Tag Archives: U.S. Congress

Filosofa Is Grumpy …

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, education, Environmental Issues, History, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Rants, Social commentary, voting rights

Apologies in advance … I am in rant mode today!

Of all the men (and a few women, but mostly all men) who occupy seats in Congress and call themselves “Republicans”, there is not one who possesses a conscience.  Not a single one.  Oh sure, a few actually stood up to the former guy last year, but even they have now reverted to form and are toeing the party line … whatever the party line is.  And so, I have this to say to every Republican who has an office in the Capitol …

WAKE THE HELL UP!!!  WE THE PEOPLE PUT YOU IN OFFICE AND WE CAN DAMNED WELL TAKE YOU OUT!  IF YOU TAKE AWAY OUR RIGHT TO VOTE, WE WILL FIND A WAY TO TAKE AWAY YOUR CUSHY JOB, YOUR OFFICE, YOUR FREE TRANSPORTATION, AND HOPE YOU END UP WORKING IN A FACTORY FOR THAT MINIMUM WAGE THAT YOU HAVE REPEATEDLY SAID SHOULDN’T BE RAISED!!!  AND THAT GOES FOR YOU, JOE MANCHIN AND KYRSTEN SINEMA, AS WELL!!!

Whew!  Sorry, folks, but I just had to get that one off my chest.  We the People were guaranteed the right to participate in our government, to have a voice about who represents us, centuries ago and now, all of a sudden, the entire Republican Party is working diligently to steal that right from us.  I, for one, will not sit quietly by watching the demolition of our rights in this nation without raising my voice and maybe a fist or two!

If you live in Orange County, Florida, be advised that your local health department wants you to die.  Yes, you heard me right.  The Orange County Health Department has placed its Director, Dr. Raul Pino, on administrative leave.  Why?  Because he is in favour of people being vaccinated in an effort to eventually end this horrible pandemic that has ruled our lives for the past two years!!!  After finding that out of the 568 active staff at the department, only 77 had received a COVID-19 booster, 219 had two doses of the vaccine and 34 had only one dose, Dr. Pino wrote in an email …

“I have a hard time understanding how we can be in public health and not practice it.  I am sorry but in the absence of reasonable and real reasons it is irresponsible not to be vaccinated. We have been at this for two years, we were the first to give vaccines to the masses, we have done more than 300,000 and we are not even at 50% pathetic.”

And for this, he was suspended from his position.  According to a statement issued by the Orange County Department of Health …

“As the decision to get vaccinated is a personal medical choice that should be made free from coercion and mandates from employers, the employee in question has been placed on administrative leave, and the Florida Department of Health is conducting an inquiry to determine if any laws were broken in this case.

The Department is committed to upholding all laws, including the ban on vaccine mandates for government employees and will take appropriate action once additional information is known.”

The ‘Department’ would better serve the people by demanding every one of their staff be fully vaccinated and encouraging the vaccine, rather than punishing people for promoting it!

And speaking of Florida …

According to the Associated Press …

“A bill pushed by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that would prohibit public schools and private businesses from making white people feel “discomfort” when they teach students or train employees about discrimination in the nation’s past received its first approval Tuesday.”

BULL***T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Maybe, just maybe it’s about damn time that ‘white people’ start to feel a bit of discomfort for how Black people have been treated throughout the history of this nation and are still treated today!  Maybe if they feel a bit ‘uncomfortable’, they will take a stand and be a part of the movement to end racism in the U.S.  Any ‘white’ person who believes that they are somehow ‘superior’ to others based solely on skin colour deserves to be made to feel uncomfortable, deserves the feelings of guilt that they and their ancestors have earned.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr …

Why Would Anyone Ever Vote for a Republican?

Posted on by under education, Election 2020, Election 2022, Environmental Issues, Global Issues, History, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Re-blogs, Social commentary, voting rights

I have voted for a Republican a few times in the past, but I would have to be out of my mind to do so today. The Republican Party, by its own admission, now has no ideology, no platform, and only seek dominance at whatever cost to We the People. Our friend Jeff has written an excellent post that perfectly reflects my own views of today’s GOP and I am sharing it with you this afternoon. Thank you, Jeff, for both your words and implied permission to share them!

