Presidential Succession Act Of 1947

Violent Attack On Speaker Pelosi’s Husband Just Tip Of The Iceberg, Incited By Donald Trump!

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The violent attack on Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, home alone at their San Francisco home, is shocking, but just the tip of the iceberg, as it is just one of many threats against members of Congress and their families.

It is clear that this incident was an assassination threat against Pelosi, had she been present.

Most of the threats are against Democrats, and are promoted by MAGA domestic terrorists backed by Donald Trump.

Notice that Trump has NOT expressed his sympathies and denounced this attack, and by having no comment, is endorsing the violence!

Some Republican leaders have spoken up, but many have encouraged such attacks, including Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebet, Matt Gaetz and others!

There is a need for protection of the homes and close family members of top leadership, as one must realize that the Speaker of the House is second in line for the Presidency.

So this incident represents a second attempt of Trump and his supporters to threaten the life of Nancy Pelosi, after the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol, where Trump remained silent, as the threat against Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence, first in line of succession, occurred.

Donald Trump needs to be held accountable for these threats, a situation that has never occurred before for the top leaders in the Presidential succession!

The threats against President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are a great concern, and if Republican Kevin McCarthy becomes Speaker of the House in 2023, and Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley become President Pro Tempore of the Senate, there will be a need for increased security for these leaders who would be next in line for the Presidency in case of a tragedy!

The Danger Of Kevin McCarthy Being Two Heartbeats Away From The Presidency In 2023

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House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California has engaged in a great coverup regarding the events of January 6, 2021, but we have now learned that he was ready to promote the resignation of Donald Trump, until he changed his mind and caved in to Trump.

McCarthy has led a campaign to defeat Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, the only Republicans to show courage and join the January 6 House Committee investigating the horrible events of that day.

With the exception of a small group of other House Republicans who joined Cheney and Kinzinger in supporting impeachment of Donald Trump for his rhetoric and actions on January 6, the party has engaged in a coverup.

Kevin McCarthy so desperately wants to be Speaker of the House that he has shown himself to be a coward in promoting the “Big Lie” about his involvement and interaction around the events of that day.

The danger now is that McCarthy, were he to become Speaker of the House, would disgrace that office, as he has no principles, ethics, or morals, and is willing to sell his soul to Donald Trump!

The nightmare scenario about Kevin McCarthy is that if was to become Speaker of the House, he would be two heartbeats away from the Presidency, as under the Presidential Succession Act of 1947, the only people standing in the way of the Presidency are President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris!

Even worse is the possibility that someone far worse than even McCarthy, such as Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan or others who are equally reprehensible, could become Speaker in place of McCarthy!

It is essential that the Republicans NOT win the majority in the House of Representatives, as that would also mean the end of the investigation into the most dangerous threat to the US Capitol and American government stability since the War of 1812!

The Aging Of Leadership A Major Problem With Presidential Succession And Otherwise!

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The Presidential Succession Act of 1947 has now set up a situation where the present Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, Patrick Leahy, are both 82 years old, born five days apart in March 1940.

Next year, Dianne Feinstein could be the President Pro Tempore at past 89, as she was born in June 1933, and there are signs of her seemingly having dementia interfering with her ability to do her work.

This presents the problem of aging leadership, which has to include in discussion President Joe Biden, who will be 80 in November, but also senior Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who will be 89 in September, and would be President Pro Tempore of the Senate, if the Republicans regain control this fall.

We have never had such an aging leadership in American history, as so many others in leadership are in their late 70s or nearing 80 and over.

The second and third House leaders are in their 80s–House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, who will be 83 in June, and James Clyburn, the House Majority Whip, who will be 82 in July.

And Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is 80 years old.

It is time for a new generation of leadership!

Orrin Hatch Says Trump Is One Of The Best Presidents Of His Lifetime: Time To Retire!

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Republican Senate President Pro Tempore, Orrin Hatch of Utah, is third in the line of succession at age 83, the longest serving Republican after 41 years in the upper chamber, and is coming up for reelection to an 8th term in 2018, although he may be challenged, if he decides to run, by former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, the 2012 GOP Presidential nominee.

