by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
Most of the high drama in our nation's capital of late seems to be in the form of political showdowns, affairs which are, quite surprisingly, taking place within the city's dominant political party - the GOP. That's right, the big news is not Republicans versus Democrats, it's Republicans fighting among themselves. And it goes without saying that this family-feuding couldn't happen to a more deserving group of individuals.
Some, if not many, Republicans are not happy with Donald Trump's trade war. Trump seemed to think that he could prance onto the world stage, set some tariffs (import duties) on goods that he felt were being unfairly dumped into the U.S. market, and head back to the golf course without facing any consequences. That would be that. Those with more political experience than Trump, however, such as most members of Congress, knew better. The affected countries immediately began hitting back by placing tariffs on U.S. exports - and many particular exports of states and localities that had been big-time Trump supporters. Donald Trump might not feel immediate pain from his knee-jerk decision to start a trade war with a host of U.S. allies, but his partisan weasels in Congress felt the fire from day one.
A substantial group of Republicans are very distressed over the Trump administration's re-energized ardor in attacking Obamacare. Trump's people are currently urging a federal judge in Texas to throw out the law's protections for people with pre-existing conditions. Even Republicans who oppose Obamacare in principle want to keep some parts of the law - and one of the portions that they would like to salvage - one that is of direct benefit to many of their constituents - is the provision that forces insurance companies to accept enrollees who have pre-existing conditions. But the petulant Trump wants to erase every vestige of President Obama.
While Donald Trump and certain important members of the Republican Party remain loud and belligerent in their hatred of immigrants, other Republicans prefer a more moderate approach to the issue, and, in particular, they favor doing something to allow the young people who are part of the "Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals" (DACA) program to remain in this country. A couple of dozen tolerant Republican congressmen have signed onto a discharge petition that would force the House of Representatives to bring an immigration bill to the floor for discussion and a vote - a discussion and vote where DACA could be debated before the nation. The GOP leadership has placed a temporary lid on this intra-party revolt, but it could still blow at any second.
And then there is pot.
The raging war over marijuana that has ravaged the nation for decades has about played itself out, with some states already having passed laws legalizing marijuana for medical and even recreational use, and other states lining up to do so within the next couple of years. Old lies have been proven false, and a new day is dawning across much of the country. The last bastion of resistance to tolerance and acceptance on the marijuana front appears to be in the U.S. Department of Justice and in the person of Jefferson Beauregard Sessions, III, the Attorney General of the United States.
Jeff Sessions is a rigid old white cracker from rural Alabama who has yet to accept the results of the Civil War, much less something as controversial as that hippie drug, marijuana. When he was asked about pot at his senate confirmation hearing to be attorney general, Sessions famously replied, "Good people don't smoke marijuana." Sessions position on the subject since assuming his role as attorney general and head of the Justice Department is that federal laws against marijuana are the laws of the land and will be enforced, regardless of what the heretical states do. (A stance which puts the unreconstructed Confederate wannabe in the uncomfortable position of opposing state's rights.)
Now Jeff Sessions is pitted against a bill sponsored by Senator Corey Gardner of Colorado (a Republican) and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts (a Democrat) that would allow states to regulate marijuana without federal interference. The bill goes counter to a core belief of Sessions, but his Republican boss, Donald John Trump, is indicating that he favors the legislation and would sign the bill if it reaches his desk.
One-party control of the government is not good, and it leaves room for much mischief and long-term damage. But at some point party solidarity begins to fragment and factions emerge. That seems to be what is happening now. If the Democrats are insufficient in number to mount a balance to the GOP insanity, then the Republicans have to do it themselves. Slowly, and surely, that appears to be happening.
(And a note to Jeff Sessions: Good people don't lie about meetings with representatives of foreign governments, call immigrants "animals," or pay off porn stars - but good people do smoke pot, every day in every neighborhood - even in Muskogee, Oklahoma Instead of trying to function as Attorney General of the United States, a position that is clearly well above your ability, perhaps you should opt instead to take up residence in a display case at a museum. There you could peacefully represent an arcane worldview and rest secure in the knowledge that you would be dusted regularly - probably by an immigrant.)
