If Washington gets wrapped up in so much fervor about ‘defending democracy’ — why are a select few running the show like it’s some kind of uniparty oligarchy?
Mike Lee is taking direct aim at the rejection of the very principles on which a representative republic is established by invoking Nancy Pelosi’s infamous Obamacare quote about ‘voting for it to find out what’s in it’.
That blind vote on Obamacare violated all the principles of representative government. And Mike Lee is sounding an alarm that this vote does the very same thing.
Worse — every time this tactic succeeds, that little cabal’s leash on legislative power slides a little tighter.
Mike Lee wrote an op-ed in The Federalist entitled “Schumer And McConnell Want Senators To Pass Their $106B Border Bill Without Reading It? Hell No“.
The opening lines set the tone for the piece:
Yesterday, a reporter standing outside the Senate chamber told me that after four months of secrecy, The Firm™️ plans to release the text of the $106 billion supplemental aid/border-security package — possibly as soon as today.
Wasting no time, she then asked, “If you get the bill by tomorrow, will you be ready to vote on it by Tuesday?”
Usually reserved, Mike Lee responded with an uncharacteristic curse. ‘Hell no’.
It prompted the piece we are now citing in which ‘based Mike Lee’ gave the rest of us some insight on why there was a vote to change Republican Senate leadership — and why Lee refers to the Schumer-McConnell tandem as ‘The Firm’.
This criticism has got some real ‘Uniparty’ vibes to it… and you will soon see why.
He goes on to list 4 specific ways that they are trying to normalize a corrupt method of legislating:
- Spends months drafting legislation in complete secrecy
- Aggressively markets that legislation based not on its details and practical implications (good and bad), but only on its broadest, least-controversial objectives
- Lets members see bill text for the first time only a few days (sometimes a few hours) before an arbitrary deadline imposed by The Firm™️ itself, always with a contrived sense of urgency
- Forces a vote on the legislation on or before that deadline, denying senators any real opportunity to read, digest, and debate the measure on its merits, much less introduce, consider, and vote on amendments to fix any perceived problems with the bill or otherwise improve it.
Why is this a problem?
It cuts all of the other elected officials out of the legislation process, reducing them to the role of glorified rubber stamps.
You can have that kind of an oligarchic system, or you can have a representative republic. But you can’t have both. Cutting the other elected officials (in this specific case, Senators) out of the process effectively disenfranchises voters of nearly every state.
If we now have a system like that, what was the point of the Founders fighting for independence in getting rid of kings and lords?
He continues…
Every time The Firm™️ utilizes this approach and the bill passes — and it nearly always does — The Firm™️ becomes more powerful.
The high success rate is largely attributable to the fact that The Firm™️ has become very adept at (a) enlisting the help of the (freakishly cooperative) corporate media, (b) exerting peer pressure in a way that makes what you experienced in middle school look mild by comparison, and (c) rewarding those who consistently vote with The Firm™️ with various privileges that The Firm™️ is uniquely capable of offering, such as committee assignments, help with campaign fundraising, and a whole host of other widely coveted things that The Firm™️ is free to distribute in any manner it pleases.
It’s through this process that The Firm™️ passes most major spending legislation. And it’s through this process that The Firm™️ likely intends to pass the still-secret, $106 billion supplemental aid/border-security package, which The Firm™️ has spent four months negotiating with the luxury of obsessing over every sentence, word, period, and comma.
I still don’t know exactly what’s in this bill, although I have serious concerns with it based on the few details The Firm™️ has been willing to share. But under no circumstances should this bill — which would fund military operations in three distant parts of the world and make massive, permanent changes to immigration law — be passed next week. — The Federalist
We already knew about McConnell using campaign funding as a carrot/stick to gain loyalty, and we’ve learned about how petty he can be about punishing dissidents within his own party:
He reportedly pulled the two lawmakers off the powerful Commerce Committee after they tried to unseat him as the Republican leader recently. A coincidence? Scott, who confirmed his and Lee’s removal, didn’t seem to think so.
“This is what happens when you challenge leadership,” Scott told the New York Post on Wednesday. “It was McConnell’s decision to remove someone who has actually run businesses and ran the third-largest state from a committee I’ve served on for four years.” — Huffpo
This and the growing power of ‘The Firm’ sheds some light on why there was such a spicy leadership race last year — and why so few dared to oppose McConnell’s power.
Lionhearted: Making Young Christian Males Rowdy Biblical Men
Dear young Christian male, this book you’re about to read is meant to challenge you to your very core. Its intent is not to make you feel warm and fuzzy. Some of the chapters will upset you greatly, especially if you’re a dandy who was raised with kid gloves by a helicopter mommy.
That said, in addition to the holy introspection contained herein, this book will also shoot adrenaline into your soul. It’ll push you to be a Godly risk taker and earth shaker. A veritable Rebel With A Cause just like the Captain of Our Salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ.
If you want a feel-good book that tickles your ears and morphs you into a little Christian popinjay, this tome ain’t for you. You should put this book down and walk away from it immediately. However, if, young man, if … your motto is to give God your utmost for His highest, and you wanna live a life worthy of Christ’s death, then this book will be grist for your mill.
Get your copy of Lionhearted: Making Young Christian Males Rowdy Biblical Men TODAY!
