Rand Paul was the featured guest speaker for the NRCC annual fundraiser, known as the Steak Out, on October 11. The cover charge included a copy of his new book, Deception, and attendees lined up to watch their copies get autographed in person after his keynote speech. Because I’m a slow reader and already had books ahead of it in my coffee table queue, I started Deception earlier this month.
The believers will quickly quote Acts 17:26-28, making it clear that God arranged for this delay in reading Deception and finally getting to Chapter 24 today with the budget being on everyone’s radar. I encourage all legislators, particularly ones at the Steak Out (Andrew Prout, Kristin Noble, Valerie McDonnell, Yury Polozov, Julius Soti, Bill Ohm, and the Speaker, to name a few), to pay particular attention to the good senator’s criticism of State of Emergency executive powers. If the aforementioned reps haven’t yet reached Chapter 24, they can skip to Page 352, where the Patriot Act is mentioned, Trump is criticized, Senator Roger Marshall’s press release is referenced, and the author’s REPUBLIC Act is introduced to the readers over the next few pages.
On Page 352, there is part of a quote that should ring true to the Grok faithful. It says,
“…few members of state legislatures were aware of the extraordinary powers governors and presidents could assume during an emergency. Most legislators had never really concerned themselves with these powers, because they assumed these powers would be brief and only used in times of natural disasters such as tornadoes, hurricanes, or floods. But some of us remembered that governments of all stripes and persuasions have long aspired to vast emergency powers. The lesson of 9/11 emergency orders and the excesses of the PATRIOT Act have had everyone on full alert.”
With D’Alessandro finally retired, we now have a 100% post-PATRIOT Act senate, but some holdouts still refuse to retire in the House. Mary Jane Wallner and the Speaker come to mind. Whether or not your reps were among the Steak Out attendees, the decent ones should promote the original language on State of Emergency (SoE) reform that appeared in 2021’s HB2. I don’t have a copy of that language, but I’m sure Mr Sylvia or Melissa Blasek could quote it verbatim upon request. It was a very reasonable language that curbed endless SoE extensions, made the first declaration something like 21 days until sunsetting, and one renewal would be allowed with subsequent renewals requiring the legislature’s approval.
Such great reform was sadly watered down on “the other side of the wall,” and I complained to my senator in a text. Then my phone rang moments later, and he said something like, “The House always gets it wrong, and we have to fix it,” followed by bragging about putting all kinds of wish list items into it. The anti-choice language was obviously his favorite Christmas tree item, and I politely waited for him to finish listing the other stuff, like CRT banning and EFAs. Once he finished, he went on to vent about Maggie Hassan vetoing a previous budget. I chimed in to reiterate WHY I complained to him, but it would take me a few more legislative seasons to recognize that the senate always functions in unison, sticking up for the whole “symphony,” and Queen Sharon is the new conductor. Because he’s a musician, he ought to find my last comment amusing though he’s an ardent Grok critic, so let’s get back to the vetoing of a budget.
Has a red governor ever vetoed a budget from a red legislature? That would be a great question for Ms Virginia, the state house gift shop manager, tour guide, and history guru. An even more important question is how far our new legislature can push the envelope with SoE reform in 2025’s HB2? We have a 2/3 Senate, but the House unfortunately came up short with a fraction far less than 2/3. I’m sure that there will be something for everyone on the HB2 wish list, but the top item on (a realistic version of) MY wish list is SoE reform, especially seeing that Kelly Ayotte has repeatedly said on the campaign trail that she plans to “follow the Sununu path.”
“Danger, Will Robinson” is what the November 6 headlines should have said. I will NEVER FORGET the Damn Emperor’s lengthy and sadistic abuse of power, and neither should you!
