A report card on the Biden administration

[Sandy Shanks]

Everyone not named Trump knows that 2022 is an election year.

Or, Trump's stupidity has caused him to ignore the consequences of his actions during an election year.

I don't know which, Trump is very strange and not very bright.

Regarding his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection, Trump's first huge mistake was invoke his influence to cause Senate Republicans to defeat the bipartisan commission which would have ended its investigation by Dec. 31. Members of the commission would not be in Congress.

Because of that vote, Trump and the Republicans now face the House's select committee on the insurrection, controlled by the Democrats and will likely go well into the election year.

In fact Trump is encouraging that development!

The Times reports, "Former President Donald J. Trump has instructed his former aides not to comply with subpoenas from the special congressional committee investigating the Capitol riot, raising the prospect of the panel issuing criminal referrals for some of his closest advisers as early as Friday."

In addition, Trump, a private citizen, says he will invoke executive privilege regarding the White House and its role in the insurrection.

The Democrats could not be happier. They won't be accused of dragging this out deep into an election year.

Trump is doing it for them

Regarding any criminal action, the select committee does not need the witnesses close to Trump. The committee has gathered up thousands of documents. They know what the witnesses did. The committee knows what they said. And they can prove it.

The witnesses and Trump are confirming suspicions. They are virtually pleading the Fifth.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

How alarmed should we be about the antidemocratic words and actions of the GOP?

Here are a few reasons to take it seriously.

CNN reports, "Many of Trump's fans are supporting it. Top right-wing media outlets are amplifying the messages, with countless segments about supposed voter fraud and constant appeals to the MAGA base's biggest fears. This coverage sometimes looks backward to 2020 but it mostly looks ahead to future elections, softening the ground for future assaults on the rule of law.

"Key lawmakers are giving cover to it. On "Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace," the No. 2 House Republican, Rep. Steve Scalise, repeatedly refused "to acknowledge the legitimacy of the vote, instead sticking to his belief that the election results should not have been certified by Congress. Trump impeachment witness Fiona Hill told Margaret Brennan said that the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol may have been just "a dress rehearsal for something that could be happening near term, in 2022, and 2024."

"Viewers are able to hear Trump's doublespeak. He continues to call Nov. 3, 2020, a/k/a election day, the "real insurrection," which is a mind-blowing example of doublespeak. At his rally on Saturday night, he called the Jan. 6 committee probe "the left's new obsession.'"

Trump's rally in Iowa over the weekend was alarming. Establishment Republicans embraced Trump and his Big Lie wholeheartedly.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Trump's rally in Iowa over the weekend was alarming. Establishment Republicans embraced Trump and his Big Lie wholeheartedly.

Dean Obeidallah writes, "While Donald Trump has held several rallies since the January 6 Capitol insurrection, his rally in Iowa Saturday was the most alarming by far.

"At Trump's past post-presidency events, you wouldn't find the state's leading GOP officials attending en masse. In fact, at a rally in Georgia last month, Trump railed against the state's Republican leaders for refusing to assist him in illegally overturning the 2020 election. Trump even told the crowd he'd prefer potential Democratic challenger Stacey Abrams as governor over his fellow Republican who's currently in office, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.

"Saturday's rally in Iowa, though, was different. This one was attended by longtime Iowa US Sen. Chuck Grassley, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, Iowa Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Ashley Hinson, and other mainstream Republican officials. Some of these very same people, who just nine months ago were slamming Trump for his role in the Capitol riots, were now only too happy to be seen supporting him. This is politics at its worst -- and at its most dangerous for our democracy."

Does any Republican care to comment?

Yeah, I didn't think so. Stay under your rock.

The most hypocritical of the bunch is Sen. Grassley, who on January 6 was escorted by his security detail to a secure location to protect him from the pro-Trump mob that had laid siege on the Capitol.

In February Grassley said in a statement that "President Trump continued to argue that the election had been stolen even though the courts didn't back up his claims, and belittled and harassed elected officials across the country to get his way." He added Trump "encouraged his own, loyal vice president, Mike Pence, to take extraordinary and unconstitutional actions during the Electoral College count."

Grassley continued bluntly: "There's no doubt in my mind that President Trump's language was extreme, aggressive, and irresponsible and must take responsibility for their destructive actions that day."

Obeidallah continued, "Flash forward to Saturday, and there was Grassley beaming as Trump offered a "complete and total endorsement for re-election" for the 88-year-old Senator. Grassley responded, "If I didn't accept the endorsement of a person that's got 91 percent of the Republican voters in Iowa, I wouldn't be too smart."

"To Grassley, it was "smart" to accept the endorsement of the man who spent Saturday's rally spouting the same falsehoods that led to the January 6 violence that caused Grassley to hide in fear. Trump's litany of dangerous election lies at his Iowa rally ranged from irresponsible claims he won Wisconsin "by a lot" in 2020, to lying that the results of the recently released Arizona audit support his false claim that he had actually won that state. He even declared that, "First of all, [Biden] didn't get elected, OK?" The crowd responded to Trump's buffet of lies by chanting, "Trump won! Trump won!"

