Democratic Party

12 Days To Go, and A Nail Biting Election Coming Up!

Ronald 6 Comments

This author and blogger cannot recall the tension and emotions that are being felt around the upcoming Midterm Elections of 2022 ever being quite as intense in past cycles.

It could be a poor memory, or seeing the past with rose colored glasses!

But literally, EVERY Senate race, EVERY House race, and EVERY Gubernatorial race is so significant for the future of American democracy, which is on the verge of being lost to the MAGA Republicans and Donald Trump!

With only about six vote margin in the House of Representatives, and an evenly split US Senate for only the 4th time in American history, and with Governors having tremendous power and influence on an issue such as abortion rights, every citizen needs to vote!

Last night’s debate in Pennsylvania leaves one worried about the performance of John Fetterman, as it could be the Senate election that decides Senate control in the 118th Congress. But also, the Georgia race of Raphael Warnock; the Ohio race of Tim Ryan; the Wisconsin race of Mandela Barnes; the North Carolina race of Cheri Beasley; the Florida race of Val Demings; the New Hampshire race of Maggie Hassan; the Nevada race of Catherine Cortez Masto; the Arizona race of Mark Kelly; and the Iowa race of Michael Franken, are all crucial.

And Governorship races, particularly in Michigan with Gretchen Whitmer; in Arizona with Katie Hobbs; in Florida with Charlie Crist; in Texas with Beto O’Rourke, are all significant for the future!

A New Generation Of House Of Representatives Democratic Leadership Is Likely To Come!

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No matter what happens in the House of Representatives in November, it is time for a new generation of leadership in the Democratic Party.

Nancy Pelosi has been an exceptional Speaker from 2007-2011, and now from 2019-2023, but at age 82 and 36 years as a member of the House of Representatives, it is time for change!

The same goes for Steny Hoyer, age 83 and House Majority Leader, who has been in the House for 42 years, and also for James Clyburn, age 82 and the House Majority Whip, who has been in the House for 30 years.

This team has done a great job, but all being octogenarians, and dominating for so long, it is time for a younger generation to take over, and there are excellent candidates, whether the Democrats keep control of the House of Representatives, or go into the minority for the next two years!

Hakeem Jeffries of New York is the likely choice to be Speaker or Minority Leader, and would be the first person of color in that position. But Adam Schiff of California will probably challenge him, and would be the first Jewish person to be Speaker or Minority Leader.

Katherine Clark of Massachusetts would be the frontrunner for the Majority Leadership, but will be likely challenged by Pramila Jayapal of Washington, who would be the first Asian American in that position, but with either being a woman.

For the third ranking position, Peter Aguilar of California, who is Hispanic, has the advantage, but Joe Neguse of Colorado, who is of Eritrean (Africa) heritage, would be likely to contend for the post.

So there would be great diversity in the Democratic leadership, although Pelosi and Clyburn already have been an example of gender and race diversity in their years of leadership!

Worrisome How Economy Issue Is Making Many Voters Ignore Abortion And Democracy Issues!

Ronald 6 Comments

It is infuriating how, according to polls, many Americans are so obsessed with economic issues, that they are ignoring the most important matters—Abortion Rights and the Threat to American Democracy!

Anyone with any sense of history would know that the Republican Party presided over nine of the last ten recessions going back to 1953 onward, with the only exception being the brief recession in 1980 under Jimmy Carter!

It is lack of knowledge and being easily manipulated by propaganda that the economy will be better under Republicans, when it has NEVER been better, and inflation was high under Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and George W. Bush at periods of their Presidencies!

The world is not going to be better just because gasoline prices come down, and food prices come down, and neither of these issues is caused by Democrats and Joe Biden, but rather by international circumstances, including the Russian war on Ukraine.

Hopefully, common sense will prevail in three weeks, as it is extremely worrisome to think that the right of women to control their own body, and the preservation of democracy hangs on a thread of gas and food prices, when this will pass, but we cannot afford the loss of basic human rights and American democracy!

Extremely Dangerous “Election Deniers” In Midterm Gubernatorial Elections

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The Republican Party has more than half of its candidates for public office in Congress and the Governorships in November 2022 professing to be “Election Deniers”.

It is horrifying to imagine that many of these right wing extremists are likely to be elected.

But three candidates for governorships are particularly extreme in their defiance.

Doug Mastriano in Pennsylvania

Kari Lake in Arizona

Tudor Dixon in Michigan

Matriano’s opponent is state Attorney General Josh Shapiro.

Lake’s opponent is state Secretary of State Katie Hobbs.

Dixon’s opponent is Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

If all three of these extremists were elected, or even two of them, it would make it highly likely that the Presidential Election of 2024 would become a constitutional crisis, as they would work to refuse the possibility of the Democratic Presidential nominee to win the state’s electoral votes, in these three states, which are all crucial in future elections, as they have been in past elections.

Fascinating Senate Race In Utah: Evan McMullin Running As Independent Against Mike Lee, And Mitt Romney Remaining Neutral!

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One of the most interesting and fascinating Senate races in 2022 is in heavily Mormon Utah, where Republican Senator Mike Lee, who has emerged as a MAGA Republican, despite being very critical of Donald Trump six years ago, faces a challenge NOT from a Democrat, but from an Independent Republican who ran for President in 2016 in protest against Donald Trump’s candidacy.

McMullin won 21.5 percent of the vote in 2016 in Utah, and half of one percent of the total national vote, close to 750,000 votes. And in 2020, he endorsed Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden. McMullin had been a CIA agent, and believed Trump was a danger to national security.

