Liberal Republicans and Conservative Democrats
In today’s world of U.S. politics, the title looks like it’s backwards – that it’s the other way around, dummy.
Certainly that’s the impression made by the ‘wings’ of both Parties and one the public perceives as the case, that Democrats are liberal, and Republicans are conservative.
The impression is also left with the public that “ne’er the twain shall meet.” That all members of each Party vote as a block and that when we’re electing representatives, we’re just choosing the candidate who will vote with the all the others of the same Party on every issue or bill.
Oh, the Party leaders tout the proposition that a certain bill has the support of one or even several members of the other Party for something, and ergo the bill is ‘bipartisan.’ The leaders still understand the voters want there to be bipartisan involvement in passing everything, but in reality, they and the world know it isn’t. And the word ‘compromise is a word few members of Congress know even how to spell the word, much less do anything that bipartisan.
Most of the media is ‘all in’ on the current perspective. I might even say it’s what they expect now. It’s news when one political Party controls a chamber of the Congress.
Frankly, I’m not sure what either major Party stands for these days. Both play the game like there’s major differences between them, but when you look at what’s being done both come up lacking.
It wasn’t that long ago that the perception was the Democrats were for the common folk while Republicans were for those who made the decisions in various private sector arenas. That’s not true anymore.
In addition to some others, southern representatives and senators were conservative-minded. Those times are also noted as including long-gone statesmanship. Now it seems to be about the Party at all costs, not the people. As mentioned, they tend to vote as blocks of one Party against the other. We’re supposed to expect this small thinking like it’s some sort of rule. Each is supposed to be perceived as the opposite of the other. Privately, I think they get along just fine.
Both Parties have little sense about relatively simple things like controlling the border and balancing the budget. Things like common sense seem to be in short supply in both.
Ah, there’s the phrase: “common sense.”
It doesn’t make any sense to open the country’s borders to all comers regardless of their intent. Supposedly wannabe immigrants who desire to enter the country must be suffering some type of persecution in their home country (ies). Our immigration laws are clear. Following a trek to the border to enter outside our generous legal immigration limits as is the law, and simply using the word “asylum” to enter makes no sense. In the last three years illegal immigration has set records almost every year and month. People from over 140 countries are represented by those that have entered. Common sense tells us that 140+ countries are not persecuting these immigrants.
In peacetime it makes no sense to spend money beyond our means, the government revenues, and run up the national debt to dizzying levels with commensurate inflation.
It makes no sense to regulate and artificially attempt to create a huge market for EVs when we must charge them with fossil fuel generated electricity. The net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is close to zero. We live in a capitalistic society where people are free to create markets for products and services – to rewarding entrepreneurship, innovation, and quality in creating new and serving old markets.
Common sense is obviously not considered, much less applied, to any of the major issues facing the citizenry. What’s the government for anymore?
When you consider Congress continues to carry an approval rate of 15% by the voters, it’s easy to conclude our narrow-minded Congress is not about getting anything substantial done or conducting the expected oversight of departments, agencies, and programs.
We don’t have individuals representing us anymore. I swear the political party leaders must send out the allowed and required talking points every morning aimed at keeping politics and political party affiliations alive in the rhetoric.
The same is true for the pseudo-journalists who become talking heads for one political party or the other.
Conservative or liberal, it all seems to come out the same.
Power to the political party’s elite! – not the people.
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Have a great and prosperous week.
Hug somebody.
SPIDER Bites
This week’s trivia question is: Michael Joseph Blassie, who died in the Vietnam War, was identified through DNA testing in 1998 and was reinterred after having been buried in what specific location for the previous 26 years? The answer to last week’s question re: what 1927 film effectively ended the silent movie era by introducing synchronized talking and singing? The Jazz Singer. Its release heralded the commercial ascendance of sound films and effectively marked the end of the silent film era via the Vitaphone sound-on-disc system. It featured six songs performed by Al Jolson, including “Toot, Toot, Tootsie.”
9-0. That’s the number most SCOTUS rulings should be. A law or action taken by anyone is either constitutional or not. It’s either covered in the Constitution or it isn’t. I’ve always found it difficult to understand how some Justices see the US Constitution differently than what’s there. The ruling last week on the Colorado ballot case is refreshing.
In 2010 the gap between the expected life spans of men and women was 4.8 years. In 2023 that gap increased to 5.8 years. I don’t know if transgender men live longer.
After “Super Tuesday” it would appear Donald Trump and Joe Biden will face each other again in November for President. I’ll be tuning out of the field days the talking heads will have.
Expect the judge to rule on the “soap opera” the GA election-interference trial against Donald Trump has become.
NY Governor Hochul ordered the National Guard to be patrol and search the bags of people using NYC’s subway system. If NYC had the cops and MTA officers it lost when defunding their police, prosecuted criminals, and was not spending 100’s of millions on illegals, military personnel would not be necessary for safety. It feels like we’re getting closer and closer to a police state. At the same time the Governor is pushing a plan to hire illegal immigrants for state jobs by eliminating the requirements of a civil service exam and high school diploma.
President Biden gave his state of the union speech last week. The low bar set for him was apparently exceeded. His vision for reelection is more of the same where everything is fine, if more people understood how great things are, and Republicans are to blame. Not a real ‘unite-er’ of a loud speech!
