Many years ago I was an enlisted man in the United States Coast Guard Reserve, often underway in the nearby North Atlantic, conducting fisheries patrols. When a change of course was required in rough seas the bridge would pipe the following … [Read more...]
It’s not really about Trump, Part 2
People both hope for and worry about impeaching Trump and then being left with Pence. I'm not so worried by Pence. He plays by rules we know and know how to fight. And he's about as charismatic as a piece of plywood. A McConnell/Ryan/Pence … [Read more...]
Latest Budget Deal Just Another Setback For The Far Right
In what is shaping up to be a year of setbacks for the Republican Party's far right, last Friday's budget deal can only be seen as yet another defeat. Senator Ted Cruz labeled the deal “a slap in the face to conservatives.” … [Read more...]
Miraculously the Republicans Rediscover the Average American
As if by magic, the Republican Party has rediscovered most of the rest of us. My neck is still stiff from the political whiplash I sustained when the Grand Old Party radically made its 180-degree course change back to the political middle. … [Read more...]
A Solidly Republican House Crashes Down on Grover Norquist
At this point all I can do is laugh when I think about how some of my friends on the far right were naive as to think that sensible Republicans in Congress had failed to heed the message of the 2012 election and the current political … [Read more...]
True Republican Mavericks
Retiring Republican Senator from Maine, Olympia Snowe seems to be taking a parting shot at the right wing extremism currently infecting the G.O.P. She recently said that she will not necessarily give her $2.36 million dollar war chest to … [Read more...]
Ms. Bachmann a Migraine Headache for the G.O.P.?
Anyone who has been paying attention to politics and especially the politics of the Tea Party movement remembers how Sarah Palin, back in 2010, claimed that the "sleazy G.O.P. establishment" was out to derail her run for the presidency in … [Read more...]
The Looming Compromise on Revenues
Against the backdrop of heightened political rhetoric among conservatives about not being willing to raise tax revenues as part of the deal to raise the debt ceiling, there is a growing acknowledgement among many Republicans in Washington … [Read more...]
Republican Leaders Again Equivocate on Spending Cuts
Once more since arriving on Capitol Hill, the new Republican dominated House of Representatives and the newly reinforced Republican Senate minority has equivocated on the topic of spending cuts. By now we are all well aware that the … [Read more...]
The Tea Party and the G.O.P.: The First Fissures?
I recently wrote that I believe a number of unavoidable "train wrecks" will occur between the Tea Party and the Republican Party. When it comes to these "train wrecks" it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when. The first of these are … [Read more...]