Pennsylvania

160th Anniversary Of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address!

Today, 160 years ago, in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln delivered his two minute, ten sentence famous Gettysburg Address, arguably one of the greatest Presidential speeches in American history, despite its brevity.

Honoring the dead of both the Union side and Confederate side in the third year of the Civil War, the brief statement was panned at the time, but over the years came to be regarded as a brilliant, statesmanlike speech.

It has been glorified ever since as a sign of reconciliation, and recognition of the tragedy of the great loss of life in the Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania on July 1, 2, and 3, 1863.

It added greatly to the historic stature of Abraham Lincoln, and a model for statesmanship!

One Year To Presidential Election Of 2024, And Joe Biden Looks In Bad Shape!

With one year to the Presidential Election Of 2024, President Joe Biden looks in bad shape, based on a New York Times-Siena College poll.

According to the poll, Donald Trump is ahead of Joe Biden in five of six swing state—4 points in Pennsylvania; 5 points in Michigan and Arizona; 6 points in Georgia; 10 points in Nevada; and with Biden ahead of Trump in Wisconsin by 2 points.

These statistics are stunning and worrisome, but one must realize that the history of polling shows one year out is no judgment of what will occur on Election Day.

One year ahead, there were no predictions that Harry Truman would win a full term in 1948; or that John F. Kennedy would win in 1960; or Richard Nixon would win in 1968; or Jimmy Carter (an unknown) would win in 1976; or Ronald Reagan would win in 1980; or Bill Clinton would win in 1992; or George W. Bush would win in 2000; or that Barack Obama would win in 2008; or that Donald Trump would win in 2016.

Also, one must realize that never has a President lost reelection to an opponent he had first defeated since Benjamin Harrison lost reelection to Grover Cleveland in 1892.

And with Donald Trump likely to be convicted on some of the 91 charges over four indictments in the next year, to believe that he will be able to defeat the man who defeated him, for the first time in 132 years, is to be living in an era of delusion.

Assuming that the economy will continue to do better, and with international crises a major factor, the President in office is, historically, highly likely to win reelection, particularly against someone who represents chaos, corruption, and incompetence, and as a threat to the American democratic system and to international stability!

But it is also clear that the message and the efforts to reelect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and insure a Democratic controlled House of Representatives and Senate must move full scale ahead, as there is no time for any sense of relaxation about the future of the nation and the world at large!

The Midwest And Pennsylvania The Fulcrum Of The Presidential Election Of 2024

The heartland of the nation—the Midwest—is the fulcrum of the Presidential Election Of 2024 with its combination of electoral votes.

The states of Illinois (19), Ohio (17), Michigan (15), Wisconsin (10) and Minnesota (10), are likely to decide who wins the Presidency and controls both houses of Congress. Add “next door” Pennsylvania (19) to the mix, and that is a certainty!

All of these states, except Ohio, went to Joe Biden over Donald Trump in 2020; and Trump won four of these states in 2016—all but Illinois and Minnesota, which went to Hillary Clinton.

The first Republican debate, sponsored by Fox News Channel, this coming Wednesday, will be in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as will be the site of the Republican National Convention from July 15-18, 2024.

And the Democratic National Convention will be held in Chicago, Illinois from August 19-22, 2024!

So both parties know that the Midwest, plus Pennsylvania, is the most important target in election of the next President of the United States!

One must realize that it was the Upper Midwest where the Republican Party was born in 1854, so next year it is 170 years since the founding of a party now in crisis, due to Donald Trump’s corruption!

Time To Bar Donald Trump From State Ballots Under 14th Amendment, Section 3!

Congress passed and the states ratified the 14th Amendment after the Civil War, including Section 3, which bars those who have mounted insurrection against the US Government from ever again serving in federal or state government.

This was a reaction to the Confederate rebellion against the United States from 1861-1865, which resulted in the deaths of a third of a million soldiers.

But by being part of the 14th Amendment, it could be applied to any future threat to the United States government, which most certainly, the January 6, 2021 US Capitol Insurrection was to American democracy and the rule of law.

So it is in the power of state legislatures and state Secretaries of State to bar any candidate for public office who waged insurrection on January 6.

So “Blue” states, such as large electoral vote states California, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Michigan, as well as others, have the power to take action barring Donald Trummp from being on the ballots for the Presidential Election of 2024!

It is urgent that such action be taken NOW!

Seven States 2020 Presidential Election Results And Trump Challenge Now Under Further Investigation!

Donald Trump is facing further investigation and likely indictments, and the federal prosecutor Jack Smith has now had all election supervisors testify in the 7 states that the Trump campaign made the center of their challenges to the Presidential Election of 2020!

These seven states are:

Arizona
Nevada
New Mexico
Michigan
Wisconsin
Pennsylvania
Georgia

All of these states are certain to be the center of attention in the upcoming Presidential Election of 2024.

Only Nevada and New Mexico went to the Democrats in both elections, while the other five went from supporting Donald Trump and the Republican Party in 2016 to support of Joe Biden in 2020.

So investigation of the pressures brought upon these seven states, and particularly the five which switched from 2016 to 2020, is crucial in the prosecution of Trump, and the center of attention for 2024!

Two New Inaugurated Democratic Governors Give Us Hope For Future!

