8.7.22: In Consideration of the Midterms, Good Week for the President But a Huge Week for Democrats

Well, we guess it is that time to talk about the mid-term elections. If you noticed, we try and hold off on commenting about all the hypotheticals the pundits throw out there because most of them end up poor conjecture. 

Case in point: Kansas' referendum vote on a state constitutional amendment to ban abortions in the state. That measure was shot down 59 percent to 41 percent with double the normal turnout you see for an off-year election. Republican state legislators were as shocked as the rest of the country by the result. However, one has to agree with Democratic strategist Cornell Belcher when he explained that suburban women who may be against abortion but do not like Republican overreach in legislating women's bodies. With that, as Punchbowl New's Anna Palmer described, the culture wars have shifted i favor of the Democrats, at least on this issue.

Of course the economy is top of mind for everyone, but will women's health autonomy also be on the ballot? Considering that over half of registered voters are women, it will be a certainty.

Will it be enough for Democrats to maintain a majority in the House, we'll have to wait and see. However, Representative Nancy Mace (R-SC), bless her heart, spoke on moderation on both sides on the aisle to come to an agreement on abortion, but the fact remains that her party will not and can not negotiate in good faith. Any compromise will have dire political consequences for Republicans from the evangelical rightwing of the party. She spoke about her objection to the idea of women not being allowed to travel out of state to receive an abortion, but her state of South Carolina wants such a restriction, the constitutionality of which strongly comes into question.

Another factor in determining the mid-term outcomes will be President Joe Biden's approval rating, or will it be? What ever factor you think it will have on November, it will be less than that. Trump hovers over the midterms even more than the president and they have both have an equally poor approval rating, which renders their influence a moot point. As the panel agreed, candidates on the trail from both parties aren't embracing either man. 

It was a big week for President Joe Biden as it was a huge week for the Democratic party behind him. Rights for women's reproductive freedom, which the Democratic party espouses won a big victory. Under the president's leadership, the CIA took Al Qaeda's mastermind of 9/11 - Ayman Al-Zawahiri, with a missile that didn't explode but had shredding blades mounted to the front that cut him to pieces on a balcony while no one else in the house was injured... by the way. The Democrats made jerks out of Senate Republicans in a two-for. First, the Veterans' PACT Act passed in which Republicans first voted against it only to vote for it four days later after being shamed. Since Senators Manchin (D-WV) and Schumer (D-NY) outmaneuvered Mitch McConnell, the Democrats are going to pass a reconciliation bill with the biggest investment in climate in U.S. history, not to mention it will also lower Medicare prescription drugs prices and overall energy costs. Something in there for the young, old and in the middle. 

And lastly, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) with praise from both sides of the aisle didn't cancel her trip to Taiwan and rightly stuck it in Xi and China's face. As Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) explained in his support of the trip, China should not be able to dictate where U.S. leaders choose to travel and who to visit. Xi is so thin-skinned that he thought it necessary to fire off military hardware, a temper tantrum on a national scale. But what that means back home is that Democrats are projecting strength internationally.

It was a good week for the president but more importantly, considering the midterms, this was a huge week for Democrats.

Panel: Anna Palmer, Punchbowl News; Susan Page, USA Today; Cornell Belcher, Democratic Strategist; Pat McCrory, fmr. Governor of North Carolina (R)

 One more thing...

You gotta love this, like an icing dagger decorating Donald Trump's moldy cake...

7.31.22: A Rare Astronomical Event This Week Shocked Washington

In case you missed it this week, there was a rare astronomical event on Wednesday so we wanted to share a photo of the phenomenon. 

Yes, a rare sighting of a blue moon. Coincidentally, or not, or dumb luck or it was the same thing. It's all so hazy and shocking, but the Democrats in the Senate out maneuvered their Republican colleagues, specifically Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) who was blindsided by the Manchin-Schumer reconcilliation budget bill. It also forced Republicans into upcoming votes, in which a 'no' vote is politically unpopular forcing them to come on board with Democratic priorities. And you have to give credit to Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) for not walking away and negotiating in quiet to avoid media drama, as he explained.

