Mexico

Donald Trump Democrat, Donald Trump Independent, Donald Trump Republican: Which Is The Real Donald Trump? None Of Them!

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At this point, Donald Trump is surging ahead for the Republican Presidential nomination, but one has to wonder if he has the staying power to go all the way to the convention in Cleveland with enough delegate support to become the GOP nominee for President.

Right now, Trump sounds like a conservative Republican, but he has been a public figure for decades, and when one investigates his entire public record, Trump comes across as inconsistent, and wishy washy in his political views and statements.

Trump has been a declared Republican,then an Independent, than a Democrat, then a Republican although registered as an Independent.

Trump gave money to Hillary Clinton’s campaign for President in 2007-2008.

Trump once praised a single payer health care system, similar to Medicare for all, but now he opposes ObamaCare, although ten years ago he supported “health marts” very close to RomneyCare and ObamaCare.

Trump opposed the war in Iraq, but now says he would use military force to fight ISIL (ISIS).

Trump once supported a surtax on the rich, but now want the top income tax rate cut in half, and is against the inheritance tax.

Trump is best at attacking everyone personally, but has no set stands or details on most public issues, and prefers to use slogans and emotion to gain public support of those disillusioned with government as it is.

Trump has become most notorious for his “Birther” claims about Barack Obama, but otherwise is constantly contradictory on many issues.

Trump is hard to figure out, as he supports private sector labor unions; is against cutting Social Security and Medicare; reluctant to send military forces all over the world; and against the Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal.

But he is against teachers unions and public employee unions generally; against an increase in the minimum wage; against those who claim there is climate change; against gun control; and against any path to citizenship for undocumented workers, and already infamous for his attacks on Mexican immigrants and Mexico.

Ultimately, Donald Trump is for Donald Trump, a person who will prostitute himself and change his views when it is convenient; a man who is a publicity hound who is more in this race for the attention he gains; a man who appeals to fears and frustrations and discontent among average voters unhappy with their government, and easily accepting conspiracy theories.

In that regard, Donald Trump is a demagogue, in ways like Huey P. Long on the left; and like George C. Wallace on the right, and sadly, we know what happened to these two men, one assassinated, and the other paralyzed for life by an assassin.

The story of Long and Wallace are covered in my forthcoming book on Presidential Assassinations, coming out August 15 from Rowman Littlefield, entitiled: “Assassinations, Threats, and the American Presidency: From Andrew Jackson to Barack Obama”, available on this website at a 30 percent discount, using the discount code 4M15ATAP with order from the publisher!

The Top Ten Transformational Presidents

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The issue of “transformational” Presidents has revived lately, as it is clear that we are living through a “transformational” Presidency of Barack Obama, with still a year and a half to go in his tenure in the Oval Office.

With all of the controversy that surrounds Barack Obama, there is no doubt now that Obama has been a transformational President in so many ways.

So the question arises, who among our Presidents has been “transformational”? And in what order would Presidents on this list be ranked?

It seems clear that the top of the list would have to be George Washington, for having established standards and traditions that would be long lasting; and Abraham Lincoln, for keeping the Union together during the Civil War, and ending slavery.

Following Washington and Lincoln would be Franklin D. Roosevelt, who took America through the Great Depression and the Second World War, and changed the relationship of the federal government with the population of the nation, promoting a safety net that would help those most needy. He also created a large federal government that would never become smaller again, due to the Great Depression and the Second World War, and then the Cold War.

Once we go beyond Washington, Lincoln, and FDR, ranking gets much more difficult, but this author thinks the rest of the top ten would be as follows from number four to number ten:

Theodore Roosevelt, who would revive the Presidential office from slumber and use the “bully pulpit” to accomplish reform and federal government regulation of the economy, and started America’s role in world affairs.

Lyndon B. Johnson, who would promote the passage of massive reforms, including civil rights laws, Medicare, and a War on Poverty.

Woodrow Wilson, who would promote major reforms domestically and involvement in world affairs, taking America out of isolationism as a policy during the First World War.

