Is “Build Back Better” Dead?

Nope. Not in the least. At least that’s the way several Democrats in the Senate are playing it today. You’ll remember that back in December, Joe Manchin (D-WV) was the one that killed the $2 trillion tax and spend bill that would have brought glee to most Dems. Not so with Manchin. And with a 50/50 split in the Senate, even if they called this a “reconciliation” bill, they couldn’t pass it on their own without Manchin.

There have been talks between Manchin and Senate Majority Leader, Chuckles Schumer (D-NY) to try and find some common ground that would and could pass the Senate. The two met at length this past Tuesday, and this is reportedly what came out of the meeting.

Manchin said he would be voting FOR a new Build Back Better plan if it did two things. First it had to control inflation, which is running as high as it has in the last 40 years. Second, it has to bring down the federal deficit. Manchin, sounding more like a Republican than a Democrat here, said that he would indeed be willing to increase the corporate tax levels to 25% (it’s currently 21%), and would raise the capital gains tax to 28% (currently 20%). He also wants to see the loopholes closed so “that everyone pays their fair share in taxes”.

Now comes the kicker that might kill any chance of it passing. Manchin said that if all of that was done, half of the revenue would have to go toward deficit reduction and couldn’t be used to spend on new social programs like Green New Deal. That will most likely be the sticking point.

I don’t think that anyone in the Democrat party is going to be upset with a tax increase on either corporations or capital gains. And certainly not one that closes loopholes. What they will go absolute bat-crazy about is the half of revenue generated will be going to offsetting the deficit. Democrats don’t seem to think that a deficit is that important of a deal. Oh, they screamed a little bit about it when Donald Trump was president, but that was only because it was Trump in the White House spending the money. Had it been Bobo Obama, or Joe Biden, they would have gleefully approved the spending.

If Manchin sticks to his guns on this one, I can’t see any real compromise that gets the likes of a Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren to jump on board. They interviewed Dick Durbin (D-IL) about the meeting, and while most Dems are tight lipped about what went on, or just plain don’t know, Durbin said he was the “most skeptical” that a deal could be reached. What is most telling is the fact that Republicans are opposed to any corporate or capital gains tax increase, and joining them on the “no” side is Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema. That means that without a Republican joining the Dems, even Manchin’s best wishes won’t come to fruition!

Remember, if the Democrats lose one seat to Republicans in the midterm elections, they lose the chance to pass any of this stuff come next year. That’s why I think you’re going to see a major push over the summer and early fall (a rarity during a campaign year) to pass as much of Biden’s programs as they possibly can. They know the handwriting on the wall and can see that their chances of getting anything else done between now and next January is the only way that happens.

Carry on world…you’re dismissed!

Is It A Big Deal Harris Gets COVID?

If you’re like me, you probably chuckled when you heard the news that the Second Cackler had gotten COVID. After all of the protocols that have been put in place to see that these VIP’s in our government stay healthy, Vice President K-baby Harris came down with it anyway. Why? Well, she will probably tell you it wasn’t because she wasn’t wearing a mask! Now, having said all that, I certainly don’t wish that anyone, on either side of the political spectrum catch this disease. The good news for Harris is that she’s not showing any symptoms. She had been scheduled to receive the Tuesday morning President’s Daily Brief, but after the test, she went home where she’s self-isolating.

So, is it a big deal that Harris got COVID?

In short, yes. For Democrats, it’s a huge deal. K-baby Harris is the tie-breaking vote in the Senate. They basically have their entire week screwed up for this week and probably next week because they can’t get anything passed.

What is probably just as upsetting to Majority Leader Chuckles Schumer is the fact that both Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Chris Murphy (D-CT) have tested positive for the virus. That means that there are only going to be at most 48 Democrats in the chamber, and no Vice President to break a tie should a couple of Republicans like Lisa Murkowski and Mitt Romney decide to jump ship and join them. Basically, until all of these folks get back to work, the Senate is basically in limbo.

