Doug Jones

Biden Selection For Attorney General: Doug Jones The Best Choice

Ronald 1 Comment

It is likely in this first week of 2021 that President Elect Joe Biden will select his Attorney General, arguably the most important Cabinet post, as the Justice Department needs major makeover, and the person in that position will have to consider action against Donald Trump and many of his Cabinet members and family members who have abused the Constitution.

And the perfect person for this position is former Senator Doug Jones of Alabama, easily the best Senator in modern Alabama history, as the state is sadly known for the horrible, horrendous Senators who have represented the state in modern times.

The best Senator earlier in the 20th century was Hugo Black, who served from 1927-1937, and went on to become a distinguished, outstanding Supreme Court Associate Justice from 1937 to 1971, overcoming his Ku Klux Klan past, revealed when he was appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Jones is most famous for being the US Attorney who pursued the Birmingham Church Bombers of 1963, who were responsible for the deaths of four young African American girls, with him successfully bringing the perpetrators to justice nearly four decades later, in 2001. He also pursued the Atlanta Olympic Park Bomber, Eric Rudolph, after that infamous terrorist attack in 1996.

Sadly, Jones only had three years in the US Senate, the first Democrat from Alabama since 1997, losing his seat to the former football coach, Tommy Tuberville, who had been at Auburn University many years earlier, but has no real intelligence or knowledge of government. This showed bad judgment by Alabama voters, but now Jones should be the Attorney General, as his ethics and principles are inviolable!

“Socialism” And “Defund The Police” Killed Democratic House Numbers, Endangering Majority In 2022

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The Democratic Party needs to realize that if it goes too far to the Left, it will doom President Joe Biden’s efforts for success!

Unfortunately, the Congressional Elections of 2020 demonstrated that the nation is still very split on what is desirable to accomplish, as the Republican opposition and Donald Trump utilized fear of the word “Socialism”, as if Joe Biden and the Democrats are equivalent of Communist leaders in Cuba, China, the Russian Federation, and other left wing regimes, such as Venezuela and Nicaragua!

This shows total ignorance of the term “Socialism”, and the reality that America is a mixed Capitalist-Socialist nation, with the Socialist party of Eugene Debs and Norman Thomas in the first half of the 20th century contributing many ideas, which over time, were part of the New Deal of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Great Society of Lyndon B. Johnson, and many other progressive reform since then.

But it is clear that had Bernie Sanders somehow been the Democratic nominee for President, he would NOT have been able to win, as only a moderate centrist with a tip to the Left, as Joe Biden has been his whole life, could possibly have won back the Midwest states of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, along with the Sun Belt states of Georgia and Arizona, and not lose any of the 20 states that Hillary Clinton won in 2016.

Also, while there have been too many outrageous examples of police abuse and brutality, and particularly against African American males and Latino males, and really even females, the answer is police reform and accountability, not “Defund the Police”, as they are still essential.

Sadly, the Senate only saw two Democrats elected (Mark Kelly, John Hickenlooper), while one (Doug Jones) was defeated, gaining only one seat, to 48, although Georgia creates an opportunity in its runoff election for the chance to have a 50-50 Senate, that Vice President Kamala Harris could organize as a Democratic Senate, with Chuck Schumer as Senate Majority Leader, instead of the horrible Mitch McConnell.

But there is danger of the House of Representatives, in a midterm election, going back to the Republicans, since they have gained at least 5-7 seats in the 117th Congress, and with the reality, that the party in the White House usually loses seats in the following midterm election.

The Senate will have, again, twice as many Republican seats up for election in 2022, but this scenario did not work out in 2020, so no assurance there either of retaining or gaining a Democratic Senate majority, which is so urgent to make Joe Biden a successful President!

Final Projection On Congressional Elections Of 2020

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With only five days to go until the Congressional Elections of 2020, this author and blogger wishes to indicate his final projection on what is likely to happen.

The House of Representatives will witness a major Democratic gain, with the estimate being about 15 seats, to a total of approximately 250 Democrats and 185 Republicans, giving the Democrats a wide margin for the next elections in 2022.

