Massachusetts

Two Experienced National Presidential Campaigners Who Could Challenge Hillary Clinton For Democratic Presidential Nomination: Al Gore And Jerry Brown!

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The basic belief that goes around in political circles is that Hillary Clinton has the Democratic Presidential nomination for the asking, and has more experience and background than anyone who could possibly run against her in the primaries, with the major exception of Vice President Joe Biden!

But it is also noted that, actually, there are two very experienced Democrats who have run for President before, along with Hillary and Joe, and yet few are paying any attention to these two men!

I am talking about former Vice President Al Gore, who lost the Presidency in 2000 to George W. Bush, despite having won the national popular vote by about 540,000, but losing the contested election in Florida in the Supreme Court case of Bush V. Gore. Also, Gore sought the Presidency in 1988, before losing the nomination to Michael Dukakis.

I am also referring here to three time Democratic Presidential seeker, California Governor Jerry Brown, who sought the nomination in 1976 and again in 1980 against Jimmy Carter, and against Bill Clinton in 1992!

Both are tested, although both are from “long ago” in many people’s minds, since Gore has never tried for public office since 2000, and sixteen years is a very long time in politics. One could say that Hillary and Joe are also from “long ago”, but they have continued to hold public office consistently since the new century began, with Hillary only “retiring” in 2013 to write her memoir on her years as Secretary of State!

Jerry Brown goes back much further having been Governor of California at age 35, serving from 1975 to 1983; then later being Oakland Mayor and California Attorney General; and then returning to the Governorship 28 years after leaving it, and becoming the oldest Governor in the history of the state in 2011, and now running for a second term at age 76.

There have been rumors that Brown would love to run again, and dog the Clintons, as he did Jimmy Carter. It would be ironic if he was to challenge Hillary as he did her husband in 1992!

Of course, Brown would be nearly 79 were he to become President in 2017, and Al Gore would be nearly 69, just five months younger than Hillary Clinton, while Joe Biden would be 74 at the time of the inauguration!

One might say that having all these “old folks” running or considering the Presidency is disturbing, and add to that mix, two liberals who are rumored to run, If Hillary chooses not to run, or possibly even if she does—Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, who would be 67 on Inauguration Day, and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders (technically a Socialist), who would be 75.

While we are at it, why not add Secretary of State John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic Presidential nominee, to the list, with him being 73 if elected to the Presidency in 2016!

These people, all seven of them, represent a lot of talent and experience and brilliance, but ranging from 67 to 79 is NOT a good trend, particularly with the strong likelihood that the Republican Party will nominate someone much younger, probably by a full generation, or close to it, in years!

A Four Year College Education Is Worth $1 Million in Lifetime Income!

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It is clear that college debt is a massive problem, and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts is promoting a plan to make interest rates manageable, as if college graduates and students cannot buy homes, cars, have children, etc, then the future American economy, as well as their own futures, is gloomy.

However, despite this reality, new studies demonstrate that a four year college degree leads to a difference, in financial terms, of $1 million over a lifetime, so assuming a 40 year career, that is $25,000 more per year over a lifetime!

That is not taking into account when one has a professional or graduate training, where the difference in income is massive!

The point is that those who say forget a college education, are making a great mistake, not thinking in the long run, and also forgetting that education in itself opens up one’s mind; improves one’s life; makes for a more literate, educated society; and promotes tolerance and open mindedness!

So the goal should still be for any citizen to get the most education he or she is capable of, even if that education is not utilized directly at their work. The quality of life itself is enough reason for more education, not less!

Political Reality: Those Accused Of Corruption Invariably Are Guilty Of Charges, Not Innocent!

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We constantly see political corruption arise to the surface, and the saying is that corruption is as American as Apple Pie!

We are seeing, and have seen, governors, mayors, state legislators, and members of Congress, and even the executive branch, accused of corruption, exposed, and most often, forced out of office over time!

