These past two weeks have seen the re-emergence of an alarming trend that almost destroyed the Grand Old Party party 20 years ago – minority number Republicans voting with all Democrats.  Two decades ago these Republicans would have been derided as RINOS (Republicans In Name Only – a term that the author of this article loathes).  Today, however, they are uplifted as heroes of the purist right, even at the expense of conservative ideas and policies.

The Senate Passes Anti-Tariff Bill

On Wednesday, the Senate passed a joint resolution to end President Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods.  According to the United Press, this resolution is hailed as a “rebuke” of President Trump’s tariff policies:

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday night rebuked President Donald Trump's worldwide tariffs announced earlier in the day with four Republicans joining all Democrats.

The Senate adopted a resolution 51-48 aimed at blocking the Trump administration's proposed tariffs on Canadian imports. Republican Sen. Roger Marshall, of Kansas, didn't vote.

The four Republicans who voted with Democrats were: Rand Paul, of Kentucky, who cosponsored the resolution, along with Susan Collins of Maine, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. (United Press)

Senators Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Mitch McConnell are not really surprises in their support of this resolution.  While Senator Collins, for example, has a 100% approval rating from small business advocacy organization NFIB, she has been less than reliable in supporting the policies and proposals of the Trump administration.

The real surprise was Rand Paul of Kentucky.  A border-line libertarian who ran against Donald Trump in 2016, Senator Paul has usually been a staunch supporter of the President.  Unlike Mitch McConnell who has opposed virtually every nominee of the new administration, Rand Paul has up to now been a reliable ally.

The problem is that Rand Paul is mostly right in his opposition to tarrifs.  According to Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution, the right to levy taxes – including tariffs – rests with Congress. Separation of powers is an essential concept to our Republic – and conservatives have always sounded the alarm when those boundaries are blurred.

The problem is that the resolution was introduced by a very liberal Democrat – Tim Kaine of Virginia.  This is the same Senator who blocked a vote to protect women in sports, who opposes the rights of small business owners to exercise their religious beliefs,  and who voted to impeach President Trump.  Clearly, Senator Kaine is not a fan of the current holder of the White House and is no friend of Republicans.

The other problem is that while four Republicans voted for this resolution, 48 did not.  The question then becomes: is the entire Republican Senate except for the four who voted with all Democrats unenlightened and wrong?  Are these other Republicans – many of whom were elected because of the new conservative movement in this country – out to lunch?  While there have been plenty of times throughout history that a lone voice has taken on the crowd, this was probably not one of those times. 

The fact of the matter is that while Rand Paul probably had high constitutional matters in mind (he is fairly consistent on those), the Democrats one and only goal was to stymie the Trump agenda.  They are doing it in the courts, they are trying it in the state legislatures, and now trying it in the Senate.  This resolution has no chance of becoming law – but the Democrats knew that.  But what it does accomplish is giving the Democrats and their allies in the media headlines that proclaim a fractured party and a “significant rebuke of the Trump administration’s tariff policies.”   Rand Paul’s moral ground opposition was used by the immoral Democrat party to embarrass the GOP – and it succeeded.

Congress Grinds To A Halt Over Proxy Voting

Also this week, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fl), went against House and Party leadership to force the issue about new moms and proxy/remote voting.  It did not end well – for anyone:

A normally sleepy procedural vote ended in drama for the House of Representatives after a rebellion by nine Republicans against their own party forced chamber proceedings for the week to grind to a halt.

It puts the future in question for two key bills backed by the Trump administration that were slated to get a vote on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters that votes were canceled for the rest of the week in comments condemning the mutiny.

"It's a very disappointing result on the floor there, a handful of Republicans joined with all the Democrats to take down a rule. That's rarely done. It's very unfortunate," Johnson said. "That rule being brought down means that we can't have any further action on the floor this week."

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., has been leading a bipartisan push for legislation that would allow new parents in the House to vote remotely for 12 weeks surrounding their child's birth. (Fox News)

While she did get some support from Republicans, her actions were not met well with conservatives.

