If you are happy with the current direction of our country under President Biden, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, then you should stop reading now and find something else to do with your time.
If, on the other hand, you agree with Joe From Texas that our country has been quickly heading in the wrong direction over the last two years, please keep reading and prepare to take action.
In politics, it has been said that it is “easier to change bodies than to change minds,” and the upcoming midterm elections offer the American people an opportunity to change the direction of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate. The White House, Senate, and House are currently controlled by one party that has brought little but pain and misery over the last two years. Due to bad policies, we have inflation that is costing Americans more money out of their pay for everything from groceries to gasoline and almost every other product or service. Even the cost of borrowing money has increased because of higher interest rates. If Pelosi and Schumer remain in control in Congress, there is no reason to believe that things will get better and they could very well get worse.
What is the good news?
The good news is that this November we all have the opportunity to press the brakes on these bad policies by voting to change the leadership in the House and Senate. Although Biden still has two years left on his term, his ability to continue inflicting damage on this country will be limited if his party is removed from leadership. As voters, we all hold the key to this change.
To say the upcoming midterm elections are important is an understatement. Joe From Texas encourages each and every voter to not only vote, but to also get involved by volunteering with a campaign or by working to make sure that family and friends join you in voting for change.
As you consider this, please take some time to think about the following:
IF YOU WANT CHANGE - Joe has always looked at the person rather than the party when casting a vote, and in the past he has voted for both Democrats and Republicans. However, in the upcoming election it is time to face one fact: We are either going to vote for change or we are going to vote for more of the same policies that for the last two years have increased energy prices and caused inflation, along with many other problems. Although a Democrat candidate may be a nice person, please do not vote for him or her based on their likability. It is important to consider that the first vote that will be cast by any Democrat who gets elected, or re-elected, to the House will be a vote to support Nancy Pelosi’s re-election as Speaker of the House. The same can also be said for any Democrat Senator elected, or re-elected, because they will support Chuck Schumer to retain his position as Majority Leader in the Senate. Schumer and Pelosi holding on to their leadership positions will mean that we will continue to get more of the bad policies that are causing our current problems. If you think the country is headed in the wrong direction and you want to see this stop, then the only choice you have in the upcoming election is to vote Republican.
WHAT HAPPENED TO COMMON SENSE? Former Acting ICE Director Tom Homan recently stated that more immigrants died in the first year of the Biden Administration than any year he can remember because of this administration’s lack of border enforcement. Despite this, Biden’s party loyalists in the House and Senate have done nothing to address this situation. For example, instead of supporting the border patrol by voting to hire new agents (there are about 21,000 per CPB.gov) and increase border security, in August 2022 the Democrats passed a bill that, among other things, many believe will lead to hiring 87,000 new IRS agents -- more than doubling the number of IRS employees (they currently have 78,661 employees per IRS.gov). No Republican in the House or Senate voted for this bill. The Democrats own it.
If you sit around at night thinking that your life would be better if the government would just spend a few billion more of your taxpayer dollars to hire new IRS agents, then you should vote Democrat in the midterm election. Joe From Texas believes that Democrats could have better spent this money to help secure the border, increase law enforcement, or secure our schools so we could know that our children and grandchildren are safe while learning. How does adding IRS agents help the average citizen as they navigate through the problems currently impacting our country? The answer, of course, is that it doesn’t.
Joe From Texas believes that Congress should be focused like a laser on things like bringing down energy prices and bringing immediate relief to inflation. Instead, they are naming bills like the “Inflation Reduction Act” for cover while implementing a radical agenda that does nothing to help the American people. Even Bernie Sanders, the socialist Senator from Vermont, admitted that the Inflation Reduction Act would have little to no impact on reducing inflation. On the other hand, many economists believe it could actually increase inflation.
Voter Issues Checklist for the Midterm Election
The following are some of Joe’s thoughts on a number of issues on which we should demand answers from candidates. Joe recommends that each of us find ways to engage candidates on the issues. If you can’t attend an event to meet a candidate in person, then he recommends that you contact their offices or campaign headquarters with calls, letters, or emails to seek answers.
