Author: Ronald

The Strange Feeling About Mitt Romney Leaving The Senate: Regret!

The surprising news that Utah Senator Mitt Romney is retiring at the end of his term in 2024 leaves this blogger and author feeling regret.

While a major critic of Romney when he ran for President in 2012 against Barack Obama, Romney redeemed himself in the Senate since 2019, including being the only Republican Senator to vote to convict Donald Trump in both impeachment trials.

Romney also acted in a bipartisan manner with Joe Biden, although their differences are still quite clear on many issues.

But Romney was really one of a very few Republican Senators who engendered respect as decent, competent, and principled.

It has now been revealed about his strong criticism of Senators Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, and J D Vance, and his disappointment with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and this redeems his reputation mightily!

With his retirement, only Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski is really the old style Republican, as even Maine Senator Susan Collins has been totally unreliable.

And whoever replaces Romney in the Senate from Utah is unlikely to have the distinction and dignity that Mitt Romney represents!

Republican Party Destroying Itself From Within

The Republican Party, born in 1854, is very likely to die in 2024, and be replaced by a different political entity.

Their decision to support a criminal President, Donald Trump, and start impeachment action against a decent, compassionate, accomplished President, Joe Biden, will put the final nails in the coffin of the party of Lincoln, TR, Ike, Reagan, and Bush.

When Marjorie Taylor Greene calls for secession of states and a new Civil War, and when Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy allows an attack on a man, Joe Biden, he knows has done nothing wrong or illegal, it is clear that the party is in its death spiral.

There is a dire need for a solid conservative party based on principle and on support of the American democratic republic, and the GOP is in its death throes!

If Dianne Feinstein Leaves, Maxine Waters Should Be Interim US Senator!

The possibility is growing that California Senator Dianne Feinstein, who is in poor health, may end up leaving the Senate before the end of her term at the end of 2024.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has said that if such an eventuality were to occur, that he would select an African American woman as a caretaker until the election of the new Senator.

He has now clarified that it would be inappropriate to select anyone who is an announced candidate for the Senate, giving such person an unfair advantage.

So it seems clear that Congresswoman Barbara Lee would not be selected, since she is in contention with two other California members of the House of Representatives–Adam Schiff and Katie Porter–for the Senate seat.

The odds now would favor Schiff for the Senate seat, with Nancy Pelosi already endorsing him, although the opponent in November of next year likely could be Porter or Lee, since the California system allows the top two vote getters in an open primary situation to be the final rivals in the fall election.

So with Newsom’s declaration that he will not select any of the competitors, it is clear that the best solution would be to select Congresswoman Maxine Waters, who is 85, and while still in great health, might like the idea of being a Senator for a limited period of time as a fitting end to a distinguished career in Congress since 1991!

She is outspoken and dynamic, and suffers no fools, and her colorful nature has made her attractive to many, but she will be past 86 at the end of 2024, so it would be a graceful way for her to leave if the opportunity arises to serve a limited time in the US Senate!

22nd Anniversary Of September 11, But Republicans Undermine National Defense!

It has been 22 years since the shocking Al Qaeda attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and the nation is still reeling from divisions on national defense and national security.

We have many Republicans who work against assistance to Ukraine in its war provoked by the Russian Federation and Vladimir Putin.

We also have Alabama Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville still blocking confirmation of military promotions in the armed services, now for seven months, over the military’s decision to allow women in the military to gain reproductive services, including abortion.

With so many Republicans supporting Russia, a mind boggling development, that party is undermining national security in a massive way, and that needs to be emphasized by Democrats as we look ahead to the Congressional and Presidential Elections of 2024, just 14 months away!

Foreign Policy Of America In Danger From Donald Trump!

American foreign policy is in great danger from the threat of Donald Trump possibly being reelected to the Presidency in 2024.

His well known admiration for authoritarians in Russia, North Korea, and China; and his hostility toward the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are alarm bells in the night!

His willingness to abandon Ukraine, and allow Vladimir Putin to seize more of that nation, is an encouragement that will trigger World War III, as what would stop Putin from trying to restore the old Soviet Union, by attacking Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and more territory?

America’s relationship with Asian nations, which now are 60 percent of the world’s population are also in danger!

And our relationship with Canada and Latin America would be in disarray as well!

To imagine that Trump would be President again is like imagining that Charles Lindbergh or Henry Ford had been President in the 1930s and 1940s, cozying up to Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy during World War II!

