George W. Bush

Barack Obama Now Attacked Over Dog Bo: What Else Is New?

Ronald 2 Comments

President Obama is now being attacked by the Republicans over the issue of spending an hour shopping for his dog Bo for Christmas, in the midst of the controversy over the middle class tax cut continuation, which finally was resolved by a caving of the House Republicans and Speaker John Boehner.

The nerve of Obama to spend time shopping for Christmas for Bo! This shows how preposterous and ridiculous things have become!

And yet, we did not hear criticism of George W. Bush spending time and money on his dog Barney!

Now we DID have the famous speech of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944, defending his dog Fala against attacks, and interestinly, there is a sculpure of Fala as part of the FDR Memorial in Washington, DC!

So maybe Obama should make a speech like FDR did, and it would certainly be a light moment of laughs, something America needs!

Newt Gingrich’s Attack On Activist Judges: Hypocrisy, Since Only Against Progressive “Activists” But NOT Conservative “Activists”!

Ronald 1 Comment

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich is already showing signs of decline from his “surge” two weeks ago!

Not soon enough, as Gingrich is declaring “war” on “activist” judges, but is totally hypocritical in that he is only attacking “progressive” activists, and not “conservative” activists!

He would wish for a court system which was one sided, only promoting conservative advocacy, and setting America back to the 19th century Gilded Age!

He claims to know history, since he has a History Ph.D. from Tulane University in European History, but he boasts too much of his knowledge about American History and the American Constitution!

If it was up to Gingrich, he would wipe out Warren and Burger Court decisions that have transformed this country politically and socially, and really would wish to wipe out the “judicial review” established by the Supreme Court under John Marshall in the early 19th century!

To claim that only “progressives” are activists is totally ridiculous, as ALL Justices are “activist” in different ways, as they are INTERPRETING the Constitution, which is meant to be a “living” document, adaptable to changing times!

Just one example of conservative “activism” on the Supreme Court is Bush V Gore, where the conservative majority Court in 2000 decided to intervene, stop the ballot recount in Florida, and decided the Presidential Election Of 2000. What gave them the right to do that? And look at what it led to, eight years of foreign and domestic disasters that will reverberate for many generations on our nation!

So Gingrich, as usual, is acting as a demagogue, also demonstrated by his demand that lower federal court judges be required to explain their decisions to the Congress in committees, or be arrested! What a revolutionary, radical grab of power such a requirement would be!

Newt Gingrich, If Elected, Would Be A Disaster For America In More Ways Than One!

Ronald 2 Comments

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, soaring in the public opinion polls, has demonstrated in the past his super confidence, his narcissism, his cockiness, his egotism, his instability, his mercurial nature, his reckless statements and behavior, his lack of ethics, his ability to antagonize fellow Republicans, his total lack of “family values”, and his hypocrisy to the extreme!

Many Republicans see him as a total disaster in the White House, were he by some magic to reach the Oval Office. They are terrified at how he would act autocratically with Congress and the media, and get involved in ethical scandals, and with his bluster and his cowboy attitude, might get us involved in new foreign adventures. He would be, very likely, worse than either Richard Nixon or George W. Bush, or both of them combined!

And also, the lingering thought must be present among many people opposed to Newt Gingrich, that were he to occupy the Oval Office, he would be certain to become involved in a sex scandal, just like Bill Clinton wasted a year of our time, and undermined his own Presidency’s effectiveness in its last three years, due to his dalliances!

After all, Gingrich has been married THREE times, and only Ronald Reagan was married TWICE, and no one ever accused Reagan of sexual hijinks!

With Gingrich having power, there would be the great temptation for Newt to cheat on Callista, his third wife, because he cheated on the first wife with the future second, and on the second wife with Callista. Why, with his ego infused with power, would he not pursue the same actions, and in so doing, embarrass himself and the nation, and possibly endanger the security of the nation, because of his inability to control his own sexual appetite?

An impeachment possibility would arise from abuse of power and sexual hijinks, and it would add to the tragedy of the Presidency, that we were stupid enough to select a man who has no concept of how to unify and unite a nation desperate for common ground and compromise!

The Hypocrisy Of Mitt Romney: Champion “Flip Flopper” Criticized John Kerry In 2004 For Massive “Flip Flopping”!

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It has been uncovered that Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts openly criticized Senator John Kerry of his home state, the 2004 Democratic Presidential nominee, in that year’s campaign for “massive flip flopping”, a charge leveled by the campaign of President George W. Bush, but actually far from being accurate!

