2021 US Capitol Insurrection

Seditionists In Republican Caucus In Charge In The House Of Representatives In The 118th Congress!

A sad, tragic, and threatening circumstance now is reality!

The Republican controlled House of Representatives in the 118th Congress has become the property of seditionists and traitors, those who promoted “Election Denial” and the US Capitol Insurrection of January 6, 2021!

Extremists, led by Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia; Lauren Boebert of Colorado; Matt Gaetz of Florida; Paul Gosar of Arizona; Scott Perry of Pennsylvania; Jim Jordan of Ohio; James Comer of Kentucky; and others has been given power and membership on committees that will now be out to wipe out the truth and the investigation completed by the January 6 House Committee!

And any one of them could call for a vote at any time to dislodge Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, who has sold his soul, ethics, morals, and principles in order to accomplish his lifelong goal to be Speaker!

Chaos and anarchy are ahead of us, and sham investigations and supposed scandals will be the center of attention, without any real conclusions that are truthful, only designed to divide America further, without regard as to the effect on average Americans!

And the likelihood of a financial crisis over the debt limit will cause great turmoil and suffering, totally reckless and unnecessary!

California Split: Kevin McCarthy Declares War On Adam Schiff, Eric Swalwell, Fellow Californians!

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy from Sacramento, California, has demonstrated in just one week how corrupt and vindictive he is!

He has declared war on two fellow Californian Congressmen, both Democrats, Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell, because of their efforts regarding the impeachments of former President Donald Trump. He has promised he will deny these two courageous Congressmen from serving on the House Intelligence Committee in revenge!

Now, McCarthy is also suggesting that the Republican House of Representatives might move to “expunge” the two impeachments of Trump that took place in 2019 and 2021, trying to whitewash and change history!

This is the same man who denounced Trump, rightfully, for the January 6, 2021 US Capitol Insurrection, but then within about ten days, went to Mar A Lago and made “peace” with a President who had been responsible for treason, sedition, bloodshed, and violence, including all members of Congress of both parties, as well as law enforcement personnel, and Congressional staff members!

The 118th Congress Opens: Prediction Of Worst Congress In Modern Times!

The 118th Congress has just been gaveled into session, and it seems clear that, at least in the House of Representatives, the nation is facing the worst two years of Congressional action in modern history!

After the very successful 117th Congress under President Joe Biden, while the Senate has one extra Democrat now (John Fetterman of Pennsylvania), the Republican takeover of the House of Representatives is on the way to disaster, as it now seems inevitable that the battle over whether Republican leader Kevin McCarthy of California is to become Speaker of the House is going to take multiple ballots for the first time in a century!

Frederick Gillett had to suffer through nine ballots before he was chosen to be Speaker in the 68th Congress, precisely a century ago!

There have been 14 Congresses that had a battle over who would be Speaker, all but 1923 being before the Civil War, with four being Congresses between 1847 and 1861; five being between 1819 and 1841; and four being between 1793 and 1811.

So this will be the 15th Congress out of 118 that has had this struggle over who would be Speaker.

The longest battles have been in the 34th Congress (1855-1857)—133 ballots; the 31st Congress (1849-1851)—63 ballots; the 36th Congress (1859-1861)—44 ballots; and the 16th Congress (1819-1821)—22 ballots.

As I write this mid afternoon, Kevin McCarthy has lost on the first and second ballots, and it seems as if this struggle for the Speakership will go on endlessly, and the feeling is that someone else, possibly Jim Jordan of Ohio, may end up as Speaker, even though he has supported McCarthy!

If such happens, the nation is is dangerous times, as Jordan was too close and supportive of Donald Trump, and has vehemently condemned the January 6 House investigation of the US Capitol Insurrection!

The Presidential Election Campaign Of 2024 Has Begun!

With the new year 2023 upon us, the Presidential Election campaign of 2024 has begun!

It actually began when former President Donald Trump declared his candidacy on November 15, 2022, but with the last seven weeks having been a total disaster for any Presidential plans.

This is not just what the January 6 House Committee investigating the US Capitol Insurrection has recommended, criminal charge against Donald Trump.

It is much more than that, including even that his own daughter, Ivanka Trump, has made clear that she has no interest in being engaged in his campaign, as she was in 2016 and 2020!

The public support for Donald Trump has been deteriorating dramatically, and the odds are good that a multitude of Republican potential Presidential candidates will start announcing their campaigns soon.

