Gay Rights

Senator Rob Portman, Gay Marriage, And The Republican Party Future

Ronald 6 Comments

Ohio Republican Senator Rob Portman, former Budget Director for President George W. Bush, one of the few moderate conservative voices in the Republican Party in the US Senate, has come out in favor of gay marriage, making him the first Republican Senator to do so, and unlikely to have others follow him. This seems, clearly, due to the fact that his younger son Will is gay, and Portman wants his son to have a happy life, and the rights and privileges of marriage someday.

One could point out that Portman only spoke up because of his son, which is clearly the case, but it still took courage for him to do what he did.

And it is interesting to see former Senator Rick Santorum spew his usual narrow minded hatred, and one has to wonder what if one of his children came out as gay or lesbian. As a “devout” Catholic, he probably would do what so many “devout” Christians have done, sadly, and that is to throw out their child, disown him or her, have no more contact with him or her, act as if that child no longer exists, rather than understand that gays do not choose to be what they are. Why would anyone want to be facing hate, prejudice, discrimination, and bodily threats if one could avoid it?

So for anyone claiming to be “devout” and “religious” and act like Rick Santorum and so many others, is hypocrisy, and until and when the Republican Party stops allowing the religious Right to control the party agenda, it will never win over the vote of the younger generation, which is totally tolerant on the issue of sexual orientation.

Many non office holding Republicans have come out for gay marriage rights, and Ted Olson, former Solicitor General under George W. Bush, is leading the case to be presented before the Supreme Court, and there is a feeling that the majority of the Court, led by Justice Anthony Kennedy, who made for the success in the Lawrence V. Texas case in 2003, on gay privacy rights, will declare gay marriage rights to be constitutional throughout the United States, although churches and synagogues would not be required to marry gay people. Such a decision for gay marriage would involve the right of civil marriage alone.

The Republican Party needs to change its view, or else, like in many other ways, it will go into the dustbin of history!

The Conservative Political Action Conference: A Bunch Of Retreads And Future Losers!

Ronald 10 Comments

Conservatives are in the third of four days of their annual Conservative Political Action Conference, and it is quite an event, a circus of retreads and future losers, who fail to see that the nation has rejected their ideology when it is presented to them in Senate races, and only holding on to power in the House of Representatives because of gerrymandered districts created by the Tea Party uprising of 2010, which led to a large number of Republican governors and state legislatures at the precisely correct time to affect the shaping of House districts for the ten year cycle following the census figures.

The Tea Party movement has had its heyday, and there are already signs of its future demise, although they will persist in some rural districts in the House, and have their Senators, including Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, and Rand Paul, all ambitious to be President of the United States, but none of them should be delusional that they will actually be the next President, while they are all fighting to outdo each other three years ahead of 2016!

Attention at this conference is given to such retreads as Sarah Palin, Rick Santorum, Rick Perry, Herman Cain, Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann, Donald Trump, Paul Ryan, and Newt Gingrich.

Also, such losers as Wayne La Pierre, Grover Norquist and the usual right wing talk show hosts, including Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh, are part of the “distinguished” speakers spewing forth their divisiveness.

And the conservatives are making clear that they will not budge in any form on the issue of gay rights, immigration reform,their “traditional” view of women being submissive to men, and refusal to separate science from the influence of religion!

There are differences on foreign policy between the libertarians and the neoconservatives, however, and any suggestion of moderation on ANY issue has led to Chris Christie and Bob McDonnell being denied an invitation to speak.

The ultimate reality is that it does not matter what happens at the CPAC, as it is like Don Quixote battling the windmill! The American people are NOT going to elect any of these “clowns”, even those who seem more “moderate”, such as Christie, to the White House in 2016. The Republicans are fighting a civil war, primarily over who shall represent them in 2016, but it is all for naught!

The next President will, assuredly, be a Democrat—whether Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Martin O’Malley, Andrew Cuomo, Elizabeth Warren, Mark Warner, Amy Klobuchar or someone else not yet known!

The Advancement Of The Progressive Agenda In 2013

Ronald 9 Comments

With the renewal and expansion of the coverage of the Violence Against Women Act, other important ideas are coming to the forefront of the progressive agenda:

Raising of the minimum wage, which 71 percent of the American people endorse, with a minimum of $9 an hour, although bills to raise it to $10 an hour have been introduced by some members of Congress. Realize that if one was to keep up with the cost of living since 1938, when the Fair Labor Standards Act was passed with a 25 cents an hour wage, the minimum wage would have to be at $13 an hour now to be the equivalent of 75 years ago.

