If the mainstream media is to be believed, the Republican Party is in complete disarray. Trump is an idiot. His White House staff has no clue what is going on. Congressman Paul Ryan can’t keep consensus on any issue, and Sen. Mitch McConnell has no business being Senate majority leader.
Despite recent events with health care, none of this is true. Well, maybe the last one. It is true that Trump is getting some major pushback from establishment types like Sen. John McCain. It’s also true that the GOP has some disagreement between the conservative Freedom Caucus and more moderate members. However, if polls are to be believed, most of the country who voted for Trump and the conservative GOP members still believe they are on the right track.
Despite what the media reports, it is actually the Democrat Party (again, nothing democratic about it) that is in total disarray. At least that is my opinion. Since this is an opinion column and not news, I can do that. Democrats are befuddled and baffled as to why things happened as they did.
They can’t understand how Clinton lost the election. Compound that with the unwillingness to accept election results ... not just the presidential one, but that they have lost majorities in both House and Senate, as well as losing governorships and mayoral seats nationwide. Despite this trend, they continue business as usual and expect a different outcome. After all, they must cater to their base.
Despite this being an opinion column, I try to base my statements on fact. That is unlike some who will say anything and hope it is believed. Here are some supporting facts that the Democrat Party has gone unhinged.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., recently confronted a couple in a Manhattan restaurant because the wife voted for Trump. He reportedly made a scene at an upscale restaurant that caused the other couple to leave. He then followed them outside where he berated the person about her vote, insisting that Trump is a liar. First, why is he at an upscale restaurant? I thought the Democrats were the party of the people. Second, why is someone with an opinion different than his not allowed to eat in peace at that restaurant?
This one is entertaining. House minority leader Nancy Pelosi was heckled by liberal protesters at a town hall in San Francisco. Only in California can one of the most liberal Representatives be heckled by her own. This had to be a shock. After all, Democrats are only supposed to protest Republicans, aren’t they?
On a more serious note, the Democrat National Committee replaced its chairman. While that was probably a good thing, the debate over the replacement caused a lot of rancor within the party, as reported by eyewitness accounts.
Recently, the new DNC Chairman Tom Perez announced that all DNC staff will be asked to resign. While there is usually turnover when a new chairman takes over either party, a complete purge of employees is unusual. More chaos?
One thing is clear. Trump has bested the Democrats at every turn. They launched a crusade about Russian hacking and influencing the election. Sadly, this has been floating around since July 2016. There was no proof then or it would have been a major campaign issue for Clinton. There appears to be no proof now, only the accusation continually promoted in the hopes that something sticks.
When Trump announced that he had been wiretapped, it brought the whole Russian issue to the forefront. The media and Democrats either had to admit whether there was an investigation and if so, the results. Guess what. No investigation.
The Trump wiretapping, however, has some merit. Wiretapping in a modern sense is really sweeping electronic transmissions like cellphones. If the Trump transition team was not being monitored, how did Gen/ Mike Flynn’s supposed conversation with Russia get leaked? Of course, this was denied and downplayed by Democrats and the media.
Then House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes announced that Trump’s transition team were under “inadvertent” surveillance after the election. Boom. Sorry, Democrats.
Democrats don’t like healthcare reform. They don’t like immigration reform or the wall. They don’t want tax cuts, unless the rich, except themselves, get hit harder. They don’t like reform of firearms laws. They don’t like Trump’s pick for Supreme Court. Come to think of it, they don’t like much of anything anymore. Maybe they should just stay home.
I can wish, can’t I?
Tom Riggins’ column appears every other Friday. He may be reached at news@lahontanvalleynews.com.