Ron Paul Tool Bar

Commentary on Republicans, Libertarians & Politics

Thoughts on the Presidential Campaign

We went to different businesses and people and asked them what they thought of the Presidential election campaign and the different candidates. First we asked George at Bel Air Gutter & Siding what he thought of Trump. He rolled his eyes and said, “Trump is so bombastic that I didn’t think people would take him seriously. I have listened to him on some of the debates and was surprised that a lot of what he said made sense. But then he goes off in a crazy fashion from time to time. He also seems to be very thin skinned. I think a President needs to be a bit less volatile and thicker skinned. He could get us into World War III.”

We then asked John at Enchanted Marketing what he thought of Ted Cruz. He said, “Cruz seems like a narrow minded and spiteful individual. I think a lot of people would consider moving to Canada if he became President. He says he wants to restore America and make it better, but all I see is the worst parts of America and him bringing the country down when I look at him. This is a country that is a melting pot and welcomes people and he is intolerant and seems bigoted. It is good that he is for free trade but bad that he doesn’t see the value of the export-import bank and why trashing it would hurt American business. He wants smaller government and doesn’t understand how important government can be in doing fundamental things and basic research that private industry or states won’t or can’t do. Most Republicans laud Abraham Lincoln and probably most don’t realize that the beliefs of the Republican party have changed over time and the beliefs of the Democratic Party are more in line with the beliefs of the Republican Party at the time of Lincoln. Lincoln felt it was important for the government to take the lead in certain projects. Luckily, I think if he becomes the Republican nominee, he is far enough to the right that there is no way he can win the election. He would energize Democrats and turn off Independents.”

Dollie in Ruxton had this to say about Bernie Sanders. “He seems like a sincere guy and is likable. However, I wish he would top saying he is a socialist. It gives people the wrong impression of who he is. If you listen to him, his beliefs and what he conveys is not what most Americans would consider socialist. Liberal no doubt. But, at the same time, many conservatives who listen to him (those who are open enough to actually listen and not just prejudge. People on both sides can be closed minded, not just conservatives.) find that what he has to say makes a lot of sense and find themselves agreeing with a man they never imagined they had anything in common with or would agree with. He is very harsh on the large banks and some of this I agree with but I think he probably goes too far in what he says and the solutions he proposes. I think he will give Hillary a run for the money. If he beats her and the Republicans come up with a more main stream candidate than Trump or Cruz, I am afraid that he might not be able to beat them.”

For a view on Hillary Clinton, we asked Tom at O’Connell Ford. “I think Hillary is probably the most qualified of the candidates and when you hear her speak she makes a lot of sense and seems very reasonable. However, I have trouble trusting her. Even if she hasn’t done anything wrong, I question her judgment with some of the things she has done. She should know that even if they were technically legal, they wouldn’t look good and would have a hard time passing the smell test. She needs to have a better idea of how things will appear to people but I doubt she will suddenly learn it now. It will be an interesting election because I am not wild about any of the candidates, although I really dislike some of them.”

So there you have some interesting opinions on the top four candidates at the present time. We will see how things change with time.

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What is Trump’s Appeal?

Donald Trump has defied conventional wisdom. Most people expected him to crash and burn by now. But many small business people like him because they are fed up with government regulations. There are many small businesses out there that make up a base for him. Each town has many small businesses, such as in Bel Air, MD there is Alcore Corp, Arena Club, belairstairsrailings.com, Broadcreek Memorial Camp, Comer Construction, grillsensations.net, Harford Systems, Leidos Engineering, and many more. This is just one small town. Multiply it by all the small towns across America and it starts to make sense why he is doing well.

Trump as Bully, Comedian or Both?

For a while, Ben Carson seemed to be catching and passing him, but in the most recent polls, Carson has dropped back to fourth place and Trump seems to have regained his lead. So what do the pundits have to say? Rosalind Wiseman, who wrote a book, “Queen Bees and Wannabees” that Mean Girls was based on thinks Trump is simply a bully and is misbehaving worse than the teenagers she deals with. Others agree that he is a bully but some comedians are struck at Trump’s timing and phrasing.

Pundits Insights

Mark McKinnon, President George W. Bush’s chief media advisor gave his insights in an interview with Robert Siegel of NPR. He said that people are fed up with politics and what is going on in Washington DC and they like a guy who has the guts to metaphorically flip the bird at the political establishment.