Universal Background Checks for all gun purchases, which 88 percent of those polled want, including 85 percent of gun owning households.

More tax increases to reduce the deficit, a balanced approach with spending cuts that are fair and just, and do not hurt those on the bottom more than those on the top of the economic scale, with 76 percent agreeing with this.

Infrastructure Investments to repair and replace our deteriorating physical plant, and creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs. This is the best job creation policy, and is important for the nation’s economic growth and national security.

A pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, particularly for children brought to America and knowing nowhere else, and 70 percent agreeing with this in polls, and 60 percent of Republicans. This is the right thing to do, and is a way for Republicans to improve their image electorally.

Expansion of the Medicaid program, so that all Americans will be able to have accessible health care, a basic goal of human decency and compassion for those less fortunate.

Marriage equality, so that gay Americans no longer face discrimination legally in any aspect of their lives, including the right to have their marriages seen as legitimate.

Providing of Early Childhood Education, including universal Pre Kindergarten coverage, as a way to assist in the goal of early educational intervention, which will reap benefits in the future.

If all eight of these goals can be achieved, we will have major progressive victories in 2013!

Florida Senator Marco Rubio: His Record Not A Positive One For The Presidency In 2016!

Ronald 30 Comments

Florida Senator Marco Rubio is very charismatic, handsome, youthful, and charming, and Time Magazine called him “The Republican Savior”.

Then he gave the response to the State of the Union Address, and showed total hypocrisy when he stated that government gets in the way, and cannot solve people’s problems or help them in a major way.

But then, he also said in the same speech that he would never have finished his own education without the federal government loans program, and that his mother depended on Medicare for her health care, although now the federal government should be cutting both programs and others as well.

In so doing, being contradictory, Marco Rubio messed up his chance to be impressive, just as Bobby Jindal, Governor of Louisiana and the same age as Rubio, did when he responded to the State of the Union Address in 2009.

And when one examines the Rubio record, he discovers the following facts:

Rubio has had huge personal debt problems and was implicated in a political credit card scandal.

Rubio has lied and exaggerated about his family history, including the idea that his grandfather escaped Fidel Castro and Cuba, when he actually migrated in 1957, when Fulgencio Basista was still in power.

Rubio backed Florida Governor Rick Scott in his scheme to limit the hours and participation of voters in the Sunshine State.

Rubio voted against the extension of the Violence Against Women Act.

Rubio has been involved in support of groups that are vehemently anti gay rights and marriage.

Rubio supported a bill to allow employers to deny birth control insurance coverage to employees.

Rubio has called for Defense Secretary nominee Chuck Hagel to withdraw, denying President Obama the right to select his own cabinet officers, as long as there is no corruption involved.

Rubio has denied science, questioning climate change and evolution

Rubio signed the Grover Norquist tax pledge.

And the list of faults and shortcomings goes on beyond this short list above, and disqualifies Marco Rubio as a serious Presidential nominee in 2016.

And yet, when compared to Jindal, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan, and many others, Rubio probably has a better chance to be the GOP nominee in 2016, and lose to Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, or whoever else the Democrats nominate!

Republicans Seem To Be Suicidal In Reluctance To Change Course

Ronald 37 Comments

The Republican Party is in its death throes more and more each week.

The country is no longer interested in their agenda, in their candidates, in their goals, and in their promotion of fear and hate!

The GOP has lost five of the last six popular vote totals for President, despite spending inordinate amounts of money, the most ever in 2012, due to the Citizens United case of the Supreme Court in 2010.

But they have elements that are destroying them from within like a cancer!

These destructive elements include:

The right wing conservative talk show hosts on radio and Fox News Channel, who are making massive amounts of money promoting hate, fear and division, and until the GOP tells Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, Mark Levin, Michael Savage, Ann Coulter, Michelle Malkin, Laura Ingraham and their ilk to go somewhere, they will be going down the road to destruction!

The power of the National Rifle Association and Wayne La Pierre, and its campaign to defeat any candidate who wants any reasonable gun regulations, is going to cause the defeat of Senators and Congressmen, who are unwilling to sell their souls to this powerful pressure group!