Hatch’s longevity and age is a good argument why he should retire, or face possible defeat by Romney for the nomination.

Hatch has often made ridiculous statements, but this latest one, saying Trump is one of the best Presidents of his lifetime, is shocking, and it makes one wonder if his mental health is solid, as it seems delusional, and a sign of his possible dementia.

The thought that in theory Hatch could succeed to the Presidency if Donald Trump, Mike Pence, and Paul Ryan were all found to be engaged in collusion, is terrifying.

This blogger has long believed that the line of succession should not be the way it is, and instead be changed to the Senate Majority Leader, who is always younger and has been elected by his party colleagues based on his ability to lead, while the Senate President Pro Tempore is simply in that position based upon seniority, not upon qualifications. So we need the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 to be changed now.

While this blogger is not at all thrilled about Mitch McConnell, at least he has been voted into his position and is younger than Hatch.

So, Orrin Hatch, time to announce your retirement at age 84 and after 42 years, half your life in the US Senate.

House Speaker Paul Ryan And Senate President Pro Tempore Orrin Hatch Are Right: Leave DACA In Place, Do NOT Victimize Young Immigrants!

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House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate President Pro Tempore Orrin Hatch are second and third in line to be President, under the Presidential Succession Act of 1947.

Both are clearly conservative Republicans, and yet both have called on President Donald Trump to leave DACA (Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals) in place for 800,000 young men and women who were given the right to remain in America by President Obama in 2012, despite the illegal status of their presence, when they were brought here by their parents from Mexico and other nations in Latin America.

These children (now young adults) should NOT be forced to face deportation to nations they have never known, and which in most cases, do not know the language or culture, or have relatives they know in those nations that their parents migrated from for opportunity for a better life.

These DACA young people are in many cases, in college or the military, and are not engaged in criminal activity, which would clearly eliminate them from the program if proven in a court of law.

Realistically, beyond the DACA kids, there is no rational way to deport millions upon millions of people who, while they may have come illegally, have not broken the law while in America.

These undocumented immigrants pay taxes, face discrimination by police officers who intimidate them in many cases, and do a multitude of jobs that no one else will take on, including working in agricultural fields, hotels, restaurants, and as maids and engaged in property upkeep and in child care duties, and cannot be replaced.

As always, immigrants work much harder than most Americans, in many cases two to three jobs under great stress, and do not complain in the spoiled way that many Americans engage in.

This is a nation of immigrants, and one can be sure that historically there were many undocumented immigrants who came here, and made contributions to the welfare and success of America, so the answer is NOT deporting anyone who is making a positive contribution, and instead having systematic immigration reform, as Paul Ryan and Orrin Hatch, and other Republicans, including Senators John McCain, Jeff Flake, Lindsey Graham and others, are advocating.

Mike Pence: A Morally And Ethically Challenged Vice President, Who Signed A Pact With The Devil, And Now Is Suspect As Possible Successor!

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Vice President Mike Pence is facing a very difficult situation, as Donald Trump implodes, and as his prospects of staying in office for the next three years and eight months becomes more difficult to accomplish. Mike Pence, by agreeing to run for Vice President, became tied to the fate of Donald Trump, and one could argue that he signed a pact with the devil. He could, ultimately, benefit, by becoming the 46th President of the United States, but let’s not jump to that conclusion quite yet.

In the midst of the Trump crisis of leadership, Mike Pence himself is coming under a moral and ethical cloud, as he has been shown to have lied about when he learned about former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn’s contacts with Russian government leaders, including Vladimir Putin and the Russian Ambassador to the United States.

And actually, there now seems to be evidence that Speaker of the House Paul Ryan also seemed to know of Trump collusion with the Russian government as early as June 2016, and told his House colleagues to stay quiet and remember they are part of a team to work for the party over any such evidence.

So we might be faced with a constitutional crisis worse than imagined as the top three leaders of the government under the Presidential Succession Act of 1947–the President, the Vice President, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives–might all be compromised as having knowledge of or collusion with a foreign government that worked to undermine the American electoral process, and to help Donald Trump defeat Hillary Clinton in the Presidential Election of 2016.

