by Diane Rufino (inspired by George Liberty), Nov. 2, 2017

You gotta love politicians and their hypocrisy.  Last week we were all treated to Sen. Bob Corker’s grade school antics. Unfortunately, things aren’t going so well for Corker (R-TN) right now with respect to his upcoming re-election; he apparently isn’t too popular. He blames his growing unpopularity on President Donald Trump and as children do in such situations, they lash out and say mean things. He said Trump is a liar, is unfit for the office, debases the country, and shouldn’t be trusted with the nation’s nuclear codes. Furthermore, he referred to the White House a Day Care Center.

The truth is that Corker asked President Trump to endorse him for re-election and said he couldn’t win without it, but Trump refused to do so.

Sen. Corker, there are a few things I would like to get off my chest.  Considering all that President Trump has accomplished and is trying to accomplish, and despite a total incapable and dysfunctional Congress (which has been for many decades now), perhaps you can answer the following questions for me and millions of other Americans:

What exactly has Congress done over the past few decades with consummate politicians like yourself to “take care of the people’s business” and to ensure the safety, well-being, and integrity of the nation?

(1)  Our debt has quadrupled since George W. Bush and many times over since Ronald Reagan. What has Congress done?  NOTHING. It continues to spend, spend, spend, and Oh, and then it finds more and more things to spend our citizens’ hard-earned tax dollars on.

(2)  Never before have so many enemy and hostile regimes benefitted by funding from our government (no meaningful or tangible strings attached) or our policies.

(3)  Our people are out of jobs, out of opportunities to move forward in their hopes of living the American Dream, are losing the jobs they have to immigrants who are flooding into the country illegally and without full accountability to the federal government who will work for less, are being subject to a dilution in their education because of the magnitude of Hispanic-speaking students and families overloading the public school system, are being forced to wait for healthcare services because of the new burden to the healthcare system, and are watching their once-safe communities being infiltrated with drugs and crime. What has Congress done about these enormous and unfair burdens on the average citizen? What has Congress done about the unfair re-distribution of their wealth, their tax dollars, and their services?  NOTHING.  Congress continues to turn its back on the immigration problem.  It continues to abdicate its most essential role as the supreme government entity over our nation’s homeland security and safety; immigration is required to be handled by Congress by the Constitution. Furthermore, as terrorists and criminals continue to bleed into our country through our open borders, they worry more about how it will affect “diversity” rather than safety.   ranks have swelled to highest ever. What has Congress done?  NOTHING.  It continues policies to put more and more people,

(4)  Welfare ranks have swelled to highest ever. What has Congress done?  NOTHING.  It continues policies to put more and more people on welfare and means-tested programs, including those pouring into the country illegally and those displaced by the violence in the Middle East. It continues policies NOT to encourage dependents to take responsibility for themselves and their families – for example, by getting an education, learning a skill or trade, preventing any further pregnancies – but rather to entrench the lifestyle as a permanent way of life. Rather than require a transition to self-dependence, Congress continues to make welfare a reasonable alternative to working by making it more comfortable to live in borderline poverty.

(5)  Wars….  Where is our country’s resolve?  Where is our strategy to win and then get the hell out?  We have invaded Iraq and deposed Saddam Hussein, we have helped to depose and assassinate Libya’s Muammar Quaddafi, we have acknowledged that Pakistan is the second largest sponsor of terrorism yet we have given them $19 billion since 9/11 (for reasons unknown; $1.8 billion last year), we have given Iran the green and our blessings to move forward on their nuclear weapons program, we have created the void in the Middle East by our softness on terrorism and our inaction that terrorists were able to capitalize on to establish the Islamic State (ISIS), and we are watching as Islamic violence is spreading all over the globe – in Africa, Europe, and Asia. What has Congress done?  It bowed to the policies of a Muslim president, Barack Obama, too conflicted in his own ideology to act effectively for the benefit of this country. It spent trillions of dollars, watched as American lives were lost in the Middle East, either to the fighting or to beheading, appeased our enemies whenever possible, refused to acknowledge terrorists for what they are (even refusing to use the word “terrorist”), allowed Obama to name Islamic leaders and organizations in positions to advise him and Homeland Security, and continued to SPEND without results.

