Month: November 2012

1912–Triumph Of Progressivism! 2012–Triumph Of Progressivism!

Ronald 2 Comments

A century apart, America veered to the left, and we had a triumph of progressivism both in 1912 and 2012!

In 1912, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Eugene Debs, and even, to some extent, William Howard Taft, promoted an agenda that would set the standard for the future New Deal and Great Society and ObamaCare.

Now, in 2012, we have institutionalized the New Deal, Great Society, and ObamaCare for the future; and we have seen more women elected to the House and Senate than ever before; we have seen openly gay candidates win in the Senate and House and in local races; we have seen the first Buddhist Senator and Hindu House member from Hawaii elected; we have seen labor help elect a whole group of progressive Democratic Senators across the nation; we have seen Hispanics and Latinos play a major role in politics; we have seen a more progressive House and Senate emerge; we have seen Barack Obama given political capital to bring about greater change in his second term; we have seen the Supreme Court preserved as a balanced body for the long term; we have seen the progressive vision of TR, Wilson, FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, even Nixon and Ford, Carter, and Clinton preserved and enhanced; and we have seen a repudiation of an interventionist foreign policy , as under the neoconservative influence during the Presidency of George W. Bush.

America is moving forward into the 21st century, just as in 1912, we moved forward into the 20th century. We have repudiated, in 1912 and 2012, returning to the 19th century!

If Only: Jimmy Carter Had Been President For Second Term! How Would America Be Different?

Ronald 3 Comments

As we celebrate Barack Obama’s second term victory, and as we thank Bill Clinton for his super efforts for Obama, crucial to Obama’s victory, we can have a wistful moment and wonder:

How would America be different if Jimmy Carter had won a second term as President in 1980?

Ronald Reagan would never have been President, just be seen as a mediocre, second rate actor on Death Valley Days and the General Electric Theater on television, and a few good movies in Hollywood, and a mixed record as two term Governor of California. We would not have him being seen as an icon, a god like figure, totally misrepresented by those who adore him!

We would not have George H. W. Bush as Vice President for eight years, and then be the successor in office after Reagan left.

We would not have had George W. Bush as President, and we would not be speculating about Jeb Bush as possibly a candidate for the 2016 Presidential Election.

We would have had a much more responsive, sympathetic reaction to the rise of the AIDS epidemic in the early 1980s, and would have saved many lives in the process.

We would not have had a tripling of the national debt, as Carter was very tight fiscally, and added very little to the national debt.

We would have had a President who would have continued his great environmental work into a second term.

We would not have allowed the rich to get richer, and the poor to get poorer, and the maldistribution of wealth to accelerate, and then again occur again under George W. Bush.

We would not have seen the decline of labor unions, caused by Ronald Reagan being our President.

We would have had Vice President Walter Mondale having a much better opportunity to be our President in 1984, a continuation of the tradition and principles of Hubert Humphrey and Minnesota progressivism.

The Iran hostage seizure crisis would have been resolved sooner with Carter having defeated Reagan in November 1980.

The early 1980s would have seen further promotion of human rights, a policy backtracked by Ronald Reagan.

There would have been no friendship with Saddam Hussein in Iraq, and no backing of the South African Apartheid regime.

These are just 12 ways life would have been different if Jimmy Carter had been reelected in 1980. And Carter would not have been constantly attacked and ridiculed as a failed President if he had served a second term.

Oh well……

The Second Term Presidency: A Burden For Nixon, Reagan, Clinton, George W. Bush! What Will It Be For Obama?

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In the midst of all the euphoria over the second term victory of Barack Obama, many observers are sobered by the history of recent second term Presidents.

Richard Nixon, after victory in 1972, faced impeachment in the Watergate Scandal, and resigned in 1974.

Ronald Reagan, after victory in 1984, faced the Iran Contra scandal, and indications that he was mentally lacking in alertness.

Bill Clinton, after victory in 1996, faced the Paula Jones-Monica Lewinsky scandal, and was impeached by the House of Representatives.

George W. Bush, after victory in 2004, had major disasters with Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and the stock market and economic collapse (The Great Recession) in the Fall of 2008.

