Jim Bunning

Senator Rand Paul Of Kentucky: Center Of Controversy And Nightmare For The Republican Party! :(

Ronald 2 Comments

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has had to learn to live with fellow Kentucky Senate colleagues that have both embarrassed him and made his life miserable! If only one could read his mind, as his body language regarding past Senator Jim Bunning and his successor Rand Paul reveals discomfort, it would be an interesting analysis of how a party leader must survive both fools and loons! 🙁

Rand Paul may only have been in the Senate now for one month, but he is like a hurricane in his promotion of ideas that almost no one will accept, even in his own party, but yet saluted by the Tea Party movement!

Rand Paul seems to love introducing legislation that will never pass, just to draw attention to his looniness and his weird libertarian ideas which will never go anywhere, except into the minds of those who believe that government is a total evil and that we must isolate ourselves from the outside world! 🙁

Rand Paul, in association with Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi, is promoting a Life at Conception Act, which he believes would overrule Roe V. Wade, and in the process take a woman’s right over her own body totally away! 🙁

He is also sponsoring legislation to prevent the children of illegal immigrants born in America from being citizens, thereby introducing a new interpretation of the 14th Amendment, which grants birthright citizenship!

Additionally, Rand Paul wants all foreign aid to our ally, Israel, ended, as part of his proposal to cut $500 billion from the present year’s national budget with only eight months left in the fiscal year. He wants the $3 billion aid to Israel ended, along with massive cuts in education, housing and energy programs, the most extreme idea of cuts proposed by any Republican, with the party shooting for only $100 billion cuts this fiscal year, with no cut in aid to Israel and other foreign aid, which he wants cut by $20 billion!

Republican leaders such as House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia and House Foreign Affairs Chairwoman Ilena Ros-Lehtinen of Florida have condemned a cutoff of aid to Israel, and Jewish groups in both major political parties, and both conservatives and liberals have made clear their opposition to such a cutoff, so Rand Paul’s advocacy has no chance of success, anymore than his other ideas mentioned above!

And get this: this past week, the Senate unanimously, except for Paul, adopted a measure making it a federal crime to aim a laser point at an aircraft, with the Kentucky senator feeling that should be an issue for states to handle individually, even though aviation is interstate, and there has been a growing problem of such incidents, thankfully without a disaster occurring!

It is clear that Rand Paul will be a center of attention over the next six years with his outrageous statements and actions, and imagine this. It is rumored that his father, Congressman Ron Paul of Texas, may run for the soon to be open seat in that state after Kay Bailey Hutchison decided not to run for re-election in 2012!

If Ron Paul were to win that seat, he would be the oldest first time freshman at age 77 to take a seat in the US Senate!

Can one imagine having two Senators Paul at the same time? 🙁

The only worse scenario is the nightmare of either Sarah Palin or Michele Bachmann as President of the United States in 2013!

If both scenarios were to occur, the nation would be in a living hell of its own making, due to stupidity, ignorance, and lack of common sense of the American people! 🙁

Kentucky’s US Senators: Not Good For Kentucky! :(

Ronald 1 Comment

Kentucky, the Bluegrass State, somehow has managed to have elected US Senators who are not good for the state’s population! 🙁

Not only did they have Senator Jim Bunning, the Baseball Hall of Famer, who was considered by many observers, to be one of the absolutely worst Senators the chamber has ever had, who was always hard to work with, and who constantly seemed angry when he was not seen as loony!

But now they have Senator elect Rand Paul, a Tea Party favorite, who is a libertarian all the way, and will likely over time make Kentuckians wish that Jim Bunning was back! Paul has led the move against earmarks, the bringing of projects to a state that is one of the poorest in the nation, and shows no concern about the conditions of coal miners in his state, despite recent coal mine disasters in West Virginia!

And now Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has looked like a genius when compared to Bunning and Paul, has shown himself to be a hypocrite (actually nothing new) as he was a champion ear marker, bringing nearly a billion dollars to his home state over the years, but now switching gears and agreeing to prevent earmarks over the next two years, and therefore undermining his state’s ability to improve its poor economic conditions!

And why has McConnell done this? It is because of pressure from conservative and Tea Party favorite Jim DeMint of South Carolina, who was seen as a rival of McConnell for the leadership of the Senate Republicans!

