Ode to those who go against the flow.....

The trouble with going with the flow is, you might wind up getting sucked down the drain.

I admire those who take a stand against their tribe....the party line and refuse to go with the flow when they think their tribe is wrong.

So this post is a quick “ode to” some of the people who have recently spoken out in opposition to their tribe. I’ve included quite a few links if you feel like reading/listening to more.

Let’s start with Shep Smith….who recently lambasted Trump’s continual whining about the press continual whining about the press and fake news (aka anything that is critical of him or his administration.) Shep also demanded the truth about the Trump administration's ties to Russia, stating that the American people have a right to know.

This is not the first time he’s gone against the Fox News avalanche of right wing opinion. I found a video of him going off on the use of torture (around the time of the Bush presidency) and his opinions about Kim Davis and her anti Sharia law...but okay with Christian theocracy supporters.

And then there is the representative from Hawaii, Tulsi Gabbard, who has shown her courage and integrity several times in the past year or so. She is a veteran who served two tours of duty in Iraq.

During the 2016 primaries, she voluntarily resigned from her position as co-chair of the DNC so she could actively support Bernie Sanders. It was his views on US involvement in interventionist wars and regime changes that she was the most supportive of. (which is, by the way, one of the things I liked the most about Bernie) She did this at great risk to her career….and she was an active Bernie supporter all the way through the convention until the fat lady finally sang and nominated Hillary Clinton.

Recently, she has taken this non interventionist stand farther in the way of a bill she is sponsoring called "Stop Arming Terrorists." She recently gave a quick overview of the bill on the Tucker Carlson show. Tucker, who tends to be rather obstinate, argumentative and surly seemed to like her too and even seemed supportive of her bill that would stop US tax dollars from supplying weapons to the supposedly moderate groups deemed "freedom fighters."

Since she is bucking the views of both Republicans and Democrats with her bill, not surprisingly she is getting shit from both sides of the aisle...in a sort of non partisan protest against her.

Then there is Chris Wallace. I’ve always liked Chris Wallace and his willingness to ask tough questions. I especially enjoyed an interview where he took Ted Cruz to task about the feasibility of his healthcare plan that Cruz wanted to replace Obamacare. This was also during primary season.  

This time, Chris Wallace is asking Priebus hard questions about Trump’s treatment of the press, his claims the press is the enemy of the American people….Flynn, Russia, Yates, when Pence knew what was going on, the unusual nature of Bannon’s role in the Trump administration. It is not a friendly interview. And I applaud Chris Wallace for speaking out and asking these questions.

For those who want the “alt right” view of the interview check out the Breitbart link. And check out a few of the comments. I am ever amazed at the party that trashes political correctness and champions free speech and how freaking mean they are in their comments. And they think Wallace...and Shep Smith….should go pound sand and end up at CNN or one of those other trash news networks.

And then...this is what Business Insider has to say about the interview.

There there is John McCain and Lindsey Graham. Both are critical of Trump’s behavior, views and actions.

I'm running way, way, way late so I will end this post abruptly. I reserve the right to throw another two cents worth of opinion into the never ending debate...and to edit for typos and clumsy phrases.....