Mitch McConnell

Potential For Civil War In Republican Party After Midterm Elections!

Ronald 1 Comment

The Tea Party Movement battle to influence and take over the Republican Party nationally may lead to civil war in the GOP after the midterm elections, if Tea Party supported candidates lose Senate and House races to Democrats!

Republican leaders are tending to be very cocky about the chances of taking over both the House of Representatives and Senate in the next Congress, but the Senate is particularly the place that could become a real battleground for control of the future of the party, and it could affect the national party and the Presidential battle for 2012!

Candidates such as Ken Buck of Colorado, Sharron Angle of Nevada, and Christine O’Donnell in Delaware have come across as loony and out of the mainstream, and if they lose their Senate races, the Republicans could end up having gained seats, but not the majority because of these candidates backed by the Tea Party Movement!

That could lead to recriminations, and could affect the Presidential contest, as Sarah Palin, Mike Pence, Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich, and others who have flirted with the Tea Party could cause a split in 2012, fighting against establishment Republicans and Mitt Romney, who, despite his shortcomings, still comes across as the most legitimate, rational and sane candidate that the Republicans possess for 2012!

And, as stated earlier, a revolt within the Senate GOP could cause Mitch McConnell the control of the Majority or Minority leadership in the upper chamber, in favor of “flame thrower” Jim DeMint of South Carolina!

So whether the GOP gains control of Congress or just comes close, it could have long term negative implications for the party in 2012, including control of Congress after 2012!

John Boehner And Mitch McConnell: Watch Out For Challenges To Your Leadership In Congress!

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The Republican establishment, particularly the leaders of the party in both houses of Congress, had better watch out if the party gains control of either or both houses of Congress! You might be regretful that your party gained power, as you are under threat and are in the cross hairs of Tea Party types and sympathizers, who are very likely to try to seize control of the party leadership from you before you even realize it! 🙁

I am referring here to so called “Speaker of the House” John Boehner of Ohio, and so called “Senate Majority Leader” Mitch McConnell of Kentucky! Both of you gentlemen are an “endangered species”, with the word “gentle” soon to be not in vogue in Washington DC! 🙁

Who are the threats to the leadership of John Boehner? There are four names that stick out, with two in particular–Mike Pence of Indiana, who just won the straw vote at the so called Values Summit, and is considered likely to seek the Presidency on a very socially conservative platform, but has worked at wooing the Tea Party Movement activists; and Eric Cantor of Virginia, the House Minority Whip, who often has had tough relations with Boehner, and has now published a book, YOUNG GUNS, with two other conservatives who, like him, are politically ambitious and flirt with the Tea Party Movement–Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, and Kevin McCarthy of California! Does Boehner really think he will be able to sleep at night with these four colleagues, and particularly Pence and Cantor, hot on his heels? 🙁

And who is the threat to Mitch McConnell, that should have him worried? The answer is a whole slew of potential Senators–Tea Party Favorites–including Rand Paul of Kentucky, Sharron Angle of Nevada, Mike Lee of Utah, Ken Buck of Colorado, Joe Miller of Alaska, Linda McMahon of Connecticut, Marco Rubio of Florida, and Christine O’Donnell of Delaware–all of whom were not supported by the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee and its head, Senator John Cornyn of Texas–but won the nominations against candidates endorsed by that committee! 🙁

And who would they, or many of them, be likely to back for Senate Majority Leader? The answer is Jim DeMint of South Carolina, who has declared himself the leader of the Tea Party revolt, and is supported by such as James Inhofe of Oklahoma, who might wish to be Senate Majority Whip! 🙁

This is a horrifying scenario in both houses, IF the GOP gains the majority! And even if they don’t, the present leaders could still face the axe by disappointed rebels who would desire to “purge” the party leadership and move it to the extreme right!

So there will be an interesting next few months for the GOP, whether they actually gain the majority in either house of Congress, or just come close!

As stated many times earlier in this blog, the future of the Republican Party hangs in the balance, as to whether it will be a legitimate opposition party with any future after the attempted takeover by the Tea Party Movement! 🙁

Fighting For The “Soul” Of The Republican Party: Internal Struggles in Florida, Delaware And Alaska!

Ronald 1 Comment

It is good to see that some Republicans, considered moderates, are refusing to allow the Tea Party Movement reactionaries to seize control of their party without a fight!

First, we had Charlie Crist, who decided to run as an Independent for the US Senate in Florida, and has a good chance to defeat Marco Rubio, the GOP and Tea Party nominee for that seat!