Kerry did “flip flop” on some issues, but nowhere near the number and depth of “flip flopping” of Romney in the present Presidential campaign, and nowhere near as much as former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich has been shown to have done over the course of time!

Romney is a major hypocrite in so saying what he did in 2004, and then pursuing a much greater level of such switches!

Meanwhile, Senator Kerry has continued his distinguished career in the US Senate, and presently is Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee!

American Unemployment At Two And A Half Year Low: The Tide Is Finally Turning, But Could Be Reversed By Republican Obstructionism In Congress!

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Finally, real progress is being made on unemployment, with the rate last month dropping to 8.6 percent, the lowest since March 2009, when everything was collapsing economically, due to the Bush administration disaster financially, just as Barack Obama took over the Presidency!

There is a long way to go, and no one is saying a miracle will occur in the next eleven months, but what can be detrimental would be for Congress to refuse to keep the payroll tax cut, which put $1000 into the pockets of the average taxpayer, and a continuation of the unemployment compensation benefit to the long term unemployed, who are rapidly become homeless, as well as jobless, in the worst economy in 75 years!

But those two actions required before the end of the year seem to be moving toward failure, due to obstructionism by the Republicans in Congress, who seem ready to see taxes go UP for the middle and working classes, while refusing to raise one cent in the taxes on the top two percent! And the long term unemployed are being depicted as lazy and shiftless, a total disgrace to depict them as such!

So the Republicans could be working toward trying to undermine the economic recovery, because after all, Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky made it clear that the major goal of the GOP was the defeat of a second term for President Barack Obama.

The American people, and particularly those in economic distress, are being abandoned, being thrown into the sea without a life preserver, with any conscience by the Republican Party, which only concerns itself with the wealthy and the corporations and unbridled capitalism!

The bright spot in all this is the belief that the Republican stand will harm them in the Congressional Elections Of 2012! But meanwhile, there will be millions of victims, as a result!

The Ultimate Reason Why The Republican Party Will NOT Win The White House In 2012: Their Promotion Of Nativism, Prejudice, Bias, Fear, And The Interests Of The Super Wealthy!

Ronald 1 Comment

When all is said and done, the Republican Party will NOT win the White House in 2012, no matter what the economic situation is next year, because of their promotion of nativism, prejudice, bias, fear, and the interests of the Super Wealthy!

The Republican Party promotes nativism against Hispanic and Latino immigrants with their advocacy of deporting 12 million undocumented immigrants, almost all law abiding, tax paying, and living here for many years, who just want the “American Dream”, and are willing to work hard.

The Republican Party advocates prejudice against gay people by advocating against gay rights, gay marriage, and gay parenting, due to their slavish connection to religious influence in government.

The Republican Party supports bias against women by denying them their human rights, including the decision when and how they can have children.

The Republican Party promotes fear of all people of Islamic heritage by their depiction of all people from that religious heritage as being potential terrorists.

The Republican Party supports the interests of the super wealthy by refusal to consider any tax increases on the top two percent, who have seen their wealth multiply in recent years, while everyone else saw their income stagnate or decline. They will do anything to support the rich and the corporations.

Has a political party ever won the White House with promotion of nativism, prejudice, bias, fear, and the interests of the wealthy? The answer is NO, with the borderline closest cases being Richard Nixon in 1968 and George W. Bush in 2004, but even they did not advocate these ugly concepts on the level of Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, Herman Cain, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney in the campaign now being waged!

Notice that the only GOP candidate who has NOT promoted the above ideas is Jon Huntsman, by far the best and ONLY decent choice they offer the voters in 2012. Again, IF Huntsman were the nominee, it would be the most legitimate and closest race for the Presidency, but apparently, very unlikely to happen, as the author writes.

Are Progressives Going To, For A Fourth Time, Harm The Democratic Party Out Of Dissatisfaction With Imperfections Of Their Leadership?

Ronald 4 Comments

Progressives and liberals have often, by their expectations of perfection from Democratic Party leadership, brought about a result far worse–a conservative Republican takeover!

This occurred in 1968, when discontent over the war in Vietnam convinced many on the Left to bad mouth and abandon Vice President Hubert Humphrey, and the result was President Richard Nixon!

In 1980, discontent with President Jimmy Carter led to abandonment by many progressives, and the result was President Ronald Reagan!

In 2000, dissatisfaction with the imperfections of Vice President Al Gore led to the election of President George W. Bush!

Of course, Barack Obama has not followed through on all his promises and pledges in 2008. He has disillusioned many progressives and liberals who believed he would accomplish everything he spoke about in the campaign.

