Month: November 2017

Two Democratic Women Governors, And Six Democratic Women Candidates For Governor In 2018 Midterm Elections

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The Democrats have two women Governors, and six other women running for Governor in the 2018 midterm elections.

Gina Raimondo in Rhode Island and Kate Brown in Oregon are running for reelection, and both would be favored to keep their Governorships in strongly Democratic states.

The six candidates have a more difficult road to travel, as they will have male challengers and opponents, and some of them in states won by Donald Trump.

Gwen Graham, daughter of former Florida Senator Bob Graham, will have challengers and opponents in the Sunshine State, which is strongly Republican in state elections.

Stacey Abrams is African American, and running in Georgia, also heavily Republican in recent decades.

Gretchen Whitmer is running in Michigan, a state that Donald Trump won by a small margin in 2016.

Cary Kennedy in Colorado, Michelle Lujan Grisham in New Mexico, and African American wife of Congressman Elijah Cummings, Maya Rockeymoore Cummings in Maryland, have the advantage of running in Democratic states, but will have to fight off male opponents in the primaries.

None of the six women are guaranteed even nomination at this point, as primaries will decide that.

Octogenarians In Congress: Time For Age Limit Of 80, So That Younger Generation, “Fresh Blood”, Comes Into Both Houses

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Age discrimination laws have disappeared in recent decades, but at the same time, there is the issue of members of Congress staying on into their 80s in growing numbers, and one has to wonder if that is good for the nation at large, or whether it helps to promote the image of Congress being out of sync with the nation, and preventing a younger generation of “fresh blood” from having opportunity to serve in Congress.

Presently, there are eight Senators and eleven House members who are in their 80s, and there are others in both chambers nearing 80 over the next few years.

Seven Republicans and one Democrat in the Senate, and eight Democrats and three Republicans in the House of Representatives are now in their 80s, and there is no indication that the House members are planning to retire in 2018.

Four of the House members are in the upper 80s right now—Democrats Sander Levin of Michigan who is 86; Democrat John Conyers of Michigan who is 88; Democrat Louise Slaughter who is 88; and Republican Sam Johnson of Texas who is 87.

Meanwhile, three of the eight Senators were just reelected to terms ending in 2022—Richard Shelby of Alabama who will be 88 then; John McCain of Arizona who will be 86 then; and Chuck Grassley of Iowa who will be 89 then.

Three others have terms ending in 2020—Pat Roberts of Kansas who will be 84 then; Thad Cochran of Mississippi who will be 83 then; and James Inhofe of Oklahoma who will be 86 then.

The other two Senators face election in 2018–Diane Feinstein of California who will be 85; and Orrin Hatch of Utah who will be 84.

The aging of Congress has been a growing trend, and it does not bode well for the future, as far as public support for Congress is concerned.

There is no realistic possibility of legislated age limits, but the growing number of octogenarians in Congress is not a good development.

The Year Of Democratic Women On The Ballot Coming In 2018: Ten Incumbents And Two Seeking Election To The US Senate

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In the midterm Congressional elections of 2018, a total of 12 Democratic women will be on the ballot for the US Senate, with 10 coming up for reelection and two making major challenges against Republicans in Arizona and Nevada.

Altogether, there are 16 Democratic women in the US Senate in 2017, so all but six are facing reelection battles.

This includes women in Trump won states—Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Claire McCaskill in Missouri, Debbie Stabenow in Michigan, and Tammy Baldwin in Wisconsin.

Additionally, in Hillary Clinton won states, the following Democratic women are up for reelection–Elizabeth Warren in Massachusetts. Kirsten Gillibrand in New York, Diane Feinstein in California, Mazie Hirono in Hawaii, Maria Cantwell in Washington State, and Amy Klobuchar in Minnesota.

Jacky Rosen is competing for the Nevada Senate seat against most endangered Republican Senator Dean Heller, and Kyrsten Sinema is trying to win the Senate seat of Jeff Flake, who is not running for reelection in Arizona.

