Apparently things are so “toxic” in D.C. right now that more than 50 people in Congress are quitting. They can’t get anything done and so they’re leaving.
Probably not the worse thing in the world.
These people are by and large unqualified to be there. They don’t understand what the job entails, so they aren’t getting it done.
They don’t even understand how its supposed to work. They just know it isn’t working.
They can’t fix it so they’re leaving.
Ok.
Good.
They weren’t going to last much longer anyway.
In the new world– the post-Troutman world– only QUALIFIED and CAPABLE leaders who understand the job requirements and can meet them will be in Congress. The folks headed for the exit probably know its coming.
But actually they’re just sick of partisan politics like we all are. They must obey. Puppets.
“Rubber stamp” this “rubber stamp” that– obey party leadership, ignore the people.
Its all coming to an end folks.
And it starts right here in BEAUTIFUL Orange County.
The long and short of it is that Trump had the constitutional authority to do what he did so I am going to back him, at least for now. If it turns out it was a mistake well Trump is going to have to answer for it. But we don’t know that yet and there’s no reason to assume he has screwed up just yet.
The guy who is currently in my seat–Dave Min–decided do a quick post on X (who uses X still btw?) Here’s what he said:
What the hell?
First of all, notice the guy’s posts barely get any views. My blog now has over 100,000 followers! And the Troutman For America YouTube channel is pushing 30k followers (my video from today already has over 1,200 views).
But Min gets like 200 views or less on his posts. Eesh.
Tough to be Min. No reach. No voice. No one really takes him seriously.
But with braindead posts like this one it is easy to see why.
He provides no meaningful analysis. Just asserts the constitution gives Congress the right to “authorize” war (actually it says “declare” war, but whatever.)
While that is true, the Constitution also makes the President the commander in chief of the armed forces with full authority to command them as he sees fit. And the war powers act makes it clear the president does not need to consult Congress AT ALL for 90 days in using that power.
In essence the president can do small scale stuff as he sees fit around the world, but only Congress can get the entire nation into a full out war with another country.
So Min is just dead wrong in suggesting Trump lacks the power to do what he did because Trump didn’t take America to war with Venezuela just engaged in a quick and dirty assault. Now there is a more nuance argument here that Trump launched the attack on the 92nd day after notifying Congress of a state of military action against Venezuela and so maybe he missed his deadline by 2 days– and that is worth exploring, but that is not what Min is saying here at all.
Of course that Trump has the authority to do what he did is different from the question of whether he should have done it. And there reasonable minds can differ. My point earlier today, however, is that no one should close the book on whether this was a good idea or a bad idea just yet– back the president for now and let’s see how it all turns out.
Oddly, however, Min seems to support the idea that Maduro was an “illegitimate leader.”
Huh?
First, calling Maduro illegitimate seems to justify the very action you are saying shouldn’t have happened. You are suggesting Trump was justified in taking action you were too afraid to take yourself. It suggests you will tolerate fraud and injustice around the world and makes Trump look like a superior leader.
This is exactly the sort of WEAK SOFT takes people are tired of. This is exactly why people think of Min as the WEAKEST democrat in Congress.
But more importantly NOBODY gets to say who is “legitimately” in charge of Venezuela except the people there. And EVERYBODY was treating Maduro as president down there. So guess what, he’s president.
I hate to see American politicians trying to say this leader or that leader isn’t “legitimate.” That is NOT our place. We don’t get to dictate who is the leader of what country and who isn’t (IMO at least.)
Regardless, Min’s bonehead post incorrectly suggests Trump lacks authority to do what he did have authority to do while simultaneously justifying an action Min thinks Trump shouldn’t have taken.
And this ladies and gentlemen is why we need capable intelligent leaders in Congress. This is just an embarrassment.
Time to get smart folk.
Troutman is the answer.
Read about him. Love him. Join him. Let’s get back to winning!
But our government doesn’t have winners in it. A bunch of losers. Bunch of “fighters” who don’t know how to deliver real solutions for the people.
Troutman is coming to clean things up–hopefully it won’t be too late.
For now, the CEOs said the following:
The business community in Minnesota prides itself in providing leadership and solving problems to ensure a strong and vibrant state. The recent challenges facing our state have created widespread disruption and tragic loss of life. For the past several weeks, representatives of Minnesota’s business community have been working every day behind the scenes with federal, state and local officials to advance real solutions. These efforts have included close communication with the Governor, the White House, the Vice President and local mayors. There are ways for us to come together to foster progress.
