Mike Pence

The Never Ending Nightmare Of Donald Trump, Who Has Disgraced, Undermined, Tarnished, Stained, And Harmed The Reputation Of The Presidency!

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As we see the end of the first year of the Donald Trump Presidency, it is clear that it is a never ending nightmare visited on the American people.

Donald Trump has disgraced the office of the Presidency.

Donald Trump has undermined trust and faith in the law, the Constitution, and American democracy, and demonstrated lack of respect for freedom of the press.

Donald Trump has tarnished the reputation of America as the leader of the world.

Donald Trump has stained the concept of decency, dignity, and concern of the leader of the nation for those less fortunate, or facing historic discrimination.

Donald Trump has harmed the reputation of the Presidency as an office which promotes basic moral and ethical values.

Donald Trump has affected the relationships between men and women, boys and girls, in a deleterious manner, which will harm the nation long term.

Donald Trump has manufactured and promoted more lies than any American politician in American history, and undermines the ability of Americans to respect the office and the person who holds that position.

Donald Trump has damaged America long term in just one year, as with the long term effects of his lower court appointments, and his selection of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, who seems short term to be further to the right politically than Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, and maybe even the man he replaced, Justice Antonin Scalia.

Donald Trump has left a legacy of environmental damage that will not be easily reversed, and of harm to labor and consumers that will set back the dwindling middle class and the working class for decades.

Donald Trump has also given us the worst set of cabinet members ever, far worse already than Richard Nixon, Warren G. Harding, or Ulysses S. Grant.

Donald Trump has left already an indelible mark on America, and is on the way to the worst four year term in history, bar none, and with the danger of two wars being started, if he lasts into the end of the second year–against North Korea and Iran.

We should all hope that Donald Trump is forced out of office soon, although the prospect of President Mike Pence is a ghastly thought at this point.

What the Russians did has succeeded, destroying our presidential election, and giving us horrifying alternatives in Pence, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, and Senate President Pro Tempore Orrin Hatch, when clearly, Hillary Clinton won an election that was stolen from her!

Are We On The Way To President Paul Ryan?

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With the growing evidence of Russian collusion and lying by Donald Trump, Mike Pence, and many others in the administration, the possibility is growing of the first time in American history where the Speaker of the House of Representatives might become President by succession.

It could have happened in 1974 had there not been the 25th Amendment, added to the Constitution in 1967.

That amendment allowed for the appointment of Gerald Ford to replace Spiro Agnew, and within eight months of becoming Vice President, Ford became President.

If this had not been able to happen, there would have been no Vice President for ten months, and Speaker of the House Carl Albert of Oklahoma would have become President, instead of Gerald Ford, when Richard Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974.

Ryan may very well have been aware of Russian collusion in the eyes of some observers, but unless that is proved to be so, he would become President if Mike Pence was forced out, and Donald Trump was forced out, and if there was no time to select a new Vice President under the 25th Amendment.

Ryan, not at all admired, and much criticized by this blogger in 2012, when he was the Vice Presidential nominee for Mitt Romney. would be a terrible successor, with his Ayn Rand libertarian philosophy, and his desire to privatize Medicare and Social Security, and end the concept of government assistance to the needy through Medicaid, Food Stamps, and aid to dependent children.

We are in a time frame where Donald Trump is a nightmare, but Mike Pence, with his overtly theocratic view of religion and government is a different nightmare, and Ryan is a third example of what horrible choices the nation faces from the results of the Presidential Election of 2016.

It will take decades to recover the damage already done, and the damage yet to be done.

Mike Pence And Spiro Agnew: Two Crooked Vice Presidents?

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It is seemingly a possibility that Vice President Mike Pence could be involved in coverup of Russian collusion in the 2016 Presidential Election, and that he has often lied about his involvement in that corrupt action.

Pence was the leader of the transition team for Donald Trump, and had to know about the illegal actions of Michael Flynn in that transition period, and in the 25 days that Flynn was National Security Adviser, before he was fired.

Pence is deeply enmeshed in the scandal that is being revealed by the investigation of Robert Mueller, and he may not survive to succeed Donald Trump, because he failed to keep himself separate from the emerging scandal.

This is very different than Gerald Ford, who insured by his words and actions that he could not be accused of any involvement in the Watergate Scandal under Richard Nixon.

