Year: 2018

That’s right. Nothing meaningful will happen on the national political stage for an entire 12 months.  And just to make sure I cover all of my bases, nothing meaningful will happen in most other areas of American life in 2019

Of course I’ll be wrong, but maybe you get the sense of why I’m saying these things. I’m not a pessimist. In fact, I’m one of the great all-time optimists presently trodding the soil. It’s just that I don’t see the split Congress and the far right White House making much headway towards solving some of our most pressing problems.

Could we get an infrastructure bill? Possibly, but that would mean that the president would have to give up his dream of a wall on the southern border, or the Democrats would have to up the amount of money they want to spend on the border to end the shutdown. At this point, I would think that the Democrats hold the better cards, if only because Trump is a minority president (oh, the irony) and holds a minority position that is supported by a minority of the population.

I understand that he’s trying to hold on to his core supporters for 2020, but they won’t be enough to give him a second term, since many people who voted for him simply despised Hillary Clinton and could vote for a more palatable Democrat. And speaking of, we’ll get an early indication of who will be entering the 2020 contest in a matter of weeks. I”m fairly sure that New Jersey’s own Senator Cory Booker will run, as will Senators Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, and Kirsten Gillibrand. Bernie Sanders will also explore an encore and Joe Biden will give it some serious thought. Honestly, none of them jump out at me as a clear winner, and it’s possible that the nominee will not be one of this group.

Combine a divided government with epic fundraising and a president who doesn’t know much about policy or how policy gets made into law or how the law works or whether he has to follow the law or whether he can just say what the law is and you get a year where not much is going to happen legislatively unless you consider investigations and calls for Trump’s tax returns significant legal accomplishments.

Will there be fireworks? You bet. But precious little will get done that will actually improve the country.

For more, go to www.facebook.com/WhereDemocracyLives or Twitter @rigrundfest

Health care.

Again.

Do the Republicans, and conservatives in general, really not get the fact that most Americans need reliable health insurance that covers the checkups,  basic procedures, and tests they need to stay healthy? Do they really not understand that, yes, you can lower the cost of health insurance, but past a certain point it becomes prohibitively expensive to actually use the plan because deductibles and co-insurance rates are sky high? Are they really that ignorant of the idea that reliable, comprehensive health insurance coverage is in itself a safety net that allows Americans to work productively and plan for their financial and physical future?

I guess not. 

Health care was the number one issue in the 2018 elections, and the overwhelming majority of Americans said they disapproved of taking away, or making more expensive, coverage for pre-existing conditions. They like that physicals require no co-payment and that contraceptives are covered by most employers. So what seems to be the GOP position on health care?

You’re on your own, and if you have a pre-existing condition…stop it!

Of course, the Federal Court ruling last week is only the first step in the process of appeals that will likely culminate in a Supreme Court ruling in the middle of another presidential election. And we certainly know that Donald “Nobody Knew Health Care Could Be So Complicated” Trump is going to be absolutely useless on this issue. His response to the judicial ruling was to say that we’re going to fix the system and get everybody great health care.

Except that he spent the first 8 months of his presidency trying to repeal the law that put us on that course, then supported a GOP bill that would have thrown 20 million people off their plans. And he had a Republican majority in both houses of Congress to help him, but they couldn’t get it done. His opportunity to get a bill that actually fixes the deficiencies of the ACA is gone.

The GOP isn’t getting any help from the states either. Soon to be ex-Governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, just signed a bill that prohibits the state from leaving a suit that challenges the ACA. I’m sure that more conservatives, even the ones who lost in November, will continue to try and get rid of the law. And people’s health insurance. Without a workable alternative. Refill the swamp, no?

Now that the Democrats control the House of Representatives, the chances are they will propose a bill more to the liking of most Americans who struggle with paying their bills and maintaining their health, which is mostly everyone with a middle-class income or less. They should make necessary changes to the ACA and make sure that every American knows that the consequences of the Republican assault on their ability to buy insurance will mean a drop in their quality of life.

And it’s not just health care that will ultimately spell doom for the Republicans. The climate, pollution, indictments, the trade war, unconscionable treatment of refugees and those who are trying to flee political and personal terror, a tax law that will explode the deficit and help the wealthy, the stock market, overt racism and sexism and, ultimately, a president who knows no boundaries when it comes to disrespecting the constitution, will all combine to remind voters that the United States is better than those who are presently running it.

It was immigration that likely won the election for Trump in 2016. Health care will be his, and the GOP’s undoing in 2020.

For more, go to www.facebook.com/WhereDemocracyLives or Twitter @rigrundfest

The voters of Wisconsin spoke loud and clear in last midterms election, replacing Republicans with Democrats up and down the ballot. And in January, the newly elected officials will take control of the state, reflecting the wish of the people.

But Republicans are still in control, and they are jumping through hoops in an unbelievable power grab to suffocate Democrats before they take office.

Wisconsin’s lame-duck, Republican-controlled state Legislature passed on Wednesday a host of measures designed to kneecap Gov.-elect Tony Evers, other Democrats elected to statewide offices and hurt the Democratic Party in general, sending the legislation to the GOP governor Evers defeated ― Scott Walker ― for his signature.

One part of the package would prohibit municipalities from allowing more than two weeks of early voting. That presumably would cut down on voter turnout, which generally helps Republicans.

Other provisions would give the Legislature full control of a state economic development agency, block the governor’s ability to write regulations and allow the Legislature to hire its own lawyers to file lawsuits on behalf of the state.

Walker, who narrowly lost to Evers, is expected to sign the package into law.

Democrats are already threatening to fight the measures in court.

“We will actively be looking at either to litigate or do whatever else in our power to make sure the people of Wisconsin are represented at the table,” Evers told reporters on Tuesday, according to The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

He and the other newly elected Democrats take office in early January.

One change Republicans had considered wasn’t included in the final package ― scheduling the state’s presidential primary for March instead of its current date in April. The GOP had hoped to separate it from a state Supreme Court election that is also on the April ballot. That likely would have resulted in a lower turnout for the April vote, presumably helping a conservative judge seeking re-election.