Scheduled to come before the Senate was the nomination of Lisa Cook to sit on the Federal Reserve Board, and Alvaro Bedoya to join the Federal Trade Commission. Cook’s vote will most likely take place and fail, though Bedoya’s vote will take place later. But if the GOP also objects to moving Bedoya’s vote, that could also fail. Other than those two nominations, there really isn’t anything super pressing for Democrats. All it is going to do is compact the already tight time line they have to get things done before the November election when you figure in all of the recesses and breaks they take.

Carry on world…you’re dismissed!

How To Deal With Inflation

There are several ways to deal with inflation. It doesn’t take a PhD in economics to figure that one out. But the Democrats are not having a great time getting on board with it.

Now, you remember back about eight or nine months ago, we were told by those in power that the inflation we were witnessing was “transitory”. It was a fluke. Nothing to look at here! But something really strange happened. It kept going. It kept rising. It went from 1.5% from January 20, 2021 when Biden took office, to over 5%. Then it went to 6%. And then the narrative changed. No longer was it transitory. It was something that “we can all live with”. After all, “a little inflation is good!” Then it went to 7% by the end of the year and now it’s near 8%.

Now, you’re not hearing how it’s a good thing. You’re hearing how it’s Putin’s fault. See, even though the inflation rate went from 1.5% to 7.5% before Russia invaded Ukraine, it became Vlad’s fault. And Democrats have heard the message loud and clear that they better do something before November or they will pay mightily at the polls.

And so, Chuckles Schumer in the Senate has come up with an idea. The oil and gas industry has posted windfall profits. And Schumer thinks that $45 billion of the money made legally by oil and gas companies should be taxed and an incredible rate, and that money rebated back to consumers who are aching over paying $6 for a gallon of gas.

The problem is, Schumer isn’t close to getting the votes he needs to get this passed. He needs all 50 Democrats on board, and he’s got three stragglers. Joe Manchin (D-WV) who chairs the Energy and Natural Resources Committee wants to first hold hearings and hear what the oil and gas people have to say about it. Tom Carper (D-DE), and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) have also not taken a position either way on the idea, which signals that they need convincing.

The other problem Schumer is having is that this bill isn’t going to qualify as a budget reconciliation project, so it can’t pass with a 50/50 vote and K-baby Harris breaking the tie. He will need 10 Republicans to jump on board. However, according to Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) that isn’t going to happen. Murkowski has said that there isn’t one Republican she’s talked to that will vote for this idea.

So, Democrats are in a quandary. They don’t want to stop printing money, because that means they have to stop spending money. And if they don’t stop spending money, they don’t lower the inflation rate. If they lower the inflation rate, the country is happier with them, but they can’t do what they love more than life itself…tax people and things so they can spend more money.

And the Republicans are happy to sit on the sideline and let the Democrats fall apart on this one. Get the popcorn out…it’s going to be a comedy up there with the likes of Seinfeld!

Carry on world…you’re dismissed!

The Democrats’ Dilemma

Chuck Schumer was asked if he was going to support incumbents that were facing primary battles from more progressive candidates. He didn’t answer the question. He said he was focused on “winning the elections in 2022”. That’s where he left it.

What that simple five word statement says is volumes. Schumer is running scared. He had the opportunity to back his colleagues such as Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), who have taken a much more moderate stance than the socialists in Congress. Sinema is up for reelection this year, and rumor has it that people like Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and the like are trying to find someone of a more socialist bent to run against her. Representative Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) has been approached. He’s probably the most liberal member of the Arizona Congressional contingent. He was non-committal about running at this point.

Here’s the problem Schumer has in trying to back one group over another in his party.

The Republicans learned the lesson pretty well back in the Tea Party days. Remember when the Tea Party decided to primary incumbents in Congress? They took very conservative candidates, went up against more moderate Republicans and beat them in the primary. And then when the general election rolled around in November, the Republicans got their rear ends handed to them. It turned out, while the GOP base was all for a more conservative approach to government, the electorate as a whole was not.

Democrats haven’t obviously learned that lesson yet. The socialist wing of the Democrat party wants the support of the DNC when it’s their turn to run. They like the money, they like the organization, they like the support of 44% of the voting public. But they don’t like their colleagues that are too conservative in their eyes. And their answer, like so many answers the socialists have, is to go too far. What will happen if they decide to primary the incumbents like Sinema is that yes, a Ruben Gallego will defeat Sinema in the Democrat primary. Out here in the desert, we’re a purple state now, but we’re a conservative purple state. Only pockets of Arizona, like Gallego’s district, will go socialist. So, while he may win a primary, and Sinema would lose as her “punishment” for not falling in line with the party on Build Back Better or the whole filibuster rule change, Gallego won’t stand a chance in the general election against a more conservative candidate.