Can Barack Obama avoid tragedy and disaster, and go on to have an outstanding second term, with the reality of being a “lame duck” President?

Stay tuned!

Who Was The “Racial” Candidate? Obama Or Romney?

Ronald 2 Comments

Conservative pundits and many whites who voted for Mitt Romney last Tuesday, in fear of the “black Socialist from Kenya”, love to say that Barack Obama is the “racial” candidate, elected because of those “damned” minorities, and that is the only reason, they say, that he won a second term.

That is a MASSIVE LIE, as actually Mitt Romney was, CLEARLY, the “racial candidate”!

“How can you say that?” is the retort.

Well, here are the FACTS, not myths!

Whites were about 72 percent of the voters, and Romney received about 88 percent of his votes from whites!

Barack Obama received 39 percent of the white votes, including from working class voters in the Midwest, who appreciated his saving the auto industry, which meant their jobs. They did not care that he was black, while many Republican voters were openly racist!

Now, the facts are that, of course, Obama could not have won without black, Hispanic-Latino, and Asian American voters! So what, as ideally, any candidate should win from a diverse coalition of voters?

So Obama won 93 percent of the black vote; 71 percent of the Hispanic-Latino vote; 73 percent of the Asian American vote; 60 percent of voters 18-29; 52 percent of voters 30-44; and 55 percent of the female vote; 56 percent of single men; 67 percent of single women; and 50 percent of college graduates. This is a diverse coalition, which is to be saluted!

But also realize that without the 39 percent white vote, Obama would not have won, as two thirds of 72 (the total white percentage of the national vote), is about 28 percent, and Obama won with 51 percent of the total vote, which means the “minorities” were about 23 percent, and whites 28 percent of that 51 percent.

So white support gave Obama his victory!

The Republican Jewish Coalition, Israel, And Barack Obama: A Total Failure To Change The Jewish Vote

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The Republican Jewish Coalition made every effort to defeat President Barack Obama, but failed miserably!

In 2008, 78 percent of American Jews voted for the Democratic nominee; in 2012, after spreading lies and mistruths about Obama and Israel, the end result was that Obama received 70 percent of the vote, a total smack to the deception practiced by the RJC!

Why did 7 out 10 Jews remain loyal to Obama and the Democrats? The answer is that they knew that Obama had given more aid to Israel than any other President, including the IRON DOME missile system; that the Democrats were the party of social justice, as shown through Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and ObamaCare, along with civil rights legislation, environmental legislation, and stood for women’s rights; and also that the Republican Party wished to cut back on all these accomplishments, including wiping out ObamaCare.

Additionally, many American Jews do not trust Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and it is now known that even people within his own government and military feel Netanyahu is too trigger happy, wanting to start a war with Iran before diplomacy has played its course, and that Netanyahu favored the Republicans and Mitt Romney from the beginning. So the question was: Should our President have to bow to every demand and detail that Netanyahu insists upon? Is he our President, instead of Barack Obama? And is it not true that Defense Minister Ehud Barak (former Prime Minister) and President Shimon Peres have raved about the support of Israel by our President?

Face the facts: The RJC was more concerned about preserving the wealth of Boca Raton Jewish residents and others elsewhere who are extremely wealthy, and do not wish to pay their fair share of taxes, as evidenced by the meeting in Florida of wealthy Jews where Mitt Romney said his famous “47 Percent” statement that harmed him greatly in the end result!

Also, Orthodox Jews as a group have a problem with socially tolerant views of abortion and gay rights, and are not seen as great advocates of civil rights for other minorities, other than themselves, sad to say!

And it is not just the RJC that was disgraceful!

It was also House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia, the only Jewish Republican on Capitol Hill, who has made it his mission to destroy ObamaCare and privatize Medicare, and is very mean spirited in his relations with the President, and is also well known for his attempts to undermine House Speaker John Boehner, who he would love to replace!

