Tag Archives: Senate
Expert Deflection
I really can’t articulate how little I think of Mitch McConnell. He represents the very worst of what traditional modern politics has become. Him and his ilk pave the way for Donald Trump and his gross brand of discourse to come to the forefront of our political culture. Mitch McConnell has had a stranglehold on the Senate for far too long, keeping good legislation from ever even reaching the floor for a vote, and pushing through garbage that better lines the pockets of him and his comrades. And if you think I’m being overly critical, I encourage you to listen to his statements from last week, during the debate over making Election Day a federal holiday. His argument against this is quite simply that he’s afraid of more people voting. His own words are that it’s a democratic “power grab.” In other words, he knows the majority of people don’t like him, and if more people go out to vote, he’s afraid of losing his majority. It’s gross, it’s transparent, and it only goes to show why he’s dead wrong.
Confirmation Bias
I honestly would have been shocked had Brett Kavanaugh NOT been confirmed. Seriously, it would have blown my mind. The GOP was just too gung ho about getting this done. Having a conservative majority directing the course of legal discourse for the foreseeable future was just too important. That said, there was hope of some Republican holdouts. Unfortunately, that amounted to one of them (Lisa Murkowski from my state, Alaska) basically just no voting, which helped no one, and another, Susan Collins, giving a long diatribe that betrayed decades of principles on her part. Susan Collins fancies herself something a champion for women, yet the day before the confirmation vote, she went on a rant that was tantamount to victim blaming. She attacked Christine Blasey Ford’s recollection, and suggested that she was less reliable than Brett Kavanaugh, a man who lied right to her face. And let’s not mince words: He lied. Provably so. He lied and handed the Senate proof of his lies while doing it. And the fact that he did and the Republicans didn’t seem to care, showed me that no FBI investigation, no matter how impressive the scale allowed, would have stopped this confirmation from moving forward. So, Justice Brett Kavanaugh is moving forward as the most disliked Supreme Court Justice at confirmation, and Susan Collins moves forward as a hypocrite that no one with any sense will ever take seriously again.
The Truth About Willie
I guess Texas conservatives who happen to be Willie Nelson fans are shocked an appalled at Willie’s endorsement of Democratic Senate Candidate Beto O’Rourke over Republican Ted Cruz. And that I say, really? It’s Willie Nelson. He’s FAMOUSLY progressive in his leanings. He openly supports marijuana legalization, marriage equality, anti-war efforts, and combating climate change. I don’t even consider myself much of a Willie fan, and even I am more than vaguely aware of his political leanings, and yet his conservative fans are angry and betrayed at his political endorsement. I mean, you stick with him when he openly endorses and performs for causes you don’t support, but the second it’s for the sake of someone who embodies all his political positions, then it’s a step too far? You know, lines in the sand don’t mean a whole lot if you have to keep redrawing them.
Congressional Homework
The confirmation hearing for Brett Kavanaugh as the newest Justice of the Supreme Court started on Tuesday morning. And, I think as most people expected, it was a rather raucous affair. Protestors were abound, desperately trying to throw a wrench in the works of Kavanaugh getting confirmed. The Democrats were also attempting to delay the whole affair, and frankly, I don’t mind. Kavanaugh is kind of awful. But in total fairness, their reason for attempting to postpone the confirmation is pretty legit. You see, just a few hours prior, over 42,000 documents pertinent to the career and character of Kavanaugh were released to the Senate. Now, maybe I’m being unreasonable, but I feel like it’s unfair to expect people to read tens of thousands of documents in a few hours. The whole thing stinks of a runaround, so yeah, I feel like the Democrats had a legitimate cause for postponement. But of course the Republican majority wasn’t having it, Chuck Grassley especially, seeming completely baffled that there was an issue. While they weren’t successful in lobbying for a continuance, the protestors and bickering certainly slowed things down, which I suppose is something…
A Study in Violence
I’m starting to love when Betsy DeVos goes and speaks to Congress. It’s the funniest thing C-Span gets to air. Seriously, she says things that are blindingly stupid or ignorant, and everyone’s soul in the room dies a little every time it happens. Even the Republican who have to pretend to think she isn’t totally incompetent at her job, have trouble holding it together. It’s really entertaining. This week, it was watching Senator Patrick Leahy grill her about funding and her School Safety Commission. When asked if her Commission would look into the role guns play in gun violence (you know, that thing the White House, including the Donald himself and in tears Sarah Huckabee Sanders assured the nation this commission was set up to do) she said no, and acted like she was completely baffled as to why she would be asked such a question. The problem is that it should have been a dumb question. He should have asked that, and the obvious answer should have been “Well of course. It’s Gun Violence. Gun is in the description.” The answer should not have been “No, and why are you looking at me like I’m a crazy person?” Seriously, watching her fumble her way through these interviews like a drunk driver talking to a police officer is wonderful…wonderful in a way that has me worried about the education of our kids.
Mirror Image
Another Senate race has been getting a lot of attention recently. The race out of West Virginia has been quite contentious because of a GOP candidate named Don Blankenship, a coal baron with a sketchy past. Even if his past as arguably one of sleaziest employers in American history wasn’t enough, his adverts and statements have been courting a fair amount of controversy, which is putting a delicate spin on it. Even Donald Trump is, unequivocally denouncing Blankenship, and Trump couldn’t even bring himself to do that for Roy Moore, and that guy was accused of sexually assaulting a number of teenage girls. Despite Trump’s attacks on him, Blankenship is surging ahead in the Republican primaries, ironically, using a number of Trump-like tactics, like embracing conspiracy theories and engaging in mudslinging with colorful nicknames of people he doesn’t like. And considering his ties to the coal industry, an industry that Trump is fighting tooth and nail to save, something about this guy is bad enough for even Trump to want to pull out the rug from under him.
Facebook on Trial
Watching Mark Zuckerberg testify to Congress was a bit like watching someone explain the internet to their grandmother. At first, you see the Senators had some questions loaded to really kind of grill Zuckerberg on Facebook and privacy, but as soon as he starts explaining any facet of software, you can see the senators eyes just glaze over. I don’t want to blame it on the ages of the respective senators. I know plenty of older people who are more tech savvy than me. But you can tell that the current generation of senators are a few steps behind in understanding the basic business model of social media.
A Bigly Endorsement
Trump endorsed Mitt Romney for his Senate bid…and I have to wonder how Romney feels about that. I can’t imagine that Trump has suddenly become self aware, and I think he genuinely thinks that he’s maybe helping Romney. But it’s still odd, considering how often and how fervently Romney has spoken out against Trump and his policies. But back to Romney, I wonder if he’s going to distance himself from that endorsement or run with it. I know he officially thanked Trump, but even in his thank you, it seemed like he was quick to pivot back away from him. So who knows? It will be interesting to watch though.
Benefits of the new Tax Bill
The justification for this scam of a tax bill is that the permanent corporate tax cuts will incentivize corporations to make new big investments spurring salary increases and new jobs. And I keep reading articles that have company heads and CEOs claiming that this will in no way make them interested in doing that. They’ll mostly use the breaks to do what they’ve always done: boost shareholder profits. So I find it awfully bold for people like Paul Ryan to insist that corporations will absolutely do something that they have no financially good reason to do.
Mind the Exit 