Democratic Party

President Biden And The State Of The Union Address: A Grand Slam Homerun!

Ronald 2 Comments

President Joe Biden hit a grand slam homerun last night in a magnificent State of the Union Address before a joint session of Congress, lasting more than an hour, and touching on all issues that needed to be addressed.

And the MAGA Republicans hurt themselves by their horrendous behavior and lack of respect for the President, including heckling and jeering, something Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy tried to prevent ahead of the gathering, but failed in his mission to do so.

The scene of Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, and other extremists misbehaving in a way that was totally inappropriate in this venue will be used by Democrats in the upcoming Congressional and Presidential campaigns of 2024!

Biden confronted the Republicans on the debt ceiling issue; on the danger to Social Security and Medicare; on immigration; on the issue of gun regulations and police abuses; on climate change; and so many other issues.

The Republicans were on the defensive and denied reality that they had caused one fourth of the entire national debt under Donald Trump, and had raised the debt ceiling three times, but now are being resistant on doing so this time!

Anyone who had doubts about Joe Biden’s ability to deal with complex issues saw a President highly energetic, giving a fantastic speech that put the Republicans on the defensive.

Biden is ready to take the case of his reelection to the nation, and he will, clearly, give the opposition “hell”, as Harry Truman did in the Presidential campaign of 1948!

The Democratic Primary Calendar Change For 2024 Makes Sense!

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The Democratic Party has made an important decision regarding the Presidential primary calendar for the Presidential Election of 2024.

The system of the last half century has been that Iowa holds its caucus first, followed by New Hampshire then having its primary.

Both Iowa and New Hampshire are overwhelmingly white and rural, in a nation that is more diverse than ever, so it is, rightfully, time for change!

So the decision has been made to put South Carolina first on Saturday, February 3, followed by joint primaries in New Hampshire and Nevada on Tuesday, February 6; then by Georgia on Tuesday February 13, and then, Michigan on Tuesday February 27.

If Iowa and New Hampshire refuse to change their dates, then the delegates from those two states may not be seated at the Democratic National Convention, and the Republican Party is highly unlikely to cooperate with Democrats, so it will created a confused situation.

This could include some wayward Democrat choosing to run in the Democratic primary to challenge Joe Biden, and creating confusion and disarray.

The new situation downgrades the idea of the Presidential Caucus system, which has deteriorated from a point of about 15 states holding them instead of primaries, now down to just 3 or 4, and likely to die on the vine, with maybe only Iowa fighting the tide and doing its own thing, but with the state unable to participate in the Democratic National Convention, a situation that could also affect New Hampshire!

No system is perfect, but President Biden pushed the change, due to the fact that it was South Carolina that put him on the road to the White House, after Iowa and New Hampshire both rejected his candidacy earlier!

The “Gang Of Eight” And The Chinese Balloon Incident

Ronald 12 Comments

The Chinese Balloon incident this past week, with President Biden ordering it be shot down over the Atlantic Ocean off South Carolina after being mapped over Montana, Missouri, and the Carolinas during the week, is an example of proper reaction in a way that does not threaten the safety of people or locations over land.

It brings to attention the so called “Gang Of Eight”, which are given special access to intelligence information regarding any danger to national security.

They include:

Congressman Mike Turner of Ohio (R), Chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence

Congressman Jim Himes of Connecticut (D), Ranking Member

Senator Mark Warner (D) of Virginia, Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence

Senator Marco Rubio (R) of Florida, Vice Chair

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R) of California

Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D) of New York

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D) of New York

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) of Kentucky

Hopefully, the members of this group will avoid politics on this issue, but already there has been strong criticism of the tactics used by Joe Biden by Turner and Rubio, a regrettable situation.

Republicans, Democrats, And The Economy: The Truth!

Ronald 2 Comments

Republicans for generations have claimed they are the “better” political party for the American economy, than are the opposition Democrats!

This is a bald faced lie, but gullible people keep on “drinking the KoolAid”!

