Presidential Election Of 2020

Trump’s Desire To “Nationalize” Elections Means Push To Fix And Control Election Results: An Alarm Bell Danger To American Democracy!

Ronald 23 Comments

“Free and Fair Elections” are the lifeblood of American democracy, and of any democracy around the world.

Without such processes, it means authoritarian controls and dictates the lives of 340 million Americans.

Elections have always been held, conducted, and results counted, by state and local governments, never by the federal government.

But now, Donald Trump is calling for “nationalizing” elections, focusing on 15 states, those that are seen as “Swing” states, and also counties, that have produced results that are unfavorable to Donald Trump and his policies and beliefs.

Trump has already claimed “voter fraud”, without any evidence, that although he lost the state of Minnesota in three national elections, that actually, he won that state, and the results showing his loss were “fixed”, when that is exactly what he wishes to do in that “Blue” state and others.

Clearly, Trump is terrified that if the Democrats gain control of either or both chambers of Congress in the Midterm 2026 Elections, they will pursue investigations and subpoenas into his administration’s actions, and would likely move to impeach him and many of his Cabinet Officers for malfeasance.

Trump is clearly desperate to eliminate his rivals in the Democratic Party, and to defeat the small number of Republicans who have dared to challenge him.

This is a threat that has been perceived for a long time, and now, with the seizure illegally by FBI agents of election records in Fulton County, Georgia, and the involvement of the Director of National Security Tulsi Gabbard in the action, is extremely alarming, and totally outside of her area of responsibility.

It is clear that Donald Trump has no scruples, and will do everything illegally to control the election results for 2026 and 2028, until and when he is stopped dead in his tracks by legal actions of his critics.

This is an alarming threat to the upcoming elections and the rule of law!

New Escalations On Freedom Of The Press And Voting Rights By Trump Administration!

Ronald 10 Comments

Alarming new escalations on Freedom of the Press and Voting Rights are being promoted by Donald Trump and his Cabinet and other collaborators, with never a day going by that a new outrage is not being perpetrated.

Shocking news that Don Lemon, the former CNN anchor, has been arrested, along with other journalists, for engaging in interviews and reporting at a Minnesota church in which protestors engaged in demonstrations against the horrors of the ICE intervention in Minneapolis, at a church in which the pastor is an ICE administrator.

Also, the FBI has raided the Georgia Elections Office in Atlanta to seize the records of the voters and vote results of the Presidential Election of 2020, a sign of the purpose to intervene illegally in future elections in 2026 and 2028 in Georgia, a key swing state. Donald Trump continues to claim that the results in Georgia in 2020 were fixed and corrupt against him, a sign of his mental instability.

Already, Attorney General Pam Bondi has told Minnesota government leaders that the aggressive ICE intervention in that state would end if the state government would share voter rolls and information, another sign of the federal government trying to interfere with future elections, and gain private information about voters, an illegal action.

The Trump Administration is continuing to engage in authoritarian moves, and there are mass demonstrations all over the country to resist such actions, in what is clearly a never ending struggle for survival of American democracy and the rule of law.

Amy Klobuchar Becomes 4th Sitting Senator In 2026 Running For Governor Of Their States

Ronald 1 Comment

The announcement by Minnesota Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar that she is running for Governor, makes her the fourth sitting US Senator who is choosing, if the voters agree, to transfer from the legislative branch to being Chief Executive of their state governments.

The other three sitting Senators taking the same path are:

Michael Bennet (D) Colorado
Marsha Blackburn (R) Tennessee
Tommy Tuberville (R) Alabama

Klobuchar has been in the Senate since 2007, and if she were to fail to win the election this fall, she would keep her seat in the Senate, secure until 2030. She is a national figure, due to her run for the Presidency in 2020. The odds are heavy in her favor to win the Governorship of a state strongly “Blue”, and to succeed Tim Walz.

