Day: October 2, 2011

The Supreme Court, 2011-2012 Term: Likely To Be Momentous, Historic, Path Breaking!

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The US Supreme Court begins its new term tomorrow with expectations of major decisions likely to be issued on the Obama Health Care Plan, illegal immigration laws, gay rights and gay marriage, and affirmative action, among other cases.

Rarely has a term opened with such potential major impact on the future of many hot button issues, expected to occur by June of 2012 at the latest!

What seems more likely than anything else is that Justice Anthony Kennedy, appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1988, and with a reputation as a “swing vote” on the evenly divided Court, will be the decisive fifth vote on many cases!

To imagine that one man should have such great influence, more than the other eight, including the Chief Justice John Roberts, is an indication of how tenuous constitutional law is in the age of a Court dominated until recently by conservative appointments of Reagan and both Presidents Bush.

As always, the Court, while seemingly trying to avoid politics, in actual fact plays politics, and will have a decisive role in what happens in the Presidential Election of 2012.

And what many forget is that IF a Republican President is elected in 2012, the Court will be turned more hard Right than it is right now, and that will have a destructive, deleterious effect on constitutional law for at least a generation!

It is the most important impact of the Presidential election, something many ill informed voters do not recognize, but which has a long range effect on their lives!

Progressives will be on tenterhooks wondering if Justice Kennedy will side with the left side of the Court, or the right side of the Court. For the advancement of America, let’s hope he swings to the left on these important issues mentioned above!

The Crazy Presidential Caucus-Primary System Shows Up Again!

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It is amazing to the outside world and to many Americans how this nation goes about picking its presidential candidates of the major political parties,and it cries for reform pronto!

Just as in 2008 with the Democrats, now the Republicans in the state of Florida have decided they want an earlier date for their primary, and in so doing, they lose some convention delegates, and force the four earlier states that traditionally have voted first in the presidential caucuses and primaries to move them earlier to January, rather than February.

So Iowa’s caucuses will occur at the beginning of January, followed by New Hampshire’s primary approximately a week later, and then by South Carolina’s primary and Nevada’s caucuses, finishing up January with Florida voters participating in the GOP primary there on January 31.

This will force all of the candidates to increase their campaign time in these five states, as they lose at least a few weeks by the earlier dating of the beginning of the nomination process.

With many of the primaries and caucuses scheduled as regional events on March 6, it is still likely that by the “Ides of March”, March 15, that one Republican will have enough delegates to be the nominee of the party.

But the idea that rural, unrepresentative states such as Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and to some extent, South Carolina, have such a major influence on the nomination, calls for massive reform of the whole system, but this is brought up every four year cycle, but never leads to change.

Florida, by breaking the rules and scheduling their primary earlier, and with them being the fourth largest state, and soon to be third, still seems ultimately the most important early state.

But there is no need to be envious of those who run, whether Democrat or Republican, as the whole nomination process is a mess and makes the seeking of the White House a true chore and challenge that wears many candidates out, including in support and financing!

Infrastructure, Innovation And Education: The ONLY Way To Economic Recovery!

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It is clear that the ONLY way to economic recovery is promoting infrastructure, innovation and education as the goals for our future!

It is estimated that $2.2 trillion in investments is needed in infrastructure in rebuilding of our rail systems, roads, highways, bridges and river systems over the next ten years, and this can be done by bond issues that will repay the costs over 30-50 years, with only a small investment of billions of dollars to get it started. Our national security and economic future demand such an investment!

At the same time, innovation in energy is essential for our future as well, so that we can wean ourselves off of oil, which has led us to military involvement in the Middle and Near East to preserve oil supplies. Solar and wind energy have to be part of our long term future, and we need to have imagination and vision if we are to have a prosperous and secure future!

Finally, education is essential on a much wider scale, providing opportunity for advancement in all fields of knowledge, and allowing college students the ability to have a future not burdened by excessive debts that prevent investment in homes, automobiles and other economic needs. So the move for cancelling the debt by having the government pay it, much like they did for banks and corporations and insurance companies, would be a great boost to the long term economy and cause an immediate economic revival!

Without vision in these three areas, no matter which party controls the White House and Congress, there will be no advancement of economic growth and national security for the short run and the long run!

The Flaws Of A Mitt Romney Presidential Candidacy

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Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has many virtues, many positives, that should make him a model candidate for the White House, including:

1. Strong business background with Bain Capital and as head of the Salt Lake City Olympics Committee for 2002.
2. Promoted a health care plan in Massachusetts which is seen as a major success by many.
3. Bright, intelligent, photogenic candidate, with great family image, including his wife and five sons.
4. Knowledgeable about economic matters, and seen as Presidential caliber in many people’s minds.
5. Has presented good body language in debates and has greater potential to appeal to moderates, Independents, and conservative Democrats.

