Presidential Election Of 2016

Eight Senate Democrats Under Fire For Joining Republicans In Agreeing To Reopen The Federal Government!

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Seven Senate Democrats and Independent Angus King of Maine have come under fire for joining Republicans to pass the Budget bill to reopen the Federal Government, and end the Government Shutdown of 42 days.

Two of these eight Senators—Minority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois and New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen—are retiring at the end of 2026.

Durbin will be 82 at the end of his term, having served 30 years in the Senate, including times as Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman, and an additional 14 years in the House of Representatives.

Shaheen will be 80 shortly after leaving office after 18 years in the Senate, and an earlier six years as Governor of New Hampshire.

Three of these eight Senators—John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada—face election in 2028.

Fetterman is 56, earlier was Lieutenant Governor of his state, and is in his first term in the Senate, with a reputation of being an outlier, unpredictable and controversial in his utterances and actions.

Hassan is 67, in second term in the Senate, and former governor of her state.

Cortez Masto is 61, in her second term in the Senate, and former Attorney General of her state.

The remaining three Senators—Jacky Rosen of Nevada, Tim Kaine of Virginia, and Angus King of Maine—do not face voters again until 2030.

Rosen is 68, in her second term in the Senate, and served one term in the House of Representatives.

Kaine is 67, in his third term in the US Senate, after having served earlier as Governor and Lieutenant Governor of his state, and also, Mayor of Richmond. Most notably, he also was the Vice Presidential nominee for Hillary Clinton in the Presidential Election of 2016.

King is 81, in his third term in the Senate, and former governor of Maine. He is a political Independent, who caucuses with the Democrats.

This group of Senators is generally termed as “moderate”, and they are gaining a lot of criticism, for what is seen as “caving in” to the Republicans, with no certainty that any action will be taken regarding health care coverage for millions of Americans.

It is clear that a new generation of leadership is needed, as by the time the term ends for six of these eight Senators, they will be in their 70s and 80s, with the only exceptions being Fetterman and Cortez Masto.

Ironic That James Comey Actually “Helped” Trump Win In 2016, And Now Indicted By Trump Administration!

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There are so many ironies about Donald Trump, but one of the most amazing is that Trump has no regard for someone who, unwittingly, helped him become President.

As head of the FBI in 2016, Comey, a registered Republican, announced an investigation of Hillary Clinton, which he then dropped 11 days later, but the damage was done.

Despite Clinton’s winning the popular vote by 2.85 million votes over Donald Trump, it was not enough to stop Trump in the Electoral College, making him the fourth time that a popular vote loser won the Presidency in the Electoral College.

Trump was not happy with James Comey, and fired him early in his first term, but now is attempting to bring him to a conviction based on flimsy evidence, forcing his politicized Justice Department under Attorney General Pam Bondi to indict him, as has just occurred.

This will be an interesting legal challenge for James Comey, but the odds of Donald Trump seeing a conviction of the former FBI head is quite remote!

It should remind Trump supporters in Congress that Trump will stop at nothing in his quest to be an authoritarian dictator!

A Time To Celebrate: 17 Years Of “The Progressive Professor”, But Also A Time To Mourn The Demise Of The American Experiment! :(

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Today, August 11, marks precisely SEVENTEEN years of this author and blogger publishing commentary on this blog, “The Progressive Professor”, that was created in 2008, with the support and encouragement of my older son, David Feinman, who knew I had a passion to share my thoughts on American history, government and politics with others!

In those 17 years, there have been to date 8,550 articles published, and 28,532 comments made by my readers and followers. The comments added have been invaluable, and have, immensely, improved the whole concept of the blog, so I wish to thank all of those individuals who have committed themselves to contributing their thoughts and ideas, to the benefit of all those who read the blog daily.

In the present political climate, one cannot be certain that there will be a continuation of the blog long term, as these are dangerous times to be expressing thoughts, many of them critical, of events and personalities.