Citizen Journalist
Most of the high drama in our nation's capital of late seems to be in the form of political showdowns, affairs which are, quite surprisingly, taking place within the city's dominant political party - the GOP. That's right, the big news is not Republicans versus Democrats, it's Republicans fighting among themselves. And it goes without saying that this family-feuding couldn't happen to a more deserving group of individuals.
Some, if not many, Republicans are not happy with Donald Trump's trade war. Trump seemed to think that he could prance onto the world stage, set some tariffs (import duties) on goods that he felt were being unfairly dumped into the U.S. market, and head back to the golf course without facing any consequences. That would be that. Those with more political experience than Trump, however, such as most members of Congress, knew better. The affected countries immediately began hitting back by placing tariffs on U.S. exports - and many particular exports of states and localities that had been big-time Trump supporters. Donald Trump might not feel immediate pain from his knee-jerk decision to start a trade war with a host of U.S. allies, but his partisan weasels in Congress felt the fire from day one.
A substantial group of Republicans are very distressed over the Trump administration's re-energized ardor in attacking Obamacare. Trump's people are currently urging a federal judge in Texas to throw out the law's protections for people with pre-existing conditions. Even Republicans who oppose Obamacare in principle want to keep some parts of the law - and one of the portions that they would like to salvage - one that is of direct benefit to many of their constituents - is the provision that forces insurance companies to accept enrollees who have pre-existing conditions. But the petulant Trump wants to erase every vestige of President Obama.
While Donald Trump and certain important members of the Republican Party remain loud and belligerent in their hatred of immigrants, other Republicans prefer a more moderate approach to the issue, and, in particular, they favor doing something to allow the young people who are part of the "Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals" (DACA) program to remain in this country. A couple of dozen tolerant Republican congressmen have signed onto a discharge petition that would force the House of Representatives to bring an immigration bill to the floor for discussion and a vote - a discussion and vote where DACA could be debated before the nation. The GOP leadership has placed a temporary lid on this intra-party revolt, but it could still blow at any second.
And then there is pot.
The raging war over marijuana that has ravaged the nation for decades has about played itself out, with some states already having passed laws legalizing marijuana for medical and even recreational use, and other states lining up to do so within the next couple of years. Old lies have been proven false, and a new day is dawning across much of the country. The last bastion of resistance to tolerance and acceptance on the marijuana front appears to be in the U.S. Department of Justice and in the person of Jefferson Beauregard Sessions, III, the Attorney General of the United States.
Jeff Sessions is a rigid old white cracker from rural Alabama who has yet to accept the results of the Civil War, much less something as controversial as that hippie drug, marijuana. When he was asked about pot at his senate confirmation hearing to be attorney general, Sessions famously replied, "Good people don't smoke marijuana." Sessions position on the subject since assuming his role as attorney general and head of the Justice Department is that federal laws against marijuana are the laws of the land and will be enforced, regardless of what the heretical states do. (A stance which puts the unreconstructed Confederate wannabe in the uncomfortable position of opposing state's rights.)
Now Jeff Sessions is pitted against a bill sponsored by Senator Corey Gardner of Colorado (a Republican) and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts (a Democrat) that would allow states to regulate marijuana without federal interference. The bill goes counter to a core belief of Sessions, but his Republican boss, Donald John Trump, is indicating that he favors the legislation and would sign the bill if it reaches his desk.
One-party control of the government is not good, and it leaves room for much mischief and long-term damage. But at some point party solidarity begins to fragment and factions emerge. That seems to be what is happening now. If the Democrats are insufficient in number to mount a balance to the GOP insanity, then the Republicans have to do it themselves. Slowly, and surely, that appears to be happening.
(And a note to Jeff Sessions: Good people don't lie about meetings with representatives of foreign governments, call immigrants "animals," or pay off porn stars - but good people do smoke pot, every day in every neighborhood - even in Muskogee, Oklahoma Instead of trying to function as Attorney General of the United States, a position that is clearly well above your ability, perhaps you should opt instead to take up residence in a display case at a museum. There you could peacefully represent an arcane worldview and rest secure in the knowledge that you would be dusted regularly - probably by an immigrant.)
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