So when we hear that Bob McDonnell, Chris Christie, Scott Walker and others are being investigated for corruption of one kind or another, face the facts! Almost certainly, they are guilty as charged, but of course they deny it and fight it.

But it means their political careers are usually over, with an occasional exception such as Senator David Vitter of Louisiana, involved with a prostitution madam, but still reelected to the Senate, and now planning to run for Governor!

In certain states, corruption is more rampant than elsewhere, although it is endemic to American politics. But states such as Louisiana, Illinois, New Jersey, Nevada, Arizona, West Virginia, South Carolina, Texas, Massachusetts, Florida and New York have more than their fair share of crooked politicians of one kind or another!

The Importance Of Higher Education Over A Lifetime Worth The Investment!

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Propaganda has been going around, promoted by conservatives and Republicans, that higher education is not worth the investment, that many students end up with a debt that will take many years to pay off, so that, instead, it is better to avoid college education. Their goal, ultimately, is to promote ignorance and apathy among the masses, so as to advance their agenda of impoverishing the middle class and the poor!

Yes, college debt is a major problem, and the interest rates charged are ridiculous, and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts wants to promote legislation to lower rates, stating that an investment in the long term future should not become victim of greedy lenders!

While it is true that many college and university graduates cannot find work in their chosen field, and that it has become particularly difficult for recent college students to find appropriate work, one must think in the long run, not the short run, and the evidence is clear that a college education, over a lifetime, pays dividends in higher pay, a better lifestyle, and a much more enlightened citizenry!

College graduates on the average make at least double the income of non college graduates, and over a lifetime, about a half million dollars is lost if a person has not attended and graduated a four year degree.

Also, the level of satisfaction at work, and the knowledge base of a college graduate, is far greater than a non college graduate. A four year college degree is still the best ticket to the middle class for anyone who is struggling to make ends meet!

New Hampshire: Jeanne Shaheen Vs. Scott Brown Senate Race

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The New Hampshire Senate race is between incumbent Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen, formerly Governor of the state, and former Republican Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown, who won the seat of Ted Kennedy, and then proceeded to lose it to Elizabeth Warren, and now is a “carpetbagger”, who has owned a home in New Hampshire, and is trying to do what only two others in the distant past have been able to do–win a seat in the Senate from two different states.

Scott Brown has been compared by some, who are delusional, to Robert F. Kennedy and Hillary Clinton, both outsiders who won Senate seats in New York, but his record comes nowhere near what they had, and neither had ever been a Senator, and then lost the seat, and moved to another state to try to regain a seat in the Senate.

The fact that Scott Brown is campaigning on destroying ObamaCare is a strategy that will cause him to lose the race to Shaheen, who is very popular, and very effective in the US Senate.

Brown will have the record of always having a woman opponent for the Senate, first beating Martha Coakley, Massachusetts Attorney General in 2010; then losing to Elizabeth Warren in 2012; and now about to lose to Jeanne Shaheen in 2014!

Scott Brown: “Carpetbagger” And Multi State Senator?

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Scott Brown served almost three years in the US Senate from Massachusetts, winning a special election to replace Ted Kennedy by defeating Attorney General Martha Coakley early in 2010. Then, he lost the full Senate term to Elizabeth Warren in 2012.

Now, Scott Brown wants to come back to the Senate in 2015, but from New Hampshire, as he turned down the chance to run for the vacant Senate seat given up by John Kerry when he became Secretary of State in 2013.

So Scott Brown hopes to do what has not been done since the 1870s and only twice ever, to serve in the Senate from more than one state, with the record being set by James Shields, who served Illinois from 1849-1855, Minnesota in 1858, and Missouri in 1879. One other earlier Senator, unclear who it is at this moment, also served two states.

So for 135 years this has never happened, and very few “carpetbagger” Senators have served since the Reconstruction Era 150 years ago.

The only major examples are New York’s two “outsiders,” often called “carpetbaggers,” but elected despite not really being New Yorkers–Robert F. Kennedy (1965-1968), and Hillary Clinton (2001-2009).