 

[Sandy Shanks]

He even declared that, "First of all, [Biden] didn't get elected, OK?" The crowd responded to Trump's buffet of lies by chanting, "Trump won! Trump won!"

The Republican Party is in the grip of grassroots Trump supporters with limited education and little understanding of what is happening around them.

The Republican Party gets its support from the rural counties of America. For the most part they are farmers, ranchers and rural shopkeepers with limited education. They don't know the truth about their party, they don't know what Trump has said and done, and they don't want to know. Theirs is a blind loyalty to Trump very similar to a cult.

To illustrate, Iowa is farming state, a part of the agriculture rich Corn Belt. In Iowa, Trump has a favorability rating of 91%.

To further illustrate, not one Iowan will appear on this thread to discuss the issues presented here.

Republicans will run and hide just as they always do.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

The Republican Party is in the grip of grassroots Trump supporters with limited education and little understanding of what is happening around them.

The Republican Party gets its support from the rural counties of America. For the most part they are farmers, ranchers and rural shopkeepers with limited education. They don't know the truth about their party, they don't know what Trump has said and done, and they don't want to know. Theirs is a blind loyalty to Trump very similar to a cult.

To illustrate, Iowa is farming state, a part of the agriculture rich Corn Belt. In Iowa, Trump has a favorability rating of 91%.

To further illustrate, not one Iowan will appear on this thread to discuss the issues presented here.

As expected no response from the forum's Republicans to the damaging facts about their party and their party's leader in the three posts above.

Not a peep.

They are too dumb to react to what their party is doing. All they know is their blind loyalty to Trump for reasons they can't define. They belong to a cult, and there is no questioning the leader of the cult even when he is leading the attack on American democracy in accordance with Vladimir Putin's wishes.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Chris Cillizza writes, "When people cast a vote for president, they are hoping -- sometimes against hope -- that the person they have picked will do things to make their lives better.

"It's the most basic expectation that voters have of a politician: I voted for you ... now go do what you said you would do.

"So, when voters feel as though the politician for whom they voted isn't delivering on what was promised -- or isn't doing much of anything -- that's when things get really dicey for the politician."

Indeed, Biden's numbers are going in the wrong direction. The honeymoon is over.

The Post reports, "After an initial burst of support, Biden has seen his approval ratings fall significantly in recent months. A Washington Post average of polls since the start of September shows 44 percent of Americans approve of Biden’s job approval, while 49 percent disapprove."

It remains to be seen whether Biden’s falling support is a sign of enduring enmity or a short-term reflection of a tough stretch marked by a haphazard withdrawal from Afghanistan, a stalled domestic agenda and a surge in coronavirus infections due to the delta variant, the Post.

Many believe the falling numbers are just temporary. Some Americans still blame Biden for the sudden collapse of the Afghan Army, creating a messy withdrawal despite the record setting airlift of 124,000 people. However, soon Afghanistan will simply become a fading memory. It already is for most Americans who have their own problems that require attention.

The numbers from the delta variant are going down -- not nearly fast enough -- but going down, leading to the conclusion that factor is temporary.

Democrats can read the numbers as well as anyone, and, come November 8, 2022, for many their very jobs will be at stake. If the Democrats can't get it together, they will be out of work.

Which, means, of course, they will get it together, and soon.

Some predict Biden's numbers will improve greatly by January, which will lift the entire Democratic party just in time for the 2022 elections.

As for further motivation, picture a party controlled by Trump and has been attacking America's free elections for the past several months now in control of Congress. That party also wants to control women's health decisions and is fighting methods to control the delta variant.

Does anyone want that party to control Congress?

 

[Sandy Shanks]

The Republican Party is in the grip of grassroots Trump supporters with limited education and little understanding of what is happening around them.

The Republican Party gets its support from the rural counties of America. For the most part they are farmers, ranchers and rural shopkeepers with limited education. They don't know the truth about their party, they don't know what Trump has said and done, and they don't want to know. Theirs is a blind loyalty to Trump very similar to a cult.

In fifty plus years of following politics I have never seen something so strange!

A major party is being led by a loser, a prolific liar who has lost sight of reality, and an insurrectionist against his own government.

On Donald Trump's watch, the Republican Party lost the House, Senate, and the Presidency within two years time. He lost his reelection by seven million votes.

Nearly a year later Trump is still insisting that he won the election. President Trump pressured acting DOJ officials including acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen on December 27 to "Just say that the election was corrupt + leave the rest to me and the R. Congressmen."