If that unbelievable scenario turns out to be totally the case, then we would have the unprecedented situation of Senate President Pro Tempore Orrin Hatch of Utah, who has been in the US Senate for more than 40 years, and is the longest serving Republican Senator in all of American history, and age 83, becoming President of the United States!

Can this really be happening? Stay tuned!

Speaker Paul Ryan Totally Out Of Line In Demanding That Hillary Clinton Be Denied Access To Intelligence Information As Nominee!

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Speaker of the House Paul Ryan is totally out of line in demanding that Hillary Clinton be denied access to intelligence information as the Presidential nominee of the Democratic Party, due to the controversy over Emails, and the FBI director’s criticism of her handling of the matter, while not recommending prosecution.

If that is to occur, then Republican nominee Donald Trump, a dangerous, reckless, “loose cannon” must also be denied access, as he is unable to control his mouth, and might reveal highly sensitive information during the campaign.

It is not Paul Ryan’s place as second in line to the Presidency to intervene and get involved in this controversy, and it makes one wonder how Ryan, if he remains Speaker, and Hillary Clinton, would be able to work together and cooperate next year, if Clinton wins the White House.

Some have thought that Ryan would love to cause a coup and become President himself, as he has done a horrible job as Speaker, and this blogger was highly critical of him when he was Mitt Romney’s Vice Presidential running mate in the 2012 Presidential election.

Ryan is totally untrustworthy, and is a good reason to wish that the old Presidential Succession Act of 1886, replaced by the present one in 1947, could be revived. The cabinet members should follow the Vice President in the order of succession, not the three out of four years opposition party Speaker and President Pro Tempore of the Senate being ahead of the cabinet officers in the line of succession, in case of an emergency.

Speakers Of The House Of Representatives Who Sought The Presidency, And Now Paul Ryan?

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The Speaker of the House of Representatives is second in line for the Presidency after the Vice President under the Presidential Succession Act of 1947, the third such law.

The first such law, from 1792-1886, put the Speaker third in line for the Presidency, with the Vice President and the President Pro Tempore of the US Senate ahead of him, later reversed in 1947.

The second law, from 1886-1947, did not include the Speaker in the line of succession, but rather the Cabinet officers after the Vice President.

In our history, only one Speaker of the House became President, James K. Polk of Tennessee, from 1845-1849, and he proved to be one of the more significant Presidents, adding more real estate to America than anyone other than Thomas Jefferson.  This was accomplished by treaty with Great Britain over the Pacific Northwest in 1846, and by war with Mexico from 1846-1848, which added the Southwestern United States to the Union.

But seven other Speakers sought the Presidency, including the following:

Henry Clay of Kentucky sought the Presidency in 1824, 1832, and 1844, and is regarded as the greatest single legislator in the history of both houses of Congress.  In 1844, we had the only Presidential election where the two opponents had both been Speaker of the House, Clay and Polk!  Clay lost his three elections to John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, and Polk.

John Bell of Tennessee was the Constitutional Union Party nominee for President in 1860 on the eve of the Civil War, and lost to Abraham Lincoln.

James G. Blaine of Maine was the Republican nominee for President in 1884 and lost the election to Grover Cleveland, and was also Secretary of State under three Presidents–James A. Garfield, Chester Alan Arthur, and a full term under Benjamin Harrison.

Thomas Reed of Maine lost the nomination of the Republican Party in 1896 to future President William McKinley.

Champ Clark of Missouri lost the nomination of the Democratic Party in 1912 to future President Woodrow Wilson.

John Nance Garner of Texas, after being Vice President under Franklin D. Roosevelt for two terms from 1933-1941, lost the nomination of the Democratic Party to his boss, President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1940

Newt Gingrich of Georgia lost the Republican nomination for President to eventual nominee Mitt Romney in 2012.

So four Speakers were nominated for President, with only Polk winning; and four other Speakers lost the nomination when they sought the Presidency.

Now we may have a ninth such Speaker seeking the Presidency, Republican Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, whose name is being promoted, despite Ryan’s denial of any interest in running for President.