So in order to keep his job and look in sync with other Republicans, Mitch McConnell shows a lack of courage and principle, except for one thing!

He has made it clear that the Republicans will do everything to undermine President Obama and assure that he is a one term President! And this is already showing by the fact that the scheduled meeting of House and Senate Republicans with Obama at the White House that was due for Thursday has been postponed by McConnell and Speaker to be John Boehner due to “scheduling” problems!

What is that supposed to mean? Why would anyone after arranging an appointment at the White House with the President of the United States suddenly change it? The only good reasons would be death or illness, but neither is the case!

It is simply pure rudeness and disrespect for the President, and a sign that there will be no attempt by the Republicans in Congress to cooperate at all with the President over the next two years!

So what else is new? 🙁

The Dangerous Rand Paul, New Senator From Kentucky! :(

Ronald 1 Comment

The most disconcerting result of the Senate elections this past Tuesday was the victory of Tea Party favorite and libertarian Republican Rand Paul in Kentucky! 🙁

Rand Paul is the son of Texas Congressman Ron Paul, who has been a big favorite of the libertarian movement for many years, and ran for President as a libertarian in 1988, and was a candidate for the Republican nomination for President in 2008.

Often ridiculed by fellow Republicans, Ron Paul has never cared what people thought about him, and his son Rand Paul ran a campaign of anti government rhetoric that reached the level of lunacy that one would have thought that Kentucky would have rejected him for the solid, sane leadership of state Attorney General Jack Conway, the Democratic nominee!

But Kentucky, a state which elected Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Bunning to two terms in the Senate,where he proved to be one of the most outrageously terrible Senators in US history, has now gone worse by electing Rand Paul, who is considered by many intelligent people to be an extremely dangerous man, with his crazy idea of preventing, by senatorial privilege or the filibuster tactic , any increase of the debt ceiling which is unavoidable if the federal government is to avoid bankruptcy, an action which would mean the government could not pay off government bonds, which would lead to a world wide depression! 🙁

Even right wing Republican Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina has made it clear that the debt ceiling must be raised early next year to avoid catastrophe, but Rand Paul seems intent on causing a confrontation that could lead to total economic chaos and anarchy!

One wonders if Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky can convince Rand Paul to abandon his crazy, loony mission to stop the debt limit from necessarily increasing. Since McConnell did not support Paul in the primary,and since Paul is such a weird character, one has to wonder what if any influence might exist. McConnell had the same communication problem with Senator Bunning, but Paul could indeed be actually worse as a colleague since he is such a rebel against government!

Paul may call himself a libertarian, but in many ways, he is more of an anarchist than anything else, and whatever has to be done to stop him from his announced mission to stop an increase in the debt ceiling MUST be accomplished ! 🙁

Unemployment Compensation, Tax Cuts For The Wealthy, And The Problem Of The Deficit!

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Republican Senators and Congressmen are actively involved in condemning an extension of unemployment compensation as wasteful, not paid for, adding to the deficit, and promoting laziness and shiftlessness in those people who need to have the “work ethic”!

But, at the same time, they claim it is essential to continue to promote massive tax cuts to the wealthy, even if it adds to the deficit!

If one is to back the idea of the deficit as a major crisis, which it is rapidly becoming, then it makes no sense to assert that tax cuts are acceptable, when these wealthy people have had major increases in income in the past ten years, while the average American either pays more in taxes, or has only had a small decrease in taxes!

When people who are unemployed receive unemployment compensation, it keeps them “above water” and gives them purchasing power, which helps to promote a revival of the economy! It is NOT the same as working, and to say that people who receive part of their salary as unemployment compensation, are living “high off the hog” is an outrageous, uncaring, despicable fabrication! 🙁

But still, Senators Jim Bunning of Kentucky, Jon Kyl of Arizona, and Orrin Hatch of Utah, along with numerous Congressmen and radio talk show hosts and Fox News Channel, continue to spread the word that the rich need more tax cuts, and the poor unemployed be damned! 🙁

What kind of country that calls itself advanced and civilized would allow such a circumstance to continue to exist? If the top one percent already have 17 percent of all income in the country AFTER taxes, is not that enough? 🙁

The Unfortunate Life Of Mitch McConnell! From Jim Bunning To Rand Paul!

