Democratic Party

21 House Republicans Are Effectively “Terrorists” Preventing House Of Representatives From Governing!

Ronald 7 Comments

After three days and ten ballots and counting as I write this entry, the House of Representatives is still not able to move ahead and begin its responsibilities to the nation!

As things now stand, it seems likely that this chaos and disaster will be at least the 5th longest Speaker battle, only surpassed in 1819 (22 ballots); 1859 (44 ballots); 1849 (63 ballots); and 1855 (133 ballots)!

This is due to 21 Republicans refusing to support their Caucus leader, Kevin McCarthy of California, who “sold his soul” to Donald Trump after the January 6, 2021 US Capitol Insurrection!

These 21 Republicans are, effectively, “terrorists” who want to have the power to cripple the House of Representatives on a daily basis, with the idea that if even one member objects to anything McCarthy might do as Speaker, that a vote could be taken to oust him from the leadership of the chamber!

This is pure insanity, and it is time for Kevin McCarthy to refuse to do so, and ultimately, to withdraw from the possibility of being Speaker, in order to move the House of Representatives forward!

But, whoever else might wish to be Speaker, must NOT give in, either, to these seditionists and traitors!

So it is time for the more reasonable, more moderate, and more rational small band of House Republicans to agree to one of the following alternatives:

As this author and blogger suggested yesterday, back a former member of the chamber, such as Liz Cheney of Wyoming, Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, Justin Amash of Michigan, Fred Upton of Michigan, or John Kasich of Ohio, to be the Speaker, with the support of the Democratic minority, and refuse to agree to any demands that limit the Speaker’s ability to lead the chamber!

OR have a small band of these moderate Republicans agree to support Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the Democratic Minority Leader, in this crisis and arrange for a truly bipartisan House of Representatives!

These are the only choices now, and national security and stability are at stake, and these 21 members should be denied any committee memberships, and possible action to expel them from the House of Representatives should be under consideration!

No more MR NICE GUY, but rather tough action against members who have no interest in anything but their own egos!

With the second anniversary of the January 6 attacks coming tomorrow, one has to worry about a sudden attack by domestic terrorists as two years ago, or a foreign attack, with our international reputation as a functioning democracy in tatters right now!

The Republican Party Is In Free Fall! Time For “Coalition” House Of Representatives!

Ronald 6 Comments

As we wake up on Wednesday January 4, the Republican Party in the House of Representatives is in free fall, a real danger to the stability of American government!

Only once since the Civil War has the House of Representatives faced the crisis it has now, a century ago, when it took 9 ballots to choose Frederick Gillett to be Speaker in 1923 in the 68th Congress.

It seems highly unlikely that Kevin McCarthy will become Speaker, as there is real animosity between him and most of the extremist right wing Freedom Caucus.

McCarthy making too many concessions to these “seditionists” will undermine his party and create a situation whereby nothing can be done, and it is an embarrasssment to the world at large to see this disaster continue to unfold!

It is time for a “coalition” House of Representatives, with a former Republican gaining the few “moderate” Republicans joining with Democrats to create a majority with some concessions to Democrats, and backing away from extremist demands of the Freedom Caucus, as the nation needs a House of Representatives who can truly “govern” in the national interest!

So some suggestions as to who could become Speaker for the next two years:

Former Congresswoman Liz Cheney of Wyoming
Former Congressman Adam Kinzinger of Illinois
Former Congressman and former Governor John Kasich of Ohio
Former Congressman Justin Amash of Michigan
Former Congressman Fred Upton of Michigan

The 118th Congress Opens: Prediction Of Worst Congress In Modern Times!

Ronald 1 Comment

The 118th Congress has just been gaveled into session, and it seems clear that, at least in the House of Representatives, the nation is facing the worst two years of Congressional action in modern history!

After the very successful 117th Congress under President Joe Biden, while the Senate has one extra Democrat now (John Fetterman of Pennsylvania), the Republican takeover of the House of Representatives is on the way to disaster, as it now seems inevitable that the battle over whether Republican leader Kevin McCarthy of California is to become Speaker of the House is going to take multiple ballots for the first time in a century!

Frederick Gillett had to suffer through nine ballots before he was chosen to be Speaker in the 68th Congress, precisely a century ago!

