I often like to look in the rearview mirror to get one last look at the places I have visited. Whether leaving one of my sons’ homes after visiting my grandchildren or the lights of Broadway. President Obama included all of America not so long ago, saying, “We are the change we seek.” The same man said we are not Red America or Blue America but the United States of America. Also in that mirror are impending dangers. In November, we are coming to another crossroads, and America has its blinkers on, hazard light flashing, and a foot ready to brake. We can either roll through the stop sign and crash or yield the right of way. We see unhinged and deranged examples of the Republicans in Congress and their candidate for President.
This will be a long summer of mudslinging with which few of us are familiar. Will anyone be surprised when the articles of impeachment against Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security, suddenly make their way to the Senate for trial in October [surprise]? The Secretary is not guilty of a high crime or misdemeanor the Constitution prescribes for impeachment, but Mayorkas is a pawn in the GOP chess game. Mr. Mayorkas is guilty, in GOP eyes, of not doing what they want, although he is a member of President Biden’s Cabinet. During his State of the Union address, Mr. Biden pointedly told Republicans, “You can’t love your country only when you win.”
If you have forgotten as I had, that all important—to the GOP caucus—Impeachment of the Secretary of Homeland Security was an imperative for our national security, according to House Republicans. Lo and behold, those Impeachment articles, vital for our protection and cannot proceed until they are forwarded to the Senate for trial, are apparently on a shelf next to Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson’s Bible. Republicans are on, God only knows, what page of their scare tactics playbook. The GOP whined and wheedled about the crisis at the border but, at every juncture, turned back efforts, even their own, to fix it. The effort at comprehensive immigration reform dates back to the gang of eight in 2013 when four Republicans and four Democrats hammered out a bipartisan deal. This year, an Independent, a Republican, and a Democrat worked to make a deal. Unfortunately, it is in that same abyss with Mayorkas Impeachment articles. Also, during the State of the Union, the frustrated face of GOP Oklahoma Senator James Lankford mouthing the words “That’s true” when President Joe Biden placed blame on Republicans and Donald Trump was all the confirmation of obstruction the public needed. Mike Johnson refuses to bring the bill up for a vote and is burying it beneath a mountain of hyperbolic gibberish.
Democrats, for their part, have garnered the support of the border patrol union. Although the union is not jumping for joy over every aspect of the proposal, it favors its passage. In that rearview mirror—when politics worked—former President Ronald Reagan, who signed the Simpson-Mazzoli Act, an amnesty bill, said that getting 80 percent of what you want is a win. “The person who agrees with you 80 percent of the time is a friend and an ally – not a 20 percent traitor,”said Reagan. Former President Obama warned, “Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.” It appears the Republican Party is determined to be the enemy of good government and progress. At the same time, they run in circles chasing the tail of Donald Trump—who lost a defamation suit in a rape case; Mr. Trump is set to go on trial soon in New York for using campaign donations to chase other tails. With Trump at the helm, the party and country are splintering like Lincoln logs.
Vote Against Guns