On The Fence Voters

From time to time, I like to pose a question to those out there who vote, at least those who do so fairly reliably every two years: Why in the hell would you ever vote for a Republican?

Because, quite frankly, the evidence is overwhelming that the GOP, as it is presently constituted, represents a clear and present danger to the American people. Do you think that sounds a little harsh? Too bad. I write and speak as someone who’s seen enough of this party to know we’re in deep trouble if they’re ever able to get power back. How much more evidence do we need?

Voting for a Republican president these days will get you the possibility of more crackpots and extremists who will sit on the Supreme Court for years into the future. Look no further than the current iteration of radical judges occupying that body, brought to…

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Mid-Terms 2022 — Vote Him OUT!!!

Posted on by under Election 2020, Election 2022, guns, Law and justice, Political commentary

Madison Cawthorn is one of the sleaziest Republicans in the House of Representatives, though he does have a lot of competition for that title.  At only 26 years of age, he is the youngest member of Congress, and also among the cockiest.  I have an ever-growing list of those members of Congress who deserve to be ousted, who are not interested in the success of the nation and its people, but only their own quest for power and money, and Mr. Cawthorn is near the top of the list.

Cawthorn is known for indulging in conspiracy theories and for his incendiary rhetoric, but not noted for hard work or seriousness of purpose when it comes to legislating.  He has said he intends to use his position to be a messenger rather than a legislator, writing to his colleagues, “I have built my staff around comms rather than legislation.”  Funny, I thought his job as a member of the House of Representatives was to legislate.

It is his rhetoric that may keep him from returning to Congress next year, however, for he had a documented role in the events of January 6th, 2021 and many North Carolina voters are petitioning to bar him from seeking re-election.  In a complaint filed with the North Carolina State Board of Elections, a group of North Carolina voters—represented by a team of legal experts that includes attorneys from the advocacy group Free Speech For People and former justices of the state Supreme Court—argue that Cawthorn is ineligible for public office under Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, known as the Disqualification Clause.

“The coordinated and violent January 6 attack on the United States Capitol in an effort to prevent Congress from certifying the presidential vote was an insurrection against the United States,” Ron Fein, legal director of Free Speech For People, said in a statement. “The Constitution disqualifies from public office any elected officials who aided that insurrection.”

“As set forth in our complaint, the publicly available evidence, including Rep. Cawthorn’s own statements and reports that he or his office coordinated with the January 6 organizers, establish reasonable suspicion that Rep. Cawthorn aided the insurrection, thereby disqualifying him from federal office,” Fein added. “We look forward to asking him about his involvement under oath.”

In the short year that Cawthorn has held a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, he has been controversial and has come under fire more than a few times …

  • Before Trump supporters stormed the United States Capitol on January 6th, 2021, Cawthorn addressed the crowd and said, “this crowd has some fight.” He voted not to certify the Electoral College results in Congress and called Republicans who voted to certify the results “spineless cowards”. He later attempted to blame the attempted coup on a “Democratic machine of agitators strategically placed inside of this group”, amid intensifying calls for his resignation for his part in stoking the riots.
  • On February 13, 2021, Transportation Security Administration agents at the Asheville Regional Airport discovered an unloaded Glock 9mm handgun and loaded magazine in Cawthorn’s carry-on bag. The gun and ammunition were confiscated and stored by airport police.
  • In late February 2021, Cawthorn and a dozen other Republican House members skipped votes and enlisted others to vote for them, citing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. But he and the other members were actually attending the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), which was held at the same time as their absences. In response, the Campaign for Accountability, an ethics watchdog group, filed a complaint with the House Committee on Ethics and requested an investigation into Cawthorn and the other lawmakers.
  • At an August 2021 Macon County, North Carolina Republican Party event, Cawthorn said: “if our election systems continue to be rigged and continue to be stolen, then it’s going to lead to one place—and it’s bloodshed.”
  • In October 2021, Cawthorn said, “our culture today is trying to completely de-masculate [sic] all of the young men”, because “they don’t want people who are going to stand up”. He issued a call to mothers, who he said are the “most vicious” conservatives: “If you are raising a young man, please raise them to be a monster”. In November 2021, Cawthorn accused politicians of “trying to make everyone genderless, sexless, and just absolutely Godless”, and declared that Americans “want our culture back, and if you want to stand in the way that, we will run you over.”
  • Cawthorn reacted to the ‘not guilty’ verdict in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse by offering Rittenhouse an internship, saying, “You have a right to defend yourself, so be armed, be dangerous and be moral”.
  • Over the past two years, at least 20 women have come forward and accused Cawthorn of sexual misconduct and sexual assault … where there is so much smoke, there’s bound to be a fire somewhere.