President Trump planned the Jan. 6 insurrection against his government well in advance. He all but circled Jan. 6 on the nation’s calendar. “Big protest in D.C. on January 6th,” President Trump tweeted on Dec. 19, just one of several of his tweets promoting the day. “Be there, will be wild!”

In a rousing speech on the day of his well planned insurrection, he encouraged an assault on our nation's capital. After reminded them again that the election was stolen from them, he told the angry crowd,
“We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to show strength. You have to be strong.
When you catch somebody in a fraud, you are allowed to go by very different rules. We fight like hell and if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore!”

Vladimir Putin, who helped Trump become President, was obviously pleased with Trump's assault on American democracy.

Strangest of all, as this thread attests, grassroots Republicans say nothing about all this. Of course, what can they say?

Despite all this, Republicans in leadership positions fully support Trump. That I don't get, and, because Republicans say little about their own party, we will never get an explanation of the strange, almost suicidal pact.

CNN reports, "Nine months after the attack on the US Capitol, Republicans in Congress are defending Donald Trump's role on January 6 in some of their strongest terms yet -- and signaling he'd have widespread backing from the party if he ran for president again in 2024.

Republicans from across the conference -- including some who are vulnerable in next year's midterms or have long been seen as part of the establishment wing of the party -- are expressing little to no reservations about the prospect of Trump topping the ticket again, even as he continues to spread the same election lies that led a mob to storm their place of work, CNN.

CNN continued, "But as time elapses since January 6 and Trump makes a return to campaign-style rallies, a large swath of the House GOP conference is publicly rallying around the defeated former President while downplaying the deadly Capitol riot -- a huge boon for Trump as he weighs his political future. If the GOP had any lingering doubts about Trump being the face of their party, they have completely evaporated from public view."

Can someone explain it to me.

I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

In fifty plus years of following politics I have never seen something so strange!

This is mind boggling!

Trump is a loser. On his watch, the Republican Party lost the House, Senate, and the Presidency within two years time. He lost his reelection by seven million votes.

For the past year Trump has been living a lie, and he has been forcing the Republican leadership to accept that lie. They do so because grassroots Republicans consider Trump their hero.

The Republican Party gets its support from the rural counties of America. For the most part they are farmers, ranchers and rural shopkeepers with limited education. Their awareness of political matters is highly limited. All they know is, Trump is their savior without ever knowing what Trump is doing and saying. This thread illustrates that fact.

Now this. Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee for President in 2024. He is the leader of the Republican Party. Please, don't ask me why. Yesterday, Trump issued this statement via his Save America PAC:

"If we don't solve the Presidential Election Fraud of 2020 (which we have thoroughly and conclusively documented), Republicans will not be voting in '22 or '24. It is the single most important thing for Republicans to do."

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Yesterday, Trump issued this statement via his Save America PAC:

"If we don't solve the Presidential Election Fraud of 2020 (which we have thoroughly and conclusively documented), Republicans will not be voting in '22 or '24. It is the single most important thing for Republicans to do."

Is Trump mentally ill?

Here is a point of view from Chris Cillizza.

"Donald Trump is, ostensibly, a Republican. But he has shown time and again -- both in the White House and now out of it -- that he cares little about helping the party and its other candidates.

"One would be hard-pressed to make a more counterproductive statement to Republican efforts to win back the House and Senate majorities they lost during the Trump years.

"What Trump is saying, quite simply, is that unless and until he is restored as president -- due to (nonexistent) voter fraud during the 2020 presidential election -- Republican voters should withhold their votes in the 2022 midterms (and the 2024 presidential election).

"It's reminiscent of the "strategy" used by Trump's "legal" team during the Georgia Senate runoffs earlier this year.

"Sidney Powell urged "all Georgians to make it known that you will not vote at all until your vote is secure — and I mean that regardless of party." Lin Wood, meanwhile, told voters that "this is Georgia. We ain't dumb.

"We're not going to go vote on Jan. 5 on another machine made by China."

"Both Republican incumbents lost the runoffs and, in so doing, Democrats seized the Senate majority. Absolutely brilliant "strategery" there by Powell and Wood.

"Now, Trump is lending his voice to the "don't vote" crowd. And he's doing so at a decidedly bad time -- as Republicans quite clearly have the momentum nationally, fueled by President Joe Biden's dipping approval ratings.

"That national environment -- coupled with historical data that suggests Republicans are primed to make pickups next November -- have GOPers more optimistic than at any time since Trump's loss in 2020.

"Enter Trump -- who seems hellbent on slowing (or stopping) that momentum as he pursues his own personal vendettas and agenda."

Go figure. Like I said, it's mind boggling.

Will we hear from Republicans about all this?

Hell, no.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Now this. Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee for President in 2024. He is the leader of the Republican Party. Please, don't ask me why. Yesterday, Trump issued this statement via his Save America PAC:

"If we don't solve the Presidential Election Fraud of 2020 (which we have thoroughly and conclusively documented), Republicans will not be voting in '22 or '24. It is the single most important thing for Republicans to do."

