Category Archives: senate
government shutdown
The latest government shutdown lasted a weekend. The Dems caved and agreed to a new CR. That’s Washingtonspeak for continuing resolution to fund the government. The new CR expires in 17 days.
Flake Out
Sen. Jeff Flake (R- Arizona) gave a speech to Dick Durbin and some reporters last week. He compared President Trump to Stalin for his “Fake News” tweets.
Click for a link to the post
Jeff Sessions vs Pot Industry
Attorney General Jeff Sessions has “trampled the will of the voters.” At least that’s the way Republican senator Cory Gardner of Colorado sees it.
Gardner’s state has a thriving pot industry. It’s legal under Colorado law. But, it’s illegal under the federal marijuana tax act of 1937. And Sessions says it’s his job to enforce federal law.
On the other hand weed was kind of legalized during the Obama administration. Deputy A.G. James Cole wrote a memo directing prosecutors to ignore pot stores in states that authorize them.
Pot Industry
Senator Gardner says Sessions promised him he would submit to the Cole memo. And now Gardner says he’ll hold up “every single nomination from the Department of Justice” until Sessions sticks to his word.
A WSJ editorial says Sessions is being cast as the “uncool parent” who’s forcing a debate on the rule of law that Congress should settle.
Steve Bannon’s Wild Ride
Roy Moore rode his horse, Sassy, to the polls. I think Sassy voted Democrat.
Hard to imagine a worse candidate than Moore. But he was Steve Bannon’s man. And Bannon said, “there’s a special place in hell for Republicans who don’t support Moore.”
On the other hand there may be a special place in Hell for Republicans who stick with Bannon.
Wild Ride
The last time Republicans went down this road they nominated a witch, Christine O’Donnell, for the Senate. Of course, she denied she was a witch. She still lost.
The last time Alabama sent a Democrat to the Senate was Richard Shelby in 1992. And even he’s a Republican now.
Not only that, NY Republican Rep. Pete King thinks Bannon looks like a “disheveled drunk.”
Senate Tax Bill Kills Health Insurance Individual Mandate
The Senate tax bill ends the mandate to buy health insurance. This is a bad thing? It is according to a CNN Money article:
Poor Americans would lose billions of dollars worth of federal benefits under the Senate GOP tax bill, according to a new Congressional Budget Office report.
This is largely because the legislation would eliminate the individual mandate, which requires nearly all Americans to get health insurance or pay a penalty. This would result in 13 million fewer people having coverage in 2027, the CBO found.
Many of the folks who would forgo coverage would have lower or moderate incomes and would have qualified for Medicaid or federal help paying their premiums or out-of-pocket health expenses, CBO found.
If it’s a good deal why do people need to be forced to buy it? Do they think we’re stupid?
Oh.
