Massachusetts

Future Potential Presidential Nomination Conflict In Several States For 2016

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It is never too early to think ahead about the Presidential Election of 2016, and as pundits start debating and arguing about potential candidacies for President, it turns out that several states could witness a battle for the nomination among their own office holders, as witness the following:

New York–Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Governor Andrew Cuomo, and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand–all Democrats

Florida—Former Governor Jeb Bush, Governor Rick Scott, and Senator Marco Rubio–all Republicans.

Virginia—Governor Bob McDonnell, Republican, and Senator Mark Warner, Democrat.

Massachusetts—Governor Deval Patrick and Senator Elizabeth Warren–both Democrats.

New Jersey—Governor Chris Christie, Republican, and Newark Mayor Cory Booker, Democrat,

Wisconsin—Governor Scott Walker and Congressman Paul Ryan–both Republicans.

Texas—Governor Rick Perry and Senator Ted Cruz–both Republicans, and Julian Castro Mayor of San Antonio, Democrat

The question is whether if Hillary Clinton ran for President, would Governor Cuomo or Senator Gillibrand challenge her? But also, if Governor Cuomo ran for President, in the absence of Clinton, would Senator Gillibrand also contend?

Also, if former Governor Jeb Bush ran, would Governor Scott or Senator Rubio do the same? Or it could be put another way–would Jeb Bush run if Senator Rubio announced for President, since he has already taken the first step toward running by visiting Iowa, the first caucus state in 2016?

Also, if either Governor Patrick or Senator Warren ran, would the other run?

Also, if either Governor Perry or Senator Cruz ran, would the other enter the race?

And if either Governor Walker or Congressman Ryan announced, would the other run?

The Virginia, New Jersey and Texas cases, with office holders of both parties possible nominees, is more likely to occur, although the odds of Cory Booker or Julian Castro running in New Jersey and Texas likely will be based on Booker defeating Chris Christie in next year’s gubernatorial race, and Castro running for statewide office and winning, such as for Governor or Senator in 2014.

The Virginia rivalry between Republican Governor Bob McDonnell and Democratic former Governor and now Senator Mark Warner is a more likely reality.

There certainly are a lot of possibilities emerging, with the political “junkies” having a feast of speculation!

The Reality Of The Next Decade: Split Government Control!

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It is now clear that our political system is facing a long period, probably at least a decade, of split government control on the national level!

The Democratic Party has a long term edge with the electorate, as a result of the two Barack Obama Presidential victories, with the only difference being the loss in 2012 of Indiana and North Carolina.

But with the growing Hispanic and Latino population in Arizona, Texas, and Georgia, the likelihood of those states turning “blue’ from “red” over this decade, is becoming more likely, and with that manifestation, the Electoral College situation will become much more one sided than it is now, and yet still allow for some states to wander over to the other side without affecting a Democratic victory for the White House.

Additionally, with the surprise gain in seats by the Democrats in the US Senate, only losing one state, Nebraska, and gaining Maine, Massachusetts, and Indiana in return, and more Republican seats up for reelection in 2014, the likelihood of the Senate staying majority Democratic for the long term, continues to grow.

However, with the gerrymandering of seats by Republican legislatures and Governors in 2010, even though the Democrats won more votes for the US House of Representatives, the Republicans were able to hold on to the majority, although reduced by about eight seats. The Democrats will have trouble gaining 17 seats or more because of the gerrymandering, and even if they do gain a slight edge, could easily lose it two or four years after winning the majority.

So the likelihood of a Democratic President, Democratic Senate, and a Republican House becomes more a normal situation until at least the next reapportionment of seats after the 2020 Census, and the Presidential and Congressional Elections of that year, but with the advantage that 2020 is a Presidential year, while 2010 was not.

So this means the odds of a long range stalemate and gridlock in American politics are clear cut!

Barack Obama And Veterans Day: A Great President On Veterans Issues

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Barack Obama may not have served in the military, becoming an adult during a time when military service by draft had ended, and instead choosing to become a community organizer, in many ways a domestic version of the Peace Corps.

Mitt Romney supported the war in Vietnam, but used his religious commitment to the Mormon Church to avoid service, and instead spent his entire life acquiring massive amounts of wealth, with no social commitment to anyone, and only using one term as Governor of Massachusetts as a tool to run for President, and become the ultimate “BOSS’, which has been his only goal in life other than materialism!

