Month: November 2010

The Failure Of Republican Women Senate Candidates In 2010!

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The year 2010 was supposed to be the year of the Republican woman Senators, but it turned out to be not that at all!

Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire did win the vacant seat in New Hampshire, but she had come across as noncontroversial in her race.

But Sharron Angle of Nevada, Christine O’Donnell of Delaware, Carly Fiorina of California, and Linda McMahon of Connecticut all lost their races, with Fiorina and McMahon spending millions of their own personal fortunes on trying to go from the corporate world to the Senate. Angle also had millions of dollars donated to her campaign to unseat Harry Reid, but fell far short of such a possibility.

O’Donnell, of course, had the problem of being seen as totally unqualified in every sense for the Senate, and the GOP defeat of Congressman Mike Castle in the primary basically gave away the seat to Chris Coons, who could not have had better luck!

Meanwhile, Democratic women in the Senate who were up for re-election won another term, specifically Barbara Boxer in California and Patty Murray in Washington State.

So the era of the Republican woman in the Senate is not quite here, with only Ayotte, Kay Bailey Hutchison in Texas, and Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe in Maine representing the fairer sex for the GOP in the Senate. With Lisa Murkowski leading in her write in campaign to retain her seat in Alaska, the number of women who are Senate Republicans might rise from four to five, if Murkowski is able to produce what many consider a miracle!

But actually, at least in the mind of Tea Party Movement activists, Hutchison, Collins and Snowe are all seen as targets when they come up for re-election, as being too moderate! 🙁

So it is still easier for Democratic women than it is for Republican women, when it comes to service in the US Senate!

The Republican Party Goal: To Prevent A Second Obama Term In The White House, Not To Deal With The Nation’s Problems! :(

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has made it abundantly clear what the intention of the Republican Party is in the next two years, now that they control the House of Representatives.

It would be nice to think that they would hope to work on the nation’s problems and come to some kind of compromise to move the country forward.

But such a dream is just that: a dream! The Republicans don’t want to negotiate; they want simply to defeat Barack Obama and prevent him from serving another four years as President of the United States! 🙁

So any possibility of progress on the economic crisis facing the country is fruitless. It is sadly a reality that the next two years will see stalemate and gridlock, but it seems likely that if the GOP follows through on its intentions, that voters will realize it in 2012, and will kick the Republicans out of the majority in the House of Representatives!

So the party of NO will now become the party promoting stalemate and gridlock, since politics rather than policy is at the center of the party’s actions! Why help deal with the crisis facing our citizens when it is so much more “fun” to go after the President, who many Republicans wonder if he might be a Kenyan, a Muslim, and a non citizen! 🙁

Opposition to the President of the other party is part of the normal political process, but the viciousness and nastiness of the GOP toward Obama reaches the level of making one wonder: Would the intense anti Obama campaign that has existed, and still endures, possibly be connected to the fact that Barack Obama is an African American, and many people in this country just cannot accept that a smart, articulate black man can really be President of the United States? 🙁

One has to consider such a possibility, as sad as it is! 🙁

The Dangerous Rand Paul, New Senator From Kentucky! :(

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The most disconcerting result of the Senate elections this past Tuesday was the victory of Tea Party favorite and libertarian Republican Rand Paul in Kentucky! 🙁

Rand Paul is the son of Texas Congressman Ron Paul, who has been a big favorite of the libertarian movement for many years, and ran for President as a libertarian in 1988, and was a candidate for the Republican nomination for President in 2008.

Often ridiculed by fellow Republicans, Ron Paul has never cared what people thought about him, and his son Rand Paul ran a campaign of anti government rhetoric that reached the level of lunacy that one would have thought that Kentucky would have rejected him for the solid, sane leadership of state Attorney General Jack Conway, the Democratic nominee!

But Kentucky, a state which elected Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Bunning to two terms in the Senate,where he proved to be one of the most outrageously terrible Senators in US history, has now gone worse by electing Rand Paul, who is considered by many intelligent people to be an extremely dangerous man, with his crazy idea of preventing, by senatorial privilege or the filibuster tactic , any increase of the debt ceiling which is unavoidable if the federal government is to avoid bankruptcy, an action which would mean the government could not pay off government bonds, which would lead to a world wide depression! 🙁

Even right wing Republican Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina has made it clear that the debt ceiling must be raised early next year to avoid catastrophe, but Rand Paul seems intent on causing a confrontation that could lead to total economic chaos and anarchy!

