Biden

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Why Do Evangelical Christians Want Trump?


To those on the left, this would seem to be an anthema to the core beliefs on any Evangelical. But the answer to this seemingly atithetical question is not the easy. Let’s consider that you have grown up in Central Southern Ohio where rural farmlands abound as do Roman Catholic and Evangelical Churches. These people will tell you that their parents voted Republican, their grandparents voted Republican and everyone in the family has always voted Republican and it would go against their history to vote any other way. If, as in some states, their is a drawbar in the voting booths that allows a person to vote straight Republican or straight Democrat, they will always pull the straight Republican lever. And this is why it is difficult for those on the left to understand why people with staunch Christian values, or for that matter, Hasidic Jewish values, to vote for Trump.

Now you might ask, but what about all the outright lies Trump tells? As stated in the paragraph above, these people eat, sleep, and dream Republican. They also read and watch conservative radio and television. That simply means they are going to take all their news from Fox News, the 700 Club, and any other entity that serves the most basic beliefs politically. The will believe, for example, that the 2020 election was stolen not only because Fox News is still allowing people to say this on their platform, but because the U.S. Representative is also saying it. And so now things have been raised to a National level.

Let’s take one entire state that is almost entirely ruled by not just one party, but by one religion, Utah. You may have heard that just recently Senator Mitt Romney declaring he will not run for re-election this fall. Why is that significant. Senator Mitt Romney is a Mormon who lives in Utah. But at one time he was the governor of a decidedly blue state, Massachusetts. And he was a two term governor there as well. How did he do that and keep his faith? Quite simply, he used a very diplomatic route of being a middle of the road Republican. In truth, he was probably further to the right than he governed, but he did what was right for the people of his state and succeed. Now years later, he is in the state where his religion was formally founded, Utah. But he brought with him certain values he learned in the state of Massachusetts. That did not make him liberal in the least, but it an area that boasts the likes of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Brandeis University, and a host of other liberal bastions of thinking, he was forced into a position of having to listen to the liberal point of view and he learned how to succeed in”enemy” territory, as it is thoght of today. But Senator Romney, to his credit, and in my belief, saw a Republican Party that was abandoning its long held view in favor of a wannabe dictator. It is unlikely that people of the Mormon Religion will ever vote for a Democrat but for them and for Evangelicals and other, a non-vote for president, in this election, is like a vote for Biden. We will never know but I would guess that in November’s election, Romney will chose to not vote for either candidate, this saying that Trump survives the criminal court system.

To be sure, Romeny is far from the only Republican who will not vote for Trump; Mike Pence said as much on today’s (Sunday, March 17, 2024) CBS Face the Nation. And I doubt, given her part on the January 6 Committee, that Liz Cheney will vote for him either but again, she will not vote for President Biden either. Now, Liz Cheney is an excellent example for other very conservative Republicans because she is one herself. Liz Cheney’s religious beliefs are unknown although she was brought up in a Untied Methodist household.

Democrats can make inroads on the Evangelicals if President Biden will go into say rural Kentucky, Elizabethtown, near Fort Knox, would be a good place, tell the Evangelical Republicans there that he is a go to church on Sunday Catholic. That will put into the minds of these people he need only beg them to do “fact checking” on Donald Trump to get to the truth and remind them of the New Testament Scripture that says, “I am the truth and the salvation . . . ” to possibly move them away from Trump. And in finishing, he would say to them that he is not asking them to vote Democrat but to consider what the actual truth of Donald Trump is.

One of the tools at Biden’s command is to get Republicans not to vote Republican but just to not vote for either candidate this go around.

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Keeping Donald Trump Out of Office!


It is not too early for the Republicans to start making moves to insure that Trump is never in office again. It is unlikely that any rivals will overtake him but his ability to win the election can be negated by someone like Chris Christie splitting the ticket from running as either an Independent or party name of his choosing.

Trump said very vocally and without equivocation that he wants to be a dictator for a day. And he goes on to say what he would do in that one day. To anyone foolish enough to believe he would want such power for one day is unfamiliar with the history of dictators. They always come in as reformists but none has ever made any reform which was good for their country. And none has ever been dictator for just one day. 

