Codger on Politics

Friday, October 30, 2015

The power in doing nothing

The power of the purse, gives considerable leverage with the confidence to wait.  Each time the Senate ignores legislation, or the president veto's it, there should be no rush to accommodate the other obstructionists.
It is said everyone abhors a pause in conversation then rush in to avoid the silence. Sustaining the pause can have a powerful effect.
"The deal, in short, makes sure that the government will fulfill its most rudimentary obligations. Federal law-enforcement agents will continue to go to work; food-safety inspectors will keep up their duties; park rangers will keep tourists from falling into Old Faithful, at Yellowstone. The debt ceiling will be lifted, so the government's credit will remain intact. And, because the continuing operations of these functions will be guaranteed through March, 2017, two months into the new President's term, the House and Senate will not be compelled to do anything else."
What this is saying, is the federal government will shoot the hostages if "we the people" don't go along to get along.  The deal permanently removed the debt ceiling cap. This is very bad. The former speaker is doing no one a favor except his cronies, who will now reward him.

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Reaching out to the apathetic

Thursday, a few weeks ago, I listened to Bill Beard (head of Pima GOP),and  Christy Simone on
"Tucson wake up Tucson" show. They discussed the apathy of the voters in Tucson. We need to do something change that. Now when you knock on the door and say you are a Republican, and you have identified your self as part of the reason for the apathy.  Republicans are part of the problem we are just not doing the job we have been elected to do.

The executive group has been experimenting with ways to get in touch with the voters so as to find ways to get past this.  A small group has been started ( Lauren, Brad
D, and myself)to send letters to Republican voters to establish contact. We call it welcome wagon, and it targets newly registered Republicans.  We prepared  mailing lists of the newly registered then used mail merge to prepare letters to be sent. We have the tools ready, and have sent letters, with limited success. (No one responded)

I requested a new list of consistently voting Republicans in precinct 187, so I can identify those willing to be in communication with us. The plan is to experiment with categories of Republicans and wording of the letters to establish communication. More I would like to create groups with common interests who might meet together to express their frustration, and suggest means of addressing it.

In the longer term we would like to informed the electorate, listen to their ideas and bring them to this meeting.

I propose providing a forum for bitching and moaning.

The proposed members are regular Republican voters who are dissatisfied with the existing political system. "Mad as hell and can't take it any more". We can give them a place to vent. Who doesn't like that.

Channeling Frustration

in defense of the Bomb throwers (figurative only)

There is a lot of frustration out there. The New York Times is frustrated (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/21/opinion/the-scary-specter-of-ted-cruz.html?ref=opinion&_r=0).  Since I am opposed to much of what the NYT stands for, it is instructive to examine their objections to Ted Cruz, and to determine if their objections would convert to positives for me.

"the ultraconservative fallback — the rabble rouser in the bullpen" – good.

"Green Eggs and Ham" quasi-filibuster" – very good.

"denunciation of the Republican Senate majority leader" – deserved.

"He's the patron saint of lost causes" – That's me.

"he's emblematic of the … Freedom Caucus" – yes.

Cruz has turned "petulance into a theory of governing" – What we are doing now isn't working. Ok.

"Cruz doesn't propose remedies", not true but irritating the NYT is sufficient justification it for a checkoff.

"His main use for other politicians, even in his party, is as foils" – I knew their had to be a purpose for politicians! Yes.

"Bush's … "I just don't like the guy." A positive point for hard core liberals.

"Cruz … to become monarchs of a kingdom that they supposedly want to topple, to gain power over a system that they ostensibly intend to enfeeble."  Exactly, what is wrong with that! Enfeebling is the answer.

The complaint is we are anti-government. We are in fact anti Federal government. The federal government is too big to succeed.  Various state governments are available to take up the slack. If the federal government shut down temporally to be reconstituted into a smaller working version, we would see true prosperity.  Not the phony several week shutdown, but one long enough for creative destruction to work as it does for corporations every now and then. 

Since every member of the federal government would object to this remedy, we might need a convention of the states to impose it.