Schumer Was Correct

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is being severely criticized by fellow Democrats for his YES vote on the Republican CR funding bill and letting it become law. Democrats wanted Schumer to vote NO which would have caused the government to shut down. Most Democrats thought a NO vote would be one of their few chances to stop or at least slow Trump's radical agenda.

Schumer thought that shutting the government down would only give Republicans more power to implement their plans.

I agree with Schumer.

Limited government has been a guiding principle of Republicans for decades. Ronald Reagan said the government was the problem, not the solution. Grover Norquist, a well known Republican advisor from the 1980s, wanted to cut the government so deeply that he could “drown it in a bathtub”. Trump shut the government down for about a month during his first term. Republicans like government shut downs.

I haven't figured out what Trump's overall plan is for the country (assuming he has one), but it obviously includes destroying the government, the economy, Democrats, the rule of law, the free press, the Courts and probably the Constitution. A long government shutdown that he could blame on Democrats helps him meet his (and Putin's) plans.

If Trump and Musk really wanted to down size the government and make it more efficient, they wouldn't be firing thousands of employees by in-discriminant means or decimating government departments and agencies.

We need to fight Trump every way we can. Helping him shut down the government does not help the country at all. Once the government was down, how would Democrats every get it going again without Republican help? Do you really think Republicans would make any adjustments or concessions to their bill to get Democratic votes to restart the government? Republicans did not ask for or allow any suggestions from Democrats when writing the CR funding legislation. Why would they do anything during a shutdown they were happy to have? 

It would take Democrat's making concessions and promising enough YES votes before Republicans would bring the CR bill up for another vote. So instead of stopping the Republican's CR bill Democrats would just put the country through the turmoil of a possibly long shutdown and show the country how truly politically weak they are.

Does Trump Cower At Threat Of WW III?

Like many people I wonder what hold Putin has on Trump. There are many possible explanations and Trump's obvious mental decline may make any rational explanation impossible.

But in Trump's meltdown while talking to Ukraine's President Zelensky in the Oval Office, Trump twice warned Zelensky that by not accepting his plan to end the war Zelensky threatened to unleash World War III.  Trump seemed to be sincere in his assertion.

I wonder if Putin warned Trump he would start WW III if Trump didn't convince Zelensky to just give up. 

For all his bluster, I can easily believe Trump could not stand up to such a threat.  Trump is a bully and is always eager to threaten opponents when he thinks he has an advantage.  When it is the other way around he is a coward.

 

Two Hundred Year Old Social Security Recipients?

During President Trump's recent address to the nation Republican's were appalled by his claims of very old people in the Social Security System.  He implied that they were receiving benefits, but provided no proof.  Of course, he never provides proof for his outlandish statements.

What really surprised me was that Republicans seemed stunned to hear of very old people being in the system.  Didn't the President's physician during his first term, Dr. Ronny Johnson, claim President Trump was so healthy he could live to be 200? So what's the big deal?  True to his Republican roots Dr. Johnson provided no proof.