Republicans have the White House and majorities in the House, the Senate, and the Supreme Court. And they can’t keep the government open. John Thune could overrule the parliamentarian and move the CR in the Senate if he wanted to. Russ Vought is talking about how the shutdown lets him fire federal workers. This isContinue reading “The Only Thing about the Government Shutdown You Need to Know”
Tag Archives: Republican Party
Some Thoughts on Politics
I don’t talk as much about politics as I used to on this here site, but today I must. The Republican “Big, Beautiful Bill” — aka, the budget reconciliation bill — amounts to civilizational suicide. I’ve been thinking in terms of Sid Meier’s Civilization games. The United States has basically been sitting a few turnsContinue reading “Some Thoughts on Politics”
Two Weeks into Bankruptcy Life
“This business will get out of control. It will get out of control, and we’ll be lucky to live through it.” I’ve been quoting this bit of dialogue from The Hunt for Red October like a mantra recently. No, not in regards to the second Trump administration, which finds new and even more depraved waysContinue reading “Two Weeks into Bankruptcy Life”
Russia, the Primakov Doctrine, and Implications for the 2020 Election
I’ve been doing a great deal of thinking about Russia and the 2020 election, thoughts that are leading me to some chilling places. You may skip over this — “Oh, Allyn’s moaning about Russia again, and it’s all ‘Fake News’ anyway” — but that’s because you’ve never asked yourself the question: “What does Russia want?”Continue reading “Russia, the Primakov Doctrine, and Implications for the 2020 Election”
What If… Gary Johnson Had Won in 2016?
Yesterday evening, scrolling through Facebook, I saw a former colleague of mine from EB Games, M, post the following meme image, without any commentary: I posted a quick reply: “Honestly, what do you think would have been different with Johnson?” I didn’t expect a reply, but one was soon forthcoming. In case that’s not entirelyContinue reading “What If… Gary Johnson Had Won in 2016?”
The Electoral College Won’t Prevent President Trump
The Electoral College is not going to stand in Donald Trump’s way. I’ve seen chatter the last few days, both on political blogs and Facebook, that the voters of the Electoral College can, or even should, vote for Hillary Clinton instead of Donald Trump. (For example, here.) It’s a nice idea — it’s the wayContinue reading “The Electoral College Won’t Prevent President Trump”
Ted Cruz and the Kick-Off of the 2020 Campaign
Let me ramble on for a few minutes about Ted Cruz’s speech last night at the Republican National Convention. For those coming in late, last night Ted Cruz delivered a speech — that was known in advance not to be an endorsement of Donald Trump — that was, surprisingly to pretty much everyone, an anti-TrumpContinue reading “Ted Cruz and the Kick-Off of the 2020 Campaign”
The Republican Convention and the Potential for Future Violence
Last night, on the second night (of four) of the Republican National Convention, the Republican Party nominated Donald J. Trump as its standard bearer for this year’s presidential campaign. Presidential conventions in the last thirty years, since I was old enough to pay attention, are stage-managed, scripted pep rallies. Nothing unexpected happens. Nothing controversial happens.Continue reading “The Republican Convention and the Potential for Future Violence”
Bill Kristol Has His Man
Bill Kristol has actually found someone to run as a third-party conservative this election. I didn’t think it would happen; beyond the practical realities against it, Kristol’s track record with the truth has been poor since about 1990, and if he told me that the sky is blue due to refracting sunlight I’d be skepticalContinue reading “Bill Kristol Has His Man”
The 2016 Conservative Third Party Option
There’s chatter among conservative thinkers, who are really annoyed that the Republican primary voters have selected Donald Trump to be their standard bearer in this fall’s election, about running a conservative third-party candidate. I can sort of understand the why — “Trump doesn’t represent us, he’ll be gone after this cycle and we’ll be backContinue reading “The 2016 Conservative Third Party Option”