But that is totally unrealistic, and the fear is that if there is an abandonment of the President, we could end up with President Mitt Romney or President Newt Gingrich, the two most likely choices at this point, at least, in the Republican nomination race. Of course, anyone else except Jon Huntsman would be even worse!

When, oh when, are those on the Left going to understand, finally, that there is no perfection, but that Barack Obama is far preferable to anyone the Republican Party might run!

it is time for the discontented to get on the ship, and be thankful for what Barack Obama has managed to achieve, the most since the Great Society of Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1960s!

Major Turning Point For Republican Presidential Race: Endorsement Of Newt Gingrich By Powerful New Hampshire Conservative Newspaper

Ronald 2 Comments

It has been assumed all along that Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts Governor, was the front runner, and that he would win the GOP Presidential nomination.

Now it can be said that is much less likely as conservative discontent with Romney and his chameleon status, his constant flip flopping on just about every issue, has led the Manchester Union Leader, the leading newspaper in New Hampshire, to endorse former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, who has surged to the lead in many public opinion polls after a disastrous start to his campaign five months ago.

Gingrich has many faults and shortcomings that can be utilized against him by President Barack Obama, but he comes across as far more exciting, interesting, and controversial in his actions and utterances than does Romney.

The first question will be whether Gingrich can garner his significant newspaper endorsement with a victory over Romney in the New Hampshire primary, which is practically home territory for Romney, who governed next door, and now has a home in the Granite State.

More than ever, the primary in New Hampshire seems like the turning point it has almost always been, in the sense that since the primary began in that state in 1952, every Presidential winner has won the primary in New Hampshire except Bill Clinton in 1992, George W. Bush in 2000, and Barack Obama in 2008.

It is clear the the Obama team needs to do a lot more preparation for a possible Gingrich candidacy, although at present, they have been assuming a Romney candidacy.

Most observers would think at this time that a Romney candidacy would be more challenging to Obama than a Gingrich candidacy in 2012. But it has been a reality that no one can truly be sure how a Presidential matchup would work out until the actual campaign gets under way in the fall of 2012.

What Progressives Have To Be Thankful For On Thanksgiving Day 2011

Ronald 1 Comment

On this Thanksgiving Day, progressives have a lot to be thankful for, including:

1. We are witnessing the return home of our soldiers from Iraq after eight and a half years in combat, and the sad loss of about 4,500 brave men and women in a war that was unnecessary and helped to strengthen the more dangerous nation, Iran.

2. We have witnessed the development of the weakest Republican Presidential field in history, more an embarrassment than a legitimate field of candidates for the Oval Office, trying to outdo each other in their flubs and lack of concern for the average American.

3. We are fortunate to have as our President a man who, despite obvious shortcomings in some areas, has a record of accomplishment in national security and foreign policy that no Republican candidate can match.

4. We have a President who has gone the extra mile in trying to promote the interests of the middle class economically, instead of Wall Street, the corporations and the top two percent, all of which are obviously being supported by the Republican Party without any apologies. When the history of the Great Recession, the worst economic times since the Great Depression are written, the opposition party will NOT look good, any more than they did in the 1930s.

5. Finally, we can be thankful that by the Republican stubbornness on the budget and their greater loyalty to Grover Norquist than to the American people, the end result will be the automatic cutting of trillions of dollars by LACK OF ACTION by January 1, 2013, AND the END of the Bush Tax Cuts, and therefore a rise in taxation on those who have benefited for the past ten years on the backs of the American people. Tax rates will go back to the Clinton era rates, when we had the greatest economic conditions ever in our history, and fairness in taxation will return, while rational, reasonable budget cuts will also take place.

The Republican Party, by their obstructionism, will have slain themselves, so we must thank John Boehner and Eric Cantor and Mitch McConnell for giving a campaign issue to the Democrats and Barack Obama.

This is a great moment for progressives, as Barack Obama has made clear that he will veto any attempt to keep the Bush tax cuts! Hallelujah, and now, let’s go and celebrate Thanksgiving!

NBC, MSNBC, And Presidential Offspring And Near Presidential Offspring!

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NBC and MSNBC have mined Presidential offspring, and even near Presidential offspring effectively.

It has been announced that Chelsea Clinton, daughter of President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, will be contributing to NBC Nightly News and Rock Center with Brian Williams.

At the same time, Jenna Bush Hager, daughter of former President George W. Bush, is a contributor to NBC’s Today Show.

Ron Reagan, son of former President Ronald Reagan, is an analyst on MSNBC.

And Meghan McCain, daughter of 2008 Republican Presidential candidate John McCain, is also often on MSNBC.