Ronald 2 Comments

Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell has been the Minority Leader of the Senate since 2007, and is serving his fifth term, the longest serving Kentucky senator in American history!

A strong conservative, but part of the “establishment”, he has been cursed having to serve alongside a Senator considered by many to be part of the “lunatic fringe”–Senator Jim Bunning, the former baseball player and Hall of Famer, who is usually regarded as one of the absolutely worst senators in American history!

Bunning was a constant critic of McConnell right up to the end, when he finally decided not to run for a third Senate term! He was an embarrassment in so many ways, in his actions and statements! McConnell was certainly relieved when Bunning finally bowed out of the race!

McConnell backed Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Greyson to succeed Bunning, but Rand Paul, the son of Texas Congressman Ron Paul, and like his father, a libertarian and Tea Party activist, was endorsed by Bunning!

Yesterday, Paul soundly defeated Greyson, a real slap in the face to McConnell, and based on Rand Paul’s past statements, McConnell might almost wish Bunning had stayed in the Senate! 🙂

Rand Paul has called for the abolition of the Americans With Disabilities Act, the Department of Education, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Federal Reserve, and supports a balanced budget amendment, term limits, and repeal of the Civil Rights Act of 1964! He promotes constant tax cuts and smaller government, and is a critic of the government “bailout” of Wall Street and the Obama Health Care reform! He also is against abortion rights, including in cases of rape and incest!

Besides being an extremist in so many ways, which will be fully exposed by Democratic nominee Jack Conway in the fall campaign, Rand Paul has made it clear that he has no intention of being friendly with McConnell, even with the fact that McConnell is the Republican leader in the Senate!

So even those who are not fans of Mitch McConnell must have some sympathy for him, as it is a shame that he has weird, extremist colleagues from his home state that he has to, somehow, coexist with and tolerate! 🙁

Four Moderate Republicans And Unemployment Compensation Extension Support!

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The Republican Party has been extremely negative on anything Barack Obama wants to do, and the multiple delays in extension of unemployment compensation, held up by the infamous Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky, and now Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, is finally over!

We are in the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression, and these senators, and others, who had no problem funding the two wars we are in, and the Medicare prescription Part D plan of George W. Bush, without figuring out how to pay for it, have now been overcome by cooperation of four colleagues, all of whom should have backed the Health Care reform legislation, but failed to do that!

But at least now there are signs of cooperation by these four moderates–Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, Scott Brown of Massachusetts, and George Voinovich of Ohio.

The extension of unemployment benefits was won by a 60-34 vote, enough to stop any further attempt at a filibuster.

It is also encouraging to see Scott Brown, who accepted Tea Party support during his campaign to fill Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat, now fail to find time to go to a Tea Party event in Boston starring Sarah Palin. It seems that Brown is trying to separate himself from any association with Palin, certainly a smart move if he hopes to win reelection in 2012 when he will likely have to face a Kennedy family member challenging him for a full Senate term.

The hope is that these four senators, and a few others in the Republican party, will now back the Obama Administration on climate change and financial reform legislation coming up for consideration soon.

The best way to get things done is to promote bipartisanship, so let us applaud these four moderates for finally acting statesmanlike, instead of just territorially staying loyal to their party when it makes no sense!

Tom Coburn Surprise: Tone Of Civility Toward Nancy Pelosi And Strong Criticism Of Fox News Channel! :)

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It is always nice when you can praise a politician for his civility and open mindedness! 🙂

So although I consider Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn one of the worst members of the Senate, there is always hope for improvement!

Coburn has proved to be both good and bad in the past few days. It is because of him that this week, with Congress out of session for the Easter break, unemployment compensation is being cut off because he put a “hold” on voting on the bill, due to concerns about the national debt. This is the same tactic used earlier this year by Kentucky Senator Jim Bunning. There is no way to look at this tactic of putting a “hold” on a vote by a single Senator as anything more than disgraceful behavior, and a sign of lack of care for those less fortunate! 🙁

However, it turns out that Senator Coburn, at a Town Hall meeting in his home state, defended Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi as a “nice” lady, who should not be personally attacked and should be treated with civility, whether by individual citizens or by Fox News Channel!

