This Week Today

Ukraine, disfunction, funding, and a very important primary

No video today, I will try to do one tomorrow for paid subscribers. We returned from visiting my parents in Bloomington, IL, and had a great visit. Christian loves visiting his grandma and grandpa, on both sides of the family isle!

This week will see some movement on a few things. Most importantly in my mind, will be continuing to watch whether Ukraine funding can get through the current obstruction by the Speaker and a small minority of hardliners who, for some reason, LOVE RUSSIA. It’s worth repeating, the majority of member of the house would vote for this funding, but leadership (the Speaker) has to agree to put this on the floor.

The only way around that? A discharge petition. This is a rarely successful process whereby 218 members of the house sign a literal petition that resides at the desk of the clerk, and if it receives that number, it is forced in a few weeks for a vote on the floor. I was part of the last successful one back in 2015, before that it had been 15 years since one succeeded.

There are currently two competing petitions, which is not helpful. The first one is the senate passed bill, which unfortunately has a couple dozen Democrats refusing to sign due to Israeli aid. There will not be enough Republicans to overcome those defections. The second is a bill by Brian Fitzpatrick, which includes some border provisions. This will not get enough Democrats. So, we appear to be stuck. It’s possible that there will be some horse trading, and that Democrats will whip harder on the Senate bill. Don’t hold your breath, but keep praying. This is the most serious moment in foreign affairs in my lifetime. My biggest worry? Republicans will delay until Russia appear to be on the verge of a breakthrough, and that they will then use that as an excuse to not support “a losing cause” entirely of their own making.

Government funding is on the front burner. Half of the spending bills have been signed into law, but those are the easy ones with not much division. The difficult ones are up now, and this week will shed light on the way ahead. Notable, the Speaker seems to be optimistic they get done, and implied that they may do Ukraine aid if they pass these before their next, ahem, vacation. Regardless, watch for that to develop.

The Republicans also had a failed retreat, this is a yearly event where they gather to discuss the way ahead, put their skulls together and plan out the year. However, very few actually participated (most participated every year when I was in) and they even cancelled a day of activities. That shows the continuing division in the GOP, the big question is how will this affect the elections in November, are Americans paying attention and do they care?

Lastly, some very important primary elections on Tuesday. One in particular I am watching, is Ohio 2nd Congressional District. There are 11 candidates running in this ruby red district, and all but one are fighting to look more MAGA than the rest. The one who isn’t is a man named Phil Heimlich, whose elder invented the Heimlich maneuver. Phil is a former councilman, man of faith, and truth teller! I endorsed him. In a 11 man race, the one who stands out, in this case Phil, actually has a chance to win. Imaging the reddest district in Ohio electing an anti-Trumper…this would be fantastic. If you know anyone in the district, please ask them to pull a Republican ballot and vote for Phil. There will be no Democrat in the race, and this is a resident’s only chance to have their vote count.

Have a great week everyone! And remember, together, united in this uneasy alliance, we can make history and crush authoritarianism! Till Valhalla!

Adam