A total eclipse, a Cubs World Series win, a Blue Moon. They exist but are seen so rarely that afterward you can't believe it actually happened. 

Senator Kirstyn Sinema (D-AZ) has yet to come out in support of the bill, but as NBC's Kristen Welker mentioned, there will be tremendous pressure on her to get on board. With perhaps a minor concession, the bill is there and it has the votes. What the bill does is give Medicare the ability to negotiate prescription drug prices, establish a base 15 percent tax for corporations with $1 billion or over in value, and with an all-of-the-above energy approach it allocates $349 billion investment in climate mitigating energy strategies. The largest investment in climate in U.S. history, which served as the last proverbial groin shot that Republicans could take.

So, they took out their anger and humiliation on Democ... No wait, they took it out on U.S. veterans. Yes, really.

As satirist and veterans advocate Jon Stewart explained, the Senate passed the same PACT Act bill in June, 84-12, and after a one sentence change that had no effect on the bill, Repubican senators voted it down. Mr. Stewart didn't get into the speculation of why Republicans now voted no, but it's obvious that since they know they got played. The PACT Act provides care to veterans who have contracted various diseases from burn pits overseas. It cannot be understated the significance of this as burn pits operated 27/7 during combat operations with soldiers continually breathing in toxins. Lead by Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA), Republicans in the Senate torpedoed the bill and did fist bumps when they accomplished their goal.

Here's the most-widely and succinct summation from Mr. Stewart this week. He and a group of veterans travelled to Capitol Hill for a celebratory press conference, which then became this:

Lastly, we're sad to hear about the catastrophic flooding and heart-breaking death toll in Kentucky. Governor Andy Beshear (D) gave a grim assessment of the status on the ground saying that it is unclear how many people are still missing, that there are 26 deaths with more surely to be confirmed, and the situation is complicated by the fact that it's still raining there and communication is difficult. 

To the president's credit, he cut through redtape to make sure the state had enough additional personnel on the ground, as the Gov. Beshear explained. (An example of how Joe Biden operates, he gets it done but doesn't scream it from the rooftops that he did it.)  

Though the location of this blog's homebase is nowhere near Kentucky, but we say that the state should get all the support it needs and then some, despite one its Senators, Rand Paul, voting against disaster relief for other states that he simply doesn't like [think: New York and Hurricane Sandy]. This tragic event in Kentucky is a clear example of why we needed the infrastructure bill and now this budget package from Senators Manchin and Schumer.

Panel: Kristen Welker, NBC News; Adrienne Elrod, Democratic Strategist; Carlos Carbello, fmr. Congressman (R-FL); Jonathan Lemire, Politco

7.24.22: Sure Seems Like A Melt Down... The Climate Change of Everything

 It sure seems like a melt down if you ask us. Whether it's climate, Donald Trump's prospects or confidence in all branches of government, the heat is rising and all of the above are melting. 

It was a good choice to schedule an interview to an update on what are prophetic thoughts from former vice-president Al Gore, the man who stepped aside for the sake of our democracy and then went on to warn us about the catastrophic effects of climate change. The graphic below from today's program shows a list of recent climate announcements that truly tells the story.   

In terms of the Colorado River, Lake Mead is at such a low level, ships and skeletal remains from the 1940's are being recovered and in 5 years if the water level keeps receding at pace, there will not be enough gallons of water per month required for the Hoover Dam to generate enough power to the states it services.

