The Carpenters
For the past six years, Republicans in Congress have tried to
bend and weave against the liberal juggernaut, but without landing a punch on
Obama. They felt that they were supposed to “govern,” which they internalized
to mean “offer as little resistance as possible and fund the bulk of Obama’s
agenda.” This approach is all wrong. Don’t compromise with people who tell us
lies and call it truth. A leader who is driving his country down is no leader
at all, and certainly not one any of us should
respect.
Once in a while, Republicans showed incredible backbone, and
even then, the boldness came from members within the Freedom Caucus or
outspoken conservatives unafraid to ruffle Establishment feathers. Rep. Mark
Meadows of North Carolina pushed back against the caucus leadership to retain
his subcommittee chairmanship. He in turn issued the discharge petition which
brought down former Speaker John Boehner. The long-time Ohio Congressman had
mocked his colleagues for refusing to buckle on immigration “reform.” He finally got to squeal
:
“Oooh! Don’t make me do this! It’s too hard!”
Too bad! Too late!
Rep. Tom Huelskamp of Kansas refused to expand food stamps,
did not vote for Boehner as Speaker of the House. He was kicked of the
Agricultural committee. Later he was restored to the House Study Committee. But
the voters in the Big First tossed him out in the primary for a pro-business,
pro-government subsidy replacement. Lesson learned: stay alert until you run
unopposed or you win your next election. At least Mitch McConnell managed to
block the appointment of Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland.
With Donald Trump officially installed as President of the United States in two
weeks, Republicans are breaking out the wish list.
But the fight has just begun.
Republican members who were pushing an unthinking ethics reform
had to back off, but at least they got busy with the agenda we expect them to
work on. On the opposing side (with dwindld numbers for the long haul), the
Democrats have learned nothing from their latest failures, especially if they live in California, unless they live in
a swing district. The jungle primary in California did succeed in knocking out
one incumbent, Mike Honda of Fremont, California. His replacement, Ro Khanna,
is an Obama acolyte who is starting to stray from the arrogant yet wavering
progressive narrative. He opposes the Trans Pacific Partnership, which is all
but dead now since Speaker Ryan dispatched his primary challenger and stood
with President-Elect Donald Trump. Democrat
Scott Peters of San Diego
is joining with Rep. Darrell Issa (who survived
the closest race of his political career) to pass an “Americans First” bill. HR
170 will fix the H-1B abuses like the ones which forced hard-working
Disney
Southern California Edison employees and to train lower-paid, lower-skilled
replacements.
Republicans have initiated repeal of Obamacare, too, and
reconciliation to end this terrible piece of legislation should be coming down
the pike very soon. But the Democrats will continue to fight. They will never
see the light. They are convinced that they are right, and their stance on any
issue has always been the gross expansion of political power, while closing the
nexus of liberty which men and women were designed to operate in.
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer has announced that
Trump and the Republican Party want to “Make America Sick Again.” Really? We
the People are sick and tired of Obamacare. Working people who didn’t pay
attention to politics, and who probably didn’t know who was the Vice-President
of the United States, absolutely despise this law. People who didn’t care what
their elected officials were doing, now care.
Democrats who still hold sway in three (or four) states in
the country have vowed to double down and thwart Trump at every turn.
California’s Democratic desperation is so acute, they retained the counsel of
former Attorney General Eric Holder. Hold the applause, and start laughing out
loud. This former lackey for the Clinton Administration had helped coordinate
one of the most corrupt bargains of campaign cash for pardons in modern
history. He was running guns under the aegis of the Department of Justice with
Operation Fast-and-Furious. The scandal which killed American federal law enforcers
ended badly for Holder. He was found in contempt of Congress (a ruling which is
still outstanding, isn’t it?). As Oversight Committee Chairman, Rep. Issa
blasted his incompetent deputies (check out his
video for a thrilling example). Now contemptible Holder will counsel one of
the most corrupt, incompetent, and bankrupt states in the union, and on my
dime. Please, Mr. Trump, take them down a notch or two! We the People won’t stop fighting!
No one should be surprised by Sacramento’s penchant for
legal protections for the lawless while preying on the law-abiding. California
lawmakers have already allowed illegal aliens to hold law licenses. This
insensate disregard for
the rule of law and citizenship is no joke. Two illegal aliens still sit on
city commissions in “Little TJ” Huntington Park, but the arrogant city council
is feeling the heat for their egregious flouting of federal law. Felons can
vote in California prisons, and the state legislature decriminalized child
prostitution. When the District Attorney of Alameda County, one of the bluest
regions in the state decries
this felony stupid maneuver, you know that the Democratic Party has hit
rock bottom.
California Republicans, from the Chairman down to the
grassroots activists, are thrilled with Trump’s victory. We have a reason to
get up in the morning and fight. His
mere ascendance as Chief Executive is scaring illegal aliens and their
enablers to adjust to a new reality: no more cheap labor at the expense of
national security and American workers.
Trump’s got the fight in him, and that’s what helped him
win. Across the country, even in the bluest of states, conservatives should
learn from him and know that they face a bright future, with a narrow window of
opportunity to change the course of their individual states too.