Good Timing

Siegel pointed out that Trump fits in with many Republicans by being very anti-illegal immigrant and also being a wealthy businessmen in a party that honors businessmen. (This year though a lot of the tea party members don’t seem to support big business.) McKinnon agreed and said that politics is always about timing and the right message and so far Trump’s timing has been good and the message seems to be on point.

Trump as Republican Nominee?

When asked if McKinnon thought Trump could capture the Republican nomination, he gave a typical political answer. He gave three possible scenarios. First is that the Super PACs would unload on him along with Carly Fiorina and Jeb Bush and Trump would sink in the polls. He thought if it was going to happen, it probably would have by now. The second scenario is that Trump stays as one of the front runners and creates havoc at the convention. The third possibility is a long shot that he gathers enough delegates to look like he could win the convention. The Replubican Party establishment finds this anathema and sets up an independent candidacy as a kind of new Republican Party and the new candidate is well funded. So, his feeling seems to be that Trump will create havoc at the convention but not win the nomination. It will be interesting to see what happens.

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Next Republican Debate

The next Republican Party debate is coming up October 28. It is always good for some interesting theater. Especially with so many candidates it is like a 3 ring circus. But the big deal of course will be election night for the general election. With both parties throwing parties, everything comes to a standstill in Washington. Getting a taxi or a limo is almost impossible.

But who knows if the next debate will happen and who will show up? Trump started complaining first and was closely followed by Ben Carson. Trump wasn’t happy with the format. He wanted it limited to only two hours. The last one went for three hours and some of the candidates were visibly fatigued by the end of it.

Next on the wish list of Donald and Ben is to have a chance at the beginning or end to give a 20 or 30 second summary of their views. If they didn’t get their way, they were going to take their ball and go home. At least that is what they said. Who really believes they were going to skip the debate.

Reince Priebus, who is the chair of the Republican Party said that they would agree to the terms. Actually he didn’t say that exactly, but he said the party would structure the debate so that it would only be 2 hours, everyone would get an open-ended question at the start, and a thirty second closing statement.

That two hours is including commercials. How much time will they have to debate after each one answers their open ended question and time is left at the end for each to have a thirty second statement. Will they only be able to answer one or two, maybe three questions each outside of the scripted parts?

Florin cut to the point by saying she thought that Trump and Carson were afraid of answering questions for three hours straight.

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Post-Presidency Indictments of Donald Trump: Justified Actions or Political Score-Settling?

Introduction

The post-presidency period of Donald Trump has been marked by legal actions and investigations that have led to indictments against the former president and some of his associates. These indictments have sparked debates about whether they are justified legal actions or mere attempts at political score-settling. In order to evaluate this matter, it is essential to examine the specific charges and legal proceedings objectively.

The Trump Organization and Financial Crimes

One area of scrutiny revolves around the Trump Organization and allegations of financial improprieties. Several investigations have focused on potential tax fraud, insurance fraud, and misrepresentation of property values. These investigations aim to determine if Trump and his organization violated the law for personal financial gain. The legitimacy of these inquiries hinges on the evidence gathered and adherence to legal protocols.

Campaign Finance Violations

Indictments and investigations have also touched upon campaign finance violations during Trump’s presidential campaign. Notably, the case involving Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney, led to charges related to illegal payments made to silence women who claimed to have had affairs with Trump. The justification for these charges lies in whether the actions violated campaign finance laws, and courts will ultimately decide the matter based on legal interpretations and evidence presented.

Obstruction of Justice and Abuse of Power

The Mueller investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election explored potential instances of obstruction of justice and abuse of power by Trump. While the Mueller report did not conclude that Trump committed a crime, it did not exonerate him either. The debate over whether these investigations were justified or politically motivated often stems from differing interpretations of the evidence and the intentions behind the inquiries.

Insurrection at the U.S. Capitol

One of the most significant events in recent American history was the storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. While Trump was impeached twice by the House of Representatives, he was acquitted both times by the Senate. However, some argue that the actions and rhetoric of Trump prior to the insurrection warrant legal consequences, such as incitement of violence or sedition charges. The determination of whether these charges are justified or politically motivated lies in the interpretation of Trump’s intent and responsibility for the events that unfolded.

