Month: February 2024

Mitch McConnell, Longest Serving Senate Leader, To Leave, After Tremendous Damage Done Over The Years! :(

Kentucky Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, who has served longer in party and Senate leadership than anyone in American history, will leave his role in the Senate after the Presidential Election of 2024.

Arguably the single most important Senate leader since Lyndon B. Johnson was Majority Leader from 1955-1961 before his rise to the Vice Presidency and Presidency, McConnell single handedly caused tremendous damage in so many ways.

Among them was his refusal to allow a Supreme Court nominee by Barack Obama in 2016 after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia; McConnell’s ramming through the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett in the Fall of 2020 before the election after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg; his promotion of a massive number of right wing judges onto the federal courts; and his unwillingness to vote to convict Trump on impeachment charges in the days before the end of the Presidential term after the horrendous events of January 6, 2021.

The extremist right wing tilt of the Supreme Court, and its moves against abortion, affirmative action, and promotion of lack of regulation of guns, is primarily due to this man, and he will not look good in the annals of history, for having helped emboldened Donald Trump, even though Trump does not appreciate what McConnell did!

No Point To Presidential Or Vice Presidential Debates In 2024!

The first Presidential debates occurred in 1960, when John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon had four debates.

After that, there were no debates in 1964 (refusal of Lyndon B. Johnson); 1968 and 1972 (refusal of Richard Nixon), but when Gerald Ford was running for a full term after replacing Nixon due to his resignation in the Watergate Scandal, he agreed to debates with Jimmy Carter, and Vice Presidential debates also resumed.

Both have occurred ever since, but the quality and usefulness of debates have deteriorated, and Donald Trump did great damage to the debate concept in 2016 and 2020.

So this author and blogger feels there is no point to having debates between Trump and Joe Biden, as all they would lead to is constant interruptions and insults by Trump.

And whoever Trump chooses as his Vice Presidential running mate, clearly will be someone out to insult and ridicule Vice President Kamala Harris, so not wise for such a debate to occur.

The Horrors Of Donald Trump’s “Short List” Of VP Possibilities

The “Short List” of Vice Presidential possibities for Donald Trump is a list of horrors!

The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) had a straw poll of attendees and the list of candidates was as follows, with two ties:

Vivek Ramaswamy
Kristi Noem

Tulsi Gabbard

Elise Stefanik
Tim Scott

Byron Donalds

Kari Lake

They are all horrendous in different degrees, but Ramaswamy is the worst, with his desire to wipe out the FBI, Centers for Disease Control, and the Department of Education, and cut the federal work force by a massive margin!

Kristi Noem has suggested that Trump be added to Mount Rushmore in her state of South Dakota!

Gabbard, a former Democratic Congresswoman from Hawaii, has really gone off the deep end, and many have wondered about her mental stability!

Stefanik has stated that Trump committed no crimes, and has had a wonderful business history, which makes her truly an example of a person who has sold her soul, with no ethics, morals, or scruples! She is a total sycophant, with no shame!

Tim Scott, Senator from South Carolina, has degraded himself in subjugation to Trump in an absolutely disgraceful manner!

Byron Donalds has also come across as totally a sycophant!

And Kari Lake continues to claim she won the Arizona gubernatorial race in 2022, copying the tactics of Donald Trump!

By comparison, Mike Pence looks far more rational.

None of them match the qualifications and stature of Vice President Kamala Harris!

Republicans And Russia: Complete Reversal Of Party History

The Republican Party historically was always seen as strongly anti Soviet Union, accusing Democrats of being “soft on Communism”.

It made the careers of such individuals as Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin (McCarthyism Red Scare) in the early 1950s; Congressman, Senator, Vice President and President Richard Nixon in the 1940s and 1950s; Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona from the early 1950s onward through his Presidential campaign in 1964 and beyond; and California Governor and President Ronald Reagan from the 1950s onward.

All of these Republican leaders would be astounded by the pro Russian, pro Vladimir Putin bent of present day Republicans in both houses of Congress, led by Donald Trump, who conspired to fix the Presidential Election of 2016, and is once again trying to bring about another conspiracy, with the intention of establishing an authoritarian government in the vein of the Russian Federation.

It is shocking how Republicans have destroyed their reputations, and that they are more concerned with keeping control and power, than being concerned about the national security of the American people!

Nikki Haley 40 Percent Reminds Us Of Eugene McCarthy 42 Percent In 1968!

Although Donald Trump won nearly 60 percent of the vote in the South Carolina Republican primary on Saturday over the 40 percent won by Nikki Haley, the fact that Haley did as well as that number, when supposedly, Trump was leading in polls by 30 percent, is a sign of dissatisfaction among Republicans and Independents, who gave Haley 40 percent.

