McCarthyism

159th Anniversary Of Founding Of Republican Party: Not A Celebration!

Ronald 47 Comments

The Republican Party, which gave us Abraham Lincoln, Thaddeus Stevens, Charles Sumner, William Seward in the years of the 1850s and 1860s; which gave us Theodore Roosevelt, Robert La Follette, Sr, George Norris, William Borah, Hiram Johnson in the 1900s-1940s; which gave us Dwight D. Eisenhower, Nelson Rockefeller, William Scranton, Henry Cabot Lodge Jr,, George Romney in the 1950s-1960s; and which gave us Mark Hatfield, Charles Mathias, Charles Percy, Howard Baker, Bob Dole, Gerald Ford in the 1970s–1990s, reached its 159th birthday today.

The Republican Party began as an anti slavery expansion party, with elements of abolitionism also present when the party began on this day in Ripon, Wisconsin in 1854.

It became the party of civil rights legislation, three civil rights constitutional amendments, progressive legislation, and supportive of much bipartisan legislation with Democrats in the New Deal and Great Society eras.

Of course, they had their evil elements, including McCarthyism, nativism, and tying themselves to organized religious influences that wished to take America backward, but until the past few years, they always had redeeming values in many ways, and would often denounce the extremists in their midst.

But now the Republican Party has become a party dominated by Tea Party radicals, who promote racism, misogyny, nativism, concern only to promote the welfare of the wealthy, and willingness to engage in foreign wars that have cost us dearly in treasure and loss of life and limb!

The Republican Party is no longer, in any way, reflective of its past, and in fact, insults its honorable, respectable history, sullying the names of its heroes and champions over a century and a half!

This is a tragedy of massive proportions, and the name “Republican” should be co-opted by the true moderates who are sitting by, watching the destruction going on, and holding their heads in their hands, ashamed that the name has been so damaged by reckless, anarchistic haters of the federal government! The party which fought the Civil War to uphold the Union is now more like the secessionist Democrats of that era!

The Republican “Diversity” Primary Or Jeb Bush For President?

Ronald 3 Comments

It seems more and more likely that the Republican Party will do their best to put a person of diversity status, either ethnically or gender, on their 2016 Presidential ticket as the only way to have a chance to win the White House.

This “diversity” primary contest for being on the national ticket would include:

Senator Marco Rubio of Florida
Senator Ted Cruz of Texas
Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina
Senator Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire
Senator Deb Fischer of Nebraska
Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
Senator Susan Collins of Maine
Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana
Governor Nikki Haley of South Carolina
Governor Susana Martinez of New Mexico
Governor Brian Sandoval of Nevada
Congresswoman Michele Bachmann of Minnesota
Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington
Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee
Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice

So overall, there are seven Senators, four Governors, three Congresswomen well known enough, and Condoleezza Rice for the Republicans to choose from to have a “diversity” nominee for President or Vice President.

And when one looks at the list, it is clear that the only “real” choices are Rubio, Cruz, Ayotte, Jindal, Haley, and Rice, as a member of the House has not been nominated since 1880 (James Garfield), and the other choices are far less known, and come from smaller states in population, which undermines their candidacy. And Murkowski and Collins are far too “Moderate” to be the nominee of a right wing Republican Party!

But Rice is highly unlikely to be interested, although easily the most qualified of the six who could be nominated. Jindal and Haley have come across as mean spirited, uncaring Governors on the subject of immigration and health care. Ayotte has not distinguished herself by connecting to John McCain and Lindsey Graham as a “replacement” for Joe Lieberman. Cruz, being born in Canada, will create the issue of his eligibility to run for President, and his use of “McCarthyism” strategy against Chuck Hagel, Barack Obama’s nominee for Secretary of Defense, and his basic aggressive style after less than two months in office will not do him well in a Presidential campaign.

