Joe Biden

Two Profiles In Courage: Liz Cheney And Adam Kinzinger Voting To Censure Arizona Congressman Paul Gosar!

This author and blogger is not a fan of conservatism, and definitely not a fan of former Vice President Dick Cheney, or his daughter, Congresswoman Liz Cheney of Wyoming.

He is also not a big fan of Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger, whose conservative views are not his idea of leadership.

But both of them, Cheney and Kinzinger, have shown they have principle and are true profiles in courage, who someday will have an historian write a book on their willingness to stand up to extremist Fascist rhetoric and the danger of Donald Trump!

Both are on the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 US Capitol Insurrection, and both voted to impeach Trump after that event.

And both now have condemned Arizona Congressman Paul Gosar, just about the most extreme member of the Republican Party, who put a anime cartoon on Twitter which portrayed the assassination of New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and a sword combat of Gosar with President Joe Biden.

This advocacy and portrayal of violence is not a laughing matter, and led to the censure of Gosar in the House of Representatives, with only Cheney and Kinzinger, of all Republicans, joining the Democratic majority to take such action, which has only occurred 23 previous times in the history of the lower chamber since 1789!

Gosar should be expelled from the House of Representatives, but that cannot happen unless there was a bipartisan vote of two thirds of the chamber, which will not happen.

But for Republicans to defend the advocacy of violence, and for Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to refuse to condemn Gosar’s action is an outrage that will cause much grief in the future, and particularly if the Republicans, due to gerrymandering, are able to regain control of the House of Representatives in the midterm Congressional Elections of 2022!

This whole situation reminds historians of the Congressional violence and advocacy of violence in the pre Civil War period, particularly in the decade of the 1850s!

Terrifying to think that Congress itself is becoming a battleground of extremism and violence, due to the extremism and danger of Donald Trump!

Right Wing Propaganda Attempts To Portray Joe Biden And Kamala Harris As Disasters, When Much Has Been Accomplished!

Right Wing propaganda, whether the Republican Party, Fox News Channel, OANN, Newsmax, or various interest groups that promote domestic terrorism and white supremacy, is working incessantly to portray President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris as disasters.

This is all designed to advance the cause of a Republican Congress and state government domination by partisan gerrymandering, as well as whitewash and avoiding responsibility for support of the “Big Lie” of Donald Trump and his criminal backers who incited the January 6, 2021 Insurrection on the US Capitol!

One would think that Donald Trump and Mike Pence accomplished so much in office that was positive for the American people and nation, when exactly the opposite is the truth!

Trump did great harm in so many areas of domestic and foreign policy, and the only “winner” was the extremely wealthy, who gained a massive tax cut which added greatly to the national debt, without improving the daily lives of the American people!

Mike Pence proved how much of a sycophant he was, a person supposedly “religious”, “devout”, “moral and ethical”, when he was simply a total hypocrite, with his promotion of hatred, division, and narrow mindedness. He had to be convinced by, of all people, former Vice President Dan Quayle, to follow the Constitution on January 6, 2021, and uphold the Electoral College vote that Joe Biden had won the Presidency.

Pence will go down in history as one of the absolutely worst, most disgraceful Vice Presidents in American history!

Meanwhile, Joe Biden has accomplished a great deal, including providing relief to the American economy through the American Rescue Plan, a total of $1.9 trillion in the spring of 2021. The Physical Infrastructure legislation, providing $1.2 trillion to rebuild roads, bridges, airports rail systems, broadband, environmental cleanup, and electric vehicle, is being signed into law today by President Biden.

Also, Biden has changed the harsh policy toward refugees promoted by Trump, and cracked down on the abuses of Immigration and Customs Enforcement toward innocent children.

Additionally, Biden returned America to the Paris Climate Accords, and reversed the action of Trump cutting down the Bears Ear National Monument and the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, and he restored protection of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument.

Biden has taken strong action on vaccinations and masking, and brought about a commitment to combating the COVID 19 Pandemic, after Trump minimized the crisis and promoted false solutions. And Biden has not allowed renegade governors Ron DeSantis of Florida and Greg Abbott to stop necessary action to protect the American people during this pandemic!

The “Build Back Better” Social Infrastructure legislation, held up by moderate Democrats, hopefully will be accomplished soon, as it should be, but with Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema or Arizona, and some in the House of Representatives causing problems, no certainty at this moment, but important for the future of both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, and the nation at large.

Biden withdrew US military forces from Afghanistan, an action that was promoted by Donald Trump, who wanted to remove them in May 2021, rather than the actual time frame of August 2021. It was a tough decision, but America had been in Afghanistan for 20 years, and most Americans knew it was time to leave.

The NATO nations and others have seen a massive change in American foreign policy by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, restoring our good relations with our allies.

Kamala Harris has been more in the background, but Vice Presidents historically have not been in the forefront so early in an administration, and if one looks back at Mike Pence, for instance, who recalls him playing a leading role in the first year of Donald Trump’s Presidency, or really ever?

