Nancy Pelosi

The Senior Citizen Generation In California Politics, And A Future Potential Leader

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California, the state which represents the future in American politics to many, has become a state which has government leaders who are senior citizens, who have been part of the political system for decades.

A strongly Democratic state in the past twenty years, California’s top office holders are all in their 70s.

Governor Jerry Brown is 74, and was governor when he was in his mid 30s in 1975.

Senator Diane Feinstein is 79 years old, has been in the Senate for 20 years, and was Mayor of San Francisco in the late 1970s.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is 72, and has been in the House of Representatives since 1986.

Senator Barbara Boxer is 71, and has been in the Senate for 20 years, and was previously a House member since 1982.

When one wonders who the leaders of the future are in California politics, the person who sticks out the most is Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom, who is 45, and seen as a likely nominee for Governor in the near future, after his earlier service as Mayor of San Francisco.

Hillary Clinton At Women In The World Summit: Women Must Not Let Men Control Their Destiny!

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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave a passionate address at the Women In The World Summit in New York City this weekend, an event hosted by Newsweek and the Daily Beast.

Prominent, as well as not so prominent, women attended, including former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, actresses Angelina Jolie and Meryl Streep, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Barbara and Jenna Bush, Chelsea Clinton, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, and many foreign women who are fighting for women’s rights all over the world.

Hillary Clinton was highly critical of the idea that men all over the world seem to feel that they have a right to control what women do with their bodies, how they dress, what they advocate, and their ambitions to accomplish their goals for themselves and other women.

This was a sharp rejoinder to evangelical Christian and Catholic leadership, and conservative and Republican leadership in Congress, the state legislatures, and on talk radio and Fox News Channel, who have worked to push women’s rights in reverse with recent statements and actions.

These attempts at curbing women’s rights are doomed to failure, as women en masse will react against attempts to return women in America to the concept of women a century ago, and even as recently as the past 50 years.

A key goal is winning more seats in Congress, so as to have a greater impact on legislation and the agenda of the future!

Newt Gingrich And Former Speakers Of The House Of Representatives: No Love Lost Either Way!

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Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, now seeking the Presidency, has had a confrontational relationship with many people in his career, among them all living former Speakers of the House.

Three Democratic Speakers, Jim Wright (1987-1989), Tom Foley (1989-1995), and Nancy Pelosi (2007-2011) have crossed paths in difficult ways with Gingrich. Wright was brought up on ethics charges by Gingrich in 1989, and forced out of the Speakership on grounds far less than Gingrich, who himself was involved in ethics violations pursued by Nancy Pelosi in 1997-1998, and pushed out of the Speakership by his own party at the end of 1998. Foley was the Speaker facing the attacks of Gingrich as he built the GOP majority that finally ousted Foley in the 1994 Congressional elections.

But even the two GOP Speakers have no love lost regarding Gingrich. Dennis Hastert (1999-2007) was picked to get away from the theatrics of Gingrich, and Hastert now supports Mitt Romney for President. And the present Speaker, John Boehner, is known privately to oppose Gingrich, who he helped to push out of the Speakership in 1998. It is believed he will make his view public IF Gingrich continues to surge, to attempt to prevent what he and many other Republicans believe would be suicide to have Gingrich heading their ticket in 2012 against Barack Obama.

Finally, Congressional Gold Medals To Japanese American Veterans Of World War II!

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Seventy years ago next December 7, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, forcing America into World War II.

Among the victims of the Japanese attack were approximately 110,000 Japanese Americans who were placed into internment camps for the duration of the war, because of their ethnicity.

But their sons served honorably in World War II and contributed mightily to the victory over both Japan and Germany, with a segregated unit winning more medals, honors and awards than any other unit of World War II.

Now, Congress has seen fit, as of November 2, to honor the veterans who served and those who died through the awarding of Congressional Gold Medals in a ceremony in the US Capitol Visitor Center, presided over by Speaker of the House John Boehner, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

The most touching moment was the speech of Senate President Pro Tem Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, who has served longer in the Senate than anyone but the late Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia.

Wounded seriously in World War II, and recuperating in a hospital alongside former Senator Bob Dole of Kansas, Inouye went on to become the most famous Asian American politician in the history of Congress, and if he serves in office until June 29, 2014, he will have become the longest serving senator in US history, surpassing Senator Byrd.

On Veterans Day, it is appropriate that we honor and commemorate those heroic Japanese American soldiers who did their duty despite their families being interned, as they fought for freedom and democracy!

Barack Obama, The Democratic Party, And The American People: On The Way To Separation Or Divorce?

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President Obama is alienating his progressive base, due to indications that he is willing to negotiate cuts in Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, as part of a deal with the Congressional Republicans to avoid a default of the government, as we face the August 2 deadline of the need to raise the debt ceiling.

Various groups, including labor unions, the National Organization For Women, The Alliance For Retired Americans, and Moveon.Org are furious with the President. Senators Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi have all made it clear that such concessions are totally unacceptable.