And also, House Republican candidate Adam Hasner of Boca Raton, who lost to Lois Frankel, has the same agenda as Cantor. And Josh Mandel, the GOP nominee who lost to Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio, ran a nasty, undignified campaign, and made clear that his goal was to promote the Tea Party radicalism of his party, rather than be part of the great majority who see their faith as connected to social justice!

Fortunately, both Hasner and Mandel lost handily, and it would be no loss to the nation if neither ever runs again, with their agenda to help the rich and powerful, and ignore the needs and wants of women, labor, minorities, gays, and senior citizens!

Rumors Of Replacements For State Department And Defense Department: John Kerry Or Susan Rice, And Chuck Hagel?

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As the second Obama Administration is being organized, there are many rumors about members of the Cabinet leaving.

Among them are Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, and the suggestions being discussed are very intriguing.

It is thought that Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic Presidential nominee, might be angling for the State Department, with his years of experience as Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman as his major credential. Also, United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice is a second thought.

If Kerry left the Senate, it would open up his seat, and Republican Senator Scott Brown, who just lost his seat to Elizabeth Warren, would certainly campaign for it, against an unknown Democrat.

And if Rice received the position, she would be the fourth woman to be in that position, and the second black woman, and the third black person—following Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, as well as Madeleine Albright and Hillary Clinton.

For the Defense Department, if and when Panetta leaves, the rumor is that former Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel, a Republican, and very reputable, would take the position, and that would mark the second Republican Secretary of Defense for Obama, after Robert Gates.

Having both Kerry and Hagel as important cabinet members would be fantastic, and if Rice was selected, she would also be the second black woman in that position with the name of Rice!

Barack Obama’s Historical Reputation Is Now Guaranteed, As Speaker John Boehner Concedes ObamaCare Is Here To Stay, And No Attempt To Repeal Will Be Made!

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Today is a momentous day, as the certainty of the survival of ObamaCare has just been declared by Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner!

After working for more than two years to repeal it, the Republicans are throwing in the towel on trying to repeal it.

The Supreme Court, with Chief Justice John Roberts in the majority with four liberals, upheld the law in June, but the GOP still pledged to kill it.

But with the victory of Barack Obama on Tuesday, and with Democrats gaining seats in the US Senate and in the House of Representatives, the battle has come to an end.

This is a major event, worth celebrating, and it insures the historical legacy of Barack Obama, who will always be remembered first for this accomplishment, just as Franklin D. Roosevelt is remembered for Social Security, and Lyndon B. Johnson for Medicare!

The Failure Of Two Romneys Seeking The Presidency

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So now two Romneys, father and son, have failed in their goal to become President of the United States.

George Romney, Mitt Romney’s father, was a competitor for the GOP nomination in 1968, but self destructed, when after a trip to Vietnam, he said he felt he had been “brainwashed”. At the same time, he had been very transparent about his finances and tax returns, and had been openly willing to be specific on what he believed. He was an honest, competent man, who had been Governor of Michigan for six years, was proud to be a moderate, and later served as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Richard Nixon.

Mitt Romney, on the other hand, tried for the GOP nomination for President in 2008, and then ran and won the nomination this year. But Mitt only had one term as Governor of Massachusetts, and his record in office was far from successful, while his dad had accomplished a great deal in Michigan.

Additionally, Mitt came across as a man of no principles, no guts, no beliefs, who refused to be transparent about his tax returns or anything else. He stayed away from the news media, which George catered to, and allowed himself to become a captive of the right wing of his party, while George condemned and fought against the right wing and Barry Goldwater in 1964.

And Mitt became an incessant liar, which his dad would have been shocked by!

George Romney was an admirable figure in many ways, while Mitt Romney was far from admirable, and not many political observers will miss him, and it seems certain in the long run of history, George will be seen as far better than his son Mitt!

Another example of a son not being the match of his dad, sadly!

The Right Wing Talk Show Hosts On Radio And Cable Are Destroying The Republican Party And Dividing The Nation For Their Own Wealth!

Ronald 2 Comments

Right Wing Talk Radio and Fox News Channel are the biggest scam existing in America, making suckers out of their listening and watching public, and destroying the Republican Party for the future!