Is Trump mentally ill?

As expected, not a word from the forum's Republicans. They stay silent about what their party and what their party's leader is doing and saying.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Reuters reports, "Less than half of Americans approve of President Joe Biden’s performance in office, according to the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll.

"The national poll, conducted Oct. 13-14, found that 46% of U.S. adults approved of Biden’s performance in office, while 48% disapproved and the rest were not sure. Biden’s overall popularity has hovered under 50% since August. At the same point in Donald Trump’s presidency, about 35% of Americans approved of his performance in office, while 60% disapproved. The Reuters/Ipsos poll is conducted online in English throughout the United States. The latest poll gathered responses from 1,005 adults in total including 418 Democrats and 398 Republicans."

Why have Biden's numbers dropped so drastically? The answer is simple -- the lack of progress on the Biden agenda, the popular bipartisan infrastructure proposal and the not so popular $3.5 trillion reconciliation package.

House progressives want to spend $3.5 trillion and no one knows why. The bill hasn't been written. No one knows what will be in the bill. Is it any wonder why Democratic moderates and the American people dubious?

Biden has a winner ready to go. The infrastructure bill was passed in the Senate by a vote of 69 to 30. Not only is it popular with the American people, but it is even popular with Republicans.

So, why hasn't Biden -- and the American people -- chalked up this win?

House progressives will not allow it. Because it is so popular, the progressives are using the bill as extortion. They are holding up the bill to extort votes from the moderates on the yet to be written reconciliation bill. Democrats can't even agree on a price tag for the unwritten bill.

Is it any wonder why Biden's numbers are slipping. The progressives are compelling Americans to ask themselves, "Can the Democrats govern?"

Bottom line, Biden needs a win badly and the progressives in the House won't let him have it. Perhaps they don't like being in the majority. Maybe they want the Republicans to be making the decisions following the 2022 elections.

It's up to them.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

House progressives want to spend $3.5 trillion and no one knows why. The bill hasn't been written. No one knows what will be in the bill. Is it any wonder why Democratic moderates and the American people dubious?

The media and House progressives enjoy blaming Senators Manchin and Sinema for the lack of progress.

Trust me on this one. There are significantly more moderate Democrats and a several million Americans who are leery about buying a 3.5 trillion dollar pig in a poke.

Hence the slipping numbers for Biden who gets blamed for all of this.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

ABC News highlighted the difficulties facing the Biden administration. It is a critical time for the President.

ABC reports, "President Joe Biden is entering a crucial two weeks for his ambitious agenda, racing to conclude contentious congressional negotiations ahead of both domestic deadlines and a chance to showcase his administration’s accomplishments on a global stage.

"Biden and his fellow Democrats are struggling to bridge intraparty divides by month’s end to pass a bipartisan infrastructure bill and a larger social services package. The president hopes to nail down both before Air Force One lifts off for Europe on Oct. 28 for a pair of world leader summits, including the most ambitious climate change meeting in years."

Adding to our President's difficulties are the "looming Senate fights over the federal debt limit and government funding that could distract from getting the president’s agenda across the finish line."

There is a strong sense of urgency that a deal needs to be struck rapidly. The President spent the weekend engaging with lawmakers and planned to host both moderate and progressive Democratic lawmakers at the White House on Tuesday.

ABC continued, "For the White House, there are the explicit target dates, including an end-of-month deadline on transportation funding and Biden’s upcoming foreign trip. But there are also more abstract imperatives: proving Democrats can deliver on their promises to voters and protecting Biden’s waning political capital.

"With new urgency, the administration has sent signals to Capitol Hill in recent days that it is time to wrap up negotiations, that a deal needs to be reached."

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Biden has a winner ready to go. The infrastructure bill was passed in the Senate by a vote of 69 to 30. Not only is it popular with the American people, but it is even popular with Republicans.

So, why hasn't Biden -- and the American people -- chalked up this win?

House progressives will not allow it. Because it is so popular, the progressives are using the bill as extortion. They are holding up the bill to extort votes from the moderates on the yet to be written reconciliation bill.

That said, things are looking up for our President.

NPR reports, "Progressive Democrats praised a Tuesday meeting with President Biden but acknowledged that key priorities, including climate, pre-K and the child tax credit, would likely be smaller in any agreement with moderates."

Rep. Pramila Jayapal is the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

"The president is the inspirer, he is the closer, he is the convincer, the mediator-in-chief. He really is doing a phenomenal job," Jayapal said.

She called the meeting "really good, really productive" and said she feels "optimistic" after it.

Unfortunately, Senator Joe Manchin is different story ... on Biden's climate plan, that is.

Politico reports, "After Manchin rejected a centerpiece of President Joe Biden’s climate plan and rebuffed a separate carbon tax Tuesday, Senate Democrats are urgently pressing their West Virginia colleague for an alternative."

