5-11-2024 (Updated)
A Disgruntled Republican
Is there really a difference between being a stand up flag waving, constitutional believing patriotic Republican and being fed up with Republican Party politicians who say one thing to get your vote and fail to perform when the chips are down and their congressional vote is on the line? I say no!
There are 435 seats in the US House of Representatives and 100 seats in the US Senate. I’m taking a wild guess here (no polls to verify my opinion) but what do I feel is the most widely used vote when a bill is on the floor of congress?
Is it Yea, Nay or Present? Overwhelmingly is has to be Present!
I’m sure there are roll call votes where each and every member of the House or the Senate must stand up and cast their vote – for something, right?
So why are we not seeing responsible legislation passed? Why do we still have all the pork projects which benefit that legislator and only a small portion of Americans? And why do we not see Republicans standing up against irresponsible legislative agendas?
Is it because of committees or caucuses? A few years ago I found there were more than 200 caucuses, where each member of each caucus was bound to vote the way of each caucus? Many caucuses are being chaired by Democrats and co-chaired by Republicans as a way of making it seem bi-partisan and fair. I’m not convinced that it is.
I recently listened to a Republican legislator say that on certain occasions he simply votes Present as a means of what – a protest vote? How does that make any sense at all?
I challenge anyone to look at any former or currently seated legislator of any party and follow their voting record and tell me what legislation of major significance have they sponsored and/or voted for that bears their name? What legislative accomplishment are they most proud of?
Let me give you an example, as a Senator from Democrat NY Hillary Clinton worked on getting legislation passed (not quite fast enough though) that would provide healthcare to those who couldn’t afford it. Had she been successful it would have been dubbed “Hillarycare”, yet her applecart was broadsided and when the dust settled and without anyone in Congress being able to actually read it, we got “Obamacare” or The Affordable Healthcare Act.
Do I think Obama spent hours and hours working out the nuances of this multi-thousand page bill? Not on your life, yet it became known as his. I seem to recall that the voting record of Obama showed that he voted Present much of the time (I may be wrong, so go check it out for yourself).
Why is it that immigration has been touted as a major problem since the end of World War II, yet no sitting congress has been able to fix it? I mean considerable funding has been allocated to building a border fence along the southern border, but the best they could do was a barbwire wooden pole fence that could hardly keep cattle in their pastures. When Trump urged Congressional leaders to reform the immigration laws, including make the dreamers legal (not by Obama’s presidential decree) he promised to sign it into law. Yet when Trump began building his wall, I mean a real honest to goodness wall as a barrier against unlawful entry, human trafficking and dangerous and harmful drugs Congress put up such a fight that you’d think they were in the pocket of the Mexican drug cartels. When Trump threatened to institute higher tariffs on Mexican goods, Mexican troops sealed off the Mexican side of the border real fast.
So what happened?
Democratic legislators band together and stand their ground, even when it’s not in the best interests of American citizens.
Republican legislators talk the talk, but haven’t figured out how to walk the walk and ultimately cowtow to pressure from the left, lest they offend someone with deep pockets.
JFK said “ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country” and today’s legislators tell us what our government is going to do to us should we balk at their power grab. The roadblock stopping them is DJT and something called the Bill of Rights, yet they are actively trying to shred that document so that an out of control government can sweep all the rights enshrined in the Constitution under the rug.
I’m tired of electing “sissies” (and I mean that not in a nice way either) to the House and the Senate. Not everyone qualified for public service should be in public service, especially when they use that service as a means of self-enrichment and political gain or a stepping stone into the White House because they look good.
America deserves better! We need men and women who have the intestinal fortitude to stand for what is right and use the brain that God has given them to look to the health, safety and welfare of American citizens,
There are no rights for non-citizens no matter how they got into this country. Aliens have the right to apply for residency, work permits or educational and tourist visas and then following procedures established by law the right to work toward citizenship, but must meet a series of requirements before becoming citizens of the United States. And our legislators must insure that the laws of this nation are adhered to by everyone. – RTM