A Watershed Moment Approaches.

A Watershed Moment Approaches.  I have bitched and moaned on this blog about Democrats in Congress who have enabled Obama to strew the wreckage of his administration across this country.  I have speculated about the time, if and when it would come, that they would break the bonds of party loyalty and begin to vote for their constituents and not for their party leader.  That time, that watershed moment, is quickly approaching.

 

Before addressing the topic line, I must make a brief comment about president “Give It All Away” and his most current initiative; free (at least 75% free) community college for all!  Like all things Obama…if it sounds good, it must be good.  The ends justify the means.  In Obama’s world, all wishes come true; and there is no doubt that giving everyone a free pass on community college tuition is a wonderful dream.  However, after spending this nation into near-insolvency (accelerating the pattern set by the Bush administration and with the flaccid support of Congress), our nation’s chief financial officer now deems a generous education gift to….everyone; costs be damned.  What an idiot.

 

Now to the topic at hand….Anyone who has paid any attention to the words of now-current Senate Majority Leader McConnell understands what his legislative strategy will be.  As much as he detests Obamacare, he understands that it is impossible to obtain a veto-proof repeal action and instead will pursue a piecemeal revision agenda; all while hoping to retain control of Congress and winning the presidential race in 2016, thus allowing for a full repeal.  McConnell has set up his legislative strategy in an interesting fashion; first up, the XL Pipeline vote.  There is little doubt that there will be 60 Senate votes to pass the pipeline bill; there are at least 6 Democrats who will vote for the project.  The larger question is whether or not there are 13 Democrats willing to stand up and override a veto.  This is the time; this is the place; this is the moment.  “IF” the Senate can muster an override on a very likely pipeline act veto, then the dam might be broken.  It could very well serve to liberate certain democrats (at least 13 or so) and make other pieces of bipartisan legislation (30-to-40 hour metric, medical device tax, tax reform, infrastructure spending, rational appropriation process) conceivable.  On the other hand, if the Senate fails to override a potential pipeline act veto, that failure will likely have the impact of pushing this president into arenas of executive autonomy never before seen in this government.  In all likelihood, this early legislative contest on the XL Pipeline deal will set the table for the balance of this administration.  It will be a deluxe pissing contest; laden with full-blown irresponsible media coverage, too many agendas to keep track of, complete lunacy served up on a daily basis, and (most importantly) huge implications for the future of this nation.  U.S. Politics 101…what a freaking circus.

College Football and Middle School Politics

College Football and Middle School Politics.  While Mitch McConnell settles into his new post as the most powerful Republican in America (for what that’s worth) and we all try to figure out how to pay for this Christmas past (and this government past), I want to venture out and quickly comment on two disparate issues.

 

First off, hurrahs and hallelujahs to the college playoffs!  Four quick observations about the ‘Bama v. Ohio State game:

• Meyer flat outcoached Saban; pre-game and real-time.  
• Ohio State had a masterful game plan and it was marvelously executed by the Ohio State team.
• Lane Kiffin (proven fact at UT, USC, and now ‘Bama) is an idiot and why Saban put him in charge of this overwhelming powerful ‘Bama offense is a mystery to any thoughtful college football fan.  Late in the game, ‘Bama gets the ball on the OS 20-something yard line, has been averaging five-plus yards per carry for the game, and Kiffin decides to throw to the end zone.  An interception ensues and game over.  Whaaaaat????
• This game should remove any doubt about the wisdom of a playoff system for the college football championship.  Who amongst us (other than hardcore Buckeyes) would have ranked OS  no. 1 or anywhere else above ‘Bama at the end of the season?  I guaran-damn-tee you that the old BCS group of old men around a round table would not have.  And yet, here we stand with the Ducks and the Bucks ready to clash for the big prize.  Great job!  They earned it on the field and it should be one helluva game.  Now…let’s improve it just a bit and expand to eight teams.

And now to WDC….Barrack “Unleashed” Obama is returning from his Hawaii vacation via some multi-state tour campaigning for….what?  Certainly not for re-election because, thank the Lord, that ain’t happening.  He sure isn’t campaigning for the next Democratic presidential candidate; he doesn’t know who that will be at this point and doesn’t really seem to care about any of them anyway.  He’s not campaigning “for” any type of initiative; seems he has run out of brilliant ideas in that area after his Obamacare and Immigration Reform reveals.  His “message du jour” seems to be “Just Say No”.  Even before the Republicans take control of the Senate, he is threatening veto action of legislation that has not yet passed.  Not content to divide this nation along racial lines with the help and support of his departing (waaaay overdue) attorney general, Obama now doubles down on furthering the gulf between the Executive and Legislative branches of our government.  Rather than do the hard work of building consensus, seeking compromise, and getting practical law passed, he chooses to preen and posture; reveling in his own little bubble of “me, me, and…me”.   What a pathetic little man he has proven to be.  Blustering into (and dragging this country with him) a swamp like Obamacare, which cost him basically all of his political capital; conducting foreign policy based on which side of the bed he got up on that day; doing his dead-level best to set one group of citizens against another group; and now, faced with a two-year period of possible legacy-redemption, he takes every opportunity to poison the water that feeds the legislative process.  It is truly frightening to contemplate how much MORE damage this narcissistic, bigoted, overvalued academic president will do to this nation before he mercifully leaves our White House.