Manchin is reluctant to embrace anything that could significantly disadvantage West Virginia’s gas and coal industry. Agreeing to Biden's climate package would be political suicide for the West Virginia Democrat.

On the other hand, NPR reports, "The clean electricity performance program, a $150 billion program that would reward utilities that transition to renewable energy and penalize those that don't, has been removed from the spending proposal and they are negotiating alternatives."

Hopefully, the Democrats get it together.

If they do, maybe Trump's Republicans won't get control of Congress after all in the 2022 election. If Biden becomes our hero via his ideas coming to fruition, maybe Trump won't become our President again after the election in 2024.

After all, to me, that is what this is all about. Neither the infrastructure package or human infrastructure package affects me in the least other than our country will be stronger with the former.

Any twice impeached idiot who lost Congress and the White house than stupidly tells members of his own party not to vote unless he has been redeemed, should not become our President.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Any twice impeached idiot who lost Congress and the White house than stupidly tells members of his own party not to vote unless he has been redeemed, should not become our President.

The forum's Republicans will not respond to that statement.

The Republican Party gets its support from the rural counties of America. For the most part they are farmers, ranchers and rural shopkeepers with limited education. Their awareness of political matters is highly limited. All they know is, Trump is their savior without ever knowing what Trump is doing and saying.

As a consequence, Republicans are incapable of dealing with today's issues. This thread illustrates that fact.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

With respect to the 2022 mid-term elections, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has several problems.

CNN reports, "Mitch McConnell's entire being is -- and always has been -- focused on winning elections. Every move he makes and every thing he says is part of a broader effort to ensure that his side winds up with more seats -- and therefore more control -- than the other guys.

"And, on Tuesday, McConnell made clear that he believes former President Donald Trump's ongoing focus on the 2020 election is decidedly detrimental to the GOP's chances in the upcoming midterm elections."

Asked if he was comfortable with candidates embracing Trump, McConnell said this:

"I do think we need to be thinking about the future and not the past. I think the American people are focusing on this administration, what it's doing to the country, and it's my hope the '22 election will be a referendum on the performance of the current administration, not a rehash of suggestions about what may have happened in 2020."

CNN continued, "That's about as close as McConnell will get to outright refutation of Trump and the strategy, such as it is, that the former president is peddling -- a hard focus on trying to prove (nonexistent) voter fraud in the 2020 election.

"While Trump's continued attempts to re-litigate the 2020 election have been ongoing for months, that effort went to another level in the last week when Trump suggested that unless the last election was overturned, future elections would be pointless."

"If we don't solve the Presidential Election Fraud of 2020 (which we have thoroughly and conclusively documented), Republicans will not be voting in '22 or '24," Trump said in a statement via his Save America PAC. "It is the single most important thing for Republicans to do."

"Republicans will not be voting in '22 or '24!"

Imagine that. The leader of the Republican Party said that.

Yeah, McConnell has some problems.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

With respect to the 2022 mid-term elections, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has several problems.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer officially announced that the full House will vote on Thursday on the contempt of Congress resolution for Steve Bannon after the Jan. 6 committee approved a contempt report this evening.

House Republicans are expected to vote no on the resolution.

Bannon is a private citizen, and Trump fired him from the White House staff three years ago.

Put a different way, the Republican Party officially will support a person who has violated a Congressional subpoena and federal law.

When it comes to the work of the Jan. 5 select committee, both Trump and Bannon are acting very guilty.

McConnell, indeed, has some very serious problems when it comes to the 2022 elections.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Things are looking up for our President.

NPR reports, "Progressive Democrats praised a Tuesday meeting with President Biden but acknowledged that key priorities, including climate, pre-K and the child tax credit, would likely be smaller in any agreement with moderates."

CNN reports, "Democrats aren't there yet on cracking a deal on a President Joe Biden's sweeping, if now scaled back, economic and climate package. But the over the course of the next 36 hours, those involved in these talks think it is possible to get at least one of the two Senate moderates to sign off on a final and detailed framework."

It's not a secret who that one senator is: Sen. Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat. It's not a secret who that one senator isn't: Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.

CNN continued, "The bottom line is that efforts to convince Manchin are and have been moving in the right direction for days now, with the senior senator engaged in a barrage of meetings around the clock on his outstanding concerns.

"One thing that has shifted significantly -- by design -- in the last 72 hours has been Biden's approach.

"Through dozens of meetings and calls over the course of the last several months, he served as equal parts listener and explainer, cheerleader and extoller of the virtues of the package and its potential effect on districts, states or -- most often -- the fate of the country.

"There was sounding out of where members stood and clear efforts at times to nudge them toward a specific direction."

So, the question has come down to this. Will Kyrsten Sinema single-handedly blow up Biden's entire domestic agenda?

