Mike Pence

Quandary For Democrats: Progressive Or Moderate? Man Or Woman? White Or Nonwhite? Young Or Old? Senator/Governor Or A Nontraditional Candidate?

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As we enter the month of April, and as more Democratic candidates for President are expected to announce, and as the first Democratic Presidential debate is set for Miami, Florida, on Wednesday and Thursday, June 26 and 27, the quandary for Democrats and the future remains.

Should the Democrats nominate a progressive, such as Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren? Should they nominate a man or one of the many women who are running? Should they nominate a white man such as Beto O’Rourke or Joe Biden or Bernie Sanders, or a non white such as Cory Booker? Should they nominate an old guy such as Biden or Sanders, or a young man such as O’Rourke, Julian Castro, or Pete Buttigieg? Should they nominate, as traditionally is done, a sitting or former Senator or Governor, or nontraditional candidate, such as a sitting or former member of the House of Representatives, or a sitting or former Mayor, or a person who hs served as a cabinet officer, or someone who is openly gay?

This is the amazing list of alternatives facing the Democrats, with the ultimate question being who can defeat Donald Trump, or if he leaves, Mike Pence in the 2020 Presidential election.

Victory is essential, and trying to figure out which strategy is best is a massive challenge to Democratic voters in the upcoming primaries and caucuses which start ten months from now.

South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg: A New Rising Star In The Presidential Race

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A new rising star in the Democratic Presidential race is South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg (pronounced Buddhajudge) who has been the mayor of this mid sized city/ college town since 2012, and has won both four year terms handily with 74 and 80 percent of the vote in his two races.

We have never had a small city mayor elected President directly, and only three Presidents have been mayors, including Andrew Johnson of Greeneville, Tennessee; Grover Cleveland of Buffalo, New York; and Calvin Coolidge of Northampton, Massachusetts, but with Johnson and Coolidge succeeding to the Presidency upon the death of Abraham Lincoln and Warren G. Harding, and none of them in office as mayor for what is now seven years for Buttigieg.

If Buttigieg were to become President, he would be the second Indianan after Benjamin Harrison to become President, but with six Indianans being Vice President (four Republicans and two Democrats)—Schuyler Colfax under Ulysses S. Grant; Charles Fairbanks under Theodore Roosevelt; Dan Quayle under George H. W. Bush; Mike Pence under Donald Trump; Thomas Hendricks under Grover Cleveland, first term; and Thomas Marshall under Woodrow Wilson. Additionally, William English ran with Democrat Winfield Scott Hancock in 1880, and John Kern ran with William Jennings Bryan in 1908.

Also, if Buttigieg were to become President, he would be the first gay President, and also have a husband, who would become First Gentleman, instead of Bill Clinton, who would have had that title if his wife, Hillary Clinton, had won the White House in 2016.

Additionally, he would be, by far, the youngest President at age 39 and one day old on Inauguration Day, 2021, making him about three years and ten and a half months younger than Theodore Roosevelt, and four years and seven and a half months younger than John F. Kennedy.

Buttigieg is impressive as a successful and popular Mayor of South Bend, who has improved the city during his mayoralty; and as a graduate of Harvard University, he went on to be a Rhodes Scholar at Pembroke College of Oxford University in Great Britain. He also served in the US Navy at the rank of Lieutenant, and was a Naval Intelligence Officer who served in the war in Afghanistan, and is still in the Naval Reserve.

Also of note is that Buttigieg won the competition for the “JFK Profiles In Courage Essay Contest” in 2000, writing about the integrity and courage of then Independent Congressman Bernie Sanders, and traveled to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library to accept the award from Caroline Kennedy, and met other members of the Kennedy family. Buttigieg had been valedictorian of his high school class, and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa at Harvard University, and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard with a degree in History and Literature.

The Decision Of Sherrod Brown Not To Run For President Opens Opportunity For Amy Klobuchar Of Minnesota To Be The “Midwest” Candidate

Ronald 5 Comments

The decision of Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown to forego an opportunity to run for President as a Midwesterner in a time when the Midwest is clearly the battleground in the Electoral College in 2020 is a open opportunity for Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar to be the “Midwest” candidate.