Barack Obama has been very respectful and supportive of the plight of veterans who have served in our various wars, and he has done so much for their needs when they return, and he is pledging again our total commitment to them in the future. with recognition of the reality that much needs to be done.

As we become aware that one out of four homeless people in this nation are veterans, and that many veterans are unemployed, it means that no stone shall be unturned to do what must be done to help these people who served with courage and determination.

There may be budget cuts coming, but not at the expense of veterans!

Seeing Barack Obama speak at Arlington National Cemetery right now is such an inspiring moment, and realizing that one of our heroes, Tammy Duckworth, who gave up both legs and one arm in Iraq, is now the Congresswoman Elect in an Illinois district, having soundly defeated one of the worst Tea Party elected Representatives of 2010, Joe Walsh, is a very exciting moment! And seeing Allen West of Florida, who abused his power in Iraq and was drummed out of the military, also leaving Congress in January, is a very satisfying event!

The Ultimate Smack To Mitt Romney: Loss Of Four Of His Five States He Identifies With!

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Mitt Romney received the ultimate humiliation on Election Day 2012!

He lost his home state of Michigan, where his father was Governor, by a landslide!

He lost his adopted state of Massachusetts, where he served one term as Governor, by a double landslide!

He lost his other New England home, New Hampshire, by a clear cut margin!

He lost the state where he is building a mansion with a car elevator, California, by a double landslide!

He managed to win Utah, the Mormon state, connected to his leadership in the Church, but overall, fewer Mormons voted for him this year, than for George W. Bush in 2008!

What it comes down to is that Mitt Romney is not well liked, and it is his own fault, due to his arrogance, his lying, his sense of entitlement!

So, Mitt Romney is disappearing fast, and no one really cares! He will be a bad memory in the future!

The Failure Of Two Romneys Seeking The Presidency

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So now two Romneys, father and son, have failed in their goal to become President of the United States.

George Romney, Mitt Romney’s father, was a competitor for the GOP nomination in 1968, but self destructed, when after a trip to Vietnam, he said he felt he had been “brainwashed”. At the same time, he had been very transparent about his finances and tax returns, and had been openly willing to be specific on what he believed. He was an honest, competent man, who had been Governor of Michigan for six years, was proud to be a moderate, and later served as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Richard Nixon.

Mitt Romney, on the other hand, tried for the GOP nomination for President in 2008, and then ran and won the nomination this year. But Mitt only had one term as Governor of Massachusetts, and his record in office was far from successful, while his dad had accomplished a great deal in Michigan.

Additionally, Mitt came across as a man of no principles, no guts, no beliefs, who refused to be transparent about his tax returns or anything else. He stayed away from the news media, which George catered to, and allowed himself to become a captive of the right wing of his party, while George condemned and fought against the right wing and Barry Goldwater in 1964.

And Mitt became an incessant liar, which his dad would have been shocked by!

George Romney was an admirable figure in many ways, while Mitt Romney was far from admirable, and not many political observers will miss him, and it seems certain in the long run of history, George will be seen as far better than his son Mitt!

Another example of a son not being the match of his dad, sadly!

Traits We Need In Our President: Competence, Compassion, Empathy, Sincerity—Barack Obama Possesses All Four, While Mitt Romney “Maybe” At Most Has Competence!

Ronald 2 Comments

Essential qualities needed in an American President, particularly in this 21st century of a complex world, and a growing population of what is now 315 million people, would include:

Competence
Compassion
Empathy
Sincerity

We need a leader who demonstrates care about ALL of us, not just the elite and wealthy!

We need a leader who has known struggle in his life at some point–such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama—whether it is:

Family Problems And Issues While Growing To Adulthood—Truman, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, Obama
Personal Health Issues—Roosevelt, Kennedy
Major Challenges To Success—Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Nixon, Reagan, Obama

Only the two Bushes really did not have major family problems while growing to adulthood; personal health issues; or major challenges to success.

But even they had compassion and empathy for the disabled (the elder Bush), and for the victims of September 11 (the younger Bush), although later, both the elder and younger Bush botched up the emergency of Hurricane Andrew and Hurricane Katrina in a massive wave of incompetence!

