With Republicans Like These, Who Needs Democrats?

To be sure, there is much to fear from the Democratic-Industrial Complex. In the ensuing months, it will resort to all manner of tactics on every front to ensure a Progressive win in November. That, of course, is not headline news, but conservatives should also keep in mind that old horror movie trope, "The call is coming from inside the house!" 

And the Senate.

I have to wonder how much of one's soul one must mortgage to go to Washington, D.C., as a Republican, only to get slapped around on a daily basis by Democrats and still be willing to do their bidding or at least lay low at the appointed times so the "approved agenda" can be advanced. Either the pay and perks associated with rolling over and playing dead are spectacular, or there are more skeletons in D.C. than in the Catacombs of Paris.  It's likely a combination of both.

Whatever the impetus for so many rubber spines, one thing is clear: the Democrats are only part of the problem conservatives face moving forward. There are plenty of fake elephants in the room, taking up space and leaving piles of excrement for the American people.

Case in point:

According to American Wire, on Monday, eight GOP senators were MIA during a vote to confirm U.S. District Judge Nancy Maldonado as a judge in the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. This is a step up for Maldonado, who has occupied the bench in the Northern District of Illinois. Maldonado is seen by many not just as a radical leftist but also as incompetent. Maldonado is opposed to assault weapons. During her hearing, she was asked to define an assault weapon. Her response? "I am not a gun expert."  

Had those eight Republicans shown up, their no votes, combined with the votes of Manchin and Sinema, would have stopped the confirmation. Instead, Maldonado was confirmed to a lifetime appointment by a vote of 47-43. Who were the senators who played hooky that day? I'm glad you asked:

• Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas
• Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota
• Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma
• Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky
• Sen. James Risch of Idaho
• Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah
• Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida
• Sen. Rick Scott of Florida

The incident did not go unnoticed:

Democrats just promoted a radical and incompetent judge to a lifetime position on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals with only 47 votes.

How?

Because 8 Republican Senators didn’t show up to vote against Nancy Maldonado.

With less than 6 months remaining in President Biden's… https://t.co/Kc0JZiydPH pic.twitter.com/ZKWm6LRtwa

— Carrie Severino (@JCNSeverino) July 9, 2024

Of all 68 district judges confirmed last Congress, Judge Maldonado has the THIRD WORST record when it comes to issuing rulings in a timely manner.

But Pres. Biden wants to promote her to an appellate court.

Why? pic.twitter.com/zVrLBqosxH

— John Kennedy (@SenJohnKennedy) March 22, 2024

As a Utahn, I understand that Romney was a given. What happened to Marco Rubio, Rick Scott, and Rand Paul? Where was Cruz? Recording another podcast? To paraphrase Darth Vader, I find the absence of those senators disturbing.

If that isn't enough, The Washington Examiner reports that House lawmakers voted  204-210 on the issue of holding AG Merrick Garland in contempt for withholding the audio recordings of Robert Hur's conversations with Donald Trump. Four Republicans sided with the Democrats to let Garland off the hook. The rationale was that the matter should be dealt with in court. 

In her X post above, Carrie Severino makes an excellent point. The Biden administration has six months left. Democrats are concerned enough about a Trump win to ram through as many judges, orders, policy changes, etc., before Biden leaves office. And there is a better-than-average chance that, one way or another, Biden or some other Democrat will win in November. And then all bets are off. In either case, now is not the time for GOP legislators to be compromised or AWOL.