One wonders if Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky can convince Rand Paul to abandon his crazy, loony mission to stop the debt limit from necessarily increasing. Since McConnell did not support Paul in the primary,and since Paul is such a weird character, one has to wonder what if any influence might exist. McConnell had the same communication problem with Senator Bunning, but Paul could indeed be actually worse as a colleague since he is such a rebel against government!

Paul may call himself a libertarian, but in many ways, he is more of an anarchist than anything else, and whatever has to be done to stop him from his announced mission to stop an increase in the debt ceiling MUST be accomplished ! 🙁

A Cuomo Governorship In New York State Again!

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New York State is experiencing a return of the Cuomo family name to the executive mansion in Albany, with the smashing victory of Andrew, son of Mario, over Republican and Tea Party favorite Carl Paladino on Tuesday.

Mario Cuomo was Governor of New York for three terms from 1983-1995 and was often thought of as a possible Supreme Court Justice and Presidential possibility.

Andrew Cuomo was Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Bill Clinton from 1997-2001, and was Attorney General of New York since 2007, and won 62 percent of the vote for Governor!

Andrew Cuomo resembles his father in appearance and speech pattern and voice, and many political observers consider that he has the opportunity, if he can resolve the massive problems of New York over the next four or more years, to be a serious candidate for the Democratic Presidential nomination in 2016, when he would be only 58 years old!

His outstanding performance on Election Day certainly puts Andrew Cuomo on a short list of potential “new faces” that could have an impact on the future of the Democratic Party after the administration of Barack Obama!

“Back To The Future”!: California Governor Jerry Brown!

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The return to the Governorship of California for Jerry Brown after 28 years is quite an amazing “resurrection”! 🙂

The son of Governor Edmund (Pat) Brown who served two terms as Governor from 1959-1967,and beat Richard Nixon in 1962 and lost to Ronald Reagan in 1966, Jerry succeeded Reagan as Governor, serving two terms from 1975-1983!

The youngest Governor in California history at age 35, Jerry Brown also ran for President in 1976 and 1980, making Jimmy Carter one of a long list of “enemies” of the overly ambitious California Governor!

Later, Jerry Brown surfaced as Mayor of Oakland and state Attorney General before deciding to run for Governor again this year, and by winning over Meg Whitman, former CEO of Ebay, becoming the oldest Governor in the history of the state!

He also ran for President again in 1992, making Bill Clinton an enemy, although to Clinton’s credit, the two men made up and Clinton campaigned for Brown this fall.

So it does indeed feel like the movie of 1985 with Michael J. Fox–“Back to the Future”! LOL

Brown has a major challenge, of course, leading a state with the seventh largest economy, in the midst of one of the highest unemployment rates and foreclosure rates in the nation, and the state will need all the skills Brown has to deal with this major crisis, one of the worst, if not the worst, in the history of the Golden State!

Divided Government: More Typical Than Atypical Since World War II!

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The fact that the 112th Congress will not be of the party of the President in at least one house, and historically often in both houses, is actually typical more than atypical, when one looks at the history of Congressional-Presidential relations since World War II!

In 38 of the past 66 years, we have had a divided government, with the only years it was not being: 1945-1947 and 1949-1953 under President Harry Truman; 1953-1955 under President Dwight D. Eisenhower; 1961-1969 under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson; 1977-1981 under President Jimmy Carter; 1993-1995 under President Bill Clinton; 2003-2007 under President George W. Bush; and 2009-2011 under President Barack Obama!

So divided government has been much more common, basically 60 percent of the time since 1945, and therefore, is not the tragedy some think it is!

However, having both parties controlling one chamber each has only, as stated in an earlier entry, occurred in the first six years of Ronald Reagan (1981-1987), in the years since 1945, and that IS the problem–a divided Congress, more than a divided government where both houses are in the hands of the party opposing the President!

Was The Scott Brown Senate Victory In January The Beginning Of A Trend In Massachusetts Politics? NO!

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When Scott Brown won the Senate seat of Ted Kennedy in January, it seemed to many that it was a sign of the growth of the Republican Party in Massachusetts!

