Op-Ed: No one really has any clue about what’s going to happen in the midterms
There’s a new story on the internet every week that is, in the words of the late Anthony Bourdain, “just one more thing.”
So, in an effort to share and save a few minutes, I’m writing a few notes here for the upcoming midterm elections, which will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday, November 6 and 7.
While you won’t read everything on the internet these days, I’m sure you’ll get many of the highlights and observations that were made this week.
As we head towards the midterms, the Republicans are taking a shot at Democrats in the Senate and in the House.
Republicans are running ads that have been widely circulated to try to make the case that Democrats are a national security threat, as if the GOP would take anything less. And the Republicans are making the argument that Democrats have a liberal agenda, and they want to “teach them some manners.”
The Senate, and the House, have a real chance to pass a number of bills that could have huge impacts on our nation.
The Senate has already passed two national security-related bills: The National Defense Authorization Act and the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017.
If the two bills are combined with the spending bill, and Republicans can pass it on party lines, the defense spending increases would equal approximately $52 billion.
A lot of Republicans are trying to raise fears that this increase would “allow Democrats to declare war and take away our rights.”
But the fact is, a lot of national security bills have done exactly that, and they’ve allowed the Obama Administration to take actions on issues like drone strikes, drone aircraft, foreign aid, and immigration.
And, when you start talking about “taking away our rights” the people getting the news will get that impression, as there have been times when the Obama Administration did things that were harmful to the rights of American citizens.
The National Defense Authorization Act, for example, contains provisions that allow the U.S. to kill American citizens for terrorist-related activities.
Those provisions could have had a huge impact on