With yesterday’s tragic news, we are calling for an immediate deescalation of tensions and for state, local and federal officials to work together to find real solutions.
We have been working for generations to build a strong and vibrant state here in Minnesota and will do so in the months and years ahead with equal and even greater commitment. In this difficult moment for our community, we call for peace and focused cooperation among local, state and federal leaders to achieve a swift and durable solution that enables families, businesses, our employees, and communities across Minnesota to resume our work to build a bright and prosperous future.
Signed:
3M – William Brown, Chairman and CEO
Allianz Life Insurance Company – Jasmine Jirele, President and CEO
Allina – Lisa Shannon, President and CEO, Tim Welsh, Board Chair
Ameriprise Financial – James Cracchiolo, Chairman and CEO
Anchor Paper – Brooke Lee, CEO
… [Continue the full list of CEOs exactly as above] …
You folks want solutions? Back the Troutman campaign now.
Don’t watch much television but spent some time watching Stranger Things with the fam over the holidays.
Poorly acted and tons of filler content, but the show is popular because it perfectly presents life in the 80s in a way that many who were around at the time can really appreciate.
Indeed, Gen X is having a moment. And its about time.
With Street Fighter coming out next year (cannot wait to drag the ladies to that one as payback for that Barbie movie disaster) along with a live-action Voltron and tons of other societal callbacks to the beautiful era of Gen X childhood an entire generation is suddenly finds itself at the peak of social awareness.
It makes sense. We’re the boss now. The grown up at the tables. We run things– and we’re doing a very nice job I must say.
We can attribute the great recession to the boomers and the relative, steady upward trajectory of all things to Gen X swinging into management positions.
But more is required than steady stewardship of our nation’s private sector.
We need Gen X leadership in government.
Now this is actually trickier than it seems because Gen X was raised, by and large, to stay out of the limelight and do our best work behind the scenes. We aren’t the selfie or social media generations. We never sought to glorify ourselves.
Indeed, we grew up in an a cold war era when patriotism and self-sacrifice for the greater good were necessary and expected. Drawing needless attention to yourself in the face of the potential for literal annihilation at the hands of the soviets–something we were very much brought up to believe was a legitimate threat– was pointless and absurd.
Plus we were constantly presented with archetypical heroes in cartoon shows that would NEVER fly today who faced real risk, and even death (e.g. Optimus Prime) in a good versus evil universe that makes the Marvel movies seem like playtime. The stakes always seemed so staggering and the risks so great that it was best to let the true heroes handle things.
So we’d go off and ride bikes in a world that seemed strangely far more dangerous and yet far safer than today’s world does, knowing that the great social battles had already been won by our predecessors even if the global war still waged beyond our control.
Stated simply, we grew up in a world that didn’t seem to need us.
And for a while the world seemed to agree.
Social media arose just as we were leaving our useful 30s and into our forgotten 40s and 50s. So social awareness seemingly skipped us entirely. The world remained dominated by the boomers with the millennials dominating social media and societal trends–who were themselves quickly forgotten for the splashier hype monsters of Gen Alpha.
And then something happened.
Joe Biden.
His rapid decline in office showed everyone that the boomers were done. Trump II came along and his decline is obvious as well.
It is, without question, time for a new generation of leadership.
And we look around, and there just wasn’t anyone out there ready to step in.
The media predictably looked to social media darlings and the hype of millennials and gen z. We see so many notes about silly AOC and Mamdani, supposed darlings of the youth. Silly.
These are grasps for so many straws.
We all know who is control now. Gen X is waking up fully aware of its new found powers and it is having a little bit of fun out of the gate.
So let Stranger Things wash over you. Then prepare for Street Fighter and Voltron before a pile of additional of Saturday Morning Cartoon remakes find their way onto the big screen.
Prepare for Swamp of Sadness memes and reminders that Goonies Never Say Die.
Some will call it cultural strip mining. Fine.
What it really is is the bugle sounding and the torch passing.
Its our time now Gen X.
The kids don’t know what they’re doing yet– and they know it.
You don’t need me to tell you that.
You need me to tell you that there’s no one coming to save us anymore.
Talked to a ton of people about the campaign this week. Tons of support.
Money pouring in.
Talked to someone who had a very interesting observation.
“You’re acting like you’re David fighting Goliath.” He said. “You have this all wrong. You’re Goliath.”
He’s not wrong.
As an independent I am stepping gingerly. His point was clear– “the policies you’re running against have 20% support– the vast majority of people stand with you.”
This was worth chewing on.
The result was never in doubt.
But the approach may change. It may be time to get more aggressive.
