I remember as a young boy in the second grade a class bully who always wanted to control the schoolyard. Any time someone started to play on a sliding board, the monkey bars, the swings or whatever, he would come over with a menacing look and his fists balled up and say, "It's mine, you can't play here."
One day on recess I walked over to the empty monkey bars and started climbing. Within moments, he approached and repeated his usual warning.
I don't know what decided it for me, maybe it was my morning Wheaties or something, but I retorted "No, I'm not leaving", and climbed down, walked over to him, and stood toe to toe with him.
The next thing I noticed was his fist when he hit me in the face, but my adrenaline was high and even though my nose started to bleed, I was not backing down. I responded with a good smack to his face as well which, surprisingly, knocked him down. And I noticed something else. Not only did he bleed like me, he began to cry.
After that, young Tommy and I had no further problems. We actually got along and, not only that, the terror on the schoolyard was over not just for me but for everyone.
I am reminded of this little story when I watch the groveling Republicans in the United States Senate. Day after day, month after month, they talk about how they don't have a majority and can't do anything until the next election while Harry Reid and his Democratic "bullies" work their will on them. With the exception of a few like Ted Cruz, Mike Lee, and Rand Paul, they just take it and give in to the tyrannical behavior time after time. And just like the young bully story, as long as they do they will meet with no respect. Reid and his "storm troopers" will just continue to push them around as long as they see no adverse consequence for their action.
Now that Mitch McConnell and his little band of neutered minority has even lost the filibuster, a procedural rule put in place by Thomas Jefferson to insure against the tyranny of the majority, their minority status has dropped to laughingstock. And the result will be the jamming through of judges and other appointments who are even more disastrous than the ones they have previously allowed to take office.
So are they really helpless now? Is there not anything they can do? Not exactly. There are hundreds of procedural rules and gimmicks that they can use to slow things down, tie things up, and make it more difficult. And while using them my not result in a win for the minority, it can make life difficult for the Democrats. After the treatment they have faced, I think they owe it to America to fight Reid's abuses in any way they can.
I'll just give one example of what they should do. Immediately stop granting unanimous consent to any and all requests in the lawmaking process. Just say NO. Make the Democrats read every piece of legislation cover to cover on the floor and tie up whatever else they can with this motion. It will at least show that they actually stand for something and they are not going to sit quietly by and let Reid work his will.
And the other thing that can be done is not up to the Senators but to We the People. We can vote out every Democratic incumbent up for reelection next year. But to make this effective, we also need to replace every RINO up for reelection with a true conservative. This can first be done by primarying them with good qualified men and women who stand for the Constitution and can eloquently make their case. It's time for the Republican base to take control of the party, not leave it in the hands of a corrupt Washington Establishment.
Now the "Big Guns" in Washington politics say it can't be done. But Texas did it with Ted Cruz, Utah did it with Mike Lee and Kentucky did it with Rand Paul. And all three had to fight off the establishment; Rand Paul even had to fight his senior Senator McConnell. If the people speak up and we run solid candidates who support constitutional government and can communicate it well, I say (using the words of a scoundrel) "Yes We Can."
It's time for action, America. Let's return the Land of the Founders back to her principles and strike what could be the first of a series of fatal blows to progressivism once and for all. God bless you and God bless America.
or the swings
One day on recess I walked over to the empty monkey bars and started climbing. Within moments, he approached and repeated his usual warning.
I don't know what decided it for me, maybe it was my morning Wheaties or something, but I retorted "No, I'm not leaving", and climbed down, walked over to him, and stood toe to toe with him.
The next thing I noticed was his fist when he hit me in the face, but my adrenaline was high and even though my nose started to bleed, I was not backing down. I responded with a good smack to his face as well which, surprisingly, knocked him down. And I noticed something else. Not only did he bleed like me, he began to cry.
After that, young Tommy and I had no further problems. We actually got along and, not only that, the terror on the schoolyard was over not just for me but for everyone.
I am reminded of this little story when I watch the groveling Republicans in the United States Senate. Day after day, month after month, they talk about how they don't have a majority and can't do anything until the next election while Harry Reid and his Democratic "bullies" work their will on them. With the exception of a few like Ted Cruz, Mike Lee, and Rand Paul, they just take it and give in to the tyrannical behavior time after time. And just like the young bully story, as long as they do they will meet with no respect. Reid and his "storm troopers" will just continue to push them around as long as they see no adverse consequence for their action.
Now that Mitch McConnell and his little band of neutered minority has even lost the filibuster, a procedural rule put in place by Thomas Jefferson to insure against the tyranny of the majority, their minority status has dropped to laughingstock. And the result will be the jamming through of judges and other appointments who are even more disastrous than the ones they have previously allowed to take office.
So are they really helpless now? Is there not anything they can do? Not exactly. There are hundreds of procedural rules and gimmicks that they can use to slow things down, tie things up, and make it more difficult. And while using them my not result in a win for the minority, it can make life difficult for the Democrats. After the treatment they have faced, I think they owe it to America to fight Reid's abuses in any way they can.
I'll just give one example of what they should do. Immediately stop granting unanimous consent to any and all requests in the lawmaking process. Just say NO. Make the Democrats read every piece of legislation cover to cover on the floor and tie up whatever else they can with this motion. It will at least show that they actually stand for something and they are not going to sit quietly by and let Reid work his will.
And the other thing that can be done is not up to the Senators but to We the People. We can vote out every Democratic incumbent up for reelection next year. But to make this effective, we also need to replace every RINO up for reelection with a true conservative. This can first be done by primarying them with good qualified men and women who stand for the Constitution and can eloquently make their case. It's time for the Republican base to take control of the party, not leave it in the hands of a corrupt Washington Establishment.
Now the "Big Guns" in Washington politics say it can't be done. But Texas did it with Ted Cruz, Utah did it with Mike Lee and Kentucky did it with Rand Paul. And all three had to fight off the establishment; Rand Paul even had to fight his senior Senator McConnell. If the people speak up and we run solid candidates who support constitutional government and can communicate it well, I say (using the words of a scoundrel) "Yes We Can."
It's time for action, America. Let's return the Land of the Founders back to her principles and strike what could be the first of a series of fatal blows to progressivism once and for all. God bless you and God bless America.
or the swings
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