The Republican party continues to call for the demise of Social Security (passed under Franklin D. Roosevelt); Medicare and Medicaid (passed under Lyndon B. Johnson); and in the past 12 years for repealing the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare).

Right wingers condemn the Affordable Care Act because it was an African American president who promoted this expansion of health care that was first promoted as a basic right by Republican President Theodore Roosevelt as the Bull Moose Progressive Party nominee for President in 1912.

It took a generation for the cousin of TR to move toward social justice; and 50 years for Johnson to promote the health care initiatives of Harry Truman; and another nearly 50 years for Barack Obama to go beyond Medicare and Medicaid. Note that all of the Presidents engaged in this quest, except for Theodore Roosevelt, were Democrats.

But beyond that, all of the economic downturns since 1953 took place under Republican Presidents, with the exception of the brief recession under Democratic President Jimmy Carter in 1980, which led to his defeat for a second term. But there were three recessions under Dwight D. Eisenhower; one under Richard Nixon and one shared by Nixon and Gerald Ford; one under Ronald Reagan; one under George H. W. Bush; and two under George W. Bush. This list included the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression under Reagan and the “Great Recession” under George W. Bush, which set back the economy for years. Additionally, the COVID 19 Pandemic led to an economic crisis under Donald Trump.

The latest economic report shows the lowest peacetime unemployment rate since World War II; the unemployment rate lowest since 1969 at 3.4 percent; a tremendous economic recovery since the COVID 19 Pandemic; 33.8 million jobs over the sixteen years of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama; 12.1 million jobs in two years of Joe Biden, an all time high; while only 1.9 million jobs under Republican Presidents George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump were created for 16 years; and with Donald Trump the first President since Herbert Hoover to have a net loss of jobs!

Also, Gross Domestic Product has been 3.4 percent under Joe Biden, as compared to 1 percent under Trump; and more jobs created under two years of Biden than any President in four years! And the uninsured rate on health care is down to 8 percent due to Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) than it has ever been, and if Texas and Florida had agreed to expansion of Medicaid, it would be MUCH lower! Additionally, more businesses are being formed than ever before, and wage growth, while not keeping up with inflation, has been rapidly expanding.

Once the inflation struggle, affected by the Russia-Ukraine War and the machinations of oil nations, are dealt with, inflation, already coming down, will be mastered. But no President can alone prevent or provoke inflation!

So the Democrats can be proud of their accomplishments economically over the long haul, and it is time for the myth of Republican “prosperity” to be laid to rest as yet another myth that needs to be retired!

The Republican Party is there for the wealthy, the privileged, and the bigots who promote white supremacy, racism, nativism, and misogyny, and with the political corruption under Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush and Donald Trump being massive, while Democratic Presidents have NOT presided over corruption at a notable level, but rather mostly manufactured by Republican propagandists!

Republicans are “better” in promoting propaganda, while Democrats are far better in accomplishment of improving economic opportunity for the American people!

Long Overdue For 11 States To Expand Medicaid Coverage!

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Hard to believe, but in 2023, there are still ELEVEN states that have refused to take care of their poorer citizens by expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare)!

Eight of these eleven states are in the South, including the megastates of Texas and Florida, and that should be used by the Democrats against Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis, when and if they announce for President, which at least, DeSantis is expected to do soon!

The other states that are recalcitrant, and show lack of concern for the lives of their less fortunate citizenry are Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee!

Also, outliers outside the South are Kansas, Wisconsin, and Wyoming!

It is time for these eleven states to stop their resistance, and protect human lives, as much as they are pushing for protecting every fetus in the womb!

The MAGA Republican Agenda Must Be Resisted By Biden And Democrats!

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The MAGA Republicans who now control the House of Representatives under Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, and also have influence over some of the minority Republican contingent in the US Senate, have declared war on common decency.

Joe Biden, the Democratic Senate majority and the minority House Democratic caucus under the leadership of Hakeem Jeffries have their work cut out for them to resist and defy the lunatics who are wishing to impose their agenda on the nation.

