Shaking My Head
The far right of the Republican Party, the so called freedom caucus, leave me wondering. First they took some great work by Speaker McCarthy to try and hem in spending and close the deficit, and through their noise and complaining turned it into a negative.
Instead of applauding the speaker, they expressed outrage because they didn’t get all they wanted.
Well, I said it before, you can’t get what YOU want if you can’t elect people who think like you. YOU, lost elections and opportunities with some of the loonies you nominated. YOU, should shut up now.
But no, they went even further yesterday.
They blocked four popular bills from getting a vote, to send a public message of disapproval of the Speaker’s debt limit deal with President Biden. The legislation they sidelined would have prevented the Biden administration’s efforts to ban gas stoves and give Congress more say over major rules issued by the executive branch — measures with broad support among Republicans.
“We warned them not to cut that [debt] deal without coming down and sit down and talk to us,” Rep. Chip Roy, Texas Republican, said. “So this is all about restoring a process that will fundamentally change things back to what was working.”
Well, congressman, the Speaker was working well and prevailing. You and your caucus involvement turned victory into defeat and your threats to have a recall vote are beyond sensible. If you haven’t looked, check the Speaker’s positivity rating with the public. It’s the highest of any of the congressional leaders. Check your caucus’s success at the ballot box and see what that is. The Speaker can only negotiate with what he has.
YOU can’t win at a table, what YOU can’t win at the ballot box.
And The Field Gets Crowded
Three new candidates into the Republican primary in two days. What is most interesting is that former VP Mike Pence is the first VP to ever run against the President he served. Pence is a decent man, with a wonderful family, but he will be tarred by the Trump connection. He has a Town Hall on CNN at 9 tonight if you want to see him.
As for Chris Christie, his chances of winning are as good as yours or mine. What he will do is leave debris all over the road for as long as he is in. Here’s an example from his announcement:
He called Donald Trump a “lonely, self-consumed, self-serving mirror hog.” Ouch. Then added, “we can’t dismiss the question of character anymore, If we do, we get what we deserve.”
It remains hard for me to believe that a majority of the Republican Party is going to nominate the one person that President Biden can defeat easily again to get reelected.
While on the Republicans, Republican National Committee announced that the party’s first presidential primary debate will take place Aug. 23 in Milwaukee.
Based on the current requirements, there are at least five candidates that would immediately qualify for the August 23 debate. They are
Former President Trump, Florida Gov. DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Haley, Sen. Scott of South Carolina, and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
There will be more, and it’s only two plus months away. So buckle up.