While they make millions upon millions of dollars to talk propaganda, hate and division, they are destroying the Republican Party brand by their prejudiced branding of women, Hispanics and Latinos, African Americans, Gays and Lesbians, Muslims, the labor movement, environmentalists, the mainstream media, colleges and universities, Hollywood, and those who are anti war.

The Republican Party is losing the future, by failing to realize that the population is changing rapidly toward a browner and more tolerant society in so many ways, and just appealing to older, white males who live in the Great Plains and the South and the Mountain West where population is much smaller, and who profess to be “religious” while promoting discrimination and prejudice in the name of Jesus, and are gun advocates who want to prevent the future that is coming, which is destructive. This is a suicidal tendency, that will, if it continues, guarantee that the Republican Party will constantly lose elections to the Democratic Party, and become a fossil, as the Whig Party became in the 1850s in America.

So the following wealthy talk show hosts are enriching themselves against the American future, and privately, are laughing at the “Suckers” who follow them as if they are Gods, and who these hosts could not give a damn about, as all they are, really, are used car salesmen!

Here is the infamous list, who need to be smacked down, by loss of audiences, and loss of book sales, and brought down to earth that we are tired of their demagoguery!

Rush Limbaugh
Michael Savage
Sean Hannity
Bill O’Reilly
Michael Reagan
Ann Coulter
Michelle Malkin
Glenn Beck
Laura Ingraham
G Gordon Liddy
Mark Levin

There are also other lesser known talk show hosts who would not understand a serious idea, or ever know a real fact, who are poisoning people, who do not realize it!

What Barack Obama’s Election To A Second Term As President Means

Ronald 3 Comments

The second term victory of Barack Obama has many meanings, including:

ObamaCare is here to stay, although there will be tinkering and fine tuning of the program. Who would have thought that Chief Justice John Roberts would save it, and that the ability of the Republican Party to smash it would be a total failure?

The Supreme Court is safe from a right wing tilt, as it is now Barack Obama and a stronger Democratic Senate who will have control over future Court appointments, and lower court nominees as well, and therefore, Obama’s effect on constitutional law will be massive.

The advance of gay rights and gay marriage is now guaranteed, and expect that the Supreme Court will rule on it soon, very likely favorably, and that never again will any state or any religious group be able to deny a basic human right to anyone, the right to marry a person you love.

The environment will be advanced greatly, and likely, often by executive order. Expect that Barack Obama will accomplish enough reform, that he will rank with Theodore Roosevelt, Richard Nixon, and Jimmy Carter as an environmentalist.

The labor movement, in deep trouble for a long time, will now have a champion who will help to revive it, and gain the respect of the American people for the importance of unions.

There will be attempts to deal with the problem of poverty, and expect that Obama will attempt to do what Al Gore planned, had he been inaugurated as President in 2001— a War on Poverty.

Wall Street knows it will have a President who intends to fight them on the subject of regulation, as the voters made clear they wanted government oversight of the financial industry in the public interest.

The right of women to control their reproductive lives, and to have equal pay and respect, will be championed by Barack Obama. No more disrespect for women will become part of the agenda.

The ability to help Latinos and Hispanics achieve advancement in America will be promoted, as they made a dramatic difference in this election, and a plan for immigration reform will move forward, as even sane people in the Republican Party, such as former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, know it is essential for political survival, as well as being what is moral and ethical.

Taxes will go up to make up for past irresponsibility on paying for two wars, and is essential to make budget cuts less onerous, and the rich will go back to paying the rates they paid under Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon and Dwight D. Eisenhower, and they will simply have to understand we are all going to have to sacrifice for the good of the nation and its future.

The possibility of engagement in foreign wars, including against Iran, will be lessened dramatically, although there can never be a certainty that America can avoid foreign conflict, but at least we have a President who will make every effort to avert it.

America will have a President who does not dismiss any percentage of the population, but instead a President who is sincere, genuine, caring, decent, and will work as hard as he can for our advancement. And if he makes mistakes, he will be accountable for them, and will always come across as someone who dedicates every waking moment to our success as a nation.

Barack Obama will have our back, and we will come to appreciate him in the long run of history!