He accused Fox News Channel of distorting the news about the Health Care reform legislation, which he himself opposed, but says we should not be promoting mistruths, such as a person will be thrown in jail if he does not buy health insurance.

Imagine, a conservative Republican actually attacking Fox News Channel! This is a well deserved criticism of a station that sets out to distort reality, and has willing accomplices from journalists who work for the channel and sell their soul for their employment! This is not good journalism, and should be condemned! Plaudits for once for Senator Tom Coburn for his civility and his frankness! 🙂

Senators Jim Bunning And Tom Coburn And Flood Insurance Extension

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Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky and Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, already among the most despicable members of the present Senate and of all time members of the upper body, have again, by their stupidity and vindictiveness, done great harm to millions of Americans!

Both of these men, utilizing the “hold” technique to stop temporarily the extension of unemployment compensation as a tactic against the Obama Administration, has now effectively reverberated in a new disgraceful manner!

Part of the legislation was to extend government sponsored flood insurance for millions of homeowners, and because of their shenanigans, there was a delay in that renewal! Between now and April 12, if any flooding occurs, such as has been happening in the Northeast, and earlier in the Midwest, any such flood damage will not be covered because of the gap in time of the legislation going into effect!

How can these men sleep at night, playing politics with people’s lives, whether for unemployment compensation or for flood insurance? 🙁

How can these men, who love to profess that they are “good Christians” and flaunt their religion, say that they are decent and religious people, when they show no compassion for their fellow human beings, many of them less fortunate who need whatever help government can give them? 🙁

If there is an afterlife, as these “religious” men would profess does exist, it is hard to imagine that they will end up where “good, decent” people, whether religious or not, will reside!

Senator Jon Kyl And Unemployment Insurance: He Should Be Ashamed! :(

Ronald 1 Comment

Arizona Senator Jon Kyl, the Minority Whip, has been moving steadily toward the far right over the past few years, a real shame for someone who seemed reasonable and decent, but now appears to be flirting with being whacky! 🙁

For Senator Kyl to back Senator Jim Bunning in his assault on unemployment compensation, by stating that unemployment compensation promotes laziness and lack of motivation on the part of its recipients, and that it discourages job growth, is beyond any limit of decency! 🙁

No one can live on unemployment compensation, as recipients of it are in the poverty level of existence, just barely trying to pay the food and rent bills, and stay above water. No one gets rich, or lives off the fruit of the vine, existing on unemployment compensation!

Many recipients have become vicitims of this horrible Great Recession, and have little hope of returning to a middle class life that many shared not long ago!

For a senator who makes nearly $200,000, and has great health insurance, to fault and condemn people who are on their last legs financially is a hard hearted, insensitive, despicable act, which every decent American should condemn!

The Republican party is gaining, more than ever, a reputation of not caring about the plight of the poor who are struggling to survive this terrible time in our history. Hopefully, it will backfire this fall and lead to poor gains, if any, by the GOP, because if this kind of lack of compassion is endorsed by American voters, then indeed we are a nation that has lost its humanity! 🙁

The Case Of Senator Jim Bunning: Need To Censure His Disgraceful Behavior!

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Senator Jim Bunning, Republican of Kentucky, is well known in the Senate for his bizarre behavior and ugly temper. He is regarded as one of the absolute worst senators in that chamber today.

Using the power of “senatorial courtesy”, he has blocked passage of an extension of unemployment compensation, public works projects, and Medicare payments to doctors, claiming that he simply has the right to hold up action because he feels like it! Complaining that the extension legislation was not paid for, he did not see the contradiction of his own vote for budget busting legislation during his twelve years in the Senate, including massive tax cuts for the rich, and war spending without limits.

Bunning became belligerent toward reporters today, using foul four letter language, as he has done on the floor of the Senate, and also showing the middle finger to a reporter! He is an excellent example of the total lack of decency and cooperativeness that used to exist in the Senate, even when there were philosophical difference between the parties.

The Senate has become a disgrace and a divisive body that belies its long, distinguished history.

It is time for a motion of censure to be introduced against Senator Bunning to make it clear that such outrageous, arrogant behavior is not supported by the history, and the decent members of the Senate of both political parties! Bunning needs to be called to account. The fact of his Baseball Hall of Fame career is being overshadowed by his erratic, looney, disgraceful behavior!