Month: February 2020

The Ugly Specter Of Anti Semitism, Anti Socialism, Homophobia, And Misogyny Alive In 2020 Presidential Campaign

Ronald 1 Comment

The Presidential Campaign of 2020 is in full swing, and due to Donald Trump willing to do anything to undermine his potential opponents, the ugly specter of Anti Semitism, Anti Socialism, Homophobia, and Misogyny are alive, and will be part of the discussion for the next nine months.

The fact that Michael Bloomberg and Bernie Sanders are Jewish, and that Sanders is a self professed “Socialist”, which is NOT Communism in any sense, will be part of the upcoming political debate.

The fact that Pete Buttigieg is gay and has a husband is certainly to be part of the political debate, with hatred and prejudice existing among right wing evangelical Christians, conservative Catholics, and Orthodox Jews.

The fact that Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar are serious Presidential contenders will stir the misogynists who think women should only be in the kitchen and the bedroom, and not running for President or Vice President.

It is certain that the Presidential Election of 2020 will match others as the “dirtiest” campaign, including the Presidential Elections of 1828, 1860, 1896, 1912, 1928, 1948, 1968, and 2016!

African Americans And The Democratic Presidential Contenders

Ronald 3 Comments

A major problem moving forward is that African Americans seem tied to the destiny of former Vice President Joe Biden, who they seem to favor overwhelmingly in the upcoming South Carolina Primary, the first state to have a large African American population, in the Caucus-Primary season.

It seems clear that African Americans, based on polls, are not thrilled by Pete Buttigieg, Bernie Sanders, or Amy Klobuchar, all of whom have had lack of their support in their own states and cities.

But if the Democratic Party alienates African Americans, they could stay home, and that would kill off chances of a Democratic Presidential victory in November.

Clearly, African Americans will not vote for Donald Trump, who gained less than 10 percent of their vote in 2016, but “sitting on their hands”, and staying home, is counterproductive.

So other Democratic contenders, with the sense that Joe Biden might be fading as a candidate, need to convince African Americans that they offer an alternative to Biden.

Winners Of The New Hampshire ABC Democratic Presidential Debate: The Moderates

Ronald 5 Comments

The clear cut winners of last night’s New Hampshire ABC Democratic Presidential debate were the moderates, in the following order:

Pete Buttigieg

Amy Klobuchar

Joe Biden

All three gave a very strong performance, and the odds now of Mayor Pete and Amy Klobuchar becoming an eventual team as President and Vice President has grown.

The fact that both are from the Midwest is very important, since that is the area of the nation that, had Hillary Clinton won there in 2016, we would not have the unending nightmare of Donald Trump!

The fact that there would be a 21 plus year difference in age, with the Vice President being the older part of the ticket, is no big deal, as Joe Biden was 19 years older than Barack Obama, and the team of the two of them worked very well.

It must be said that Joe Biden had his best performance, but a younger combination is better for the nation long term, with the potential for two terms moving ahead.

Alabama Democratic Senator Doug Jones Deserves Everyone’s Support For Reelection For His Courage In Voting To Convict Donald Trump

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Senator Mitt Romney of Utah deserves a lot of credit for his decision to convict Donald Trump on one impeachment count.

But Democratic Senator Doug Jones of Alabama deserves equal respect and financial support from anyone who realizes what a gamble he took in voting to convict Trump on both impeachment counts, in a state where the Republican Party has such a strong hold.

Jones is one of only three Democratic Senators in the states that made up the Civil War Confederate States, only joined by Virginia’s two Senators, Tim Kaine and Mark Warner.

Jones has distinguished himself as a “Profile in Courage” in his two years in the Senate, succeeding the infamous Jeff Sessions, and defeating the equally infamous Roy Moore, former Alabama Supreme Court Justice, in the special election that followed.

Jones faces either Sessions or Moore in November, and is the one really endangered Democratic Senator up for reelection.

Let us hope that many contribute to keep Doug Jones in the US Senate!

Realize that Jones was able to have a successful prosecution of those involved in the infamous 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing in Birmingham in 1963, which killed four African American young girls, bringing the perpetrators to justice in 2001 and 2002, nearly four decades after the horrific event.

This is a good, decent man, and Alabama and the nation deserve him to stay in the US Senate!

Mitt Romney, A Profile In Courage, First Senator In American History To Vote To Convict President Of His Own Party!

Ronald 1 Comment

Senator Mitt Romney of Utah, the 2012 Republican Presidential nominee, was a true “Profile in Courage” yesterday, by voting to convict Donald Trump on the impeachment charge of “Abuse Of Power”.