This negative portrayal of Harris simply is the reaction of having a mixed race woman a heartbeat away from the Presidency, when she has excellent credentials, were she to have to assume the Presidency!

Growing Opposition To Donald Trump Potential Presidential Candidacy In 2024

A year after Donald Trump lost the Presidential Election of 2020 decisively by 7 million popular votes, and the precise Electoral College vote for Joe Biden that Trump won by in 2016, despite losing the popular vote by 2.85 million votes to Hillary Clinton, the beginning of the challenge to Trump’s potential Presidential candidacy in 2024 is beginning in earnest.

The following are challengers to Donald Trump’s potential campaign for 2024. They all have by word and deed made clear their condemnation of Donald Trump:

Former Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey
Governor Larry Hogan of Maryland
Congresswoman Liz Cheney of Wyoming
Congressman Adam Kinzinger of Illinois
Senator Mitt Romney of Utah
Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska
Former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan of Wisconsin
Former Governor John Kasich of Ohio

Republicans Are Crazy, Voting Against Infrastructure, Attacking “Big Bird”, And Emphasizing “Masculinity”!

The Republican Party is acting more crazy by the day, and are in the process, therefore, of self destruction!

For the vast majority of Republicans in Congress to vote against the Physical Infrastructure legislation that brings about needed roads, airports, bridges, rail systems, broadband, environmental cleanup, and electric vehicles is pure insanity, as their constituents want and need these projects, long overdue.

This is the first major overhaul since Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower promoted the Interstate Highway system in the 1950s, and the earlier promotion of the transcontinental railroad system by Republican President Abraham Lincoln in the 1860s, both projects of common sense which advanced the American economy and way of life!

Also, to have lunatic, crazy Senator Ted Cruz, a traitor and seditionist on January 6, to attack “Big Bird” from Sesame Street for promoting vaccination of children 5-11, when Cruz himself has had the COVID 19 vaccinations, is totally an example of just how dangerous the Texas Senator is, and his suggestion that Texas might secede, and take with it, the space program, the oil industry, and military assets should lead to his immediate arrest and incarceration!

And Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, an original seditionist and traitor who demonstrated a pumped fist in support of the rioters at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, has crazily suggested that American men need to assert their “Masculinity”, a sexist statement that will alienate millions of American women, as he suggests that women are being too assertive and independent in their attitudes of controlling their own destiny in American society. He says that “left wingers” are attacking manhood, and asserts that men are allowing video games and pornography to dominate their lives, rather than employment and controlling the women in their lives!

And Arizona Republican Congressman Paul Gosar, another traitor and seditionist, put an anime video on Twitter showing an attack on Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and also on President Joe Biden. No reaction has come from House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy!

Republicans Live In An Alternate Reality, As Joe Biden Accomplishes More Than Donald Trump!

Republicans live in an alternate reality, as Joe Biden in his first nine months, despite divisions in the Democratic Party, has accomplished more in domestic policy than Donald Trump in four years!

The only major domestic accomplishment of Donald Trump was giving millionaires and billionaires a massive tax cut in his first year, while failing to resolve the infrastructure issue over four years!

Joe Biden has moved forward on dealing sensibly on COVID 19, while Donald Trump refused to accept the reality of the danger, and therefore, has blood on his hands! Half a million Americans died on his watch!

But Donald Trump also has blood on his hands for promoting treason, sedition, and an attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, and undermining American democracy!

And every single one of those Republicans who refuse to hold Donald Trump accountable are also guilty of treason and sedition!

A Year After Joe Biden Election, Major Economic Advancements In Midst Of COVID 19 Pandemic!

A year since Joe Biden was elected President, the nation has seen major economic advancements in the midst of the COVID 19 Pandemic.

We have seen 5.6 million jobs created, the greatest of any President in nine months in office.

We have seen 531,000 jobs created in October alone.

We have a 4.6 percent unemployment rate, similar to what Barack Obama left the nation when he finished his Presidency in January 2017.

The Stock Market is at an all time high as I write this!

We have seen major Pandemic relief legislation, and now a massive Physical Infrastructure bill ready to be signed by Joe Biden.

The Social Infrastructure legislation is making progress, at a lower rate than originally planned, but still in the range of $1.75 trillion.

We are seeing greater progress than was possible by Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and even Barack Obama in their first year.

Joe Biden is on the way to being the most successful domestic President since Lyndon B. Johnson and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

This is the time to promote and publicize the great advancements, and make the case for the Democrats to have expanded majorities in both houses of Congress in 2022 and beyond.

Finally, The Physical Infrastructure Legislation Is Passed In The House Of Representatives With Bipartisan Vote!

Finally, overnight, the House of Representatives passed the Physical Infrastructure bill that had passed the US Senate with a bipartisan vote of 69-30 in August.

And happily, there were 13 Republicans who supported the legislation in the House, making the legislation truly a bipartisan accomplishment, with a final vote of 228-206.