Now, however, with all the results in, it turns out that Brown’s victory was a fluke, as EVERY House seat was won by Democrats, as well as the Governorship and other statewide executive positions! This is, of course, nothing new in Massachusetts, and Brown’s victory was an aberration!

So this should be a sign that Scott Brown, despite his celebrity status, faces a major fight to keep his seat in the 2012 election season, when he has to run for a full term!

Scott Brown cannot afford to rest on his laurels, as he is definitely an “endangered species” in Massachusetts politics!

The Loss Of The Democrats In The House Of Representatives: 4 “Progressives” And 24 “Blue Dogs”!

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One of the most significant developments of yesterday’s election was the loss of many Democratic House members, most of whom had voted against much of the Obama Administration programs, including the Health Care legislation, in order to save their jobs, but the tactic failed!

Statistics show that only 4 out of 80 “progressives” lost re-election while the so called “Blue Dogs” lost 24 of 53 members!

So the concept that cooperating with Republicans would save their seats failed miserably!

It makes one wonder why anyone would feel that they should cooperate with a party which is totally negative and unwilling to compromise!

It is already clear that the GOP and the talk show hosts on radio and Fox News Channel have no goal, but the defeat of the Obama Presidency, and that they have no desire to solve any problems facing the nation in the next two years!

So a warning to those Democrats that remain in the House, the lowest since 1948: Lick your wounds, and come out fighting over the next two years for what you believe in, as compromising with the opposition was a total disaster for the so called “Blue Dogs”! 🙁

A First In Congress: A Democratic Senate And Republican House Of Representatives!

Ronald 1 Comment

For the first time ever in modern times, the country faces the unusual situation of a Democratic Senate and a Republican House of Representatives!

From 1911-1913, 1931-1933, and 1981-1987, we saw a split Congress, but with a Democratic House of Representatives and a Republican Senate!

So the 112th Congress in 2011-2012 will be extremely unusual, with “the people’s branch” being under the control of the GOP, and the Senate in the hands of the Democrats!

What will this mean, as far as progress in dealing with the problems faced by this country internally, as well as overseas?

Unfortunately , the likelihood is total stalemate and gridlock, which is bound to make things worse, rather than better!

So has the anger and frustration of the voters led to creation of the possibility of appropriate dedication to the “people’s business”? The answer is clearly NO! 🙁

The Republican House will try to derail the entire Obama agenda and accomplishments of the past two years, with the Democratic Senate blocking any such repeal, and if by some reason, some Democrats join a united Republican party against the President’s policies, the result will be that President Obama will utilize the veto. If that happens, the Republicans will be unable to override the veto by a two thirds vote!

So again, what have the voters done in their wisdom? They have created a government which is LESS LIKELY to accomplish ANYTHING, and will leave the voters more frustrated and angry in 2012, than they are in 2010!

And who will they blame? The Republican House, the Democratic Senate, or the Democratic President? It should be an interesting scenario, leading to more chaos and anarchy!

So was it smart for the American people to react to difficult times by anger and temper tantrums? NO, and they have almost certainly guaranteed absolutely no improvement in the unemployment rate, in creation of jobs, in the foreclosure crisis on home mortgages, in dealing with the myriad of other domestic problems this country faces! 🙁

Should people make important decisions when they are angry and frustrated? Anyone who is rational knows the answer is clearly NO! 🙁

The Good Side Of The Election Results: Democracy In Action!

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For those of us who are progressives and liberals, the results of the midterm elections are a time for reflection and reorganization.

It is obvious there is a need for mid course correction by the Obama Administration, and certainly the battle for progressive principles is re-energized by the triumph of the Republican party in taking over the House of Representatives, gaining many seats in the US Senate, and taking over a substantial number of governorships.

But while we assess the results, which the author will do over a period of time in detail, we can all agree that we are fortunate to have the great democracy that we have that allows the American people to register their feelings and change government policies and personnel on a regular basis.

Even if at times the results are seen as disappointing, we can be thankful that we live in a nation where government can be changed without bullets or violence in other forms.

So as we move to the uncertain future, let us all keep a sense of sobriety and balance as the challenges we all face present themselves. And the fight for social justice will continue no matter how much opposition may now exist to the progressive agenda!