The odds for both Rosen and Sinema are seen as good, and could tip the balance of the US Senate, but only if the other women, particularly in Trump won states, are able to overcome their disadvantage.

Therefore, while all of the Democratic women except Heidi Heitkamp are backed by the pro choice Emily’s List organization, it is important NOT to have a litmus test for Heitkamp, who while supportive of Trump about 51 percent of the time, still supports many Democratic Party goals, although she is not truly pro choice on abortion. If we want purity, then the Senate will be lost, as such a Senator as Joe Manchin of West Virginia, also running for reelection, is not any more pro choice than Heitkamp. The party needs to be more inclusive if it is to win and keep control of the US Senate in the future.

Time For Donald Trump To Be Held Accountable For Sexual Crimes

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In the midst of all of the revelations about sexual harassment and sexual abuse of a multitude of Hollywood figures, and people involved in politics, journalism, and the business world, Donald Trump has gained a free pass.

His supporters did not care about his sexual escapades which were numerous over the years, and he did not care about exposure of such exploits, but he has continued to say that all the women who have claimed abuse and exploitation are liars, even after the Access Hollywood tape that nearly derailed his candidacy in October 2016, until FBI head James Comey announced and then backed away from a further investigation of Hillary Clinton, which took attention off that Trump scandal.

There is so much evidence by his own public statements that Donald Trump is a master at exploiting women, probably more so than Bill Clinton, and possibly more than many others who have been exposed, but still managing to avoid accountability.

Now, in the midst of this scandal of powerful men exploiting women, is the time for a full prosecution in court of the claims of the multitude of women against Donald Trump.

And since Bill Clinton was impeached, partially for his sexual exploits and lying, so should the same situation await Donald Trump.

One of the impeachment charges against Donald Trump should be his lack of moral and ethical rectitude, and if Bill Clinton is to be dredged up after facing impeachment and disbarment, so should Trump meed the same fate.

The Sickening Sexual Harassment Scandals

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The last few weeks have seen the destruction of the public reputations of many prominent people in Hollywood and in politics.

Being a public figure, and with great power, influence, and financial assets, many well known men have exploited women, and in some cases, men, in a disgraceful way over the years.

It was an unspoken secret that this was going on for a long time, with few individuals being exposed.

The attention was primarily on Bill Clinton and Ted Kennedy, but also many Republicans, including Newt Gingrich and Strom Thurmond, plus Dennis Hastert, Henry Hyde, Mark Foley, Rudy Giuliani, Bill O’Reilly, Bill Cosby, and now in the last month, Harvey Weinstein, and numerous others who became infamously involved in sex scandals.

But now the list of exposed public figures continues to mount, with resultant disillusionment by many that such people as George Takei, Dustin Hoffman, Richard Dreyfuss, Kevin Spacey, and Al Franken, all much admired, have been engaged in sexual harassment and abuse, including children and boys, as well as girls, women, and men.

And now, Bill Clinton, who went through impeachment and disbarment twenty years ago, is again being pilloried, along with his wife, Hillary Clinton for covering it up, but somehow, Donald Trump, the ultimate sexual harasser and abuser, seems able to escape accountability, along with Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore.

The only good aspect of the present revelations is that women are now more engaged in doing something momentous about it, unlike the failure to move ahead on this after the Clarence Thomas scandal of 1991.

Women must insist on full disclosure of misbehavior, and do whatever is necessary, to change the situation in Hollywood, politics, sports, and the corporate business community.

Sunbelt States (Texas, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina) Will Make Rust Belt Mid West (Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, Ohio) No Longer Factor In Future Presidential Elections By Mid 2020s And After

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In the midst of constant rehashing of the 2016 Presidential Election results, one point is being lost by political observers.

The nation is changing demographically very rapidly.

What happened in Virginia on Election Day this year is a sign of the future. Suburbanites, women, minorities, white collar educated, those under 45, and Independents swung over massively to the Democratic Party.

Those trends are not temporary, but permanent, as the older generation, which tends to be more conservative, dies off over the next decade, and the percentage of more educated people grows, and as the percentages of Latinos and Asian Americans start to change Sun Belt states.