We may be witnessing the collapse of American democracy, the Constitution, and the rule of law, and we may not survive the Presidency of Donald Trump, with the ability to restore what we had over nearly 250 years–an evolving nation with many faults which moved toward “a more perfect union”.

That has been destroyed by a quarter century of deceit and right wing extremism, motivated from the time of the Presidential Election of 2000, when Al Gore was denied the Presidency in favor of George W. Bush by a Supreme Court which showed it had no principles other than promoting aggrandizement of the nation by the wealthy.

Barack Obama came along and gave us hope of recovery, but faced great and fierce opposition, and the right wing extremist factions worked to, once again, undermine the American experiment by denying Hillary Clinton the Presidency in 2016 in favor of Donald Trump, who had ill intentions from the beginning.

Donald Trump worked at destroying the American Republic, and the nation was only, miraculously, saved in 2020 by the good fortune of Joe Biden coming along at the right time.

But the right wing forces attempted a coup d’etat, an Insurrection, NOT as some people claimed just a “riot”, but now being wiped out as if it never happened, as those who were involved in criminal acts have been “exonerated” by Trump pardons.

But the “disease” promoted by Trump and minions–the spreading of nativism, racism, misogyny, and homophobia by religious extremists—managed to convince gullible and poorly educated Americans to vote in 2024 to overcome and destroy the Republic that they did not fully appreciate, a shocking development.

Now, the rest of us are forced to suffer the ignorance, stupidity, and bias of ill informed and ill educated people, and are seeing our civil liberties destroyed.

Personally, having retired completely from teaching at the university level after 53 years, this author and blogger is, fortunately, continuing to give lectures to adults and senior citizens in South Florida, but it is difficult to predict what will happen in the short run and long run regarding this blog.

I just wish to hope for the best for myself, and all those who read my blog, as we move forward to chart whatever the future brings, which at this moment, does not look promising.

The future seems, sadly, likely to see the promotion of authoritarianism; the collapse of the economy with destructive tariffs; and the triumph of evil in international affairs, as witnessed by the Russia-Ukraine War and the Israel-Gaza War.

Thanks again, for your support and encouragement, to all those who read and contribute to this blog.

Trump Promoting Revenge And Retribution Against James Comey And John Brennan!

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Donald Trump is following through on his campaign of revenge and retribution against his critics, most notably now with the announcement that the Department of Justice is pursuing an investigation of former FBI Director James Comey and former CIA Director John Brennan, both of whom were fired by Trump early in his first term.

One can certainly find fault with some of the actions or policies of any government agency, but this is a direct attack on the intelligence agencies, which should never be politicized.

The fact that both the FBI and CIA engaged in investigation of the close association between candidate Trump and Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation during the Presidential Election campaign of 2016 is the center of Trump’s wrath.

The Senate Intelligence Committee headed by, of all people, Florida Senator Marco Rubio in 2019, demonstrated that there WAS a connection between Trump and Putin, that affected the election results, and led to the defeat of Hillary Clinton in 2016.

And it was Comey who created a controversy just less than two weeks before the election regarding Clinton, which, ironically, helped Trump to pull out a victory despite losing the national popular vote by more than a half million votes!

“Giving Pass” To Marco Rubio No Longer Possible!

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This author and blogger has always felt, in comparison to Florida Senator Rick Scott and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, that former Florida Senator, and now Secretary of State Marco Rubio, was far less objectionable, although not acceptable.

Apparently, all of the Democrats in the US Senate felt similarly, as every Senator of both parties voted for Rubio to be Secretary of State for Donald Trump.

The feeling was on this author and blogger’s part, that Marco Rubio, despite doubts about him, was the “best” member of the Trump Cabinet, less outrageous, less objectionable, less infuriating, and less arrogant and nasty.

Well, after his testimony before the Senate yesterday, and his declaration that neither he nor President Trump ever needed to obey the federal courts on the issue of “due process” and “writ of habeus corpus” regarding deportation of immigrants, now it is clear Marco Rubio is as arrogant and abusive and law breaking as all other members of the Trump Cabinet!

