There is always positive momentum every time a major piece of legislation passes. It takes so long to get those things done. You have to corral your own caucus and make sure everyone gets what they need out of it. Then, you have to overcome the filibuster on the other side. I think you get the idea.

Congress passes legislation all the time. We often refer to Congress as a “do nothing” Congress and somehow assume they can only do one thing at a time. I think deep down we know this isn’t true, but when it comes to major issues this is certainly true. Now, the Democrats in Congress and the Justice Department have a choice they have to make.

How do they use this momentum? The positive feelings from passing a major piece of legislation like the infrastructure bill probably buys you only so much. You can push one thing forward and time is running out. The closer we get to the 2022 midterm elections the less that’s going to get done. We probably have time for them to do one other great thing.

As Yogi Berra once said, “when you reach a fork in the road. Take it.” Naturally, many of you are wondering what our choices are. We can certainly add to the economic impact of the infrastructure bill with items that were left out. Democrats initially wanted a much bigger package. They could damn the torpedoes and go for that.

The Democrats could take the momentum and go after the voting rights bill. I think this is the legislative direction most people want to go. If such a bill passed it would nullify the voter suppression bills passed in individual states and would add protections that could safeguard our democracy moving forward.

The last possibility involves the Justice Department. Congress has subpoenaed numerous officials from the Trump administration to answer for the big lie and the January 6th insurrection. How much did they plan? How much did they incite with their rhetoric? Can we prove they helped plan that event and that they knew the big lie was obviously false?

If they appear the simple answer would appear to be yes on all counts. We get two divergent questions from this point forward. The first question is how hard we pursue them to compel them to appear? The current strategy appears to be for them to just skip the appearances and let Congress and the Justice Department pursue them. If you play their game you could end up spending that entire momentum on getting them to admit what most rational people already know.

The second question is what to do once they admit what we already know. Do you throw them in jail? Do you simply use the material in campaigns moving forward? Do we make a huge effort to educate the public? All of this involves using pretty much all of that momentum we described earlier.

The upshot is that as long as the Democrats make a choice they will create some positive synergy for the next election cycle. Some choices are better than others, but the key is to get off the pot and make one. The alternative is paralysis by analysis. Factions bicker about what to do and you look up and it’s November 2022. The unfortunate part of opportunity costs is that you have to choose something. The clock is ticking.

Former NE Tarrant County Tea Party president Konni Burton succeeded Wendy Davis as a state senator for one term before beaten by Beverly Powell, a Democrat.  Her short time in the state senate was notable in two ways; first, Rice’s Baker Institute rated her as the most conservative in the senate, and second, she pissed off Trump over her confiscation reform bill (you know, where police take assets away from someone suspected of criminal behavior even if they were acquitted).  Trump threatened to “destroy” her career for disagreeing with him.  Apparently he succeeded, since she lost to a Dem.

Burton started looking for a new gig, and in 2019 started The Texan, an online “news” source she touts as:

“Dedicated to providing readers with fact-based news regarding issues, policies, elected officials, and campaigns, The Texan is the alternative to the narratives and spin that is so pervasive in news media today.  Seven out of ten Americans, when polled, believe the media knowingly spreads misinformation at least some of the time. The Texan is here to counter that misinformation and provide you with news you can trust.”

Before you burst out laughing at that statement, here’s their stated plan for the “news” service:

“The Texan provides straight news reporting so you can be an informed citizen.

• We do not publish political opinion
• We do not endorse candidates in any political elections
• We do not have an editorial board to publish editorial opinion”

Of course, she’s staffed her “news” service with Republican operatives for editing and reporting, and makes no secret of the “spin” she doesn’t like.  Not on the list of her targets for derision are Fox Noise, OAN, or Newsmax.  Her reporting is 100% rightwing, masquerading as serious objective reporting, just like her competitors.

This is just a Mini-Me of Fox Noise that also used to claim “fair and balanced” which is most certainly is not.  It doesn’t take long to unmask this thinly veiled attempt to camouflage a radically partisan effort to spin the news – all you have to do is peruse Burton’s open sewer of a Twitter feed. Where she tweets and retweets all the normal MAGA talking points.  The only good thing about The Texan is that they don’t take advertising, so it’s not cluttered up with ads for gold coins and prepper supplies.

Just what we need…more toxic bile and partisanship as if we don’t already have enough of that in Texas.

WARNING (No really. It’s a warning.):  IF YOU ARE A LOYAL HILLARY SUPPORTER AND BELIEVED THAT SHE ONLY LOST THE ELECTION DUE TO NO FAULT OF HER CAMPAIGN OR HER OWN CONDUCT, AND WAS SOLEY A VICTIM OF MISOGYNY AND PREJUDICE AGAINST HER, PLEASE PASS OVER THIS POST.  TRUST ME. DON’T READ IT.  REALLY.  YOU WON’T LIKE IT. 

Since about 1 am on Wednesday morning I’ve been imbibing a remarkable volume of adult beverages and raging at anyone who’ll listen, including Juanita Jean, about the injustice of it all.  She has told me to get it off my chest, so here we go, like it or not. I’m wandering into a political minefield here, because I have things to say about Hillary, her campaign, and why I believe she lost the 2016 electoral vote to the worst candidate for the presidency in US history. And if you believe I’m a misogynist, you can stick that right where the sun don’t shine.  It ain’t so; I calls ’em as I sees ’em, and chromosome differences don’t count. All comments making that accusation will be deleted, no arguments. My advice in advance about this piece: Don’t like it?  Don’t read it.

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