Joe Biden

Vice Presidents Who Have Accepted Defeat Of Their Party In Electoral College Count

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One of the roles of the Vice President of the United States is to count and announce the Electoral College vote at the end of a Presidential term.

Every Vice President has done so, constitutionally, in modern times, even when the Vice President may have been the Presidential nominee for the next term in office.

So we have Richard Nixon in 1961, Hubert Humphrey in 1969, and Al Gore in 2001, who have played their proper role.

Also, Walter Mondale in 1981 and Dan Quayle in 1993 were on losing tickets as Vice Presidents, but played their proper role.

And Dick Cheney in 2009 and Joe Biden in 2017, both leaving office, did their duty!

Finally, after much hesitation and the intervention of Dan Quayle led Mike Pence in 2021 to do what he was required, constitutionally, to do in his role as Vice President!

Many groups and individuals, including those who are clearly conservative in nature, argue that the Electoral Count Act of 1887, enacted a decade after the disputed Presidential Election of 1876, and two close elections in 1880 and 1884, needs to be overhauled to prevent the crisis that occurred in 2021, only prevented by Mike Pence, at the last minute, following his duty, despite threats to hang him or murder him by mobs engaged in the US Capitol Insurrection on January 6, 2021!

The Major Goals For 2022: Accountability For Donald Trump, Voting Rights Insured, And Biden Agenda Accomplished!

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As the year 2021 comes to an end, the major goals for 2022 are clear!

First, there MUST be accountability for the sins and crimes of Donald Trump and his seditionist supporters of January 6, and that includes proper punishment for the Congressmen and Senators who supported Trump during and after the attack on the US Capitol. So the Republican Party must be purged of its treasonous elements, and expulsion and prosecution must occur!

Second, voting rights must be insured, by changing the filibuster, as voting is the most basic right every American citizen has, other than freedom and liberty itself!

Third, the Joe Biden Agenda, as expressed in the Build Back Better bill, must be passed, maybe in modified form, but essential for the promotion of the middle class and the poor!

Despite the many challenges Joe Biden faces in 2022, this author and blogger senses that the US Senate will go majority Democratic, and that the House of Representatives, after reapportionment of seats, and even with the sin of gerrymandering, is likely to be evened out in such a way that the Democratic Party has a good chance of retaining the House majority. To allow the seditionist, treasonous majority of the House Republicans to gain control, and whitewash the US Capitol Insurrection, would be true destruction of democracy, and every decent person must resist that to the extreme degree during this upcoming year!

The year also brings the continued danger of the COVID 19 Pandemic; high inflationary pressures; continued climate change and global warming challenges; and the mental health crisis facing the nation.

And threats of war and bloodshed create a massive challenge as well, particularly regarding Russia and Ukraine, and China and Taiwan.

So there will be plenty to worry about and write about in the next year, and I wish the best to all my readers in the new year 2022!

Comparing Kamala Harris To Mike Pence, Dick Cheney, Dan Quayle, Spiro Agnew!

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Kamala Harris has been Vice President for nearly a year, and has faced brutal criticism and attacks, and suggestions by some that she resign, because she has not been assertive in the role of Vice President.

Of course, these suggestions come from Fox News Channel anchors Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, and Laura Ingraham, who are actively involved in attempting a coverup of the events of January 6, 2021, even though they were stunned by the events of that day, and tried to reach Donald Trump to express their dismay.

It is insulting that conservative supporters of the January 6 Insurrection have the gall to attack Kamala Harris, when the major issue is that she is a woman, and of mixed African and Asian American heritage, as her father is from Jamaican origin and her mother of Asian Indian origin.

Who are the critics turning to as models?

Is it Mike Pence, who refused to speak up at all to Donald Trump for four years, but at least had the guts to uphold the Electoral College vote for Joe Biden on January 6, facing the threat of being hanged by rioters? That is his only redeeming quality.

Or is it Dick Cheney, who while qualified by experience, was a dangerous, out of control Vice President, under George W. Bush, who enriched himself by America’s engagement in two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq through leadership of Haliburton, and endorsed the use of torture against war prisoners?

Or is it Dan Quayle, who made everyone nervous for four years about the health of George H. W. Bush, as Quayle demonstrated how dumb and clueless he was?

Or was it Spiro Agnew, who resigned from office as a felon, after nearly five years a heartbeat away from the Presidency under Richard Nixon?

The only truly reputable Republican Vice President in the past half century was George H. W. Bush under Ronald Reagan! Although it must be said that the abbreviated Vice Presidency of Nelson Rockefeller under Gerald Ford was also decent!

Meanwhile, Democrats could be proud of their Vice Presidents—Walter Mondale under Jimmy Carter; Al Gore under Bill Clinton; and Joe BIden under Barack Obama!