Border Security – We should each ask candidates the following, “Do you believe that our southern border is secure or not secure?” If they state it is secure, you have all of the information you need to know because this is not someone whom you should vote for; however, if they acknowledge it is not secure, ask the following additional questions to confirm that they really understand the issue: “Of the following reported problems with the current border situation—increased immigrant deaths, additional amounts of drugs entering the U.S., people on the terrorist watchlist crossing the border, and violent criminals entering the U.S.—which most concerns you? What specific proposals will you push to secure our borders?”
Energy Prices – On energy, we should make a statement and then ask questions along the following lines: “Two years ago the U.S. was largely energy independent and prices for gas and electricity were both reasonable and stable. Now we are once again dependent on Saudi Arabia and other foreign countries for our energy needs, and prices have skyrocketed. Can you explain why this happened and why gas and electricity prices are now so high? Do you believe the U.S. should be energy independent? What specific policies will you advocate to quickly lead us back to energy independence? It has been widely reported that President Biden sold millions of barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to foreign countries. Why was this allowed to happen and what impact does it have?”
Crime – Although crime as we think of it is mostly a local issue, the attitude that our federal officials take toward this issue either plays a role in fighting crime or encouraging more of it. Think back to the riots in many major cities in 2020 when many D.C. officials, including our current vice-president, and the news media practically cheered the rioters on. In addition to people dying and millions of dollars in damage being done to property during these riots, we continue to have a spike in crime today that is directly tied to some of the reckless behavior of these officials. We should make sure that candidates know that fairness and protection under the law should be guaranteed for all but making excuses for criminal behavior is unacceptable. Each of us should develop our own very specific questions for candidates regarding how they plan to talk about crime. A couple of examples of possible questions are: “Will you condemn all crime and bad behavior? and “What policies will you support to encourage law and order?”
Prescription Drug Costs – If you read Joe’s section on this topic, then you are aware that Medicare will likely soon join the DOD and VA in negotiating prices for prescription drugs. On the surface, this appears to be a good thing; however, given that roughly 75% of the profits of the drug industry come from U.S. consumers, this will likely mean that everyone not getting prescription drugs at negotiated prices through one of these agencies could very well see a significant price increase in the cost of their prescription drugs. The following statement and question should be posed to every candidate: “Although I want drug manufacturers to have funding to continue research for life saving drugs, I believe it is unreasonable that American citizens provide roughly 75% of this funding when other countries also benefit from these drugs. What specific action do you intend to take to make sure that the majority of the cost of these drugs is taken off the backs of American consumers and spread more equally among other industrialized nations?” (See Joe’s section on Prescription Drugs to learn of his solution).
Healthcare – Although healthcare is a complicated issue, the secrecy in billing in our healthcare system makes it seem even more complicated. It is very common for people to have a medical procedure and not know what it costs until they receive a bill, sometimes weeks later. We don’t buy other things without knowing what they cost and Joe believes that more transparency in health care pricing would go a long way towards helping to control costs. We should each ask candidates to provide specific plans to control costs and bring more transparency to healthcare billing.
Woke Policies – The Democrats are the party of what everyone now calls “woke” policies. Joe From Texas believes in being respectful of every other human being, but he also believes that we are each owed respect in return. The party of Biden, Schumer, and Pelosi does not believe this. If you doubt this, think back to school board meetings during the last school year in which parents showed up in force to speak out about “critical race theory” being taught in schools. These parents were not violent or threatening, but they were very concerned. What was the Biden administration’s reaction? Instead of saying “maybe these people have a point” they explored the option of putting these parents on a domestic terrorist watchlist.
Joe From Texas also believes one reason that the United States is great is because diverse people have traditionally rallied around things they had in common, rather than focusing on their differences. The woke policies of the modern Democratic party do the opposite. They encourage people to focus on their differences and talk about how unfair, how racist, and how sexist this country is. This country is not always fair, but for anyone who does any checking around, it stacks up pretty well compared to the rest of the world. Are there people in this country who are racist or sexist? Sure, there are some, but every country has them. Most people in this country do not fall into these categories. They are just good people who want to the best for their families and the families of their fellow citizens regardless of race, sex, etc.
It is time to put away the woke politics of division. The quickest way to do this is to get rid of any politician who supports this BS or refuses to forcefully speak out against it. Each of us should develop our own questions regarding whether candidates are willing to stand up to these woke policies, and we should actively oppose anyone who does not have the backbone to speak out forcefully.