The Republicans want to negotiate over the debt ceiling when it is their party that has added most of the national debt under Republican Presidents, and specifically, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, and most egregiously, Donald Trump, in their mad quest to cut taxes for the super wealthy who do not need tax cuts, and never pay an adequate tax rate.

They have no concern over the damage that would be wrought on the American and worldwide economy by holding the debt ceiling as hostage, when it covers past Congressional actions that were enacted, so it shows that they are deadbeats when it comes to payment of financial obligations. The debt limit has been raised more times than years in the past multiple decades, and without question when the Republicans controlled both chambers of Congress!

And they wish to destroy the Internal Revenue Service, and instead of income taxes, tax everyone a flat rate of 30 percent sales tax on all purchases and expenses, an idea that will destroy the middle class and the poor, and greatly benefit the wealthy, absolutely outrageous!

The Republicans also want to make massive cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, veterans benefits, calling them “entitlements”, when taxpayers pay for these programs in their years of paying taxes, so to cut is an outrage!

Republicans are also declaring war on the need for environmental reforms to deal with climate change; to promote “clean energy”; wanting to cut national parks and conservation lands and sell them to industrial interests; necessary investment in infrastructure; along with wanting to cut the meager investment in National Public Radio and PBS, undermining the concept of educating the American public with a miniscule investment of public funds!

The Democrats need to counter the Republicans by insisting on such programs as the following:

An increase in the minimum wage, and indexed to inflation

A significant tax increase on the wealthy

Expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) to states that have not expanded Medicaid, mostly in the South, and including the megastates of Florida and Texas

Universal Pre-K for children under the age of five

A national paid family leave program

A permanent expansion of the child tax credit

And a “compromise” might be a smaller tax increase on the wealthy, and a slower increase in the national minimum wage over a longer period of time, but in exchange, the Republicans would stop holding as hostages the national debt that they mostly created without concern.

The Republicans claim to be “pro life”, and yet they show no concern for the welfare of American children who are not from wealthy families, and refuse to consider gun regulations as more and escalating numbers of mass murders occur, with 41 such incidents in the first 27 days of 2023!

Four “M” State Governments Now Are Democratic Controlled!

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The 2022 Midterm Elections brought about the taking of control of the executive and legislative branches of government by the Democrats in four “M” States—Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Minnesota.

This means these four states–two on the Atlantic Coast, and two in the Midwest–will now see the accomplishment of progressive goals that are not possible in the South and much of the heartland of America.

This includes promotion of gay rights, labor rights, and women’s rights, including on the subject of abortion, as well as gun regulations.

A total of 17 states will have full Democratic control, and a majority of Americans live in those 17 states.

However, the Republicans have control in 21 states, with the remainder of the states being divided in party control.

Outrageous For Speaker McCarthy To Deny Three Democrats Appointments To Committees They Have Served On!

Ronald 3 Comments

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy is demonstrating what a total disaster he is, allowing right wing extremists to have authority, and now working to deny Democrats of their appointments on the House Intelligence Committee, specifically Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell both from California, who have served on that committee honorably!

McCarthy is also taking a stand against Muslim Congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, planning to deny her continued membership on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, but giving the phony liar, George Santos, positions on two committees!

This is outrageous, and the few moderate Republicans, such as Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, and Don Bacon of Nebraska, along with a few others, can prevent this outrageous violation of McCarthy to be prevented by voting with Democrats to overrrule the Speaker!

50 Years Since Roe V Wade: The Battle Is Not Over, And Must Continue!

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Today marks the 50th Anniversary of the Roe V Wade Abortion Rights decision, written by a 7-2 majority of the Supreme Court, including five Republican appointments to the Court, including the author of the opinion, Associate Justice Harry Blackmun (appointed by Richard Nixon). Chief Justice Warren Burger, and Associate Justices William Brennan, Potter Stewart, and Lewis Powell joined the majority, along with Democratic appointments William O. Douglas and Thurgood Marshall. The only dissenters were Democratic appointment Byron White and Republican William Rehnquist.

After a half century, one would have thought that the right of a woman to control her own health care, and her body, would have been clearly permanent law.