And Schumer is caught in the middle. He’d like to think that the same thing won’t be happening to him in New York state, but it’s happened before! In fact, AOC has hinted that she might be persuaded to primary Schumer and see who comes out ahead. And in that liberal bastion, based on what I saw in 2020’s Congressional election, AOC would have to be the favorite in the primary. In fact, she may even win the seat! THAT is Schumer’s biggest fear.

I think Chuckles Schumer realizes that he is going to lose upwards of four seats in the Senate this year and his term as Majority Leader is coming to an end. That scares him. But what scares him more is someone like an AOC, who’s probably as well if not better known than he is, would upset his reelection bid and basically end his political career. THAT is what Chuckles Schumer is most afraid of!

Carry on world…you’re dismissed!

Did Stephen Breyer Just Save Chuck Schumer?

Stephen Breyer’s announcement that he was going to retire from the Supreme Court at the end of the high court’s current term in late June or early July may just have saved Chuck Schumer’s rear end.

Prior to Breyer’s announcement, Schumer was facing a rather bleak outlook in 2022. He’s up for reelection in November, and his tenure as Majority Leader in the Senate has been anything but fruitful. Oh, he can point to a spending bill that passed (barely). And he can point to that extra $1,400 per person stimulus package that Congress okayed back in March. You know…the one that was supposed to be $2,000? But Biden counted the $600 that Donald Trump paid out at the end of 2020? Yeah…that one. Other than that, Schumer has spent the vast majority of his time trying to put out squabbles and bringing Joe Manchin, Kyrsten Sinema, and Bernie Sanders together to pass anything that might help his reelection chances.

Schumer’s losses this past year have certainly piled up quicker than any wins he can point to. The two biggest items on Joe Biden’s plate, Build Back Better, and the Voting Rights Act, died a quick death under Schumer’s watch. And heading into a reelection year, when you’ve got to go back to your state’s voters and tell them that everything is great, you just can’t get your own party on the same page, isn’t very productive. Add to that the rumor that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has wanted to primary Schumer for his seat in the upper chamber, and you’ve got more problems.

So, why did Breyer save Schumer? Because Chuckles can now focus on something that he hopes his party can pass. He can replace Breyer with Joe Biden’s nominee and come away looking a lot like a winner. Even though the prospect could be fraught with pitfalls, the odds are better than 50/50 that Schumer will be able to convince Manchin and Sinema to go along with him and confirm whomever Biden puts up. Hell, he may even be able to drag Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, and Mitt Romney along for the ride.

With Breyer retiring, it gives Schumer a chance to at least avoid and postpone trying to solve the Build Back Better and Voting Rights problems. He still has the filibuster issue to deal with and there isn’t any way that’s going away as long as both Manchin and Sinema are against changing it. Without changing it, there’s no way BBB and VRA will pass since they don’t meet the standards for “budget reconciliation” or appointments to office. So, Stephen Breyer may just have saved Schumer.

Now, having said that, I don’t really think Schumer was in that much trouble as it is. First of all, New York is one of the most liberal states in the union. While the bigger cities of New York City, and Buffalo are markedly blue and decidedly left-wing, most of upstate New York is actually pretty conservative. Still 19 of 27 congressional districts are Democrat. That will insure that Schumer gets reelected in November. What happens when he gets back to the Senate next January? That’s the question we need to wait to find out!

Carry on world…you’re dismissed!

Worst President Ever?

If you’re going to listen to the latest poll taken by Politico/Morning Consult, the answer is going to be a resounding “YES!”

The publication asked in it’s most recent survey to give Joe Biden a grade on completing his first year in office. Only 11% gave Biden an “A”. Another 20% offered up a respectable “B”. 18% said a “C” was good enough and another 12% was close to failing him with a “D”. But a whopping 37%, the largest group by far, outnumbering the A’s and B’s combined, decided to flunk Biden on his first year in office.