Seriously, is this the sort of person you want making the laws under which we must all live?  Is this the person whose salary you will spend your hard-earned tax dollars to support?  I think not.  Let us hope that the voters of North Carolina are successful in their case to bar Cawthorn from running for re-election this year, or failing that, that the people in his North Carolina district have enough sense not to return him to the halls of Congress!

Note to Readers:  Between now and the November mid-term elections, I will be occasionally writing a post about various members of Congress who, for one reason or another, I believe should be voted out or voted in, depending on their qualifications for the office.  This is the first of many!

2021 Year in Review by Political Charge

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, cartoons, Election 2020, Environmental Issues, History, Law and justice, Political commentary, Re-blogs, Social commentary, voting rights

The clock is ticking on 2021 and … WHEW!!! … it’s been quite a year, hasn’t it?  I don’t know about you all, but I’m hoping for a more productive, peaceful year in 2022, though being a realist, I’m not holding my breath.  Fortunately, I don’t have to expend energy I don’t have to put together a compilation of the past year’s most notable events, for our friend TokyoSand over at Political Charge has done an excellent job of that already, and there’s no point re-inventing the wheel.  So, take a gander at her post, if you will — the good, the bad, and the ugly … though mostly TS has focused on the good rather than the bad, but that’s okay, for too often the good gets overlooked.

A look back at all the bright spots in politics in 2021.

We are very close to putting 2021 behind us, but before we do, let’s take one last look back. I have to say, compiling this list during the Trump years felt much, much different than this year! What a welcome relief.

My list is all about the wins, bright spots of light that appeared throughout the year, accountability for people who needed it, plus some entries I received from my social media friends, and a sprinkling of my favorite editorial cartoons. Let’s take a look:

January

A hard fought campaign in Georgia ended with the AP calling both Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff the winners of their respective Senate races in Georgia, which gave control of the 50-50 Senate to the Democrats.

Despite the insurrection on January 6th, Joe Biden’s victory was certified by Congress in the wee hours of the morning.

Twitter and Facebook permanently banned Trump from their platforms.

Please read the rest of the post by clicking on the link!

I Just Don’t Get It 🤷

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, Election 2022, Environmental Issues, Political commentary, voting rights

Perhaps I’m a bit simple-minded these days, but I’m really confused over something and I’m hoping someone can make sense of this for me.  The issue?  Why is it that the United States Congress can pass, relatively without argument, a bill that allocates $768 billion for a single year to the military, in large part to purchase more tanks, guns, and nuclear weapons … hardware made with the sole purpose of killing humans … but they cannot pass a bill that would help people who are struggling to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table?

To be clear, here is a summary of the major points in the Build Back Better bill (aka BBB) that congressional Republicans are determined to send to its grave:

  • Universal preschool for children
  • Free community college
  • Lower prescription drug costs
  • Tax cuts for families with children and childcare support
  • 12 weeks of paid family leave
  • Housing investments
  • Tax cuts for electric vehicles and other climate incentives

The cost of the Build Back Better bill is $150 billion per year … just under 20% of the cost of the recently passed defense bill.  Build Back Better helps people … people who need the help whether due to the pandemic or other circumstances beyond their control, whereas the defense bill largely helps arms manufacturers.  The refusal of Republicans in Congress to even consider the BBB at this time is a huge hypocrisy and in my view is further proof, as if any were needed, that Republicans largely do not give a royal damn about the average person in this nation, including their own voters.  Their fortunes and therefore their votes are tied to the wealthy corporations and groups like the NRA, arms manufacturers, and fossil fuel industry and to hell with John Doe!