Barack Obama possesses all of these qualities mentioned above, while Mitt Romney has not proved his worth in these regards, even so much as competence as Massachusetts Governor, although he has rose colored glasses in looking back on what was, basically, a term in office that made him so unpopular he could not have won reelection as Governor of his state had he decided to run!

Mitt Romney, simply, does not have the qualities needed for our Presidency in the 21st century. He lacks, for sure, compassion, empathy, and sincerity!

He is much more like Herbert Hoover, and yet, even Herbert Hoover first became famous for reacting properly in human tragedies in the time of the Mississippi River Flood of 1927, the massive Soviet relief effort in the 1920s, and the Belgian relief effort in World War I!

So we would have to push Romney back to the Gilded Age of monopoly capitalism, before the Progressive Era ended the concept of a limited government, which had ignored the needs of its citizens en masse!

The 20th century dawned, and the battle for the federal government to play a major role in people’s lives began, and we are not about to revert to the late 19th century!

Sorry, Mr. Romney, your attempt to go back one hundred years and more to the worst times of the Gilded Age is rejected, and YOU ARE FIRED as a potential President of the United States this coming Tuesday, November 6, 2012!

Mitt Romney Might Be Mentally Unbalanced And A Threat As President! Something To Consider As Presidential Election Approaches!

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Mitt Romney has been the most consistent liar of any Presidential nominee in American history, if one examines the way he has run his campaign for President, and also looks at his background, both in public office, in the business world, and in his life experiences.

Romney is considered worrisome as a future President because of his hypocrisy, his deceit in words and actions, and his consistent pathological lying about everything imaginable!

Psychologists would term Mitt Romney as having ASP, Antisocial Personality Disorder. This means that he can be charming and is handsome, and uses those factors to confuse people as to his intentions and motivations. He is consumed by his own mad need to increase his personal wealth, no matter who he hurts in the process, and when demonstrated that he is lying or deceptive, he doubles down on his lies, until, as in the Presidential debates, he confused everyone with his quick switch to the opposite views of everything he had run on in the Presidential primaries.

Romney feels “entitled”, displays narcissism to the extreme, and likes to dominate and control others. And he has no regret, and claims not to remember, bullying a young classmate and leading a gang in forcibly cutting his hair; or using his father’s position as Michigan Governor to wear a police officer’s uniform and stop motorists; and having the gall to back the war in Vietnam, but make sure that he did not serve, by using the excuse of doing a Mormon mission in Paris, France!

With Bain Capital, he caused the collapse of businesses, the laying off of workers, and did whatever would advance his own fortune, having no compassion for those who were victims of his “Robber Baron” Gilded Age mentality!

Romney wiped out records of his work at the Salt Lake Olympics and his Massachusetts Governorship, which meant that there had to be unethical, if not illegal, activities being covered up, because if not, why do that?

Romney has shown no concern for the rights of women; the plight of the poor; the struggles of the middle class; and is unwilling to show his own financial records and taxes, and to discuss his role in the Mormon Church. He feels the American people are not entitled to know anything about his background, and that the news media are the enemy, and that means he will be the most uncommunicative President since Richard Nixon!

Romney is willing to do anything to harm those not his friends, and looks with disdain upon the “47 percent” in his Boca Raton presentation, when he thought he was safely able to express his true views and personality. That event is a warning of what would likely be one of the most corrupt administrations in American history, were he to be elected to the White House!

Mitt Romney is a chameleon, a charlatan, a massive liar, a narcissist, and in many ways a sociopath who would be dangerous with the power to be Commander in Chief, likely to take us into more foreign wars, and violate the Bill Of Rights with impunity!

Who is the true Mitt Romney? No one knows, and to elect him is to take a massive gamble which would likely lead to disaster on many fronts!

Mitt Romney Decides To Copy Barack Obama: Hypocrisy In Action!

Ronald 1 Comment

Mitt Romney has now declared he is out to bring “change”, despite the fact that he and his Republican party have constantly ridiculed Barack Obama for promoting “hope and change”.

The difference is that Barack Obama has accomplished a great deal in his time in office, arguably the most domestically since Lyndon B. Johnson, and has also accomplished a great amount in foreign policy, and national security, and the fight against terrorism.