The reasons were clear. Americans think Biden has done a bad job on three of the areas that he campaigned most on. Those three were the economy, which Biden constantly railed about on the campaign trail; immigration, which was basically fixed and not an issue under Trump, and “unifying America”, something Biden crowed at being able to do a lot better than Trump. His high marks weren’t all that high with only 35% gave him an A or B when it came to his actions on COVID, and 31% gave him the same score on healthcare.

It’s not a surprise to many people at all that only the most loyal of Democrats think Biden has been anything but a failure at his job. His rating was the worst in history, with more people flunking him after one year than gave Trump the same thumbs down after his first year in office (37% to 35%). And it only looks to get worse for Sleepy Joe.

Biden knows full well that the chances of Democrats keeping control of Congress are tipping on the precipice of an abyss. The mere fact that Chuckles Schumer decided to try and hold a vote on the voting rights act and to change the filibuster to a “talking filibuster”, knowing full well that both votes would be tanked is ample evidence of the Democrats’ feelings that they are doomed come November. Biden certainly can’t be blamed for the mess Democrats have made for themselves in Congress, but his weak leadership hasn’t helped anything either.

America’s distrust of the federal government is at an all-time high. Between Biden’s weakened position, a terrible response to Russia’s pounding on the door of Ukraine, an absolute disaster of a withdrawal from Afghanistan, and a general lack of world leadership has left most Americans feeling that Democrats can’t be trusted. In fact, studies have shown more people leaving the Democrat party and identifying as Republicans now more than ever in history. At the beginning of Biden’s term, 49% of Americans identified as Democrats and 40% identified as Republicans. By the end of the year, 47% identified as Republicans and 42% identified as Democrat. That’s a 14 point swing in just one year. And when asked, 62% of survey respondents replied that America is on the wrong path and needs new leadership.

It’s abundantly clear that Americans are loathing Democrat policies and poor leadership right now. They blame not only Biden, but Chuckles Schumer and Nancy Pelosi for the downfall. Schumer has shown to be over his head in trying to lead the Senate, and Pelosi has had no luck at all in trying to reel in the socialist arm of her party, instead settling to kowtow to the likes of AOC, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and the like.

Most Democrat strategists will concede that there is little that can be done during the election year, and that they are ready to take their lumps in the election, and try and regroup afterwards. The interesting thing that seems pretty evident though is the people that are causing the problem, Biden, Schumer, and Pelosi, will still most likely be in Congress come next year at this time. And the likes of the Whackjob 5 will also be there as they were elected by wide margins in their home districts. If that trend continues, the left will push further and further from the center, where most of Americans reside.

Carry on world…you’re dismissed!

Why Democrats Have Lost The War

Well, let’s be clear…the war is far from over. As the bastion of conservative thought, Rush Limbaugh used to say, you don’t want to totally get rid of liberals because you need examples of what happens if you’re not conservative. And he had a point. But for all intents and purposes, let’s be clear on this other point as well. The war is never over, but the current battle certainly looks like it is. And because of the Democrats’ thought process, they don’t ever give in, they double down.

That’s what Chuck Schumer is trying to do with voting rights.

See, if Schumer fails at even bringing the voting rights debate to the Senate floor, he shows the world how weak of a leader he is. That’s something he cannot afford. But at the same time, he wants to point out to everyone in America what we already know. The filibuster rule isn’t going to be changed because Joe Manchin (D-WV), and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) are against changing it. And why are they against changing it? Well, Schumer would have you believe that they are going against their party’s wishes to pass a keystone piece of legislation that will not only help the Democrats, but will keep America’s democracy strong well into the future.

And it’s a bunch of bunk.

As most of you already know, but it does bear repeating…the House of Representatives was always viewed by the Founding Fathers as “The People’s House”. This is where rash ideas could be brought up debated quickly and passed (or not). It was meant to be a fertile ground for new ideas. The Senate on the other hand was designed to slow things down. There, the whole idea was ponder the idea. Poke holes in the idea. See if when you turn it over it still holds water, or does it leak all over the place. And that’s why when debating, it would take a “super majority” of 60 votes to shut down debate.