Kamala Harris is in the tradition of decency and dignity of Mondale, Gore, and Biden, and will do a fine job over the next three years, with her excellent qualification as former San Francisco District Attorney, California Attorney General, and US Senator!

Assessment Of Biden’s First Year: A Lot Accomplished With A 50-50 Senate!

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Conservative journalist David Frum, who worked in the George W. Bush Administration, makes clear that Joe Biden has accomplished a great deal in his first year in office with a 50-50 Senate, more accomplished than even Barack Obama with a 57 member Democratic Senate in 2009!

But the naysayers are at work, claiming the Biden Presidency has not been a success, due to the COVID 19 Pandemic, inflation, and Afghanistan.

That is preposterous, as if Donald Trump had been in office, for certain the first and third issues would have been no different, and the second one would have occurred no matter what was done!

Trump had misled and botched up the COVID 19 Pandemic, and regarding Afghanistan, had made an agreement with the Taliban with no Afghanistan governement involvement in 2020, to withdraw from that nation in May, not August 2021!

Inflation happens in cycles, and under Ronald Reagan it was a major issue in 1982 midterms but was resolved by 1984 when Reagan ran for reelection.

The hope is that the same will occur in the next year, and will not be as big an issue as it is presently!

President Joe Biden After One Year: A Grade Of B!

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Nearly one year has passed since the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States.

After one year, an honest assessment would give Biden a B grade, due to the incomplete nature of his agenda, but with hope for further progress in 2022, despite nearly united Republican Party opposition.

What has the Biden Presidency accomplished?

!. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus bill, in the midst of the COVID 19 Pandemic
2. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, promoting massive efforts to deal with physical infrastructure projects that are sorely needed.
3. Accomplishing the vaccinations of 61.7 percent of the American people to deal with the COVID 19 Pandemic.
4. The appointment and confirmation of 40 federal judges in his first year, despite Republican Party opposition, the most such appointments in the first year of a Presidency since Ronald Reagan’s first year 40 years ago.
5. Major progress on promotion of the environment and conservation, including canceling oil and gas leases and emphazing the climate agenda to fight global warming and climate change.
6. Promotion of people of varying backgrounds in Presidential appointments in all areas of government, including his Cabinet members and other positions of authority and influence.
7.Lowering of unemployment to 4.2 percent, while more than 6 million jobs have been created, an all time high for the first year of a Presidency.
8. Restoring good relations with our allies, including the NATO nations, and Pacific partners.
9. Bringing back dignity and class to the White House, including the First Lady, and the President’s own character, which includes compassion, decency, empathy, and sincerity.
10. Promoting massive social reform regarding children, the elderly, immigration, criminal justice, women’s rights, gay rights, protection of voting rights, and health care advancement, all this in limbo at the moment, but hopefully much of it accomplished in 2022!
11. Standing up for human rights and against authoritarianism worldwide.
12. Making clear that a thorough investigation and accountability for the January 6, 2021 Insurrection is a priority in 2022.

There is so much more that could be listed, but it is clear Joe Biden has had a moderately successful first year, and that the potential for a rise from a B grade is very likely in 2022!

US V Nixon; Clinton V Jones; And Now Trump Lawsuit Against January 6 Committee Appeal To Supreme Court!

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The Supreme Court has come out with two decisions in the past half century that made it clear of the limits of Presidential power!

In 1974, in US V Nixon, the Supreme Court, including three appointees of President Richard Nixon, unanimously by an 8-0 vote, declared that Nixon had to hand over the Watergate tapes to the Special Prosecutor, leading to the resignation of Nixon from the Presidency within weeks!

In 1997, in Clinton V Jones, the Supreme Court, including two appointees of President Bill Clinton, unanimously by a 9-0 vote, declared that a President had no immunity from civil law litigation in federal court for acts done before taking office. This case involved the sexual harrassment charge brought by Paula Jones against Governor Bill Clinton

Clinton’s evasiveness in testifying in court about Paula Jones led to the Monica Lewinsky scandal, and charges of perjury and obstruction of justice, and his impeachment by the House of Representatives in 1998, although found not guilty by the Senate in the impeachment trial in 1999.

Now, Donald Trump wants “executive privilege” to be in effect to prevent evidence in White House records of what he was doing on January 6, 2021 involving the Capitol Hill Insurrection, to be presented to the January 6 House Committee, investigating the events of that day. President Joe Biden has authorized waiver of such privileges, since Trump is a former President.

Despite having three Trump appointments to the Supreme Court, the strong likelihood is that the Court will, unanimously, reject such arguments, as earlier Courts did involving Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton.

If such does not happen, which seems like a long shot, then the Court will have besmirched its reputation for the long term, and the reputation of Chief Justice John Roberts will be damaged forever.

And that will promote the likelihood of attempts to add four new members to a Court which will be the most condemned and pilloried since the time of Chief Justice Roger Taney during the Civil War!

