Inauguration Day 2021

Mike Pence Historical Reputation At Stake As He Leaves Vice Presidency Next Month

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Vice President Mike Pence, the 48th Vice President, has been a total disaster in that office, and has added to the horrendous record of recent Republican Vice Presidents, as compared to recent Democratic Vice Presidents.

Just going back a half century, and one can see how different the historical reputation is of the two party’s Vice Presidents.

There are two Republican Vice Presidents since 1969—Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush—who later went on to become President, and despite controversies, stand out as reasonably decent Vice Presidents. Nelson Rockefeller, under Gerald Ford, also comes across as having had a decent record and historical reputation worth defending.

But then we have Spiro Agnew under Richard Nixon, who was forced out of the Vice Presidency by corruption, and it remains terrifying that he came so close to becoming President.

We have Dan Quayle, who was a not very bright man, and very scary as potential President when George H.W. Bush had some health crises.

And we have Dick Cheney, often considered more a President in the first term of George W. Bush, who was terrifying in his “Darth Vader” type evil, and committed war crimes and abuse of power while Vice President, demonstrating the potential for harm done by a very bright man, who was transformed by September 11 in a dangerous way.

Now compare this to the Democratic Vice Presidents since 1969. We have Walter Mondale under Jimmy Carter, recognized by scholars as the most active, engaged and exceptional Vice President in American history, and still living 40 years after his time in office, and reaching the age of 93 on January 5.

We have Al Gore, who served Bill Clinton in a very reputable fashion, and influenced Clinton on environmental and other matters. And he had the dignity after a contested Presidential election in 2000, to concede in a manner that showed respect for the Constitution and rule of law.

And we have Joe Biden, who is seen as either equivalent of importance to Barack Obama or just second to Walter Mondale under Jimmy Carter, and now will be the 46th President of the United States in less than a month! Certainly, Biden’s Vice Presidency prepared him for the challenges he will face on January 20, 2021!

All three of these Democratic Vice Presidents in the past half century stand out as successes, and all three also ran for President, and they add to the dignity and significance of the office of Vice President.

The Republican Vice Presidents, at least Agnew, Quayle, and Cheney were, by comparison, true disasters!

Now, Mike Pence, who has demonstrated a complete lack of guts to challenge Donald Trump on anything he says or does, has an historic role he faces on January 6, to go through the ceremonial duty as President of the US Senate, to conduct a formal counting of the electoral votes before a joint session of Congress.

Every one of the Vice Presidents in office at the end of the term from Hubert Humphrey in 1969, through Nelson Rockefeller in 1977, through Walter Mondale in 1981, through George H. W. Bush in 1989, through Dan Quayle in 1993, through Al Gore, in 2001, through Dick Cheney in 2009, and through Joe Biden in 2017, have followed procedure and refused to allow challenges or controversies during that solemn ceremony.

But the odds are good that Mike Pence will allow such characters as Congressmen Mo Brooks of Alabama, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, and Jim Jordan of Ohio; and Senators Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin to delay the counting of the vote as they try to deny Joe Biden his rightful win in the Electoral College and in the popular vote nationally!

If Mike Pence does that, he will be condemned in history on the level of such disgraced Vice Presidents as Aaron Burr and Spiro Agnew!

Discussion Of Martial Law In White House Alarming, With One Month To Go Until Inauguration

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Today, one month before the inauguration, 31 days until Joe Biden and Kamala Harris begin the new administration, there is alarming news that corrupt, renegade lawyers around Donald Trump had a stormy meeting with Donald Trump, promoting the declaration of martial law, suspension of the Constitution under the ill advised Insurrection Act of 1807, and the redo of the election in states that were “swing’ states lost by Trump in November.

The New York Times reports that Patrick Cipollone, one of the President’s White House lawyers, and Mark Meadows, the White House Chief of Staff, argued vigorously against such action, while a renegade lawyer, Sidney Powell, was promoting such alarming ideas, along with wanting to be a special counsel to investigate the election returns, after the Electoral College has already made the election results official on December 14.

The possibility of a coup still exists, but it seems clear that were Trump to move in that direction, that the military and the bureaucracy would not cooperate.

At this point, with a crazed President out of control, and promoting anti democratic actions, at least in his diseased head, that immediate action to force his resignation, and for Vice President Mike Pence to finish out the term, is essential.