Ronald Reagan, who changed the direction of the nation to Conservatism after a half century of Liberalism, and negotiated arms agreements with the Soviet Union, and helped to bring down the rival super power.

Barack Obama, who brought about health care coverage for most Americans; avoided a massive war; promoted social change in many areas; presided over a major revival of the economy only matched by FDR; and became a major environmental supporter.

Harry Truman, who responded to the Cold War with the Soviet Union in an effective way and determined the direction of foreign policy for a half century, and institutionalized the New Deal of FDR.

James K. Polk, who accomplished the great expansion of American territory by treaty with Great Britain and war with Mexico, creating the continental United States.

Notice that Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton do NOT make this list!

Commentary on this analysis is welcomed!

“We Are Taking Mexico’s Problems”: The History Of American Immigration!

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Donald Trump has become infamous for his racist, nativist statements about Mexican immigration and Mexico.

He tells us that “We are taking Mexico’s problems”!

The history of American immigration is that the United States has ALWAYS taken on the “problems” of other nations’ oppressed populations, with the image of America being the Statue of Liberty, that we welcome those who are denied economic opportunity, civil rights and civil liberties, and are trying to escape war in their homelands.

America is a land of immigrants, and not all of them have been “legal” or “documented”.

People have fled to the Unites States in desperation, to escape deprivation, crime, war, discrimination, prejudice, and hatred.

And each group that has come, there has been fear that some of those arriving might bring in crime, and a small percentage have done so.

But that does not mean that we should hold 98 percent of immigrants who are good people and just want a better life from coming in to America, as the land of opportunity.

If we had done that, our nation would not have been blessed with the major contributions made by millions of immigrants.

And for those who did not get special notice for their contributions, they were still law abiding citizens, bringing up their children to be Americans, and helping the economic growth of the American republic.

We had Irish gangs; Italian Mafia; Jewish gangsters; Chinese opium dealers; and bad elements from every ethnic and nationality group that has become part of the American fabric.

But the overwhelming positive accomplishments of America’s immigrants far outweigh the few cases of criminal elements, and we should not allow stereotyping of any immigrant group to be spread by hateful propaganda.

We have seen the discrimination and prejudice seen in the immigration laws in the 1920s against Jews, Italians, and others from post World War I Europe. We have seen the anti Oriental immigration laws against the Chinese in the 1880s and the Japanese in the 1920s; we have seen the riots and bloodshed against many different immigrant groups over time. We have seen the nativist movements that led to the Know Nothing Party in the 1850s, the anti Semitism of the 1930s and 1940s, and now the Islamophobia of the past decade.

The fact that we have Congressman Steve King of Iowa; former Congressman Tom Tancredo of Colorado; past Presidential contender Pat Buchanan; Islamophobe Pamela Geller; and a whole slew of right wing talk radio and Fox News Channel commentators who are nativists and racists, does not mean we should take it lying down.

We need to fight back vigorously against such hatemongers, and while we need to work on ending illegal immigration, we should welcome those who are here, and only deport those shown to be engaged in criminal conspiracies.

The Dangerous Mental Instability Of Donald Trump Endangers American Politics And Foreign Policy

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America is faced with a political crisis that many seem not to realize exists, as the Presidential Election campaign of 2016 evolves.

Businessman Donald Trump is looked at by many as a cartoon character, someone not to be taken seriously.

This is a major mistake, as Donald Trump is a maniac and an egotist who endangers American politics and foreign relations.

Many people laugh and say there is no way that Trump can be the Republican Presidential nominee, and no way he could be elected President.

While that certainly seems legitimate to believe, the discontent of the American people with their political system and the role of America in world affairs, means that there is no way to say how Americans at large might react to Trumps’s blustering, bullying, and braggadocio.

Trump has been on the attack against every Republican candidate for President, and has not minced words in his insults, and it makes great theater.

But his insults undermine the concept of civility and decency in our politics, and will lead to a further disillusionment and deterioration of our body politic.

