper one time during my stint there. It was over his decision to undercut then-Texas House Speaker Pete Laney, a Democrat from Hale Center. The GOP took control of the Legislature and Swinford — who claimed a deep friendship with Laney — decided to throw his support behind fellow Republican Tom Craddick of Midland. Craddick would replace Laney as speaker in 2003, angering Laney to no end. He felt betrayed by his Panhandle pals, such as Swinford and fellow GOP Reps. John Smithee and Warren Chisum.

Our anger with Swinford didn’t last forever. I am happy to report that when he left office in 2011, he and I were on good terms and remained so until news arrived of his death.

He was a good man. May he rest in peace.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

International news

Politics goes topsy turvy

At almost every level imaginable, one can see evidence of our political world being turned upside down, topsy turvy, poked in the eye, ear and gut.

Let’s examine briefly one of those levels.

Imagine for a moment how Republicans a generation ago would have reacted to a Kremlin strongman deciding to invade a sovereign nation. Why, they would have jumped on their congressional desks and shouted at the top of their lungs that we need to do all we can to stop such naked aggression.

Not these days, man. Oh, no. We have a former president of the United States leading an amen chorus of cultists in standing up for the Russian invaders. Russians invaded Ukraine in February. The Ukrainians have fought valiantly and successfully against the aggressors.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke to a joint congressional session, which greeted him as the hero he has become. Two right-wing radicals, Reps. Lauren Boebert and Matt Gaetz, sat on their hands while their colleagues stood and cheered Zelenskyy’s entrance into the chamber.

These two nimrods echo the belief of their own political hero, Donald Trump, who has called Russian hitman Vladimir Putin a “genius” for invading Ukraine; he also has lavished Putin with praise for being a “strong leader.” Oh, never mind that Putin derives his strength by intimidation and execution of those who disagree with his policies.

Imagine such acceptance of that criminality coming from, oh, Ronald Reagan, or Barry Goldwater.

It wouldn’t happen. Men such as them would never find a good word to heap on a trained killer.

Oh, boy, those conservatives today are singing an entirely different dirge. Disgusting …

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news

‘Shameful low’? Is he serious?

U.S. House of Representatives Republican leader Kevin McCarthy calls the approval of a $1.7 trillion spending bill a “shameful new low” in Congress.

I damn near did a spit take when I read that.

Then I practically nodded visibly when I read House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s response to McCarthy’s overreaction to a bill that keeps the government running.

“Does he not remember Jan. 6?” Pelosi asked.

Indeed. Now that was a “shameful low” for all of us, Mr. GOP Leader.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news

Sickening boorishness on display

Political boorishness is a remarkable trait to witness unfolding in real time, especially when it is aimed at a visiting head of state.

Consider what happened Wednesday night as most members of Congress stood and applauded the entry of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy into the House chamber to speak to a joint session of Congress.

At least two Republican House members — members of should be called the MAGA Cult Cabal — chose to sit on their hands. I refer to Lauren Boebert of Colorado and Matt Gaetz of Florida.

Think for just a moment about the man they were snubbing. President Zelenskyy came to this country at considerable risk to his safety to speak to Americans about the struggle he is fighting against the illegal and immoral invasion of his country by Russian military forces.

He spoke to us from the podium in the House chamber in English. He offered his profound and heartfelt thanks for the support shown by President Biden and by members of both parties serving in the House and Senate. He told us the money we are spending for Ukrainian defense is “not charity,” but it is an “investment” in Ukraine’s struggle on behalf of democratic principles.

Not everyone is on board with that, obviously. Boebert and Gaetz represent a segment of Congress that prefers to attach strings to our aid to Ukraine. However, for these two nimrods to sit on their hands and not extend to a heroic head of state the courtesy of their applause is reprehensible on its face.

They sat there intending to make some sort of idiotic statement.

It is fair to wonder whether the likes of Boebert and Gaetz will ever condemn in loud voices the war crimes that are occurring in Ukraine as Russian thug Vladimir Putin orders his troops to fire on schools, hospitals and residential developments, inflicting casualties on women and children.

They remain silent on those events while demonstrating their boorishness in the presence of a hero.

Sickening.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

State news

Election denier makes right call … imagine that

One of the more fascinating aspects of the Texas secretary of state’s findings about the integrity of the 2020 election is that the secretary of state is an election denier.

Imagine that, eh?