Vice President Gore has been warning us about the effects of melting glaciers for 30 years and we're still seeing state-size chunks of Greenland and Antarctica break way, affecting ocean currents and warming the water causing more catastrophic storms. Mr. Gore also explained that we do have the tools to get to net-zero carbon admissions but not the political will to get there many due to the economic effects. Those economic effects are those that impact the bottom line of the oil companies who then stick it to the average consumer [sic: voter] who is stretch thin as it is. But the tools are there: instituting a carbon emissions tax, automobile companies transitioning their entire fleets to either hybrid or full-electric, along with more off-shore wind, and solar of course. 

However, there are a few notions we'd like to throw out there that time did not permit them to cover. First, the United States should completely rethink its nuclear energy program. Nuclear energy has zero carbon emissions and is very safe, but there is the risk of accident. However, instead of pipelines, make waterlines to transport ocean water inland for rod cooling to more stable earth where a reactor is at less risk of structural damage. Also invest more into the research and development of cold fusion.

Also, many people don't know that when a crypto-currency sets up shop in your state or country, they become to biggest consumer of energy in every case due to the amount it takes to run and cool the vast number of servers that create algorithms and nothing else. The state of Texas had to shutdown a cryptocurrency operation in its state due to the strain it was putting on the Texas's electric grid, causing brown outs in residential neighborhoods. 

The former vice president mentioned something that we've talked about in this column previously, which is that we essentially have a minority government, especially when it comes to legislation on climate. But it's this 'minority government' that has Americans disapproving in Congress, the President and the Supreme Court by overwhelming margins.

A minority of politicians fueled by huge contributions block what the majority of Americans want and the direction they want to go.

Fortunately, the minority of what have been the overly loud voices of insanity are having their collective bubble burst by a thousand cuts from the January 6th Committee. Mr. Trump and his allies are melting under the intense heat of the committee and the DOJ. This week the Murdoch properties The Wall Street Journal and The New York Post, as the panel discussed, walked away from the former president explicitly saying he is "unfit to hold office again." Real question there is whether Fox News will follow.

Steve Bannon went into his contempt of Congress trial all bluster and bravado claiming he would get 'medieval,' but after 3 hours of deliberation the jury found him guilty on both counts and he never took the stand in his own defense; sending him away with his head up his ass and facing jail time.

Lastly, there's the economy. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen made some news as she teased that we'll probably see negative GDP growth for a second quarter, which would normally mean we're in a recession, but Secretary Yellen said that we wouldn't be. Our advice when it comes to statements from Sec. Yellen is that we take the wait-and-see approach... Her batting average isn't great. That said, as many economists had been saying the economy had over-heated and now, pardon the expression again, some of it has to melt off. 

It's not just the meteorologic climate that's changing, it's the climate change of everything.

Aren't you looking forward to August?

Panel: Yamiche Alcindor, NBC News; Stephen Hayes, The Dispatch; Maria Teresa Kumar, Voto Latino; Jake Sherman, Punchbowl News

 

7.10.22: Forecast for the Majority: Hotter and More Exhausting

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan (R) mentioned the 'exhausted majority' in America and for as much talk about nervous Democrats thinking Joe Biden can't hack it, he really didn't provide an explanation to what that means. He used the phrase to confirm that seventy percent of Americans think we're on the wrong track as a country.

Before we go there, the Biden Administration has acted too slowly on the economy without a doubt, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen didn't see this inflation coming didn't help. But this is reflective of the Administration, not the president himself, which is fair game. It was good to hear Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo says that the president is carefully looking at rolling back the Trump tariffs, which she conceded would help with the cost of everyday goods. This should have been served up yesterday and should be on the front burner.

And let's face it, the president is going to Saudi Arabia because we need to up the supply of crude oil, which has increased but not nearly enough, and that the secretary confirmed. It's the real politik and the necessity to compartmentalize as president. Where we or should we say the oil companies dropped the ball was during the pandemic they scaled back refining and took facilities off line and used the revenue to pay shareholders (we knew you'd love that last bit). Hence, there is a shortage of gasoline and going into talks with the Saudis the Administration loses a little leverage because the Saudis need US refining capabilities; we're the best in the world at it. 