And on another, but related note, why in the Sam Hell are both of the voting rights bills stagnating somewhere in the Capitol, unlikely to see the light of day?  With nearly every state in the nation passing draconian laws that will make it harder for the average citizen to vote and damn near impossible for many who are not white middle-class males to vote, it is not rocket science to figure out that the federal government needs to step in and protect the most important right granted to We the People under the U.S. Constitution!

The two voting rights bills, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, and the Freedom to Vote Act, are being held up by not only every Republican senator, but two Democratic senators, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.  These 52 unconscionable people either do not understand the meaning of a democracy or else are determined to undermine the very foundation of our nation and turn it into a banana republic, an illegitimate dictatorship.

The Republicans in Congress are not in the least bit bothered by spending nearly a trillion dollars of OUR hard-earned tax dollars to build more killing machinery, yet they will not lift so much as a pen to protect our rights, our very lives.  I sincerely hope that the majority of Republican senators and representatives currently sitting in Congress are voted out of office next November for they do NOT represent the people of this country!

Snarky Snippets Returns!!!

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, Election 2020, Election 2022, Free Press Issues, guns, History, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry

It seems that every time I log onto any of the news media sites, I am driven to gnashing my teeth and muttering expletives under my breath … or sometimes on top of my breath, which explains how my cat learned the “f-word”!  There is just so damn much to be angry about these days, so much pure idiocy in the world.  I often look at friends and wonder how they can simply ignore the world around them and live in their own little nooks, happily focused on what to wear to a party or the new ornament they bought for their holiday tree or what to cook for supper, with never a mention of climate change, coup attempts, corrupt politicians, mass shootings, etc.  Must be nice to be able to tune it all out, but I can’t do it.  Thus, what follows is my first ‘Snarky Snippets’ post in several months.

Thumbs Down to Time’s “Person of the Year”!

Time magazine’s “Person of the Year” for 2021 is the world’s most wealthy human, Elon Musk.  ELON MUSK???  Seriously???  They couldn’t find anyone more worthy for this honour than a man who is more interested in flying into space for no good reason than in providing food and housing for the poor, or helping victims of a natural disaster regain their lives?  On hearing this announcement, I immediately lost any and all respect for Time and vowed never again to subscribe to this publication.

But then, I took a look back at some of their previous “Person of the Year” selections and realized that I should have parted ways with Time long ago.  For example, Adolph Hitler was Time’s “Man of the Year” in 1938, and Joseph Stalin was actually awarded the honour twice, in 1939 and 1942.  Donald Trump was chosen in 2016 and Vladimir Putin in 2007.  To be fair, they have made some good choices, such as Greta Thunberg in 2019, Lech Walesa in 1981, and Dr. Martin Luther King in 1963.

Elon Musk is a nasty man.  For starters, he called quarantine measures “fascist” and demanded that officials return people’s “freedom.” He then kept his Tesla plant open in defiance of public health orders, with the result that over a hundred Tesla workers contracted COVID. They said the company covered up the outbreak. Then he fired workers after telling them they could take unpaid time off if they didn’t feel safe coming to work. He threatened to rescind his employees’ stock options if they unionized. He broke 11 other labor laws by harassing pro-union employees.  Although his net worth is somewhere above $300 billion, he pays relatively little in taxes and has received $1.3 billion in tax breaks over the past two decades.  He is an arrogant s.o.b. who denigrates any who dare to question or criticize him.

Time defines their “Person of the Year” as: “the individual or group who most shaped the previous 12 months, for better or for worse”, so I suppose in that context it makes some sense that they would glorify the likes of Hitler, Stalin, and Musk.  Personally, though, I would prefer seeing the honour, such as it is, used to pay tribute to those who have had a positive impact on life here on earth.  Bye-bye Time magazine!

Where are the Adults???

People have always and will always have ideological differences about how our government should function and how society ought to work … that’s nothing new.  Since its inception, Congress has been a venue for those differences to be aired and, at best, a compromise reached, at worst a stalemate that did no good for the people of this nation.  All of this is nothing new, but one thing is new and extremely disturbing.  In the past, we have elected adults with at least a modicum of education, a basic understanding of how the government functions, but today it seems the most immature samples of the human species are occupying a portion of the seats in our lawmaking body and are turning the process of governance into a three-ring circus.