CNN did its best to answer that question. "The calculation from most as they try to game that out is no. Sinema has made clear to the White House and to some colleagues that she wants to get to yes and will figure out a way to do so through her intensive talks with White House officials."

However, the fact remains that Sinema is standing in the way of the President's agenda.

"Sinema's position on taxes isn't new. The Arizona senator has quietly been digging in on her reluctance to increase the corporate tax rate and the individual rate for months. What has changed is the long-held belief that eventually Sinema would move off of that position and be amenable to some modest increases as talks intensified. She hasn't, and it has sparked deep concern within the Democratic ranks in recent days that it is quite possible Democrats will need to find entirely new avenues to pay for their bill," CNN.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

House Republicans are expected to vote no on the resolution.

Bannon is a private citizen, and Trump fired him from the White House staff three years ago.

Put a different way, the Republican Party officially will support a person who has violated a Congressional subpoena and federal law.

Reuters reports, "Longtime Donald Trump ally Steve Bannon could face criminal prosecution for refusing to cooperate with a probe into the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol after the House of Representatives voted Thursday to hold him in contempt of Congress.

"The Democratic-led chamber voted 229 to 202, with nine Republicans joining Democrats to recommend the charges against Bannon, who served as chief strategist for the Republican former president.

"U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland will make the final decision on whether to prosecute."

How could Garland not prosecute?

Both Trump and Bannon urged and incited the right wing extremists to attack our capitol.

Bannon’s own public statements made clear he knew what was going to happen before it did. On his radio show on Jan. 5, Bannon promised “all hell is going to break loose tomorrow.”

“Big protest in D.C. on January 6th,” Trump tweeted on Dec. 19. “Be there, will be wild!”

Inciting the rioters in the audience before him, Trump said, “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong.”

“When you catch somebody in a fraud, you are allowed to go by very different rules."

“We fight like hell and if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.”

Trump's mob injured 140 police officers. Five died as a consequence of the insurrection. Our capitol was invaded, and lawmakers had to flee for their lives. Strange how most Republicans have forgotten that.

I'll say it again. How could Garland not prosecute people who had a direct role in the attack?

As is their custom, the forum's Republicans will not address these issues. They only talk about Democrats.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

When it comes to the Jan. 6 insurrection orchestrated by Donald Trump, Republicans either lie or say nothing. Due to their embarrassment, a large majority of Republicans are in the latter group, remaining silent about their party's leader. As Republican Representative Liz Cheney points out, Representative Jim Banks is the exception.

CNN reports, "GOP Rep. Jim Banks lamented on the House floor that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi prevented him from serving on the House committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol on Thursday.

"And yet, Banks sent a letter to at least one government agency falsely claiming that he is ranking member of the committee.

"According to a letter provided to CNN, Banks wrote to the Department of the Interior on September 16 asking to be provided with any information the department turns over to the House committee."

"I ask that you provide me any information that is submitted to the Select Committee. Additionally, please include me on any update or briefing that you provide," Banks wrote.

"Banks signed the letter as ranking member of the committee, while admitting that Pelosi blocked his appointment."

The letter reads: "The House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy appointed me to serve as the Ranking Member of the Select Committee. Yet, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi refused to allow me to fulfill my duties as Ranking Member."

So, in addition to being an inept liar, Banks obviously is not very bright.

Other than being totally embarrassed by what Trump did, why do Republicans lie so much about the Jan. 6 insurrection? It's simple. Trump's followers, who they depend upon in the primaries, will believe them despite a mountain of evidence to the contrary.

The Republican Party gets its support from the rural counties of America. For the most part they are farmers, ranchers and rural shopkeepers with limited education. Their awareness of political matters is highly limited. All they know is, Trump is their savior without ever knowing why. Listening to responsible news sources is not their thing. They prefer the fantasies of Fox News and far right sources who are more interested in propaganda for the intelligence challenged in lieu of authentic news.

Trump lost all 60 court cases in which he claimed election fraud. His own A.G., Bill Barr, stated there was no election fraud. The Supreme Court deemed the claim of election fraud as fraudulent. All fifty states certified the election results after multiple audits. Despite all this:

A majority of Republicans still believe the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump, according to a Yahoo News/YouGov poll. The latest findings show how persistent this false narrative continues to be, despite the preponderance of evidence against it.

Poll: Two-thirds of Republicans still think the 2020 election was rigged

A majority of Republicans still believe the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump, according to a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll.

news.yahoo.com

I rest my case.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Donald Trump is the acknowledged leader of the Republican Party, and the presumptive Republican nominee for the Presidency in 2024. Is Trump bent on destroying the Republican Party?

Despite the crazy logic of that question, there are indications that is exactly what Trump wants to do.

Or, Trump is no longer mentally sound.

Trump told his followers that unless he is restored as the President, Republicans will not vote in the next two elections.