Democrats will gain seats in California, Florida, Illinois, Texas, Virginia and Pennsylvania, reaching about five more than I estimated on May 2 in my earlier projection, and a large number will be female and minority.

The US Senate will see a Democratic takeover, and have 53-55 seats. The Democrats will lose Alabama, regrettably, although Doug Jones is an exceptional Senator, the best Alabama has had in a long time, but Alabama is simply unwilling to appreciate a man as decent and accomplished as Doug Jones. If he does indeed lose his seat, however, Jones should be part of the Biden team, maybe as a cabinet member.

The Republicans will lose seven to nine seats, with assuredly the following seven gains and possibly two more:

Arizona, Mark Kelly over Martha McSally

Colorado, John Hickenlooper over Cory Gardner

Maine, Sara Gideon over Susan Collins

Georgia, Jon Ossoff over David Perdue

Montana, Steve Bullock over Steve Daines

North Carolina, Cal Cunningham over Thom Tillis

Iowa, Theresa Greenfield over Joni Ernst

Kansas, Barbara Bollier over Roger Marshall

South Carolina, Jaime Harrison over Lindsey Graham

Georgia’s other seat, presently held by Kelly Loeffler is more difficult to determine, and will not be settled until January.

Sadly, this author and blogger doubts the defeat of John Cornyn in Texas or Mitch McConnell in Kentucky, but sees the first seven listed above sure to go Blue, and Kansas and South Carolina possible, so therefore, with the loss of Alabama, but the gain of seven Republican seats, at least 53 Democrats, and the possibility of up to two more, for a grand total of 55 maximum!

All Star Lineup For Four Nights Of Democratic National Convention

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The Democratic National Convention is being held remotely this week from Monday to Thursday, and there will be an all star cast of speakers each evening.

Monday night, the speakers will include, among others–Amy Klobuchar, Andrew Cuomo, Gretchen Whitmer, Doug Jones, James Clyburn, Bernie Sanders, and Michelle Obama, along with Republican John Kasich.

Tuesday night, the speakers will include, among others—Chuck Schumer, John Kerry, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bill Clinton, and Dr. Jill Biden.

Wednesday night, the speakers will include, among others—Elizabeth Warren, Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris, and Barack Obama.

Thursday night, the speakers will include, among others—Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Gavin Newsom, Keisha Lance Bottoms, Tammy Baldwin, Tammy Duckworth, Chris Coons, Andrew Yang, and Presidential nominee Joe Biden.

It will be an opportunity for the Democrats to display all of their “stars”, who have, together, contributed to the present day version of a party that has done so much for America over the decades since Franklin D. Roosevelt onward, responsible for most of the domestic reforms and foreign policy stability that marks the periods of Democratic Party control of Congress and the White House!

Is “White Flight” Against Republicans And Donald Trump Occurring In 2020?

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Based on recent polls that seem unbelievable, the idea of “White Flight” from Republicans might be happening.

This would be due to the CoronaVirus Pandemic, the collapse of the economy, but also due to the shock and outrage of many people toward Donald Trump, and his behavior in the Presidency these past three and a half years!

His incompetence and lack of compassion and empathy is making many white voters reconsider the upcoming elections.

So the number of states experiencing polls that show Republicans running behind for the Congress, as well as the President, are multiplying.

Many suburban women, college educated whites, independents, moderate Republicans, and all age groups among whites, except for seniors, are moving toward the possibility of voting for Democrats in Congress, and also for former Vice President Joe Biden.

There is still, theoretically, time for many of these people to reconsider their move away from Trump and the Republican Party, but since events are not going to get better anytime soon, and actually are worsening daily, that is highly unlikely.

So the situation looks as follows:

As indicated in earlier blog posts, the 20 states and Washington DC, which voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016, seem securely in Joe Biden’s camp.

Add to this the six states that determined the election for Donald Trump in the Electoral College, all having voted for Barack Obama in 2012–Ohio, Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Florida. As of now, the latter four seem clearly in Biden’s camp, and would insure a Democratic victory for the White House.