Ford had replaced Spiro Agnew in the Vice Presidency under the 25th Amendment, with Agnew involved in conspiracy, bribery, extortion and tax fraud, having accepted payments from contractors during his time as Governor of Maryland and even the Vice Presidency itself, and resigned, having pleaded guilty to one felony charge of tax evasion.

So it could be that Mike Pence will go down in history as the second crooked Vice President forced out of office.

Pence is about to be interviewed by Robert Mueller, and Pence has had his own personal lawyer for months, so stay tuned as to what might happen that no one would ever have conceived when the Trump Presidency began.

Michael Flynn Pleading Guilty A Sign Of Trouble For Donald Trump, His Family, And Mike Pence

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With former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn pleading guilty to lying to the FBI, the odds of Donald Trump leaving the Presidency sooner, rather than later, are growing astronomically.

This is a massive sign of trouble for Trump, for his children—Donald Trump, Jr, Ivanka Trump, and Jared Kushner—and even for Vice President Mike Pence, who was head of the transition team after the Presidential Election of 2016, all of whom seem clearly to have been involved in obstruction of justice in the investigation of Russian collusion in the campaign and election.

For the first time, we have a real danger of both the President and Vice President being in deep trouble, a constitutional crisis that we have never had before, although Vice President Spiro Agnew was forced out of office independently of Richard Nixon ten months before Nixon resigned.

Unfortunately, we do not have a Gerald Ford ready to take over, but instead the horror of Speaker of the House Paul Ryan or Senate President Pro Tempore Orrin Hatch, both of whom could also be compromised in some form.

What a mess we have, and it is a challenge to the corrupt Republican controlled Congress, which seems ready to ignore all of the facts and details, and instead charge ahead at giving more to the wealthy through tax law, and wishing to destroy the New Deal and Great Society long term.

So this is a time for public demonstrations and marches, and demands that the Tea Party mentality of the Republican Party be repudiated eleven months from now, but all necessary legal steps be taken to stop the financial raping of the American people through their corrupt Republican representatives.

This is a time of despair, as little seems to be available short term to stop the disgrace that is going on as the year 2017 comes to an end in four weeks.

Orrin Hatch Says Trump Is One Of The Best Presidents Of His Lifetime: Time To Retire!

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Republican Senate President Pro Tempore, Orrin Hatch of Utah, is third in the line of succession at age 83, the longest serving Republican after 41 years in the upper chamber, and is coming up for reelection to an 8th term in 2018, although he may be challenged, if he decides to run, by former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, the 2012 GOP Presidential nominee.

Hatch’s longevity and age is a good argument why he should retire, or face possible defeat by Romney for the nomination.

Hatch has often made ridiculous statements, but this latest one, saying Trump is one of the best Presidents of his lifetime, is shocking, and it makes one wonder if his mental health is solid, as it seems delusional, and a sign of his possible dementia.

The thought that in theory Hatch could succeed to the Presidency if Donald Trump, Mike Pence, and Paul Ryan were all found to be engaged in collusion, is terrifying.

This blogger has long believed that the line of succession should not be the way it is, and instead be changed to the Senate Majority Leader, who is always younger and has been elected by his party colleagues based on his ability to lead, while the Senate President Pro Tempore is simply in that position based upon seniority, not upon qualifications. So we need the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 to be changed now.

While this blogger is not at all thrilled about Mitch McConnell, at least he has been voted into his position and is younger than Hatch.

So, Orrin Hatch, time to announce your retirement at age 84 and after 42 years, half your life in the US Senate.

Seven Living Vice Presidents, Most For Second Time In American History, And Longevity Of Presidents And First Ladies

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Here we are near the end of the first year of the Donald Trump Presidency, and we have seven living Vice Presidents of the United States, the second time we have had that number.

The first time was from the inauguration of Bill Clinton on January 20, 1993 to the death of Richard Nixon on April 22, 1994.

At that time, we had seven living Vice Presidents, including Richard Nixon, Spiro Agnew, Gerald Ford, Walter Mondale, George H. W. Bush, Dan Quayle, and the incumbent Vice President, Al Gore.

So while we have six living Presidents for the fourth time, after 1861-1862, 1993-1994, and 2001-2004, now we have seen seven Vice Presidents for the second time, due to the fact that while Ronald Reagan passed away in 2004, his vice President and his successor as President, George H. W. Bush, is about to break the longevity record held by Gerald Ford. Bush passed Reagan’s age on October 11, and will pass Ford on November 25, just two weeks from today.