The only modern example of a Senator trying to be elected from a second state was New York Senator James Buckley (1971-1977) , who tried and failed to be elected as a “carpetbagger” from Connecticut in 1980.

So Scott Brown is fighting history and tradition, and except for New York, the willingness to elect an “outsider” to the Senate, although Brown has had a second home in New Hampshire for many years, while always being in office in the state legislature of Massachusetts, and identifying himself as a Massachusetts resident.

His New Hampshire opponent, Senator and former Governor Jeanne Shaheen, will be a tough opponent, and she is highly favored to win, in a state where the two Senators, two House members, and the Governor, are all women, and all Democrats, except for Senator Kelly Ayotte.

It is ironic that in each race Brown has entered for the US Senate, that his opponent has been a woman—Martha Coakley, Elizabeth Warren, and now Jeanne Shaheen.

Don’t put any betting money on Scott Brown making history in 2014 in New Hampshire!

Three Rising Stars In The Democratic Party: Debbie Wasserman Schultz, And Julian And Joaquin Castro!

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As one looks ahead to the future beyond 2014, one can see some bright rising stars in the Democratic Party, who are seen as likely to move up in American politics beyond where they are right now in 2014.

One is Democratic National Chairwoman, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz of South Florida, who has been speculated about as a future Speaker of the House, but is now considered a likely choice for the Democrats to challenge Republican Senator Marco Rubio in 2016, giving up her chance to accomplish her well known earlier goal. This would be a massive battle of two South Florida “giants” for the Senate seat of the third largest state in America!

Wasserman Schultz would be a “dynamite” figure in the US Senate, a younger version of Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, were she to be elected to the upper chamber.

But if not successful, Wasserman Schultz could be a cabinet member under the next Democratic President, whoever that might be, which is still a highly likely situation to have the Democrats retain the White House in 2016.

Additionally, the Castro Brothers of Texas, Julian and Joaquin, are definite rising stars, with the likelihood that Mayor Julian Castro of San Antonio, could be the Vice Presidential running mate of ANY Democratic Presidential nominee in 2016, being 42 years old by then. He is very impressive as the Mayor of the sixth largest city in America, and can assist in turning Texas “blue”, which is highly likely as the decade moves on.

Meanwhile, his identical twin brother, Joaquin, now a member of the House of Representatives, is seen as likely to challenge Senator Ted Cruz in 2018, and to have a good chance to defeat the highly controversial Senator. This would be the ultimate Latino vs Latino challenge, but with the reality that Mexican Americans in Texas and nationally far outweigh the percentage of Cuban Americans. so Castro being from a group that is about 17 times the size of Cuban Americans, such as Cruz and Marco Rubio, is not to be regarded as something that can be ignored.

So if fortune works out in a good way, we should have Senator Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida and Vice President Julian Castro of Texas elected in 2016, and Senator Joaquin Castro of Texas elected in 2018. And we might see the demise of Senators Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas in 2016 and 2018 respectively!

Conservatives And Republicans Want People To Have Inferior Health Care—AMAZING!

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Conservatives and Republicans have viciously opposed ObamaCare, not giving a damn about whether tens of millions of Americans have health care coverage, even though that makes health care more expensive for taxpayers when these people go to emergency rooms, or else these people die, which they seem not to care about!

But, having failed to prevent ObamaCare, and complaining about its difficult roll out, as if they wanted it to succeed, now they are complaining that millions of people with independent coverage, who have crappy health care contracts, are being forced to get new coverage that covers more areas, has lower costs, better conditions, and will prevent people from losing coverage, or be told that preexisting conditions are not covered!

Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Fox News Channel right wing talk show host Sean Hannity lead a whole group of charlatans, who are working to mislead consumers, and make ObamaCare an issue that they can exploit for political gain, while working to convince people that they are being exploited, rather than the truth that they are being given a chance for FAR BETTER health care coverage!

These right wingers do not know how to tell the truth, because if they do, they know the conservative movement will recede into the dustbin of history, as not caring about the health care needs of the American people!