There are numerous examples of this, such as Margie Greene and her QAnon conspiracy theories, her praise and adoration for a juvenile murderer (Kyle Rittenhouse).  Or gun-totin’ Lauren Boebert and her hostile, bigoted speech directed toward one of her fellow representatives simply because Ilhan Omar is a Muslim.  Or Paul Gosar, who posted an anime clip on Twitter that showed him killing another representative, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

All of the aforementioned incidents were horrifying examples of people who do NOT belong in Congress or any other branch of government, and all of them made my blood boil.  But perhaps the most disturbing were the holiday pictures taken and posted by Representatives Thomas Massey and Lauren Boebert showing their entire family, even young children, holding assault rifles.  Any mature adult with half a brain would NEVER even consider allowing their children to touch such a weapon, let alone take a picture of them with these instruments of death.  And even if they found it humorous, any adult with half a brain who was in a position of great responsibility to a nation of 330 million people would NOT for one minute post that picture on social media!!!

There are at least a dozen members of this Congress who should never, ever have been elected in the first place and should be occupying a prison cell or a mental hospital rather than an office in the United States Capitol!  I can only hope the people who elected these buffoons in 2020 have seen enough to make much wiser decisions next year!

Do You Know What’s in the Infrastructure Bill?

Posted on by under education, Environmental Issues, Political commentary, Re-blogs, Social commentary

These days it seems we are bombarded with ‘misinformation’ … I call them lies … but call it what you will, it has left us in the dark on many issues.  One topic that has been subjected to so many lies and so much confusion is the recently passed infrastructure bill, or BIF.  Many are simply confused, others are attempting to paint it as something it isn’t.  But, our friend TokyoSand over at the Political Charge blog has some excellent FACTUAL information!  I hope you’ll take a moment or two to read her post and see for yourself what is actually contained in this bill, rather than believing the falsehoods that readily float on the media and the internet.  Thank you, TokyoSand!

We can’t amplify and tout the fantastic infrastructure bill if we don’t know what’s in it. This overview will help.

Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down

Posted on by under Environmental Issues, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary

Good grief!  Have the Republicans in Congress completely lost their bloody minds?  On Friday, the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that has been the source of much haggling for months finally passed in the House.  It would not have passed this time either, had it not been for 13 Republicans who stepped up to the plate and put the best interests of the people ahead of the Republican Party.

  • Don Bacon of Nebraska
  • Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania
  • Andrew Garbarino of New York
  • Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio
  • John Katko of New York
  • Adam Kinzinger of Illinois
  • Nicole Malliotakis of New York
  • David McKinley of West Virginia
  • Tom Reed of New York
  • Chris Smith of New Jersey
  • Fred Upton of Michigan
  • Jeff van Drew of New Jersey
  • Don Young of Alaska

Filosofa gives a huge thumbs-up to these 13 men and women!  👍

But then came the repercussions from the circus show otherwise known as the GOP, or the Republican Party.  A sampling …

  • “I can’t believe Republicans just gave the Democrats their socialism bill” — Matt Gaetz  👎
  • “That 13 House Republicans provided the votes needed to pass this is absurd” — Chip Roy  👎
  • “Vote for this infrastructure bill and I will primary the hell out of you” — Madison Cawthorn  👎
  • Says ol’ Margie Greene … any Republican who voted for the bill would be “a traitor to our party, a traitor to their voters and a traitor to our donors.” After the vote, she accused the 13 of having voted to “pass Joe Biden’s Communist takeover of America” and tweeted the phone numbers to their congressional offices.  👎👎

It becomes obvious that either a) these people have no idea what ‘infrastructure’ is, or b) they don’t care if people are killed on crumbling roadways and bridges, if the people of this nation have clean, safe, drinking water, and more.  My best guess is the latter explanation … the Republican Party no longer gives a damn about their constituents or about the people who pay their salaries … they care only about their own power and wealth.

Six Democrats voted against the bill, but you don’t hear other Democrats deriding them and calling them names.  Just goes to show the difference in the level of maturity, don’t you think?