Secretary Raimondo explained that the administration needs to consider the impact on American workers if the tariffs are lowered, which is prudent and warranted. However, we'd advise to consider much faster.

We mention all this first because the U.S. economy comparatively to other countries is quite strong so that aside what is this exhausted majority that Governor Hogan is talking about. Well, one thing is for sure, he's not talking about his party and the extreme right wingers running it. The majority of Americans are center left or right, but for the past 30 years Republicans have only won the popular vote for president once. The minority is blocking what the majority wants and the Supreme Court is pushing the minority agenda in lieu of legislation. Why else do we have more guns than people and that in half the states the fetus has more rights than the woman that carries it? 

America spent four years in existential dread called the Trump presidency followed by criminal activity on the way out the door followed by feckless Republicans only interested in power, not service, as The Atlantic's Mark Leibovich talked about and wrote in his book. 

So not only does the threat to democracy continue in this country, thanks Republicans, people are paying more out of pocket, Putin and his regime are a bunch of fuckos, and no one can seem to agree on anything.

This is what you get in July... So yeah, we're exhausted and now it's freakin' hot.  And as long as the minority, abetted by the Supreme Court, keeps forcing its agenda onto the majority and because of unequal representation in the Senate, it's only going to get hotter and more exhausting.

This exhaustion leads us to ask the most American of questions that all Americans can appreciate and come together around. When does football season start?

Panel: Hallie Jackson, NBC News; Daniella Gibbs-Leger, Center for American Progress; Mark Leibovich, The Atlantic; Rich Lowry, National Review

6.26.22: No More Complaining About Left-wing Activist Judges When You Have the Ultimate Closers

In successive days, over 150 years of precedent law was reversed by the United States Supreme Court. On June 23, the Court threw out a 109 year-old law in New York restricting individuals from carrying guns in public, and of course on the 24th reversed 49 years of precendent with the overturning of Roe vs. Wade, sending abortion rights back to the states.

Whether you agree with the decisions or not, the one thing you can confirm is that these are activist justices on the court and they're wielding their power that with a super majority can move unchecked. 

The other certainty is that both decisions were political, which is illustrated by the these two decisions themselves. In the New York case, no court touched it for over 100 years and the Supreme Court overturned it ruling that the state didn't have the right to make its own law. However, in the Roe case, they ruled the exact opposite and that states should decide.

Where do we go from here? Well, swallow hard because we have to live with it. Or until Democrats can focus and win back state houses and keep their majorities in Congress, which is another way of saying that we just have to live with it.

What we're left with in the Roe v Wade decision is that womens' rights are not equal depending on what state you live in. Andrea Mitchell of NBC made a good point in the Roe dealt with privacy and not equal protection, which women across the country clearly now do not have.  However, only when enough pain and suffering occurs to enough people would a case on equal protection under the law be brought. 

Now that Republicans have won on abortion, their statements really have become laughable in justifying a woman's right to bodily autonomy, starting with Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson (R) who said on today's program that it's not the debate right now about no exceptions for rape or incest only that he believes with the abortion ban his state is saving lives. However, this is where the ideology's callousness and cruelty come into play because it has nothing to do with real world circumstances. Judge Samuel Alito stated the it is not the responsbility of the court to recognize the social impact of its decisions. Obviously... but really?

And The Wall Street Journal's Peggy Noonan, God love her posed a next step for Republicans after their win that even everyone on the panel audibly laughed at when she explained the Republicans now have to change their image and become the 'party of women' and build the support systems for them. What a credibility grenade that was. Republicans certainly will solidify their image as the party of women when abortion procedures are banned in over half the country (we're looking at 26 potential states). Hardly.

With the current state of the economy with inflation and high gas prices, those will be the determining factors in November which only favors Republicans and if they win control of the house, make no mistake they will introduce a bill on a nation-wide ban.