Conclusion

Assessing the post-presidency indictments of Donald Trump requires a balanced analysis of the charges, evidence, and legal proceedings. While some argue that these indictments are justified based on alleged criminal conduct, others contend that they are politically motivated attempts to settle scores. Ultimately, the validity of these indictments will be determined by the legal system, which should operate impartially and examine the evidence objectively. As citizens, it is crucial to foster a fair and transparent legal process that upholds the principles of justice, ensuring accountability without undue political influence.

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The terribly dangerous anomaly that went down at Charlottesville: Race, Tension, Trump.

What happened in Charlottesville? That’s a pretty hackneyed (or you could even say dumb) question right now. It’s all over the news (it’s actually sort of stale news now), everyone knows. White supremacists in the “land of the free” organized a rally to protest the removal of a confederacy statue. Wait, before we go on, let’s take a moment to think about what this means. There are actually people who can openly and unabashedly stand against efforts to correct the mistakes we made in the past.

Charlottesville

 You begin to wonder what Martin Luther King Jr. would have thought about this. All of the progress we thought we made and the changes we thought we’d wrought during the civil rights era. All of the awakening we thought we had in the 60s and 70s. All of those things have been gradually degrading under a paint coat of glib political rhetoric and correctness. The events at Charlottesville stripped off the coat of paint and showed the decay that had already occurred deep within.

Okay, let’s get back to the story. The supremacist rally was organized and held. A counter rally by demonstrators also held –at least we’re grateful for some semblance of sanity in spite all of this bleak craziness, but back to the story again-. A speeding car rammed into the anti-racist protesters. Hang on, we gotta take another break from this story. This is America, not some hot bed middle-eastern country, not a war-torn African country. Yet we’ve gotten to the point where someone is crazy enough to physically hurt (with the intent of killing) people who’re rallying for the founding values of our nation. This is scary. Very scary.

Now this: the President of the United States condemned the attacks and violence on twitter. He stated that there was no place for hate. This would have been a very good place to end this story. That our commander in chief stood against the actions of some misguided elements. Sadly, we don’t get to write realities that are not ours. The c in c backtracked a couple of days after to state that “There was blame on both sides” If you have any iota of decency and love for this nation, I do not need to explain how terrible that statement is. But if you need an explanation, here it is: The former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke tweeted: “Thank you President Trump for your honesty and courage to tell the truth.

In conclusion, Charlottesville was not just another “race incident”. It was not just another set of brash statements and tweets from the man we voted into occupying the white house. It was not just another boiling over of tension between the far right and the far left.

I’ll tell you what it is. It’s an indication that things have gone far worse than we thought they could. We should be very worried. Well, they say worrying doesn’t solve any problems. Then we gotta get off our backsides and do something. For the future. For posterity. For our kids… and their kids… and their… For America.

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Trump Fires Comey

Trump Fires F.B.I. Director, James Comey

On Tuesday May 9th  many people around the world received the breaking news of the dismissal of the F.B.I. Director, James Comey. It came as a big surprise to individuals all over the world since it is not a common practice for a president to abruptly fire an F.B.I director.

The F.B.I. Director, James Comey, has not shied away from controversy, the latest being during the campaign period. An investigation was started against Clinton over the alleged use of private emails to send classified material. This greatly threatened to throw Clinton off her game. James Comey later proceeded to bring it back late into the campaigns. A majority of her Democrat supporters believe that it was the primary cause of Clinton’s failure.

So why was James Comey fired

A lot of political analysts think the reason was the friction between James Comey and president Trump over the Russia investigation. Ever since the election and the alleged Russian interference, the F.B.I. has been investigating the case. This brought about conflict between the White House and the F.B.I.

Sean Spicer who is the White House press secretary, on a statement to the media, said that the decision was made following the Rosenstein memo.

However, it quickly came out that the Rosenstein memo was just a convenient cover. President Trump himself later said he had already decided to fire Comey. Then, it turns out that he told the Russian ambassador that firing Comey should take care of the problems with the Russia investigation.

What is the way forward

Mr. James Comey was to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee for a public hearing to make his remarks over the Russia issue. However, he has asked that be postponed until he can speak with the newly appointed Special Counsel investigating the Russia issue.

Mr. James Comey has been heard in the media saying he was hopeful as he will be given a chance to articulate his side of the story to the Committee.

