Month: January 2013

The Coming Battle For The Hispanic Vote Of Two Ambitious Republican Senators—Marco Rubio And Ted Cruz

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One of the most interesting political battles over the next few years will be that between two Cuban American Republican Senators from major populated states, both of whom have Presidential ambitions, both of whom are young, both of whom are aggressive in trying to swing Hispanic voters toward the Republican Party and their own plans for national office.

These two Senators are Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas, and neither will allow the other to gain any advantage unchallenged.

Rubio and Cruz are right wing conservatives, both of whom appeal to Tea Party activists, although Rubio tries to separate himself, to some extent, from some of that right wing group’s rhetoric at times.

Cruz has no such problem, and is, if anything, more “in your face” in his tactics than Rubio, even though he has been a Senator for exactly six days so far! His cockiness and arrogance were evident even before he was elected, and he will give no slack to anyone who does not share his extremist views on almost any issue!

We will witness constant one upsmanship by both Senators, who will be rivals for a long time, both being in their very early 40s, and both perceiving themselves in the White House in the future.

The question will be can they gain the support of fellow Hispanics and Latinos, when they, as Cubans, represent THREE percent of all Hispanics and Latinos, with a full 65 percent being Mexican Americans, and Puerto Ricans being the second largest percentage of Spanish speaking Americans. The likelihood of massive numbers of Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans becoming loyal to the Republican Party because of Rubio or Cruz seems highly unlikely.

Chuck Hagel And The Bloated Defense Budget

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Newly nominated Defense Department Secretary Chuck Hagel was a war hero, wounded in Vietnam, helping his brother in the war theatre, being himself an enlisted man and first Vietnam veteran to be nominated to lead the Pentagon, and now he faces the neoconservatives, many of whom NEVER served in the military, and have no real concept of what life is like for the average soldier in the war theatres, whether in Iraq, Afghanistan, or earlier in Vietnam!

As President Barack Obama said yesterday, Hagel can relate to the soldiers bleeding in the soil and mud of combat zones, since he experienced it himself. And Hagel knows that there is a lot of unnecessary waste, fraud, abuse in defense spending, and that America no longer can commit major combat troops all over the world, and that there is a need for a cutback in our defense spending, which has gone out of control since September 11, 2001.

We have over $700 billion a year spent on defense now, more than the next THIRTEEN nations combined, and this includes many of our own allies and friends. But even China, with four times our population, has a miniscule amount of money spent annually on defense!

The question is why we need such a large number of bases all over the world, particularly in Germany and Japan, but also the multitude of bases in many other nations that most Americans are not even aware of the extent of our military commitment, which eats up money that could better be spent on domestic needs!

Chuck Hagel is the right man to cut back unnecessary bases and spending, as he is not beholden to the Defense establishment, and knows how to position our military to deal with threats in the future.

Barack Obama is perceptive in his choice of Hagel, and while there will be a battle over his nomination, the inconsistencies of his critics will be displayed in testimony, including laudatory comments by Mitch McConnell and John McCain and many others, who once thought Hagel was an outstanding colleague and showed regret when he chose not to run for another Senate term in 2008, in disgust at the partisanship and pettiness that existed.

Just because he chose to be an independent person, a maverick, is no reason to deny his capablities and talents to be Secretary of Defense, and politics should “stop at the water’s edge” when it comes to the operation of the Pentagon!

Hagel is worth fighting for, and despite opposition, the nation will be fortunate to have this courageous Republican maverick as the creative, reformist oriented leader that our Defense Department needs in the second decade of the 21st century as we face the need for budget reform and savings on expenditures!

The Internicine Struggle In The Republican Party For Its Future

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As a result of the “Fiscal Cliff” vote on January 1, we have a Republican Party more split than ever, as all but five Republicans supported the legislation in the Senate, while only about one third of the House Republicans backed the legislation. It would not have passed without the support of almost all Democrats in the House.

Mitch McConnell backed it, John McCain backed it, Lindsey Graham backed it, but Rand Paul and Marco Rubio did not.

Speaker of the House John Boehner and House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan backed the legislation, but House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy did not!