A number of Republicans are either leaving the party or deciding not to run again next year because they are ashamed of what the party has become and no longer wish to be associated with it.  While I fully understand their logic and cannot argue to the contrary, perhaps it would be better for the country if those few who still have a conscience stayed in the party and tried to make a difference.  We’ll never know.

The Republican Party has become something that would make the Founding Fathers roll over in their graves.  The only way they will change is if the most radical of them are voted out of office.  There was a time when I thought the vast majority of people in this country were too smart to fall for some of the crap the GOP is dishing out, but today I’m not so sure.

On Women’s Rights And The ERA

Posted on by under Law and justice, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary, voting rights

Women’s rights … it has taken us centuries to have the right to own property, to marry who we choose, to divorce him if it doesn’t work out, to VOTE, to earn equal pay for equal work, to have the right to make our own decisions in matters pertaining to our bodies.  What may have taken centuries to build, has taken very little time to destroy.  Two cases caught my eye in the news yesterday.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans has ruled that Texas may prohibit a common second-trimester abortion procedure.  Isn’t it funny that people claim they have control over their body when it comes to getting vaccinated or wearing masks, but when it comes to we women having control over our body for something as life-changing as pregnancy, the Courts will decide what we can or cannot do?  I think, in order to avoid being seen as sexist, or a double standard, the Courts should immediately order every person over the age of 12 to be vaccinated!

Out in California, one of the most progressive states in the union, Larry Elder is one of the candidates hoping to unseat Governor Gavin Newsom next month.  Elder is, apparently, a misogynist, or as we used to call them, a male chauvinist pig.  It is illegal to ask a female employee when or if she plans to become pregnant.  Mr. Elder, however, sees no reason for that law.  He says …

“Are there legitimate business reasons for a venture capitalist to ask a female entrepreneur whether & when she intends to have children? Hell, yes. I’m not quite sure why it’s the govt’s business to intrude on it.”

What a guy, eh?  Now, seems to me that if he supports asking women that question, it would also be only fair to ask male employees and applicants when and if they plan to sire a child, and how many?

Why do we have to keep fighting the same old battles?  The U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1787, yet it would be 133 years later, in 1920, before the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, ensuring women the right to vote.  And it would be 1984 before the State of Mississippi finally ratified the 19th Amendment, granting women in that state the right to vote.

In 1973, the Supreme Court ruling Roe v. Wade makes abortion legal.  And ever since, religious groups have been trying to get it overturned.  This isn’t about, as they will try to tell you, “right to life”, for the proponents in favour of overturning Roe don’t care about life.  They largely support the death penalty, they hunt to kill, most own guns … no, it isn’t about the right to life, it is about controlling women, it is about taking back women’s rights.

In 1923 the first version of the Equal Rights Amendment was introduced. It says, “Men and women shall have equal rights throughout the United States and every place subject to its jurisdiction.”  Today, nearly 100 years later, the Equal Rights Amendment still has not been passed by Congress!!!  Can anybody explain this one to me?

Phyllis Schlafly … you remember that witch, right … campaigned against the ERA saying that the measure would lead to gender-neutral bathrooms, same-sex marriage, and women in military combat, among other things.  😱  Oh horrors!  Every single one of those things came to pass anyway and our nation is a better place because of it!  Take that, Ms. Schlafly!!!

By 1977, only 35 states had ratified the ERA. Though Congress voted to extend the ratification deadline by an additional three years, no new states signed on. Complicating matters further, lawmakers in five states — Nebraska, Tennessee, Idaho, Kentucky, and South Dakota — voted to rescind their earlier support.

Tell me again that this isn’t very much a man’s world!  We women, in their minds, serve at their pleasure.  Period.

Accomplishments After 206 Days …

Posted on by under Election 2020, Environmental Issues, Political commentary, Social commentary, voting rights

Today, I would like to thank Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson for reminding us of the positive things that have happened since January 20th.  Yes, we have much to worry about, such as the For the People Act, gerrymandering, voter suppression, the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, racism in both police and populace, the end of the eviction moratorium, but … to have been in office only 206 days, President Biden and the U.S. Congress have actually accomplished a lot!  There’s still a lot of work to be done, but let’s take heart in what has already been done.

