Paul Ryan

New Reality: Foreign Policy Will Matter More Than ObamaCare In 2016 Presidential Election!

Ronald 4 Comments

It is becoming clear, as a result of recent events involving Russia and Ukraine, that the foreign policy issue will matter more in the Presidential Election of 2016 than domestic policy, including ObamaCare.

This is NOT what many progressives and liberals would prefer, as there are many domestic problems that need attention on the agenda, and President Barack Obama has been trying to deal with many of these issues, despite obstructionism and stalemate caused by the Republican control of the House of Representatives.

But national security and defense, and the possibility of armed conflict in Europe, related to NATO and the European Union, may force the hand of President Obama and his successor to focus more on foreign policy in the next Presidential term of office.

In a way, it reminds us of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1940, able to run for a third term, and seen as the only legitimate person to be our President in the midst of an international crisis, the victory of the Axis Powers in Europe and Asia, at that time. Alternative possible candidates, such as Senator Robert Taft of Ohio, Senator Arthur Vandenberg of Michigan, Vice President John Nance Garner of Texas, and Senator Burton Wheeler of Montana, were all isolationists, the wrong viewpoint at the time. When Wendell Willkie came along as a surprise opponent of FDR, it was clear that on foreign policy, they had an agreement, which was good for the nation as it faced the likelihood of engagement in World War II.

Now, of course, an experienced and wise President in foreign policy, not rushing into conflict, and using his diplomatic skills, is ineligible to be President for another term, so it becomes extremely important that the proper person be elected to succeed Barack Obama.

When one looks at the cast of characters on the Republican side, and the alternatives on the Democratic side, it is clear that ONLY three potential future Presidents meet the need for appropriate foreign policy experience in a delicate and dangerous time, as we may now be entering. Not only is there the threat of war in Europe over Ukraine or other Russian attempt at advancement west, but also the looming threat of Iran and North Korea, as well as the Syrian Civil War and its effect on the entire Middle East, and the growing influence of China.

So reality tells us ONLY Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and Jon Huntsman fit the bill to be our Commander in Chief, based on their experiences, expertise, and skills!

There are other Democrats who have positive aspects, but do NOT have the diplomatic experience of Clinton, Biden and Huntsman.

On the GOP side, it is literally horrifying to imagine a Chris Christie, Scott Walker, Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Paul Ryan, Bobby Jindal, Mike Huckabee, or anyone else as Commander in Chief, with many of them purely ignorant, or bullyish, or extreme in their rhetoric, or in the case of Rand Paul, a flaming isolationist! Only Jeb Bush, conceivably, due to his intelligence and connection to his dad, but not his brother, MIGHT be otherwise acceptable, but not with the same sense of confidence in Clinton, Biden and Huntsman!

So the best we can hope for is a Clinton-Huntsman or Biden-Huntsman race for the security and safety of our nation, because we would know that any one of them could perform well as our 45th President, and do the best we can hope for in the area of foreign policy!

Paul Ryan Self Destructs Any Chance To Run For President!

Ronald 10 Comments

Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan, who this blogger spent a lot of time working to undermine his Vice Presidential candidacy in 2012, and got blasted for it by right wing websites and bloggers, has again shown further evidence of what a terrible choice Mitt Romney made in his Presidential race, in selecting Ryan to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency!

Ryan, who knows nothing about budgets, except that the poor, the elderly, the disabled, veterans, and the young should see cuts in Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Food Stamps, and other social programs; and there should be no extension of unemployment compensation for desperately unemployed people; and there should be no rise in the minimum wage, now has gone off the “deep end” with his assertion that those who live in the “inner cities” have no sense of the importance of work, and have not worked for generations!

This is a direct and racist assault on African Americans in particular, but also on Hispanics and Latinos, who are a majority of the poor in the urban areas of our nation.