Donald Trump is a clear and present danger to our Democracy and it is time for his followers to realize who he really is. For reasons that deny reality, they have chosen to look the other way when it comes to the federal criminal crimes he is faced with. We actually had this situation once before in our country in the form of Warren G. Harding, a Republican. Harding was facing federal racketeering charges when his death pre-empted any such procedings and was replaced by very honest Calvin Coolidge. Consider that Harding died in 1923, just 100 years ago. And here we are again.

Even though I voted for Joe Biden in 2020, I do not consider him a strong enough candidate to insure a Democrat victory over Trump. Biden is not listening to people of his party. They overwhelmingly do not want him to run in 2024. A better choice? Right now I would say that person is Gov. Gavin Newsom of California. Newsom is 25 years younger than Biden and would be much more amenable to the young people of today. Those young people are not likely to vote for Biden, Trump either, but just skip that part of the ballot! Biden does not seem to recognize his liabilities and thinks that simply stating he is fully up to the job is just not enough nor is he believed by the general electorate. And I am one of those. It is believed that Newsom is preparing for a 2028 bid for President but why not have him now? The DNC, which holds so many purse strings, can easily tell Pres. Biden that they will not support his candadicy and that should put an end to Biden.

Furthermore, working against Biden is his perception. He has not explained the workings of our economy to show that the President, regardless of who it is, has only limited power to affect our economy. Life is full of things that are beyond the control of people and the national economy is one of them. People do not realize that it is the decisions made in the board rooms of America that have the most to do with inflation or the pricing of products. About the only place where government makes a difference in America is with corn farmers and milk farmers who are each subsidized by the government, although the disposition of those products should be of concern.

There has never been in the history of our county a time quite like this one. Republicans tie Biden to every problem at our borders even though they know full well that the Biden administration has already beefed up border security and has not implemented any new policies that were not existant during the Trump administration. Biden, although, as failed to counter this perception with appropriate comments. He has very seldom used the “bully pulpit” to forward his policies and these are just some of his failures that could lead to his loss to Donald Trump next November. Do we really want that? Decisions, hard ones, must be made now.

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Time For Pres. Biden to Resign? Yes!


Let me be clear, I voted for Biden in the general election, although in the primaries he was not my choice,

I have been underwhelmed by his performance as president and have been hoping he would not run for a 2nd term.

But now, with the revelation of his improper handling of classified documents, I think it is in the best interest of our government, if not the Democrat Party, for him to resign. Most recently, he cavalier attitude about the documents found next to his Corvette, saying afterall, they were in a locked location, leaves me wondering if anyone in Washington has the slightest knowledge of the proper care and storage of classified documents. As someone who has had very high security clearances, the seriousness of the proper handling of such documents was drilled into us and upon leaving the area security clearances, we were debriefed.

Left-wingers have been quick to point out that there are differences between this and Trump’s mishandling of classified documents. While that is true, the bottom line is that each mishandled these documents. Title 18 of the Code of Federal Regulations defines the proper care and handling of classified documents. It states that such documents can only be stored in government approved facilities and containers. President Biden’s garage in Wilmington DE as well as Trumps Mar a Lago home does not meet that requirement.

Furthermore, all security clearances hare granted on a need-to-know basis which calls into question either Biden or Trump’s continued need to know. It is extremely doubtful that either had a continuing need to know upon leaving office. I am not a lawyer, but I believe that in both cases laws have been broken and actions must be taken. From confidential to compartmentalized top secret, the amount of damage to the United States is spelled out with each higher level of greater damage to the United States were they to fall into the wrong hands.

In the case of Pres. Biden, I think it is clear that he must resign from office rather than bring more discredit to the office of the President and to the United States.

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NATO and Ukraine


When last I wrote of this war, I was of the opinion that NATO would be forced to support Ukraine or watch it fall to Russia. I was wrong. And for the small bit, I am grateful. But I am not in the least satisfied with NATO’s response, and, as its leading member, the response of the United States.

