Month: November 2016

Tumult And Turmoil Follow Trump Gaining Of Majority Of Electoral Vote

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We are now into the second day of tumult and turmoil nationally since Donald Trump was declared the winner of the Electoral College at 3 pm on Wednesday.

Anti Trump demonstrations have erupted all over the nation, and nothing like this has ever happened before.

Disillusioned and disgusted millions of people are having great trouble dealing with what seems to them to be the greatest tragedy to hit the nation since September 11, 2001 and November 22, 1963.

Some think that possibly the Electoral College members can be convinced to ignore the electoral vote and choose Hillary Clinton, since she won the national popular vote by about 250,000 votes and still counting, since individual electors can cast their vote in mid December in secret in each state capital.

But to change the entire result of the Electoral College by use of “faithless electors” would be unprecedented, although if it happened, there would be no way to change the secret vote, which would be announced in a joint session of Congress, presided over by Vice President Joe Biden in the early days of January.

One could say that this is already a constitutional crisis, as possibly there will be no peace and stability as the people of America rise up and demand that the popular vote alone should elect our President, despite the Electoral College being set up by the Founding Fathers at the Constitutional Convention.

The Destructive Nature Of Third Parties: Protest Vote But Leads Too Often To Less Preferable Nominee Winning White House

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Third Parties are supposed to represent democracy in action, but we have now learned the hard way that it denies popular vote winners the Presidency!

It happened in 2000, when Ralph Nader and Pat Buchanan took enough votes away to harm Al Gore, and elect George W. Bush.

And now it has happened again in 2016, with Gary Johnson and Jill Stein taking enough votes to harm Hillary Clinton and elect Donald Trump.

Bush did much harm in his Presidency, and realistically, Donald Trump can be seen as likely to do even greater damage.

Any one who voted third party in 2000 or 2016 should feel guilt, as it has led to the worse choice, and nothing was accomplished, except maybe to feel good that one protested.

There is no way to prevent third party movements, but it has NEVER had a positive effect, with maybe the exception of Theodore Roosevelt’s Progressive (Bull Moose) Party in 1912.

But in a democracy, nothing can be done to prevent this harmful action from taking place, so likely, we will lose the better Presidential nominee more times in the future!

If Joe Biden Had Been Candidate, The Result Likely Would Have Been Different!

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After the election, pondering the loss of Hillary Clinton, it seems more and more likely that had Vice President Joe Biden been the nominee, he would have defeated Donald Trump, since Biden has great contact with the white working class from which he came, and which he has always well represented.

Biden is so genuine that he has the ability to connect to the white working class, and he has often spoken of the need for the Democrats to learn to better relate to them, a failing, unfortunately, of Hillary Clinton.

Had Joe Biden’s son not died in May 2015, it is likely that Joe Biden would have challenged Hillary, and very well might have been able to defeat her.

We will never know, but it is clear the 44 year career of Joe Biden in elective public office is coming to an end on Inauguration Day, January 20, 2017.

He leaves with a fantastic record of public service and the gratitude of the American people!

The Electoral College Fails For The Fifth Time, With Democrats The Losers All 5 Times: 1824, 1876, 1888, 2000, 2016

Ronald 6 Comments

The Electoral College has failed for the fifth time, and twice in 16 years.

The same thing happened in 2000, with Al Gore, and in 1888 with Grover Cleveland, and in 1876 with Samuel Tilden, and in 1824 with Andrew Jackson.

Each of these four times, and now with Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee won the popular vote, but lost the electoral vote to their opponent, with each candidate who won the Presidency, except John Quincy Adams in 1824 (National Republican) being a Republican–Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876, Benjamin Harrison in 1888, George W. Bush in 2000, and now Donald Trump in 2016.

To imagine it would happen 16 years apart (2000 and 2016) after having occurred 12 years apart (1876 and 1888) makes the urgency to change the Electoral College, but it has been attempted before and has failed.

So we are stuck with the reality that this can happen again and again, sadly!

Important Facts About President-Elect Donald Trump

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Donald Trump has achieved something quite unusual.

The President-Elect is the first President to lose his home state, New York, since James K. Polk lost his home state of North Carolina in 1844, although Polk did win the state he migrated to and served in public office, Tennessee.

Since Trump has spent his whole life in Queens County and New York City, he is unique even over Polk.

Additionally, Trump will be nearly eight months older than Ronald Reagan when he takes the oath of office on January 20, 2017, being 70 years, seven months, and six days, and so the oldest inaugurated first term President in American history.