Mr. Trump is off on his first world tour and the White House is yet to name a nominee for the director of the FBI. Many will be watching to see who is going to clinch this hot seat.

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Republicans Self Destructing?

This is one of the most unusual presidential campaigns in years. Newspaper and television reporters are giddy because they don’t know where to turn next. There are so many stories they have their pick of what they want to write about. As one said, it is like shooting fish in a barrel.

No one expected Donald Trump to last very long. They were thinking he might be popular for a short while and then fade like so many “fringe” candidates do. But people in the Republican Party seem to want a change and nothing is going like anyone thought it would. Ted Cruz was considered too extreme to get much of a following and yet he is in second place behind Donald Trump.

Mainstream Getting Hammered

The mainstream candidates have gotten hammered and many have dropped out. Jeb Bush never got a following even though he had lots of money that he raised and a good part of the establishment behind him. We think people didn’t wan’t a third Bush, two were enough. Chris Christie never caught on. People thought Marco Rubio would take the lead as one of the last mainstream candidates but he hasn’t garnered much enthusiasm. Finally, there is John Kasich who seems like the most down to earth of the bunch.

Kasich Feels His Time is Coming

Kasich has done fairly well in northern states and said because the southern states were front loaded in the primaries that they were trying to weather the first part and felt that they would gain strength from here on out. It will be interesting to see if he is right. He may get some help from a lot of other people who are teaming up to fight Trump.

Forces Rising Up to Stop Trump

What is really unusual is that a front runner, especially someone with as much momentum as Donald Trump gets the support of the party to try and build momentum to beat the Democrats. It is unheard of that the Republicans are in such disarray and there are so many people trying to bring Trump down.

You have Mitt Romney and John McCain calling him a liar  and $10 million dollars raised to advertise against Trump in the upcoming primaries.

Trump Hitler References

Now you have people comparing Trump to Hitler and saying how dangerous he is. This is unheard of. But then again, when have you seen a candidate telling people to kick people out of their campaign events. Some of the people who have been to his events to protest have gotten roughed up by Trump supporters, seemingly with his blessing.

The current and former presidents of Mexico both made Hitler references when referring to Trump. Bill Maher used the term “Hitler-y” to describe the treatment of protesters at Trump rallies. Louis C.K. sent a letter to fans about his new show. No big deal, except at the end of it was included a 1,400 word put down of Trump, calling him and insane bigot and comparing him to Hitler.

Saturday Night Live had a fake ad for Trump funded by “Racists for Trump” which ended with the spokesperson raising his arm and showing a swastika arm band. In the intro to the show Darrell Hammond impersonating Trump says that people haven’t seen a campaign like this since the 1930s in Germany.

Will This Hurt Trump?

This is all unprecedented but will it hurt Trump or just drive people more strongly into his camp? It may help him win the Republican nomination but will this make it harder for him to win a general election? Is he just appealing to a small fervent group that don’t represent a majority of Americans or has he somehow tapped into something that many people just aren’t seeing?

Split Convention

There are a number of people who are hoping the other candidates get enough votes that Trump can’t get enough people to win outright before the convention. They want to then have a contested convention where Trump gets the most votes in the first ballot but not a majority and then they move forward with other votes and pick someone else.

Buckle up your seat belts, this is going to be a wild ride!

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Supreme Court Fight Intensifies

It didn’t take long for the shit to hit the proverbial fan. Presidential candidates from both parties are weighing in as well as many Republican Senators. It should make for an interesting year. And it could have surprising impacts and influences on not only the Presidential race but also the race for many Senate seats and possible Congress as well.

Will Obama Nominate a Liberal or Moderate?

Thoughts had been that President Obama would nominate Sri Srinivasan who was born in India but grew up in Kansas. He is viewed as extremely intelligent and even tempered and is fairly conservative. The logic of course was that he would get enough votes from Republicans to clear the Senate. He was confirmed unanimously to the US Court of Appeals three years ago and was praised by Ted Cruz of all people who was a law clerk at the Supreme Court at the same time as Srinivasan.

This was the probable choice if it had been earlier in Obama’s term, but with Mitch McConnell and other Republicans saying they will block absolutely anyone that President Obama nominates, he may change direction and go for someone more liberal.

A Black Nominee?