This blogger and author was not a great fan of Mitt Romney in his failed 2012 Presidential bid, considering him a hypocrite for criticizing ObamaCare, which was based to a great extent on RomneyCare in Massachusetts. I did not want him as President, and think he lacked enough concern for the average American.

But that is the past, and Romney knows he will suffer attacks and condemnations from within the Republican Party for his action to be the first US Senator in American history to vote to convict a President of his own party in an impeachment trial. That took guts and also showed the true religiosity of Romney with his Mormon faith, whether one agrees or likes the Mormon Church and its teachings.

The accusation that he plans to run for President again is preposterous, and Romney may, very well, not run for reelection in 2024, but the future is not important as the present, to take a stand against the lawlessness and arrogance of Donald Trump.

The fact that Romney’s own niece, Ronna Romney McDaniel, is chair of the Republican National Committee, put her in an awkward position, and she did, indeed, make clear her objection to her uncle’s decision. But that does not matter, and whatever one thinks of Romney in the past, it is clear that his vote is based upon principle and courage, so it is proper to applaud and salute Mitt Romney for a decision that will live in history, and could be another chapter, updated, of John F. Kennedy’s famous “Profiles in Courage” book in 1956!

Romney will withstand the storm of criticism, and if moronic son Donald Trump, Jr is able to have Romney expelled from the Republican Party, as he called for in anger yesterday, the party will be the loser, not Romney.

If Romney is a true independent, he will be a greater Senator long term than being captive to a corrupt political party, so bring it on, is my thought!

First Impressions Of Iowa Caucuses: Pete And Bernie Lead Factions, Joe And Amy In Trouble, Elizabeth Number Three Hanging On

Ronald 17 Comments

Although the Iowa Caucuses results are still not complete at this writing, the following conclusions are clear:

The big winners are Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders, and they now become the leaders of the two factions in the Democratic Party.

Joe Biden in 4th place and Amy Klobuchar in 5th place are on notice if they cannot do better soon, with Super Tuesday clearly their last stand if they do not perform much better.

Elizabeth Warren may have been 3rd, but failed to win any of the 99 counties, so she seems to be at a difficult time with New Hampshire coming up, and Sanders expected to win.

So it looks like the likely battle, subject to change, is between the oldest candidate and the youngest candidate in the field, with Pete precisely half the age of Bernie.

One is a non devout person of Jewish heritage who calls himself a Socialist, and the other is a devout Episcopalian who attends church regularly, and is gay and has a husband.

Buttigieg won the John F. Kennedy Profiles in Courage award as a high school senior in 2000, having written an essay on the integrity and political courage of then Congressman Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and met Caroline Kennedy at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.

This is certainly an ironic situation, that the two front runners are linked in this manner. And the fact that one of my contributors to commentary on this blog, D, supports Sanders while I support Pete is also of interest.

So the battle is on, and we shall see what happens!

The Need To End The Iowa Caucuses And All Caucuses, And Have A National Primary Day In June Of Presidential Election Years

Ronald 20 Comments

The Iowa Caucuses debacle, at this writing, no results due to “technical glitches with the new app”, is just further reason to end the Iowa Caucuses and the few other states that have such caucuses.–Nevada, Wyoming–and have a National Primary Day in June of the Presidential election years.

All candidates should campaign nationally, and the idea that small, unrepresentative states such as Iowa and New Hampshire, should have such attention paid to them, as they gain through the present system, should end.

Just as we have a National Election Day, we should have a National Primary Day, and that would be better for the parties and the nation. The only caveat might be, as in most states, that early voting could take place for up to three weeks before the election, but no vote count allowed until the end of National Primary Day.

This would enliven interest in the election, and force candidates to campaign in different ways, but with one result for each party with five months to go until the election in November!

Nine Months To The Most Urgent Election In American History!

Ronald 9 Comments

Nine months from today, November 3, is the most urgent election in American history, as America will never be the same if Donald Trump is reelected to a second term in the White House!

Yes, there have been other crucial elections, including 1860 (Abraham Lincoln); 1932 (Franklin D. Roosevelt); and 1940 (FDR).

These elections centered around the upcoming Civil War; the tragedy of the Great Depression at its lowest moment; and the upcoming US involvement in World War II.

But while the Civil War, the Great Depression, and World War II were all massive crises for America, we now face a true demagogue out of control after an impeachment trial in which much of the evidence and essential witnesses to the wrongdoing of Donald Trump were not permitted to be included, due to the corruption and abandonment of the oaths taken by Republican Senators to uphold the Constitution and rule of law.

The Republican Party has besmirched the historic reputation of the US Senate for all time, and have lost all credibility as a viable political party.