But Ohio and Iowa also show leanings toward Biden, and other states, thought to be “Red”, also are showing evidence of the same leanings, including North Carolina, Georgia, Texas, Arizona, but also Kansas, Montana, Indiana and Missouri, and the 2nd district of Nebraska. This would mean 443 electoral votes to 95, as this author and blogger predicted on April 30.

So 34 states could go to Biden, and the Republican US Senators or open seats running in Maine, Colorado, Iowa, North Carolina, two in Georgia, Texas, Arizona, Kansas, and Montana are all in danger as well.

South Carolina and Kentucky seem hard to overcome on the Presidential level, but both Lindsey Graham and Mitch McConnell seem in a real tight race for their seats, and could lose.

If all of these Senate seats went Democratic, the party could control 12 more seats than they have now, with 59 maximum, or if the one endangered Democrat, Doug Jones in Alabama, lost, it would be 58 seats. If there is a “Blue Wave”, however, one would think Jones would survive his Senate race!

The way things are going, one could even imagine some of the 16 “certain” states for Trump voting against him by small margins, but enough to give the state to Joe Biden.

This would include Alaska, South Carolina, and Kentucky with a total of 20 electoral votes, so if the maximum imaginable occurred, the final electoral vote would be 37 states and 463 electoral votes to 75 for Trump!

And this would mean that Joe Biden would win by a likely ten point or more margin in the total popular vote!

One more time, in mid to late October, this author and blogger will make a final projection on the likely Senate and Presidential results!

Senator Doug Jones Of Alabama A True Asset Who Democrats Need to Keep Seat

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Senator Doug Jones of Alabama is a rarity.

Other than Virginia’s two Senators, Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, there are no other Democrats in the Senate from the states that made up the Confederate States of America in the Civil War, except for Doug Jones.

Jones is a true asset, as when he was the US Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama under President Bill Clinton from 1997-2001, he successfully prosecuted two Ku Klux Klan members for the 1963 church bombing in Birmingham which killed four African American girls, a major accomplishment after nearly four decades of no justice in that case.

In the Senate, where he won over former Judge Roy Moore, a truly horrendous Republican nominee to replace former Senator Jeff Sessions, he has conducted himself as a moderate Democrat, who has demonstrated his willingness to work with opposition Republicans, and to split with his party on certain issues.

While he is not a liberal Democrat by any means, he offers a better alternative than Republican nominee Tommy Tuberville, the former Auburn University football coach.

Jones has supported some gun control legislation; backs gay marriage; endorses protection of DACA immigrants; is pro choice on abortion; opposes repeal of ObamaCare; and comes across as reasonable and decent.

There is no perfect choice in any Southern election, with such strong Republican and conservative dominance, but it is hoped that Jones will win a full term, as he deserves it, and is a step forward in a state where no Democrat had won state wide for a generation!

His hoped for victory would help to make the Democrats the majority in the US Senate, which is essential for the future advancement of the party agenda in the next four years!

Six Months Out Projection On US Senate: A Democratic Majority

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Having projected the Presidential Election of 2020 yesterday, today I will project, six months out, subject to change as we get closer to the election, the likely Senate balance in 2021-2022.

It seems very likely at this point that the Democrats will win the majority of the US Senate, and kick out Mitch McConnell as Majority Leader.

And I think the odds of Kentucky defeating McConnell for reelection are growing.

So let us look at state by state for the Senate in the 2020 election cycle.

There will be 12 Democratic held seats and 23 Republican held seats up for election.

This insures that the Democrats will gain seats, and it would seem highly likely that they will gain at least 3 seats, enough for control if Joe Biden wins the Presidency, as his female Vice President would be able to organize the Senate, and break any potential tie votes.

Much more likely is that the Democrats might gain up to 7 additional seats, by winning 8 races, but likely losing Doug Jones in Alabama, but that loss is certainly not an automatic result so the total number of Democrats could go to 53-55 as a maximum.

Other than Doug Jones, who has proved to be an inspiration that Alabama has potential for growth, the other 11 Democratic seats seem safe.

Tom Udall is leaving his New Mexico Senate seat, but it seems safely Democratic, as does Ed Markey’s seat in Massachusetts, although he might lose the Senate primary to Joe Kennedy III, but the seat will stay Democratic.