But Ryan acts as if it is only minorities who are poor, and are unemployed, and in some cases, have not worked in a long time. From this statement, one would think that whites are not poor, that they all work, that they all have a heritage of understanding the point of work, and nothing could be further from the truth!

It is a fact, and always has been, that the vast majority of the poor do not live in cities, and are not minorities, although one would think so from a stereotype!

The fact is that there are millions of whites who live in the rural and suburban areas of the nation, and many are them do not work, have no hope of work, and live in depressed conditions often worse than urban slums. Many of these people are living in “Red” states, where Republicans vote to hurt their own constituents, while making it seem as if only minorities do not work, or have no work ethic. They live in Appalachia, the Great Plains, the Rockies, in comparatively sparsely populated areas, as compared to the urban areas on the East and West Coasts.

More whites receive food stamps, and the level of poverty percentage wise is higher in such places as Kentucky, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and Alaska.

It is the lack of education; the tendency to have large families which are also dysfunctional; the reality of drugs and alcohol; the refusal of these state governments to give a damn about their white poor, along with minority poor; and the tendency to turn poor whites against poor minorities so that the GOP can keep power in the House and in the state legislatures, which is destroying generation after generation of deprived people of all races!

Only when there is a REAL war on poverty, instead of exploiting the issue based upon race, as Paul Ryan has now done, will we ever be able to guarantee a good future for millions of whites, as well as African Americans and Latinos!

And Paul Ryan, your potential Presidential candidacy is dead in the water, and while you might run, you have forfeited any realistic chance to be President of the United States, but that was clear, anyway, in 2012!

CPAC Straw Poll: Great News For Democrats!

Ronald 3 Comments

The Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, DC from Thursday to Saturday did Democrats a great favor in the straw poll that was conducted on Saturday.

The winner of this extremist right wing organization’s straw poll was Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky with 31 percent, after winning the poll last year with 25 percent.

In second place was Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who is certainly simmering under the surface that he ended up a very poor second, with 11 percent.

Third was whacko retired neurosurgeon Dr. Benjamin Carson from Maryland with 9 percent, who has demonstrated very quickly how hateful, how nasty, how clueless, how crazy he is, and that he should have stuck to his brilliant neurosurgical career, and stayed out of politics, as he is rapidly losing any respect he had in his medical career.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie ended up fourth with 8 percent, but it will do nothing to revive his flagging campaign for President, as he still has a lot to answer to in the New Jersey scandal investigation going on.

So all of the other conservative “stars”, including Rick Santorum, Rick Perry, Paul Ryan, Marco Rubio, Mike Huckabee, Donald Trump, Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, Bobby Jindal, Scott Walker and others of their ilk, all got minimal support.

Looking ahead, there is no better message than Rand Paul, who is certain to be a total disaster for the GOP, if he is the nominee of the party. But if he slips, then Ted Cruz offers an even greater likelihood of a total collapse of the Republican Party.

And were the GOP to decide to pick a notable surgeon who has proved totally ridiculous and, actually, dangerous in his rhetoric, and be able to exploit the fact that he is African American, they will discover that very few African Americans, and very few others, would give Ben Carson the time of day, and even wonder about his hate filled rhetoric and sanity!

So this is good news for Democrats, and the best message to send CPAC and the Republican Party is: “Bring it on for 2016!”

50 Years Of Republican Vice Presidential Nominees Tells Us A Lot About The GOP!

Ronald 14 Comments

When one looks back at the history of Republican Vice Presidential nominees in the past 50 years, one realizes a lot about the attitude of the Republican Party toward that office, just a heartbeat away from the Presidency.

The Republican Party has chosen true disasters for an office that has seen two people in that office go on to become President, and three others run for and lose the Presidency in the past fifty years.

Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush are the two Vice Presidents who went on to become President, while Hubert Humphrey, Walter Mondale and Al Gore were defeated for the Presidency.