Michael Bennet has been in the Senate since 2009, and would keep his seat until 2028 if he lost the Governorship, but is heavily favored to win what is a largely “Blue” state. He also was a Presidential contender in 2020.

Marsha Blackburn has been in the Senate since 2019, and would keep her seat until 2030 were she to lose the Governorship race, which is unlikely. She also served in the House of Representatives from 2003-2019.

Tommy Tuberville has been in the Senate since 2021, and his former football coach background insures that he will, very likely, win the Alabama Governorship, just as his one Senate term ends in 2026.

With the likelihood that all four Senators will win their state Governorship election, and adding the nine Senators who are retiring from the Senate at the end of 2026, that means at least 13 Senators will be newly elected this November.

This does not include the contended Senate seats, which could bring about up to another 4-8 newly elected Senators.

So we are witnessing what could be one out of every five Senators being new to the body, and as it is now, at least one of every eight!

There have been, historically, 2,018 Senators, and after these meidterm elections, they will be greater than 2,030 in number!

Two Former Republicans Running As Democrats In Gubernatorial Races In Georgia And Florida

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In the highly significant states of Georgia and Florida, with Republican Governors retiring, there is a hopeful opportunity for two former Republicans who have switched to the Democratic Party due to Donald Trump’s abuses, to compete for their states’ governorships.

In Georgia, Governor Brian Kemp is term limited, and Democrats are seen as having a good chance to gain the Governorship, even though the state legislature is heavily Republican.

The Georgia Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, is a possible Republican choice, who had to deal with Donald Trump’s attempt to try to fix the Georgia Presidential election results in 2020, and refused to cooperate with Trump.

But Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones, in office in the present term, is favored in public opinion polls and in endorsements, having succeeded former Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan, who repudiated his Republican ties and has become a Democrat. He is one of two most likely Democratic choices, with the other being former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, with Bottoms at this point way ahead in endorsements and polling.

In the state of Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis is term limited, and the Republican Party has two major competitors to succeed him as the party nominee. They are Northern Florida Congressman Byron Donalds, and former State Speaker of the House Paul Renner, but with present short term Lieutenant Governor Jay Collins possibly entering the race, supposedly with the backing of Governor DeSantis.

Donalds is, at this point, way ahead in polling and endorsements, but subject to possible changes

The Democrats, who have not won the governorship since 1994, see their best chance with former Republican Congressman David Jolly, who has heavy polling and endorsement support, but will have a challenge from Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings.

Sadly, in both Georgia and Florida, it will be a major accomplishment if the Democrats win either race, with the odds in Florida a bit better, as polls indicate a tight race between Donalds and Jolly at this point.

Republican Vice Presidents Since 1969—Vance The Worst Of The Worst Since Spiro Agnew! :(

Ronald 4 Comments

In the past 56 years, we have had six Republican Presidents—Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H W Bush, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump.

In that same period, we have had eight Republican Vice Presidents—Spiro Agnew, Gerald Ford, Nelson Rockefeller, George H W Bush, Dan Quayle, Dick Cheney, Mike Pence, and JD Vance.

It is well recognized that three of these six Republican Presidents are rated higher than the other three—meaning Ronald Reagan, George H W Bush, and Gerald Ford.

George W. Bush, Richard Nixon, and Donald Trump are in the bottom third, with Trump nearly at the total bottom.

When one looks at the eight Republican Vice Presidents, only Gerald Ford, Nelson Rockefeller, and George H W Bush are seen as above average.

Ranking the remaining five is ranking as much lower and far worse in performance, with Spiro Agnew seen as the bottom, but with Dan Quayle and Dick Cheney seen as not much better, and with Mike Pence just slightly above them.

And then, there is the present Vice President, JD Vance, who in seven months has managed to cause outrage by his utterances and his actions, making one fear the thought that he might be the successor to Donald Trump.