Turning to the Republicans, the following 11 seats seem safe:

Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Wyoming, although Lamar Alexander in Tennessee and Mike Enzi in Wyoming are leaving office, but still both of those states seem safe for Republicans.

So that leave 11 seats safe, but the other 12 unpredictable.

Most likely to go Democratic are in likeliness to occur:

Martha McSally seat in Arizona

Cory Gardner seat in Colorado

Kelly Loeffler seat in Georgia

Susan Collins seat in Maine

Steve Daines seat in Montana

Thom Tillis seat in North Carolina

Less likely to switch parties are in likelihood of occurring:

Joni Ernst seat in Iowa

Pat Roberts (retiring) seat in Kansas

David Perdue seat in Georgia

John Cornyn seat in Texas

Lindsey Graham seat in South Carolina

Mitch McConnell seat in Kentucky

My judgment is that one of those last six seats, likely Iowa, will also go Democratic, which means a gain of 7 seats to 54 or 53 if Doug Jones loses his seat.

But also, Kansas and Georgia (David Perdue) could surprise, and we can hope for a “miracle” that the two most despicable of a horrible group of Republicans, Graham or McConnell, might actually be defeated, along with Cornyn.

So in the best of all worlds, which would be a dream, imagine if the Republicans lost all 12 seats in contention, and did not defeat Doug Jones in Alabama, and we would have the grand total of 59 seats!

But reality sets in, and expect 53-55 seats for the Democrats, subject to changing dynamics, so we will look at this again in October.

Alabama Democratic Senator Doug Jones Deserves Everyone’s Support For Reelection For His Courage In Voting To Convict Donald Trump

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Senator Mitt Romney of Utah deserves a lot of credit for his decision to convict Donald Trump on one impeachment count.

But Democratic Senator Doug Jones of Alabama deserves equal respect and financial support from anyone who realizes what a gamble he took in voting to convict Trump on both impeachment counts, in a state where the Republican Party has such a strong hold.

Jones is one of only three Democratic Senators in the states that made up the Civil War Confederate States, only joined by Virginia’s two Senators, Tim Kaine and Mark Warner.

Jones has distinguished himself as a “Profile in Courage” in his two years in the Senate, succeeding the infamous Jeff Sessions, and defeating the equally infamous Roy Moore, former Alabama Supreme Court Justice, in the special election that followed.

Jones faces either Sessions or Moore in November, and is the one really endangered Democratic Senator up for reelection.

Let us hope that many contribute to keep Doug Jones in the US Senate!

Realize that Jones was able to have a successful prosecution of those involved in the infamous 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing in Birmingham in 1963, which killed four African American young girls, bringing the perpetrators to justice in 2001 and 2002, nearly four decades after the horrific event.

This is a good, decent man, and Alabama and the nation deserve him to stay in the US Senate!

Possible Democratic Gains In US Senate In Midterm Elections Of 2018

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The Democrats have a massive challenge ahead, somehow to reelect all ten “Red State” Democratic Senators, but also, at the same time, to gain at least two additional seats and have a majority of 51 or more in the US Senate.

This is crucial to stop the worst of Trump Administration policies, and to insure that any future Supreme Court or Circuit or District Court judgeships not be as extreme right wing, as are occurring now.

Six seats seem open to switching to the Democrats:

Arizona, where Jeff Flake is retiring, and where Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema is ahead of three potential Republican opponents.

Nevada, where Dean Heller is the most endangered Republican Senator up for reelection, challenged by Congresswoman Jacky Rosen, and she has been ahead of Heller in many public opinion polls.

Tennessee, where Bob Corker is retiring, and former Democratic Governor Phil Bredesen is seen as ahead of Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn.

Texas, where Ted Cruz is gaining a serious challenge from Congressman Beto O’Rourke of El Paso, and O’Rourke has raised more money than Cruz, who famously is disliked by all his fellow Senators by the testimony of many Democrats and even Republican colleagues.

Mississippi, where Thad Cochran retired suddenly due to bad health, and will have a special election to fill the seat, temporarily filled, and the hope that an upset is possible, as occurred in Alabama last fall, with Doug Jones taking a normal Republican seat. Mike Espy, former Congressman, Secretary of Agriculture for two years under Bill Clinton, and an African American, is seen as having some chance to take the seat, although not seen as likely to win, but a surprise could occur.

