Hunter Biden

Ohio Debate On Tuesday Will Start Winnowing The Field Of Democratic Candidates For President

Ronald 45 Comments

The Columbus, Ohio debate among 12 Democratic Presidential candidates will likely start the winnowing of the field, which is much too large.

As things stand now, Senator Elizabeth Warren and South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg seem like the candidates that are gaining.

Warren is taking support away from Bernie Sanders, who is recovering from a heart attack, and will be watched closely on Tuesday for signs of weariness. Sanders knows Warren is a problem for him, and has pointed out that she is a believer in capitalism, and is not a Socialist, which actually helps Warren’s image.

Mayor Pete is likely the major moderate Democratic alternative to Joe Biden, who has to deal with the issue of his son, Hunter Biden, and Ukranian connections, although it seems clear there is no corruption involved, at least as far as we know at this point. Also, Joe Biden is coming across, sadly, as not quite up to par mentally at times, a very worrisome situation for him. Meanwhile, Mayor Pete continues to make a great impression, including in the CNN gay-lesbian-transgender debate this past Thursday, and has gained a lot of financial support.

Whether Kamala Harris can recuperate from a decline in support is debatable. Beto O’Rourke and Julian Castro have also failed to take off in recent months, and have made some errors that harm them.

While Cory Booker gained enough financial backing to stay in the race, it still seems unlikely that he is going to be a serious candidate for the Presidential nomination.

Andrew Yang has had unexpected good fortune, but still it seems a real long shot that he can get anywhere gaining enough support to move forward.

Amy Klobuchar so far has not made much of a dent, and Tulsi Gabbard and Tom Steyer, in their first debate, do not seem likely to make any real move toward serious contention.

So Tuesday’s debate will likely narrow the field as we move closer to the Iowa Caucuses and New Hampshire Primary four months from now.

Two Democratic Presidential Candidates Now Harmed In Quest For Nomination: Joe Biden And Bernie Sanders

Ronald 66 Comments

It turns out that the two oldest Presidential contenders in 2020–Democrats Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, who would both reach 80 early in their term, if they won the Presidency–are both much more in danger in their quest to be the Presidential nominee by recent events.

Donald Trump’s claim that Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden were involved in Ukraine corruption seems clearly to have no logical or factual basis, but Trump is pushing the conspiracy theory, and it seems to be having some effect on public opinion, as a growing number of people polled want an investigation and more facts about the supposed “conspiracy”. So Joe Biden needs to be aggressive in dealing with this matter, as trying to ignore it is not going to work. It is clear that the upcoming election will be a “mud fight” with no holds barred, and one must be tough and willing to get involved in a boxing match, as Donald Trump has no limits in his indecency and willingness to corrupt and manipulate the truth!

At the same time, Bernie Sanders, no matter what his supporters wish, by having had a mild heart attack, only emphasizes his age, and makes one wonder could he, indeed, take the brunt of a rough campaign over the next 13 months, and whether one could expect him to serve a full term in good health. One wishes him the best, but it is an issue which will not go away.

All this, plus the fact that Joe Biden sometimes seems mentally lacking in alertness makes one worry if he also is truly capable of serving a full term, and either Biden or Sanders could have a health crisis after being nominated and during the fall campaign, and that would be devastating for the Democrats in their quest to retire the most corrupt and mentally unstable President in all of American history.

The facts are that Donald Trump has shown ability to overcome all detriments and shortcomings so far, but we cannot be certain that Joe Biden or Bernie Sanders can do the same.

And again, it brings up the idea that it would be better to have a new generation of leadership facing the future, rather than Trump, Biden or Sanders, all in their mid to late 70s or early 80s in the new decade of the 2020s!

Donald Trump Has Committed Treason, And Has Taken Mike Pence, William Barr, Mike Pompeo, Mick Mulvaney, And Rudy Giuliani Down With Him

Ronald 16 Comments

The Ukraine Scandal is rapidly becoming the most significant scandal since Watergate under Richard Nixon 45 years ago.

It is clear that Donald Trump has committed treason by openly trying to engage the Ukraine government in exposing supposed scandals involving former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden, in exchange for military aid to Ukraine in its struggle with Russia and Vladimir Putin.

And Trump has thrown Vice President Mike Pence, Attorney General William Barr, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, and his personal attorney, former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani under the bus, implicating all of them in his actions involving Ukraine.

Trump wants the whistleblower in this scandal treated as a spy committing treason, and being executed.

In reality, Donald Trump is again projecting the situation, as it is he who has committed treason, and should be given the death penalty.

As it is, this situation has led to a majority of Democrats in the House of Representatives supportive of impeachment, and it is clear that will happen in the next few months, but with a decision to be made how broad or narrow such an impeachment resolution should be.

Time For Republican Senators To Be Held To Account: Are They For Good Of Nation And Constitution Or Party And Self Interest?

Ronald 7 Comments

The series of escalating events surrounding Donald Trump’s abuse of power and a legion of impeachable offenses is ever worse now with the revelation that Trump was pressuring the government of Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, who was involved in business dealings with a Ukrainian company.

The push for impeachment is ever greater, as it is another example of collusion with a foreign government, this time Ukraine, while in 2016, it was Russian collusion that helped Trump in his race against Hillary Clinton for the White House.

So an impeachment inquiry was inevitable, with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announcing, finally, an impeachment inquiry this afternoon.

Many say there is no point to impeachment, as there will be no conviction and removal by the two thirds majority needed in the Senate.

But that was not a factor in the Andrew Johnson impeachment, nor the Bill Clinton impeachment, with the case against both Johnson and Clinton very weak, as compared to Richard Nixon, and now Donald Trump.

The point is that in 1974, courageous Republicans let Nixon know they would not support him in an impeachment trial, and he resigned.

This is now what Republicans need to do when an impeachment trial comes to the Senate. The message must be that if you vote to support a lawless President, public outrage will work to defeat you in the next election for your seat, and your reputation in history will be in tatters, as you are endorsing the destruction of the checks and balances and separation of powers that make the American Constitution work.

Republicans’ feet must be held to the fire, and no excuses will be accepted.

So Mitt Romney, Ben Sasse, Susan Collins, and others who like themselves to be seen as moderate conservatives need to show courage and guts and do the right thing.

And those who cater to Donald Trump, and know better, such as Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, John Cornyn, John Thune, and a multitude of others, the wrath visited against all of you will be massive, and you will regret supporting a man who has no ethics, no morals, no scruples, and is out to destroy the Constitution of rule of law.

It is time for a Profile in Courage on a massive scale!