Mitt Romney offers no such potential for success, as his one term as Governor of Massachusetts was so unpopular that he could not consider running for reelection, and in any case, he was just using the Governorship as a stepping stone to run for President.

Mitt Romney has run a negative, nasty campaign, and has embraced despicable people who promote attacks on women, minorities, labor, the poor, the middle class, the environment, veterans, gays, senior citizens, young people, and the disabled; and also has backed neoconservatives in their quest to engage America in more wars, even though most of them have never been in the military!

Romney using the term “change” is a mockery, and hopefully, the majority of Americans realize Romney for the charlatan, the chameleon, the phony, the insincere person that he is.

Romney is only running for President to enrich himself to an obscene level, advance a plutocracy similar to the late 19th century Gilded Age, promote his Mormon faith, and to stroke his own ego!

Mitt Romney needs to be given a resounding slap in the face, and told how much we detest everything he represents, as a danger to the American people and their future!

Mitt Romney’s Total Lack Of Respect Toward Barack Obama And Candy Crowley

Ronald 14 Comments

Mitt Romney showed his true nature last night!

He is a bully who has no respect for the President of the United States, and also no respect for women, as demonstrated by his misbehavior toward Candy Crowley, the moderator. He constantly interrupted both Obama and Crowley, and told Obama he would “get his turn”, as if he is talking down to some underling who works for him!

He is a BOSS, used to pushing people around, particularly women, and does not wish to give respect to a leader who happens to be African American.

Romney feels “entitled” to his own elevator while Massachusetts Governor, but sets a terrible example of failing to respect the office of the Presidency!

And he talks about “binders of women”, an insulting reference to looking for women to serve in his administration. It is clear that he secretly feels that most women should stay at home and depend on their husbands, as the Mormon Church has long promoted, and he can use the example of his wife, Ann Romney, a “good” woman, who allows her husband to be the boss, which he loves to be over everyone he associates with, who is not a wealthy male!

Can one imagine how outraged he would be, were he to become President, and anyone showed him an equal level of disrespect?

This man was rude, pushy, nasty, aggressive, and should remind women and workers, both male and female, of the boss they hate, and therefore, if he is so unwilling to give respect to others, he does not deserve the respect of the American people, and should go back to his many homes around the nation, and enjoy his obscene wealth gained at the expense of women and labor, many victims of his selfishness and greed over a lifetime!

And this is a “religious” man? Give me a break!

Five Republican Senate Seats In Danger Of Being Won By Democrats In 2012

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The usual political line is that the Democrats are in danger of losing control of the Senate, with 23 Democratic or Independent seats up for election in 2012, as compared to only 10 Republican seats.

But actually, five of the ten GOP Senate seats are in play, with Republicans on the defensive!

This includes:

Maine—where retiring Senator Olympia Snowe seems likely to be replaced by Independent Angus King, former Governor of the state, thought to be likely to caucus with the Democrats if he wins, based on greater agreement with Democratic principles.

Massachusetts—where Senator Scott Brown, who replaced Ted Kennedy in 2010, is behind in many polls to consumer advocate Elizabeth Warren, in a state so strongly Democratic that Brown’s victory in 2010 was seen as an outlier.

Indiana—where retiring Senator Richard Lugar may be replaced by Democratic Congressman Joe Donnelly , because the GOP nominee, Richard Mourdock, has been labeled a Tea Party extremist, unwilling to work across the aisle with Democrats.

Nevada—where appointed Senator Dean Heller is having a rough race against long term Democratic Congresswoman Shelley Berkley.

Arizona—where Senator Jon Kyl is retiring, but the Republican nominee, Jeff Flake, is facing a surprisingly tough battle against Democrat Richard Carmona. former Surgeon General of the United States. Carmona has a distinguished law enforcement and medical career, and is seen as having a really good chance to replace Kyl, and being Hispanic (Puerto Rican) in Arizona is certainly a positive, as well as his biography.

If one had to put betting money on these five races, it would be a good bet that Maine, Massachusetts, and Arizona will go Democratic in Senate races, with Indiana and Nevada tougher races.

That would mean a three seat gain for the Democrats, making it much tougher for Republicans to become a majority, as then they would need at least six to seven Democratic held seats out of 12 seats seen as in play, with 11 others of the total 23 seats seen as NOT in play!

An analysis of Democratic seats in contention will follow in the coming days!