What I have seen of Russia’s army is that it is not well trained and lacking in good command and control on the battlefield. Some have suggested that Ukraine could win this war. It cannot. At least not on its own. Russia has been through this before in Chechnya and Afghanistan. They won the former while losing the latter. But in both cases, Russian was willing to take on the battle for years. This we must remember.

I have found President Biden’s response has been slow and lacking. I voted for Biden and considering the state of the world today, it was a good choice. Still, he lacks decisiveness. He has bungled the request of Ukraine to get MIG-29 jets from Poland. Everyone in power was in fear of Putin, and it showed! The simple answer to transferring those jets was to allow Ukrainian pilots to fly them home. There are only a handful and flying below radar should be easy for experienced pilots which Ukraine does have!

In the past, the United States has had no problem with getting military advisors secreted into combat areas. The claim that Ukrainian military lack training in anti-ship weapons is true but getting them trained would have been easily accomplished in the opening days of the war.

That the United States, and President Biden, continues the refrain of not wanting to escalate the war by making Putin angry is beyond the pale. Putin has been increasingly escalating this war without incurring similar response from Ukraine. That he has Sabre rattled about nuclear weapons is something our military is ready with a response, and Putin knows this! He has called our bluff and we have succumbed.

NATO and the United States needs to act boldly. They need to come to terms with adding Ukraine to NATO. Putin knows this is on the agenda but has called the West’s bluff by stating he would consider such an action as an escalation! Really? And most recently he has said that if Ukraine agrees to never join NATO, he might be willing to end the war. Of course, he has also said that Ukraine must cede more territory to Russia.

It is now established that China is unwilling to come to the rescue of Russia with military aid. It does, however, supply humanitarian aid. While in Ukraine, Russia has not allowed for humanitarian aid anywhere in Ukraine.

With things as they are now, President Biden and NATO have allowed things to progress to a point where giving Ukraine proper aid is greatly reduced. But there is a way around this that was employed a long time ago, the United Nations. During the Korean War, the troops fighting North Korea were declared UN troops, though the uniforms were those of the nations involved. Why have we not tried, at least, to use this to combat Putin and put an end to the hostilities?

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Are We Headed For War?


George Santayana, “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” This haunting quote should be front and center in the United States today. But is it? I fear it is not, and that may exist at the highest part of our government.

As someone who is trained in U.S. History, I have in my knowledge the events which lead up to the U.S. involvement in World War 2. At that time the U.S. was very much of an isolationist stance among the general public. Those wars already in progress were so far away that there was no way we could, or should, have gotten involved. And yet we did!

Now I am not predicting a Pearl Harbor type situation arising. Fortunately, at the Pentagon level of current situations, the generals and admirals are always plotting a response to all perceived threats to the United States’ security. Europe, of course, is a high priority in that. But only 10 years ago, Russia was already starting a warlike stance. Our complete failure to realize Russia’s imperialistic adventurism allow Russia almost unfettered access to the Crimea which today is under Russian occupation. Former President Obama has admitted to that.

But first I need to go back over 30 years of military history. As was the case after the end of World War 1, the U.S. has steadily decreased it numbers of military servicemen. At first this was a good move. There were many no longer necessary military bases. The Vietnam War had ended, and our troop strength was greater than deemed necessary. I was still a part of the military at that time and saw this firsthand. In the early 1980s, the U.S. Army National Guard was in horrible shape. Many units were still using Korean War equipment. But a plan was afoot in our government to change that. In the ensuing years, the national guard was modernized and brought up to active military standards. But then the politicians turned on the military and started reducing the number and size of military units. For example, the 26th Infantry Division was decommissioned and changed to a brigade strength. That sort of action happened across the U.S. The entire Army National Guard has 336,000 troops today, along with 189,000 reservists backing up 481,000 active-duty personnel. With the exception of the Marine Corps, there has been a decline of about 40% troops strength since 1990! This should be alarming to all.

President Biden has repeated stated that the United States will not send in any troops to help defend the Ukraine. Is this the truth or just political speak? I think it is political speak because as I mentioned before, the Pentagon has for decades formed plans for all possible events.