It seems apparent that Trump will run as a third party candidate, since the GOP will do everything it can to prevent his nomination, and that will insure that the Democrats will win, the only good result that is likely to occur from the Trump candidacy.

But Trump should not be seen as simply a laughable figure who adds entertainment to the political scene.

He must be seen for what he really is—a dangerously mentally ill and unstable personality, who could cause the spread of racism and nativism as legitimate, since he is engaged in such beliefs. He could also cause international instability with his attacks on Mexico, Russia, China, Iran and other nations, as many ill informed Americans might agree with his sentiments on these nations, and could, therefore, provoke new stresses on President Obama’s ability to control foreign relations.

We do not need a “loose cannon” who has no limits and endangers the nation, as his rhetoric could also inspire “lone wolves” to attempt to harm President Barack Obama, as well as any and all of the Presidential candidates, and even, ironically, Donald Trump himself! Do not forget that Trump still contends that Obama was not born in the United States, and “Birthers” still congregate around him and his candidacy!

A Rare Moment Of Courage And True Leadership: Rick Perry Vs. Donald Trump

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Former Texas Governor Rick Perry, the longest serving in state history, and one of the longest serving Governors in American history with 14 years in office, has had his critics and naysayers, and still does, as he pursues, for the second time, the Republican nomination for President.

Perry made a fool of himself in the 2011 Republican debate, where he could not remember the third agency he wanted to shut down, and he was ridiculed ever after for that, and despite his being the front runner for a short time in that 2012 Presidential race, he collapsed quickly, and it was thought he would never again seek the Presidency.

But then, Perry bought impressive spectacles, and he looks better, and he has chosen to run again, claiming health issues were a factor in his poor performance at that embarrassing debate event.

Perry still seems like a lightweight in many ways, and seems to have little chance to be the Republican nominee.

But in his defense, Perry defended in state tuition to DREAM kids, young people who, technically, are not eligible to be citizens, defending what he had done in challenge to the mean spirit of Mitt Romney, who talked about “self deportation”, which really hurt his cause in 2012.

Now, Perry has been very strong in his denunciation of Donald Trump, for his racist and nativist attacks on Mexico and Mexican American immigrants, and has, courageously, spoken about the great contributions that Mexican immigrants and others from Latin America have brought to the United States.

Perry has improved his reputation by doing so, and despite his shortcomings and the high likelihood that he is going nowhere in the Presidential race, this is a time to commend him, praise him, and say he comes across, at the least, as a more decent man, a man of character, than many others, including his own state’s Senator Ted Cruz; Mike Huckabee; Rick Santourm; Bobby Jindal; and many in the Republican Party in the House of Representatives!

Donald Trump The Achilles Heel Of The Republican Party: A Nightmare Scenario In The Making

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Donald Trump has become the center of attention over his racist, nativist remarks about Mexicans and Mexican Americans, and he has become the Achilles Heel of the Republican Party.

If they could, Republicans would love to kick Trump out of the race, but they cannot do that legally.

All they can do is criticize and attack him, but so far, they have been reluctant to stir up Trump’s temper, as Trump uncontrolled is a scary thing.

Trump is like a bull in a China shop, and he will be the center of attention in the first Republican debate, sponsored by Fox News Channel.

Only ten candidates, not 16, will be allowed on the debate stage, meaning it is likely that such leading party figures as John Kasich of Ohio, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and Bobby Jindal of Louisiana will not be there, even though the first debate will be in Ohio, and John Kasich, its Governor, and one of the more solid candidates, should be there!

Trump has no limits in his attacks on fellow Republicans, and has started it already, and it will be, certainly, an entertaining event.

The fact that Trump is second in polls is shocking, but not surprising, as it is easy to find at least 12-15 percent of the American people who are clueless about politics, or have a mean spirit which Trump well represents.

The rhetoric will be flying at that first debate and in future debates, and it will be good theater, but not good for the nation, as to imagine Trump being the GOP nominee is a nightmare scenario.