If Republicans have the majority in the House they will also thrwart the findings of the January 6th Select Committee seeking to discredit them while actively obstructing the Justice Department investigation of the coup plot. This will leave the door open for the individual who said to the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General of the United States, to just say the election was corrupt and leave the rest to me and the Republicans, to run again.

No matter, if a Republican candidate wins in 2024, it will not be with the popular vote, a trend that has now been established. The majority of the country doesn't have proportionate representation in the Senate, which ensures that the minority stays in control and with the backing of an extreme right Supreme Court there's no reason to see this trending losing momentum anytime soon.

And make no mistake, womens' healthcare rights are the end of the line for the Supreme Court. Take Justice Clarence Thomas, of whom it's now fair to say is corrupted because of his wife's political actions, at his word when he says that a revisiting of other privacy rights should be done. 

Even a 3-dollar fortune teller can predict that rights for LGBTQ Americans will be the next target for the right to put in front of their judicial enablers. 

No more complaining from right-wing pundits about left-wing activist judges, they have the ultimate closers.

Panel: Peggy Noonan, The Wall Street Journal; Kimberly Atkins Stohr, The Boston Globe; Andrea Mitchell, NBC News; Garrett Haake, NBC News

6.19.22: Hanging On by a Horse-Haired Thread

In the 4th century B.C., the king Dionysius would let his loyal soldier Damocles sit on the throne so that he could experience what it was like to be king. However, to illustrate more clearly the responsibility, the fear, the pending danger, Dionysius hung a sword over his thrown by a single horse hair. Precariously hanging over the throne by a single hair, ready to fall at anytime, Damocles could no longer take the pressure and stopped taking to the seat.

We mention this little bit of ancient history because it seems like that is where we are now, a metaphoric sword hanging over our country, by a single horse-hair thread. The sense of impending danger and dread.

President Biden said in an interview with the Associated Press that he knows the American people are "really, really down." Americans are down because what they witnessed this week during the Select Committee's January 6th hearings this week and that in fact our democracy was hanging by a thread. Despite knowing the fact that he lost and that the plan for the vice president to dispute the electoral count was illegal, the former president persisted in perpetuating that there was election fraud.

Not only that, but we also learned of the utter callousness (and that's being generous) the fmr. president had for his vice president's well-being and life. It's understandable that committee member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) wouldn't give away any details, especially when pressed by Mr. Todd on why Mike Pence didn't trust his secret service detail; he's not at liberty to say. 

What we do know:

John Eastman knowingly attempted to commit a crime against the Constitution of the United States.

The fmr. president, knowing he lost the election, perpetrated a fraud against the people of the United States by lying about the election results to raise $250 million dollars for a non-existent defense fund, in which the monies went to the fmr. president's personal interests.

There was a tremendous pressure campaign, lead by the president, for Mike Pence to ignore the Constitution by not certifying the vote on January 6th. So much pressure that when Mr. Pence upheld the Constitution, his life and the lives of his family members were put in jeopardy.

The president broke his oath to the Constitution of the United States and abandoned his duty as president on that day.

If that wasn't enough to make the thin threads more taut, there's the economy, which this, that and the other thing that President Biden points to, two things are clear. One, the signs of a coming recession are ominous and the Biden Administration totally dropped the ball and is now playing catch-up.

Former Treasury Secretary Larry Sommers said that while nothing can be forecast with complete certainty, the indicators that he's seen are leading him to believe that a recession is coming.

Demand is way outpacing supply for energy which has been disrupted by war and oil companies cutting back on refining during the pandemic. The supply chain disruptions continue and are exascerbated by high fuel costs have made everything more expense. Not enough micro-chip manufactures, the list goes on. But the bottom line is the Biden Administration reacted too slowly and now the Fed is going to do what it can, but really it just has to run its course.

Mr. Sommers suggested three potential initiatives that could lessen the pain in the short term, while providing a plan for the longer-term. He suggested repealing some of the Trump era tax cuts, reduce the price of prescription drugs and take an 'all of the above' approach to energy in the short term and transition to clean energy.

