12/24/18 Filed in:
Political System | EssaysThere are heroes left in America, not necessarily in the top jobs, and this end-of-the-year essay celebrates the contributions some of them have made in the current political environment. Read More...Tags: Ship of Fools, Tucker Carlson, border wall funding, President Donald Trump, partial government shutdown, House Speaker Paul Ryan, Sen Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Rep. Jim Jordan, Rep. Mark Meadows, Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, First Step Act, farm bill, food stamps, Jared Kushner, federal prison reform, A.K.Van Jones, Sen. Mike Lee, Defense Secretary James Mattis, Turkish President Erdogan, troop withdrawal from Syria, troop reduction in Afghanistan
12/17/18 Filed in:
Political System SAFE proposed four relatively modest goals for the closing weeks of the 115th Congress; guess how many of them will be achieved this year. Read More...Tags: unified Republican government, House Speaker Paul Ryan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, President Donald Trump, repeal and replace GovCare, Sen. John McCain, Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Bipartisan Budget Act, Joint Select Committe re budget process, debt limit, Sen. David Perdue, farm bill, governmment shutdown, border wall funding, Vice President Mike Pence, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, NAFTA, USMCA, Sen. Pat Toomey, Thomas Donohue, Robert Mueller, James Comey, Rep. Adam Schiff, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, Rep. Devin Nunes, Rep. Bob Goodlatte, Rep. Trey Gowdy
11/12/18 Filed in:
Political SystemSAFE to DC: Between now and 12/31, please focus on budget process reform, FY 2019 appropriation bills, approval of USMCA, and disclosure of how/why the Trump campaign investigation was started.
Read More...Tags: early voting, Joint Select Committe re budget process, Rep. Steve Womack, debt limit, border wall funding, President Donald Trump, amnesty, DACA , Supreme Court, 9th Circuit, NAFTA, USMCA, Mueller probe, Jeff Sessions, Andrew Whittaker, Sen. Chris Coons, James Comey, Clinton campaign, Rep. Adam Schiff, Rod Rosenstein, Rep. Devin Nunes, Rep. Bob Goodlatte, Rep. Trey Gowdy
08/06/18 Filed in:
Political SystemThe national political climate is disturbing, and critics blame the president. Trump's supporters should abandon him, they say, without acknowledging that their side may also be at fault. Read More...Tags: representative democracy theory, President Donald Trump, Violence in Portland, ICE, Jim Acosta, Ted Kaufman, Edmund Burke, good Republicans, Trans-Pacific Partnership, China, tax cut , deficits, wasteful spending, Russia , Vladimir Putin, meddling in US elections, Helsinki summit, one on-one meeting, Russian support against Iran, Trump tough on Ruissia, administration successes, Ruth Marcus, Robert Mueller, rule of law, Paul Manafort, James Comey, Rep. Trey Gowdy, Rod Rosenstein, mid-term outlook, president's "lose the House" strategy, swing electoral districts, president's approval ratings, immigration, border wall funding, shutdown threat, appropriation bills, healthcare
The State of the Union address was effective political theater, which received a favorable response from the American public. But when and how is the GOP going to tackle the fiscal problem? Read More...Tags: Constitution , State of the Union address, President Donald Trump, US economy, streamline regulations, cut taxes, one American family, veterans , American flag, Illegal immigration, external threats, Ashlee Leppert, David Dahlberg, Steve Staub, Sandy Keplinger, Corey Adams, Preston Sharp, Kayla Cuevas, Neesa Mickens, Celestino Martinez, Ryan & Rebecca Holets, Justin Peck, Otto Warmbier, Mr. Ji Sung-Ho, Rep. Luis Guterrez, congressional generic ballot, fiscal problem, appropriation bills, defense budget caps, paid family leave, Ivanka Trump, DACA fix, path to citizenship, border wall funding, visa lottery, chain migration, infrastructure, firing federal employees for cause, Right to Try, Guantanamo, Iran Nuclear Deal
01/29/18 Filed in:
SpendingTo avoid being blamed for the next government shutdown, which is set for February 8, Republicans should consider taking a harder line. Read More...Tags: continuing resolution, GovCare, tax cut , apppriation bills, CHIP, debt limit, DACA Program, government shutdown, defense spending, budget caps, Sen. Tom Carper , dreamers, Sen Chuck Schumer, President Donald Trump, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Schumer Shutdown, Trump Shutdown, Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, Legislative Affairs Director Mark Short, Sen. Mitch McConnell, moderate senators, Sen. Chris Coons, Sen Joe Lieberman, "No labels" movement, path to citizenship, border wall funding, Senate filibuster rule, Sen. Ted Cruz. , nuclear option
01/08/18 Filed in:
SpendingThe current minority party is fixated on delegitimizing the president; Republicans must put their foot down in spending level negotiations or they will be rolled over. Read More...Tags: tax cut , spending levels, Speaker Paul Ryan, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Mitch McConnell , Sen. Chuck Schumer, bipartisan talks, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, Sen. John Cornyn, Camp David, President Donald Trump, Steve Bannon, Reince Priebus, Michael Wolff, deficit reduction, defense spending, nondefense spending, disaster relifef funding, Federal Reserve, infrastructure program, trillion-dollar deficit, budget caps, Sen. Dick Durbin, DACA Program, border wall funding, 1970's budget rules
12/11/17 Filed in:
Spending | TaxesNo one wants to be blamed for a government shutdown, but there are deep divisions on several issues and neither side will give up easily. Don’t count on anything until the dust settles. Read More...Tags: President Donald Trump, Sen. Chuck Schumer Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Republican tax plan, Sen. Tom Carper, ANWR, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Child Tax Credit, Alternative Minimum Tax, estate tax, GovCare individual mandate, Roy Moore, Sen. Susan Collins, Speaker Paul Ryan, Rep. Mark Walker, DACA Program, Pensacola rally, border wall funding, visa overstays, sanctuary cities, chain migration, E-verify, continuing resolution, omnibus spending bill, Senate filibuster rule, Budget Contol Act, government shutdown
08/28/17 Filed in:
SpendingThere is no bipartisan consensus to solve the fiscal problem so the majority party should lead the way. Read More...Tags: political posturing, debt limit, Treasury Department, Treaasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Republcan Study Committee, Rep. Mark Walker, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, House Speaker Paul Ryan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, appropriation bills, continuing resolution, MASA Act, Rep. Diane Black, filibuster rule, border wall funding, Sen. John Cornyn, DACA Program, President Donald Trump, Phoenix rally, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, immigration reform