And those who argued for such action, including Powell and retired General Mike Flynn, who was convicted and then pardoned, should be incarcerated as traitors and seditionists.

And it is good to see Cipillone, who represented Trump in the impeachment trial and has been the White House Counsel, and Mark Meadows, former Congressman and Tea Party favorite, are putting patriotism and the rule of law ahead of Trump’s maniacal behavior!

Extreme Threat Growing To Biden And Harris And Civil Order From Right Wing Trumpists Who Deny Election Results!

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With the Electoral College having met in the 50 states and Washington DC on Monday, the victory of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris is done, but even though Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and some other Republicans on Capitol Hill are coming around to acceptance that Joe Biden will be taking the oath of office on January 20, 2021, there is growing concern of an extreme threat to both Biden and Harris and to maintaining of civil order.

Right wing Trumpists present a growing threat to the nation, as there are those who have threatened to call for a coup, a declaration of martial law, suspension of the Constitution, and denial of the Bill of Rights as part of a plan to keep Donald Trump in office indefinitely as a tinhorn dictator, similar to Juan Peron of Argentina or Benito Mussolini of Fascist Italy.

The “Proud Boys” are a terrorist group supportive of and endorsed by Trump, and white supremacists, as those at Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017, are a serious threat in Washington DC now, and on Inauguration Day and after!

If Donald Trump continues to deny reality and incites rebellion, he needs to be arrested and charged immediately upon leaving office, and tough measures against “secessionists” and “traitors” and “seditionists” need to be implemented!

We are not going to allow lawlessness and violence to be perpetrated by Donald Trump or any of his minions, who have no respect for the rule of law and the Constitution and Bill of Rights!

America Is In The Most Dangerous Constitutional Crisis In All Of Its History, More Than 1860 Or 1932!

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Shocking but true, America has just entered into its most dangerous constitutional crisis in all of its history, more than 1860 or 1932.

The Civil War has always been regarded as the most difficult moment constitutionally, as the Civil War was on the horizon, but Abraham Lincoln won the election, and was inaugurated peacefully on March 4, 1861.

The Great Depression was at its worse at the time of the election in 1932, but Franklin D. Roosevelt won the election, and was inaugurated peacefully on March 4, 1933.

Both Lincoln and FDR faced assassination threats, but both survived and became our greatest Presidents.

Other times, we have had contested or close elections, as in 1800, 1824, 1876, 1880, 1916, 1960, 2000, and 2016, but always there was a peaceful transition of government from one President to another, without rancor.

But now, yesterday, President Donald Trump indicated that he would not guarantee a peaceful transition of power, that the mail ballots should be thrown out, and his administration continue in office beyond January 20, 2021, and that an extra Supreme Court Justice might be enough to rule in Trump’s favor. Also, there are plans behind the scenes to have Presidential electors in many swing states be convinced to support Trump in the Electoral College, even if Trump is seen as losing the popular vote in many states.

This is alarming, and presages a constitutional crisis that would be worse than 1860 or 1932, and a move by Trump to destroy the Constitution and rule of law, and the establishment of an authoritarian Fascist oriented dictatorship!

It means we have a tense 40 days until the election, and a potentially tense 78 days to Inauguration Day, whereby Trump could declare martial law, or we could have both Trump and Biden coming to Inauguration Day as the perceived winner by their own camps, and how that would be handled.

Our system of government has always been based on the loser accepting defeat, not being a sore loser, and not threatening to provoke violence by his supporters, but Trump is already doing this at his no mask, no social distancing, rallies, an alarming development.

This is a moment of reckoning for all elected Republicans, that while they want to compete to win power, that they have to respect the Constitution and rule of law, and NOT support a renegade President, if the election results are clearly in favor of Joe Biden, as is expected.

We have to hope that Biden wins by a massive margin, as otherwise, we are in uncharted territory, and even if it is a massive victory, Trump might claim it is a stolen election, and throw it to the courts, and a newly appointed Associate Justice could be the decisive factor in deciding whether we retain our democracy.

The death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, ironically, could be a major turning point in American history in a negative fashion way beyond the passing of this great woman!

We cannot allow that to occur!

Could Donald Trump Resign Before The Election, Or After The Election Before The Inauguration?

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There is some speculation that Donald Trump, who has been behind Joe Biden steadily in public opinion polls for many months, might be thinking of resigning before the election, rather than face defeat, which would be very hard for him psychologically. Or he could resign after the election before Inauguration Day on January 20, 2021.