The question is whether President Obama has the courage to stand up to the Republicans and possibly help to cause a default on the national debt, or instead is willing to antagonize his base and sacrifice the support of the Democratic Party’s heritage–the New Deal and Great Society programs that have become our safety net!

It means that either President Obama will cause a “separation” or “divorce” from the American people 16 months from now, or cause a similar “separation” or “divorce” from his party loyalists as he enters the campaign for re-election in November 2012!

One could say that Obama has the choice between the “devil and deep blue sea”, and what he ultimately chooses to do will reverberate in the long run for the nation and his historical reputation!

The “Do Nothing” 112th Congress: Worst In Generations!

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The 112th Congress, the first at least since 1900 to have a Republican House and Democratic Senate rather than the opposite when there is a divided Congress, has managed in six months to create a disgraceful record of NOT dealing with the economic crisis facing the nation!

With Speaker John Boehner, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and others in the Republican Party focused on making the economy worse as a reason to have the voters turn out President Obama for a second Presidential term, we have seen no action on creating jobs, passing bills, approving Presidential appointments to various judicial and executive posts, or doing anything constructive in any form!

This irresponsible Congress comes right after one of the most constructive Congresses in American history, the 111th Congress under Speaker Nancy Pelosi!

This could be the most negative, unaccomplished Congress since Harry Truman ran against what he called the “do nothing” 80th Congress of 1947-1948, leading to his surprise victory and the Democrats regaining the majority in both houses in the 1948 election!

Instead of offering a real alternative for 14 million plus unemployed people, all the Republicans can do is promote economic instability and threaten the safety net of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, which one would think were well established and would not come under sustained attack!

It all comes down to the old reality that Democrats care about people, and Republicans care about property and possessions–or material things in another descriptive manner–rather than the welfare of the masses of citizens!

Eric Cantor: “We won!” Nancy Pelosi In 2009: “We won!” So Nothing New With GOP Control Except Who They Represent! :(

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House Majority Leader Eric Cantor was cocky yesterday in a news conference, asserting: “We won!”

Two years ago, Nancy Pelosi said the same thing, and the Republican Party jumped all over her and her party!

But what has changed with GOP control? Nothing new, except who the GOP represents: powerful corporations, the top few percent of the people in a war on the masses of the middle and lower classes.

It looks likely that the 112th Congress will go down as the most right wing, reactionary Congress since the 1920s, as even the 80th Congress in 1947-1948 and the 83rd Congress in 1953-1954 were notable for some of the things they did.

As much as the Newt Gingrich led 104th (1995-1996) and 105th (1997-1998) Congresses were seen negatively in the Bill Clinton era, their right wing and conservative bent pale by comparison to what seems likely to occur over the next two years, and the big difference is that in the earlier Congresses mentioned above, the economy was not in a deep recession, with a slow recovery as we have in the present.

So the nation needs to brace for the horrors to come as the new Congress begins today! 🙁

The Leadership Of Nancy Pelosi And Harry Reid: Pilloried But Successful, Nevertheless!

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The Democratic leaders in the now ended 111th Congress, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, both faced unprecedented attacks by Republicans, conservatives, and much of the news media, as well as the general public which was mostly ignorant of what they were doing, and the pressures they were constantly under.

Never in the history of the nation has Congressional leadership been so pilloried, ridiculed, abused, mistreated, disrespected to the level that these two stalwarts faced daily, as the barrage of criticism was non stop for both of them.

For Harry Reid, in some ways, it was worse, as his opponent for re-election, Sharron Angle, blamed him for everything that was wrong with America, including, it seemed, “original sin”!

But despite that, Reid came back to the Senate for another six year term, after having the burden of Republican filibusters, his campaign problems, and his wife’s serious auto accident. What a set of burdens to carry, and Harry Reid carried them with grace and dignity. A soft spoken man, often underrated, he did much more than anyone thought he could, culminating in the Lame Duck Session triumphs of the past two weeks!

Pelosi, considered in the class of Thomas “Tip” O’Neill and Sam Rayburn as a Speaker of the House, faced vilification, with much of it based on the fact that she was a woman, a strong, outspoken woman, who was not going to take GOP opposition and allow it to dominate the Congressional agenda. More legislation was passed under her than since the mid 1960s, and there were also hundreds of other bills that never made it through the Senate, making her an extremely productive leader!

There is no way around it, but to say, that we should applaud both Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid for a job well done, and a Congress which will stand out in history as one of the best ever, despite all the naysaying and negativism that prevails.

Will John Boehner have anywhere near the level of accomplishment and success of Nancy Pelosi with his caucus, with so many Tea Party activist rebels in the group? Don’t bet on it! 🙁

Buyer’s Remorse: Second And Third Thoughts On Tax Deal Between Barack Obama And The GOP! :(

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The tax legislation negotiated between President Barack Obama and the Republican leadership this week has had much reaction from all sides of the political spectrum, and it has been a long week of serious reflection on the value of the arrangement.

Originally, the author called this a “Pearl Harbor” event, and then was swayed by many commentaries that called it a sign of bipartisanship, and switched his view to support.