But look at the Vice Presidential nominees chosen by the GOP since 1964:

William E. Miller Congressman (NY) 1964
Spiro Agnew, Governor (Maryland) 1968, 1972
Bob Dole, Senator (Kansas) 1976
George H. W. Bush, former Congressman (Texas) 1980, 1984
Dan Quayle, Senator (Indiana) 1988, 1992
Jack Kemp, Congressman (NY) 1996
Dick Cheney, Congressman (Wyoming) 2000, 2004
Sarah Palin, Governor (Alaska) 2008
Paul Ryan, Congressman (Wisconsin) 2012

Out of this group of nine Vice Presidential nominees, the ONLY ones that could be considered truly competent and qualified to be President would be Bob Dole, George H. W. Bush, Jack Kemp, and Dick Cheney. And many might consider Kemp more glorified since his death than in life, and Cheney as a corrupt, arrogant, dangerous man in office, the true motivator of the Iraq War. Also many might consider Paul Ryan competent, but when one examines his hypocrisy and lack of compassion for those less fortunate on a broad scale over his years in Congress, one has to wonder.

The others are true disasters, with Miller considered mediocre at best; Sarah Palin purely stupid and ignorant; Dan Quayle an embarrassment to the office of Vice President, making many shudder when President Bush had health issues in office; and Spiro Agnew a crook, as well as being totally terrifying in his nearly five years as Vice President, until his criminal activity was known and he was forced to resign. Imagine having to pray for Richard Nixon’s health during Agnew’s Vice Presidency, and being relieved by Gerald Ford becoming the successor to Nixon, instead of Agnew!

Also notice that five of the above nine, along with Gerald Ford, came from the House of Representatives, when usually no one would consider the lower chamber a place for future Presidential leadership! By comparison, the Democrats have never nominated a House member for Vice President since the disaster of John Nance Garner, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first two terms Vice President from 1933 to 1941, with the one exception, also a disaster, of Geraldine Ferraro being the VP nominee for Walter Mondale in 1984.

So when one compares the Democratic nominees for Vice President, we see true competence and a sense of their understanding of the importance of that office:

Hubert Humphrey 1964
Edmund Muskie 1968
Sargent Shriver 1972 (after Thomas Eagleton withdrew)
Walter Mondale 1976, 1980
Geraldine Ferraro 1984
Lloyd Bentsen 1988
Al Gore 1992, 1996
Joseph Lieberman 2000
John Edwards 2004
Joe Biden 2008, 2012

All of the above, except the disastrous Ferraro, and Shriver were US Senators, and even if one does not agree with Edwards’ ethics and morals, it can be honestly said that all nine, including the withdrawn Eagleton, were totally competent and qualified to be President of the United States, if such responsibility had been thrust on them! No one would contest Shriver’s qualifications for the office either, as he stands out as the most prominent non elected office holder ever to be in public life since World War II!

So the lack of respect for the Vice Presidency of the Republican Party in the past 50 years reveals another problem for the party, the promotion of mediocrity by a party once proud of its leadership, and the likelihood of another GOP Vice Presidential nominee in 2016, who will make us roll our eyes and pray for the Presidential nominee’s good health, being highly likely!

CPAC Convention: The Lunatic Right Displays Itself!

Ronald 39 Comments

Watching, listening, and reading about the Conservative Political Action Conference makes anyone with a stable mind roll his eyes in wonderment at what conservatism has become!

All the losers of the past were there and ranting and raving their insanity, including Rick Santorum, Rick Perry, Paul Ryan, and Mike Huckabee. The “newcomers”,” people not yet defeated but soon to be, including Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Bobby Jindal and Chris Christie, also appeared, and made fools of themselves. Of course, the ultimate lunatic and embarrassment, Donald Trump, also spewed his sick mind and constant need for attention. And to top it off, Sarah Palin is making an appearance, as if any sane, intelligent person cares! And Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, desperately trying to keep his seat, showed up brandishing a rifle, a horrible image for a Senate leader to display just a year after the Sandy Hook Massacre!