It has been suggested by analysts that this Wednesday, February 16, 2022, Russia will invade the Ukraine! Is that a foregone conclusion? No! But it would be foolish to not prepare for such an eventuality. And if Russia does indeed invade, what will the U.S. due other than its threatened economic threats? All told, the Russian military has over 2.9 million troops while the Ukraine has 1.1 million. But Russia spends far more per soldier than does the Ukraine. That quite simply explains the U.S. sending military supplies to the Ukraine. In the eventuality that Russia does indeed invade the Ukraine at any date, what will the U.S. response be when the Ukraine asks NATO countries for troops? Can the U.S. and its allies simply say “no”? I do not think so but if we do, both sides are open to “unintended consequences.”

One possible unintended consequence is for Russia to use its nuclear capability on Eastern Europe. Russia fully understands the possible result of this and that is something called “MAD,” or Mutually Assured Destruction. A very appropriate acronym. I seriously doubt in that unintended consequence but the next is very much more likely and that is NATO powers and Russia and its allies being drawn into a full-scale war. Russia’s most important ally is China. China has 2.8 million troops! As much as I think it unlikely that China would respond to a Russian request for troops, it is certain not out of the realm of possibilities. And to put that into perspective, all of NATO has 2.2 million troops. The U.S. Army has 10 active military divisions which totals about 200,000 troops. But the U.S. has only once sent in all of its divisions, World War 2.

The point of all this is how tenuous our military strength is and how we have planned our defensive posture in Europe. Without U.S. and NATO intervention, Russia could easily overwhelm the Ukraine. And if that happens, what of the other Eastern European Countries, former Soviet Satellites? Even though we have some troops in each of these countries, we are hardly in a condition to properly respond militarily to any Russian provocation.

Finally, in addition to reconsidering the size of our military, the U.S. public needs to consider the possibility that Russia, under Putin’s dictatorship, is considering regaining control of Eastern Europe. The Ukraine may be nothing more than a ploy to test NATO’s response to its adventurism.

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A Ukrainian / U.S. Involvement


At this writing, the Russian aggression along the Ukrainian border and its occupation of the Crimea poses a serious threat to world peace. What we have heard the most is about the United Nations and its responsibility to this situation. As we know, at present, the Ukraine is not a part of NATO. What does that mean? It means that the U.N. is relatively powerless to take action in the event of a Russian invasion, which, is probably imminent. But that does not mean countries cannot send troops in to help.

In the case of the United States, we need only to look at our wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria to see that. Each country involved in those efforts did so on an individual basis rather than part of a coalition such as NATO. Putin has put NATO front and center as being a “threat” to his national security. That is pure hogwash and the world knows that. Why does he do that then? Because he does not want the Ukraine to become a part of it and enjoy the benefit of a united security effort.

The U.S., contrary to anything Pres. Biden has said, can act unilaterally, as it did in Iraq, and send in ground troops. And there are two reasons we would do that. First, it is unlikely that Putin wants to war against U.S. troops. Despot that he is, he probably understands that long-term negative effects on Russia. And second, the U.S. can provide the personnel support of having troops trained in various defense systems that the Ukrainians presently lack.

The 8500 troops Biden has already alerted fall far short of the number needs for a strong show of force. Of the continental U.S. Army divisions are at least 6 which could supply men and arms to the Ukraine. The 8500 coming from the 82nd Air Borne can be bolsters by the 1st, 4th, 5th, 101st among others. Each division has a size of about 15,000 personnel. And additional support troops for many places in the U.S. could also be deployed, such as Army Engineers, ordinance specialists, air attack helicopter groups, etc.

But an even more importantly, the U.S. could then use airpower against the Russian invasion without ever sending a single Air Force unit into the Ukraine. We likely enjoy air superiority to Russia in this area as well. But the most important part of that superiority is the ability of our Air Force units to make strategic decisions at a much lower level than Russia. Russian military beaurocracy has always pushed decision making upwards where the U.S. has pushed in downward.

I do hope that the joint chiefs and their advisors have advised the President of their various scenarios, not doubt long formulated, for entering the Ukraine. And these would doubtless be many and varied responses to Russian aggression. We cannot at this juncture show any weakness when dealing with them and a strong show of force to Russia may well pre-empt an invasion idea they have, hopefully.

