This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

I’ve heard of dumb stunts by stupid Republicans, but what happened in Texas takes the cake. 

And, then I also hear about Madison Cawthorne, a member of congress, who almost outdoes Texas.

In Texas, Republican Governor Greg Abbott thought he had a brilliant idea.

Why not rattle the Biden Administration by busing migrants from the southwest border to the nation’s capital during a period of record crossings?  Then, he thought, Biden and company would see the immigration problem first-hand.

What happened?

Well, many of the immigrants said they were grateful for the chartered bus ride to Washington, D.C.

“In a way, it’s actually perfect,” said Bilal Askaryar, a spokesman for Welcome With Dignity, a collective of about 100 local and national groups that help migrants.  “Unintentionally, Governor Abbott sent them to one of the best places in the nation to welcome people.”

Thanks to the Washington Post, here is an account from another immigrant who had a State of Texas ticket to D.C.:

“I would like to say thank you to the governor of Texas,” Chadrack Mboyo-Bola, 26, said after he and 13 other migrants stepped off one of the chartered buses that had provided a 33-hour ride paid for by the State of Texas.

“Blocks from the U.S. Capitol, they were greeted by volunteers who would help them reach their desired destinations around the country to await their day in immigration court.

Three days earlier, Mboyo-Bola and his family had crossed into the United States from Mexico along the border in Central Texas after an eight-week journey from Brazil.  After spending a day in Border Patrol custody in Eagle Pass, Texas, they and about 20 other new immigrants accepted an offer to board a Washington-bound bus in nearby Del Rio.

No word on whether Abbott is considering reversing his stupid stunt. 

If he is smart, he will.  But, in fact, it appears he is stupid and, as it has been said many times in the past, “you can’t fix stupid.”

Speaking of “you can’t fix stupid,” consider this from Washington Post writer Dana Milbank about Cawthorn:

“The 26-year-old Republican congressman from North Carolina was caught bringing a loaded gun through airport security, his second such incident.  Police released footage of him getting pulled over for driving with expired tags and being told to surrender his revoked license.  The Washington Examiner reported allegations against him of insider trading.  Politico published photos of him partying while wearing women’s lingerie.  And a former congressional aide filed a workplace complaint against him.

“Most public figures would call a stretch like that good reason to resign. Cawthorn might just call it ‘April.’”

In conclusion, I just say this — Abbott and Cawthorn deserve each other.  The problem, at the moment, is that we’re stuck with them.