Please forgive me. It has been over a month since my last Saturday Political Soapbox. I had been busier than usual recent Saturdays, and have not been able to put one out. I have posted political things, but not on Saturdays. I keep forgetting that Saturday Political Soapbox is more of a brand name, and can be done anytime.
Even given the delays, this is my 192nd Saturday Political Soap Box. That's a pretty damn good record! I may not always have quality, but nobody can argue that I don't have quantity!
Today, I have more random comments than a theme. Hey, it's been a while, and I'm catching up!
Ain't the guy in the picture above a charmer? Angry, belligerent, partisan -all the qualities you want in a judge that's appointed for a lifetime to sit on the highest court in the land. And all of this he did sober! Can you imagine what type of drunk he is? Well, some people, like Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez, don't have to imagine. They know. As does his first college roommate.
So why does the Republican party stick with such an obvious piece of crap? For most Republicans, it's the calendar. They want to get this done in case the Democrats get the majority after the midterms. For Trump, it's because Kavanaugh was the only candidate that made it clear that he didn't think a President could be indicted.
And indicted he should be. The Mueller report, when and if it ever comes out, will clearly condemn President Bone Spurs, if not outright indict him.
Trump could stop and/or mess up the report if he removes Deputy Attorney General Rob Rosenstein and/or Attorney General Jeffrey Beauregard Sessions. He doesn't have to remove Mueller to mute the report directly. And Trump will most likely do it, probably right after the midterms.
My first speculatron, dating back to early August, predicted that the Republicans would retain the House of Representatives by 5 seats, and increase their narrow lead in the Senate by two. Has anything happened to change that? Possibly. The debacle with the Kavanaugh nomination should increase the turnout of anti-Trump women. This should make the capture of the House by the Democrats at least possible.
This may not be the marvelous blessing Democrats are hoping for. The Trumpian machine will be running at maximum capacity, 24/7, blaming everything that goes wrong on the Democratic House. It will give Trump a boogeyman to run on in 2020 (barring his resignation, impeachment, or removal by the 25th amendment).
One thing that will not be saved is Roe v Wade. I'm sorry. You can kiss that goodbye. Unless Democrats play a McConnell and keep the Supreme Court seats open until a Democrat controls the White House and the Senate, the conservative extremists will take control of the Supreme Court, and there will be a majority to either end abortion outright or take it out by a thousand cuts. That is only the tip of the iceberg of the things we will lose, and future progressive majorities will be thwarted in their ability to change things. Elections have consequences, even Russian influenced elections aided by the quirks of an antiquated electoral college.
Progressives have not as clearly swept the primaries as I had hoped, but they have done fairly well, winning some important races, and should be a real presence in 2019 and beyond. They will keep pulling the Democrats towards decisions that benefit the working class (and thereby benefitting everyone in the country), and I believe they will grow in strength across the nation. At least, that's my sincere prayer and hope. I really don't see any other way out of this mess.
I could go on and on, but I think the longer I make these, the fewer people that read them, especially without a well-organized theme.
Keep the faith, and I hope to be back with Saturday Political Soap Box #193 very soon!
T. M. Strait
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