Presidential ambitions and the battle over proper strategy for the party’s future on the budget and so many other issues will lead to an internicine struggle over the next months and years leading up to the Congressional Elections of 2014, and the Presidential Election of 2016.

The Battle Between Bush I Loyalists And Bush II Loyalists Begins Over Chuck Hagel Nomination For Defense Secretary

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Hard to conceive, but the battle between loyalists to President George H. W. Bush and loyalists to President George W. Bush has begun over the nomination of former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel to be Barack Obama’s Secretary of Defense in his second term in the Presidency.

The “old guard” Establishment Conservatives around the first President Bush, including Brent Scowcroft, James Baker, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, and the former President himself, have no major problems with Hagel.

On the other hand, the neoconservatives, including Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and conservative ideologues like Bill Kristol of the Weekly Standard, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle, Elliot Abrams, Frank Gaffney, John Bolton, and Charles Krauthammer all will find Hagel wanting in his foreign and defense policy views. It is not clear where President George W. Bush will come down, but in theory, he would agree with his key advisers and consultants mentioned above. Note that Powell and Rice are more linked to father Bush, and both were certainly involved in major battles with Cheney, Rumsfeld, and others during the second Bush Administration.

It will be an interesting battle, and it is likely that many Republican Senators will refuse to back Hagel, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, newly sworn in Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, and Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who has particularly gone on the attack already against Hagel.

A key person to watch will be Senator John McCain of Arizona, who still harbors resentment that Hagel backed Obama over him in the 2008 Presidential campaign, and vehemently disagrees with Hagel on issues involving Afghanistan and Iraq and Iran. McCain has been attacking Obama on every front lately, but will he concede that Obama has a right to the Defense Secretary he wants?

Stay tuned for the fireworks, particularly to wonder where Senator Marco Rubio of Florida and Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky will take their stand–with the old line establishment figures, which include also many military and naval leaders; or with the neoconservatives who brought us into long, drawn out wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with very little success!

Pending Nomination Of Chuck Hagel As Pentagon Head A Good Move In Many Ways!

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The pending nomination of former Nebraska Republican Senator Chuck Hagel to head the Defense Department is a good move in many ways.

It demonstrates that Barack Obama will not allow criticism and opposition to stand in the way of which person he wants to head the Pentagon.

It shows that Obama has faith in Hagel, a man of strong opinions, sometimes controversial, to clean up defense waste in the Pentagon.

It shows that Obama is willing to put into that office a man who is not a knee jerk “hawk”, and would prefer to avoid armed conflict if at all possible, such as with Iran.

It shows that Obama will not let John McCain and other “hawks” and neoconservatives promote an agenda of constant war, and the extension of our commitment to Afghanistan.

It shows that Obama is willing to back a man who simply made it clear that while we will always defend Israel, we will not allow any pressure group such as AIPAC (American-Israel Public Affairs Committee) to wield undue influence on American foreign policy.

Hagel is a man of his own mind, but also loyal to Obama, who he backed against his own party’s choice of McCain in 2008, and will be a good team player with Senator John Kerry, the choice for Secretary of State.

And both men, Vietnam veterans, with Hagel wounded, truly understand and appreciate the effects of war, and will work together in a smart and effective way to promote a foreign and defense policy that fits the second decade of the 21st century!

Yes, there will be opposition, including those who are upset at past anti gay comments by Hagel, but he has grown on the issue and will enforce the changes that have been made on this matter in the military, and the President is entitled to who he wants in his cabinet, and after a battle, which is nothing new for Obama, he will gain Hagel as his Defense Secretary, and the country will be better off for it!

Finally, recognize that many former military and naval leaders, and former Secretaries of State and Secretaries of Defense, and National Security Advisers under earlier Republican and Democratic Presidents, back Hagel, so let the politics of the Senate play themselves out, but at the end, we will have Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, another Republican in the Pentagon, as Robert Gates was in the first two years of the Barack Obama Presidency!

Bipartisanship Of The Past: Why Not Now?

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When one looks at American history in previous recent decades, one sees so much evidence of bipartisanship between Republicans and Democrats, and one wonders why that is not possible now in the interests of the nation!