President Joe Biden, meanwhile, has worked very hard to promote and strengthen our alliances with nations around the world, and one must remember his vast experience in foreign policy, as a US Senator, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and eight years as Vice President under Barack Obama!

Horrendous Alternative Vice Presidential Candidates For Donald Trump!

As Donald Trump seems near to becoming the Republican Presidential nominee in 2024, despite 4 indictments and 2 impeachments, the horrendous thought of who could be, in theory, his Vice Presidential runningmate comes into focus.

Republicans have been infamous for selecting terrible Vice Presidential choices, going back a half century.

Think of Spiro Agnew under Richard Nixon; Dan Quayle under George H. W. Bush; Dick Cheney under George W. Bush; and Mike Pence under Donald Trump!

Also, think of Sarah Palin under John McCain; and Paul Ryan under Mitt Romney.

Compare them to Walter Mondale under Jimmy Carter; Al Gore under Bill Clinton; Joe Biden under Barack Obama; and Kamala Harris under Joe Biden.

Now, the so called “short list” includes South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem; Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene; Arizona gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake; Ohio biotech executive Presidential contender Vivek Ramaswamy; New York House Chair of Republican Conference Elise Stefanik; and Florida Congressman Byron Donalds!

None of this list of six would be a safe choice to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency!

Presidential Libraries And Museums Issue Defense Of American Democracy!

The state of American Democracy is in great peril, and has led to all Presidential Libraries and Museums to issue a joint message expressing their alarm at the growing crisis presented by Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans, but without specifically naming individuals or anti democratic movements.

From Herbert Hoover through to Barack Obama, the joint statement of all the libraries and museums is like an alarm bell in the night, calling for compassion, tolerance, and pluralism.

The fact that these Presidential libraries and museums of both political parties felt a need to issue such a statement is recognition of the crisis democracy faces in 2024 and beyond!

Amazing Statistic On Job Growth: 96 Percent Since 1989 Under Democratic Presidents!

As Labor Day was celebrated, an amazing statistic on job growth under Presidents since 1989 is revealed!

Under Democratic Presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden, a massive total of 96 percent of all jobs were created (47.3 million)!

Under Republican Presidents George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump, only 4 percent of all job growth occurred (1.9 million)!

This statistic needs to be hammered home every day between now and 14 months from now, Election Day (November 5, 2024)!

The Ku Klux Klan Act Of 1871 Could Disqualify Donald Trump, Besides The 14th Amendment Section 3!

The Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, the third of a series of Enforcement Acts (1870-1871), enacted to deal with the terrorism and violence of the Ku Klux Klan in the South in the Reconstruction years after the Civil War, was promoted by President Ulysses S. Grant.

Now, more than 150 years later, it is being utilized as a factor in working to deny former President Donald Trump from being able to be on the ballot in multiple states for the Presidential Election of 2024, due to his incitement of the January 6, 2021 US Capitol Insurrection!

Many legal scholars contend that this legislation, designed to enforce the 14th Amendment, Section 3, dealing with rebellion and insurrection, is legitimate in the quest to prevent Trump from being able to run for President a third time.

Ultimately, however, the Supreme Court will get this case, and decide, and it is hoped that Chief Justice John Roberts and at least one other Republican appointment on the Court, and posibly more, will do the right thing, as it will affect their historical legacy if they do not take action!

The Sick, Insane, Warped Republican Voters And Donald Trump!

The latest Wall Street Journal poll on the upcoming Presidential Election Of 2024 shows Donald Trump ahead of all his Republican opponents for the nomination, winning 59 percent of the vote, 46 points ahead of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and further ahead against the rest of the field!

And 78 percent of the Republican party members in the poll believe Donald Trump did nothing wrong, despite having four indictments and 91 counts levied on Trump, and with trials coming up, where he is likely to have at least some counts leading to convictions.

With this information, one must conclude that a vast majority of Republican supporters and voters are sick, insane, warped individuals, who do not care for the Constitution, rule of law,and common decency and compassion for fellow Americans!

The Republican Party base has become a Fascist group, supporting authoritarianism, and clearly racist, misogynist, nativist, homophobic, and antisemitic, and also willing to consort with foreign totalitarian dictators in Russia, North Korea, and China!

And yet, there are also people who are of minority background, who are only too supportive of a very dangerous man, who has lied his whole life, and is a disgrace of an excuse for a human being!

The nation is in great danger, therefore, as we move toward the 250th anniversary of nationhood in July 2026, less than three years from now!