Let it Go; Start Anew – “The Sunday Political Brunch” - December 22, 2024
Mark Curtis, MINDSETTER™
Let it Go; Start Anew – “The Sunday Political Brunch” - December 22, 2024
“Government Shutdown?” – Congress had a bipartisan deal this week to keep the government temporarily funded through March 2025, to avoid a partial government shutdown. But President-elect Trump stepped in and persuaded enough Republicans to reject the bill. And for those who voted against him, he threatened to oust them from office in 2026. Trump said, “Any Republican that would be so stupid as to do this should, and will, be primaried.” Many Republicans helped block another Trump effort to suspend the debt limit, but when that item was removed, a spending bill was finally approved early Saturday. The money only funds the government until mid-March when we will do this crazy dance again. This is no way to govern!
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“Pardons for All?” – More than 1,500 people were either charged and/or convicted of various crimes in the Capitol riots. Trump says he plans to let a lot of them go. "I am inclined to pardon many of them. I can't say for every single one because a couple of them, probably, they got out of control," Trump said on CNN. He added "I would say it will be a large portion of them and it would be early on." So, Trump won and will we see pardons on day one? I bet we see a lot of pardons.
“Chasing Liz Cheney” - Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R) Wyoming should be investigated for criminal charges due to her conduct on the January 6th Select Committee, according to a new House report. Committee on House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight Chairman Barry Loudermilk released a report on the events of Jan. 6, 2021, and the select committee. This report says that "former Representative Liz Cheney should be investigated for potential criminal witness tampering based on the new information about her communication," according to the committee’s website. Witness tampering? Where, please tell! Give us specifics!
“Lock ‘em Up!” – In an NBC News interview Trump suggested that people who opposed him on the January 6 Investigation Committee should go to jail for their actions. They include Chairman Bennie Thompson (D) Mississippi, and as mentioned, former Rep. Liz Cheney (R) Wyoming, and former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R) Illinois. One person who is trying to mitigate this and get Trump to let it go, is Sen. Lyndsey Graham (R) South Carolina, who is often a Trump ally, but sometimes a Trump nemesis. Graham simply said “no” when asked if Trump should try to have these people jailed. There are even reports that people are lobbying President Joe Biden to give Cheney, Hillary Clinton and others “pre-emptive” pardons, so they cannot be targeted by the incoming Trump administration. Meanwhile Trump got a legal break this week when a Georgia Court disqualified Fulton County Prosecutor Fani Willis from Trump’s 2020 disputed election case.
“Biden Pardons on the Table?” – As with most presidents leaving office there is a list of people hoping for pardons, clemency, and sentence commutations. The pardon of presidential son Hunter Biden got tongues wagging, but there are others making headlines. Biden pardoned a number of people guilty of violating the public trust and corruption in certain states, and it brought a backlash of sorts. “Public corruption is a betrayal of trust,” said West Virginia Democratic Party Chair Del. Mike Pushkin, who criticized his own party’s president. The Democratic Chair added, "Even more troubling, these kinds of pardons are exactly what we would expect from President-elect Donald Trump, not President Biden." Ouch!
“Trump has a Math Problem” – One of the reasons I think Trump just needs to let January 6th go, is the current state of the U.S. House. Yes, Republicans hold a 220-215 majority in the lower chamber, but it’s not that simple. Trump has nominated five Republican House members to be in his cabinet, and some have already hit a bump in the road. For example, he nominated Rep. Matt Gaetz (R) Florida to be U.S. Attorney General, but Gaetz was pummeled so badly he resigned his House seat and dropped out of the AG fight. Four other GOP House members may also give up their seats as they face Senate confirmation hearings. In truth, this House is really tied now at 215-215, as each vacant seat must be decided by a special election in the home state. It may be tough for a while for Trump to get any meaningful legislature through the House. Revisiting January 6 disputes is not a wise political strategy, based on the current math.
“Droning on About Drones?” – Within the past week, millions of Americans, especially along the Atlantic Eastern Seaboard, have reported seeing dozens, if not hundreds, of drones, including with video and pictures. As always, the U.S. government is slow to supply little, if any information. Some of the drones are as little as a tiny model aircraft, while others are described as the size of Mini Cooper vehicles.
“We Want Answers” - “The people in New York and New Jersey have a lot of questions, and they’re not getting good enough answers,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D) New York. “The utter confusion surrounding these drone sightings shows that the feds can’t respond all on their own.” So, what are people seeing? Are they potentially threatening foreign spy aircraft, or U.S. “dummy” aircraft trying to test the public’s watchfulness and desire to remain safe? This is so weird! We deserve a more detailed explanation, especially after decades of “buried” UFO reports and documents. The American public deserves more information and more respect.
“I Thought I’d Seen Everything” – I’ve covered politics across the nation for 48 years, and thought I’d seen just about everything. But this past week I saw something that potentially I’d never seen before. From January 1 to 13, West Virginia could be served by four different governors. Current Gov. Jim Justice (R) West Virginia is set to be sworn into the U.S. Senate on January 3rd. Since you can’t hold both jobs, he has to resign as governor. Our departing State Senate President serves as Lieutenant Governor, but he lost his reelection, so he’ll be acting governor for five days but he’s out when the new legislature is sworn in on January 8th. Then the new State Senate President will be acting governor for 5 days, until Gov.-elect Patrick Morrisey (R) West Virginia is sworn in on January 13th. Gov. Justice called it a “quagmire!” and worried about “chaos!” Ya’ think? You can’t make this stuff up!
“A Thank You Congressional Tribute” – As I transition to my new reporting role in semi-retirement, I want to thank U.S. Rep. Carol Miller (R) West Virginia for her kind remarks in tribute to my career this week on the U.S. House floor. Miller said, “Despite his line of work taking him all across the country, Mark chose to stay and finish his career in West Virginia. And his love for our state and its people, shine through his reporting.” I am truly honored. Thank you, Congresswoman Miller.