Witness the following examples:

1962–John F. Kennedy calls upon Dwight D. Eisenhower for help and counsel during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

1963–Lyndon B. Johnson becomes President after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and calls upon Dwight D. Eisenhower for advice in a moment of crisis.

1964–President Lyndon B. Johnson calls upon Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen of Illinois to help push through the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

1983—President Ronald Reagan and Democratic Speaker of the House Thomas “Tip” O’Neill work together on Social Security reform and get it passed.

1990s—Democratic Senator Sam Nunn of Georgia works with Republican Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana on arms control legislation, lessening the dangers of nuclear war after the end of the Cold War.

2000s—Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona works with Democratic Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin on passage of campaign finance reform legislation.

2001—Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts works with President George W. Bush on education reform.

Instead of publicly calling for the move to make Barack Obama a one term President, as Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky enunciated in 2009, or Speaker of the House John Boehner to use foul language against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and to say he refuses to have any more private meetings with President Barack Obama, what we need is mutual respect, and willingness to cooperate!

And this includes the idea that both Republicans and Democrats need to “cross the aisle”, and stop vilifying each other as the “devil”, as this prevents doing what is good for the American people!

The country is sick of the partisan wrangling and the lack of respect and dignity displayed, and is calling for Congress to act like adults and to work cooperatively with the President, who always has an open minded attitude toward discussion and compromise within reason!

The Moronic Debate Over Presidential “Vacation” Time

Ronald 1 Comment

Here we go again! Another reason to attack President Barack Obama is to claim he is taking “vacation” time, when there are so many issues to deal with.

The facts are that Obama has taken far less vacation time than most Presidents, even though he has issues to deal with on a regular basis that match those of Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt, without a doubt the third greatest crisis period in American history after the Civil War and the Great Depression and World War II!

Obama has taken a total of 84 days in four years for “vacation”, in his home state of Hawaii.

George W. Bush took 250 days off in his first two and a half years, and spent more time at his home in Crawford, Texas than he often did in the White House.

Ronald Reagan spent an inordinate amount of time at his ranch in California during his eight years.

George H. W. Bush spent a lot of time at his home in Kennebunkport, Maine.

John F. Kennedy spent a lot of time at his home in Hyannisport, Massachusetts, or in Palm Beach, Florida.

Harry Truman spent a lot of time at his home in Independence, Missouri.

Dwight D. Eisenhower spent a lot time playing golf on regular vacations.

Franklin D. Roosevelt spent a lot of time at his Hyde Park, New York home, or in Warm Springs, Georgia during his twelve plus years Presidency.

The same goes for Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton.

But NONE of them got as much attacked for “vacation” time as Obama has suffered, even though he has spent far less time away from the White House!

But the point is that the critics fail to recognize, or choose NOT to recognize, that in reality, the President of the United States is NEVER on “vacation”, as the burdens of the office go with him wherever he is, and communications are always readily available!

Being President is a 24 hour a day, 168 hours a week, 52 weeks a year enterprise!

Meanwhile, the Congress only meets in formal session about 125 days a year, and takes long breaks during the year around holidays. And the conservative talk show hosts who criticize Obama have inordinate amounts of free time when they do not work.

So it is really outrageous that those who have far less responsibility, burdens, and stress, have the gall to attack a President who has worked harder on a regular basis than any President of recent times.

But as always, Obama ignores the ridiculous criticism, and we should all salute him for his recognition of the need to get away from DC and clear his mind, within the limits that is possible!

The Most Women Ever As Members Of The 113th Congress!

Ronald 2 Comments

In the new 113th Congress, there will be an all time record of participation by women.

There will be 78 Congresswomen and 20 women Senators, for an all time high of 98.

So women will represent 98 seats, while men will have 437, still more than 80 percent of the membership.

But women will now have much more influence, including some committee chairmanships in the Senate by Democrats including Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, Diane Feinstein of California, and Barbara Boxer of California, and with Maine Senator Susan Collins being the most powerful Republican woman in the minority, due to seniority.

The number of women in the Congress is likely to continue to increase dramatically in future years, and that is all to the good for the future of American democracy!

The Republican Party And Debt Default And Government Shutdown: Constant “Hostage Taking” Tactics!