Three Speakers Of The House Who Were “A Heartbeat Away” From The Presidency!

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The Presidential Succession Act was changed in 1947 from what it had been in the earlier law of 1886.

Instead of the cabinet officers being next in line after the Vice President, the new law, in effect now for 68 years, has the Speaker of the House of Representatives, a Congressman elected by one Congressional district, as next in line.

So therefore, three Speakers of the House have been “a heartbeat away” from the Presidency, in mid 1947-1948, November 1963 to January 1965, and October to December 1973 and August to December 1974.

Joseph W.  Martin Jr. was the first Republican Speaker in 16 years, when the law changed, and when threats against Harry Truman by the Zionist Stern Gang in 1947, as reported by Margaret Truman, occurred, and Martin was a heartbeat away.

When President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, and Lyndon B. Johnson, who had suffered a heart attack in 1955 became President, 73 year John W. McCormack was next in line for 14 months, and the recognition of this fact and his advanced age, led to the passage and ratification of the 25th Amendment in 1967, providing for an appointed Vice President to fill a vacancy after hearings by the House of Representatives and Senate.

Carl Albert was the third Speaker to be next in line when Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned in October 1973, and Albert remained so for two months until Gerald Ford was selected and confirmed as the the first Vice President under the 25th Amendment.

Again, Albert was first in line from August 1974, when Richard Nixon resigned and Gerald Ford became President, until December 1974 when Nelson Rockefeller was selected and confirmed as the second Vice President under the 25th Amendment.

So for a total of about two years, we have had Speakers of the House, and all three of the opposition party to boot, as “a heartbeat away” from the Presidency.

And although no President or Vice President has left office since 1974, the odds of such an event occurring at some point in the future is mounting, and worrisome, with three out of four years since 1947 having the opposition party in the Speakership as two heartbeats away from the Presidency!

The Tea Party, Or Freedom Caucus, Or Liberty Caucus Of Republicans: A Danger To Political Stability Of The Nation!

Ronald 31 Comments

There is a group of extremist right wing Republicans in the House of Representatives, coming almost exclusively from “Red States”. with particular emphasis in the South, that is out to destroy any chance of political stability in the nation.  They are supported by many radio talk show hosts, including Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Laura Ingraham, Michael Savage, Mark Levin and Ann Coulter, among others.

They are in the process of causing the disintegration of a major political party, the Republicans of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and even Ronald Reagan in their mad quest to take us back to the Gilded Age of the 19th century, as they pursue destroying the good faith and credit of the United States, and wiping out the reforms of the Progressive Era, the New Deal, and the Great Society.  They want to shut down the government, and refuse to raise the debt limit, radical actions which would undermine our nation’s economic stability.

They promote racism, nativism, misogyny, and Islamophobia, and the worship of unbridled capitalism and the libertarian philosophy of Ayn Rand, mixed with a mean spirited view of Christianity toward the poor and the disabled, sick and elderly in American society.

They want to promote a high moral standard on society, while they do not practice it themselves, but spout extreme religious dogma, and they want to send America into wars overseas even though most of them have never served in the military, and would not allow their sons and daughters to sacrifice their lives in foreign crusades.

They have a hatred toward President Barack Obama bordering on obsessive-compulsive behavior, and many would applaud the demise of our President by violence, as they have no moral compass despite their claims of religiosity.

They find the leadership of their party as insufficiently conservative, attacking Speaker of the House John Boehner, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnnell, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, and Senator John McCain as examples of insufficient conservatism, considering them RINOS (Republicans In Name Only).

They call themselves the Tea Party Caucus, or the Freedom Caucus. or the Liberty Caucus, but their precise membership is fluid, but includes from three to four dozens members of the House of Representatives, with the greatest number from the major populated states of Texas and Florida, numbers two and three in population nationally.

They are holding the Speakership of the House of Representatives hostage, and the uncertainty about who the next Speaker will be, and what he will do on crucial budget issues, is undermining faith in our government. And the fact that the Speaker, whoever he is, is second in line for the Presidency under the Presidential Succession Act of 1947, endangers the Presidency itself, in case of an emergency!