But, instead, the extremist right wing Supreme Court, with appointees of George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump, by a 6-3 vote eviscerated abortion rights in Dobbs V Jackson Women’s Health Organization, on June 24, 2022.

This caused nationwide reaction, leading to six states insuring the right of abortion by vote of the people of those states, and defeat of extremist anti abortion candidates for Governor and other state wide executive offices in many states by the time of the Midterm Elections of 2022.

But the anti abortion extremists are now out to create a nationwide ban on abortion, which, if the Republicans win the US Senate and the White House in the 2024 elections, could be a reality!

This has been a 50 year effort by so called “Pro Life” forces, which want to impose their personal and religious views on the entire population of the United States, including young girls who should not be having children before adulthood, and also undermines the basic physical and mental health of women, without any concern of the impact.

So the battle for individual freedom must go on, with no relenting on the issue!

Two Year Anniversary Of Joe Biden Presidency: Should He Run For Second Term?

Ronald 10 Comments

Today at 12 Noon marks the two year anniversary of the Joe Biden Presidency!

Considering the difficult political circumstances, of an evenly divided Senate for only the fourth time in American history, and a five seat margin in the House of Representatives, Joe Biden accomplished a great deal in his first two years in office.

From a progressive view, he was the most successful in his first two years domestically than any President since Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1960s with his “Great Society” legislation, which was far greater, but with a massive margin of his party in control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Biden accomplished more than Democrats in the Presidency after Johnson, including Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and even Barack Obama, after their first two years in the Oval Office!

Foreign policy has been difficult, as it always is, but Biden’s strong support of Ukraine in its war with Russia, and backed by NATO, has been a very strong example of his promotion of democracy against totalitarianism, reminiscent of Franklin D. Roosevelt coming to the aid of Great Britain in 1940-1941, before America’s entrance into World War II.

Having said all the above, the question now is should Joe Biden, having reached the age of 80 precisely two months ago, run for a second term, and would he win a second term?

This author and blogger has always had great and warm feelings toward Joe Biden, going back to when he gravitated toward Biden as, in my mind, the replacement in commitment and personality traits of Hubert Humphrey, who was this author’s original political “hero”!

I wish that Biden had been able to run for President in 2016, but his son Beau’s death prevented that, as I believe he would have won the nomination, and would have defeated Donald Trump, and saved America from the nightmare four years of horrendous policies and criminal actions.

Hillary Clinton had too many barriers, including controversies surrounding her and her husband, along with simply being the first woman nominee for President. Of course, Hillary Clinton still won the national popular vote by 2.85 million, and only lost because of Russian collusion with Trump that threw the Electoral College vote to him in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. Even a Republican controlled Senate committee came to that conclusion, despite the continued lying and deception that continues unabated to the present.

But the present is the issue, and this author and blogger sincerely believes that while Joe Biden would win a second term, against Donald Trump or anyone else on the horizon, that for the future of the Presidency and of Joe Biden’s own lifespan, that he should announce that he will retire.

It would make him a “lameduck President”, but freed from politics of his own ego, he could be seen as a statesman, helping to bring the future of the nation toward a Democratic Party successor, who would pursue his principles, goals, and common decency and compassion!

We need a future President who has the character traits of Joe Biden, as we do not want to promote selfishness, greed, nastiness, and lack of compassion and common decency, which too many Republicans who plan to run for President, possess as their basic character traits!

This way, Joe Biden can leave office at age 82, with head held high, having accomplished a decent record under difficult circumstances, having assisted for his own succession. And he can have peace of mind, planning his own Presidential Library and Museum, writing his own memoirs, and enjoying his wife, Dr Jill Biden, and his family in a relaxed, well deserved retirement, which is likely to lead to a longer life, than having the stress of another four years in office!

He should not join the list of Presidents who either died in office or had very short retirements, such individuals as Woodrow Wilson, Calvin Coolidge, and Lyndon B. Johnson!

So, President Biden, do what is best for you and for the nation you have served so well, and announce your decision to leave office two years from today, having insured the succession of a Democratic President who will carry on with your commitment to decency, fairness, and compassion!