[TheRealThing]

Unbelievably Jeff Flakey is as I type this, on the floor of the Senate of the United States of America grinding a personal axe. Taking his dispute with our President to the national and world level, he has chosen to call out DJT for everything from overestimating the crowd size at the inaugural, to publicly wondering if Obama was really born in the US.

I hope somebody from Arizona mounts a recall on Flake, and I would like to be among the first to donate to that cause. Past that, there has to be some form of breach of acceptable decorum under which he could be formally censured by the Republican Party, or Mitch McConnell should be able to dig up something to use to that end. What a petty, self absorbed looser.

[Bob Seger]

And just when you think that jealous loser John McCain has crawled off somewhere and died, here comes that big mouth again...I detest the guy so much I would vote for a democrat before I would him or Flake...Uh, wait a minute, they are democrats....Arizonia sure can pick some real winners.

[TheRealThing]

I'm with ya. Both ought to resign, but in lieu of that I'd accept their just crawling off somewhere. :biggrin:

[TheRealThing]

So as I said Flake gets up on the Senate floor delivering a performance evidently for the sake of the venerable DICK Durbin, one of the only two other senators in chambers at the time, and proceeds to give Trump down the road for busting on Barack Obama. Then, in his best impersonation of Cory Booker he says Trump's Presidency is an assault on truth. He's so worried about truth you know.

Where was ol Flakey when his hero was saying all this stuff? And you know all these lies just hit the high spots. But check this out:
http://www.politifact.com/personalities/...ing/false/

[WideRight05]

Flake is one of many examples as to why the Republican Party hasn't been able to deliver for so long. They might be able to take one or two baby steps on an issue, but haven't been able to really pull off a huge piece of legislation. This tax legislation, for instance, is a small step in the right direction but upon reviewing it I feel like there was a lot left on the table. The initial plan was to lower the corporate tax rate to 15% all the way around, for instance. A few Republicans cave and so they instead lower it to 21%. Enough to put us below the world average and get us out of the top 5 highest world corporate income taxes, but still not quite what it could have been. People like Jeff Flake that often have prevented big conservative legislation passing - especially on social issues. When I read TRT discuss the repeal of DADT and ENDA in his posts, it's people like Jeff Flake that come to mind who attached their name to both of those pieces of legislation.

And it's not just a Jeff Flake thing, it's a Republican Party thing. You would think out of all places, Oklahoma, that the Republican Governor would jump on the opportunity to pass a major piece of pro-life legislation that would have made almost all abortions illegal. It gets through the Oklahoma House and Senate, and what happens? Mary Fallin vetoes it. Same thing happened in Ohio with John Kasich who signed a 20 week abortion ban on the same day he vetoed the other bill - not that I wouldn't expect that kind of stuff out of Kasich. Either way, this kind of fear to pass anything major is what has, does, and will continue to keep the Republican Party from being a major force in terms of passing key legislation. Both Kasich and Fallin stated their reason for not passing it was a fear of the courts - which I wonder about - but let's say that's the truth, do you think the liberals have feared the courts over the years? No. They keep appealing, appealing, and appealing and we haven't seen that same aggressiveness from Republicans.

It's even spread to certain conservative groups. I debated with the Ohio "Right to Life" organization after they went against the bill which would have essentially banned all abortions. Why? The courts. Even if it becomes law and it gets struck down, you fight that all the way to the SCOTUS. If they strike it down, do what the liberals do and fight to get new judges appointed or run it through a different court. I'm getting sick and tired of seeing this stuff happen over and over - we have one party that is pure evil, at least they fight for what they believe in, and the other that seems to enjoy losing battles with that party. It doesn't matter who occupies the White House, the Republicans have been controlled by the moderate wing for too long and until we get it to where that 52-48 (or now 51-49 lead) in the Senate actually means something then we won't see much passed.

I feel like for the Republicans to be able to pass anything significant right now they will have to have at least 270 seats in the House and at least 60 seats in the Senate - 60 seats of which neither party has had since the 1970's. It would take quite a bit to knock out that moderate vote.

[TheRealThing]

Flake is one of many examples as to why the Republican Party hasn't been able to deliver for so long. They might be able to take one or two baby steps on an issue, but haven't been able to really pull off a huge piece of legislation. This tax legislation, for instance, is a small step in the right direction but upon reviewing it I feel like there was a lot left on the table. The initial plan was to lower the corporate tax rate to 15% all the way around, for instance. A few Republicans cave and so they instead lower it to 21%. Enough to put us below the world average and get us out of the top 5 highest world corporate income taxes, but still not quite what it could have been. People like Jeff Flake that often have prevented big conservative legislation passing - especially on social issues. When I read TRT discuss the repeal of DADT and ENDA in his posts, it's people like Jeff Flake that come to mind who attached their name to both of those pieces of legislation.