Maybe it’s time for doubting Democrats to press pause on the angst

Opinion by 

Eugene Robinson

Columnist

Yesterday at 4:01 p.m. EDT

It’s time to entertain the possibility that President Biden, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi actually know what they’re doing and are really good at their jobs.

Their fellow Democrats seem to have doubts, because, well, Democrats always have doubts. Dwelling on worst-case scenarios is somehow wired into the party’s DNA. Every victory must have some downside; every step forward must lead toward some potential pitfall. If worrying had been an Olympic sport in Tokyo, Democrats would have swept gold, silver and bronze.

This angst is richly nourished by voluminous news media analysis and commentary adhering to the convention of anticipating what might go wrong. What if progressives in the House won’t swallow hard and vote for the “hard infrastructure” bill passed by the Senate? What if House moderates insist on a quick vote on the Senate measure and threaten to withhold their votes on the budget with its huge “human infrastructure” spending? What if an asteroid strikes before Biden can sign these transformational pieces of legislation into law?

Let me suggest that Democrats squelch their inner Eeyore for just a moment to appreciate, and celebrate, what their party has accomplished.

There was no way, said the conventional wisdom, that Schumer (D-N.Y.) was going to get Republicans to support any kind of meaningful infrastructure bill. There was no way the bipartisan gang of senators trying to craft a compromise measure would succeed. There was no way Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) would allow anything on infrastructure to pass, thus giving Biden a win. There was no way more than a handful of Republican senators would defy all the threats streaming from Mar-a-Lago and collaborate with Democrats on anything.

Yet here we are. Nineteen Republicans — including McConnell — joined every Senate Democrat in approving $1 trillion worth of desperately needed infrastructure spending. Included are not just funds to fix roads and bridges, but also big money to provide broadband Internet to Americans who can’t afford it; upgrade the power grid in ways that facilitate the switch to renewable energy; and create a coast-to-coast network of electric-vehicle charging stations.

Okay, but there was no way (according to the conventionally wise) that the whole Senate Democratic caucus, from Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on the left to Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) on the right, would agree on a budget framework. Yet they did, and the massive $3.5 trillion resolution — which Democrats can pass through the reconciliation process, without GOP votes — addresses all the party’s major spending priorities, including the urgent need to address climate change.

Well, said worrywarts, there was absolutely, positively no way that the creaking, dysfunctional Senate could possibly do both those things — infrastructure and the budget — at the same time, as Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Democrats were demanding. Yet, again, that is precisely what Schumer accomplished. Done and done.

So now we’re hearing that the hard part actually lies ahead, because Pelosi will inevitably face an uprising by her progressives, her moderates or both. Indeed, this could happen. But I would submit that Pelosi’s record demonstrates she knows a lot more about how to get the House to do what she needs than any of the Cassandras predicting her certain failure.

I would also submit that Democrats in both chambers are acting quite pragmatically, regardless of what they might be saying. Sanders’s first hope was for $6 trillion; he settled for $3.5 trillion. Manchin now says even that smaller amount is too much — but he voted for it anyway. Progressives in the House are vocal in their demands — they pushed Biden into extending the eviction moratorium — but thus far, at least, they have given Pelosi their votes when it counted.

Democrats should realize that if you add in the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, which gives unprecedented support to low- and middle-income families with children, Biden is steering the most progressive sea change in U.S. governance in half a century. And he, Schumer and Pelosi are doing this with a 50-50 Senate and just a single-digit majority in the House. I, for one, am impressed.

All right, if you must worry about something, worry about voting rights. Schumer is now working with Manchin, Raphael G. Warnock (D-Ga.) and a few other senators to draw up a voting rights bill the whole Senate Democratic caucus will support. There may come a point when Manchin has to decide whether to let the Republican minority filibuster — and kill — a measure he himself wrote. He could make the wrong choice.

But for now, Democrats, give yourself at least a few days to admire all that is being accomplished. For a change, take yes for an answer.

Note to readers:  I was unable to respond to your comments yesterday, for I was very much under the weather.  After 12 hours of sleep, I’m about 50% better today, and I will try to get to all your comments, but if I am not able to, I apologize.