It is essential for the party to be soundly defeated in as many House and Senate races as possible, and for the total repudiation of Donald Trump, who will go down in history as the worst and most dangerous President we have ever had, having abandoned all common decency and respect for the law!

Donald Trump needs to be held accountable for his transgressions, and for accountability under the law when he leaves the White House, having worsened the lives of tens of millions of Americans with his vindictive, lawless, and uncaring agenda!

Time For A New Generation Of Leadership: My Endorsement Of Pete Buttigieg For President!

Ronald 7 Comments

With the Iowa Caucuses taking place on Monday evening, followed by the New Hampshire Primary, the Nevada Caucuses, and the South Carolina Primary later in February, and then Super Tuesday on March 3 (14 states voting), it is time to consider who would be the best choice for President of the United States.

Anyone who has read my blog for the past eleven and a half years knows of my genuine affection for former Vice President Joe Biden.

I wish he had been the nominee in 2016, and believe he would have defeated Donald Trump.

But at age 77 now, and concerned about the idea of an octogenarian Presidency if Joe, or Bernie Sanders, or Mike Bloomberg wins the election, I do not think any of these three would be the best choice for the future of the party and nation.

I wish to make it clear that I will support whoever the Democratic Presidential nominee is in 2020, but prefer a younger candidate who represents the future.

So therefore, I am endorsing former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg for President!

I believe that Pete, while seen as a “dark horse”, represents the future of the party, and would move the nation forward in a rational, reasonable way.

He would be the John F. Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama of his time, as the thought of a Catholic, a Southerner, a Governor of a small state, and a mixed race African American President was unlikely, but occurred in 1960, 1976, 1992, and 2008.

Pete was the Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, a small city, but there is no description of who a President should be, and what matters more is the inspiration that a candidate brings to the race.

And Pete represents a new generation; a man who would be the youngest President in history; a man who served in the military in Afghanistan; a Harvard and Oxford graduate; a recipient of the Rhodes Scholarship; and a scholarly man who can speak seven languages.

Pete is a moderate progressive, which is the mainstream of the Democratic Party, and this blogger and scholar does not believe that Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren can win the election. And were either to win, the strong odds are against their agenda as more ambitious than the next Congress would be.

To accomplish their goals would require a Congress similar to that under Franklin D. Roosevelt in the mid 1930s, or Lyndon B. Johnson in the mid 1960s, but that occurring is close to zero, in reality!

The fact that Pete Buttigieg is gay and has a husband would not, in my estimation, be a major factor in the election, except for extremist religious Christians and Jews, but realistically, they would be unlikely to vote Democratic anyway.

And as far as African American voters, while they might favor Joe Biden now, and there are some issues with Pete’s handling of racial issues in South Bend, can one really imagine African Americans backing Donald Trump for a second term?

The prospect of a woman nominee, either Amy Klobuchar or Elizabeth Warren, would be appealing, particularly after the disappointment in 2016, and the fact that the centennial of the Woman Suffrage 19th Amendment, is in 2020. But I think the odds of midwestern white men supporting a woman over a gay male is highly questionable.

A great idea, however, would be to select a qualified woman for Vice President, with Amy Klobuchar the front runner in that regard, older by a generation than Pete, but Obama had Joe Biden who was a generation older as well.

Having a Midwestern ticket of Pete and Amy would insure, in my estimation, a Democratic victory in November, with two firsts–a gay male President and a woman Vice President–two advancements brought to us by the Democratic Party, the party of reasonable revolutionary change as in the case of John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama, half a century apart, and now looking into the future of the nation.

So again, I am in for whoever the Democrats nominate for President as the best choice for the nation, but enthusiastically endorse Pete Buttigieg for President, and welcome all commentary by any reader!

Lamar Alexander No Profile In Courage, Unlike His Mentor, Howard Baker, In The Watergate Scandal

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Retiring Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, unlike his mentor, Senator Howard Baker of Tennessee, is clearly no Profile in Courage.

Baker stood up against his party’s President, Richard Nixon, in Watergate in 1973-1974.

Alexander chose instead to state that what Donald Trump has done in the Ukraine Scandal is wrong, but that it is up to the voters to decide whether Trump should stay in office.

In so deciding, Alexander prevented the possibility of a 51-49 majority in the US Senate calling for additional witnesses and testimony, which has been so in previous Presidential impeachment trials, as well as Federal Judiciary trials.

Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski likely would have voted for such witnesses and testimony, had Alexander done so, but instead the vote was 51-49 against having such additional witnesses and testimony.

So Lamar Alexander’s obituary some day will make clear that he was NO Profile in Courage, putting party over principle, a big disappointment.