Jeb Bush and Scott Walker stayed away, for both a smart move, and Jon Huntsman was also not there, and at least for Bush and Huntsman, who are the most mainstream of this group of characters, it made sense NOT to be there!

Speaker of the House John Boehner was not invited, which should really be seen as a blessing, as he has upset right wingers by being exasperated with the Tea Party Movement, for making his job absolutely impossible in the lower chamber.

It is still reality that ONLY Jeb Bush and Jon Huntsman would have ANY chance to be elected over Hillary Clinton in the Presidential Election of 2016, but not very good odds for either of them. And again, let this author repeat, that the Electoral College strongly favors ANY Democrat to win the White House, and as long as the GOP alienates African Americans, Latinos, women, and many young voters, it will not win the White House. And as long as it fights the idea of national health care coverage for all; acceptance of gay rights and same sex marriage; opposition to immigration reforms; favors the energy industry over the environment; and continues to fight against a living wage for the poor and middle class, it will lose for the long term future! And if it continues to promote religion and theocracy, it will NEVER win the White House ever again, in a nation that believes in separation of church and state!

So those of us who care about our fellow Americans can sit and observe the CPAC Conference, and feel good that the potential candidates and the Republican party are sealing their doom for 2016 and beyond!

“Establishment” Republicans In Crisis For Presidential Nominee In 2016

Ronald 78 Comments

The “Establishment” Republicans are in a crisis, trying to find a Presidential nominee who Wall Street likes, and they thought they had New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, until his campaign collapsed, due to “Bridgegate”.

But then they thought they had a good alternative in Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, who gained establishment backing by working against labor unions in his state, and surviving a recall election. However, violation of campaign finance laws and conflicts of interest by the governor’s aides is now creating troubles for Walker, and making his possible candidacy problematical.

Add in other governors who have had ethics violations, or have faced major controversies in the way they govern, including South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley; Florida Governor Rick Scott: Texas Governor Rick Perry; Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal; Michigan Governor Rick Snyder; and New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez, among others.

Suddenly, looking to state governors as the solution for the “Establishment” Republicans to back against Tea Party types such as Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, and Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin seems unlikely to be a productive alternative!

Again, the best choices seem to be former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and former Utah Governor and Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, but the likelihood of either seeking or winning the GOP nomination for President seems highly unlikely!

Instead, some are looking to Governor John Kasich of Ohio and Governor Mike Pence of Indiana as possible choices, and this blogger will write about them more at a later time!

The Right Wing Talk Show Hosts Go Whacko Over Republican House Leadership Allowing Debt Limit Extension!

Ronald 3 Comments

For once, just once, the House Republican leadership, recognizing that the Tea Party whackos were out to cause a default and another economic crisis, did the right thing, in allowing a one year extension of the debt limit to March 15, 2015.

So Speaker John Boehner, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, and 26 others, including Kevin McCarthy, but NOT Paul Ryan, did the responsible thing, joining with 193 Democrats, to take the debt limit off the table as an issue to prevent further disarray.

But that upset the conservative talk radio hosts and Fox News Channel and right wing foundations no end, and the fury is spreading!

So we have Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Laura Ingraham, Michael Savage, Mark Levin and other demagogues who are denouncing the Republican leadership, and calling for their heads to be guillotined!

If one listens to these characters, one wonders why any intelligent human being wastes his or her time listening to their poison!

It is clear that all of these crooks, and that is what they are, are only interested in their own wealth and in selling books and giving speeches at high rates of pay before gullible audiences. They could not care less about the future of the American nation, as they are only interested in their own aggrandizement, and their pursuit to be part of the top one percent, if they are not already there!

Speaker John Boehner Finally Shows “Cojones” Against Tea Party!

Ronald 5 Comments

Speaker of the House John Boehner FINALLY has shown “cojones” against the extremist Tea Party movement and other right wing whackos in his caucus, who are anarchistic and reckless.