Despite all of the above, there are a long list of flaws that will make it difficult for Romney to win the GOP nomination for President, and if he does, to win the election over President Barack Obama. Among them are :

1. Romney comes across as a chameleon, a person who is constantly over the years changing his views on many issues, seen as originally a moderate and trying to paint himself as a conservative–therefore perceived as a phony candidate, and a “flip flopper”!
2. Romney was not well liked personally by his opponents in the 2008 Presidential race, particularly John McCain and Mike Huckabee, and is not even now well liked by the Bush clan and other Establishment Republicans.
3. Romney is not well regarded by evangelical Christians, a large group in primaries and caucuses, because of his Mormon faith, and one wonders could he win the “Bible Belt” South and Great Plains, areas usually Republican. but seeing Mormons as a cult, and not Christian!
4. All through the race for the GOP nomination, despite Romney showing the best ability in polls to compete with President Obama, there has been a constant search for an alternative, whether Donald Trump, Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, Herman Cain, Jon Huntsman, and now Chris Christie, not a sign of much feeling of emotion or passionate feelings of love for Romney.
5. Romney has shown insensitivity toward average people, by joking that he is unemployed; by talking about his Cadillacs collection; and by having a project to increase the size of his home to a mansion at a time when many are losing their own homes. Being the richest candidate in the race may give him a money edge, but he comes across as not understanding the problems of the middle class!
6. Despite his recent improved debate performances, Romney still has an image of being stiff, uncomfortable in his own skin, not totally relaxed, and not truly knowing how to deal with irate questioners at rallies, and with strong criticism. It makes one wonder would he be able to work well with Congress, whether his own party or the opposition, with so little political experience, only one term as Governor, and thinking his lack of a career in politics is a plus, which it really is not!
7. Romney’s ability to get people out to vote for him is doubtful, since he does not evoke strong feelings of support, and his poll numbers are still seen as very soft.
8. Romney’s attempt to steer clear of the Tea Party Movement makes one wonder if he could ever work well with fellow Republicans, who in many cases would be much further to the right politically than he would feel comfortable being himself, once in office.
9. Can a candidate from the Northeast, the stronghold of Barack Obama, have any opportunity to defeat him in any scenario that would add up to 270 electoral votes? That seems highly doubtful, as in many ways, Romney comes across as somewhat distant in the same way as two past Massachusetts Democrats who ran for President had trouble overcoming–Michael Dukakis in 1988 and John Kerry in 2004. Those two who lost to father and son Bush did not face a man with the charisma and emotional feelings of support that Barack Obama has had, and even in bad times, still has to some extent today!
10. By coming out hard line against immigration reform that allows illegal immigrants and their children a path to citizenship, Romney, like other Republicans, is losing the future, as Hispanic population and voter participation is growing in the Southwest and across the nation, and they are not likely to throw support to a candidate who demeans them and treats them as not deserving of respect and empathy for their futures in America!

There are probably other points that could be made, but it is clear that Mitt Romney has major flaws in so many ways that his candidacy for President is going to require a lot of luck and good fortune for him to end up in the Oval Office!

A Generation Of Bill Clinton: An Active, Historic, Influential Legacy!

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Today marks a generation, 20 years, of Bill Clinton being a national figure, with him announcing his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for President on this date in 1991.

Considered an underdog at the time, few expected that the Arkansas Governor would end up as our 42nd President!

Bill Clinton went on to serve two full terms in the White House, the only Democrat to do so since Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Today, at age 65, having survived bypass heart surgery in 2005; having overcome impeachment charges in 1998-1999; having had a major impact on American history during his years as President from 1993-2001; having been involved in the unsuccessful attempt of his wife, Hillary Clinton, to be the Democratic nominee for President in 2008; and having seen her succeed in the US Senate and now as Secretary of State under President Barack Obama, Clinton has been “giving back” to America and the world through his Clinton Global Initiative project, and is seen as one of the leading world statesmen!

Bill Clinton has pleased at times, and infuriated at times, those who have witnessed his historic roles in the past twenty years, including the author who has long had mixed feelings about his legacy and his private behavior.

But there is no doubt that Bill Clinton is still a national treasure, and that his Presidential Library in Little Rock will be a much visited place over the years by tourists and scholars, trying to analyze and evaluate the man and his Presidency.

So this is a moment to celebrate for Bill Clinton personally, and for the nation at large!