The Tea Party Movement, which wants to wipe out Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and is furious at Republican Governors, including the latest convert on ObamaCare, Florida Governor Rick Scott, making it a total of seven Republican Governors who have decided to accept that program, has plans to run candidates against anyone who does not wish to support their desire to go back to the 19th century and wipe out all aspects of the welfare state, so Maine Senator Susan Collins is on a hit list, as is even Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, for not being conservative enough! Do not forget that the Koch Brothers and other wealthy billionaires are the brains behind this movement, which is lower class populism gone wild, but they have the ability to harm the Republican Party establishment! And Rand Paul and Ted Cruz are the lead elements in this Tea Party uprising, who might cause the Republican Party to go down to defeat in many races, because of their loony libertarianism!

The right wing evangelical Christian movement, which will fight any move toward acceptance of gay rights and gay marriage, abortion rights, immigration reform, and gun regulation, as well as their desire to promote religion in the education curriculum, rejecting science and history, and promotion of a theocracy in states that have large numbers of their believers.

The “NeoCons”, Neoconservatives, who want more money spent on defense, advocate overseas military interventions, and glorify wars in the name of American capitalism and profits! They had power under George W. Bush, but are now trying to defeat Chuck Hagel for Defense Secretary.

And finally, the no tax increase crowd, led by Grover Norquist of Americans For Tax Reform, a group which is starting to see some Republicans abandon them, but not enough, and willing to back corporate loopholes and the wealthy, at the expense of the middle class and the poor, these two groups failing to understand that this elite has no concerns, except to back the establishment on Wall Street and in the corporate world, even at a time when corporate profits are soaring, and the stock market has doubled under Barack Obama!

These are the destructive elements in the Republican Party, and will cause its total dissolution very soon if the direction of the party is not changed to appeal to the moderate center, the tradition of the party under Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and YES, even in the time of Ronald Reagan, when moderates were still a major part of the party success, and Reagan a conservative but not an extremist, as these various elements of the party are in 2013!

Geraldo Rivera Vs Cory Booker In New Jersey Senate Race Of 2014–A Joke Of A Race!

Ronald Leave a comment

It is time for New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg, in office for 30 years, and nearing 91 in 2014, to retire, as only Strom Thurmond has ever been elected to the Senate in his 90s, and Thurmond was often not mentally present in his last years in office. The Senate should not be a nursing home for those nearing the end of their lives, and it is not unreasonable to say that 90 year old politicians should retire!

So, assuming Newark Mayor Cory Booker would be the the Democratic nominee for that Senate seat, the question arises whether the Republican Party would be willing to promote a pro gay rights, pro abortion rights, pro immigration reform candidate, who works for Fox News Channel, and is seen as a total joke by any serious journalist or intelligent human being, as he only can be described as a total character without any ethics or morals, including being married five times!

We are talking here about Geraldo Rivera, who represents the worst of journalism, and has a long list of scandals in his background, both personally and professionally.

It seems clear that Geraldo Rivera is only trying to gain more publicity and make more money in the process, as he would lower the image of the Senate, as bad as it is, to an all time low level, were the people of New Jersey crazy enough to elect him to the US Senate over a substantial, accomplished candidate such as Cory Booker!

The Boy Scouts, Zach Wahls, And Gay Rights

Ronald Leave a comment

The Boys Scouts of America has become the center of controversy for having a policy forbidding gay membership or leadership, and Zach Wahls, son of two lesbian parents but himself straight, has become a leader in the fight to stop discrimination and prejudice in an organization so crucial to boys’ emotional development.

The national organization, which won a Supreme Court case, Boy Scouts Of America V Dale by a 5-4 vote in 2000, allowing discrimination because they are a private group, is now moving toward allowing local chapters to make their own decision, which is some progress, but Wahls is fighting it, as permitting religious groups, which often sponsor Boy Scout chapters, to promote a double standard, where some local groups will allow gays to be participants, while others will not.

Zach Wahls should be seen as a civil rights leader, even though that is not his intention to draw attention to himself. But to have a straight man fight so hard on such a controversial and emotional issue is something worthy of respect, admiration, and praise!

Hopefully, we will soon see another major victory for gay rights, and work against the bullying and mistreatment of young boys at a very vulnerable age.

And it is time for organized religious groups to stop promoting hate and narrow mindedness, with some groups, including the United Church Of Christ, already making progress in that direction!

The Likelihood Of Joe Biden Succeeding Barack Obama: Less Than 50%

Ronald 2 Comments

With the second term of President Barack Obama beginning, already the news media is speculating on the likelihood of Vice President Joe Biden running for President, and the odds that he will be the nominee of the Democratic Party in 2016, and become our next President.