So the near future is clearly that the states of Texas, Arizona, Georgia and North Carolina will turn Blue, while the Rust Belt Mid West, not as populated with the groups that helped to make Virginia as Blue a state as it is (Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, Ohio) may go back and forth from Red to Blue, but in the Electoral College, the Rust Belt Mid West will matter much less than it did in 2016, assisting the victory of Donald Trump.

So one can say with a great amount of assurance that by 2024 or 2028, the Democrats will have the electoral advantage in the Electoral College, and are unlikely to lose it, as the Republican Party continues to alienate even their base of less educated and rural voters, and as the Sun Belt turns Democratic long term.

Of course, as part of this transition, the Democratic Party needs to move to the Left, be more progressive and liberal,and not come across as a moderate alternative to the Democratic Party, as that is the future of the party, to act more like it is the time of Franklin D. Roosevelt or Lyndon B. Johnson. This is what the groups which helped the Virginia victory desire for the future.

Paul Ryan Declares Republicans Have Made Their Choice To Stand With Donald Trump: Confirmation Of What This Blogger Said About Ryan Five Years Ago!

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Five years ago, on this blog, I condemned Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan, the Vice Presidential nominee for the Republican Party, chosen by Presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

I said he was “arrogant, reckless,cocky, overly ideological, uncompromising, inflexible”, as stated at the time, and also say he was and is unprincipled, hypocritical, corrupt and mean spirited. I received harsh criticism from the Right on various websites for my assertions, and they still will attack me, but that does not make me deny what I said and still contend today.

Five years later, Paul Ryan is Speaker of the House, and has proved that he is willing to sell the party he leads to a man he privately despises, as the only way to accomplish his goal of destroying the middle class, and ending Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. An Ayn Rand follower, Ryan also has claimed he is a “good Catholic”, which many Catholic groups would deny, with his hard hearted attitude towards the poor.

Ryan knows his tax proposal is only going to worsen the class division in America, and make the rich wealthier, the poor in even worse shape, and much of the middle class in free fall economically.

Saying after the defeats in the elections last week that the Republicans have made their choice to stand with Donald Trump, despite his reckless and dangerous behavior, is a sign that Ryan is living in a fantasy world of his own making, and it is hoped that his opponent in his Wisconsin district for the 2018 midterm elections, iron worker and US Army veteran Randy Bryce, who has gained a lot of support, ends up retiring Paul Ryan from Congress next November.

Since Tom Foley was defeated for his seat in Washington State and as Speaker in 1994, with a major Republican wave, it is hoped the same will occur in 2018 with a Democratic sweep, to Paul Ryan.

Republican Tax Plan Will Hurt Middle Class, Promote More Concentration Of Wealth, And Will Kill Republican Majority Whether It Passes Or Not!

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The Republican Party’s attempt to promote “tax reform” will fail, whether it passes or not.

The likelihood is that Republicans in New York, New Jersey, Illinois, and California will refuse to vote for it, since it ends deduction of state and local income taxes on tax forms in those states.

It is also likely that a few Republicans in the US Senate will oppose it because of other aspects of the plan that make it uncomfortable to support.

The bill would victimize the middle class, and promote greater concentration of wealth in the top one percent and the corporations.

It would harm the white working class voters who put Donald Trump in office in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

The legislation adds $1.75 trillion to the national debt, and cuts so many programs and benefits, displeasing deficit hawks because of the former, and moderates and independents due to the latter.

Charities will be harmed by the legislation, and home builders and real estate agents will be affected by limits on mortgage interest deductions, making people less willing to buy homes, and instead to rent their housing.

Corporations will gain the most from the legislation, and many Americans are angry that many corporations already pay little or no taxes.

The legislation would also hurt Obamacare in a different form, even after failure to repeal it earlier this year, and no replacement is offered for millions of Americans who benefit from it.

The end of the estate tax, which affects so few people, also will displease the average American, who does not understand why all inheritances should be untouched in any way by taxes, as wealthy people have a responsibility to pay their fair share in life, as well as at the end of life, rather than pass on tens of millions to their heirs, without any responsibility to contribute to the future of American society.

