The news was dominated this past week by the release of emails that showed Donald Trump, Jr. participated in at least one meeting with people alleging to represent the Russian government and who represented themselves as supporters of Trump’s campaign for President. The news does not help the credibility of the Administration that has denied repeated allegations of collusion with the Russians. With the exception of his most ardent supporters, this extraordinary revelation is further damaging to the President’s standing however, there is debate on whether the actions by the younger Trump are technically illegal. I guess we will find out sometime in the future whether these issues will result in indictments, or worse. The seemingly endless drama coming from the White House will make it substantially more difficult for the President to move his agenda forward, especially if members of congress from his own party start to question whether their individual electability is negatively impacted. While I adamantly disagreed with the President’s agenda with respect to immigration, a border wall, climate change and a number of social and economic issues, I must admit that the change in Washington he promised had appeal, and it could have been interesting to have a President that utilized some intelligent business principles in our federal government. I also support a thorough review of our trade agreements and the impact they’ve had on our working class, as well as some of our tax policies and business regulations. That said, even though the President has been in office for less than six months, I feel the window is starting to close on what he can actually accomplish. Perhaps the President and the country would be better served if his legislative agenda fixated less on political theater and instead became laser focused on serving America’s working class, the voter population who actually won him the election.
Inflation has impacted all of us. The price of almost everything has spiked faster and harder than at any time since the 80s. Few things can obliterate a modern economy more than out-of-control inflation.
For most people, there is little upside to writing about the January 6th hearings, but as you probably know by now, I don’t worry about those things. We all must stand for something. The hearings have almost everyone taking sides before a single witness is called. Democrats believe that the events of January 6th were a calculated effort to undermine our democracy by demolishing two of the most sacred tenants of our nation, free elections, and the peaceful transition of power.
Most people consider themselves either a conservative or a liberal. I think if we forget political parties, which flip their positions on things all of the time, and instead focus on the actual definition of what it means to be a conservative and what it means to be a liberal, we might be able to temper the emotional reactions some of us have with political discourse.