There have been 14 Congresses that had a battle over who would be Speaker, all but 1923 being before the Civil War, with four being Congresses between 1847 and 1861; five being between 1819 and 1841; and four being between 1793 and 1811.

So this will be the 15th Congress out of 118 that has had this struggle over who would be Speaker.

The longest battles have been in the 34th Congress (1855-1857)—133 ballots; the 31st Congress (1849-1851)—63 ballots; the 36th Congress (1859-1861)—44 ballots; and the 16th Congress (1819-1821)—22 ballots.

As I write this mid afternoon, Kevin McCarthy has lost on the first and second ballots, and it seems as if this struggle for the Speakership will go on endlessly, and the feeling is that someone else, possibly Jim Jordan of Ohio, may end up as Speaker, even though he has supported McCarthy!

If such happens, the nation is is dangerous times, as Jordan was too close and supportive of Donald Trump, and has vehemently condemned the January 6 House investigation of the US Capitol Insurrection!

The 117th Congress Ends With Major Accomplishments, Despite Small Margins In Both Houses Of Congress!

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The 117th Congress, with razor thin margins in the House of Representatives, and a 50-50 division in the US Senate, only the fourth time ever of an even split in the upper body, can be looked back upon as a Congress which accomplished a great deal, considering the situation.

The Democratic Party accomplished a great deal, and was able to conduct a thorough investigation of Donald Trump and the January 6 Insurrection at the US Capitol, with the great help of two courageous Republican House members, Liz Cheney of Wyoming, and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois.

Democracy prevailed, and this Congress did more than any since the 111th Congress (2009-2011) with Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House on her first round in the job, and Barack Obama as President.

And it could be said that the 117th Congress actually accomplished more than the 111th Congress, and that the last Congress to have accomplished more was the 89th Congress (1965-1967) under Lyndon B. Johnson.

Foreign Born In The Upcoming 118th Congress (2023-2025)

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About 30 members of the upcoming 118th Congress in the House of Representatives are foreign born, and 5 US Senators are in that category!

The Senators are:

Colorado Democratic Senator Michael Bennet
Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz
Illinois Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth
Hawaii Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono
Maryland Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen

22 foreign born House members are Democrats and 8 Republican are in that category.

Among them and somewhat better known are:

Democrat Robert Garcia of California
Democrat Ted Lieu of California
Democrat Jim Himes of Connecticut
Democrat Sean Casten of Illinois
Democrat Sharice Davids of Kansas
Democrat Ilhan Omar of Minnesota
Democrat Tom Malinowski of New Jersey
Democrat Susan Wild of Pennsylvania
Democrat Pramila Jayapal of Washington
Republican Carlos Jimenez of Florida
Republican Dan Crenshaw of Texas

An All Time High Number Of Women In The 118th Congress

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The 118th Congress (2023-2025) will see an all time high number of women serving.

A total of 149 women will be members, with 124 in the House of Representatives and 25 in the Senate.

That means a bit more than a quarter of women in the House of Representatives and exactly 25 percent of the Senate will be women.

A total of 19 Latinas will serve, and 27 African American women, so a total of 46, a bit less than a third of all women members in Congress.

There are also 10 Asian-Pacific Islander women; 2 Native American, Native Alaskan, Native Hawaiian women; and one Middle Eastern/North African woman.

So more than a third of all women serving will be women of color.

Also, 42 Republican women will be in Congress, with 33 in the House of Representatives, and 9 Republican women in the US Senate, with a total of 5 Latina Republican women in the lower chamber.

The Democrats will have 91 women in the House of Representatives, and 16 women in the US Senate. So with 107 women, Democrats more than double the Republican total of 42 women.

And Democrat Marcy Kaptur of Ohio is becoming the longest serving woman in the history of Congress, having already served 40 years in total, breaking the record of Congresswoman and Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland.

Two Presidential Deaths Commemorated: Harry Truman And Gerald Ford!

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It has been a half century (1972) since President Harry Truman passed away.

It has also been 16 years (2006) since President Gerald Ford died.

These two Presidents, one a Democrat, the other a Republican, share the same day of death, 34 years apart.

Ford was elected to the House of Representatives from Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1948, the year of the miracle victory of President Truman against Thomas E. Dewey and the so called “Do Nothing” 80th Congress, with Truman gaining the nickname “Give Them Hell Harry”!