So Marco Rubio, with all of his “warts” and shortcomings, stands out as the best “diversity” candidate, with his coming from Florida, the fourth largest state, and the largest state in play in a Presidential campaign, being a plus!

But it could be that being from Florida is also a plus for former Governor Jeb Bush, who if only he could change his last name, would be the likely best choice for his party.

It could all come down to a final race between former Governor Jeb Bush, whose wife is Mexican American and speaks excellent Spanish, and Senator Marco Rubio, a Cuban American a full generation younger than Jeb Bush!

Second Term Presidencies Are Difficult: The Odds Against Success Of Barack Obama!

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When one examines two term Presidencies, it is clear that there is a great likelihood of disappointment and failure as the President becomes a “lame duck”, and particularly, so after the midterm elections, as everyone looks forward to the race for his successor in office.

The following Presidents had difficult second terms:

Thomas Jefferson–with the Chesapeake Affair
James Madison–with the British attack on Washington DC during the War of 1812
Ulysses S. Grant–with the Panic of 1873 and exposure of the Credit Mobilier scandals
Grover Cleveland–with the Panic of 1893 and the Pullman Strike
Woodrow Wilson–with the First World War and the Treaty Of Versailles and his stroke
Franklin D. Roosevelt–with the failure of the Supreme Court “Packing” Plan and Recession Of 1937-1938
Harry Truman–with the Korean War and the Red Scare (McCarthyism)
Richard Nixon–with the Watergate Scandal
Ronald Reagan–with the Iran-Contra Scandal
Bill Clinton–with the Monica Lewinsky Scandal and the Impeachment Trial
George W. Bush–with the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars and Hurricane Katrina and failed attempt to privatize Social Security

The only Presidents to have successful second terms were:

George Washington
James Monroe
Andrew Jackson
Theodore Roosevelt
Dwight D. Eisenhower

Barack Obama hopes to bring about:

Immigration Reform Legislation
Gun Control Legislation
Climate Change Legislation
Stability in International Affairs

The likelihood of success is very doubtful, however, with so much division, conflict, turmoil, and polarization, caused by the Tea Party Movement and the Republican control of the House of Representatives.

At most, Obama might be able to promote changes in the judiciary, particularly on the Supreme Court, if vacancies occur, as is expected, but even there, it is assured there will be major battles over every appointment, and the possibility of filibustering nominees.

This reality is already showing itself with the interference and opposition to Susan Rice to be Secretary of State, before she was ever considered for nomination, and now Chuck Hagel, a possible choice for Secretary of Defense, who despite being a Republican, has already built up major opposition in the party that he represented in the Senate for 12 years from the state of Nebraska!

There seems the likelihood that no matter what Obama does or says, he will have vehement opposition, not only during the first two years, but even in his last two years as a “lame duck”, having less influence each month as the Presidential Election Of 2016 approaches!

Hardball, Knuckleball Political Campaigning: Part Of The American Tradition!

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Right or wrong, hardball and knuckleball political campaigning is part of the American tradition, and is nothing new in 2012.

We can go back to the origins of political parties in the 1790s, with the Federalists and Democratic Republicans at each other’s throats, beginning with John Adams and Thomas Jefferson nasty toward each other in 1796 and 1800.

Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams, and Jackson against Henry Clay, is another example widely reminiscent of hardball, knuckleball campaigning.

Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas went at each other, and after the Civil War, the Republicans looked at the Democrats as “traitors”!

When the progressives became prominent, conservatives went on the counterattack and have not stopped, under Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and now Barack Obama.

The no holds barred attack by the right wing, including McCarthyism in the 1950s and again now with Michele Bachmann and others, is finally getting a full measure of counterattack by the Democrats and liberals and progressives, as they have come to realize that being a civil campaigner does not work, and only emboldens the opposition.

Sadly, many people are turned off to this attack and counterattack, but it is not going to go away, and for anyone to decide not to vote because of this is the height of irresponsibility, as even with disgust with both sides and their tactics, it still does matter who wins and who controls power!