John Scott is leaving office soon, returning to private life. When Gov. Greg Abbott appointed him as the state’s chief election official, many critics were quick to say that Scott has called the result of the 2020 election into question, criticizing what he called “irregularities” in the vote process.

Well, it turns out that the audit his office did in four of the state’s most populous counties found what many of us have said all along: There wasn’t “widespread voter fraud” in Texas.

It reminds of the “forensic audit” done in Arizona earlier this year by the Cyber Ninja outfit hired to examine claims of widespread fraud in that state. They came up empty, despite fears that the Cyber Ninjas were nothing more than a stalking horse organization for the Big Liars — in that it had no experience auditing election returns.

Now we have the Texas secretary of state confirming that Collin, Dallas, Tarrant and Harris counties’ elections were done above board and were free, fair, legal and correct.

Who knew?

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

business news

Trump tax returns to go public

Republicans blasted the decision to release the returns, warning that the move will usher in a new era of disclosing personal financial documents as a “political weapon.”

What you see in the preceding paragraph comes from The Hill newspaper, quoting Republicans who are critical of a decision to release Donald Trump’s tax returns, turning them over to public inspection.

They are wrong to fear the weaponizing of tax returns.

The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee today voted along party lines to release six years of Trump’s taxes. The ex-president fought their release. He didn’t want to disclose to the public what previous presidents and presidential candidates had done since 1976.

So, what in the world should GOP officials fear now?

House Ways and Means Democrats who voted to release the tax returns now will give the public an inside look at the tax burden — or lack of burden — the one-time president had to bear while he was demanding that you and I pay our taxes.

It’s fair game.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

crime news

How does GOP defend this?

As I listened today to the members of the House 1/6 select committee lay out the allegations against Donald J. Trump, I could not help thinking about how Trump’s sycophants will defend the individual’s indefensible actions.

How are they going to say that Trump’s speech on the Ellipse on 1/6 didn’t incited an angry mob of traitors? How are they going to defend the ex-president’s refusal to stop the assault on the Capitol? How are they going to defend with a straight face the actions of that mob, other than to say they were engaging in “legitimate political discourse”?

Make no mistake: They will do all of that. They will continue to cower in their cowardly fealty to Trump. The cabal of cultists in Congress will high-five each other, slap each other on the back and defend what only can be called the actions of a criminal.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

crime news

Ethics referral: DOA?

Many of us are stunned by the news that the House 1/6 select committee referred four criminal charges against Donald J. Trump to the Justice Department.

There happens to be another bit of news released today by the committee that held its final meeting before it is disbanded. It is the referral to the House Ethics Committee on four Republican House members for their refusal to testify before the committee.

The congressmen are Kevin McCarthy, Jim Jordan, Andy Biggs and Scott Perry. All of them received subpoenas by the House committee to testify. They all refused.

I must report that I fear that the Ethics Committee referral likely is dead on arrival. Why is that? Because the Republicans will take control of the House after the first of the year and they likely will toss the referral into the Dumpster.

That, of course, would be a travesty.

When a duly constituted congressional committee orders one to testify before it, you are obligated to follow the panel’s instruction. That’s the law. It is not normal to stiff a congressional committee by refusing to obey a summons when the committee issues it.

The House Ethics Committee, I also am saddened to report, traditionally has been a toothless beast. It rarely takes any serious action against members when it gets referrals such as what has been delivered regarding these four GOP blowhards.

That all said, I will not be holding my breath waiting for the GOP-controlled House of Representatives to take action against these four MAGA nimrods.

The House GOP caucus, we must remember, is populated by a cabal of cowards.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

medical news

Vaccines aren’t evil, Ron

Ron DeSantis is showing us what kind of presidential candidate he likely will become; he will trade on voters’ unjustified fears about proven medical treatments designed to rid the nation of a killer virus.

The Florida governor, likely to seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, vows to launch a probe into the evil nature of the various vaccines approved by the federal food and drug agencies to fight the COVID-19 virus.

DeSantis, certainly no medical doctor, is getting some shi**y advice from his staff on what to say about the vaccines. Every infectious disease I have heard has said they are safe, they are effective and they shouldn’t be cause for worry among those who need to take them to fight off the virus … that is still killing Americans.

What the hell is DeSantis talking about?

I believe he is blowing it out his backside. It sounds like a precursor to a GOP nominating campaign that is going to trade on more lies and deceit.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com