Also, medical deductions would be limited, and students who have massive loan payments would not be able to deduct any of them on their tax return, undermining the sick and the young.

One can expect that this legislation will not pass, and therefore will harm the Republican Party, but if somehow it does pass, it also will harm the Republican brand in the 2018 midterm elections!

US, Due To Ignorance And Stupidity Of Donald Trump, Only Nation Against Paris Climate Agreement, As Nicaragua And Syria Sign Agreement

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The United States, under President Donald Trump, is the laughing stock of the world, as our country is now the only one that has broken with the Paris Climate Agreement, negotiated in 2016. and agreed to by President Barack Obama.

As part of his war on anything connected with Barack Obama, and accepting the corruption and ignorance of Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt and Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, Donald Trump has decided that there is no global warming or climate change crisis even though 97 percent of all scientists see the crisis, and we are seeing the results of global warming and climate change in our country, as well as worldwide.

Rather than plan for the future, Trump is embracing the coal and oil industry and the long term damage they are perpetrating, and insuring massive long range problems for America internally and on the world scene, with our nation’s head in the sand, repudiating scientific fact. and believing only in prayer as the solution.

When Nicaragua and Syria embrace such an agreement, particularly Syria in the midst of a seven year civil war, it just shows how low our prestige and standing as a nation, and supposedly the leader of the world, has fallen.

The long term damage that can be expected, is alarming, and it will help to condemn Donald Trump in history, but somehow, one gets the feeling that Trump is not concerned about that, but rather, simply, total destruction of all of good work of the federal government and Republican and Democratic Presidents for the past century from Theodore Roosevelt onward.

Seven Living Vice Presidents, Most For Second Time In American History, And Longevity Of Presidents And First Ladies

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Here we are near the end of the first year of the Donald Trump Presidency, and we have seven living Vice Presidents of the United States, the second time we have had that number.

The first time was from the inauguration of Bill Clinton on January 20, 1993 to the death of Richard Nixon on April 22, 1994.

At that time, we had seven living Vice Presidents, including Richard Nixon, Spiro Agnew, Gerald Ford, Walter Mondale, George H. W. Bush, Dan Quayle, and the incumbent Vice President, Al Gore.

So while we have six living Presidents for the fourth time, after 1861-1862, 1993-1994, and 2001-2004, now we have seen seven Vice Presidents for the second time, due to the fact that while Ronald Reagan passed away in 2004, his vice President and his successor as President, George H. W. Bush, is about to break the longevity record held by Gerald Ford. Bush passed Reagan’s age on October 11, and will pass Ford on November 25, just two weeks from today.

The earliest Vice President still alive is Walter Mondale, who has lived 37 years beyond his time in office, as has his boss, Jimmy Carter, an all time record for both. Mondale will be 90 years of age on January 5, making for the second Presidential-Vice Presidential team to reach age 90 after Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush.

George H. W. Bush is the only one of the living Vice Presidents to have also served as President, while his Vice President, Dan Quayle, is now 70 years old.

Al Gore served under Bill Clinton, and is now 69 years old.

Dick Cheney served under George W. Bush, and is now 76 years old.

Joe Biden served under Barack Obama, and is now 75 years old as of his birthday on November 20.

And the incumbent Vice President, Mike Pence is now 58 years old.

If all seven living Vice Presidents live beyond April 22, 2018, it will be the longest time we have had seven Vice Presidents alive at the same time, and by that time, Jimmy Carter will have passed Gerald Ford as longest lived (on March 16, 2018), but of course still 111 days behind George H. W. Bush, if both former Presidents are still alive then.

Additionally, we have the amazing statistic that four Presidents in a row have lived beyond the age of 90, and all four of their First Ladies have now reached 90 as well, with Rosalyn Carter having reached it in August, and previously the cases of Betty Ford, Nancy Reagan, and Barbara Bush. Finally, Lady Bird Johnson and Bess Truman also reached the age of 90, although their husbands did not do so, although Harry Truman lived beyond the age of 89.