The Awakening Congress

Recently I posted that Senator John Fetterman is his own man. Brian Fitzpatrick, 1st District/Bucks County, also votes independently. He joined five other Republican Congressmen to vote against Trump's tariff policy on Canada. Trump has promised to primary them as punishment. 

Not needing to worry about a Trump sponsored primary is our own Ryan Mackenzie. Mackenzie is independent with his Facebook memes, but not so much on the floor of Congress. He's a good Republican Party puppy.

The bill against the Canadian tariffs will now go to the Senate. I'll be watching how Fetterman and McCormick vote, because Trump's aggression toward Canada has been nothing less than absurd.

Peace Bridge between Canada and United States

Trump Not Entitled To Express Every Opinion

The other day a Republican steward explained about the Super Bowl that Trump is entitled to have an opinion. Karoline Leavitt would say that people elected Trump because of his frankness. The excuses are wearing thin. Could you imagine Trump calming a nation, as Roosevelt and Churchill did during WW2.

The bad news for the Republican Party is that their president isn't a Republican. If he cared about the party he would say much less, and not tweet at all. Already his Super Bowl rant will cost them the 7th Congressional District in Pa., and it's only year one for the coming damage. In a couple more years Republicans could be reduced to proverbial dog catchers.

The annual bi-partisan Governors meeting will not be at the White House...Trump only invited Republicans, and some of them wouldn't come in protest. There are Republicans all over this country serving their constituents well, they don't deserve the backlash coming their way. Hopefully they will start speaking out.

Mackenzie Loses Election At Super Bowl

Ryan Mackenzie has already lost the election, there's not enough money to save his seat. He and the local Republican sycophants were too indoctrinated to calculate that Trump's Bad Bunny rant wouldn't play well in the 7th Congressional District. Hope they enjoyed the Kid Rock show, because it will end up being a very costly ticket. There's an old saying that if you're going to be dumb, you better be tough. Before the Super Bowl controversy, I already decided that anyone that partisan was too dumb for my vote.

Lately, I haven't been printing many comments. Mention TDS and I don't print it. Some unprinted ones claim that the local Puerto Ricans don't vote anyway. I don't know what their turnout is, but I do know that with Mackenzie winning 2024 with just 1%, he can't afford to leave any votes on the table.

I think from the Democratic viewpoint, with Mackenzie shooting himself, who wins the primary isn't as relevant as it was...they will still win. From my independent perspective, I'm supporting Ryan Crosswell. He's not as polished slick as some in Washington, but his sincerity and work ethic sold me.

Trump Wins, Republicans Lose

This past weekend Trump managed to offend both Latinos and many Olympic watchers in just a couple of tweets. Just last November both he and the party bragged about making so much headway with minority voters. 

Here in Allentown we have taken to referring to a minority majority. We have a mayor who promoted his Latino background and makes sure to make all his proclamations in both English and Spanish. Trump in his bubble, it's certainly no ivory tower, thinks that the country is still MAGA.

Those Trump flags on the pickup trucks are getting tattered. While he is worried that a blue wave might result in an impeachment vote, he's not worried beyond his family's bottom line. Beyond the midterms, current young voters will see how little the 47th actually did for them, and how much for his family. The Republicans richly deserve the future that they are currently standing silent about. Nobody will ever accuse Trump of being a great uniter.

Fetterman, A Non-Partisan Politician

So far Fetterman is shaping up to be an independent voice in the Senate, despite being a Democrat. He refuses to vote for a government shutdown, but speaks out against what he considers abuses by whomever.  

He wants to fund Homeland Security, including ICE, but has sent a protest letter to Kristi Noem about purchasing two warehouses in eastern Pennsylvania for detention centers.

Although he proclaims that he wants to reach across the isle and work with Dave McCormick, he might also want to remember that no good deed goes unpunished. The Democrats will resent whenever he votes against the party policy, and the Republicans will still resent him as a Democrat. However, there are independents, such as myself, who appreciate his issue by issue deliberations, as opposed to party rubber stamping. At any rate, he has four more years to please and offend both partys and their voters.

Wall Street Journal Visits Allentown

I'm always interested when big media visits Allentown...they usually get it wrong. Last year the New York Times did a story on the revitalization of Hamilton Street. While impressed by the $billions of new buildings, they failed to comprehend the taxpayer funded, privately owned real estate scheme...they assumed the Potemkin Village was actually teeming.

Yesterday the Wall Street Journal did a story on the upcoming 7th District race and the Hispanic voters. They think that the Hispanics put Ryan Mackenzie over the top in 2024, but that they may not support him for 2026. They blame that divorce on Trump's heavy handedness with ICE. I don't disagree with their analysis, but think that they overestimate the Hispanic vote. The WSJ was here for one or two days, I've here since what the NYT referred to The Latinization Of Allentown decades ago.

I believe that a Democrat will flip the seat back to that party, but not just because of the Hispanics. The Hispanic flip will be bigger than the Journal foresees, because that new detention center in Berks County will need detainees. But Ryan will lose because the bread and butter MAGA's turned out for Trump, not him. More than the Hispanics, he'll lose because the independents are fed up with Trump's dictatorship. Ryan will bet on the Trump support and campaigning, and not speak out enough to save himself.