Upon further reflection this weekend, and after a great discussion with my son David, who has worked on Capitol Hill or with people on Capitol Hill for the past four and a half years, I must now express what I call second and third thoughts on the agreement, and withdraw my support of the deal, sorry to say! 🙁

While bipartisanship is important as a concept, it is unrealistic to expect that there will be any truthful cooperation between the GOP in the House and the growing Republican minority in the Senate with President Obama.

What it comes down to is that the wealthy received a continuation of a tax cut which is what has created the tremendous national debt growth since 2001. What was the so called “Bush tax cuts” are now the “Obama tax cuts”! 🙁

While it is true that unemployment compensation was allowed to be extended for another 13 months, the reality is what will happen in a year when unemployment will still be very high, and the Republicans in the House will refuse to promote a bill that will extend it? 🙁

What will those millions of people, many of them middle aged or older, with little education, no money to do job training, already losing their homes, unable to support their families on minimum wage jobs if they could get them, be expected to do to survive? Are the Republicans going to give a damn what happens to these families, including single mothers with children, and not just minorities, but millions of whites as well, when they now argue that many people on unemployment compensation don’t want to work? 🙁

What about the reality that the so called “99ers” do not get any extension at all now, and apparently never will, and will be living on the streets, or in their cars if they are not dispossessed? What about the harm being done to millions of children who are victims of this economic mess? 🙁

Beyond the unemployment compensation issue, by lowering the Social Security tax by two percent for two years, the Social Security system is being harmed, and when Obama calls for a return to the original 6.2 percent tax for Social Security in 2012, the Republicans will call it a tax increase and work to prevent it, therefore undermining the whole social safety net that Social Security represents. 🙁

It is clear that if it is left up to the Republican Party, the social safety net represented by Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid will be destroyed over time, and that will make the country even more stratified, whereby by 2050, half the wealth of the nation will be in the hands of the top one percent, instead of the present 24 percent, brought about by the massive tax cuts to the wealthy since 2001! 🙁

Also, supposedly the government is committed to prevention of increase of the national debt, but has now agreed to legislation which will add nearly a trillion to the debt, which the GOP will blame on Obama in 2012.

So while Charles Krauthammer might say that Obama has improved his chances of winning a second term in 2012 by making this deal, the question is even if that were to be true, what is most important is NOT whether any person wins the Presidency in 2012 (although Obama would be the best choice available), but how it affects the welfare of the American people for the long term!

While obviously the liberal Democratic base cannot expect to win all that they want to occur, for Obama to have alienated them to the point that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid absented themselves from the signing ceremony for the tax deal, while Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was present, is disturbing!

Has Obama made a deal with the “devil” and turned against the “angels”? It could be that is the case! 🙁

Of course, some might say in refutation, that Obama wanted to avoid pain and suffering for the unemployed and for middle class taxpayers, but it seems more than ever that by what he agreed to, he may just have delayed the pain and suffering, and wounded the Social Security system and the social safety net to boot! 🙁

It may very well be that the long range effect may be more harmful than the short term gain, whatever it might be seen as being! 🙁

John Boehner, The “Strange Duck” Who Is Second In Line To The Presidency! :(

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As of January 5, 2011, Congressman John Boehner of Cincinnati, Ohio, will be the new Speaker of the House of Representatives.

We are learning a great deal about John Boehner, and it is a strange portrait!

In newspaper interviews, and now on a “Sixty Minutes” discussion with Lesley Stahl of CBS, Boehner comes across as, to say the least, a “strange duck”!

This is a man who is known to have gone to tanning salons, and has an almost orange tinge to his skin, but now he denies that he has ever gone to a tanning salon.

This is a man who smokes like a fiend, two to three packs a day, and it is rumored, will allow smoking to be restored to the House of Representatives chamber, after it was banned as unseemly by present Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

This is a man who used to tend bar for his father, and is said to go the bars every night around dinner time.

This is a man whose wife chooses to live in Cincinnati, while her husband lives in Washington, DC.

This is a man with a frown often displayed, who can yell with the best, but also is a “weeper” to the point of appearing ridiculous.

Boehner talks about the “American dream”, and how hard he had to struggle, and told Lesley Stahl that he cannot go to any schools anymore and see young children, because it makes him cry to think how difficult it is for them to pursue the “American dream”. His experiences should, if anything, make him wish to do more to promote the “American dream”, but instead he wishes to cut spending for education and other social programs, making success even more difficult for future generations of children, if they are born poor. This just makes absolutely no sense, especially when one considers how Boehner associates with lobbyists who represent wealthy interests, and he has no problem promoting massive tax cuts for the wealthy!

Also, John Boehner rejects the idea of “compromise”, preferring to call it “common ground”, another very weird thing, as politics is the art of compromise. But to believe that Boehner and his party will promote “common ground” is to believe in the tooth fairy, as it is clear that the GOP has no intention of cooperating with President Obama, as after all, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has said, the purpose of the Republican Party is to defeat Obama in 2012.