It’s not a good idea to act out of emotion rather than reason. A person may end up looking foolish. This is the case with many Democrats who are so full of hate they can’t think straight.
it can also allow a person to be manlipulated. I believe we saw an example of this on Wednesday. President Trump had a meeting scheduled with Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer to discuss infrastructure. Just before of the meeting, she accused Trump of a cover-up and used the word impeachment. He said he wouldn’t deal with Congress until they stop investigating him. so now we have the President on record putting himself above the needs of the country. We also have a Speaker who cares more about playing political gotcha than serving the country. as expected, each side is defending their person while attacking the other. In the meantime, nothing happens except more political gamesmanship.
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The presidential election was 2 ½ years ago yet people are still complaining that Trump is not a legitimate president. They cite Russian interference, Comey and many other reasons. Six months after the Georgia gubernatorial race, the loser she should have won citing voter suppression.
Apparently counting the ballots is not a democratic way to hold an election. To ensure “fairness”, we evidently need to have North Korean style elections with only one name on the ballot. Perhaps Joy Behar and author Fran Lebowitz could lead the movement to install a dictatorship. Behar called for the jailing of all Republicans while Lebowitz said Donald Trump should be killed. I can understand why some on the Left are so upset. True socialism, in which government owns the means of production, has never been implemented through a free election. There was a celebration in New York awhile ago. The legislature passed a bill that allows abortion even if the birth process is under way. More recently there was a celebration in Alabama. Their legislature passed a bill that virtually outlaws abortion and would imprison doctors.
I believe that more people would favor a middle of the road bill than either extreme. Unfortunately, those people are not in power. Instead, we have a government in which one party caters to New Yorkers and the other Alabamans. Frankly, both parties are more interested in pushing their extremist agendas and fighting the other side than they are in the welfare of the American people. Right now, there is not a viable third party so we are stuck with the Democrats and Republicans. Hopefully, either the two parties abandon their rigid ideology or another party comes along. Many politicians see the world in black and white. They are 100% right and the other side is 100% wrong. As a centrist, I often believe both sides are wrong. China is a case in point.
The Obama administration did a horrible job with China (and many other countries). China could do whatever they wanted. Our response was either lukewarm or nonexistent. Joe Biden seems to be following course. He recently said China was “no competition for us”. President Trump is getting tough with China but, no pun intended, is like a bull in a china shop. He seems to focus only on the balance of trade. His tariffs are hurting our economy. No company can afford to absorb them so they are passed along to consumers. Their retaliation is costing us exports. They used to buy our soybeans but now buy from Brazil. Some jobs do return to the US but at a very high cost. China aims to be the leading superpower in the world. One day they will have the planet’s largest economy. They want to be dominant in intellectual capital. They have an aggressive foreign policy and are becoming a military superpower. They also play by their own rules. There are millions of young engineers and scientists but they also steal trade secrets. We should neither fear them nor demonize them. Instead, we need to meet the challenge head-on. We need to become a stronger competitor and deal with them on all fronts. If they break the rules (as we see them), we need to respond. That means going after companies and individuals that do wrong rather than expect their government to do our bidding. International relations is a lot like surgery. It requires a firm but delicate touch. That’s why doctors use scalpels instead of meat axes. We would be better off if President Trump had a few scalpels but that’s not his style. The House Judiciary Committee voted to find Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress. His crime: refusing to break the law. He released 98.5% of the Mueller Report. By law, he cannot release such things as grand jury testimony and the mention of people not indicted. He even allowed them to view the entire report at the Justice Department. Nonetheless, they went ahead and cited him for contempt.
I find the behavior of the Democrats on the committee contemptible. It’s also very puzzling. They bet the ranch on collusion and now seem to be doubling down. Next year they face the voters. Instead of focusing on the issues, their attention is on something few outside the beltway care about. I have heard that the real purpose is to try to destroy Barr before investigations into Justice Department and intelligence agencies role in the collusion investigation are completed. I think they are so focused on their hatred of Donald Trump that they aren’t being logical. Committee Chairman Gerald Nadler once said President Trump committed obstruction of justice every time he called the Mueller investigation a witch hunt. Apparently, he doesn’t believe that the First Amendment applies to Donald Trump. I am in no way a fan of Trump. I was a Democrat most of my life but am now an independent. The party I once belonged to bears little resemblance to today’s bunch of hatemongers. I have written many times that preserving our democracy is far more important than whoever happens to live in the White House. In the past I would have expected that an overwhelming percentage of both parties would agree with that. Now I am not so sure. It seems that more and more on the Left feel that getting Trump out of office is all that matters.
We have seen one pathetic attempt after another to overturn the 2016 election. First were recounts that didn’t have a chance of being overturned. They tried to convince Republican electors to vote for Clinton. Some have talked about the 25th Amendment. Now we are seeing impeachment gearing up. Some state legislators believe they should have a say who the Republicans can nominate. Bills have been introduced in seventeen states stating that a candidate cannot be on the ballot unless they release their income taxes. Each state has rules on what a political party needs to do to get on the ballot. The party then nominates a candidate. They can choose anyone they want that can legally assume the office. If they want to pick a homicidal maniac, that’s their right. You might think I am making a mountain out of a molehill. None of these idiotic ideas are going anywhere. However, our democracy is weakened when people start giving up on it. Grouse are a family of chicken-like birds. In the spring the males dance hoping to entice a female. I once saw one that was successful but was so intent on fighting the other males that she moved on. This seems to me to be a perfect analogy to how Democrats in the House are behaving.
Winning the House was a tremendous victory for them. There is little they can to get their agenda to pass in the Senate and be signed by President Trump. However, this is a great opportunity to pass bills that can help them win in 2020. This is what Republicans did when they repeatedly voted to abolish Obamacare. Instead, they are totally absorbed in fighting President Trump. Ever since Trump won the election, they have been trying to get him out of office. Apparently, they like democracy only if their candidate wins. They had high hopes that the Mueller investigation would find that he and his campaign staff colluded with Russia. Rather than moving on, they are more determined than ever. Right now, their focus is on demonizing Attorney General William Barr. Barr has a long history of service and is not as political as many of his predecessors. He held the post in the George W. Bush administration. He received unanimous approval from the Senate Judiciary Committee and was nominated on a voice vote. He walked into a political buzz saw when the Mueller report was released. He was under no legal obligation to send it to Congress. He worked with Mueller to prepare his summary. He kept the White House totally out of the loop. Later the entire report was released except for grand jury testimony and classified information. I’m not sure what else he could have done. Congress has ripped him to shreds and Nancy Pelosi accused him of perjury. Like that poor grouse, their behavior could cost them. |
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