Then, we had Congressman Mike Castle of Delaware, who has refused to endorse Christine O’Donnell for the Senate after she defeated him in the primary this week, because of her lies and distortions, along with her lack of qualifications!

Now, belatedly, Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska is attempting to do something only one Senator ever has achieved–win the election by write ins only! Only Strom Thurmond of South Carolina accomplished that in 1954 as a Democrat! Murkowski lost the Senate nomination by a very small margin to Joe Miller, who she and many describe as an extremist with loony views! She attributes her defeat to her earlier unwillingness to come out fighting against him!

Of course, this Murkowski attempt at a write in victory will be very difficult, but she is well known and liked throughout the state, and her father also was Senator and Governor of Alaska! This is also a personal battle between the Murkowski family and Sarah Palin! The likelihood is that this move by Murkowski will fail, but help Democrat Scott McAdams to win the Senate seat!

The odds are that these internal revolts in the GOP will help the Democrats to keep control of the Senate and lose fewer seats than often imagined in the polls!

And should Murkowski pull out a miracle victory, and Crist win and even organize with the Republicans who have repudiated him (which seems highly unlikely), we will still be better off with two “moderate” Republicans than with two right wing fanatics in the Senate!

The future of the Republican party as an opposition is to be what they were historically–a centrist party leaning to the right, just as the Democratic Party is a centrist party leaning to the left–the mainstream where most Americans are then and now!

The worst possible scenario would be if the “Tea Party Eight” all won Senate seats, as that would be a nightmare not just for the Democratic party and the nation, but also for Senator Mitch McConnell and other establishment Republican leaders in the upper chamber!

Is Delaware A Sign of “Civil War” In The Republican Party?

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The battle within the Republican Party in Delaware for the Senate nomination in tomorrow’s primary may very well be a sign of the future of the GOP nationally!

Moderate Congressman Mike Castle, an 18 year veteran of the House of Representatives and former Governor, is being opposed by Christine O’Donnell, who has twice lost Senate races against Vice President Joe Biden, and in the mind of GOP leaders in the state, has absolutely no qualifications for the Senate, other than her very good looks!

The Tea Party Movement, Sarah Palin, and South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint, angling to be Senate leader for his party in a challenge to Senator Mitch McConnell, all are backing O’Donnell!

The result is that there could be said to be “civil war” between moderate centrists and the right wing of the party, which is becoming more aggressive everywhere, representing a long range threat to the stability of the GOP across the nation!

This is a sad commentary on the GOP, facing a crisis of identity as the Tea Party Movement works to overtake and reshape the party of Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Eisenhower, and YES, even Ronald Reagan! 🙁

The Coming Conflict Within The Congressional Republican Party!

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Assuming that the Republican party wins control of the House of Representatives this November, and even possibly the Senate, does this mean a united GOP against President Barack Obama in 2011 and 2012?

The clear answer is NO, as younger and more right wing conservative members now, and newly elected, will be desirous of grabbing power and going in a more extreme direction in policy and philosophy!

It is hard to know which new House members will become leaders of a “revolution” in the House, but one can be assured that Eric Cantor, the House Minority Whip from Virginia; Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, who is seen as the ideological leader of major conservative oriented reform; and Kevin McCarthy of California will lead the charge for change, and just might challenge John Boehner’s leadership.

Cantor, Ryan and McCarthy are publishing a book called “Young Guns: A New Generation of Conservative Leaders”, and it is a clarion call for moving away from the stodgy, unimaginative leadership of Boehner, who is from the Newt Gingrich era, and a lot older than them! And they fail to even name him in their book!

Will libertarian, Tea Party Movement supporters who are elected this fall move to oust Boehner in favor of Cantor? No one can be certain, including Boehner!

And, as stated elsewhere by the author, IF a whole group of libertarian oriented Tea Party types are elected to the Senate–Rand Paul, Sharron Angle, Mike Lee, Ken Buck, Joe Miller, Marco Rubio, Pat Toomey, and Linda McMahon–or most of them–it could be a very uncomfortable time for the old line Republican leadership of Mitch McConnell and other traditional conservative Republicans in the upper chamber!

Imagine this internal set of battles going on as the GOP tries to make a case for its nominee to challenge President Obama, and with Sarah Palin possibly complicating the battle by becoming a burden to the other GOP presidential possibilities by either deciding to run, or trying to influence who IS the nominee!

Will the GOP be able to accomplish anything in the 112th Congress, and make a case for their keeping control and for a Republican President in 2012?

It might actually be better for them to be unable to gain control, but come close, so that the burden of governing is still left in the hands of the Democrats! It would make it easier for them to build a case for a GOP majority and a Republican President in 2012!