When McMullin decided to run against Mike Lee, the Democratic Party in Utah agreed to stay out of the race, and right now, the polls indicate a very close race, with Lee only ahead by 4 percent, and more than ten percent of the voters still undecided.

McMullin, a strong conservative with principle, and never a Trump loyalist, has pledged he will not join the caucus of either the Republicans or Democrats if he wins the seat.

And the controversy over this race is magnified by Utah Senator Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican Presidential nominee, refusing to take a stand and endorse his Senate colleague, Mike Lee. This is causing an uproar, but remember Romney voted to convict Trump in both impeachment trials, and has been condemned by Donald Trump.

This race of Lee vs McMullin will certainly be one of the most intriguing Senate races in November!

Adam Kinzinger Goes Bipartisan, Endorsing Democrats Up For Election, To Save Democracy!

Ronald 3 Comments

Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, one of only two Republicans on the January 6 Committee investigating the US Capitol Insurrection, will be leaving Congress at the end of the year, as his Congressional seat was eliminated in reapportionment, and he chose not to run in another district.

But Adam Kinzinger is a man of courage and principle, and he, along with Congresswoman Liz Cheney of Wyoming, is fighting against the Fascist takeover of their party by Donald Trump and his “Election Deniers” crowd!

So Kinzinger has endorsed Democrats running in the Midterm Elections next month, including:

Pennsylvania Democratic gubernatorial nominee Josh Shapiro, against the very dangerous Doug Mastriano

Arizona Democratic gubernatorial nominee Katie Hobbs, against the lunatic Kari Lake

Four Democratic Secretary of State candidates in Minnesota, Michigan, Arizona, and Nevada, crucial states for certifying election results, making them safe from “Election Deniers”.

Also, Kinzinger is backing Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski, and Independent Evan McMullin for the Senate seat in Utah, held by Republican Senator Mike Lee.

Kinzinger is someone who should be paid attention to, as he is seen as likely to announce a Presidential campaign, if for nothing else, to work against the MAGA Republicans, who are a danger to American democracy!

Republican Party Openly Promoting Misogyny, Racism, Nativism, Anti Semitism, Without Shame!

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It is clear that the Republican Party is openly promoting misogyny, racism, nativism, and Anti Semitism, without shame or apology.

Republicans are demonstrating they do not care about women’s right to control their own bodies, and many of those seeking office wish to put women back in the bedroom and the kitchen, rather than being independent and pursuing careers.

Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama openly promotes racism against African Americans in particular, as he did at a campaign rally in Arizona for Donald Trump!

The attack on immigration continues in the Republican Party, making it a major issue promoted by the likes of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, and Arizona Governor Doug Ducey!

And Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano is openly anti semitic, including attacking his Jewish opponent, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Josh Shapiro!

And these examples are just the tip of the iceberg, as the Republican Party has become the party of Fascism, and right wing extremism, and out to destroy all of the good done by the Democratic Party since the time of Franklin D. Roosevelt through Lyndon B. Johnson, Barack Obama, and now Joe Biden!

The Complicated “Economy” Issue: Lowest Unemployment In Half Century, But Highest Inflation In Decades!

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With the Midterm Elections of 2022 a month away, the economy has become the major issue to many voters, and to politicians campaigning for office.

Republicans emphasize the highest inflation in decades, and the higher mortgage rates on housing, rising to close to 7 percent.

Gasoline prices are rising again due to the collaboration of Saudi Arabia with the Russian Federation, and food prices have soared.

And yet, the Democrats can brag that the unemployment rate at 3.5 percent is the lowest since 1969, so we have a really complicated situation, which makes predictions on which party will control the House of Reprsentatives and Senate hard to figure out.

Which party will control more governorships and other state elected offices, including Secretary of State and Attorney General, is also impossible to forecast with confidence!

International Relations Becoming More Dominated By Authoritarian Leaders

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The world in 2022 is becoming more dominated by authoritarian leaders than any time since World War II, a sign of major challenges for President Joe Biden.

Already, the Russian Federation, China, North Korea, and Iran are constantly challenging America and its democracy.

But now, Saudi Arabia, under Mohamed bin Salman, in cooperation with Vladimir Putin, is cutting oil production, and creating an economic nightmare of higher oil prices, just as the Midterm Elections of 2022 come upon us in one month.

The Democrats already have problems with inflation and higher mortgage rates and this despicable action by Saudia Arabia, in lead with Putin, could very well undermine the push to protect American democracy in the upcoming elections, and prevent protection of abortion rights.

This will be a very difficult month, with growing sense that MAGA Republicans and Donald Trump could end up in control of government, and undermine, in league with an extremist right wing Supreme Court, many of the progressive
advancements in government and civil rights that have occurred in the years since the New Deal of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Great Society of Lyndon B. Johnson!

Phony Family Values Of Republicans

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The Republican Party is, once again, demonstrating their hypocrisy on so called “family values”.

The Republican Party claims to be “ProLife” and anti abortion.

But now, when it is revealed that Georgia Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker paid for a girlfriend’s abortion in 2009, they remain silent.

When it is revealed how much Herschel Walker has lied about his whole life, and has threatened a former wife, and ignored his children, including a son who is now denouncing him, they remain silent.

The same pattern existed that when Donald Trump was revealed to be engaged in scandals with women when he was running for President in 2016, they remained silent.

But if one Democrat is involved in scandal, it is dramatized and emphasized as a massive sin, as for example, the accusations that former Minnesota Senator Al Franken in 2018 may have engaged in inappropriate behavior, and was hounded into resignation.

Clearly, the Republican Party has no interest in family values, only to use it as a political weapon against the opposition, while totally ignoring it in their own party membership!