Search Results for: Voting

It’s 11 PM – Do You Know Where Your Representative Is?

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A Few Notes About Passage of the Infrastructure Bill

A Long Night – Following Long Months

The title for this posting is a bit of a chuckle that will ring a bell to readers of a certain age. Years ago, that line was often played on TV as a public service message, asking parents if they knew where their children were at that moment.  Since sometimes it feels as though our congressional representatives are childlike, the phrase came to mind.

But last week, they finally did a good thing and pulled off what sometimes felt like an impossible task. 

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Go Big or Go Home

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Many Key Decisions are Coming due NOW at the Same Time.
The Results Will Shape America Beyond Our Imagination

 

What a Calendar We Have Over the Next Few Weeks

We all know of periods in history wherein big decisions came due, and consequences followed. But I personally cannot remember a time when so many were coming up in so short a time. This is not the complete list, but the big items at least. They come in three categories:

Legally and Legislatively Mandated for the Next Few Weeks

  • Funding Government Operations
  • Extending the National Debt Ceiling
  • The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill
  • The Advanced Infrastructure Bill

Immeasurably important to the Kind of Country We Would Be

  • Voting Access and Rights Legislation
  • National Police Reform (likely already dead,

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Good News and Bad News – There is a Mix is Out There

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Sometimes the Headlines Miss the Full Story

As The Saying Goes…

We have good news, and we have bad news. There has been much of late to lament, for sure. But there has been no small amount of good news as well. The latter often gets a pass in the headlines. I thought it might be helpful to call out some of the high notes and low points in current events.

The National Guard as Guns for Hire

This week’s, maybe this century’s, award for the single worst idea anyone at any level of government has ever thought of – ever.

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About That Bipartisan Goal – Forget it

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The Republicans Have Made Their Stance Clear – And the Clock is Ticking

 

How Important is Bipartisanship?

Well, that is an interesting question – depends on who you ask. Generically, most people would, in a neutral setting, say it counts and they would like to see it as a part of governance. Makes sense in a complex society, doesn’t it? But we are not in a neutral environment and have not been for some time.

Joe Biden certainly thinks it is important. It is in his DNA. Decades of experience tell him big things can be done in a solid manner when bipartisan legislation is passed.

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About This Guy Joe Biden: Two Things You Might Have Missed

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A Comparison Often Missed and a Look at Redefining Bipartisanship

Something of a Honeymoon 

All things considered, President Biden is enjoying something of a honeymoon. Not from Congressional Republicans, of course. Moscow Mitch has already started his song of not supporting anything from the Administration. In some ways, that worked for him last time around. It’s not clear it will work so well this time.

Public support for Biden’s initiatives is stunningly high, pretty much across the board. He has majority support, even among Independents and Republican voters on pretty much everything so far.

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Should Washington DC be a State?

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Wait Until You See the Reasons Some Think Not

 

A Short History of the DC Conundrum

There are lots of factors and nuances around the creation of the District of Columbia, but if I may be allowed the short version, the founders thought it important that the national capital be independent of any state, and so created DC.  There was some concern about the risk of an errant governor (Geez, seen any of those lately?) holding the capital hostage in some way.

The founders were, all in all,

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A Little Alphabet Soup

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Two M’s + one N Spell Some Interesting Conclusions

Today We Wander a Bit

Three unconnected thoughts seemed to fill my head over the last few days and so I thought I might share them with you. Let’s talk about Two M’s (Mechanics and Morality) and a single N (Nunes). Here we go.

 M for Mechanics

 Like much of America, I have been interested in the discussion about Senate mechanics, especially but not exclusively the filibuster. It seems pretty clear that throughout our history,

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One Big Victory Accomplished. The Next One is Even More Important

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The Covid Relief Bill is a Great Accomplishment. Voter Protection is at Least as Important

Well Done, on Several Counts

 The COVID relief legislation was a master class in legislation and political management. Many of us were concerned that Biden, so desirous of bipartisan results, would delay and weaken the package dramatically. Worse, there was fear that he would have nothing to show for that gift. We have been to this dance before.

We need not have worried. He never gave up on bipartisanship, but he did not become a hostage to it. When it was obvious that Republican so-called leaders had no interest in supporting anything and had no substantive inputs to offer,

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It’s Shoot Out at the OK Corral Time for Would-Be Republicans

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Republicans are Now in Three Camps. Time to Make Some Choices and Settle Up

 How Many Types of Republicans are There? Let’s Count Them

At this point, one wonders why anyone would claim to be a Republican, but that is another conversation. Deciding who might carry such a mantle forward is important for all of us, as will be discussed shortly. Time for the principles to face off and settle matters. By my math, there are three groups that claim at least sometimes the title of “Republican.”

Group I is what we used to call Rockefeller Republicans.

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The Country is On a Hopeful New Path, But…

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But Serious Danger Runs Deep and Wide – This Will Not Go Away on Its Own

 

A Country Divided? It’s Worse Than We Feared

 For a long time, many of us felt that the country was not as divided as many said. The problem was so-called leaders who thrived on conflict; beyond them, people agreed on more than was apparent. I count myself among that chorus. It appears we were wrong.

If this past election taught us anything, it is that not only is the divide real, it is based in alternate realities.

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