To sit on the sidelines is a horrible mistake at at time when the future is so uncertain, and requires all citizens to participate!

Congress Leaves Business Undone While Campaigning For Reelection: A Disgrace!

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Congress has left DC for a month, in the midst of much business undone, including budgetary bills, unfulfilled judicial and executive appointments, and time spent preventing any action on the economy.

This “experiment” of a GOP House and a Democratic Senate, the first time ever with such a split, has been a total disaster, and the American people need to realize that putting the Republican Party in charge of the budget in the House of Representatives has been a calamity no one could have forseen!

Hopefully, the American people will realize that Barack Obama, celebrating his 51st birthday today, has done his best, and has been stymied by the Republican leadership led by John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan, and the Tea Party movement element in the House of Representatives, including Michele Bachmann, Allen West, and others who would rather use McCarthyite tactics than deal with real issues and problems faced by the American people!

The Split Personality John McCain: Reasonable On Michele Bachmann, Irrational On Cybersecurity!

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Arizona Senator John McCain, the 2008 GOP nominee for President, is a very complex man, who can be seen as having displayed courage, principle, and decency at times, but also a very nasty, temperamental, unreasonable, and irrational man at times.

So recently, McCain demonstrated the “good” side, by condemning Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann for labeling Huma Abedin, an aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as linked to Islamic terrorism, with no evidence or proof of such activity, and therefore acting like a new Joseph McCarthy. McCain has opened up a bitter debate about the controversial Bachmann, with Speaker of the House John Boehner supporting what he said, while House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has supported Bachmann.

This battle could cause splits at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida, a month from now, but McCain is not backing off.

Now, McCain, however, is showing his irrational, unreasonable side by leading the fight against strong legislation to protect computer systems that are responsible for operating the nation’s critical infrastructure!

There are dangers of a crippling cyberattack by terrorists, but McCain is supporting the business community that does not wish to have stronger government regulation to enforce minimum standards on systems that run power plants, air traffic control systems, dams and similar facilities.

Opposition to the Homeland Security Department setting minimum standards of cybersecurity creates a scenario of the possibility of mass casualties or great economic calamity if such a cyberattack were to occur. The US Chambers of Commerce, one of the leading critics of the Obama Administration, is the leader in fighting greater government oversight, and McCain and other Republicans are their willing servants, sad to say!

McCain is acting totally irrational on this matter, and has opened a rift with two Senators usually his best friends, Republican Susan Collins of Maine, and Independent Democrat Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, with Lieberman and McCain becoming engaged in an openly angry exchange at a private meeting of senators and staff members. McCain actually shouted at Lieberman, showing again his infamous temper!

It makes one happy that McCain did not win the Presidency in 2008, but even without winning, he unleashed on America the nightmare of Sarah Palin, who will simply not go away!

So we can applaud McCain when he is right, as on Michele Bachmann’s McCarthyism, but we must condemn him for kowtowing to business interests on the cybersecurity matter!

Irionically, if a cyberattack were to occur, who would get blamed, at least originally? Barack Obama and the national government, even though they are trying to bring about a security system that makes sense, but that conservatives and big business interests are determined to prevent!

The”Old” John McCain Is Back: A Man Of “Decency” And “Principle”: Fighting Revival Of McCarthyism!

Ronald 2 Comments

Arizona Republican Senator John McCain, the 2008 GOP Presidential nominee, has waxed hot and cold in recent years, causing mourning among his legions of fans across the political aisle.

But now there are signs of the “old” John McCain, the man who thrilled many back in 2000 when he lost the GOP Presidential nomination to George W. Bush, as he has come out against a revival of “McCarthyism”, a use of political rhetoric to promote fear, anxiety and hate against innocent victims.

Just as the infamous Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin labeled a lot of innocent people as “Communists” six decades ago, now we have a group of Republican House members led by Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, who have accused an aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of being linked to Islamic terrorism.