(6)  You have continued to raise taxes on the Middle Class. When fellow Democrats passed an unconstitutional healthcare bill, the Affordable Healthcare Act (c’mon, we all know it was unconstitutional; the Supreme Court did too), coercing Americans against their will to do something for the government, you did NOTHING. The ACA became yet another tax on the Middle Class (thanks the Supreme Court and its legal hijinks to try to find a way to justify Congress’ huge power grab) and rather than take the Supreme Court’s illogical and tortured “opinion” to either re-draft the bill or to repeal it, you continued to allow it to be enforced on We the People. And we are helpless as rates continue to skyrocket year after year.  Year after year, you refused to address the growing American debt. You never cut spending in any attempt to stem the bleeding. A nation unable to control its spending or unable to pay its debt is not a strong nation. It is a vulnerable nation. Your Congress has had lower ratings consistently than the lowest rating of ANY POTUS since Reagan.  Wow, and that includes Jimmy Carter !

(7)  You voted 63 times (with other disingenuous Republicans) to repeal the Un-Affordable Care Act (ACA) when you all knew full-well that President Obama would use his veto power.  While conservatives and those hurting from the ACA were looking for you to serve them, you played typical beltway politics. You took every opportunity to look good while knowing that it was only a useless exercise; your votes could never translate into anything of substance. But when Trump told you straight on: “Look, I have the pen and I’m willing and ready to sign a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare. Send it to me,” your true character came out.  You refused to do it. You refused to pass such a bill. (Yes, you voted for a partial repeal and for the “skinny repeal bill,” but not the repeal and replace bill Trump and Republican voters asked for). The reason you have lost confidence with your state’s constituency is because of this. You’ve lost credibility, trust, and integrity with them.

(8)  For the last 30 years, you have sat by and watched as jobs have left the country and have left families without an income. What did you do?  NOTHING.  You did nothing to protect the American worker.

You and Congressmen like you have presided over the worst three decades in our country’s history, from an economic and safety perspective. You have been utterly ineffective. In fact, it is Congress that is the Day Care Center. (or the Looney Bin). Unfortunately, Congress has been a striking example of kindergarten antics – romper room behavior, childish finger-pointing and name-calling, and dysfunctional conduct.

So, I ask you…  What have you done to deserve the endorsement of President Trump?

Donald Trump, like the great majority of Americans, finds this history of ineptness unacceptable and his decision to run was not motivated by the glorified tenure in government like you seem to want, but rather by the desire to switch direction, clean the government up of its mess, its self-interested actors, and its leeches, and to finally put it to work for the benefit of the American citizen.

Sen. Corker, President Trump may be all the things you claim…He may be the unpolished politician, he may often speak without censure, he may be one of those who has to get the last word in, and he may even misspell a word here and there, but unlike slick, self-interested politicians like yourself who speak with forked tongues, crafted language, and false promises, Trump is a breath of fresh air. You speak like an agent of the government while Trump speaks like an agent of the people.

You want to know how I know that your name-calling is merely an exercise in playground politics?  Since Donald Trump took office, you voted 86.3% with his policies, which is admirable and commendable. Obviously, you and he think alike and for the most part and want the same policies for the country. Yet because he could not promise that he would endorse you for re-election, an endorsement that you absolutely need, you chose to lash out and somehow undermine his standing with the American people. What a big, important guy you are. Senator Corker, maybe it was your disingenuous position with respect to Obamacare that planted the doubt in President Trump. Perhaps he knows that the opponent you would have faced will work with him where you couldn’t.

That’s politics.

This time it didn’t work in your favor, but you sure liked it when it did.

“There are moments in life where you don’t get a do-over, where the true nature of your character is revealed. You either step up to the plate or lose your chance forever. These moments shape a life. These moments earn you the right to say to yourself ‘at least I got the important stuff right.”   ― P. Dangelico, Wrecking Ball