This is a major victory for Joe Biden and the Democrats, despite the tortuous delay of more than two months, and the $1.2 trillion of spending on roads, airports, bridges, rail systems, broadband, environmental cleanup, and electric vehicles will advance the American economy dramatically!

The nation desperately needed this legislation, and it will help the Democratic argument to keep them in the majority in the 2022 Midterm Congressional Elections a year from now!

However, with all of the excitement that this legislation engenders, it IS a fact that without the 13 Republicans, including a number who voted to impeach Donald Trump the second time, the legislation would NOT have passed, as 6 “Progressives” voted against it, including

Jamaal Bowman of New York
Cori Bush of Missouri
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York
Ilhan Omar of Minnesota
Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts
Rashida Tlaib of Michigan

The latter four have been called the “Squad”, and the first two have been considered to be additions to the group by the news media, and seemingly, have indicated they are glad to be part of the group.

Four of the 13 House Republicans who supported the legislation also supported impeachment of Donald Trump in January 2021:

Adam Kinzinger of Illinois (not running for reelection)
Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio (not running for reelection)
Fred Upton of Michigan
John Katko of New York

Even without the other nine Republicans, those four principled Republican House members who did the right thing on both impeachment and the infrastructure bill, basically saved the legislation, as with their votes alone, the legislation would have passed 219-215!

The present House of Representatives has 221 Democrats, and 213 Republicans, so there is a working majority of just three members, although the Democrats have eight more members than the Republicans.

Donald Trump’s Criminal Conspirators: All Republicans Who Deny Joe Biden Victory One Year Later!

It will be one year next weekend since the victory of Joe Biden in the Presidential Election of 2020 was declared on November 7, 2020.

And yet, all of the Republicans who deny Joe Biden’s victory even today, one year later, are, in effect, criminal conspirators in a “Big Lie”, that is causing massive tensions and divisions in America, with nothing quite like it since the Civil War!

Donald Trump has loads of criminal conspirators, and by all rights, all of those members of Congress who refused to certify that the election was resolved in the Electoral College count on January 6, 2021, even after the Capitol Hill Insurrection on that day, should be summarily expelled from Congress, and face prosecution as traitors, conspirators, and seditionists!

And all those around Donald Trump, including his three older children, and all Trump aides or former aides who conspired to promote the January 6 Insurrection should also face prosecution and prison time!

There is no case for believing otherwise than that Joe Biden won the election, interestingly by the same Electoral Vote margin as Donald Trump did in 2016, and yet there IS evidence that the election of Trump was false, and created through Russian Collusion, while Biden won by 7 million votes.

In the past, Richard Nixon in 1960, Al Gore in 2000, Hillary Clinton in 2016, and further back Samuel Tilden in 1876, along with all other election losers, saw the defeated candidate graciously concede. But now we face an endless constitutional nightmare with no end, and the danger that Donald Trump might run again!

The Virginia Gubernatorial And Other Virginia Races Crucial For Democrats’ Future

We are three days away from the Virginia Gubernatorial election, and other state races, both executive and legislative, in the Commonwealth.

Virginia has become “Blue” in recent years, but now there is concern, based on some polls, that Terry McAuliffe who was governor from 2013-2017, and is trying to become governor again, may be trailing in public opinion polls to Republican Glenn Youngkin, a Donald Trump acolyte, who would turn Virginia backward after great progress in recent years!

It is not just the governorship, but also other state executive positions and control of the Virginia legislature at stake!

A victory for Youngkin, who has no government experience, would embolden Donald Trump, while a defeat for Youngkin would help to undermine Donald Trump!

It is urgent that those who voted for Joe Biden, who won Virginia in 2020 by ten points, get out there and vote!

Desire Vs Reality: Democrats At This Point Must Settle For Half Social Infrastructure Ambitions!

Sadly, it is now clear that Joe Biden and progressive Democrats have no choice to but accept a Social Infrastructure bill worth about half of the originally planned $3.5 trillion to help make life better for everyday Americans.

This author and scholar is furious about the impact of West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin and Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema, as well as some moderate Democrats in the House of Representatives.

But this is the reality when we have an evenly divided US Senate and a House of Representatives with a narrow margin of six votes.

But consider that IF Georgia had not elected two Democratic Senators in January—Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff–the first elected African American and first Jewish senators in Georgia history—the Republicans would be running the Senate under Mitch McConnell.

So the goal now is to accomplish what can be done, and try to work in the first half of 2022 for more, or make it the key campaign issue for the Congressional elections coming up next November.

Right now, celebrating what can be done, which advances the American nation, is still a major positive for Democrats, and it still will be the major domestic initiative, along with the financial assistance to deal with the COVID 19 Pandemic, that we have seen since Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society nearly sixty years ago.

So let us be happy for what can be done, and work to accomplish more Democratic Senators in the midterms, as there are more Republican seats up for election, and five Republicans are leaving, and more extreme nominees are likely, which, hopefully, will cause a major Democratic edge, despite historical trends, as this is a crisis situation for American democracy!