The October Surprise: Strike? Indictments?

A railroad strike is brewing. It may not happen. But details have to be worked out by September 16th or a significant group of railroad workers in America are going to grind the country to a halt.

Railroad workers are generally well paid, but they have a terrible quality of life. Their strike is about that. I know a guy and have had others who work for a major railroad tell me they get a fixed number of days per year with zero flexibility for vacation, sick time, bereavement, etc. That time can, even after a decade of work, be less than twenty days. Additionally, many of them do not get overtime pay because of how they are classified. They work to get the job done even if the day stretches into the night. They have to be on call through a week, even if they finally get a day off. Between the limited amount of time to have family time, juggling personal illness and sick kids, and long hours, they’re ready to strike for better work conditions.

Eight of twelve unions have agreed to terms to avoid a strike. Four are holding out. A railroad strike will cripple the supply chain delivery system and hurt the economy.

The Biden Administration is doing everything they can to avoid it. Meanwhile, in case the strike happens, they’re plowing ahead with the Trump investigation to have an offsetting media spectacle. Or at least that’s how it will seem to the growing number of political cynics in America.

Thirty people in Trump’s orbit have been subpoenaed to a federal grand jury investigating January 6th. To be clear on where I stand, I don’t think this is hunting people down for being conservative. I think this is dragging people into court to see if there really was a plot to block the counting of the Electoral College vote and storm Congress.

First, I doubt there was any real organized plot. We’re talking about a group of conspiracy theorists on the short bus to my pillow factory. Second, I think given how many people within Trump’s orbit were pushing the theory and trying to get access to voting equipment, some crimes may have happened that are worth investigating.

But, it is a ridiculous thing to do this in the run-up to the election. The Democrats have insisted they were going to make Trump and January 6th the central issue of the election. This looks like the manipulation of the justice system for political purposes.

In Georgia, the Fulton County District Attorney is investigating Trump, and a Georgia Superior Court Judge has told her she cannot interview key witnesses, including Governor Kemp, until after the election.

The Biden Administration, Department of Justice, and FBI could and should wait until after the election to pursue this. The statute of limitations will not run out. But they seem intent on hiding a political witch hunt behind the veneer of justice. That will only undermine the credibility of our justice system and system of due process.

This is a very bad idea. Many of those on the left will not think so because they want Trump under a jail yesterday. They’re not really rational at this point on the matter. But this tactic will undermine our legal and justice system. The Trump team has every motivation to do that. Pushing this now, before the election, after Democrats have spent a year saying they were going to make this about January 6th, looks like the Democrats helping Trump with his talking points.

It is a terrible idea to do this at this time. If there is a railroad strike, Democrats and their friends in the press will only scream louder about the investigation, which will only make it seem more partisan and less like a legitimate investigation. This can and should wait

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