Unpredictability Of Republican Senate Candidates Not Favored By GOP Leaders: Future Troubles For Mitch McConnell?

Ronald 1 Comment

The Republican party leaders in Washington, D. C. are now faced with six nominees for the Senate not originally supported by the GOP Senatorial Campaign Committee! There is unpredictability as to what this means for the party structure and stability in the Senate, if all or most of the six win their Senate races!

Rand Paul of Kentucky and Sharron Angle of Nevada have made the most news with their controversial statements and refusal to talk to mainstream media!

But also not originally favored by party leaders are Marco Rubio of Florida, Mike Lee of Utah, Ken Buck of Colorado, and Linda McMahon of Connecticut!

The only one of these six that can be seen as a definite winner in November is Mike Lee of Utah, a state where the Republicans dominate to such an extent that it is clear his Democratic opponent has no chance to win the seat! Senator Robert Bennett was defeated by Tea Party activists in a state convention.

Rand Paul defeated the establishment favorite, Trevor Grayson, in Kentucky, and has been an embarrassment to Mitch McConnell, and if he wins the Senate seat over Jack Conway, will be a “loose cannon” sure to give the Republican leader and his party a lot of grief!

Sharron Angle defeated Sue Lowden in Nevada, the party favorite, and has been a literal nightmare as she campaigns, and will be a “lightning rod” if she manages to defeat Harry Reid!

Marco Rubio managed to destroy Governor Charlie Crist’s chances for the GOP nomination in Florida, and is loved by the Tea Party, but as an Independent, Crist might yet win the Senate race!

Ken Buck defeated Jane Norton in Colorado, and is a Tea Party favorite, but faces a tough race against Michael Bennet, and has made statements highly controversial in the vein of Paul and Angle!

Linda McMahon, the former head of WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) has used her substantial fortune to defeat establishment favorite Rob Simmons in Connecticut, but faces an uphill race against state Attorney General Dick Blumenthal!

A Senate with all of these individuals in the chamber would be a major nightmare for Mitch McConnell and other GOP leaders! In fact, there is no guarantee that there would not be a rebellion against the party leadership, that could lead to more extreme Republicans such as Jim DeMint of South Carolina or James Inhofe of Oklahoma as the Senate leaders!

The Tea Party is creating a scenario for the Republican Party that they may long regret! 🙂

The good news is that as things stand right now, as stated earlier, the only certain winner is Mike Lee of Utah, but all of these six races will be key ones for assessing the future impact of the Senate on American politics, no matter whether the Democrats keep control, or somehow, the Republicans win control!

Finally, Federal Government Aid To States For Education And Medicaid Support!

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Thanks to the two Maine Republican Senators (Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins), the Senate was able to overcome a GOP filibuster and provide $26 billion in aid to the states, to help support education and medicaid, and partially relieve the crisis in state budgets in this worst economy of the past 75 years!

Approximately 160,000 teaching positions nationally will be saved, and medicaid assistance to the states will help to plug the shortfall which threatened the continuation of the essential programs for the poor and handicapped!

The House of Representatives had adjourned for the summer break, but will return next Tuesday to pass the bill and help to relieve the economic crisis for the coming year!

Again, however, the Republican leadership in the Senate, headed by Mitch McConnell, complained that the states should not receive this extra aid, an amazing assertion when McConnell’s own home state of Kentucky is one of the poorest, most backward of all the states, and yet McConnell seems to have no concern! ABSOLUTELY AMAZING AND DISGRACEFUL! 🙁

Alan Greenspan And David Stockman: Tax Cuts For the Wealthy Based On Borrowed Money Are Wrong And Do Not Pay For Themselves!

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Alan Greenspan, the former head of the Federal Reserve Board, and clearly a conservative and Republican in his philosophy, was on the ABC News This Week show yesterday.

Greenspan was asked if a continuation of the Bush tax cuts was a good idea with such a tremendous deficit situation. His response was that, in theory, tax cuts are good, but NOT on borrowed money!

Greenspan also said tax cuts DO NOT pay for themselves in the sense of economic expansion!

Is there any need to go further in seeing that what conservatives and Republicans are enunciating is totally hypocritical? 🙁

We cannot afford, supposedly, to give extended unemployment compensation to those who are long term out of work, even though giving this to them promotes spending and the creation of jobs! But we can give more tax cuts to the top two percent, even though it has been shown that in most cases these people SAVE the money, rather than spend it, and DO NOT create new jobs because of receiving more tax cuts!