The earliest Vice President still alive is Walter Mondale, who has lived 37 years beyond his time in office, as has his boss, Jimmy Carter, an all time record for both. Mondale will be 90 years of age on January 5, making for the second Presidential-Vice Presidential team to reach age 90 after Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush.

George H. W. Bush is the only one of the living Vice Presidents to have also served as President, while his Vice President, Dan Quayle, is now 70 years old.

Al Gore served under Bill Clinton, and is now 69 years old.

Dick Cheney served under George W. Bush, and is now 76 years old.

Joe Biden served under Barack Obama, and is now 75 years old as of his birthday on November 20.

And the incumbent Vice President, Mike Pence is now 58 years old.

If all seven living Vice Presidents live beyond April 22, 2018, it will be the longest time we have had seven Vice Presidents alive at the same time, and by that time, Jimmy Carter will have passed Gerald Ford as longest lived (on March 16, 2018), but of course still 111 days behind George H. W. Bush, if both former Presidents are still alive then.

Additionally, we have the amazing statistic that four Presidents in a row have lived beyond the age of 90, and all four of their First Ladies have now reached 90 as well, with Rosalyn Carter having reached it in August, and previously the cases of Betty Ford, Nancy Reagan, and Barbara Bush. Finally, Lady Bird Johnson and Bess Truman also reached the age of 90, although their husbands did not do so, although Harry Truman lived beyond the age of 89.

Democratic Victories In Virginia, New Jersey, And Elsewhere Sign Of Repudiation Of Trump, And Beginning Of Impeachment Move

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Yesterday was a glorious day for Democrats across the board.

Ralph Northam won the Virginia Governorship, and the Democrats also won the Lieutenant Governorship and State Attorney Generalship, as as well as switch the control of the House Of Delegates in a massive defeat for Republicans. The Lieutenant Governor is Justin Fairfax, first African American in that position in Virginia history.

A transgender woman in Virginia defeated a rabid homophobe for a seat in the House of Delegates. And the boyfriend of a woman murdered on live television in 2015, ran on the gun issue and won a seat in the House of Delegates in her memory. Two Latinas were also elected to the House of Delegates, as well as a Vietnamese Asian American woman for the first time in Virginia.

New Jersey saw the repudiation of Chris Christie’s lieutenant governor, by Democrat Phil Murphy. And an African American woman was elected Lieutenant Governor.

Maine expanded Medicaid over the objections of right wing bully Republican Governor Paul Le Page.

New Hampshire saw Manchester’s Mayoralty fall to the Democratic nominee.

Minneapolis, Minnesota City Council saw the election of a transgender African American woman.

St. Paul, Minnesota and Helena, Montana elected African Americans to the Mayoralty of both cities, a first for both .

Charlotte, North Carolina Mayoralty went to an African American woman.

Two small cities in Georgia elected an African American woman Mayor, and two African American men won that office, one in a city in Georgia, and one in South Carolina.

Hoboken, New Jersey elected a man of the Sikh religion as its Mayor.

A woman was elected Nassau County, New York (on Long Island) County Executive for the first time, and a rare case of a Democrat winning that position.

The State Senate in Washington State went to a Democratic majority, making the entire Pacific Coast “Blue”, in California, Oregon and Hawaii, along with Washington State.

City Mayors, all Democrats, were reelected in New York City, Boston, and Detroit and a lesbian Mayor elected in Seattle, among other places.

Growing numbers of incumbent Republicans are deciding not to run for reelection, creating more open seats and making likelihood of Democratic takeover of the House of Representatives in 2018 much more likely.

Suburban areas across the nation are growing more Democratic on paper, after massive victories all over the nation.

Northern Virginia has become more powerful in numbers and percentage, overcoming southern and western sections of Virginia, making Virginia clearly a Blue State in the future.

With many Republicans now planning to retire, expect more criticism of Donald Trump, and a growing shift toward impeachment of Trump, since retiring politicians have an independence not seen otherwise, so just as John McCain. Jeff Flake. and Bob Corker have come out against Trump, more can be expected in both houses of Congress.

And for many Republicans who remain, they may prefer Mike Pence in the White House when they are running for reelection, and since Trump shows no loyalties to the party which gave him their nomination, why should they feel an obligation to support him through thick and thin?

