Here We Go Again

Republicans are sure Hillary is guilty of a crime. They just don't know what crime.

She isn't even in office and they're already talking about all the investigations they have planned and blocking all her Supreme Court appointments. Does this sound like a party putting country first? More to the point, concerned about correcting the problems within their own party?

Do you think Republicans have noticed their party is in tatters? They've been after the Clintons since 1992. They devoted all their attention to investigating Clintons and no attention to the well being of their party. In attempting to destroy the Clintons they destroyed their party by neglect.

Can you be impeached for acts committed in a job you previously held? If so, can the Bush administration still be investigated and impeached?

I rolled my eyes when I learned the latest email debacle did not involve Hillary but rather her aide who's married to Anthony Weiner. That is so like the Clintons. If there's sleaze anywhere around they can be counted on to be close enough to cause talk that stokes the Republican flames of suspicion. I miss the Obamas already.

Cleaning My Own House

Daughter is flying in tomorrow to visit until Wednesday. Bob and I are excited she is coming.

Lest you think I talk only about the GOP I thought it appropriate to point out some areas in the Democratic party that could soon be troublesome.  Hopefully by the time daughter leaves and I'm back to blogging, I'll be able to move on from politics and get a life.

1) Democrats do not have high voter turn out in mid-term elections. They tend to turn out for Presidential elections and then go away for four years. This is a big problem. If this happens in 2018 as it did in 2010 and before that in 1994 we will be in very big trouble.  1994 brought us Newt Gingrich, 2010 brought us the Tea Party.

I'm not sure the reason for this but I suspect it may have something to do with the high minority vote in the Democratic party. Perhaps minorities have not been properly educated on the importance of mid-term elections. Heck, whites apparently haven't been educated either. Whatever the reason, Republicans do a good job getting their voters out every two years. Democrats desperately need to work on this issue and do it soon.

2) I am very concerned about 2020 for Democrats. We simply must not run Hillary again. She has high negatives now but she'll have ever higher negatives by 2020. She has perhaps lucked out this time by running against Donald Trump but we must not take that chance in 2020. Who do you see waiting in the wings who might be ready by 2020?  That concerns me a lot. Shame on Democrats for not doing a better job grooming future candidates.

3) I was very pleased to see the top layer of the DNC resign. Republicans might have fared better if that had happened to the RNC a few years prior to this election. I see this as a plus, a time for Democrats to get their act together by 2020 with new people and hopefully new ideas.

4) The Bernies may not go away. Time will tell but it looks to me like they're about the business of changing the Democratic party and this election will not be forgotten. I spent some time researching this issue today. Remember when the Republican Party thought that little bunch of noise makers called the Tea Party was no cause for concern?  Think about the same for Democrats and Bernies.

It has been my experience that all fundamentalism, right as well as left, all comes from the same root. One is no more destructive than the other. Democrats need to heads up and not ignore the Bernies.

Finally, my question is this, if the Republicans continue to move to the right and Democrats continue to move to the left how will we ever have a government that functions?

I Am Mad

Texas is my home state and I'm more than a little mad, it's complicated. I want the people in the flooded areas to receive federal aid, but I am livid with the hypocrisy of the politicians there.

The last two governors have allowed talk of Texas succeeding from the Union when they know that is never going to happen.  It's like a toddler holding its breath in a temper tantrum. They scream and rail against the federal government, then hold their hand out for money. Gov. Abbott is famous for declaring he'll sue the federal government. It's embarrassing.

Now it seems Gov. Abbott has declared nine Texas counties as disaster areas in order to receive  federal aid due to flooding.

Barry Goldwater believed states should not take federal aid if they were capable of dealing with a crisis at the state level.  I'd say Texas should be able to do that. Then why is this good bombastic Republican Governor asking for federal relief? He should be setting the example for other Republican governors.

I haven't read Texas history lately but I believe the last time Texas went rogue it didn't work out too well for them. If Gov. Abbott knows he's going to be asking the federal government for help I'd like him to stop criticizing until such time as Texas succeeds from the Union or his lawsuit against the federal government is successful.

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I saw this on Twitter regarding Senator Ted Cruz's charm offensive.

Senator Al Franken said "He seems to be having some trouble with the charm but he's got the offensive down cold."

Listen Up Democrats

Do you enjoy a good schlacking?

Ever wonder why we have a Democrat in the White House and a Republican Congress?

When Democrats think about government they think federal level and national elections. They tend to vote every four years and consider their job done. Got a Democrat in the White House what more do you want?

When Republicans think about government they think of state level and mid-term elections. Republicans know the importance of voting every two years. Mid-term elections are important in the House and Senate.

So far Republicans have been unable to get an extreme conservative elected to the White House (we'll see what they do this time). As a whole the country is not that conservative.

They can however fill the House and Senate with extreme conservatives because they are elected from districts at the state level.

If you want to stop the gridlock we have in Congress tell all the Democrats you know, starting now, the importance of voting every two years.

President Clinton received a schlacking in 1994, and President Obama in 2010. Prepare for the same in 2018 if Hillary Clinton is in the White House and Democrats fail to change their ways.

Dumb and Dumber

I could be amused by some of the nonsense going on today if not for the pain it causes people.

Have you been keeping up with the latest "Religious Freedom" legislation that's been signed into law in North Carolina and Mississippi? Mostly this legislation is about giving religious people the freedom to discriminate against persons different than themselves.

"The new law bars people from using public restrooms that don't align with the sex on their birth certificates - a measure proponents say protects privacy but critics describe as a thinly veiled attack on transgender people."

Now how do you suppose these states plan to carry out this law? Who's job is it to check people entering restrooms to be sure they're in the right one? Does this mean you'll be barred if you can't present a birth certificate?
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In Indiana Gov. Mike Pense (R) signed a controversial bill that would block women from seeking abortions based on medical diagnosis. You can read about it in this article. The woman would be required to notify the state should she chose to terminate her pregnancy, regardless of the medical diagnosis.

The governor's office this week has received several calls from women describing the details of their period.

"I need to get a message to the Governor that I am on day three of my period.  My flow seems abnormally heavy, but my cramps are much better," one woman called to say.

The law apparently includes in the reporting requirement, "some women on their periods may unknowingly expel a fertilized egg and thus have a miscarriage and be potentially liable if the egg is not correctly disposed of."  (I'm thinking this surely cannot be true.)

One comment on this article was "Women in Indiana should mail their used tampons to the governor."

I thought this comment was right on target, "So let me get this right - these are some of the same people that push back because we want to close the "gun show loophole" which they insist violates their 2nd Amendment rights; yet these same people want to violate a woman (& her family's) right to terminate a pregnancy because the fetus has mental/physical/developmental disabilities?!? So is the governor going to pay for the upkeep and maintenance of the women that will now be forced into carrying the pregnancy to term?!?"
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This is a case of dumb and dumber. It's beyond me why conservative lawmakers are so obsessed with all things sexual.