Mountain Views News, Pasadena Edition [Sierra Madre] Saturday, July 22, 2017

MVNews this week:  Page B:3

B3 Mountain Views News Saturday, July 22, 2017 OPINION B3 Mountain Views News Saturday, July 22, 2017 OPINION 
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182 DAYS, 10 HOURS, 39

MINUTES AND 24 SECONDS..... 

That’s entirely too long! That is how long at the moment I began

writing this article that this country has had a President that is out

of control, a Congress that doesn’t know what to do with him and an

economy that for the last 8 years has improved but won’t be able to

sustain the benefits of that without leadership. Why? Because the new 

‘Leader of The Free World’ is choosing to send this country straight

to hell in a handbasket! That is of course, except for his ‘friends and 

family’.

 Rather than pick up from where President Obama left off and

continue to move us forward with an agenda that will benefit all American’s, he has spent the last

182+ days whining about what Hillary did or didn’t do (She lost the election so she should not be

a concern of his), what Obama did wrong (Really? See chart below), how the media isn’t doing

their job, that all bad Trump news is fake, and the dog ate his homework! Blah Blah Blah. He 

blames Congress for recognizing that not everyone likes the way he wants to leave 22-30 million

people uninsured, and in case you haven’t noticed, he not only has appointed his Wall Street cronies

to everything under the sun, he has deregulated the very industries that created the most recent

collapse of our economy.

Every time I think perhaps he is going to put the American people first again for a moment, (yes

I do have faith that all occupants of the Oval Office put American’s first), he does something else that

makes our form of governance appear to be incompetent, insensitive, corrupt and immoral. We are 

no longer a nation to be respected, we are a nation to be ridiculed because, for the last 182+ days we 

have had a man of questionable sanity leading us. He and his buddies aren’t cleaning up the swamp, 

they are overpopulating it!

Speaking of Friends and Family, Donald J. Trump, the man who requires mindless loyalty from

everyone, is the most disloyal of them all. Can you imagine that in one week he very publicly

turned his back on two people who have followed him like a lovesick puppy? The first of whom 

was Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Mind you, I am no fan of Jeff Sessions but like him or not he 

has compromised his reputation and possibly his career for DJT as required only to be excoriated

publicly for recusing himself from all things Russian, AS HE SHOULD HAVE DONE!.

 The second victim of the thankless one is Sean Spicer who allowed his professional career to be

tainted by lying, feigning ignorance and appearing to be totally incompetent for the ‘protection’ of

the thankless one! 

I don’t know what the next 182 days will bring, but DJT could be my very best friend if he would

just resign. He’s so bad that in my opinion Mike Pence looks like a really good alternative. We could 

however, use that old popular expression, “throw the bums out” and start all over again, but that is 

too time consuming and costly. So, DJT, can you do us all a favor and go back to the tower that you 

came from voluntarily? America is not deserving of another 182 days of your madness!

FYI, the chart below shows you which party really is the big federal spender. I’m just saying...... 


JOHN L. MICEK 


FROM ‘I ALONE CAN FIX IT’ TO 

‘I WON’T OWN IT’ 

A year ago this week, newly anointed as his party’s candidate for

president, Donald J. Trump capped the Republican National Convention

in Cleveland by ascending the podium in the Quicken Loans Arena,

and offering these words:

“Nobody knows the system better than me, which is why I alone can 
fix it.” 

A year later, as the latest iteration of an Obamacare repeal lay in smoking ruins, Trump saidthis: 

“I think we’re probably in that position where we’ll let Obamacare fail. We’re not going to ownit. I’m not going to own it,” he said Tuesday. “I can tell you the Republicans are not going to ownit. We’ll let Obamacare fail and then the Democrats are going to come to us.” 

But Trump, along with Congressional Republicans, does own the healthcare bill’s failure forthis simple reason: His party controls the White House and Capitol Hill.
Trump cut Democrats out of the process, and neither House Speaker Paul J. Ryan, R-Wisc., norSenate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., made any meaningful attempt to include themin talks. 