"If we don't solve the Presidential Election Fraud of 2020 (which we have thoroughly and conclusively documented), Republicans will not be voting in '22 or '24," Trump said in a statement via his Save America PAC. "It is the single most important thing for Republicans to do."

Then, one has to look at who he is endorsing.

CNN reports, "Donald Trump is throwing his support behind a trio of candidates whose troubled pasts have come under scrutiny, as he continues to influence the standards of the GOP from his Mar-a-Lago perch.

"In Georgia, Trump has wholeheartedly endorsed former football star Herschel Walker for Senate, even though he's faced allegations of threatening multiple women over the span of a decade. In Ohio, Trump is backing former senior White House adviser Max Miller for Congress -- even as he faces allegations of abuse from his ex-girlfriend, former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham. And in Pennsylvania, Trump threw his support behind retired Army captain Sean Parnell, who is embroiled in a custody battle with an estranged wife who previously obtained two temporary protection from abuse orders against him."

Then there is a rather strange phenomenon regarding Donald Trump's endorsements.

Most Republican candidates want Trump's endorsement. Most Republican candidates are doing their utmost to avoid Trump and they don't want to appear on the same stage with him.

Go figure.

Case in point, Glenn Youngkin, the Republican candidate for the governor of Virginia.

The Hill reports. "Glenn Youngkin is running as Trump-lite; it's a challenging journey.
The GOP nominee for governor of Virginia is trying to thread a delicate political needle: to be Trumpian enough to energize the party's hard-core base, but not so much it turns off independent-minded suburban voters who have turned the state politically blue this century.

Why is there such a phenomenon? It's simple, really.

The Republican Party gets its support from the rural counties of America. For the most part they are farmers, ranchers and rural shopkeepers with limited education and little time for news sources. Their awareness of political matters is highly limited. All they know is, Trump is their savior without ever knowing why.

Just how uninformed are Trump Republicans?

A majority of Republicans still believe the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump, according to a Yahoo News/YouGov poll. The latest findings show how persistent this false narrative continues to be, despite the preponderance of evidence against it.

That uninformed!

 

[Sandy Shanks]

“We’re going to walk down to the Capitol. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong.”

“When you catch somebody in a fraud, you are allowed to go by very different rules."

“We fight like hell and if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.”

The House Jan.6 select committee is closing in on Trump.

CNN reports, "At least five former Trump administration staffers have voluntarily spoken with the House committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, CNN has learned.

"Those discussions come as lawyers working for the committee have also reached out to a range of other Trump aides to inquire whether they would be interested in speaking with the committee voluntarily, without the threat of a subpoena.

"The five former staffers who have had conversations with the committee have done so with either members or their staff. Some believe they have information worth sharing, while others are hoping to avoid being legally compelled to talk to the committee.

"The engagement could provide insight for the committee that's seeking to learn more about the actions of former President Donald Trump and his supporters in the lead up to the riot."

CNN continued, "The House select committee investigating January 6 has reached out to Chad Wolf and Ken Cuccinelli, two top officials from the Trump-era Department of Homeland Security, asking that they voluntarily speak with the panel.

"Cuccinelli said he has been asked to meet with investigators but he has not yet engaged in a discussion with the committee. A source familiar with the probe said that Wolf, who was acting secretary until he resigned in January, also has been contacted.

"The committee has not issued a subpoena for Cuccinelli or Wolf at this time. They are the first known DHS officials to have been contacted by the committee."

Despite his fiery speech that incited the insurrection, Trump maintains that he did no wrong while at the same time telling his associates to disobey Congressional subpoenas and asserting mythical executive privilege to keep White House documents from the prying eyes of the House committee.

CNN adds, "The showdown with Biden fuels Trump's attempts to turn efforts to investigate the tumultuous end to his presidency into fodder for a political comeback. He's already making the midterms and the 2024 presidential election into a platform for his falsehoods that power was stolen from him in a rigged election. Trump and his allies have branded Biden's refusal to cooperate with his political power grabs as evidence of a political vendetta against the ex-President."

Not surprisingly, his gullible and less than mindful fans will believe him. They don't require substantiation because Trump is their prophet for some unknown reason they can't define.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Under the mistaken belief that Iran's nuclear program had a ten year expiration date, but mostly because the agreement was made during the Obama administration, Trump made an egregious error. He canceled the Iranian nuclear agreement which permanently barred Iran from making a nuclear weapon. The agreement was signed by the six major powers known as the P5+1 and Iran.

"Iran stopped complying with the deal after former US President Donald Trump pulled out of the agreement in 2018 and imposed a maximum pressure campaign on Iran with stiff new sanctions," CNN.

Due to Trump's lack of understanding, the U.S. destroyed the effective agreement. President Biden has been trying desperately to restore the agreement. Under pressure from the Biden government, Iran has changed her position.