Remember that the basis of ObamaCare is both the basis of the Heritage Foundation plan for health care of 1993 and of RomneyCare in 2006 in Massachusetts, but neither source will dare admit the truth, and expect Mitt Romney to say the same this Sunday on Meet the Press, the reason why he had no chance to win the Presidency in 2012! Romney could not tell the truth if he tried, and stands out as the biggest liar of any Presidential candidate in modern history!

Lies, Deception, Fear, Hypocrisy Being Utilized By Right Wing To Destroy ObamaCare

Ronald 14 Comments

There have been so many lies, deceptions, fears, and hypocrisy stoked by the right wing in America to destroy ObamaCare before it goes into effect.

The argument that ObamaCare has caused massive loss of full time employment is a total lie, as that has been going on since the Great Recession of 2008.

The argument that the individual mandate will force people to pay a fine, without any way to avoid it, is a lie, as no one will be prosecuted if they do not pay it, with the only purpose being to convince Americans of the importance of being insured for their health.

The argument that prices for health insurance will double and triple is a lie, as government subsidies will be provided for people up to four times the poverty income for a family of four.

Many ignorant, prejudiced people, many of whom are racists, will not associate with anything connected to Barack Obama, even with proof that it would save them money. It has already been shown to be true that people tied to an ideological commitment, are willing to lie openly on television about their situations in an interview arranged by Sean Hannity of Fox News Channel, who has no trouble lying through his teeth, exploiting any situation to fulfill his need to enrich himself, and can look straight in the camera as he knows that he, and people who he knows are lying and deceiving, go right ahead and do so on his television show. And this is common all the time on radio talk shows of the right wing, and on Fox News Channel, by people determined to make sure that tens of millions of Americans have no ability to have coverage for their children to age 26; make sure that pre-existing conditions not be covered for millions of children and adults; and make sure that the closing of the “donut hole” for senior citizens on their prescription medications not be covered.

This is class warfare, trying to turn the 85 percent who have health care against the concept that the other 15 percent should have the same right to health care at reasonable cost.

This is the right wing Heritage Foundation, headed by extremist right winger Jim DeMint, formerly Senator from South Carolina, hiding the fact that it was that group which proposed what is now ObamaCare in 1993, as an alternative to HillaryCare, the Clinton health care plan, which was more extreme in its approach to health care, than the plan now law, which is also so much like RomneyCare in Massachusetts. So a Republican plan adopted by Barack Obama is suddenly “socialism”, which it is not in any sense.

How can one look at this, except to call it the BIG LIE technique, utilized in dictatorships, by such luminaries as Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Joseph Stalin, and others as the method to expand their power at the detriment of the population?

Cory Booker Becomes Fourth Elected African American Senator In US History!

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Newark, New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker has become the fourth elected African American Senator in US history, as a result of a special election to fill the unexpired time in the term of the late Senator Frank Lautenberg.

Booker will have to run for a full term in November 2014, but would be heavily favored, since he won the seat at an odd time for an election by the margin of about ten points.

So Booker follows Edward Brooke (R) of Massachusetts (1967-1985); Carol Moseley Braun (D) of Illinois (1993-1999); and Barack Obama (D) of Illinois (2005-2009) in being elected.

Senator Tim Scott (R) of South Carolina, appointed to fill the vacancy left by resigning Senator Jim DeMint in January of this year, will face election in 2014, and is considered likely to retain his seat in the US Senate.

Two others were temporary appointments—Roland Burris (D) of Illinois (2009-2010), who replaced Obama; and Mo Cowan (D) of Massachusetts ( four and a half months in 2013), who replaced John Kerry.

And Mississippi had two Republican Senators during Reconstruction who were African American, and were selected by the state legislature—Hiram Revels (1870-1871) for about one year; and Blanche Bruce (1875-1881) for a full six year term.

Booker would be seen as likely to have a long, productive career in the US Senate, and be a potential Presidential candidate in the near and far future!