This brings back memories of the New Hampshire primary for the Democratic Party in 1968, when President Lyndon B. Johnson won just 50 percent, with Minnesota Senator Eugene McCarthy winning 42 percent!

This surprisingly close vote did not lead to McCarthy being the Democratic Presidential nominee, but it helped to lead to Johnson backing out of the race.

No one is saying that Trump will back out, but it is clear that his support is not as great as one would expect, and Haley staying in the race indicates problems for Trump in the Fall campaign against Joe Biden.

The Negativism About Kamala Harris As Potential President Is Unwarranted!

The propaganda being spewed against Vice President Kamala Harris as a potential successor to Joe Biden at some point in the next five years is totally unwarranted.

Vice Presidents, historically, have been panned as not acceptable alternatives, but that is simply political propaganda by the other side of the political spectrum.

John Tyler was the first Vice President to suffer from ridicule and criticism, when William Henry Harrison died after one month in office in 1841, and he was called “His Accidency” by critics who refused to accept that his succession to the Presidency was legitimate.

There was great trepidation when Harry Truman succeeded to the Presidency after the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945, but Truman, despite bitter attacks, is now regarded as one of the top six Presidents.

No one wanted to imagine Lyndon B. Johnson as President in 1960, but he succeeded John F. Kennedy in 1963, and ended up being the best domestic President since FDR.

Gerald Ford is seen as having saved the nation by his leadership after the Watergate Scandal led to the resignation of Richard Nixon in 1974.

Kamala Harris has excellent credentials in her career of being San Francisco District Attorney from 2004-2011; California Attorney General from 2011-2017; US Senator from 2017-2021; and now Vice President for the past three plus years.

She has been a strong support for President Joe Biden, and is clearly more competent and experienced than many earlier Vice Presidents have been, including Spiro Agnew, Dan Quayle, and Mike Pence were.

Most of the opposition is sexist and racist against Harris, and it is disgusting that the right wing issues vicious attacks against her with no factual basis or justification.

If the need arose for Kamala Harris to become President, the nation would be in good hands, and would be well served!

Republican Isolationism Rears Its Ugly Head As It Did Before World War II!

The nation is back in the 1930s, when primarily Republican Party isolationism ignored the threat of Nazi Germany, and many embraced Adolf Hitler.

Back then, we had Charles Lindbergh, Roman Catholic Priest Charles Coughlin, auto magnate Henry Ford, Ohio Senator Robert Taft, and innumerable others resist the idea that Nazism and Fascism were a threat to American democracy and national security, even after Germany started World War II and conquered France and started the air assault on Great Britain.

Today, we have Donald Trump, Tucker Carlson, Fox News Channel commentators, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Ohio Senator J D Vance, Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson, and most other Republicans in Congress who resist the idea that Vladimir Putin and Russia’s war against Ukraine is a threat to American democracy and national security!

Just as Franklin D. Roosevelt had to battle against these isolationist forces back then, now Joe Biden must do so in 2024, as Donald Trump and his ilk represent a dire threat to the future of the nation!

APSA Presidential Greatness Poll 2024: The Next President On Mt. Rushmore, And Most Polarizing And Least Polarizing Presidents!

The American Political Science Association Presidential Greatness Poll 2024 also asks participants who they would consider should join George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt on the Mt. Rushmore National Monument in South Dakota.

The overwhelming choice was Franklin D. Roosevelt by a wide margin (65.4%), with Barack Obama second with 11%, and a three way tie at 4% among Dwight D. Eisenhower, James Madison, and John F. Kennedy.

And the most Polarizing Presidents were Donald Trump, Andrew Jackson, Barack Obama, Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, and George W. Bush in that order, with the least Polarizing Presidents being George Washington, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Abraham Lincoln, Harry Truman, Franklin D.Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy in that order.

APSA Presidential Greatness Poll 2024: Most Under-Rated And Over-Rated Presidents

The American Political Science Association Presidential Greatness Poll 2024 also ranks “Under-Rated” and “Over-Rated” Presidents.

The most Under-Rated Presidents in the poll are judged to be Jimmy Carter, Ulysses S. Grant, George H. W. Bush, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Lyndon B. Johnson.

The most Over-Rated Presidents in the poll are judged to be John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Andrew Jackson, Woodrow Wilson, and Thomas Jefferson.

APSA Presidential Greatness Poll 2024: Declines In Presidential Rankings

The American Political Science Association Presidential Greatness Poll of 2024 reveals major declines in Presidential rankings of 6 Presidents from earlier polls in 2015 and 2018.

The most dramatic decline in this poll is Andrew Jackson down 12 since 2015 to number 21. Also, in a major downward spiral is Calvin Coolidge, down 7 to number 34. James K. Polk also declined by 6 to number 25. And down by 5 are Woodrow Wilson to number 15 and Ronald Reagan to number 16. And Bill Clinton is down by 4 to number 12 since 2015.