The victim of this attack is Huma Abedin, who has been a top aide to Clinton for many years, and also happens to be the wife of disgraced former New York Congressman Anthony Weiner. She is accused by Bachmann and four others of having relatives, including her deceased father, being linked to the Muslim Brotherhood.

McCain, in a Senate speech, denounced Bachmann and the other Republican House members of “guilt by association” and said the accusations have “no logic, no basis, no merit”, and unfairly besmirch a dedicated public servant. The speech reminds many of Republican Senator Margaret Chase Smith of Maine, who denounced Senator McCarthy’s tactics in 1950, a true “profile in courage”!

Bachmann needs to be drummed out of Congress as a menace to normal political discourse, and is certainly on the short list of Republicans targeted to be defeated this November. Her leaving Congress would be a contribution to American unity!

It should also be pointed out that even Speaker of the House John Boehner has criticized the attacks on Abedin as unjustifiable, but that has not stopped Bachmann from now expanding the attack by accusing fellow Minnesota Democratic Congressman Keith Ellison of being leagued with the Muslim Brotherhood himself, as he is the first Muslim member of Congress.

If this reckless behavior continues, a move to censure Bachmann should be considered, just as it was conducted on McCarthy in 1954, leading to his ultimate downfall as a respectable political leader!

Political Attacks On First Ladies: Nothing New!

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The new book that claims that First Lady Michelle Obama has had problems with White House staff, that she interferes with their agenda in defense of her husband, has led to denials by her, and bitter attacks by conservative media.

Is criticism of the First Lady, whoever she is, anything new? History tells us otherwise.

First Lady Dolly Madison was always more outspoken in all ways than her taciturn husband, James Madison. She was known as the “party giver”, but that included her willingness to speak her mind!

First Lady Mary Lincoln was controversial over her expenditures, her clothes, and her mouth, and came under a lot of political attacks during the Civil War, including the fact that her brothers were part of the enemy, fighting for the Confederacy against the American government led by Abraham Lincoln.

Lucy Hayes came to be known as “Lemonade Lucy”, due to the fact that she prevented the serving of liquor at White House gatherings, and believed in women’s rights, including the right to vote, and spoke her mind regularly, causing problems therefore for her husband, Rutherford Hayes.

Edith Bolling Galt Wilson, the second Mrs. Wilson, led cabinet meetings after Woodrow Wilson suffered a stroke in 1919, and often was considered the “first woman President” during his last 18 months in office.

Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of Franklin D. Roosevelt, was the most controversial First Lady, speaking up regularly on all kinds of issues and topics, and labeled by her critics as a Communist and a Socialist. After her husband died, she remained part of the political controversies in the era of McCarthyism and the Cold War, always speaking her mind and being a political activist.

Betty Ford became a lightning rod under President Gerald Ford, speaking out as a feminist for the Equal Rights Amendment, and endorsing abortion rights, and speaking about her alcohol and breast cancer problems openly.

Rosalyn Carter attended cabinet meeting of her husband, Jimmy Carter, and also spoke out for feminist causes openly.

Nancy Reagan was criticized for her spending on White House China, and defended her husband, Ronald Reagan, against his own White House Chief of Staff, Donald Regan, who she was able to arrange to fire. She had no problem stating that she was there to help and defend her husband.

Hillary Clinton was the most involved and outspoken First Lady since Eleanor Roosevelt, and became a lightning rod particularly when she promoted a failed health care plan in the first term of Bill Clinton.

And now, Michelle Obama is making clear that she is there as an advocate of her husband, while claiming no problem in getting along with the White House staff.

So this is all nothing new!

The Extreme Radicalism And Looniness Of Michele Bachmann: A Real Threat To America’s Future!

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Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann gained a lot of attention by her performance in the Republican New Hampshire debate last Monday.

Many people are starting to notice her, and many social conservatives are ecstatic about her, and think she might have a shot at the GOP Presidential nomination.

