Mr. Smith Stays Home

(Mr. Smith Stays Home)

Most people can recall the Frank Capra classic Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. A Senator Jefferson Smith (Jimmy Stewart) is appointed to the U.S. Senate on the death of a predecessor. The Smith selection is not met with universal acclaim and the reality was that certain colleagues were corrupt and a political machine was a true arbiter of affairs. Senator Smith in opposing this graft. Smith is forced into a Senate filibuster that lasts 25 hours. In the end, Smith faints but a sudden constituent response becomes overwhelming and the Senator behind the corruption scheme admits his deeds and he is the legislator that should be expelled.


Like Senator Smith, Senator Corey Booker (D-NJ) took to the Senate Floor in his own 25-hour marathon. Like Jefferson, Corey is protesting a corrupt regime, namely the Trump Administration and the DOGE. Unlike Senator Smith, who found himself vindicated at the end, Senator Booker took a trip to the restroom.


Booker's stab a windmill was just an in-effective stunt. Against expectation, Senate Republicans were able to pass the Trump Budget, clearing a major hurdle in the Reconciliation process. The whole idea is to pass the GOP Agenda sans Democrat input. Poor Senator Booker who wasted all that time and Republicans still advanced.


The inability of Booker's filibuster to prove relevant is demonstrating a larger problem for the Democratic Party. As the New Jersey legislator was speaking, questions were posed by Democrat Colleagues. A question that could also be posed as to the fate of Minority Leader Schumer. His reputation has been damaged after he voted to keep the government open the other day. As that is considered forbidden behavior by the Left wing of the Party.


The usual remedy in these cases is to Primary the individual in question. The prospective Schumer challenger is Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez. She is known a liberal and if she were to replace Schumer, one can be assured that hers would not be a vote that would assist anything GOP. Like the government open. Of course that could hold political risk in its own right.


If the Republican House can match the Senate in its own Reconciliation package, and be done in a few days, conceivably, the Bill could get to President Trump's desk in short order. If all the Democrats can do is make winded speeches or challenge one of their own, Republicans are in a very good position to watch.

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