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Biden’s Failing Presidency


I voted for Joe Biden however I am very discouraged with his performance so far. I would give him a grade of D right now, even though he has been in office only 8 months. He can turn it around but he has to change his mindset.

My first disappointment with him was his decision to complete what Donald Trump had started in his presidency, the removal of all troops from Afghanistan. This was always a mistake. With Trump, a man who said he knew more than his generals, I stayed quiet only because this was a man who was impossible to reason with. But Biden, who did not listen to his military advisers, just as bad as Trump, was told by many of his top generals that he needed to leave a force of about 2,500 to 3,500 troops in Afghanistan to maintain its stability. But Biden figured he knew better and did not consider the repercussions of a complete pull-out. And in 11 days, the country was overrun by the Taliban. General Milley described this as a complete failure.

Now, the intelligence is saying that Al-Qaeda is in position to become a serios threat to the U.S. within the next 12 months as they position themselves in Afghanistan. What can Biden do? He has put himself in a very difficult position. To reverse course now and reinsert troops into Afghanistan is a very difficult process and will be a deadly one. But for Biden, the time to do that is now while the Taliban and Al-Qaeda are relatively weak. Still, he would need a country that would allow troops to flown in prior to their invasion of Afghanistan. And what countries might support such an undertaking? Turkey will not as it did not 20 years ago. Pakistan is unsuitable. That leaves Saudi Arabia and Qatar as the best candidates. I suspect the leading generals at the Pentagon have already draw up such a plan and Pres. Biden would do very well to listen to them.

Now comes Biden’s infrastructure bills. This is where Biden has shown little if any leadership at all. Even though the 2nd infrastructure bill was his vision, he must discover its political viability. The Republicans and a number of Democrats have come out and said they will not support this bill. Biden does not need to have this bill passed this year! He needs to shut down discussion on the bill and return it to committee for reconsideration. That done, he could focus on the bi-partisan roads infrastructure bill that will pass and which all Democrats can declare as a victory. And with the second bill, it needs to broken up into pieces and each passed on its own. In the existing bill, most people support the proposal to get broadband to areas which are not now served; This should get bi-partisan support. Unlike that portion, many people, including many Democrats are balking at the day-care portion and so why not cut that out?

Biden, in my opinion, does not understand the underpinnings of good leadership. He needs to put Nancy Pelosi in her place as in that relationship, the tail is wagging the dog.

Other failures, his slow response to the victims of hurricane Ida. His not having a plan for the southern border and the influx of migrants. This is where a “bad look” has haunted the administration. He has failed to speak to the public in a manner that will soothe their concerns about these immigrants, It is not easy but that is why he has highly intelligent advisor who understand the political landscape and know how to navigate it.

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Afghanistan: Biden’s Huge Blunder


President Biden made a misguided plan to remove U.S. troops from Afghanistan immediately after taking office. He was more concerned with the look rather than the reality. As someone who served in the 25th Infantry Division, I can tell you that absolutely no commander is willing to leave the battlefield before the job is done, and the job in Afghanistan is far from done!

One of the concerns, unwarranted, was that we were becoming an occupational force in a country where we have been involved for 20 years. Really? Let us look around and you will quickly see that we have been an occupying force in Germany, Italy, Korea and Japan since 1945. What of that? In Korea we have committed 28,500 troops. And in Japan we have 39,000 troops! In Germany we have 34,000 troops. That is a total of over 100,000 troops.

Afghanistan is unstable and very likely to fall under the control of the Taliban before year’s end. This is extremely unnecessary since we should maintain a large military presence there. The army maintains 10 infantry style divisions on active duty. That comes to over 200,000 men. By simply splitting 2 divisions at a time for one year in Afghanistan, you would not be putting our men at risk for more than a minimal time.

The Afghan troops are failing miserably, many just quitting the fight even before it has begun and giving up bases and materials to the Taliban. There are a small number of elite forces who are struggling to push back against the Taliban but they simply lack the numbers to maintain the fight, let alone win it.

The Vietnam War shows us the inevitability of what will happen upon our departure. Now, as someone who was a part of that, I can say in that case we needed to withdraw as we lacked any commitment from the general public for us to stay. But you can see on YouTube how the last personnel leaving that country had the Vietcong hot on their tails. Although such a thing will not happen in Afghanistan, it will still happen in time.