Both Truman and Ford have seen their stock rise in history, with Truman considered by many at the time of his retirement to be a “failure”, with a very low public opinion rating, but now generally acknowledged as either number 5 or 6 in all scholarly rankings of Presidents.

Gerald Ford remains in the mid 20s in scholarly rankings, but his reputation for his brief Presidency has improved dramatically. There is overall positive approval now of his transition from the corruption of Richard Nixon, and acceptance a quarter century after his pardon of Richard Nixon that he did the right thing to promote moving on beyond Watergate. And for many including this author and blogger, he has become a favored Republican President, more so than any Chief Executive of that party since Dwight D. Eisenhower, and with universal popularity of First Lady Betty Ford!

Ten Years Since Tragic Sandy Hook Massacre, And Lack Of Action On Guns!

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It has been ten years since the horrific massacre of 20 children and 6 teachers and administrators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, and there has been a total lack of action on gun regulation.

The National Rifle Association and most Republicans in Congress and the state governments have refused to take ownership of the need for gun regulation, and the banning of AK-47 and AR-15 firearms, as only needed for hunting and the military.

The horrors of what happens to victims of gun violence by use of such firearms has not made those involved in the firearms industry, and those who are financially supported by that industry, to have a conscience!

So we have had many more school and college tragedies, most notably the Parkland, Florida Massacre on Valentine’s Day 2018 at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Broward County, Florida, sadly besmirching the name of the legendary environmental activist that the school is named after!

And of course, there have been unbelievable numbers of other massacres in places of worship, supermarkets, concerts, and many other public venues!

A special salute to Connecticut Democratic Senator Chris Murphy who has been a true hero in working to attempt major reforms, sadly to no avail!

How anyone who has turned away from their conscience in the reality of gun violence everywhere, making America the most violent society in the civilized world by far, is unfathomable, but the struggle must go on!

Kyrsten Sinema Becomes Independent, 11th Since The 17th Amendment Passage In 1913!

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Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona announced today that she is becoming an Independent, making for three Independents, all of whom will still caucus with the Democratic Party.

The other two Senators are Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine, who have been Independents in the Senate for 16 years and 10 years respectively.

Altogether, Sinema becomes the 11th US Senator since the passage of the 17th Amendment in 1913, calling for popular vote for the Senate, to become an Independent for a substantial period of time.

Sinema is unreliable in her vote, with an early progressive background two decades ago, but much more conservative once she came to the House of Representatives in 2013, and the US Senate in 2019.

But on most matters, the Democrats are in a better position with 51 Senators including three Independents than the present 50 Senators and two Independents.

It is clear that the Arizona Senate race in 2024 will be a three way race, of Independent Sinema, Democratic Congressman Ruben Gallego (who was planning to challenge her for the nomination), and a Republican opponent.

So Sinema could keep her Senate seat theoretically with less than a majority of the vote in a three way contest!

A Great Advantage For Democrats In Senate In The 118th Congress!

Ronald 3 Comments

With the gain of one seat by Democrats in the US Senate, the political equation changes dramatically!

Now there will be one more Democrat on every Senate committee, rather than an even number.

No longer will Vice President Kamala Harris be needed regularly to break Senate ties.

No longer will it be essential that both Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona be in on every vote, and with both of them facing reelection in 2024.

It will be easier to gain judicial confirmations, very important for the future of the courts, and were a Supreme Court Justice leave the Court, it could create a more balanced Court.

If there was a vacancy or party switch, the Democrats would still control the Senate.

Legislation will be easier to pass the Senate, although it likely would fail to gain support of the narrowly majority Republican House of Representatives.

Finally, keeping the control of the Senate will be very difficult in 2024, as only 10 seats are Republican controlled, and will be hard to gain, so the Democrats have to work to find a way to avoid more than a one seat loss.

Some of the Republicans running for reelection in 2024 are particularly despicable, and Democrats need to find viable candidates to fight them, and hopefully, defeat them, including

Ted Cruz of Texas
Rick Scott of Florida
Josh Hawley of Missouri
Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee

It is time to start recruitment of Democrats in Texas, Florida, Missouri, and Tennessee to attempt to gain at least one or two Republican seats in 2024!

At the same time, at least 3 Democratic Senators are likely to have a rough time in 2024, including Manchin and Sinema, along with Jon Tester of Montana, and Sinema is likely to have an intraparty battle with Ruben Gallego, 7th District Congressman.