But what is more likely, as attacks mount on Trump, and as he gets more frustrated and furious, that he could mount a third party challenge to both the Republicans and the Democrats.

If that happens, the Republicans will suffer a defeat similar to Ross Perot’s effect on George H. W. Bush in 1992, and potentially similar to Theodore Roosevelt’s effect on William Howard Taft in 1912!

It would be extremely ironic if Hillary Clinton benefited from this, as her husband, Bill Clinton, did so in 1992!

Donald Trump Anti-Mexican Rant Guarantees Large Hispanic Vote For Democrats, Insuring Presidential Victory in 2016!

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Newly minted Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump has destroyed any chance of a growing percentage of Mexican Americans and other Hispanic Americans voting Republican in 2016.

The issue of Hispanic immigration, whether legal or undocumented, is an issue that will NOT go away!

There may be eleven million undocumented immigrants in America, and in ideal terms, that should not be.

But there is no way that these eleven million immigrants, or any great percentage of them, are going to be deported, and it would be extreme injustice in many cases to do such a thing!

Many from Mexico and from elsewhere in Latin America, and also from Asia, came because of political and social turmoil; economic hard times; and desire to better one’s lives!

This is nothing new, as ALL immigrant groups throughout American history have come for the same reasons.

Yes, a small percentage of immigrants are criminal, and they need to be dealt with and be deported if undocumented.

But the vast number of immigrants, likely 98-99 percent just want a opportunity for a better life.

So Donald Trump, stating that people from Mexico are mostly drug dealers, rapists, and other kinds of criminals, is simply guaranteeing that no respectable Mexican American who is a citizen, or any other Hispanic American or Latino of any Latin nationality who is a citizen, will vote Republican. And more young Hispanics and Latinos will register in droves to fight against a party that promotes nativism and hate!

The Republican Party already has had a problem with nativism, but Donald Trump has made it worse!

And realize that Mexican Americans alone are the second largest ethnic group in America, with nearly 35 million people and 11 percent of the population, and with over 50 million total population from Latin America combined, with Mexican Americans being 64 percent of the total. German Americans are the largest, over 50 million.

And having Jeb Bush’s wife as Mexican American; or Ted Cruz or Marco Rubio being Cuban American (about 3.5 percent of all Hispanics), will not make up for what Trump has done!

The Republican Party is done, as far as the Hispanic-Latinos vote is concerned, and with that, the 2016 election! The Democrats are assured of winning the Presidency!

And as far as relations with our neighbor to the South, Mexico, and to claim a wall will be built and Mexico will pay for it, is Trump ready to start a war with our neighbor and act in an imperialistic manner? Does he think Mexico would just lie down and drop dead? The man is a maniac, a dangerous man, who could cause massive boundary issues, way beyond any we have have had with Mexico!

Shame And Embarrassment Over Hatred And Prejudice Displayed Against Central American Children And Women Refugees In Murietta, California!

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This entire nation should hold its head in shame and embarrassment over the outrageous, ugly, prejudicial display of behavior by so called “good Americans”, many of them probably quite devout Christians, who blocked buses in Murietta, California, which were carrying Central American children and women refugees to a Border Patrol facility to deal with the growing migration crisis into America’s borders.

These women and children, some as young as infants, are escaping bloodshed and violence in Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua, not trying to undermine US security, but seeing America as their last hope for survival!

We have an ugly history of nativism, of anti immigrant bigotry, throughout our history, but that does not excuse this kind of behavior in a humanitarian crisis as this one is! Carrying the American flag and shouting “USA, USA” is something that makes one want to vomit, as this is not patriotism, but rather pure hate and poison by people who seem unwilling to recognize that this experience will scar the lives of those children, something these bigots would not wish to be visited upon their own children!

America has become a nation with a hardhearted manner, due to the viciousness of the right wing talk show hosts, and the Tea Party Movement in Congress and the states, and nothing is beyond the pale to these hateful, sick elements in our society!

We must not allow such hate to consume us any further, and this is not freedom of speech or assembly, and future such demonstrations must be cracked down upon by police and the Border Patrol.

