A crack for truth: At least one Republican lawmaker appears to be willing to publicly express the discomfort that many of his colleagues are reportedly feeling about the massive cuts President DT and X owner EM are making to the federal workforce.
In an interview with the Columbus Dispatch, Rep. Troy Balderson (R-OH) said that T's executive orders were getting "out of control" and he said that Congress ought to decide whether to abolish entire government agencies such as the Department of Education or the United States Agency for International Development. "Congress has to decide whether or not the Department of Education goes away," Balderson said. "Not the president, not EM. Congress decides."
Many Republicans have privately expressed anxiety about T and M's efforts to take a blowtorch to the federal government, although most of them have yet to break publicly with the president or to criticize M, who has threatened to fund primary challenges against any dissenters.
Nonetheless, recent polls have shown that T's popularity is sinking and that many Americans are very wary of M's role given that he was neither elected by voters nor confirmed to a cabinet position by the United States Senate.
(I've used initials because I cannot stand to type their names.)
This is good news Nancy, thank you for sharing. I’m glad to see at least some squeaks and rumblings. I can only hope they will all grow some spines because life will not be good for them if they allow fascism to take over. I have no idea how anyone thinks their lives will be better, except those ones at the very top. Also good news that more people are growing unhappy and popularity ratings are dropping.
I also feel exactly as you do about typing names. I cannot. They repulse me so much that I also try to avoid typing even initials.
Well, thanks, Nancy, for that minute of hope. I thought that there was some political leader in OH that I might finally have a shred of common ground with! But in typical political fashion, this guy also soon backtracked on his statement, saying that his comments were “mischaracterized” and that he supports T’s agenda, and it’s up to Congress to “do its job to make his executive actions permanent.” See https://thehill.com/homenews/5157206-ohio-republican-troy-balderson-donald-trump-executive-actions/ This is how my state runs these days; they feed right into T’s agenda, too afraid to honestly disagree with anything the self-proclaimed king decrees. And thus dictatorships rise.
I am cheered to hear that at least some people are wary of M. They certainly should be.
Thanks for the Erasmus quote; quite profound and pertinent!
What is it the dumpster has on all these congress people. Are they being threatened with bodily harm or is it a fear of losing what little power they have? Surely they don’t think they can save the Republican party! It’s no where near the party it used to be. Would so love to be a fly on the walls of Congress.
Ha– I had a particular vision pop into my head when you mentioned flies on the walls of Congress, Libby; there certainly is enough s#$ going on there these days to attract flies! As to what is motivating these representatives these days — I think some have grabbed onto what they think is a gravy train to further their careers. T rewards his supporters, and he does everything he can to destroy all others. If you are not with him, you are something to be squashed. For those with great ambition, they want to enhance their own opportunities (see the current VP) and will sing whatever song he wants them to sing. They do fear him, I think, and they feel he’s powerful enough to follow through on anything he threatens, legally or otherwise. Some are also following their constituents’ wishes, and as we know, about half the country is still supports the T agenda; and the politicians need their votes and support to stay in power themselves. Some are probably just mouthing the words they need to say to get those votes but aren’t true believers in anything other than what will get them what they desire most. I do think there are probably some elected R officials who really hope that they can still make decisions that will help the country, but are seeing that they have to tread carefully or will have a target on their back and be able to accomplish nothing at all; but how far they’re willing to go, and where they’re finally going to draw the line is going to define their place in history, and the future of this country.
They reeled him back in very quickly!