Folks, there is a bunch
of stuff going on and there is an even bigger bunch of stuff around the corner
that is going to rock the political world.
Let’s all hope that the rocking occurs in a positive way. Here are some brief comments on four of those
upcoming features.
New and Improved SCOTUS. Rumors are becoming
rampant that Justice Kennedy’s retirement is imminent. Kennedy is the swing vote on the current court and his replacement will have
an absolutely seismic impact on the SCOTUS and its decisions that drive our
American society and culture. We now
have four reliably liberal votes on the Court with Breyer, Sotomayor, Kagan,
and Ginsburg. We also have four reliably
conservative votes in the persons of Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch, and Roberts. The prospect of naming this pivotal fifth
justice for a solid conservative majority on the Court (likely for decades to come) is what motivated many, many people to
vote for Donald Trump. Not because his conservative bona fides were so
glowing; but because Hillary Clinton’s
liberal bona fides were so radiant. A
very strong and compelling argument can be made that this one single concern
put Trump into the Presidency.
5…five…5…five…5…five…5…five…5…five……FIVE
VOTES. Not to be overly dramatic, but it is kind of
a big deal.
Health Care Reform…Do or Die. Against all odds and
predictions, the House passed their health care reform bill and then passed the
baton to the Senate. Three weeks ago, no
sane person thought the Senate would carry the baton across the finish
line. Now, all indications are that at
some point in the next few days, the Senate will approach the finish line with
that baton in hand. I’m not sure that
any one person fully comprehends the complex, colossal, and gargantuan ball of
wax that is this nation’s health care industry.
At some point in time, about seven years ago, there was a pre-Obamacare situation
and a post-Obamacare situation; each was a choice. It was actually a fairly clear choice between a free-market oriented health care system or a government driven health care system. Once that choice became Obamacare, the genie
was out of the bottle and it is likely impossible to extricate the fingers of
the government from the entrails of health care. Therefore, the real issue on health care reform isn't whether or not we should
repeal Obamacare. Reality has taken
shape in the form of inadequate Republican majorities in the House and Senate
to pass routine legislation on party-line votes, the passage of time that has
allowed Obamacare to become entrenched in our health care system, and the
belief held by many that personal health care is a right and not a
privilege. This reality demands that
government will be heavily involved in health
care and the pre-Obamacare dreams of many are simply false hopes. The questions currently before us are how
much government involvement will there be and exactly how will that involvement
be implemented. The two best sources I
know for those seeking answers to these questions are Yuval Levin and Avik Roy;
both render fair, thoughtful, and easily
understood summaries of the House and Senate health care reform efforts and
how they should be considered. If you
want the skinny on the health care debate (and
you should, because you will be
paying), check out this article and its embedded links @ http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/448946/assessing-senate-health-care-proposal-yuval-levin.
Will the Sheet be Pulled Back on
the Trump-Russia Farce? It
is still in play and a bit premature to render any lasting verdict on this
particular kabuki dance, but there have been a couple of extremely interesting
disclosures in this area that have recently come to light. The first one is the apparent effort of the
Obama Administration people who are handling their archive records attempting
to shield some of Susan Rice’s work from Congressional investigative
committees. The Obama folks have sealed
up and are transferring the records pertaining to Rice’s unmasking activities to the Obama Presidential Library folks. Now why
on earth do you suppose they would do that? Additionally, get familiar with the term
Fusion GPS. It appears that this entity
may be the outfit that started the whole Trump-Russia story and it is very
revealing when you consider the composition of the entity and its genesis. As I said, the jury is still out, but this
particular article may be giving us a glimpse of what might lead to a gigantic
collapse and some very embarrassed people…@ http://nypost.com/2017/06/24/inside-the-shadowy-intelligence-firm-behind-the-trump-dossier/. Imagine for a moment what the impact will be
on Special Counsel Mueller’s dream team if this story line proves to be true…All dressed up with no party to attend.
Who’s the Man? Mitch is the Man! Once again, it is a fool’s
errand to predict the political future for WDC; but consider for a moment a few
“what ifs”. What if Justice Kennedy does, in fact,
announce his retirement in the next few days?
What if the Senate does, in fact, manage somehow to pass a health care
reform bill in the next few days? What
if, in fact, the House manages to pass a tax reform bill and sends it over to
the Senate? If all of these occurrences
do transpire, then it is likely that the most powerful man in WDC will not be sitting in the Oval Office. He will be occupying the Majority Leader’s
office in the U.S. Senate and his name will be Mitch McConnell. And whether you like him or not in a personal
sense…if you are a conservative,
these issues could not be in better hands.
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