“This White House, like the last one, has outsourced healthcare to Congress,” U.S. Rep. CharlieDent, R-Pa., told MSNBC last month. “That’s what happened with this bill. Congress is largelywriting this bill.” 

Lest you think Dent, who hails from the moderate 15th District in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley,
here’s Tiana Lowe, writing in The National Review, which can hardly be confused for liberal:

“Rather than begin his tenure with legislation set to gain bipartisan, or at least Republican,
approval, Trump dived into the most complex cornerstones of GOP dogma without a real planor the discipline to sell it to the American people,” Lowe wrote. “After publicly pressuring PaulRyan to ram through a notoriously unpopular bill in the House, Trump slammed it as “mean.” 
The Senate then had to rewrite major aspects of it — while navigating even more difficult politicalterrain, because Republicans have a smaller majority in the upper chamber than they do in theHouse.” 
On Wednesday, as it became clear that McConnell faced consistent and steady opposition torepealing Obamacare without a replacement in hand, pundits faulted Trump for failing to do thehard work of selling the bill to voters.

“The fact is Donald Trump did a terrible job selling healthcare because he didn’t really try tosell healthcare,” Joe Scarborough, the former GOP congressman from Florida who hosts the daily“Morning Joe” gabfest on MSNBC, observed Wednesday.
In fact, Trump did the exact opposite of trying to sell the bill to the public - let alone to theCongressional Republicans with whom he allegedly works in common.

At various times, Trump threatened to primary Republican holdouts in the House. Then hesaid he hoped the Senate would come up with a better bill than the “mean” one passed by theHouse. 

With that lack of message discipline, coupled with the fact that, despite seven years of big talk,
Republicans failed to do much else than cobble together a set of unworkable talking points intolegislation, it’s no wonder the bill failed.

“Constantly distracted, never really focused. A lot of them complained that he didn’t evenunderstand what was inside the bill, so he really couldn’t rally the base to support it. And youknow, he can talk about 48 and 4, but the fact is he is 0 and 1,” Scarborough observed.

Trump’s greatest selling point in Cleveland - that he was a political outsider, a pragmatist andconsummate deal-maker who could cure what ailed Washington has now become his greatestliability.

He has thus far demonstrated he is none of those things.

Six months into his presidency, Trump has vacillated between pushing healthcare and taxreform, ending up with neither. Away from Capitol Hill, questions about his campaign’s ties toVladimir Putin’s Russia linger and seemingly get worse by the day. Pathological tweeting hasdistracted attention away from his legislative agenda.

In fact, here is little evidence that Trump has the knowledge or patience to spend the long hoursit takes getting a piece of legislation from to get a bill from the conception stage to the finish line.
Nor is there any evidence that he has surrounded himself with those who can.

Passing legislation is a pain-staking and deliberative process. Some members of Congressspend years working to get their bills onto the president’s desk.

Sticktoitedness is part of the job description.

And for those who say, give Trump a chance, it is worth pointing out that, at similar points intheir respective presidencies, Trump has signed fewer bills into his law than his predecessors. Andthose he has signed are remarkable for being mostly unremarkable.
Right now, Trump, the president, looks more like Trump the real estate developer, walking awayfrom ruinous deals, abdicating responsibility, and leaving others holding the bag.
That’s a long way from “I alone can fix it.” 
—— 
© Copyright 2017 John L. Micek, distributed by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate.
An award-winning political journalist, Micek is the Opinion Editor and Political Columnist forPennLive/The Patriot-News in Harrisburg, Pa. Readers may follow him on Twitter @ByJohnLMicek 
and email him at jmicek@pennlive.com. 

