Omnibus spending bill: it’s not over till it’s over

cartoon by Alexander Hoffman at dailyreckoning.com

Quite a few conservative bloggers and columnists have been throwing up their hands in despair over President Trump’s signing of the god-awful Omnibus spending bill last week. Headlines such as “Art of the Fail” or “Trump Fought the Swamp and the Swamp Won” were everywhere. But perhaps we are watching another Trump negotiation. Since the Omnibus bill is not a budget, the Executive branch has some flexibility on how (and if) funds are allocated. For example, Ann Coulter suggested he fund the wall using Defense Dept. money.

My own outrage is directed at the GOPe members of the Uniparty, who ran on - and raised millions on - promises they had no intention of ever keeping. They did not expect to win. Some might conclude that they wanted to lose. And we now see them, out in the open, blocking Trump’s agenda at every turn, including this latest maneuver.

As I see it, The GOPe has tried hard to stop Trump from the day he announced his candidacy right up to today. The Omnibus bill was just another opportunity to obstruct and undermine. They don’t want to be in the majority. They want to keep their noses in the trough and raise money by making more empty promises that they can whine about if they are in the minority. And the gloating Democrat leadership would love nothing more than to see Trump’s base lose heart. 

For some more optimistic/realistic takes, try Don Surber, Kurt Schlichter, or Sundance at Conservative Treehouse.

Related: at American Thinker, Joseph Smith asks if it will be “Time for Republicans to stay home in 2018?”

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Ohio governor’s race "up for grabs"

Albert R. Hunt at Bloomberg reports (h/t Rick Moran at American Thinker):

Of 36 gubernatorial seats up for grabs this year, 26 are held by Republicans. The Democrats' top targets are Ohio, Florida and Michigan, where they have been out of power for years. 

. . .

In recent months, in part reflecting a national tide, Democrats have become more optimistic about contests in Ohio and Michigan.

Richard Cordray, who clashed with Trump as the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, is the party's preferred candidate in Ohio. He should be a strong general election candidate if he avoids getting beat up in the primary by left wing provocateur Dennis Kucinich, the former congressman. That probably would set up a rematch with Attorney General Mike DeWine, who narrowly won in 2010, in a climate friendlier to Republicans.

. . .Terry McAuliffe is upbeat: "The future of the Democratic Party will be decided in state capitals and it's looking very good."

Meanwhile, still no debate set between GOP candidates Mike DeWine and Mary Taylor.

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Varvel's D.C. Swamp

Back by popular demand
Gary Varvel's Cartoon of the Day 

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Rob Portman supports out-of-control spending

cartoon: Michael P Ramirez

The omnibus spending bill passed the Senate. Ohio Senator Rob Portman voted FOR the bill. His fellow Uniparty spineless wonders are named here. Full roll call is here.

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More out-of-control spending

image credit: redstate.com

Yesterday, the House passed the bazillion dollar omnibus spending bill 256-167. Roll Call reports:

“Is the president going to sign the bill?” Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said of the president and the omnibus spending bill. “Yes.”

Conservative Review reports:

On Thursday, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said the omnibus spending bill, clocking in at more than 2,000 pages, is “not even close” to what Republicans told the American people they would do if elected.

…

“It’s 2,200 pages that funds sanctuary cities, funds Planned Parenthood, restricts Second Amendment liberties, and grows the government at a $1.3 trillion price tag … which will lead to a trillion-dollar deficit,” Jordan said.

“This may be the worst bill I have seen in my time in Congress, the worst bill our leadership’s ever allowed to come to the floor,” he added.

Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) listed his objections (via Red State):

- Record spending levels

- No wall/border security

- Obamacare intact

- Funds Planned Parenthood

- Sanctuary Cities funded

- Barely 24 hours to read a 2,300 page bill

This Omnibus is so far from what the forgotten men and women of America voted for. I will oppose it.

Hard to know whether Jordan and Meadows are in earnest or are playing good cop. I'll update when I have located the roll call.

UPDATE 5:54pm: The roll call vote is here.

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Mark Steyn on Fox about the weather

via YouTube

If you did not watch Tucker Carlson's show on Fox yesterday evening at 8pm, you'll want to set aside 5 minutes to watch this video clip. If you did watch this segment, here it is so you can watch it again. Author and blogger Mark Steyn is at his most politically incorrect, lampooning insane theories about climate, weather, microaggression, and the Land of Opportunity. 

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Trump’s Bible acquired by Museum of the Bible

photo credit: commons,wikimedia,org.

Katherine Rodriguez at Breitbart Big Government reports:

The Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC, has acquired one of President Trump’s two Bibles that he used to take the oath of office on Inauguration Day, 2017.

Trump’s childhood Bible will join several other Bibles used by American presidents that are currently on display at the privately-funded museum.

“We are honored to add this piece of our nation’s history to our growing exhibit of presidential Bibles,” Museum of the Bible President Cary Summers said in a statement. “It is our hope that guests will be able to learn not only about each president’s unique Bible, but also about the influence this book has had on government and elected officials around the world.”

This announcement interested me since earlier this month, my husband and I visited the recently-opened Museum of The Bible in DC. Even though we are not church-goers, we were interested in the Bible’s influence in world history, and in particular America’s history. We spent just over two hours exploring, and we barely scratched the surface. Here are a few photographs from our visit:

These exhibits had murals or videos depicting key events, key figures, and short narratives. Most rooms contained a stunning number of antiquarian books, correspondence, and artifacts.

Our favorite experience was a demonstration by an actor/docent about the Gutenberg Bible and the printing press that Johannes Gutenberg invented in order to print it more efficiently:

The Museum’s website is here and it has a very short opening video when you click.

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