If we are going to continue to be a true friend to the people of Afghanistan, we must recommit to having a large military presence in that country until its troops are fully and properly trained, and, until the country is both politically and economically stable. That will probably take a long time but for our own security, we need as many stable governments in the middle east as can happen.

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Republicans Abandon Truth for the Big Lie


What has happened to the Republican party? Their focus used to be on economics, smaller government and lower taxes. Today they are entirely focused on continuing Donald Trump’s big lie that the election was somehow stolen from him. Why do they not believe the Trump federal court judges and the U.S. Supreme Court who declared that the election was entirely without any substantial issues with the vote count. Did they not see the election results where Biden beat Trump quite decisively by 7 million votes?

Trump’s appeal while in office was to the dark base feelings of white America who fear non-white immigrants and who believe that Democrats have suddenly become socialists. If you hear Republican senators and congressmen speak you will hear them refer to Democrats as being socialists and that their socialist agenda is on display now. Really? The only person do declare himself as a socialist is Bernie Sanders. And now they use him in painting the entire Democratic Party as being a bunch of socialists!

Republicans are panning Biden’s entire $2.3 trillion infrastructure request as somehow being socialist. There is a problem in doing that: the portion of the bill which might be called socialist can easily be deleted if only they brought to the table a true compromise bill, something larger the the $600 billion they proposed.

All that aside, a thinking person has to ask why Republicans are still giving fealty to Trump? Simply put, he still appeals to that base of white America who believes everything that ever came out of his mouth. The exceptions in the party who have decided the truth is more important, Liz Cheney, Mitt Romney and a few others, are being criticized as being out of step with party unity! Hence, people like McCarthy, have decided to stick with the lie in the name of party unity. They believe they can take back the house this way.

If you look into their backgrounds you will find a common theme, they are all highly educated, many from institution which they describe as institutions of liberal education. That liberal education somehow did not affect their ideals as Republicans. They should all, and probably do, know that the truth must prevail. Our country depends upon that. But they are now fearful and have decided that they re-election is more important than the truth. They are highly intelligent people making horrible decisions.

I do believe that in time, hopefully long before the 2024 presidential elections, that the Republican party will return to its roots and that Trump will have faded into the background and be seen for what he is, a huckster who sold too many Americans a bill of goods that goes against all common sense.

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Biden’s Failed Speach to Congress


One thing Biden did correctly was to enumerate what is enclosed in each of his trillion dollar packages he wants Congress to consider. Biden campaigned on being someone who would bring both parties together but this speech was entired divorced from that pronouncement.

I voted for Biden and want him to do a good job. But on Wednesday, he had the opportunity to reach across the ilse to embrace Republican issues with his bills. He not once said anything to that effect, and that was clearly seen on Republican’s lack of enthusiam. No one expects the party out of power to respond favorably to such a speech but Biden never once gave them the chance to even mildly applaud him.

This was Biden’s chance to bring Republicans to the table by simply stating that he was open to compromise and that each bill may be reduced in part. Had he simply said that he knows Republicans are against certain portions of his bills and that he knew compromise was essential, he may well have garnered some positive response from them but he did not give them the chance.

Additionally, he made a big mistake by introducing a second trillion dollar bill at this time. The two bills equal about $6 trillion which he must have known such a large figure is immediately unpalitable to Republicans. Right now he needs to make a public statement that he is pulling back the second bill until it can be vetted in committees by both partis.

Republicans have proposed a more than $900 billion bill on infrastructure. They knew, and any Democrat with a lick of sense knows, that this is the avenue to compromise between $900 billion and $2.6 trillion. Democrats must assuage Republican by agreeing to compromise rather than digging in their heel against any.

Republicans have acknowleged the need for investment in our infrastructure. Democrat’s hold on power in tenuous at best and the next elections may swing that power back to Republicans. If Biden and the Democrats truly want to claim a victory here, they must acknowlege that certain portions of their bill must be reduced or eliminated. They must not pass this bill along party lines. To do so is foolish.