To top it off, former Reagan Budget Director David Stockman came up with exactly the same prescription: that tax cuts to the wealthy top two percent on borrowed money does not stimulate the economy! Instead, economists tell us it creates a more stratified society, already the most stratified in the industrial world!

But does this affect Sarah Palin, John Boehner, Mitch McConnell, or others in the GOP? No, just keep on borrowing money and raising the deficit so that the rich can become richer, the middle class is made poorer, public services are cut, and the poor become even poorer!

Is this the kind of America we want? To think this is justice requires a warped sense of morality! 🙁

The Republicans And The Great Recession: They Just Don’t Get It! :(

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The Republican Party is proving yet again that they just don’t get it when it comes to the Great Recession! 🙁

Resisting necessary financial reform, and blocking an extension of unemployment compensation to desperate people, it reminds us too much of the years of the GOP under Herbert Hoover, and during the New Deal of Franklin D. Roosevelt! 🙁

When, oh when, will the American people understand that it was the GOP which put us into this mess, and now refuse to do anything to get us out, as to them, the only thing that matters is preventing Barack Obama from having any success! 🙁

The thought is that if Obama fails to accomplish his goals, they gain, as Obama himself said yesterday in a public rally in Racine, Wisconsin! But it seems to the author that exactly the opposite will happen, and that the American people will come to realize that Obama is concerned about them, and the Republicans are not! 🙁

Outgoing Senator Robert Bennett of Utah, a victim of the Tea Party Movement, has stated recently that while he thinks his party will win Congress this fall, that they only have slogans, and no programs or ideas, and that therefore, it is likely that even if they do win control, they will lose in in 2012!

Certainly, every utterance of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and House Minority Leader John Boehner fails to give any encouragement or inspiration to anyone who is listening! They come across as hard hearted, unconcerned, vapid spokesmen for their party!

The thought of Boehner as Speaker of the House makes one wonder, as his reputation is that he is NOT a hard worker, and cannot be reached after 5 pm! In other words, he is lazy and uninspiring!

On the other hand, listening and watching McConnell makes one feel as if he is at a wake! LOL

A more inspiring leader may be House Minority Whip Eric Cantor of Virginia, but there are rumors that he is looking to run for the Senate against Jim Webb in 2012, and that his heart is not in the House anymore. In any case, he and Boehner do not act seamlessly, and therefore, the GOP leadership is mediocre! 🙁

But it is not just the leadership! It is also the membership in both houses that simply can be seen as having no imagination, no new ideas, and ultimately, no concern for the American people! 🙁

Hopefully, the American people will see this by November, as Vice President Joe Biden predicts will be the case! We shall see soon enough!

The Unfortunate Life Of Mitch McConnell! From Jim Bunning To Rand Paul!

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Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell has been the Minority Leader of the Senate since 2007, and is serving his fifth term, the longest serving Kentucky senator in American history!

A strong conservative, but part of the “establishment”, he has been cursed having to serve alongside a Senator considered by many to be part of the “lunatic fringe”–Senator Jim Bunning, the former baseball player and Hall of Famer, who is usually regarded as one of the absolutely worst senators in American history!

Bunning was a constant critic of McConnell right up to the end, when he finally decided not to run for a third Senate term! He was an embarrassment in so many ways, in his actions and statements! McConnell was certainly relieved when Bunning finally bowed out of the race!

McConnell backed Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Greyson to succeed Bunning, but Rand Paul, the son of Texas Congressman Ron Paul, and like his father, a libertarian and Tea Party activist, was endorsed by Bunning!

Yesterday, Paul soundly defeated Greyson, a real slap in the face to McConnell, and based on Rand Paul’s past statements, McConnell might almost wish Bunning had stayed in the Senate! 🙂

Rand Paul has called for the abolition of the Americans With Disabilities Act, the Department of Education, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Federal Reserve, and supports a balanced budget amendment, term limits, and repeal of the Civil Rights Act of 1964! He promotes constant tax cuts and smaller government, and is a critic of the government “bailout” of Wall Street and the Obama Health Care reform! He also is against abortion rights, including in cases of rape and incest!

Besides being an extremist in so many ways, which will be fully exposed by Democratic nominee Jack Conway in the fall campaign, Rand Paul has made it clear that he has no intention of being friendly with McConnell, even with the fact that McConnell is the Republican leader in the Senate!

So even those who are not fans of Mitch McConnell must have some sympathy for him, as it is a shame that he has weird, extremist colleagues from his home state that he has to, somehow, coexist with and tolerate! 🙁