Biden is certainly encouraging speculation, while saying he has not made up his mind. It is clear that he would like to run, but even he admits that the success or lack of success of the first two years of the second term of Obama, on top of his first term, will have a dramatic effect on his decision to run, and the odds of his having a good chance to become the 45th President of the United States.

Biden has a long record in public office, actually greater in number of years than any President of the United States having come to the Senate at the minimum age of 30, serving six terms (36 years), and now on his second term as Vice President, which, when he completes it, will mean he has served 44 years in national office.

Biden knows Washington DC like few know it. He also knows how to work with the opposition Republican Party in a manner unseen since Lyndon B. Johnson, although Johnson had a much more unorthodox approach to bargaining, and “wheeler dealing”, than the much more proper and mannerly Joe Biden.

But he also has a long list of gaffes, most not harmful, except to those who oppose him, and his liberal views have alienated major groups, as he has worked on issues highly controversial, including gun rights, women’s rights, gay rights, civil rights, foreign policy, Supreme Court nominees, and protection of the Great Society and New Deal programs, including the so called “entitlements”.

And his age, now 70, meaning he would be 74-78 in a first term, and 78-82 in a second term, is not a plus, as we only had one President beyond the age of 70, Ronald Reagan, who seemed to be in decline in his second term of office, finishing it at age 77 and about 49 weeks,

And there is the challenge of Hillary Clinton, whose public opinion ratings are higher than Biden’s, although there is much doubt that she will, ultimately, run for the Presidency. This author and blogger has already theorized, at the beginning of January, that Hillary will decide not to run. Her performance in testifying today at the Benghazi, Libya hearings of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will be crucial in any plans she might have, after a good rest and recovery period, to run for President in 2016.

And of course, there is the “younger” or “newer” generation of political leaders who have interest in running—including Governors Andrew Cuomo of New York and Martin O’Malley of Maryland, both taking strong leadership on gay marriage and gun regulations in their states; plus others, including Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and even possibly others, including Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Governor John Hickenlooper of Colorado.

So the likelihood of Joe Biden running, while good, is not, automatically going to give him an edge in a field of many likely challengers. And of course, even if many Republicans like Joe Biden personally, it is certain, and obvious, that they are building up a long list of issues to use against the Vice President, should he end up as the Democratic nominee for President in 2016.

Barack Obama’s Second Inaugural Address: A Speech For The Ages And A Call To Action!

Ronald 15 Comments

President Obama has just finished his Second Inaugural Address, and it can be seen as a speech for the ages, and a call to action, far more impressive than his first Inaugural Address four years ago.

He brought up Seneca Falls, New York (women’s rights), Selma, Alabama (civil rights), Stonewall in Manhattan, New York (gay and lesbian rights)!

He brought up climate change, clean energy, immigration reform, protection of children and all Americans from gun violence.

He brought up the Founding Fathers, and our imperfect Union, being made more perfect over time, and with lots of hard work and dedication to making America better!

He spoke of the need to address the crises of entitlements of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, and the need to fix them in a responsible way.

He challenged America to come together and take action to make America a better nation that fully promotes equality, social justice, and tolerance for all. In many ways, he sounded like FDR in his Second Inaugural Address!

And he called upon the nation to attempt diplomacy in place of going to war, and sending our military into harm’s way.

It is an ambitious agenda, but it is an inspiring speech that calls for our better nature to prevail!

Let us hope for a better second term for Barack Obama!

The “New” Generation Of Democrats: Led By Andrew Cuomo Of New York And Martin O’Malley Of Maryland!

Ronald Leave a comment

As the next Presidential term begins in a few days, the focus has been on Vice President Joe Biden and outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as the two most likely front runners for the Democratic Presidential nomination in 2016.

While certainly that is possible, it is also conceivable that a “New Generation” of leadership may be emerging to contest their front runner status, and just might be the alternative to either Biden or Clinton.

Two Northeastern Governors have likely plans to announce for President, and both are working very hard to establish their credentials in similar fields of endeavor.

These two gentlemen are New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley.

Both have become leaders in promoting gay rights and gay marriage in their states, and both have taken leadership in the area of gun regulations in wake of the Sandy Hook Massacre in Connecticut.

Both are very bright, articulate leaders of the future, whether or not they enter the contest for the Presidency, and both have extensive executive experience in public office.

Both will certainly be heard from in the future, and will be discussed regularly over time on this blog! So stay tuned!