What’s Left On Dems’ Agenda?

Democrats are going to use the lame duck session of Congress to try and get as many of their liberal wish-list items through Congress and on to Joe Biden’s desk as they can before the next Congress takes over with Republicans at the helm in the House. And knowing the speed at which Congress has been working this term, they’ll be lucky to get some sort of budget resolution passed.

The list is long and complicated. And, with a 50/50 split in the Senate, it’s not a sure thing that either Kirsten Sinema or Joe Manchin are going to go along with the stuff. First and foremost, they need to address the elephant in the room, which is the December 16th deadline to fund the government without shutting it down. Then there’s the whole same-sex marriage codification, which should probably be a slam dunk since the Supreme Court has already okayed it, and there are more than enough Republicans ready to sign on to it. Democrats are also worried about doing something to help those illegal aliens who came to this country as children (known as “dreamers”), and give them a path to citizenship.

The Dems are also working on a way to raise the debt ceiling of $31.4 trillion. If they don’t get that done, they won’t be able to accomplish anything up the road. And it will most likely cause Joe Biden’s request of $37 billion for more aid to Ukraine to go unheeded. That’s not to say anything of getting any new gun legislation through, as Biden wants. The House is ready to pass a measure, but the Senate is far short of the 60 votes it needs to cut off debate.

So, each of the items I just mentioned would take a “normal” Congress about a year to get hammered down and passed. And there’s no guarantee that any of the stuff, other than the budget would get passed anyway. There are just not enough people sitting on the Democrats’ side to pass anything that big.

What do I see happening between now and the end of the term? Probably a last minute budget resolution that kicks the can down the road until next year. Of course, that means Biden’s wish list is not just dead, it’s dead, buried, and rotting by now. I do see the whole same-sex marriage thing passing because there isn’t enough opposition to that, but as far as trying to do stuff that would actually improve this nation and the troubles we are in (that have been basically caused by the Democrats), you have a better chance of catching Santa Claus leaving you presents on December 24th!

We aren’t going to get anything dealing with the crime problem. You can forget about the southern border as an issue until next year, because most Democrats don’t want to tackle immigration, and certainly not the wall. Inflation will be left to the FED, and there are a number of leftists that will say that inflation is coming down on it’s own due to interest rate hikes. As far as a faltering economy, how do you tell a tax and spend liberal that they’ve spent way too much money too fast, and are now paying the price for it? They’ll never believe you. As far as the debt ceiling being raised, that’s going to be a tough road with a 50/50 split in the Senate as well. And though the Republicans will kick and scream about sending more money to Ukraine ($37 billion IS a lot!!!), they probably are going to hold their nose and go along with it.

Overall, Congress is going to try and do more in the next month than they’ve done in the past two years. Frankly, I can’t see more than one, maybe two bills coming through Congress, and most of those leaving Washington either through retirement or losing their reelection are going to want to be sitting by the fire at home rather than debating any of the really important issues facing this country. Leave it for the next Congress. That’ll be the mantra!

Carry on world…you’re dismissed!

Does Ketanji Brown Jackson Deserve A Supreme Court Appointment?

Now, this is going to upset some of you. I get that. But if you look at the whole nomination process of a Supreme Court Justice, you need to realize something. According to the Constitution, which is really the only thing that matters in cases like this, the President of the United States, as part of his duties gets to nominate whomever he feels is appropriate for the Supreme Court. And the United States Senate, with it’s supposed deliberative character, is supposed to vet that choice with “consent”. That has come to mean holding hearings, and holding a vote on the President’s choice.

And just as Democrats screamed bloody murder with Donald Trump’s three appointments to the high court, with Neil Gorsuch being confirmed after a struggle, Brett Kavanaugh having to face all sorts of sexual abuse charges that were totally false, and Amy Coney Barrett that the Dems said shouldn’t have been appointed at all, because it was just a couple of months away from a presidential election, Republicans are kinda/sorta doing the same thing with Jackson.

And they are no more correct for doing it than the Democrats were for opposing Trump’s nominees.

Look, I think Ketanji Brown Jackson is not a good choice. She’s far too liberal. She believes in things that I have no idea where they came from, but it certainly wasn’t the Constitution. And she is going to try and spread that liberal gobledegook to the rest of the court. But does that mean she’s not qualified to be a Supreme Court Justice? No.

I would much rather have seen someone more moderate get appointed to the high court bench. And I’m sure Democrats would have loved to have seen Jackson get nominated in place of Amy Coney Barrett to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg. But that’s not their choice. And it’s not my choice, or Republicans’ choice with Jackson. It’s Joe Biden’s choice. And as addle-minded and fraught with ineptitude as the man is, he is the president, and he does get to name someone.

I said early on in this battle that it doesn’t really matter what the Republicans say or do in this matter as long as people like Kirsten Sinema and Joe Manchin go along with it, and K-baby Harris is there to break the tie, it will most likely happen. And while Jackson didn’t score any points with me during her confirmation hearings, she didn’t necessarily give the Senate a reason not to vote for her either. Ideology aside, she didn’t come across as a law breaker, a felon, or a rapist. No, I don’t like her stances on several issues, but again, not my fight…and not the Republicans fight.

If the GOP Senators want to vote against her, that is certainly their prerogative. But it’s still Biden’s choice. And to do to her, what the Democrats did to Robert Bork back in the day, knocking an extremely intelligent jurist from the high court simply because of ideology is totally wrong.

The thing that is at the very least comforting is, Jackson will be replacing an almost equally liberal Justice. At least it’s not like Barrett replacing RBG!

Carry on world…you’re dismissed!