RAGING MODERATE byWILL DURST 

FAKE SONS 

And now, a few choice words about Donald Trump… Junior.
Seems as if the eldest son of the Trump Crime Family isnot the brilliant hotheaded tactician that Santino was in 
the Corleone Crime Family, but instead more in the moldof Fredo. The Trump most likely to make people offers theycan’t understand. 
To say the collusion trail is convoluted is like intimatingthat Wimbledon has found that ripe strawberries are not an adequate substitutefor tennis balls. On the advice of lawyers, Jared Kushner amended his securityclearance application three times, setting off bells loud enough to wake RichardNixon’s dead dog, Checkers.


This led to the revelation that Don Jr. held a meeting at Trump Tower with aRussian lawyer, described as a “nothing burger meeting” about Russian adoptionsand nobody else was there. And isn’t it time we focus on what really matters tothe American people? Hey, look over there… a squirrel.

Well, okay, so maybe the lawyer had some vague connections to the Russiangovernment, but doesn’t everybody? And Paul Manafort and Jared Kushner werethere, but they had no idea why. A month before the Conventions, the campaignmanager and lead advisor attended a meeting for no apparent reason. With aRussian lawyer. About adoption. And linoleum is edible.

It was so boring, the two left early. And okay, it wasn’t about orphans, but hadnothing to do with seeking damaging information about Hillary Clinton. Whichwouldn’t be illegal, even if it did. Which it didn’t. Okay, it did. So maybe it was amarinated flank steak meeting.

Then, to beat the New York Times to the punch, Junior released some grass-
fed, prime-cut, filet mignon emails that portrayed him as eager to receive thepromised damaging information about Hillary Clinton. From an American-
born Russian record producer. And an oligarch pop star. Don’t ask.

But absolutely nothing happened and we know that because Donald Trump Jr.,
Paul Manafort, Jared Kushner and the Russian lawyer all said nothing happened.
And why shouldn’t we believe the people who haven’t told us the truth ever. Notonce. Oh yeah: this time, for sure.

And a former Russian Intelligence officer also attended the meeting. But don’tworry, because he’s a former Russian Intelligence officer. And maybe a coupleother folks were there. No one knows. Doesn’t matter. Look away.

To recap: Donald Trump Jr. colluded with the Russians to uncover proofthat Hillary Clinton was involved in Russian collusion, because colluding withRussians would prove a person unqualified to be President. Then again, collusionis not such a bad thing. Everybody does it. As a matter of fact, you’d be a fool notto collude. And nobody wants a fool as president, do they? Too late.

Capo di capo, Donald Trump Sr. applauded Son Number One’s transparency forreleasing the grass- fed, prime- cut, filet mignon emails detailing the campaign’sattempt to enlist foreign help to discredit Hillary. Which is like complimentingthe bear that mauled you for maintaining such sharp claws.

Soon the senior Don will tweet warnings to the press to totally ignore DonJr. because he’s not a real Trump son. And neither are Eric or Jared. The onlytrue Trump son is Ivanka. The rest are just Fake Sons. Just like fake news, onlydifferent. 
——


Copyright © 2017, Will Durst, distributed by the Cagle Cartoons Inc. syndicate.
Will Durst is an award-winning, nationally acclaimed columnist, comic and formersod farmer in New Berlin, Wisconsin. For a calendar of personal appearances,
including his new one-man show, “Durst Case Scenario,” please visitwilldurst.com. 

LEFT TURN/RIGHT TURN/CENTER 
MICHAEL SHANNON 
LOSING THE HOUSE 
TO WIN THE FUTURE 

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is worried about the failureof Republican governing reality to match Republican campaignrhetoric. Newt told Fox News, “I would say the highest focusought to be on getting the tax bill through because if we don’t haveeconomic growth next year, I think we’re in real danger of havingSpeaker Nancy Pelosi.” 


Big time Texas donor Doug Deason has already told Curator of the Senate MitchMcConnell that his wallet is a dry hole until McConnell and Speaker Paul Ryan “produceresults on health care and tax reform.” And Deason isn’t the only donor heading for thecustomer service window hoping someone is there to ask for a refund.