If you follow Chuck Schumer’s thoughts, he wants the Senate to be a carbon copy of the House. He wants to allow the whole voting rights bill thing to get passed, not because it helps America, but because it helps Democrats. And like Harry Reid before him, Schumer has as much vision as a blind squirrel. Except this squirrel can’t find an acorn.

And so, because there are at least two Democrats that actually pay homage to the Founding Fathers’ wishes of slowing down things and taking time to do the heavy lifting, it appears that the whole getting rid of the filibuster wish so they can pass what they want will wither and die on the vine. Just as it should.

So, what can we take out of this? Chuck Schumer is a very weak leader. He is a very partisan politician, who has been on Capitol Hill way too long. And he, along with his counterpart in the House, make great arguments for why we need term limits in this country. Poor leaders beget poor outcomes. It’s as simple as that. The over-riding problem is, I’m not so sure there’s anyone in the Republican side of the Senate that is capable of doing the job either.

Carry on world…you’re dismissed!

Schumer Kills Biden’s Agenda

It really wasn’t Chuckles Schumer that killed Biden’s agenda. It was Schumer’s inability to lead that did it in. If you haven’t been following the big news from DC in the last few days, Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) announced this past Thursday that no, she wasn’t going to change her stance on the proposals Democrats were floating to change the filibuster rules so they could pass a very partisan “John LewisVoter’s Rights Act”. The House has already passed that measure. So why is it Schumer’s fault and not Sinema’s? Because Krysten had said repeatedly from the beginning (along with Joe Manchin) that she was steadfast in believing that the filibuster rule in the Senate was an asset to the country and shouldn’t be changed just to pass a law.

I applaud my Senator, and for the first time I can honestly say, I’m proud of a Democrat!

Schumer and his cronies in the Senate had tried every conceivable way to get the filibuster rule changed so that the Voting Rights Act and the Freedom To Vote Act. Both acts would have basically made it intrinsically easier to cast a ballot in this country than it would be to fly across it. It would have been a hundred times easier to vote than it would be to visit your elected official, should you decide to make the trek to Washington, DC.

The acts would have basically made it a federal law that all states had to have 15 days of early voting (some actually have more already), and would have made it impossible for states to put any sort of restrictions on mail-in balloting, which Democrats found out in 2020 was a very easy way to flood the ballot box without much if any accountability. Had these acts passed, there would have been a federal commission, selected by the President that would draw the redistricting for the House of Representatives instead of leaving it up to the various states to decide where those boundaries should be (it would have definitely been a violation of the 10th Amendment!).

In the end, Manchin and Sinema have double-handedly ended Joe Biden’s wishes to make sure that Democrats are always elected, and that he would have free reign to spend as much money as he wanted on Democrat social programs, which would have thrown America into financial ruin, by not allowing either of the two voting acts, nor the earlier defeated Build Back Better act from being passed.

So, as Congress heads into an election year, the overall strategy of slamming as many pro-Democrat bills through Congress as possible before this November’s elections, in which everybody and their brother has basically conceded that the Republicans will take over the House and Senate are dead. Without 60 votes in the Senate, there can be none of the bill slamming that they had thought up. And without a change to the filibuster rules that make it mandatory to have 60 votes to pass anything but “budget reconciliation bills”, which be passed with only 51 votes, nothing short of budget bills will be passed. Now, both houses of Congress can start preparing for the election this fall.

Carry on world…you’re dismissed!

Can Biden Survive?

Rasmussen came out with a rather interesting poll recently. They asked 1,000 registered voters if they thought Joe Biden would be reelected in 2024. The results followed what America feels. It certainly doesn’t follow the mainstream snowflake media!

Here’s what it says.

28% of the respondents think that Joe Biden will be reelected president in 2024. That’s just over a quarter of the respondents. 38% said that if Biden were to run again, he’d lose out to a Republican challenger (no challenger was named). 21% said it was more likely that Biden would resign the presidency prior to the 2024 elections, and 15% said they just weren’t sure.

That’s a pretty amazing survey if you think about it. More people think that Biden will lose in 2024 than think he’ll actually run by 10%. And almost as many people think that he’ll resign, which has only been done once in history, and that is an incredible development when you think about it.