Some people think that President Obama will want to nominate an African American candidate for the position to counter balance the extremely conservative Clarence Thomas. Paul Watford of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals was suggested as a possibility. At one point he was a law clerk for Ruth Bader Ginsburg when she was in the 9th Circuit.

There are several other black judges who will be considered as well, including Judge Robert Wilkins, cabinet member Jeh Johnson or Attorney General Loretta Lynch. Another possibility is Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick.

Prior Picks

President Obama’s prior picks have been fairly moderate. Elena Kagan was pushed for by both liberals and conservatives on the Harvard Law School faculty where she was dean. In fact, Justice Scalia had suggested Kagan even though she was seen as liberal.

Will Republicans Follow McConnell like Lemmings over a Cliff?

Assuming that President Obama picks someone fairly moderate, it will be difficult for Republicans to block them just because they are nominated by President Obama. Mitch McConnell the Republican leader of the Senate said after Scalia died that he didn’t care who Obama nominates, he would oppose that person. People in the US are tired of the bickering in Congress.

The Republicans want to hold on to their majority in the Senate and voting against a moderate nominee or failing to hold hearings altogether could anger voters and make it much more difficult for Republicans to win in swing states.

On top of that, if the nominee is black, it could really energize African Americans to get out and vote which could make a difference in a close election.

It will all be interesting since Scalia’s death puts all three arms of the government in play in one election cycle: the Supreme Court, the Presidency, and the Senate. (The House not so much).

Supreme Court Votes

Scalia’s death also changes the dynamics in an interesting way. Before Anthony Kennedy was conservative but often a swing vote that could change the outcome in a 5-4 vote. But now there are only 3 reliable conservatives, so just to tie, they need Kennedy. The liberals have 4, so they can tie and with Kennedy as a swing vote, they get the 5 needed.

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Scalia’s Death Opens Division

Justice Scalia was in Texas at a luxury resort doing some hunting. At least he died of natural causes and wasn’t shot by Dick Cheney. It is a 30,000 acre ranch. He attended a private party with about 40 people and went to bed. When he didn’t show up for breakfast, someone from from the ranch went to check on him and found him dead in bed. It is assumed that he died of natural causes.

Changed Supreme Court Dynamics

This will definitely change the Supreme Court even before someone is nominated and approved. If there is a 4-4 tie, the lower court ruling stands. There are a number of cases before the Supreme Court where this could make a difference. Although, it won’t have an impact for a while since most of the cases early in the term tend to be less controversial and are less likely to be close votes from what the close followers of the Supreme Court say.

Scalia’s Conservative Viewpoint

Scalia felt that all Supreme Court decisions should be made from the viewpoint of the founders and writers of the Constitution and not interpret in a way that makes sense in today’s world. He was also strongly against abortion, gay marriage, and affirmative action. Although he had a quick wit, it was a very sharp acerbic wit. But his views were so strong and unrelenting that he often alienated other justices instead of creating a coalition to get the results he wanted.

He changed the Supreme Court in oral arguments. He was much more assertive and asked many more questions than had been asked in the past. He would sometimes verbally attack lawyers presenting one side of a case.

Political Jockeying

But, wow, it didn’t take long for his death to start the political jockeying. The Republicans and conservatives of any stripe even if they aren’t Republican are hoping to hold off the nomination of a new justice until a new president is sworn in. The Democrats are expecting the nomination process to happen immediately.

President Obama has said that he will nominate someone to the Supreme Court to take Scalia’s place. He expects the Senate to do its job and confirm that person in a timely manner.

However, Senator Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader had a completely different view. He said that no decision should be made until a new president takes office. He said that the American people should be able to make that decision. That is one of the more blatantly partisan, political things we have heard in a while. He obviously is hoping for a Republican to win in November and appoint a conservative justice to replace Scalia. But to wait a year to fill a Supreme Court post seems a bit incredible, unless of course you are Mitch McConnell or a number of other Republicans who have jumped on the band wagon.

It is going to make the Presidential election process even more interesting.

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Strategy of Republican Also Rans

With so many Republicans running for President, the ones at the back of the field are struggling to figure out new strategies to get more visibility and traction. With Trump and Carson sucking the energy from everyone else, what to do? The New York Times had an interesting article about this, summarized  below.

Will the Leaders Falter?