Sean Lansing, of the Koch brother’s Americans for Prosperity, told Lifezette there shouldbe “consequences” for repeated failure.

Now that “legislative mastermind” McConnell has failed to “repeal and replaceObamacare” followed by failure to just repeal, it looks like Deason is going to have a long–
term increase in his disposable income.

Members of the base like you and I can’t pressure the likes of McConnell and Ryanindividually with our wallets, but we can pressure them with our votes in aggregate.
That’s why I propose conservative voters to join together and help make Newt’s fearscome true: Let’s “Lose the House to Win the Future.” 

The corporate Republicans running the House and Senate view the conservative base,
which loyally keeps them in office, in much the same way arrogant Victorian explorersviewed the natives in Africa: Dangerous savages who are useful for toting ballot boxes ontheir heads, but need to be house–broken before allowed into polite society.

That’s why the bubble–dwelling GOP establishment must be sent a message that willbreak through the impervious barrier of complacency and arrogance that surrounds theirCapitol Hill offices. And Nancy Pelosi is just the person to deliver it.

This requires conservatives to change their voting behavior in November 2018. In thepast conservatives held their nose and voted for RINO Republicans, because the thought ofthe Democrat alternative in office was too terrible to contemplate.

As a result the base was rewarded with accommodationist weaklings who preside overthe Vichy government that currently rules us.

Now it’s time to embrace the alternative. Conservatives must refuse to vote for all 

Republican House incumbents -unless your representative is a member of the House

Freedom Caucus. This doesn’t mean you vote for the Democrat.

Instead conservatives will vote for a write–in candidate. Resist the temptation to write inMickey Mouse. Cartoon character votes, although relevant to the current GOP leadership,
will only serve to have your write–in dismissed as a frivolous vote.

Instead I suggest all participants in my “Lose the House to Win the Future” campaignwrite in Rep. Mark Meadows, the chairman of the genuinely conservative Freedom Caucus.
Thousands of write–in votes for Meadows, spread across the country will be an obviousprotest vote by conservatives that cannot be ignored by the Rep. Barney Fife’s cowering inDC. 

There’s nothing like listening to Speaker Pelosi diesel on about evil Republicans todemonstrate to McConnell and Ryan that serial conservative betrayals come with a cost.
Ideally the two founding members of the Can’t Do Caucus will be ruminating on theirfailures from the backbenches of the respective houses after they’ve been ousted from theirpitiful leadership charade.

Meadows and the rest of the Freedom Caucus will be the framework around which a new 

conservative House leadership can be built - ready to resume power when conservatives

vote for House Republicans in 2020.

Let me stress House votes are to be the only change for conservatives. Votes for SenateGOP candidates will remain unchanged, even if your only choice is a nose–holder likemedia parasite Lindsey Graham (R–MSNBC). It simply takes too long to regain control ofthe Senate. Besides, just the shock of the House loss may inspire Graham and his ilk to findthose conservative campaign promises that have evidently slipped down between the sofacushions. 

Sure Democrat wild–eyed pistol takers in the House will pass gun confiscation bills,
grant illegal aliens citizenship and demand Baptists dance at same–sex weddings, but itwon’t matter. The same McConnell–sclerosis that clogs the Senate will stop those bills, too.

My “Lose the House to Win the Future” is like the old joke about the farmer and themule. Before every turn the farmer would jump down from the wagon seat and hit the mulewith a 2X4. A passerby saw this and asked why hit the mule, since the wagon made all theturns? 

The farmer replied, yes that’s true, but first you have to get the mule’s attention.
Losing the House in 2018 will be the biggest attention–getter possible. 

© Copyright 2017 Michael Shannon, distributed by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate.
Michael Shannon is a commentator and public relations consultant, and is the author of“A Conservative Christian’s Guidebook for Living in Secular Times.” He can be reached atmandate.mmpr@gmail.com. 

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