Klobuchar is the only Midwesterner likely to run, although Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan, a fellow moderate, has hinted at running, but being a United States Senator is an edge over being a House member.

The main point against Klobuchar is the report that she is a nasty, unpleasant person to work for, but even if that is true, the record shows many others also have that reputation, including Presidents ranging from Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton, to Donald Trump in the last half century.

Also, it is said she is too ‘moderate” in that she does not believe that everything promoted and promised by Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and others is possible in the next term, and that she will not promise what she sees as campaign propaganda, leading to disillusionment when it is not possible to accomplish these massive pledges.

This seems perfectly reasonable to this author and blogger, and Klobuchar has a solid record of accomplishment, and of “crossing the aisle” to gain bipartisan support on legislation. She is in the DFL (Democratic Farmer Labor Party) tradition in Minnesota, the heir of Hubert Humphrey, Eugene McCarthy, Walter Mondale, Paul Wellstone, and even Al Franken (unfairly forced out of the Senate) by bullying over unproved charges of sexual harassment promoted aggressively by New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, for whom this author and blogger lost all respect.

Klobuchar will be 60 in 2020, close to the ideal average age of most Presidents taking office, and she would bring to the Presidency a sensible commitment to social justice, avoiding extreme statements that would only assist Donald Trump and Mike Pence in their reelection campaign.

She would also bring a reasonable woman into the Presidency, more cautious and sensible in her rhetoric than the alternative female candidates.

And if she chose Julian Castro of Texas, we would have a Democratic ticket of a woman and a Latino, overcoming two barriers at once, and leaving Castro, who would be age 46 in 2020, open to a future run for President after two terms of President Klobuchar, and be the precise average age of Presidents, mid 50s, in 2028.

One Year To The Iowa Caucuses, And The Democratic Presidential Race Is Wide Open And Even Chaotic

Ronald 8 Comments

One year from February 3, a Monday in 2020, we will witness the 2020 Democratic Presidential Caucuses, the first test on the road to the Presidential nomination, as it turned out to be exactly 11 years ago on January 3, 2008, when Barack Obama won out over Hillary Clinton.

One year out, it is impossible to figure out who will be the Democratic Presidential nominee, but with the urgency that it is essential that whoever is selected is able to win the Presidency, and save the nation from a second term of Donald Trump or a succession of Mike Pence.

Within just one month, February 3 to March 3, assuredly, the field, which may start as high as 25 candidates, will be winnowed to no more than 5, and March 3, Super Tuesday, with California and Texas and a vast number of other states voting, could cut it down to no more than 3 finalists.

A prognostication, which may prove to be totally preposterous in retrospect in a year, this blogger senses that the following five will be the ultimate finalists:

Vice President Joe Biden, representing the older, establishment, experienced group of candidates and the Barack Obama legacy.

Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, representing the Midwest heartland, and like Biden, appeal to white working class voters.

Former San Antonio Mayor and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro, a Latino, and younger by months if he became President than Bill Clinton, from Texas, representing the largest minority in America in a state and section of the nation with growing potential to turn Blue in the next decade, and transform the Electoral College in favor of the Democrats long term.

Senator Kamala Harris of California, mixed race (mother from India and father from Jamaica), often called “the female Barack Obama”, representing a candidate who revolutionizes the whole election process with her presence, and if she wins California, it could propel her into front runner status.

I would sense that the Presidential-Vice Presidential team will come from this group of five, but we shall see as the next year transpires.

Christopher Wray, Gina Haspel, Michael Rogers And Dan Coats, Heads Of Intelligence Agencies, Strongly Disagree With Donald Trump On Major National Security Threats

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The heads of the national intelligence agencies testified in open session before Congressional committees on Tuesday, and warned of the dangers to national security that exist in an unsafe world.

Christopher Wray, head of the FBI; Gina Haspel, head of the CIA; Michael Rogers, head of the NSA; and Dan Coats, the Director of National Intelligence, warned that America faced great threats from Russia, China, North Korea, ISIS, and Iran, making clear that they did not agree with President Donald Trump, who has undermined all intelligence, and says none of these nations and forces, except for Iran, are a threat.

Ironically, the three Intelligence heads said Iran is actually keeping the nuclear agreement that Donald Trump has given up, despite the support of the Western democratic nations–Great Britain, France, and Germany–for continuation of that agreement.