CNN explains, "Under the Biden administration, the US has continuously called for Iran's return to the talks. However, Washington said last month that it was working on contingency plans if Iran continues to make nuclear advances and fails to return to negotiations.

"US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned earlier this month that the window for diplomacy with Tehran was closing. "I'm not going to put a specific date on it, but with every passing day and Iran's refusal to engage in good faith, the runway gets shortened," Blinken said.

CNN continued, "Iran has agreed to resume crucial nuclear talks "before the end of November," the country's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani said in a tweet on Wednesday.

"Bagheri Kani was meeting Enrique Mora, the EU's External Action Service Deputy Head, in Brussels on Wednesday, to discuss the resumption of talks that were suspended in June after six rounds.

"Iran had been holding the talks in Vienna with China, Germany, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and indirectly the United States (P5+1).

"The negotiations aim to resurrect the nuclear deal, known officially as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA, under which Iran agreed to limit its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions."

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Out of desperation caused by the fool who occupied the Oval Office before Biden, it is not surprising that Republicans are blaming our President for just about everything these days.

Biden is being blamed for the pandemic which in turn is responsible for the supply chain difficulties which is responsible for shortages of just about everything which is causing inflation. Without going into detail -- because there isn't any -- according to Republicans, our President is somehow responsible for the worldwide shortage of fuel which is driving prices still higher.

Unfortunately for Republicans the President is no more responsible for these temporary economic difficulties than Hoover being responsible for the Great Depression. In 2008, Bush was not responsible for the Great Recession, and Trump was not responsible for the pandemic induced recession during the spring and summer of 2020.

Unless our President loses a war, the President has little or no control over the largest economy in the world ... ours. Nevertheless, Americans blame our Presidents if the economy goes bad, and give credit to our Presidents if the economy is doing well.

Both the blame and the credit are undeserved. No one man is responsible for what our huge economy does. Our economy is in the hands of business leaders and the American worker.

That said, despite the lingering effects of the pandemic, our economy is doing quite well.

The stock market is a bellwether for future economic success or failure.

ABC News reports, "A broad rally for stocks on Wall Street sent the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to new highs Thursday, as the market more than made up for modest losses a day earlier.

"The S&P 500 rose 1%, posting its third all-time high this week. More than 80% of the stocks in the benchmark index closed higher. Technology stocks, banks and a mix of companies that rely on consumer spending accounted for much of the gains.

"The Nasdaq rose 1.4%, nudging the tech-heavy index above its previous record high set Sept. 7. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7%, leaving it just shy of the all-time high it set on Tuesday.

"The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell to a pandemic low last week as the job market continues to recover from last year's coronavirus recession.

"Jobless claims dropped by 10,000 to 281,000, lowest since mid-March 2020, the Labor Department said Thursday. Since topping 900,000 in early January, weekly applications have steadily dropped, moving ever closer to pre-pandemic levels."

Does the President get any credit for our thriving economy?

As explained, hell no.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Democrats seem to be doing everything within their power to ensure that Republicans regain control of Congress in November 2022 and that Biden is a one term President.

For President Joe Biden and his domestic agenda, there was no time left.

NBC News reports, "Biden raced this week to stitch together a $1.75 trillion revision of his "Build Back Better" plan, and he personally pressured House Democrats to vote for his $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill before leaving for Europe. He addressed the nation on the merits of both measures just hours before he departed for the trip overseas.

"The frenetic rush flowed from a confluence of deadlines.

"Terry McAuliffe, the Democratic nominee for governor in Virginia, urged the White House to deliver on the infrastructure bill before voters go to the polls Tuesday. And, perhaps most important, Biden didn't want to walk empty-handed into a major climate conference in Scotland that begins Sunday."

Unfortunately, the Democrats failed to give the President a win, and Biden met with other world leaders empty-handed. Democrats in the House and Senate seem to be determined to embarrass the American President as he faced world leaders..

Even though Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., the progressive caucus chair.has said her caucus unanimously approved the framework for Build Back Better, progressives vowed to vote down the infrastructure bill to ensure they could continue to negotiate on the Build Back Better framework that Biden struck with Senate moderates Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz.

“Members of our caucus will not vote for the infrastructure bill without the Build Back Better Act,” Jayapal said. “We will work immediately to finalize and pass both pieces of legislation through the House together.”

The Democratic failure to support the Democratic President wasn't entirely the fault of progressives.

The Times reports, "Senators Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, moderate Democrats who had forced the original $3.5 trillion proposal to be halved delivered halfhearted statements that pointedly did not promise that they would support the president’s new framework for a deal on the spending bill."

It is easy to see why House progressives would be hesitant.

There is no one person to blame. The Democratic Party as a whole is working together to provide the Republican Party victories in 2022 and 2024.

A lot could change before the elections.

That means Democratic lawmakers need to change what they are doing and support the Democratic President.