The Wednesday Read

Posted on by

The eyes are useless when the mind is blind. ― Mark Venturini

Today’s independent commentary deals with these people/issues:

  • Montana Legislature
  • Rep. Adam Kinzinger
  • Trump & McConnell

MONTANA LEGISLATURE:

The sharp right turns continue daily in the Montana Legislature. Read on…

Lee Newspapers reported this week that a State House committee Monday heard arguments on whether to put the question of “personhood” to the voters for a constitutional amendment in 2022. The bill is the latest in a series of legislation introduced by the state GOP this year to restrict access to abortion. House Bill 337 would allow voters to decide on adding to the state Constitution the definition of a person as “all members of mankind at any stage of development, beginning at the stage of fertilization or conception, regardless of age, health, level of functioning or condition of dependency.”

I’m not sure Montana voters would approve of this constitutional amendment. I don’t think I could vote for it.

Another interesting right-wing bill being considered and reported by Lee Newspapers is Senate Bill 162. If passed, tax-exempt religious groups’ political communications would be excluded from Montana’s definitions of campaign contributions, election communications, electioneering communications or political expenditures.

We need to keep religious organizations out of campaigns. I support churches urging their members to vote, registering people to vote, and most of all praying for our elected officials. If they advocate for/against a political cause or person then they should lose their tax-exempt status.

REP. ADAM KINZINGER:

In case you don’t know him, Adam Kinzinger is a six-term U.S. Representative from Illinois. CNN reported that Kinzinger was one of 10 Republicans who later joined all House Democrats in voting to impeach Trump last month for “incitement of insurrection” in light of his role in encouraging the riot at the US Capitol.

His family wrote a letter about his vote which was obtained by the New York Times:

Two days after Mr. Kinzinger called for removing Mr. Trump from office following the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, 11 members of his family sent him a handwritten two-page letter, saying he was in cahoots with “the devil’s army” for making a public break with the president.

“Oh my, what a disappointment you are to us and to God!” they wrote. “You have embarrassed the Kinzinger family name!”

You can read the letter by clicking HERE.

I don’t know his family, but I have my doubts they know if he is a disappointment to God.

All across the fruited plains, families have been split apart due to Trump politics. That will be one of his lasting legacies. It started long before he ever became president. I remember being asked by some family and friends about Trump saying Barack Obama was born in Kenya and that his birth certificate was fake. I told them the birther crap was bullshit. That started the exodus of Trump supporters from my social media feed. I don’t miss them at all.

I am betting that Adam Kinzinger will be just fine. There will be more food around the holiday table thanks to the Trump supporters not wanting to be around him. He’ll save money on gifts, too!

TRUMP & MCCONNELL:

Former President Donald Trump issued a statement on Tuesday slamming Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell saying:

The Republican Party can never again be respected or strong with political “leaders” like Sen. Mitch McConnell at its helm.

He also said:

Mitch is a dour, sullen, and unsmiling political hack, and if Republican Senators are going to stay with him, they will not win again. He will never do what needs to be done, or what is right for our Country. Where necessary and appropriate, I will back primary rivals who espouse Making America Great Again and our policy of America First. We want brilliant, strong, thoughtful, and compassionate leadership. 

You can read the whole statement HERE.

I imagine Democrats around the country are welcoming the turmoil between Trump and McConnell and hope that it continues for a few years.

## WEAR A MASK TODAY ##

4 thoughts on “The Wednesday Read”

  1. Terry B., good comment. The basis of our politics (exercise of power) is trending outside our constitution. Both state and federal. How could anyone with even the least common sense support someone who has performed like Trump or Gianforte (and their cabal)? To me, the answer is simple. They are winning. The question is, are greed and racism more powerful than fair-minded arguments about policy?

  2. Brilliant, strong, thoughtful and compassionate lradership. That leaves Trump out.

    But I do not believe this family feud is real. McConnell and the other senators who voted no on the impeachment article then turned around and huffed and puffed that Trump was oh-so-guilty but the Senate was simply the wrong venue – nothing but phony theatre. Just another excuse to cover their own cowardice and complicity in the Big Lie that incited the insurrection, but what’s more a coldly calculsted political ploy. Yes we agree Trump is guilty, and the responsibility for punishing Trump should be on Dem Biden’s justice dept. rather than us Repub senators. So base if you’re going to he angry about it, blame Dems. But if Biden does not go after Trump, then he’s the one tesponsible for letting a guilty man slide. Not us.

    They didn’t step up as leaders to push back on Trump’s Big Lie and tell the truth about the election results for two months. Why should we believe them now when they tell us they think Trump is guilty of anything? The only thing they’re sorry about is Trump being guilty of failing to overturn the election snd keep the gang in power.

Comments are closed.