Here's the rub. Repealing any part of a tax cut is a non-starter for Republicans. They'll message it as a tax hike and that message will get through. The 'all of the above' approach on energy gets a lot of support but any introduction of clean energy initiatives is another none starter. And lastly, we simply don't understand how Congress can't get the price of prescription drugs down. It's such a political winner for everyone, you'd think it's a no-brainer. Alas, to paraphrase Warren Zevon, big pharma brings lawyers, drugs, and money.

All this, on top of coming out of a mindbending, two-year pandemic where over 1 million Americans died then right into a catastrophic war in Europe and it's no wonder we're all hanging on by a horse-haired thread.

Panel: Betsy Woodruff Swann, Politico; Peter Alexander, NBC News; Brendan Buck, Republican Advisor and Strategist; Maria Teresa Kumar, Voto Latino

6.12.22: The Tragic Choice and the January 6th Commission

It is true that Americans' votes won't be decided by the January 6th Hearings. Not this year at least, but maybe in 2024. Representative Don Bacon (R-NE) said he did think there was too much information that he didn't already know, which may be the case for a member of Congress, however, for the American public there was almost too much to take it. 

The Special Committee on January 6th, 2021, as Representative Elaine Luria (D-VA) stated, has only presented and will be presenting statements backed up by hard evidence.  And the hard evidence will be damning, no bullshit, unlike how fmr. Attorney General William Barr describe the fmr. president's election fraud claims.

Unfortunately, Professor Eddie Glaude, Jr. of Princeton may be correct in assessing it as a tragic choice. 

If the evidence is too overwhelming, the Department of Justice may have no choice but to prosecute and if they do, Prof. Glaude predicts a steep rise in violence. However, if they do not prosecute, then what we're saying is that there are some who are above the law in the most glaring fashion. As for the 2024 presidential election, we of the same mind as Rep. Bacon in that he and also Republicans will be "looking for another candidate." 

Representative Bacon also mentioned the temperment of the former president being a disqualifier as well, which bring us to the whole episode with Vice President Mike Pence. How the former president said that the VP deserved the punishment of the crowd, which was hanging is truly sad on so many levels. However much we disagree with Mike Pence's policies and positions, we know for a fact that this is a man who has pledged an oath to the Constitution many times and did not break that oath. How many times has the fmr. president taken that oath - once. (The write of this week's column has taken multiple times.)

The panel agreed that the hearing really resonated with independents and though the frustration and perhaps anger may subside over time, the facts will not be forgotten. At the end of this road, whenever that is, there will not be a conviction, at most political radioactivity and exile... maybe.

What we're revved up about is all the Congressmen asking for pardons, specifically Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) who was named during last Thursday's hearing. Who else was asking for a pardon? Why would these individuals feel they needed them? What did they do? If any convictions do come, they're going to be from this crop of jokers. Resignations at the least. 

Who can say for sure if these hearings will affect the mid-term elections later this November, but maybe, just maybe it will be one small step in cleaning a little house and cleaning up some of the doodoo-kaka-poo-poo the fmr. president left behind.

On the breaking front...

At the end of today's program, Lee Ann Caldwell of The Washington Post had breaking news that Senators Chris Murphy (D-CT) and John Cornyn (R-TX) have reached a deal on gun safety legislation. We'll wait and see but it's said to include state crisis intervention laws (red-flag), mental health provisions, upgrading school safety.  Small things around the margins of the problem, but things nonetheless. There Mr. Todd had a moment, reminding us that nothing's been announced and more importantly nothing has been voted on. Being skeptical is a truly tiresome fashion that simply will never go away. 

Panel: Amy Walter, The Cook Political Report; Eddie Glaude, Jr., Princeton University; David French, The Dispatch; Lee Ann Caldwell, The Washington Post

6.5.22: It is Us and Not Just Washington That Has to Decide

"Meet The Press" is preempted today by The French Open.