A number of Democratic Senators, including Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Jacky Rosen of Nevada, as well as others, were outraged and stunned at what has happened to Marco Rubio.

Marco Rubio, who was such a critic of Donald Trump in 2016 and during his term on many issues, and seemed to have true principles, has “sold his soul” to Donald Trump!

When he seemed visually uncomfortable a few times at the Oval Office meetings and Trump Cabinet meetings, the thought was that he was very uncomfortable working for Trump, but that perception clearly was wrong.

So for his own future ambitions, including likely wanting to consider running for the Presidency, Marco Rubio has disgraced his name in the long run of history!

His reputation, whatever good it was, is destroyed by his kowtowing to an authoritarian leader who is only too willing to deport people of Rubio’s Cuban ethnicity as well as everyone else who is not clearly “white” South African Afrikaners, or people from countries such as Norway and Sweden (blond hair, blue eyed whites)!

The Problem Of Age In The Presidency Made Clear!

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At the end of his time in the Presidency, Dwight D. Eisenhower, who left office in January 1961 at the age of 70 years and 3 months, was the oldest President in American history.

Eisenhower made the statement that no one older than himself as he left office should be in the Oval Office.

However, that was not to be, as Ronald Reagan entered the Presidency a few weeks short of 70, and had signs of Alzheimer’s Disease detected by his second term, although he was well protected by his staff who denied any issue, and left office nearly 78 years old. Only years later, was it made clear that he had dementia, and he lived on until age 93, but not even knowing his own wife, Nancy, in the last few years of his life.

And then, we had others even older when winning the Presidency than Reagan, becoming nominees–specifically Bob Dole at age 73 in 1996, and John McCain at age 72 in 2008.

Neither won the Presidency, but the age issue was still there, and then Donald Trump won the Presidency and was seven months beyond the age of 70 when he took the Presidential oath in 2017.

And then, Joe Biden won the Presidency, and took the oath at age 78 in 2021.

And finally, Donald Trump returned to the White House at age 78 in 2025, five months older than Biden was four years earlier.

So the issue of age has become a crisis, and not only for Presidents, but also for members of Congress, and sometimes Governors, who are serving in their 70s and 80s, avoiding retirement.

There is a dire need for some youth in the Presidency, like we had with John F. Kennedy at age 43 in 1961; Bill Clinton at age 46 (and his Vice President Al Gore at age 44) in 1993; and Barack Obama at 47 in 2009.

Sadly, Joe Biden displayed evidence of mental and physical decline, now being debated and published about, and Donald Trump, both in his first, and now his second term, has also shown great evidence of decline.

So in 2028, youth is likely to be triumphant, and all for the better, although one can be sure some political figures who are reaching higher ages, are likely to contend for the Presidential nominations.

Whatever “Honeymoon” Trump Had Is Gone, Based On Public Opinion Polls At End Of First Hundred Days!

Ronald 20 Comments

Donald Trump supporters and the President himself love to say he has had a “honeymoon”, even though his 49.9 percent victory in the popular vote in the Presidential Election of 2024 was the worst since Richard Nixon in 1968 and John F. Kennedy in 1960.

But polls now coming out show Trump’s “honeymoon’, if it existed, is over, as he has the lowest public opinion rating after 100 days in office of any President since public opinion polls began decades ago.

Trump has 44 percent support in the Fox News Poll, down from 45 percent after the first hundred days of his first term!

Meanwhile, Joe Biden had 54 percent; Barack Obama had 62 percent; and George W. Bush had 63 percent at this point of their administrations.

This is a bad sign for Trump, who, one must recall, lost the popular vote by 2.85 million in 2016 and by 7.1 million in 2020!

Trump has never been able to gain majority support of the population at any time, despite his delusions that he is widely accepted!

And in The Economist poll after 100 days, Trump is rated even lower than in the Fox News poll, at 41 percent!

Delusional And Unconstitutional Ideas Of Third Term For Donald Trump!

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As public opinion polls make clear that Donald Trump is becoming very unpopular with his dizzying, chaotic policies after just ten weeks in office, Trump is speaking about a third term as President.