He overcame the “Hastert Rule”, started by previous GOP Speaker Dennis Hastert, that no bill would come up for a vote unless there was a majority of Republicans behind it.

Having already abandoned this rule a few times, Boehner took a major step yesterday when he allowed a “clean” vote on the debt limit being taken off the table as a decisive issue until March 15, 2015, insuring economic stability and growth over the next year by that action!

By a vote of 221-201, with 193 Democrats and 28 Republicans, the debt limit increase passed, but many committee chairs and Paul Ryan, Budget Committee Chair, voted NO, and it made it on the record that 199 Republicans were willing to have the government go into default, something that should harm them in the midterm elections coming up in November. Interestingly, other members of the House leadership, including Eric Cantor, the heir apparent, and Kevin McCarthy, and Darrell Issa, voted with Boehner and the 28 Republicans who voted for the debt limit extension.

Boehner may end up leaving Congress, or at least, losing the Speakership if he stays and his party keeps control, but yesterday was a profile in courage FINALLY!

And if, by some chance, Texas Senator Ted Cruz tries to block the debt limit extension by calling for a 60 vote majority to consider it, and if five Republicans cannot be found, then Harry Reid, the Majority Leader, has threatened to use the “nuclear option”, allowing for all votes in the Senate to be based on a 51 vote majority, destroying the filibuster, and then a flow of legislation has a chance to get through the Senate!

The time of the Tea Party Movement dominance over Congress MAY have come to an end, and not too soon!

The Basic Reality Of Leadership: Character And Public Presence Truly Matter!

Ronald 8 Comments

As an observer of politicians for the past 50 years, this author is absolutely amazed at how many citizens fail to see that the key issue in supporting and voting for any politician is their character and their public presence.

If one comes across in his or her public role as prejudiced, biased, uncaring, lacking in compassion for those less fortunate through no fault of their own, lacking in empathy, overly aggressive, nasty, belligerent, bullyish, inability to smile, unconcerned about how he or she deals with the media and the citizens he represents, obviously only interested in his own aggrandizement, the question is WHY would anyone support such a person for any public office?

Millions upon millions have voted for and support politicians who fit this description, and this author knows some people who do this! It is absolutely mind boggling why they find such politicians appealing! And it makes me wonder, and has done so, whether knowing these people, and associating with them, really is in the best interests of my own conscience and basic principles!

So, for instance, how anyone could have liked and admired Richard Nixon is beyond this author’s understanding, as it was very clear to me as a young teenager and after, that Nixon was not a man to be trusted.

The same goes for such politicians as Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin; Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina; Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina; Vice President Spiro Agnew of Maryland; Vice President Dick Cheney of Wyoming; and innumerable other Senators, Congressmen, Governors, cabinet officers, Supreme Court Justices, and other public figures of the past half century, while this author has been aware of what goes on in American government!

This is not saying that because someone is charming and personable and pleasant in public, that he or she cannot be corrupt and despicable, as for instance, Senator John Edwards was, regarding his wife and his cheating on her. He is one of a long list of people who appear to be decent in public, of both political persuasions, who can surprise us with their lies and deception. All of us are able to be fooled by a slick politician, no question about that!

But when one sees people now, running for President or planning to, who are similar to the few cases listed above, one wonders why anyone would support such politicians as Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, and Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, as a few examples. And how could anyone, in recent times support former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, former Senator Rick Santorum, Texas Governor Rick Perry, businessman Herman Cain, and former Florida Congressman Allen West, among others, who have worked to poison our political system in an extremely detrimental manner?

The head of this author is shaking in disbelief as to the blindness of so many people, who fail to see that these and others are phones, charlatans, and everything else described above!

