Let’s start with the hearing. If you watched that end to end what did you get besides angry, a neck ache from shaking your head and more confused than when you began? You got confusion and turned off TV’s.
I came out of it thinking not one mind was changed and the lines in the sand for both sides are deeper. From one side this President is the most crooked in history and must be impeached now before he conspires with foreign despots in the 2020 election.
From the other side you got this is the latest in a three year objective to overturn the 2016 election.
The same comments and facts, when presented from either side to their witnesses (in this case their lawyers, and one who amazingly turned from witness to questioner), resulted in polar analysis. It was an incredible amount of time that changed no ones mind. We have succeeded in dividing the country so deeply it will take a traumatic event to bring us together again.
We are headed – full steam ahead – to a partisan vote (with any deviations coming from the majority to the minority) for impeachment. So for the third time in our history the House will impeach, and for the first time with a partisan vote, losing only a few of their own members.
At this point, I have to believe this is going to hurt the Democrats. Pelosi, Schiff and Nadler come off as angry and vengeful more than cuddly bears.
Now on the IG report, I think it was more disappointing for the Trump side than the Democrats. This because the President had led us to believe it was a coup and the IG did not find that. Though he did find plenty that left you wondering how it could happen if it wasn’t a coup.
Basically the report said it was a legal probe, but it did find so many mistakes and all of them against the President. Every mistake and wrong deed was against the President.
In the end it means we go on and await the Durham Investigation, which should be far more interesting. Durham has subpoena power and can talk to people inside the government and those no longer there. The IG could not do that.
That lack of power always lead me to believe this would be limited. The Durham probe is real. Add the fact that Durham, who never comments, did so on the IG report, and said he was in disagreement on some of it is a warning for anyone claiming victory today.
One thing I did learn. The left kept saying this did not start with the FISA document, it started with Carter Page. Well yesterday we learned (or at least I did) that Carter Page was working for the CIA and had been for a while.
other news
It looks like the USMCA will be voted on in congress by the end of next week. The Democratic leadership will want some positives after impeachment. Look for a prescription drug plan too. They need some positive actions.
Now they will also say we passed hundreds of bills that died in the senate. That is a smokescreen. You can pass all the bills you want that you know the other side controlled by conservatives will not pass. Governing is getting something done.
After her Howard Stern interview, many became convinced that Hillary is looking to run. Here’s more for her. She was the top choice in the Harvard-Harris national poll just released. Hillary was at 21%, followed by Biden with 20% (among registered Democrats) when asked whom they would support for the 2020 party presidential nod. Sanders was next at 12%, followed by Warren at 9% Bloomberg at 7%. John Kerry was also added to the poll but did not make the top five.
Joe Biden proposed nearly $1 trillion in new corporate taxes, as he sought to generate more revenue to pay for his policy plans on health care, climate, infrastructure and education. Think about that. Many of us (me included) believe the drop in corporate taxes allowed us to be competitive and is bringing jobs back. Do we really want to drive them away again?
Now Democrats say that tax increases speed up the economy. Elizabeth Warren, as an example, is pushing the “pro-growth” argument for raising taxes.
I will para phrase a Ronald Reagan argument. Why is it better when the government spends your money than you do.
Let’s see what today brings, have a great day.