Among them are likely the following:

Former Vice President Mike Pence
Former Secretary of State and CIA head Mike Pompeo
Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis
Texas Governor Greg Abbott
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem
South Carolina Senator Tim Scott
Texas Senator Ted Cruz
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin
New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu
Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie
Former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan

And the two Republicans on the January 6 House Committee might also announce their candidacies:

Former Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney
Former Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger

In the mind of this author and blogger, while he would not vote for any of these in November 2024, the following would be seen at this point as “tolerable”, including if they actually won the White House, no special order:

South Carolina Senator Tim Scott
New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu
Former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan
Former Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney
Former Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger

The most intriguing of this list of five would be, in the mind of this author and blogger, if either Larry Hogan or Adam Kinzinger ended up as the nominee!

The Ten Greatest Political Villains Of 2022! And An Addendum!

Yesterday, I published a post on the ten greatest Political Heroes of 2022.

So now, it is time to indicate who I believe are the ten greatest Political Villains of 2022!

In no special order, I would list the following:

Republican House Minority Leader, possibly Speaker of the House (hopefully not), Kevin McCarthy of California, who time again and again showed he had no spine, being a supplicant to Donald Trump, and demonstrating no principle or ethics in his crazed desire to be Speaker, two heartbeats away from the Presidency. The thought of him being that close in the line of succession is horrifying, not that there are very good alternatives!

Election Denier, and symbol with clenched fist, Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, who promoted sedition and treason! He faces reelection in 2024 and should be soundly defeated!

Election Denier and most obnoxious Senator (with other competitors), Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who this author and blogger thought in 2016 was the most dangerous Republican running for President, even more than Donald Trump! He faces reelection in 2024 and should be soundly defeated!

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a man who once had some intelligence, but after Arizona Senator John McCain died, has become a total Donald Trump sycophant!

Republican Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, a very unstable and unpricipled excuse for a human being, who, somehow, was able to defeat one of the best US Senators of modern times, Russ Feingold, in 2010 and 2016, and then a very talented Lieutenant Governor, African American Mandela Barnes in 2022. Johnson is one of the worst figures in Senate history!

Republican Congressman Jim Jordan of Ohio, an obnoxious and unprincipled man who, sadly, is likely to become House Judiciary Committee Chairman in the 118th Congress in 2023!

Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott, who won his third term as Governor in 2022, despite his horrendous policies and lack of compassion, and is likely to pursue a Presidential candidacy for 2024!

Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who won a vast reelection victory in 2022, and is seen as the front runner for the Republican Presidential nomination in 2024, despite his intolerant and authoritarian bent, and his high level of arrogance and cockiness, on a multitude of issues. These include the COVID 19 Pandemic; Gay and Transgender Rights; Racial and Religious Minorities; interference in the teaching of History and Literature, and Manipulating School Boards and Libraries; and extreme Gerrymandering of Congressional Districts, which took away two African American seats, and gave the Republicans the control of the House of Representatives in the 118th Congress!

Arizona Republican Gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake, who used the same tactic as Donald Trump, promoting the “Big Lie” about her defeat in the recent elections in her state. She has just been repudiated in court in her attempt to reverse a clearcut victory by her opponent, Secretary of State Katie Hobbs. Good riddance to the most obnoxious woman imaginable!

Finally, on this list, former President Donald Trump, the most dangerous and worst US President in American history, twice impeached, and a close ally of totalitarian dictators around the world, willing to overthrow the US Constitution, rule of law, and American democracy. He needs to be prevented from running again for President, and indictment and conviction on the four charges brought against him by the January 6 House Committee is essential, to prevent any future tyrant from taking the kind of actions that this most evil man took! He harmed so many Americans during his term, as well as having the responsibility for the deaths, destruction and violence, in the worst attack on the US Capitol since the War of 1812!

And now an Addendum:

The Supreme Court has become a disgraceful, power hungry, extremist right wing organization!

Chief Justice John Roberts has lost his desired reputation as the leader of his Court, and in particular, Clarence Thomas (appointed by George H. W. Bush) and Samuel Alito (appointed by George W. Bush) have been totally out of control, and both will go down as two of the very worst Supreme Court Justices in American history! The names and reputations of both Bush Presidencies are permanently besmirched as a result!

Major Week Ahead: Trump Facing January 6 Committee Prosecution Recommendations

After 18 months of an exhaustive investigation by the House of Representatives January 6 Committee, this week, finally, the committee is wrapping up its work with expected recommendations for prosecution of former President Donald Trump.

The charges that will be recommended to the Justice Department and Attorney General Merrick Garland include:

Promotion of Insurrrection against the US Government

Obstruction of Justice, interfering with the counting of the Electoral Vote by Vice President Mike Pence and the two houses of Congress on January 6, 2021

Conspiracy to defraud the US Government

More than 1,000 people were interviewed and depositions taken.

It is a tribute to the committee how much effort they have put into investigation of this crisis, and it is essential that Trump be prosecuted, and prevented from running for President in the future!