Since Wednesday, this has been top of mind for this week's column and that is if we should apologize for providing what we thought was a snide, hyperbolic, ludicrous example of a tragic mass shooting and three days later that exact scenario occurs. In Tulsa, Oklahoma a man bought an AR-15 and then hours later entered a hospital to kill the doctor who performed a surgery on him, along with anyone who tried to stop him. 

A group of Senators has ten days to come up with something bipartisan, bipartisan meaning cojoling 10 Republican Senators that it is in their political interest to pass some form law, a package of laws, that will slow the steady stream of mass gun violence EVERYWHERE in America. The aforementioned package puts on the table red flag laws, waiting periods, expanded background check (not universal) and raising the age to 21 to purchase an assault weapon.

All those proposals would be steps in the right direction, but frankly, at this point it's like holding back a flood with a two-foot wall. And if this group of senators do not come up with a proposal they can bring to the floor, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) will bring a House bill to the floor which Republicans and Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) will surely not vote for. As Americans, we can only hope these Republican Senators are being sincere in their negotiating efforts because we've seen this tragic theater play out too many times.

If no common sense gun-ownership legislation gets passed through Congress and Republicans win control of Congress in the fall, we are truly living in a broken democracy where the minority is in control. Our Constitution was constructed to respect the rights of the minority vote, not to have the minority vote control the majority.

If Congress does manage to pass something, anything, it will not serve as any kind of adequate panacea for the anxiety parents across this country feel who fear simply dropping their kids off a school, especially if mass shootings continue in spite of new legislation.

Make no mistake, if nothing stems the tide of these mass shootings and gun violence writ large, we, not only the politicians, we will have decided to put the Second Amendment and access to guns over our very own lives. 

5.29.22: Helplessly Hoping in the Face of Hopelessness

Write about a mass shooting, take a week off, and write about another mass shooting... 

19 Children - Second. Third. Fourth. Graders. 

2 Teachers

17 Others injured... 

Hopelessness immediately comes to mind because we know that America will do nothing on guns to abate the exceptional carnage we've wrought upon ourselves. It's the hopelessness that our leaders will run out the clock while pontificating on the need for more mental health treatment, the absence of God, violent video games, the hardening of schools, and arming more citizens; while other leaders pack healthcare spending and untenable economic proposals into a background check bill so that it will never pass. 

Why would a person want to become a teacher? To learn the use of firearms? Why would that person just become a policeman? 

How about this heinous hypothetical. A surgeon and a medical team are in an operating room then a deranged person comes into the operating room and shoots them with a gun.  If only the surgeon and the medical team had been armed, right? We need to 'harden' operating rooms in all hospitals around the country by posting armed security outside the doors.

We'll do this after we accomplish this in all the schools in the country. Seriously?

It's nauseating to watch conservative politicians and commentators say everything, anything, with the exception of 'regulation' and 'firearm' in the same sentence, except to say no to it. For some, the 2nd Amendment has become a twisted 11th commandment for lost souls - dogma beyond reproach. However, always conveniently never are those two words in the Amendment that we constantly fixate on - well-regulated. That we are definitely not.

In the meantime, how many of these tragedies do Americans have to endure? 

We've put the right to own a firearm over the collective safety of the society. It's who we are, it's what we do, it's what we refuse to change, it's what we have to live with. Hard stop.

On this Memorial Day, we apologize to you because we're thinking about the extremely well-trained, brave men and women to fight for our democracy and we give them the best weapons of war to shorten the fight. The same kind of war of weapons we give our citizens to destroy that democracy. 

Have a good meal and hug your family today.

Panel: Ashley Parker, The Washington Post; Ali Vitali, NBC News; Cornell Belcher, Democratic Strategist; Pat McCrory, fmr. Governor North Carolina (R)