And it's not just a Jeff Flake thing, it's a Republican Party thing. You would think out of all places, Oklahoma, that the Republican Governor would jump on the opportunity to pass a major piece of pro-life legislation that would have made almost all abortions illegal. It gets through the Oklahoma House and Senate, and what happens? Mary Fallin vetoes it. Same thing happened in Ohio with John Kasich who signed a 20 week abortion ban on the same day he vetoed the other bill - not that I wouldn't expect that kind of stuff out of Kasich. Either way, this kind of fear to pass anything major is what has, does, and will continue to keep the Republican Party from being a major force in terms of passing key legislation. Both Kasich and Fallin stated their reason for not passing it was a fear of the courts - which I wonder about - but let's say that's the truth, do you think the liberals have feared the courts over the years? No. They keep appealing, appealing, and appealing and we haven't seen that same aggressiveness from Republicans.

It's even spread to certain conservative groups. I debated with the Ohio "Right to Life" organization after they went against the bill which would have essentially banned all abortions. Why? The courts. Even if it becomes law and it gets struck down, you fight that all the way to the SCOTUS. If they strike it down, do what the liberals do and fight to get new judges appointed or run it through a different court. I'm getting sick and tired of seeing this stuff happen over and over - we have one party that is pure evil, at least they fight for what they believe in, and the other that seems to enjoy losing battles with that party. It doesn't matter who occupies the White House, the Republicans have been controlled by the moderate wing for too long and until we get it to where that 52-48 (or now 51-49 lead) in the Senate actually means something then we won't see much passed.

I feel like for the Republicans to be able to pass anything significant right now they will have to have at least 270 seats in the House and at least 60 seats in the Senate - 60 seats of which neither party has had since the 1970's. It would take quite a bit to knock out that moderate vote.

^^ Very well stated Wide. I'll tell you why I think Republicans are too timid to lead. Take for argument's sake the examples of John McCain, Jeff Flakey, Speaker Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell for that matter, Susan Collins, and Lisa Murkykowski. In fact according to James Fuller of the Washington Post, there are at least 143 RINO's in the 114th Congress. All 143 of them LARGELY buy into the idea that the media are honorable. Focusing on John McCain, who only yesterday authored an op-ed in the aforementioned Washington Post telling the President to "stop attacking the press." My conclusion? These guys govern in such a way so as to incur as little of the media's ire as they possibly can. The darn liberal press own RINO's.

And over the weekend guess what your House Speaker was doing? Making the news shows saying how unfortunate it was that the President referred to Haiti and certain other nations as $h*!-holes. Now, as far as I know there has yet to be even one other attendee from that meeting who has said they heard the President say that. And believe me when I tell you, though I'm sure you've seen for yourself, those attendees have been grilled about it by everybody from the select committed to the rabid media. It ain't like they haven't been asked hundreds of times. That leaves only DICK Durbin. A man I would not believe if he was on his death bed. Did the Speaker try to answer with some measure of grace or respect for the office? Did the possibility that there may be a level of dishonesty attached to DICK's charge against the President even cross Speaker Ryan's mind? Nope. After accepting the gossip at face value he just pronounces the situation "unfortunate," and launches off into a self inflated diatribe about how politically correct and just plain wonderful, he happens to be. :please: I was embarrassed and ticked off to have even heard him go on about it.

I'll tell you what, me and you both are sick and tired of it. And certain from among the FOX News corps are some of the biggest offenders of all. Neil Cavuto for example. He keeps the rabidly nasty Charlie Gasparino around to slam and damn the Administration every darn day. Liz Claman is no better. But on the Cavuto's midday show I just heard one of his attack dogs falsely characterizing our duly elected government. The reporter stated with categorical surety, that the Administration is rife with chaos and confusion. Like everybody agrees, that that is the case. I say the chaos and gridlock comes from those left behind from the last administration, media who lie their heads off, and the indoctrinated deepstate traitors who covertly oppose the people's choice for President. And who, are actively under the guidance of the DNC and Obama's shadow government doing all they can to subvert the function and purpose of this government.

Now, like you said, one would think that Republicans would have enough character and integrity about them to reach past all the baloney and subterfuge to do their best for 'the people.' At the bare minimum they should at least understand that they are despised by the other side. And there is nada they could ever do to change that. Why not take DJT's lead and just govern? But instead all we get are grandstanding egoists who feel compelled to brag on themselves on TV. It's the "DOWN THE DRAIN." analogy come to call old pal.