Ronald 1 Comment

Now that the “Fiscal Cliff” battle is over, and Barack Obama has won the battle on raising taxes on high incomes, a compromise at $450,000, instead of his original plan of $250,000, already the Republican Party, which lost the battle with only one third of them supporting it, but with Democratic backing and agreement to conduct a vote by Speaker John Boehner allowing it to pass, are creating a new crisis with reckless, irresponsible Republicans ready to fight on the issue of the raising of the debt limit, which must occur by the end of February. A new “Hostage Taking” situation is being created once again!

Among those Republicans who are arguing for a debt default and government shutdown are:

Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina
Senator John Cornyn of Texas
Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania
Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky
Senator Mike Lee of Utah
Congresswoman Michele Bachmann of Minnesota
Congressman Eric Cantor of Virginia, Majority Leader
Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, House Budget Commitee Chairman
Congressman Kevin McCarthy of California, House Majority Whip

Among those arguing against it, but not in public office are:

Former Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich
Just about any sane Republican who held office in the past and is holding his or her head in their hands in grief at what their party has become!

Speaker John Boehner has said that we cannot renege on the debt, and he knows that the government shutdown in 1995 by the House Republicans under Newt Gingrich during the Bill Clinton Administration was a disaster, and helped Clinton win a second term, and public opinion polls backed Clinton during the debacle.

But Boehner, having lost support of a dozen House Republicans in the Speakership vote on Wednesday, is weakened, and has a massive headache with Tea Party radicals and others who should know better than to play games with the fiscal health of the American economy!

Boehner has already said he will not speak privately with Obama, and has already insulted Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid with foul language, which he has not apologized for.

This creates a very awkward situation as the deadline nears iin late February, and all it will do is boost the ratings of the Democrats and President Obama, and further degrade the Republican Party future. Obviously, their defeat in November has NOT changed the mindset of the GOP, and that spells tragedy for their political futures!

A thought that comes to mind is that Vice President Joe Biden might again have to be called upon to negotiate with Boehner and others, since Obama and Reid seem to have no possibility of private discussions with House leaders or Senate leaders. Biden may, again, save the day, for the umpteenth time!

The point is that the Republican Party is fighting a losing battle for public opinion, and if there are bad economic implications, they will be the ones to suffer for it in 2014 and 2016!

Vice President Joe Biden At His Most Charming And Genuine At Senate Swearing In Ceremonies!

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There is only one Joe Biden, our Vice President, who is the most genuine and sincere politician on the scene today!

Biden is criticized for his flubs and gaffes, but while no one is perfect, his flubs and gaffes are harmless, and at most, may invoke laughter and embarrassment over the Vice President’s sometimes, slightly inappropriate, comments!

Biden put on quite a show as he went through mock swearing in of Senators yesterday, on opening day of the new 113th Congress. He got to meet the Senators’s wives, children, grandchildren, mothers, cousins, etc, and he was absolutely charming, charismatic, and funny, drawing laughter and smiles from both Democratic and Republican Senators and their family members.

He was flattering to mothers of the Senators; attentive to young children of the Senators; able to relate to teenage and older children of the Senators; and left an overall good feeling to all who gathered for the ceremonies, and caused much laughter and chuckles for those observing the events live on C Span.

Biden is always entertaining, but at the same time, one realizes how brilliant a mind he has; how talented a speaker he is; how effective he is in getting things done for President Barack Obama; how much expertise he has on such a wide variety of subjects; and how he knows how to bridge gaps between differing sides and viewpoints.

He is a tremendous asset to Obama, and as the Atlantic Monthly Magazine and National Journal have declared, there is a case for stating that Barack Obama is the most active, involved, and influential Vice President in American history—more than Richard Nixon under Dwight D. Eisenhower; more than Nelson Rockefeller under Gerald Ford; more than Walter Mondale under Jimmy Carter; more than George H. W. Bush under Ronald Reagan; more than Al Gore under Bill Clinton; and more than Dick Cheney under George W. Bush!

We could do far worse than Joe Biden to be the 45th President of the United States, by election in 2016! Imagine 44 years of service to his country being brought to the forefront as qualifications for the nation’s highest office!