A final thought I wish to make is that there are politicians who I have not agreed with on issues, but still consider them decent people on the basis of the description I have given above, meaning they do not have the negative characteristics that I outlined earlier. A short list would include Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H W Bush, and George W. Bush, along with Senators Bob Dole of Kansas and John McCain of Arizona. So it is not an issue of agreement, per se, but how politicians come across in their character and public presence!

And a final “final” thought, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is getting his “just desserts”, as his obnoxious, bullying character is proving to be truth, as to his not having the opportunity to serve as our President, thank god!

Jeb Bush: Can He Do What Only Abraham Lincoln, Richard Nixon, And Ronald Reagan Did?

Ronald Leave a comment

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, the son and brother of two Presidents, is again having his name bandied about for President of the United States, despite his mother, Barbara Bush, saying there have been enough Bushes in the White House, and that more than three or four families have talent for the Presidency. While saying that repeatedly, she always adds that her son is best qualified to be President, so it is an odd statement, to say the least!

But Speaker of the House John Boehner went out of his way to suggest Jeb Bush would be a great nominee, and certainly, the “Establishment” Republicans on Wall Street see him as more likely now than ever before, as their front line of defense against the Tea Party Movement and Ted Cruz et al, and the libertarians and Rand Paul.

Both Cruz and Paul, and really EVERY other suggested nominee, has all kinds of issues with their extreme right wing tilt. That is why New Jersey Governor Chris Christie seemed so appealing to many, after his wide victory for a second term. But now the scandals that have erupted have besmirched his reputation, and in any case, Christie would have had great trouble winning in Iowa, South Carolina, and other states as he is from the Northeast, and seen as too much like John McCain and Mitt Romney, failed GOP Presidential candidates, who are disliked by right wing talk show hosts, conservative think tanks, and the Tea Party right wingers.

So who is left for the “Establishment”? Really, only former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, who also was Ambassador to China, under President Obama, an excellent, and really the best choice, but with not a chance in hell of being able to compete, because he is too “moderate” by comparison, too smart, too intelligent, too interested in science and world affairs, too independent minded, and even not allowing his Mormon faith to dictate public policy views!

Huntsman would have the best chance to win of any Republican, but the party has a death wish, and he will not be the nominee. More likely, it would be one of a large group of horrible candidates, including, not only Cruz and Paul, but also Marco Rubio, Paul Ryan, Rick Santorum, Rick Perry, Scott Walker, Bobby Jindal, and other “nightmarish” candidates!

So the only place to turn for the “Establishment” is to another Bush, who is comparatively a moderate conservative, who has not come across as a “whacko” in office and in his public statements. He has shown tolerance on immigration issues, as with his brother, President George W. Bush, and he seems to have a comparatively open mind.

But his challenge, beyond overcoming the Bush name, after the damage his brother did in eight years in the Presidency, is that Jeb Bush has been out of public office for ten years by 2016, after eight years served as Governor of Florida. While a few military people, including retired ones, have become President, only three non military people have become President with extended periods out of public office.

Abraham Lincoln had 12 years since his one term in the House of Representatives, until his Presidential triumph in 1860.

Richard Nixon had eight years since his defeat for the Presidency in 1960, until his victory in 1968.

Ronald Reagan had six years since his Governorship of California until his victory in 1980.

Note Nixon and Reagan had a shorter number of years, than Jeb Bush has, and Nixon ran for Governor of California in 1962, and Reagan competed for the Presidential nomination in 1976, both two years after they left public office.

And Lincoln, while twelve years since his last time in public office, ran for and lost the Senate race in Illinois against Senator Stephen Douglas in 1858, ten years after his one term in the House of Representatives, and just two years before he won the Presidency.

So Jeb Bush really has no exact comparison to Nixon and Reagan, and comes closest to Lincoln.

The ultimate question is whether Jeb Bush can copy Lincoln, or even Nixon or Reagan. The betting odds on his nomination are less than 50 percent for now, and far less in a race against any Democrat in 2016, particularly Hillary Clinton!