It is most ironic that these despicable people are sure to be ignorant of the fact that their town is named after an Hispanic land owner, and that the land they call “their own”, was stolen from Native Americans, and then controlled by Mexico, until the US went to war in an aggressive manner in the Mexican War of 1846-1848, and took the land away from our southern neighbor. If anything, we, as a nation, are the true “intruders”, not people from Central America trying to save their lives and those of their children!

John McCain, Lindsey Graham, And NEOCON Hawks: Total Lunatics!

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Senator John McCain of Arizona and Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina seem ready to have America involved in another major war in Ukraine, as if we do not have enough loss of treasure and life in Iraq and Afghanistan already!

Thank goodness that McCain was not elected President in 2008, and with moron Sarah Palin by his side, a heartbeat away, as we would have been engaged with troops on the ground in Libya, Syria, and Iran, along with staying in Iraq and Afghanistan, under a man who thinks war solves issues, and that America has no limits on military spending!

Lindsey Graham is always at McCain’s side, ready to bomb and attack, while very willing to cut spending for the poor and the elderly, and it makes one wonder how he sleeps at night!

But this is the Neocons at work, destroying our budget and our unity, in their mad dash to impose America’s will, as if this is the Cold War all over again!

The fact is that they refuse to understand that Crimea is to Russia what Mexico is to us, a boundary line that we will defend at all costs. If Mexico became unreliable and a threat to America, we would intervene as Vladamir Putin has in Crimea.

It is not an issue of endorsement of Putin and Russia, but rather an issue of Crimea being their “back yard”, and there is no way that Russia will allow an unfriendly Crimea, where a majority are Russian ethnically, to be hostile to Russian interests.

This is nothing new in history, and considering the numerous examples of US intervention since World War II. some of them justified and many NOT justified, who are we to dictate to other nations on the safety of their borders?

So it is a question of reality, not morals and ethics!

The Sad Reality About Ukraine: History Against Military Intervention!

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The right wing is already busy at work attacking President Obama, regarding the decision of Russian leader Vladamir Putin to intervene militarily in Ukraine, putting Russian forces in Crimea, the portion of Ukraine with a majority of Russians, and the center of the Black Sea seaport crucial to the Russian navy, and an important “warm water” port for Russia during the long winters in that nation.

All of us can condemn and deplore this event, and be sad about it to the extreme. But it is not at all surprising in reality, as to expect that Russia would allow an anti Russian government, at least in that part of Ukraine, is living in a dream world!

Major nations who have the power and numbers, historically, do NOT allow their neighbors to be unfriendly or rivals of their nation. Every nation pursues a policy in foreign affairs based on its national interest, and what is possible.

This has been part of the reality of America, as well as the old Soviet Union, China, and any other nation, when they have power and influence, and bemoaned when they do not!

The United States has been fortunate enough to have “weak” direct neighbors in Canada and Mexico, and we have been willing to intervene in Mexico when we have not appreciated their governments or policies, as in the 1840s and in the 1910s.

Yes, we have had Mexico as a “problem” at times since, with undocumented immigrants and drug dealings, but at least we have had a friendly government in Mexico, willing to work with us, and on the same page generally on most issues.

The closest we have had to a national security matter is, of course, Cuba, and we went to the brink in the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, and while the Castro brothers still control that island, even today, they are no direct menace to us, and if they were seen as such, we could still use our power to intervene.

So, looking at that reality, that nations with power will use it for their benefit, to have an non-antagonistic direct neighbor on their border, and with economic advantages also a consideration, along with defense and naval matters, there is, sadly, little we can do about Ukraine, except hope for a minimal involvement in that nation by the Russians, but the thought of a military or nuclear response is totally insane, and could not be utilized!

Keep in mind that President Dwight D. Eisenhower could do nothing about Soviet involvement in its neighbors, Poland, East Germany, and Hungary, and neither could Lyndon B. Johnson do anything about Soviet involvement in Czechoslovakia!