And Trump will also be the first President ever to have served not a day in public office or the military.

And Trump will be the first New Yorker to serve as President since Franklin D. Roosevelt won his 4th term in 1944, although Dwight D. Eisenhower did live in New York when he served as President of Columbia University, and Richard Nixon lived in New York when he ran for President. But Eisenhower was born in Texas and spent much of his life when not away in the military in his boyhood state of Kansas, and Nixon spent most of his life in his native California.

Shocked, Stunned, Need Time To Absorb Before Detailed Analysis Over Coming Days!

Ronald 84 Comments

This author and blogger is totally shocked and stunned, and needs time to absorb the victory of Donald Trump in the Presidential Election of 2016.

So over time, I will provide detailed analysis over what has happened.

But I can say that I weep for our nation, and the body blow of the Trump victory over the legacy of Barack Obama, and the danger presented to the New Deal of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Great Society of Lyndon B. Johnson.

I also weep for the harm it does to our children of all races, and to girls and women, and to ethnic and racial minorities, and to our economy and international affairs.

This is truly a major turning point, and a likely constitutional crisis far greater than presented by Richard Nixon four decades ago.

That is all for now and for today.

I apologize for being so wrong in my prognostications, but share that with the overwhelming number of others who study and discuss and write about American politics!

Today, shed tears over what has happened, and then the struggle to do what can be done to lessen the impact of Donald Trump must begin tomorrow!

The Evolution Of Women In American Politics: 1916-2016 And Beyond!

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In 1916, exactly a century ago, the first woman, a Republican, Jeannette Rankin of Montana, was elected to the House of Representatives.

In 1932, Hattie Caraway of Arkansas, a Democrat, became the first woman to be elected to the United States Senate.

In 1933, Frances Perkins of New York, a Democrat, became the first woman to be a member of the President’s cabinet, Secretary of Labor under Franklin D. Roosevelt.

In 1964, Senator Margaret Chase Smith of Maine, a Republican, became the first woman to run for President.

In 1972, Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm of New York, a Democrat, became the first black woman to run for President.

In 1981, Sandra Day O’Connor of Arizona, a Republican, became the first woman appointed to the US Supreme Court.

In 1984, Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro of New York, a Democrat, became the first woman Vice Presidential nominee of a major party.

In 2016, Hillary Clinton became the first woman chosen as the Presidential nominee of a major party, and will become the first woman elected President in the next 24 hours!

And the fight for women’s right to vote began in 1848 at the Seneca Falls Convention, and only in 1920, did women gain the right to vote by the 19th Amendment to the Constitution.

So Hillary Clinton will be our president when the centennial of women suffrage comes about in 2020!

And this all began with Susan B. Anthony, arrested for trying to vote in 1872!

Highest Elected Jewish Public Official In American History After 2016 Election: Chuck Schumer Of New York!

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Besides the election of the first woman President today, America will also witness the ascension of the highest elected Jewish public official in American history.

Senator Chuck Schumer of New York will become the Democratic leader in the Senate, either Senate Majority Leader or Senate Minority Leader, depending on which party controls the US Senate.

We have had Jewish Supreme Court Justices, and a Jewish Vice Presidential nominee (Joseph Lieberman), but to have a Jewish Senator be the leader of his party and, hopefully, Majority Leader, is a real step toward progress!

“The Progressive Professor” Commenting On Election Results Wednesday 1 AM EST On Jon Grayson Overnight AM 1120 KMOX St. Louis!

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I am pleased to announce that I will be on the Jon Grayson Overnight show on AM 1120 KMOX St Louis on Wednesday morning at 1 AM to comment on the election results for the Presidency and for the US Senate.

I have been on Jon Grayson’s show three times, and those interviews are on the right side of the blog.

If you have time, and can stay up late, as millions of Americans will, to celebrate victory for Hillary Clinton, be sure to tune in!

The Moment Has Arrived: The Election Of The First Woman President Is Coming In 24 Hours!

Ronald 5 Comments

The time has finally arrived!

One day from this writing, America will have its first woman President, way behind many other nations, including Great Britain, Germany, Israel, India, Pakistan, and others.

America will have broken the glass ceiling permanently!

America will have demonstrated that it is a true democracy, successively electing an African American President, and a woman President!

Hillary Clinton will be an outstanding President, who will further fulfill the progressive agenda of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama.

But also the progressive tradition of Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt as well!

The greatness of America is evident, and it will continue to be the nation that the world admires and respects!