Political Velocity

A guy named Hugh taught me to set the expectations of others when I was in my 30's. At the time, I thought, "Why am I responsible for their expectations?" But as I matured in life, I came to understand that anger and disappointment only happen when someone encounters something they didn't expect or anticipate. I came to understand that setting the expectations of others is a smart move, and it helps others help you succeed if you do it right.

For decades, we Republicans have lamented the weak effort our elected Republicans put forward when fighting the left. Democrats seem to have no shame when fighting to usher in their agenda. They'll even go so far as to jail their political opponents, steal elections with endless voting counting after the election is over, and use the media to lie straight to our faces time after time.

And then comes Donald J. Trump, a man whom the left even tried to assassinate to secure the victory. Trump survived, won the election, and now has been in office for less than a month and has already secured the following achievements:

Ending DEI, Freeze Hiring, Firing > 1K Feds, Freed J6’ers, Canada Folds, Mexico Folds, USAID Audit, DOED Might End, Panama Deal, Border Secure, Export Criminals, Nominees In, Less Regulations, Media Whining, Declare Cartel as Terrorists, Undoing Biden, NC Restoration, H2O in Cali, Pro-Life Pardons, In-Person Work, Early Pension, Two Genders, Colombia Folds, No Trans Kids, and on and on.

For us Republicans, we look at this and declare: my goodness, what kind of wonder is this? Relentless winning? It's about time!!

This is what we've wanted for so very long. And it's here. And we love it. President Trump is setting the expectations of Republicans. This is what we want. This is what we can expect.

But other Republicans not accustomed to winning or working hard to achieve victory are still stuck in Mitch-McConnell-mode. Perhaps they call him turtle not just because of the physical resemblance but because of the velocity resemblance as well. Nothing fast happens around the man, and victories are few.

So here in Texas, the House Republicans have elected a new speaker. They've adopted House rules that were so unfocused on Republican victory that nearly every Democrat voted for the rules. And they've voted for three straight weeks in a row to have five-day weekends during this 140-day session that occurs every two years.

The comparison between President's speed and accomplishments and the Texas House is stark.

The Texas Senate has committees, members assigned to committees, and committee hearings underway. Not so in the Texas House. No members. No hearings. Just five-day weekends. Texas has urgent business... we have no time to waste. But you wouldn't think so to watch the inaction of the House.

President Trump is setting our expectations of what Republican victory can be. The rest of the party needs to catch up, because we like it. As they say, we feel the need for speed. The future matters, and he delivers. Every other Republican will be compared to Trump from here forward because we know what's possible.

That's a wonderful thing.

2 Comments

PJ (Feb 5, 2025 10:00 AM):

I’m one of those ‘feel the need for speed’ people and I’m loving this current speed! Now, if we can just coalesce and use a hotshot on the TX House!

Janine Chapa (Feb 5, 2025 10:59 AM):

How many Texas elections will it take to get the Texas House to act at Trump speed??