Friday, I was worried about not having a topic for this week’s diary. Saturday gave me a perfect topic to diary. Anyone who has read my diaries here knows I enjoy going on a rant. Today I got the perfect thing to rant about: the lame decision against actually calling Congresswoman Herrera Buetler or anyone else as witnesses. However, this dairy isn’t going to be in a typical rant style.
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Over the last couple of years, I have been more involved in working with my Sen’s and Rep’s offices to get some legislative priorities passed into law and funding for specific research through the NIH appropriations. This has allowed me to develop a few relationships with people in their offices. Because the work I am doing is immensely important to me, I try to not constantly email my contacts on issues not related to the things I for which I lobby. Burning these relationships I have been developing by sending regular emails or phone calls on unrelated topics would, in my mind, be counterproductive. I know hearing my thoughts on any number of topics is part of their job still it’s never been something with which I am comfortable. That’s not to say I don’t include a post script to my emails on things important to me but unrelated to my work when I feel the need to do so.
Watching Saturday’s proceedings and seeing the Dem Senators cave so quickly after winning a vote on calling one witness and potentially getting others drove me to the edge. Normally this would be a time where I would send off an email to my contacts expressing my feelings in the strongest way possible. However, this week I have an ace in the hole: a scheduled meeting with Senator Schumer’s office. After a couple of months of back and forth with Schumer’s office trying to set up an appointment to pitch some ideas to strengthen Schumer’s Disability Integration Act; last week, I was able to schedule a phone appointment for this Weds. Huzzah!
Now my plan for the meeting has changed. I will start off spending a good portion of the meeting outlining my ideas for the legislation. The end of the meeting will be spent expressing my disdain over what happened this morning after the Senate agreed to hear witnesses. They need to know my perspective on how I think it makes elected Dems look to the people who had just voted for them to hold criminals accountable. I hope to get answers as to why Sen Schumer allowed only the statement to be entered into evidence when they had a chance to show the American people the fight we have been waiting for them to have through two impeachment trials.
For some reason Democratic leadership has either never understood or cared that politics is all about optics. We had a huge chance to play the optics game in our favor in the clearest way probably since the Jack Abramoff scandal back in 2005 but passed on it. Even worse was the report of Sen Coons saying people wanted to go home for Valentine’s Day. Whether true or not, it being reported only makes the whole thing look worse. It further shows how completely out of touch some elected officials are. The defense wanting to call hundreds of witness was an excuse since they would have to be approved by a vote which would limit witnesses to an equal number for both sides. Furthermore, does anyone really believe there were any witnesses that could help the defense? Calling Speaker Pelosi would have been awesome, imo. Yes, the managers had video interviews with members of the Capitol Police, but there weren’t any video interviews with Congressional staffers. The notion more or less Republicans would have voted to convict is another dodge and distraction. It’s no different than the old video game Mortal Kombat. When you beat your opponent and get the offer to “Finish Him,” you do it.
Democratic voters who came out in droves in November and January are hungry for a party that fights for every scrap. When the party finally realizes this and acts accordingly, we win more races and by bigger margins. Remember the old saying, “Winning begets winning.”
Now onto the Tops!
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TOP COMMENTS from February 16, 2021
I am sad to say no one submitted anything and in my travels through Dkos, none appeared for me.
TOP Mojo from February 15, 2021
got mik! Top rated besides first comments and tip jars.
TOP Pictures from February 15, 2021
Thanks Jotter!
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