O’Malley, the long shot on the Democratic side has said that the front runners at the beginning usually aren’t the ones who are ahead at the end. The Democrats would probably love it if Donald Trump or Ben Carson ended up breaking that rule and being the Republican Presidential candidate. They may appeal to Republicans, but the chances of them taking enough independents to win seems doubtful.

Is New Hampshire the Promised Land?

Jeb Bush , who has not done well in the debates to a lot of people’s surprise. He is trying to set a fire break in New Hampshire. He is giving up Iowa figuring that his chances with the religious conservatives there are slim, so he is concentrating all his effort in New Hampshire. He figures if he can do well there, that can propel him forward in the states that follow.

Chris Christie spent some time with students at Dartmouth and Governor John Kasich was in Portsmouth at a driving range and then talking with Rotary Club members. Some topics were climate change and amazingly, the Republicans are still flogging the horse of voting fraud and whether dead people were voting in different states. People in New Hampshire take their role seriously and Gov. Kasich feels that running ads alone won’t cut it in New Hampshire. You need to be there, on the ground, talking to people.

Is New Hampshire Losing its Cachet?

But times are changing and many people wonder whether New Hampshire can be a game changer any more. The problems include the large number of candidates running and the number of nationally televised debates. Then there is the increasing influence of social media.

Republican leaders in New Hampshire feel that the nationally televised debates is not the right way of going about picking a candidate. They feel that the more personal method that takes place in New Hampshire is better. The people there are very diligent and take their role very seriously.

Christie and Bush’s Thoughts on New Hampshire, Debates and Digital Campaigns

Chris Christie is putting a lot of emphasis on New Hampshire and has been to 41 events since August. He feels that the debates only have temporary impacts. That may be because he is not polling well enough to make the top tier of debates. He used Carly Fiorina as an example saying that she got a pop from the second debate but has fallen back since.

Mr. Bush who is low key hasn’t done as well in the debates which have rewarded people who are more confrontational.  But as Bush has pointed out that digital campaigning doesn’t allow for nuance and irony that is more a strength of Bush.

McCain and Romney got a boost in New Hampshire that they rode all the way to the Republican Presidential candidacy. Can that still be done? We will find out.

Economic Importance

If New Hampshire becomes less important it will have a big economic impact on New Hampshire. The state gets a lot of income because of all the candidates spending every four years. Without that, they would be in a more precarious financial position. So New Hampshire definitely hopes that the TV debates and online coverage doesn’t decrease their importance.

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Freedom Caucus Effects

In 2011, there were 87 new Republicans elected to the House. Many were elected in the wave of Tea Party sentiment that wanted to shake things up in Washington. Many wondered whether they would temper their views over time in Washington or whether they would move Washington more to their point of view.

Bending Washington to Their Will

They don’t seem to have changed their views at all, if anything have hardened their opinions and are less willing to compromise if they ever were. The Republican majority has been helped by the increasing influence of conservative media as well as gerrymandered districts. (Although gerrymandering has helped Democrats in other states. It is unfortunate because it makes states redder or bluer and less purple which might cause people to move to the middle instead of going to the edges of the spectrum.)

Their original target was discretionary government spending but they have had a number of major impacts:

  1. Discretionary spending has dropped to 6.5% from 9.1% of the economy in just 5 years, 2010 to 2015.
  2. Social issue fights have been resurrected and are in full swing
  3. Gridlock – It is much harder to get things done.
  4. The government shutdown in 2013
  5. They almost closed Homeland Security
  6. They forced John Boehner to resign

Out of the group, there are about 40 who are part of the Freedom Caucus. They originally found common cause in reducing the size of the federal government. Now they are targeting all sorts of Obama policies. They have really honed in on funding for Planned Parenthood.

Power

More than these other things though, they seem to want power. They don’t seem to realize or care that they are a distinct minority within the Republican Party much less the United States. They want a greater say in how the House of Representatives is run and in how legislation is written and the process that it makes its way through the House. They figure that by changing the rules by which the House operates that they can get more power and influence.

They are being supported by their constituents at home. At least they think they are. Of course, the constituents who really like what they are doing are giving them positive feedback. Even though these people are a minority just as these Congressmen are in the minority. But it creates an echo chamber of self reinforcement and congratulations.

They tend to come from rural areas in the south and the west.

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