The “love affair” of Trump for Kim Jong Un; the trust and secret meetings that Trump has had with Vladimir Putin; the rocky relationship between the US and China; and the attitude that ISIS is no longer a threat in the Middle East, are alarming, and yet all Trump says in response to the intelligence conclusions is to say that these people need to go back to school.

It is Trump who is truly dangerous and too trusting of authoritarian nations, when he has no experience, no background, no knowledge on international relations, and is causing undue threats to the future of American foreign policy as a result.

Instead, Trump sees the Border Wall issue with Mexico as more of a national security threat, when none of the intelligence agencies see any threat on the Southern border, and dismiss the whole issue of the Border Wall as unnecessary.

We have a President who is truly warped in his views, dangerous to the nation, and could be leading us down a road toward true disaster, which could be far worse than September 11.

And we have to wonder why he engages in secret diplomacy without translators or note takers in meetings, many unreported, with Putin, and it all makes one think of the film from 1962, THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE.

We cannot afford to have such an uneducated and morally and ethically challenged President as Donald Trump in authority much longer, without a disastrous effect on America and its future.

Even Mike Pence, with all of his horrible social views on many issues, cannot be imagined to be likely to follow the same foreign policy as Trump, were he to succeed to the Presidency. We are at a point where he may be the only likely alternative, but better for American national security and safety than Donald Trump.

Billionaires Howard Schultz And Michael Bloomberg Are NOT The Way To Go, Following Donald Trump

Ronald 11 Comments

The campaign for the Presidency has begun with strong attacks by Billionaires Howard Schultz and Michael Bloomberg against the Democratic Party going too far to the Left, such as Medicare For All and Free Public College and University Tuition, for the first two years of higher education.

Schultz is the bigger threat, as he plans to run as an Independent, and by so doing, could help Donald Trump/Mike Pence to win another term in the White House.

But Bloomberg is also attacking progressive ideas as unworkable, without any concept of how to make health care and higher education, as well as environmental advancement, and even other issues, to advance to a more fair and just future.

After the disaster of Donald Trump, will the nation go for two billionaires who, while certainly not as conservative as Trump, and having a nicer facade, really do not understand the plight of the struggling middle class and the poor in this country?

And, while no one wishes to discuss this issue, the fact that both Schultz and Bloomberg are Jewish, in a nation where antisemitism still is prevalent in the South and Midwest, encourages more danger against Jews, by two men who have no clue as to what it is to live from paycheck to paycheck.

Their running for the Presidency, as they are making clear, only encourages more conspiracy theories on the Right, and also more left wing anger, and undermined the possibility of either, realistically, being able to promote political unity in the 2020s.

Terrible Idea To Have Notable Third Party Or Independent Presidential Candidate In 2020 Presidential Election

Ronald 5 Comments

The thought that a notable third party or independent Presidential candidate might participate in the 2020 Presidential election is a terrible idea.

It would cause a potential Electoral College disaster, allowing a major party nominee to win with low 40s or high 30s percentage of the popular vote.

So when we hear that former Ohio Governor John Kasich or former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is thinking of just that, it is clearly a danger sign that might help Donald Trump or Mike Pence win the next term in the Presidency.

That would be total disaster for the nation, and would take the already downward moral and ethical trend in America to continue, and insure an extremist right wing agenda into the mid 2020s, including a totally extreme right wing Supreme Court and lower federal courts to go on for 30 or more years into the future.

It would also likely make it impossible for the Senate to go Democratic, and for the House of Representatives to remain Democratic, once we had the confusion of a well known third party or independent Presidential candidate siphoning votes, more likely from the Democratic nominee.

While there is no way legally to prevent this, we have to hope that sanity will rule, and we will get a two way race, with all of its attendant shortcomings, rather than the mess that a third serious candidate could bring to the American political system.

January 22-23, 1973, An Historic 48 Hours: The Death Of Lyndon B. Johnson, End Of US Involvement In Vietnam War, Abortion Rights Approved By Supreme Court

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Rarely in American history has there been a period of 24-48 hours with events occurring that have had such a massive impact on the nation, as January 22-23, 1973.

