We (the Brick, accompanied by his independent wife and fellow staunch Republican conservative, Tommy) trooped upstairs to Gardner's room. An Easter Seal fundraiser was going on next door -- lots of evening gowns sipping champagne and holding auction tickets. We, on the other hand, had jeans and heavy jackets on -- we were headed next to Denver's Christkindl Markt ('Christ Child Market'), which is outdoors and cold, despite heaters and cheerful lights.
The room was jammed with people -- literally smashed against each other, many talking loudly. No one recognizable, though I was pretty sure most every Republican mover and shaker in Colorado was present -- or had been there. We kept to the wall and inched into the crowd, between a random back or around a suited backside.
We were headed toward the bar -- but much to our surprise, Senator Gardner was only a few feet away! The Brick stopped. Tommy did, too, cellphone in hand. I had no such need -- so squeezed back against the wall. (This many people in close proximity give me the creeps -- I feel like I'm going to be trampled. I've struggled against this ever since I first became pregnant.)
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| The Brick, waiting his turn. |
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| Tommy, dispensing advice to his buddy. |
Later, on the 16th Street Mall bus, I talked to a couple who'd also been invited to the open house. The man was griping about how much money he had to donate in order to be invited. I didn't dare tell him we hadn't given a cent! (The Brick was a Republican state delegate; we're guessing that's why he got an invitation. But who knows for certain.)
Private note to Senator Gardner: Thanks for inviting us...but we didn't get a chance at the appetizers we heard were being circulated earlier in the evening. In fact, we didn't see a single coconut shrimp. Don't let the Brown Palace overcharge you for this.
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| Denver's Christkindl Markt: German/Austrian everything -- plus a number of marijuana booths (sigh). At least the latter weren't doing much business. |
Other political musings:
Have elections become the property largely of bazillionaires? Rick Scott spent nearly 65 million dollars of his own money to get himself elected as a Florida senator. That makes Jared Polis' $11+ million, spent on his Colorado governor's campaign, look like chump change. (Yes, Polis won.) And they're certainly not alone.
Maybe not, though. USA Today argues that 80 percent of self-funded candidates go down in flames. (I dunno -- they seem to do quite well in Colorado.)
(I should have asked Mr. Gardner about this, since the official report has him spending nothing on his 2014 campaign. Of course he freaked Democrats out when they couldn't find his campaign headquarters in 2014. Or catch him doing something bad, even though the Dems hired a 'tracker' to shadow him.)
* * * * *
President Trump will resign 10 minutes before his presidency ends...so VP Pence can pardon him for any crimes he might be indicted for. Or so says a Newsweek columnist. One of the sillier indictments of Trump that have come out lately, including the assumption that Pence, who has shown himself to be a man of honor, would even agree with this.
Like the rest of the world, rappers included, President Trump has to be responsible for his own actions.
* * * * *
Why aren't we hearing much about the migrant caravan at the U.S./Mexico border? Have they all gone home?
Obviously not.
I was hard put to understand why the Central American migrant caravan headed to Tijuana (i.e., the California border), rather than going to a U.S. border that's a lot closer.
This article has some cogent points, including what seemed perfectly obvious from the start:
This was not a "let's go" decision spontaneously arrived at by thousands of random migrants. It, like the previous migrant caravan, was organized by a group:
Pueblo Sin Fronteras, or 'People Without Borders.'
Says one source: "Pueblo Sin Fronteras cheated the migrants; they told them lies that once they arrived at the border, everything would be very easy."
The organization says that's not true: that the migrants decided for themeselves where they were going. Members simply "accompany" those who have already decided to leave. (Pueblo Sin Fronteras members have been leading some, if not most, of the charges toward the U.S. border; they were front and center when the caravan stormed the Mexico/Guatemala border crossing, as well.)
WHY TIJUANA?
*Tijuana is said to be less dangerous than other border cities.
*More charitable organizations have shelters and aid societies there. But most of all:
*California is a "sanctuary" state. More immigration lawyers are available, and judges decide in the immigrant's favor more than other districts. (Read the article. It's really not disputed.)
U.S. immigration authorities are processing applications. Slowly. Meanwhile, thousands of immigrants are milling around at the border --
stuck.
And it's been raining.
Alex Mensing, a Pueblo sin Fronteras activist, says it's not the group's fault that these people are struggling. After all, they didn't have to come -- and according to Mensing, the migrants were warned about the dangers. "We can't force people to listen," he said. "We never promised anybody anything other than that we would walk with them."
I'm sure that is such a comfort right now.
Meanwhile, Nancy Pelosi plans to meet with President Trump to offer $1.5 billion for building a border wall. (I thought they were adamant that not a cent would be advanced for this?) They're not negotiating because they suddenly agree with Trump that a wall is needed. The real reason? Trump has threatened a government shutdown, if he doesn't get the funds needed for a border fence/wall...and the Democrat (and other) leaders don't like the idea of a shut-down. Big-time.
(Update: Yep, the shouting match and not-so-veiled insults did a lot of good. Way to show progress, people. Did it ever occur to you -- on all sides -- that LISTENING, modeled by Vice President Pence, might have solved some impasses?)
So what does this say to the average American schlepke, like me? That the topics of immigrants and border issues were probably not nearly as important to Congress as they'd like to make out. It's just another weapon to use against Those Mean Conservatives -- Trump, in particular.
Does the average Congressman really care what happens to the immigrant caravan? Based on recent actions... probably not. But hey, it's good for lots of blowhard posturing.
Meanwhile, plenty of people, including me, wonder if a few days of shuttered government offices might not be a bad idea. Let's put the money saved toward the national deficit!
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