Joe Manchin May Have Destroyed The “Build Back Better” Legislation Altogether!

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West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin may have destroyed the “Build Back Better” legislation altogether.

Manchin went on Fox News Channel on Sunday to say that he cannot accept the legislation, after months of toying with different versions.

This caused an appropriately harsh reaction from President Biden’s press secretary, Jen Psaki, and many members of the Democratic Party in both houses of Congress.

It is hoped that some aspects of the proposed legisation can be salvaged separately, but sadly, this is the result of having a 50-50 Senate, and if Manchin were to become a Republican, as some suggest, it would simply put the Republicans in total control under Mitch McConnell!

The AntiSemitism Of Donald Trump Stated Loud And Clear!

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AntiSemitism has sadly been part of American history, and we have had Presidents whose attitudes towards the Jewish people have been questioned.

Many question Franklin D. Roosevelt’s reaction to growing evidence of the Holocaust during World War II.

Harry Truman’s reaction toward Jews and Israel only developed due to his long friendship with Eddie Jacobson, and yet he could not visit Truman at his home in Independence, Missouri, due to the antiSemitism of Truman’s wife, First Lady Bess Truman.

Richard Nixon, while assisting Israel during the Yom Kippur War in 1973, expressed antiSemitic slurs on the Watergate Tapes.

Many Jews have questioned Jimmy Carter’s criticism of Israel, and accused him of being an antiSemite.

George H. W. Bush’s Secretary of State James Baker uttered criticism of Israel and of Jewish influence.

Many Jews have always believed that Barack Obama was unfavorable toward Israel’s government under Benjamin Netanyahu.

But none of these Presidents, not even Nixon, match the antiSemitism of Donald Trump, which many thought was well hidden, but now has come out full blown, beginning with his statement in 2017 that the Neo Nazis and white supremacists at Charlottesville, Virginia had some “good people” on their side.

Now, in an open interview, he is critical of Jews who have the gall to vote for Democrats and are not in lock step on Israel’s government policies, and condemned in foul language former Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu for congratulating Joe Biden on his election victory in 2020!

And yet, there are Orthodox Jews and a percentage of extremely wealthy Jews who continue to support Donald Trump, even to the extent of continuing to back the Fascism of Trump displayed on January 6, 2021, and to promote the “Big Lie”, that Trump won the Presidential Election of 2020! They are blind to the evil that Donald Trump represents, and are a danger to the concept that Jews believe in social justice and compassion for those less fortunate!

Those Jews who continue to support Donald Trump even now should be roundly condemned and ostracized, and only are accelerating antiSemitism nationwide and worldwide!

Jim Jordan, Paul Gosar, Louie Gohmert, Mo Brooks, Scott Perry, Andy Biggs–The Six Seditionist Traitors!

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Jim Jordan of Ohio; Paul Gosar of Arizona, Louie Gohmert of Texas, Mo Brooks of Alabama, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, Andy Biggs of Arizona! All Seditionist Traitors!

These members of the House Freedom Caucus together conspired to stage a coup and deny Joe Biden the Electoral College victory he clearly and honestly won!

They had contact with Donald Trump and his conspirators who were trying to force Vice President Mike Pence to throw out legitimate votes in several states, and flip the Electoral College vote count on January 6 to Trump!

These six culprits spread conspiracy theories in the two months before January 6, and poisoned the truth, causing massive numbers of Trump supporters to be riled up and decide to attack the US Capitol, with Donald Trump and many around him, besides these six House members, promoting an overthrow of constitutional government and undermining American democracy!

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, himself a former member of the House Freedom Caucus, was intimately involved in emails, phone calls, and personal meetings with these conspirators and others!

The “Stop the Steal” movement was unpatriotic, illegal, unethical, and immoral, and the “Big Lie” continues eleven months later!

And we cannot forget that 139 House Republicans and 8 Republican Senators refused to accept the legal process and accurate Electoral College result, and all of these 147 Republicans should face expulsion and prosecution for their undermining of the rule of law!

Voting Rights Takes Precedent Over The “Build Back Better” Bill!

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A major aim of the Biden Presidency has been to promote “social infrastructure” through the “Build Back Better” legislation.

However, it has been tied up in process due to the opposition of Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema Of Arizona, and it is now clear that it cannot be accomplished before the end of this year, sadly.

But the aim now is to promote the guarantee of Voting Rights, preventing Republicans from destroying the suffrage rights of millions of Americans, so the push is on to make certain that the basic and fundamental right to vote is insured.

It is a crucial battle for the survival of democracy, and it can be accomplished by “reconcilation”, as long as there are 50 votes, and it is hoped possibly one or two Republican Senators, such as Lisa Murkowski of Alaska or Susan Collins of Maine, will cross the aisle if it determines the basic prevention of the loss of voting rights!

Fingers are crossed that this can be accomplished!