We saw the death of President Lyndon B. Johnson on January 22, 1973, at the age of 64, two days after he chose not to show up at the second inauguration of Richard Nixon, leaving no former President at those festivities. He died, depressed that the Vietnam War had not been ended, but 24 hours later, the Paris Accords were announced, ending US involvement in Vietnam, leading to withdrawal of all US military forces within two months, although later those Accords were violated by North Vietnam in April 1975, leading to the unification of North and South Vietnam.

Also, on the day that LBJ died, the Supreme Court came up with a decision that has more divided America to this moment, in a social sense, than any other, and that was Roe V Wade, allowing abortion rights to women in the first two trimesters, spurring a right wing “Pro Life” movement, and the promotion of Christian extremist movements in American politics, which helped to bring about the victory of Donald Trump and Mike Pence in 2016.

The Great Society programs of LBJ have been under attack since 1973, particularly under Ronald Reagan, and now Donald Trump, and the effects of the Vietnam War still permeate American society.

And if the right wing has its way, we will eventually see the reversal of the Roe V Wade decision, although the vast majority of Americans support abortion rights.

Wrong For Vice President Mike Pence And His Wife Karen Pence To Promote A Bigoted, Narrow Minded View Of Gays, Lesbians, And Transgenders, Not In The Tradition Of Jesus, Who Promoted Tolerance And Open Mindedness

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It is extremely disturbing to see Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, the Second Lady, Karen Pence, to be promoting an anti gay, anti lesbian, and anti transgender agenda.

Karen Pence is teaching art at a right wing “Christian” school that bans gay, lesbian, transgender or bisexual teaching and other staff members, and also bans students of those descriptions or students who have parents of those groups.

They also promote an extreme right wing view of Christianity, including against premarital sex, adultery, and preach that women are to obey their husbands.

What century are we in? This is NOT a Christian nation, as we have always promoted, from the Founding Fathers onward, the principle of the separation of church and state.

We may have a majority of people in this nation who were born to a broad based Christian parentage, but of many different sects and beliefs, and that is not the same as saying we are a “Christian” nation, as we are a nation of all religions, with no favoritism or preference for any one religious belief. Jews,Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, other religious minorities, and even atheists and agnostics are all protected from any persecution, discrimination, or mistreatment by any institution.

For Karen Pence to have such a narrow minded view when she could be the next First Lady is a demonstration of a woman and her husband being so outrageously hateful, discriminatory, and prejudiced, and is unacceptable in a future President or First Lady.

We have never had this before, and if the Pences end up in the White House, and try to impose their theocratic views on the nation, they are in for a massive battle and struggle, as the vast number of Americans will not tolerate such bigotry.

2019 Will Be The Most Significant Year Since 1968, Tumultuous And Transformative

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The year 2019 will assuredly be the most tumultuous and transformative year since 1968.

The Democrats taking over the House of Representatives means full investigation of the Presidency of Donald Trump, and the likelihood of the impeachment of Donald Trump.

It might seem that Trump will survive in office, but this blogger believes he will be forced out by resignation, and a deal whereby his children and son in law will avoid prosecution, if Donald Trump agrees to resign.

The pressure on Trump will grow, and his health will likely get worse, and while it might seem that he will not give in and resign, the same thought 45 years ago about Richard Nixon, this blogger’s belief that he will leave office by mid year is strongly held.

If he leaves office no later than June 20, 2019, then Trump will have served exactly 29 months, matching the exact term of President Warren G. Harding from 1921-1923, which is the 4th shortest term of any President in American history.

The likelihood of a President Mike Pence is strong, but he would face party opposition from a number of Republican potential challengers, including John Kasich, Jeff Flake, or Bob Corker, all of whom will not be in public office in 2019.

Also, the likelihood of growing conflict between Chief Justice John Roberts and President Trump will become part of the story of the end of the Trump Presidency.

And Nancy Pelosi, the best Speaker of the House since Thomas “Tip” O’Neill (1977-1987), will play a major role in the events transpiring next year.

And also expect a major battle between the “old timers” (Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders), as well as between them and a new generation of leadership much more diverse, for the Presidential Election Of 2020, including Amy Klobuchar, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, Julian Castro, Eric Garcetti, and Chris Murphy, among other Democratic contenders.