Mueller Investigation Will End The Trump Presidency

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Special Counsel Robert Mueller is an exceptional prosecutor, a Republican, and someone not any smart person would want to tussle with.

Donald Trump’s Presidency will end as a result of the revelations that are forthcoming, including the unknown, obscure George Papadopoulos, who has pleaded guilty, and agreed to help the prosecution on Russian collusion and obstruction of justice.

It is always the unknown factor that reveals crimes, and Trump is already attacking Papadopoulos as a minor figure, insignificant, and a “liar’.

Imagine, the most magnificent liar in American Presidential history calls someone else a “liar”, a term he loves to use against everyone imaginable, instead of looking in the mirror at himself.

Trump is cracking up in the White House, ranting and raving, furious that he cannot get away with this as he has with his business dealings throughout his privileged life.

Mike Pence could also be in trouble, however, as he remained very close to Paul Manafort, even after Manafort left the Fall campaign months before the election, and could be implicated in lying, along with his running of the transition period, and should have known about the Russian collusion of General Michael Flynn.

This scandal will dwarf the Nixon Watergate and related scandals, and will make Trump perceived as the most corrupt President in American history by far!

Massive Liar Donald Trump And The Mueller Investigation: Lying Before Grand Jury Or Mueller Would Lead To Impeachment And Removal

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It is well known that Donald Trump is the “Liar in Chief”, and is the most massive liar ever to occupy the Oval Office.

This lying could, ultimately, do him in, as if and when he is called upon by voluntary means or subpoena to appear before Robert Mueller’s investigation into the Russian collusion and obstruction of justice inquiry, Donald Trump would be under oath, and if he lied before the grand jury, as Bill Clinton did in 1998 before Ken Starr, he could, like Bill Clinton, face impeachment charges.

Trump does not have ability to tell the truth, and keep his story straight, but inconsistency in a legal proceeding would put him in jeopardy.

With evidence mounting, and with Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn, Roger Stone and others already in legal jeopardy, the future of Donald Trump is gloomy, and has helped to make his first nine months as President a total disaster with no major legislation, and only the Supreme Court appointment of Neil Gorsuch, with a changed filibuster rule, as something he can claim has been accomplished.

Donald Trump is a man in great danger, and the likelihood of succession by Vice President Mike Pence is growing.

Donald Trump Is The Personification Of Death, Destruction, Human Suffering, And Evil, And Must Face Consequences For His Actions!

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With nine months of the Trump Presidency ending in a week from now, it is clear that Donald Trump is like a fetus which is created, grows in the womb for nine months and when the nine month period before birth ends, it turns out he comes out to the world as what he is—the personification of death, destruction, human suffering, and evil.

The man has no compassion, no decency. no sympathy, no empathy, and has no love for anyone except himself.

He has been a horrific father to five children and disgraceful husband to three wives, and has cheated, lied with abandon, and only likes to intimidate, insult, berate, and abuse everyone around him.

He has never been held to account, as he has never been told he cannot have a bankruptcy, a divorce, or a deal with workers or contractors which victimizes those involved.

He has committed immoral acts with women, and never paid the price for his misogyny, and the minority of voters who helped to elect him, demonstrated they had no character or moral sand ethical beliefs, particularly those women who chose to ignore that his obscene behavior could have been visited on them, or their mothers, or their daughters, or their sisters.

For too long, Donald Trump’s boorish and narcissistic behavior has been tolerated, and many people have chosen to advance their careers by working with him or cooperating with him, despite the mistreatment they endure.

If Donald Trump takes the ultimate step of nuclear war, the ultimate war crime, he and all of his collaborators will be held accountable as war criminals, but we cannot afford to wait while that danger becomes ever more real.

Donald Trump must be held accountable for his actions, and not be able to escape punishment for his multitude of crimes, as he is far worse than Richard Nixon, who was pardoned by Gerald Ford, helping to cause Ford’s defeat in the Presidential Election of 1976.

Were Mike Pence to dare to let Donald Trump off the hook, he should be summarily removed from office as a contributor to and accessory of Donald Trump, as only prison time will be acceptable for Donald Trump, as a moral and ethical lesson to prevent future narcissistic authoritarian personalities from thinking they could do the massive damage perpetrated by Trump, and emerge unscathed.

This situation must become a lesson that will not be forgotten!