And special tribute is appropriate to the two Republican members of the January 6 Committee, Congresswoman Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Congressman Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, both who will not be serving in the upcoming 118th Congress. Both sacrificed their careers to do the right thing, stand up for justice and truth and loyalty to the US Constitution!

Both are Profiles in Courage who will shine in the future as part of American history!

Nancy Pelosi Is The Greatest Elected Woman Leader In US History!

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, California, is giving up her leadership of the Democratic Party in the lower chamber, as a result of the Republicans taking over as the majority by just a few members, basically a switch from the Democratic slim margin in the 117th Congress, to the Republican slim margin in the upcoming 118th Congress.

Pelosi will remain, however, as the representative of her district, and will contribute her expertise and skills to the new, younger generation leadership of the Democratic Party, led by New York Congressman Hakeem Jeffries.

Pelosi has served for 36 years, and has been a massive figure in the history of Congress.

Without a doubt, she is the greatest elected woman leader in US History, and has borne the burden of vicious personal attacks on her person and that of her husband.

She is truly a heroine for the ages, and was of great assistance to Democratic Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, but also came to the support, when needed, of Republican President George W. Bush.

Pelosi is irreplaceable, but Hakeem Jeffries, hopefully the future Speaker of the House in the 119th Congress (2025-2027) is certain to outshine the mediocre, self serving, traitor to the Constitution and rule of law that Kevin McCarthy represents, being beholden to Donald Trump, after rightly condemning him immediately after the US Capitol Insurrection on January 6, 2021.

McCarthy will be condemned in history for having been subservient to Donald Trump!

January 6 House Committee Hearing Today Conclusive Evidence Of Trump Guilt

The January 6 House Committee hearing today has provided yet more conclusive evidence of Donald Trump’s guilt in inciting the US Capitol Insurrection.

Particularly impressive was Vice Chair of the committee, Wyoming Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney, and Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, along with Maryland Democratic Congressman Jamie Raskin and California Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff.

While there is danger of violence with Trump talking about “civil war”, the Department of Justice has no choice but to bring charges against Donald Trump, with the timing being after the Midterm Elections of 2022, and before the new 118th Congress begins.

No one is above the law, and that principle is essential, as a warning to future Presidents, that justice is even handed, and no one has an advantage in court because of fame or notoriety!

So a subpoena is being issued to Donald Trump by the committee to come and testify under oath, and we shall see what transpires!

Adam Kinzinger Goes Bipartisan, Endorsing Democrats Up For Election, To Save Democracy!

Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, one of only two Republicans on the January 6 Committee investigating the US Capitol Insurrection, will be leaving Congress at the end of the year, as his Congressional seat was eliminated in reapportionment, and he chose not to run in another district.

But Adam Kinzinger is a man of courage and principle, and he, along with Congresswoman Liz Cheney of Wyoming, is fighting against the Fascist takeover of their party by Donald Trump and his “Election Deniers” crowd!

So Kinzinger has endorsed Democrats running in the Midterm Elections next month, including:

Pennsylvania Democratic gubernatorial nominee Josh Shapiro, against the very dangerous Doug Mastriano

Arizona Democratic gubernatorial nominee Katie Hobbs, against the lunatic Kari Lake

Four Democratic Secretary of State candidates in Minnesota, Michigan, Arizona, and Nevada, crucial states for certifying election results, making them safe from “Election Deniers”.

Also, Kinzinger is backing Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski, and Independent Evan McMullin for the Senate seat in Utah, held by Republican Senator Mike Lee.

Kinzinger is someone who should be paid attention to, as he is seen as likely to announce a Presidential campaign, if for nothing else, to work against the MAGA Republicans, who are a danger to American democracy!

Donald Trump Suffers Stunning Series Of Legal Losses

Former President Donald Trump has suffered a series of legal losses this past week, including:

New York State Attorney General Letitia James is accusing him and his three older children (Donald Trump, Jr., Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump), of massive fraud, and is suing for a $250 million fine, wishing to deny the Trump family any ability to conduct business in New York State for the next five years, and giving evidence gathered to federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York.

A three judge Circuit Court panel, with two Trump appointees, is allowing the Justice Department to pursue action on classified documents taken by Trump to Mar A Lago, to judge whether national security has been endangered.

A Georgia prosecutor is moving toward action on the illegal interference promoted by Trump to try to change the Georgia Presidential election results in the 2020 Presidential election.

Additionally, the January 6 House Committee investigating the January 6, 2021 Insurrection at the US Capitol will be having another public hearing and presentation in the coming week.

The pressures being brought against Donald Trump, his children, and his business activities are all adding to the burden on the former President, easily the most corrupt in American history!