So the question becomes, does Joe Biden risk it and try to run for reelection in 2024? Democrats have already floated the notion of getting others to run against him in a primary. If that were to happen, and say Pete Buttigieg were to go up against Biden, could Biden stand the heat? What if Bernie Sanders, who actually should have been the candidate in 2020, were to decide to run again? That brings the young vote back to the table, but Sanders is 80 years old now. I seriously doubt he is going to be up for a run for the White House in two years. Who else is there? I can’t see anyone with the experience standing in line, especially to oust Biden. Maybe an AOC who doesn’t like Biden in the first place, but I thought her eyes were on Chuck Schumer’s Senate seat.

In the end analysis, we have another poll saying that 52% of the American people like Donald Trump. In the same poll, it shows that Democrats think that Trump supporters are racists. Of course, Democrats think everything and everybody is racist. They’ve overused that phrase so much it’s basically lost all of it’s meaning. And the interesting thing on that account is, the people that are screaming racism, are typically the ones displaying signs of racism.

My, oh my, isn’t it fun to live in the declining age of a civilization?

Carry on world…you’re dismissed!

Filibuster Rules Change?

Chuckles Schumer realizes he’s in a terrible position. Having just 50 Democrats in the US Senate is like having 10. They really can’t do anything without the Vice President coming along for the ride. And trust me, Schumer realizes that unless you can convince the Senate Parliamentarian that you can use the “budget reconciliation” measure to pass something with only 51 votes, you’re doomed.

Chuckles Schumer is doomed.

So, in typical Democrat style, if they can’t win, they cheat. If they can’t cheat, they change the rules. And that’s the position that Schumer finds himself in today. He can’t win when it comes to what he feels is the most important legislation he’ll deal with this year, which is his voter “rights” legislation. It’s designed to make sure no Democrat anywhere in the country ever loses another election. And it has nothing to do with the budget, so according to the filibuster rules, he needs 60 votes to get it passed. And therein lies the rub.

So, Schumer wants to get rid of the filibuster. Maybe not altogether (though he’d love that), but on this ONE item. Then he could insure that his party could always win their elections because it would make it impossible for Republicans to compete. It’s the ultimate stab. He’s got a problem or two however. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) are standing in the way. He still would need 50 votes, plus K-baby Harris to get rid of the filibuster. And he doesn’t have the votes to do that. Manchin has said that the talk has been to do a “carve out”, which is basically an exception to the rule. He’s not in favor of that either.

IF (and it’s a pretty big if) the Democrats are able to finagle the rules to get the filibuster rule changed, they’d be able to get the voting rights issue passed. And that is their ultimate goal prior to the November elections, because it’s the only way they see of keeping Congress under Democrat control. And there is another rub they aren’t seeing.

Let’s call that the Harry Reid Rule.

See, Reid is the guy that decided back when Bobo Obama was president that he was going to have to allow only 51 votes to approve confirmations of everyone except Supreme Court Justices. That meant Bobo could pack the courts. And he did. But what Reid didn’t count on was losing the Senate to Republicans and then they could add to that rule, or should I say take away from that rule. Rather than making 60 votes confirming Supreme Court nominees, they included that in the Reid Rule. Now it only takes 51 votes to confirm a Supreme Court nominee. What helped Reid out in the short term, has allowed the Supreme Court to swing to a 6-3 conservative court. And it allowed Donald Trump to appoint 261 federal judges (in several different courts). By contrast though, Obama appointed 349 federal judges in his eight years.

So, my theory is that if the Democrats are able to somehow change or suspend the rules for the filibuster for their voting rights act, it’s going to be problematic for them when the Republicans take charge again (and they will). First of all, the law will be challenged, and it will have to go to the Supreme Court eventually. It will be found unconstitutional, and voided. But second, it will allow the Republicans to make further inroads and further tear up the Senate. Did the Dems learn their lesson with Harry Reid? All they are doing is causing a short term victory that will at some point be overturned by the Supreme Court.

The best way for the Dems to move forward is to try and play fair. If you can’t do that, you lose. It’s about the only thing that makes any sense. Of course, Democrats don’t make much sense!

Carry on world…you’re dismissed!