Trump has a history of quitting, with six bankruptcies, and as bad as it would be for him to resign, it could be seen by him as better than the embarrassment of defeat, one that could be a massive landslide. Or he could take the action after defeat, in an attempt to avoid prosecution.

The plan being theorized is that Donald Trump would resign, let Vice President Mike Pence take over, and then be pardoned by Pence.

This situation would be unprecedented, very different than Richard Nixon resigning in August 1974, giving Gerald Ford a term of two years and five and a half months.

But that would upend the election process if it took place before the election, as there would not be time for Mike Pence to choose a running mate to replace himself, and would only insure a more humiliating defeat in November.

Whether before or after the election, it would give Mike Pence the shortest Presidency, except for William Henry Harrison’s one month in 1841.

And despite his sychophantic nature, would Mike Pence want it in history that in his four months or less Presidency, that he is noted for pardoning a President from the legion of crimes that he and Trump were engaged in?

And even if Pence gave a pardon, it would not include New York State charges of financial crimes and other crimes committed on New York property.

So there is no fool proof way out for Donald Trump, who now seems insured of trial and prison on a multitude of charges when he leaves office.

Such charges could not happen to a “better person”, utilizing sarcasm to its extreme!

Half Of Nightmarish 2020 Completed, With Half To Occur: What Is Next?

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Half of the year 2020 is gone, and it has been an horrific six months:

The impeachment trail of Donald Trump, where his Republican Party refused to recognize the danger he presents, and his being in office since early February has been a series of disasters.

The outbreak of the Corona Virus Pandemic, with Trump not taking it seriously from Day One onward.

The economic collapse, which has caused the second Great Depression, but affecting a population three times larger, and no ending to be seen, with so much more desperation, homelessness, and hunger as the result.

The racial discord which has developed over the George Floyd murder by police in Minneapolis, and Trump inciting more racial animosity.

The refusal of Trump to protect Americans in combat, and labeling the bounty paid by the Russians to Taliban fighters to kill Americans in Afghanistan, as a hoax.

Five nightmares and four months to Election Day, 125 days from today, and then 78 days to Inauguration Day!

Will America survive intact over the next 203 days is the issue, extremely worrisome!

The health, safety, and lives of Americans is at stake!

7 Months To Inauguration Day: Fears Grow Of Potential For Disastrous Events Before Election Day, And Up To Inauguration Day

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America has gone through 41 months of the Trump Presidency as of today, June 20, and faces 7 more months until Inauguration Day, and 4.5 months until Election Day.

It is well known that events in the next 4.5 months could dramatically change the results of the Presidential Election of 2020, from what they might seem to be today.

This would not be the first time that “last minute” events, often called the “October Surprise”, transformed what happened on Election Day.

With all of the tumult and conflict we have witnessed under Donald Trump’s Presidency, it now looks as if Joe Biden is a clear cut front runner, but this is not a time to relax, as no result is certain, and people need to exercise their right to vote.

Somehow, with a first nearly six months of 2020 being so unbelievable, with the impeachment trial; the CoronaVirus Pandemic coming upon us: the resultant complete collapse of the American economy; and the escalating violence by law enforcement against black men, leading to widespread demonstrations and some violence, one has to have trepidation about what the rest of this year portends!

Donald Trump Tweet Storm Greater Than Ever, And Threatening Adam Schiff And Other Democrats Involved In Impeachment Trial

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Donald Trump is now engaged in a furious tweet storm, greater than ever, and threatening Adam Schiff and other Democrats involved in the Impeachment Trial, continuing this week.

Trump sounds more like a Mob Boss, a Mafia Chief, as he talks about Schiff, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and others “paying the price”, as if they are committing treason by investigating and bringing the President to trial.

It now seems unlikely there will be any witnesses or new documents entered into the trial, and that means the trial will likely end by the weekend, with an acquittal.

This will embolden Trump ever more, making him more dangerous in the nine months up to the election, and it is now possible to believe he could find an excuse to declare martial law, and suspend the Constitution and Bill of Rights!

And the fear, if he loses the election in November, that he will refuse to concede, and will not give up the Presidency on January 20, 2021, requiring the military and Secret Service, under the rule of law, to remove him bodily from the Oval Office.

This could, however, lead to the danger of bloodshed and violence, and a serious threat of the breakdown of law and order, leading to civil war!

This is a very sobering time!