Unlike Senator Rand Paul who is actually trying to argue from a Constitutional perspective, Rep. Luna’s position actually applies to a narrow minority in the Congress and appears self-serving. Normally a conservative fire-brand who has been a Trump-supporter all of her political career, her actions placed a legislative hold on important policies this week that would have furthered the President’s agenda. She also must realize her desire for proxy or remote voting is probably unconstitutional.

Republicans Vote With Democrats on New Hanover County Board of Education

In two separate votes, the New Hanover County Board of Education (NHC  BOE) decided to kill the idea of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in our schools:

An AI camera pilot program, politicized since its approval by the General Assembly, remained controversial even after the New Hanover County school board voted it down at a Tuesday meeting. 

At its agenda review meeting this week, the board picked up a conversation on a state-funded pilot that would ally artificial intelligence with the district’s current camera systems. The AI plug-in would trigger alerts in a potential emergency, students all running one way for example or a person brandishing a weapon.

However, the board voted 4-3 to do without the program, chair Melissa Mason and board member David Perry departing from their Republican colleagues, along with Democrats Tim Merrick and Judy Justice. The decision came down to the perceived untrustworthiness of the AI system company, Paris-based Eviden. (Port City Daily)

Despite Jonathan Bridges responding to all the misinformation put out by anonymous publications the fact that we already have AI in our schools as reported by The Nick Craig Show, and that Eviden actually was being open about auditing, two Republicans joined with the only two Democrats to stop this pilot program cold.

The utter hubris of Melissa “The Most Conservative Member of the Board” Mason and David “Individual Freedom” Perry is stunning.   Consider:

• Exploring this program was supported by 3 Republicans who have been on the board for the last 2 years, with Pete Wildeboer serving even longer. David Perry has been on the job for less than 5 months
• This program was supported and pushed through by North Carolina State Senator Michael Lee (another Republican) who acquired the project specifically for New Hanover County.
• The Republican-controlled legislature – including veterans such as Charlie Miller and Ted Davis – voted on the funds that would send the program our way.
• The staff and teachers, including the Superintendent, want such a program to help them keep students safe

Despite all this support from other Republicans, for some reason these two Republicans sitting on the NHC BOE  – who if we are to believe their far-right followers make all other Republicans seem like slobbering leftists – believed it was their duty to demonstrate their moral and intellectual superiority over THE REST OF THE PARTY in order to shut down a useful program.   In so doing, they gave the Democrats – who have a TWO SEAT minority on a board of 7 – a glaring win when all they should do is sit in the corner and keep the carpet in place.

Stop Voting With Democrats

Republicans need to stop thinking that pairing up with Democrats on anything will further conservative agendas.  Democrats have only one mission – to disrupt and divide the Republican party.  They will do anything – including signing on to “Conservative Morality” in order to carry out their task.

Republicans also have only one job to do – GET THINGS DONE despite liberals on the left.  They must pass border legislation to secure our country.  They must pass tax laws so we can keep more of our hard-earned income.  They must stop runaway judges, and protect our children in schools.  These are the policies that resulted in Republicans being elected.  If we do not get them done, we will be out at the next election.

Rep. Luna was duped into thinking that a bi-partisan coalition meant that Democrats are all about family and the policy she is advocating. Senator Paul should have known that Senator Kaine does not care about tariffs and the Constitution.  Board Members Mason and Perry should have seen  the opposition of the Democrats had nothing to do with individual rights or student safety.     The resulting stoppages, the inactions, and the divisions are all net gains for Democrats.  They know all too well what Republicans cannot seem to understand – that a united GOP is unstoppable and can create lasting change in this country.

When you lie down with a dirty dog, the dog is just as dirty and all you get are fleas.  Republicans need to understand that there are no redeeming qualities about liberal left.  They have no desire to change, and only want their destructive agenda pushed and nothing else heard.  When Republicans team up with Democrats, the party of Biden-Harris gets attention, the Republicans get the fleas, and the rest of the country suffers the consequences.

Perhaps it is time to stop lying down with the dogs.