Before we go any further along the road to President Michele Bachmann, let’s look at her record of statements and actions!

1. She said in 2004 that the LION KING was promoting gay propaganda. She is extremely anti gay, despite the fact of having gay relatives.
2. She claimed that many jobs would be created if the minimum wage was abolished, something that clearly is preposterous.
3. She asserted that “intelligent design” was supported by Nobel Prize winning scientists, a total falsehood.
4. She stated that carbon dioxide is not a dangerous gas, while it is well known that in large amounts, it is causing climate change.
5. She accused Democrats in Congress of being anti American and called for an investigation of their backgrounds, a new McCarthyism.
6. She advocated that her constituents refuse to fill out the 2010 Census, until she realized that if that was done in her Congressional district, she would lose her seat, as her constituents would not be counted as part of the population.
7. She has stated the belief that talk show host Glenn Beck could solve the issue of the national debt.

Is anything else necessary to say about Michele Bachmann?

She is crazy, loony, against anything that would improve the lives of the middle class or poor people, an ally of the corporations and the religious right, a mean spirited bigot whose attractive looks belie the truth: She would be a total disaster for America’s future!

Are Muslim Citizens Threats To Homeland Security? The Peter King Committee Hearings And The Real Threat To The Nation!

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New York Republican Congressman Peter King, a member of the House since 1993, is the new Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, and is about to conduct hearings on what he calls the Islamic threat to America presented by disloyal Muslims in American society.

King can certainly give several examples of Muslims in America who have been proved to be engaged in terrorist activities, fortunately stopped by excellent intelligence activities by cooperation between federal and state government officials. With the tragic exception of the Fort Hood massacre by a Muslim soldier, all of the attempts have been prevented.

But are we to say, for instance, that all community college students should be considered dangerous and worthy of investigation by the Homeland Security Committee, because of Jared Lee Loughner shooting Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Arizona, which led to six deaths and thirteen wounded?

Are we to say that all white Christians who had been in the military should be investigated because of Timothy McVeigh blowing up the Oklahoma City Federal Building in 1995, killing 168 people and wounding nearly a thousand people?

We cannot allow the Islamic haters in this country, many of them Christian fundamentalists, to anger and provoke good, law abiding Muslims, several million among us and growing, into hating the nation they willingly migrated to or have grown up in as citizens, to feel they are being persecuted or scapegoated, particularly when Muslim soldiers are fighting for us, and in many cases, have helped report and crack plots by the miniscule number of Muslims who have conspired against us!

What Peter King is doing is really the new McCarthyism, loose labeling people as Communists, and now substituting Muslims for Communists!

It is also important to point out that Peter King has a “skeleton” in his closet, his strong advocacy for the terrorist Irish Republican Army in its long war against British control of Northern Ireland. Can a person who supported terrorism actions against America’s strongest ally, Great Britain, be taken seriously when he claims to be fighting terrorism by promoting insecurity among law abiding Muslims, who are certainly over 99 percent of all Muslims?

And it should be pointed out that IF King really wishes to investigate terrorism threats, look to the hundreds of such groups listed by the Southern Poverty Law Center, including neo-Nazis, white nationalists, neo-Confederates, racist skinheads, and Ku Klux Klansmen!

The number of such groups are at an all time high of 1,002, with many of them so called “Patriot” groups that have grown dramatically since Barack Obama became President, and believing that the federal government is the “enemy”!

And if one counts groups that go beyond just hate groups and Patriot groups to include nativist extremist groups which are a threat to ethnic, racial, religious and sexual orientation minorities, then the total is 2,145, a 40 percent increase from 2008-2009 and a 22 percent rise in 2009-2010!

Also realize that many Republican politicians and talk show hosts on radio and television use loose rhetoric, and are encouraging the paranoia and hate by their loose use of language!

So only when Peter King is willing to investigate and publicize the far greater threat from right wing hate groups would his committee be seen as doing something worthy of our support!