Mississippi, where Roger Wicker faces a challenge from state legislator David Baria, Minority Leader of the state legislature, who is seen as having a reasonable chance to win.

The first three of these six seats seem likely to go to the Democrats, which if true, would allow the loss of one of the ten “Red State” Democrats, and still have 51 seats, but that does not leave much room for error.

If all six seats, magically, went Democratic, and no loss of any of the “Red State” Democrats in November occurred, in theory, the Democrats could have as many as 55 seats, but that is clearly a result with very low potential to occur.

One more issue: New Mexico, where Democrat Martin Heinrich should have no trouble winning, but if former Republican Governor and 2016 Libertarian Party Presidential nominee Gary Johnson decides to run for the Senate, creating a three way race, it could put Heinrich’s seat in jeopardy.

So the challenge for Democrats to gain a Senate majority of 51 votes is clouded by overwhelming challenges!

17 Democratic Senators Have Learned Nothing From Great Recession, And Are To Be Condemned For Joining Republicans To Cut Back Banking Reforms

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In 2008-2009, we saw the collapse of the American economy, with the biggest banks and Wall Street firms guilty of causing it.

None of those banks or Wall Street firms paid a price for their illegal, unethical activities, which destroyed the economy in a manner unseen since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Under Barack Obama, the Dodd-Frank Law was passed to insure accountability of banks and Wall Street, so that what happened a decade ago would never happen again.

But now, under a Republican Congress, the action to destroy the Dodd_Frank Law is occurring, and has been assisted by 17 Democratic Senators, and only with at least 10 of them, could such action to eliminate Dodd-Frank have moved forward.

It is shocking to see 17 of the 49 Democrats and Independents in the Senate become turncoats who effectively joined in this evil act, and all 17 need to be called out and denounced.

The problem is too many politicians gain campaign contributions from the big banks and Wall Street, so it compromises their ability to represent their states in a proper manner.

The problem is that if these Democrats are repudiated, it would only aid Republicans in possibly gaining their seats, so the issue is that it is preferable to have Democrats who will support the party on many issues, even if not on this issue.

Liberals and progressives will argue that they should be “primaried”, but the reality is that would only help promote more Republican senators, so we are in an area that could be described as “between the devil and the deep blue sea”!

But we must at least list these 17 Senators, so we are all aware of their “treason”:

Michael Bennet of Colorado
Tom Carper of Delaware
Chris Coons of Delaware
Joe Donnelly of Indiana
Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire
Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota
Doug Jones of Alabama
Tim Kaine of Virginia
Angus King of Maine (Independent)
Joe Manchin of West Virginia
Claire McCaskill of Missouri
Bill Nelson of Florida
Gary Peters of Michigan
Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire
Debbie Stabenow of Michigan
Jon Tester of Montana
Mark Warner of Virginia

Ten of these 17 Senators face an election in 2018—Carper, Donnelly, Heitkamp, Kaine, King, Manchin, McCaskill, Nelson, Stabenow, and Tester.

Of these 10, only Carper, Kaine and King are in states that went to the Democrats. The other seven were Republican states, and makes the task of keeping their seats ever more difficult.

Of the 17 Senators, only 8 of them, those from Colorado, Delaware (2), New Hampshire (2), Virginia (2), and Maine came from states carried by Hillary Clinton in 2016.

So, sadly, we do not have the privilege and ability to call for the defeat of the ten who are running this year, but even true of the seven who are not running, as they are still better than Republicans to hold the seats.

Otherwise, the Democrats will lose all chance of ever gaining a majority, if they stick to an extreme progressive view of who is acceptable as a Democratic member of the US Senate.

However, one point should be made clear, that none of this list above should ever be considered seriously for President, with the reality that only the two Virginia Senators, Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, are even talked about at all as potential nominees.

Tim Kaine may have run for Vice President with Hillary Clinton in 2016, but his support of repeal of the Dodd Frank Law should disqualify him and Warner for future Presidential consideration.