This week saw the inaugurations of two new young Democratic Governors in the Northeast-Mid Atlantic area, and both represent great hopes for the future.

In Maryland, a state which has advanced in the areas of race and gender more than most states, we saw the inauguration of an African American governor, Wes Moore, formerly head of the Robin Hood Foundation, a Rhodes Scholar, and serving in the war in Afghanistan. He is only the third African American governor in US History, and is very inspiring and charismatic at age 44.

And in Pennsylvania, we saw former state Attorney General, and newly inaugurated Governor Josh Shapiro, who is equally inspiring, and is seen by some as the first Jewish President in the future, take over leadership of a crucial state in the Electoral College past, present, and future. He is 49 years old and offers great potential in the future beyond the governorship.

So while there is so much cynicism and negativism about American politics among many Americans, there is indeed a sense of hope for the future!

Arizona And Georgia Key States Now, NOT Florida And Texas!

As a result of the Midterm Elections of 2022, after the Presidential Election of 2020, it is clear that Arizona and Georgia are the key states for the Democrats, although they do not make up for the Republican dominance of Florida and Texas!

But with Pennsylvania and Michigan also becoming more likely Democratic based on recent elections, and adding the Northeast and Pacific Coast, the Midwest states of Illinois and Minnesota, and a few Mountain states, such as Colorado, New Mexico, and Nevada, the prognosis for the Democrats in 2024 and beyond, is looking good, in regards to the Electoral College!

Liz Cheney Vows To Do What Has To Be Done To Keep Donald Trump Out Of White House!

Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney of Wyoming was interviewed at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, Texas, on Sunday.

Vice Chair of the January 6 House Committee investigating the US Capitol Insurrection, but defeated for renomination in her home state, Cheney has vowed that she will do what has to be done to keep Donald Trump out of the White House in the Presidential Election of 2024.

She has hinted at running for President, to stop Trump, and willing to support Democrats, even though she does not believe in many of their ideas, but sees Trump as a “clear and present danger” to American democracy.

She plans to campaign for Democrats in states where Republicans are election deniers, including for Katie Hobbs in Arizona and against Kari Lake, one of the wackiest Republicans running for Governor in the midterm elections. Also, she will campaign against Doug Mastriano in Pennsylvania, running against Democrat Josh Shapiro for Governor.

And Cheney has said that if Donald Trump is nominated for President in 2024, she will no longer be a Republican!

Republican Party A Threat With “Election Deniers” And “Election Doubters” In 2022 Midterm Elections!

With the Midterm Elections of 2022 on the horizon, the Republican Party represents a threat, due to such a large percentage of office seekers being “Election Deniers” or “Election Doubters”. These can be called the “MAGA” Candidates!

In the US Senate, we have seven Senators who refused to back the Electoral College vote on January 6, 2021, even after the Insurrection took place on that day at the US Capitol. They are not facing reelection this year, but three Senate candidates are “Election Deniers”, and seen as likely to win Senate seats, so making 10 Senators in this category.

In the House of Representatives, there are 118 seated “Election Deniers” and 8 “Election Doubters” in the chamber, running for reelection, and likely to keep their seats in the lower chamber.

In the Governorships, there are 2 “Election Deniers” and 3 “Election Doubters” seen as likely to either keep their seats or win their seats, and this does not include the possibility of Arizona and Pennsylvania being won as well.

Out of 541 Republicans running for office, 199 are “Election Deniers”, and 62 have raised questions about the 2020 election, with 118 candidates refusing to comment at all, with only 74 fully accepting the 2020 election results, and 88 accepting but with some reservations.

Overall, 60 percent of Americans will have an “Election Denier” on their ballots in November!

Nationally, 27 states have “Election Deniers” running, including much of the Midwest, Mountain States, New England, and the South, but also including New York and Pennsylvania!

And Arizona is perceived as the most “rebellious” state of all, regarding the House membership, the Senate race, and also the Governorship!

These statistics come from a report from the website “Five Thirty Eight”, and I thank them for this information!

This is alarming, almost like the Confederate States of America taking over the Governorships and US Congress after the Civil War!

Labor Day Should Remind Us Of Significance Of Labor Unions In American History!

Monday is Labor Day, a celebration of the contributions and sacrifices of generations of workers who struggled to honor the efforts of working people, who had to combat the power of corporations and commit themselves to reform and humane treatment.

The first national holiday came about in the Presidency of Grover Cleveland in 1894, just as we had the Pullman Strike, which led to the imprisonment of Socialist Eugene Debs, but led to the growing success of organized labor over the next decades.

The ultimate triumph of organized labor came in the New Deal of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and while much of the nation, particularly the Southern states, worked against unionization, there was expansion of labor union membership nationally.

Sadly, the Presidency of Ronald Reagan saw labor union growth come to a halt, and has only recently started to increase once again.

But membership in labor unions is only in the midteens in number right now, when it once was about a third to 40 percent.

President Joe Biden, however, is a champion of organized labor, and will speak on Labor Day tomorrow in Pittsburgh, to commemorate labor, and call for the further expansion of unions for workers!

In the Presidential Election of 2020, Biden gained the backing of 56 percent of union households, crucial to his victories in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania in particular!