First things first, I owe Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) an apology.
I chastised McCain last week for his “yes” vote on moving forward to debate the Republican “skinny repeal” bill that would have dismantled the Affordable Care Act. I won’t let him off the hook for that, but I will apologize for besmirching his title as “the Maverick,” because he certainly let his Maverick flag fly when he voted no on the skinny repeal, right in Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Kent.) face!
You redeemed yourself John, and many Americans are thankful to you and Republican Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alas.) for choosing compassion over politics. But it sure seems like President Donald Trump is going to do everything he can to knock the legs out from under former President Barack Obama’s signature piece of legislation.
Is it just me, or does it seem like Trump is doing everything he can to destroy Obama’s legacy? He pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Accord, he’s trying to undo equality in the military, and he’s single-handedly dismantling the diplomatic progress Obama made with allies and hostile regimes.
But hey, I guess that’s why a number of Americans voted for Trump, who they called a “wrecking ball.” The problem with a wrecking ball is it swings both ways—that’s toward its target, and then right back at ya—Trump is openly going after Republicans now, whether it’s his public disdain for Attorney General Jeff Session, one of his earliest supporters, or blaming the Republican Congress for not getting Obamacare repealed.
What I want to know is, what do local Republicans think about all this? We sure haven’t heard much from Justin Fareed—the 28-year-old Republican who ran against Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) for California’s 24th Congressional District seat—since the election. The hopeful millennial didn’t voice much support for el Trumpo then, and he sure isn’t chiming in now.
And how about the conservative representation in the Santa Maria Valley? There’s the whole Santa Maria City Council, and Mayor Alice Patino. Hey Madam Mayor, with all due respect, what do you think of the train wreck in the West Wing?
Same goes for North County’s supervisors, Steve Lavagnino and Peter Adam. Adam is a libertarian, but he definitely leans right, and I’m sure his mustache could do some talking on how Trump is doing so far.
Lavagnino is the one to watch though—he’s up for reelection next year. I want to hear from Steve what exactly being a conservative means to him, especially these days. When he announced his bid for reelection a couple weeks ago, Lavagnino said he wasn’t planning on running for state assembly or U.S. Congress, saying that he thought he could serve best on the local level.
I would be a little more impressed if national politics wasn’t such a shit show right now. Anyone who wades into that mess probably won’t come out of it smelling like roses.
The Canary thinks that by and large, both sides stink. Send your thoughts to canary@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Aug 3-10, 2017.