This is impossible, as the 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1951 after Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected four times to the Presidency, limits any President to two elected terms, or if succeeding to the office, a maximum of ten years is allowed,meaning only if a Vice President comes into the Presidency with less than two years left, then he could be elected twice, for a total of up to ten years.

Already, Lyndon B. Johnson, before he dropped out of the Presidential race in 1968, could have had 9 years and two months in office, while Gerald Ford, who came in with 2 years and five months left in the term, could only be elected once, but was defeated in 1976.

To overcome this amendment would require a repeal of the 22nd Amendment, and a succession amendment that changed these limitations.

But that would require a two thirds vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, followed by support of 38 states out of 50 by majority vote in both houses of the state legislature.

Such is not going to happen, and certainly, not rapidly enough for 2028.

Clearly, Trump is delusional, with his idea that JD Vance might be elected with Trump as Vice President, and then would resign to allow Trump to come back to the White House.

But that would never happen, and still violates the 22nd Amendment.

Also, when Trump says he loves work, that is purely a lie, as he spends too much time golfing, and everyone who has observed him, knows he is lazy and does not like the details of the job, and hardly reads any important information more than one page in length.

This whole concept of a third term for Trump will never happen constitutionally, and is just a smoke screen for Trump to gain constant attention.

And his comment that he is the most popular Republican President in the past century shows his lack of knowledge and reality about Dwight D. Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan, who had much higher public opinion support than Trump, who has never had the backing of a majority of the American people.

It is also ignoring the massive election victories of Richard Nixon in 1972 and Ronald Reagan in 1984, compared to the less than a majority victory of Trump in 2024 and his failure to win the popular vote in 2016, losing by 2.85 million votes!

The Signal Chat Leak About Yemen Attack An Unmitigated Disaster, Indicates Total Recklessness And Incompetence Of Trump!

Ronald 12 Comments

A true disaster is the best way to describe the Signal Chat Leak about the attack on Yemen, which included a journalist by blunder, and revealed secret intelligence information, which could have killed military personnel involved in the military strike on the terrorist group, the Houthis.

Donald Trump refused to take any responsibility for the horrendous blundering by his Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth; his Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard; his National Security Adviser Michael Waltz; and his CIA Director John Ratcliffe.

No one is taking the blame and being fired or resigning, but if this had happened under Joe Biden’s Presidency, Republicans would be calling for the heads of the agencies mentioned above.

Republicans incessantly went after Hillary Clinton’s emails during the 2016 Presidential campaign, but now Donald Trump acts distantly from the controversy, calling it “a witch hunt”, his favored term to attack all critics on any issue or controversy that arises.

This controversy also undermines our foreign allies’ trust in the United States, as it is clear that Trump and his intelligence and defense leadership is incompetent, arrogant, and more interested in cozying up to dictators, rather than democracies!

Donald Trump’s Victory In 2024 Fifth Lowest Since 1924!

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Donald Trump and his loyalists continue to declare that he had a “massive” victory in the Presidential Election of 2024, when he most certainly did not, and including the fact that his Republican Party now has the barest margin in the House of Representatives that has occurred since the 72nd Congress in 1931-1932, losing the majority on October 22, 1931 to the Democrats and never regaining the majority again until the 80th Congress in 1947-1948.

Trump has the fifth lowest margin of victory by 1.7 percent, only higher than Richard Nixon in 1968 with 0.7 percent, John F. Kennedy in 1960 with O.2 percent, George W. Bush with MINUS 0.5 percent in 2000, and Trump with MINUS 2.1 percent in 2016, with the last two losing the popular vote, but winning the Electoral College.

And Trump did NOT gain the majority of the popular vote, ending up with 49.9 percent.

So Donald Trump does NOT have the mandate he thinks he has, and if Republicans lose one or two seats in replacement elections for members of the House that are joining the administration from Florida and New York, then the Democrats have the possibility of gaining control of the House of Representatives during the present 119th Congress.