At age 41, if Vance became President by succession before the summer of 2027, he would be the youngest President in American history, as Theodore Roosevelt was 42 years and 10 and a half months of age when he succeeded the assassinated William McKinley in September 1901.

Compared to his predecessor, Mike Pence, Vance has managed to be much more controversial, and makes one at least admire Pence for having strong convictions, including refusing to accept Donald Trump’s assertion that he should support a rejection of the Electoral College results in the Presidential Election of 2020.

This led to the threatened hanging of Mike Pence by the January 6, 2021 US Capitol Insurrectionists, who had set up a noose outside the building.

One cannot be sure that Vance would be any improvement on Donald Trump, as he is clearly totally unprincipled and insensitive in his statements and actions, and therefore, cannot be trusted as a potential future Commander in Chief.

Vance should be promoting the preservation of American democracy, but seems more interested in supporting the authoritarianism of Donald Trump, which presents a dire threat to the Bill of Rights and the Constitution.

By comparison, the Democratic Party has had four Vice Presidents since 1969—Walter Mondale under Jimmy Carter; Al Gore under Bill Clinton; Joe Biden under Barack Obama; and Kamala Harris under Joe Biden.

While the view of Harris is too recent to be reliable, any estimation of the significance of Mondale, Gore, and Biden makes it clear that they are the top three Vice Presidents of modern times, and arguably, of all time!

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

Ronald 4 Comments

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.

Shocking Diagnosis On Joe Biden: Time For Compassion And Unity!

Ronald 6 Comments

The revelation on Sunday that former President Joe Biden has stage 4 Prostate Cancer, and that it has metatasized to his bones, is a shock and a time for compassion and unity, as well as prayers for his recovery, which although daunting, is a possibility.

Even President Donald Trump and Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene have found it possible to send their good wishes and avoid the constant attacks they have unleashed on Joe Biden, while he was President, and now as a former President.

This author and blogger has seen Joe Biden as the most compassionate, decent, empathetic political leader, bar none, since the tragic death of Hubert H. Humphrey a long 47 years ago, in 1978.

At that time, I looked around and saw Biden as the best model to replace Humphrey, and wished for him to become President, with him unable to accomplish this goal in 1988 and 2008.

But I was thrilled when Barack Obama made Joe Biden his Vice President, and their relationship and interaction was only surpassed in American history before and since, by Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale from 1977-1981.

Looking back now, it is clear that had Joe Biden somehow won a second term, he would, most likely, be forced to resign, and Kamala Harris would have become President.

If only Joe Biden had realized, at his age, that it was time to retire, and had done so earlier, the nightmare America is living through in the present, could have been avoided.

That is the tragedy of a man who wanted the best for his nation, but yet, may have blundered in not realizing his age and mortality earlier than July 2024, when he announced he would not run, and was replaced by Harris.

In any case, let all of us pray for Joe Biden’s recovery, and many more years of life in retirement!

The Problem Of Age In The Presidency Made Clear!

Ronald 3 Comments

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!

JD Vance, An Opportunist And Untrustworthy Heir Apparent To Presidency! :(

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Vice President JD Vance, in his first three months as the 50th Vice President, has demonstrated that he is an opportunist who is untrustworthy.

Vance has stirred a lot of controversy with his statements and actions, making clear of his goal of being Donald Trump’s successor in the White House.

With Donald Trump’s often irrational and contradictory statements and policy changes, stirring a lot of chaos, the sense is that Vance might, at some point, succeed to the Oval Office during this term.

This is a man who has completely reversed himself from his views and thoughts about Donald Trump.

Vance has antagonized our traditional NATO allies with his anti Ukraine utterances, and his pro Russian and anti immigrant leanings make him clearly a man of no decency and compassion.

His nasty and aggressive interaction with Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office was highly inappropriate!

Also, his uninvited trip to Greenland, and his aggressive stance toward Denmark, has made that nation and NATO very uneasy.

As the third youngest Vice President, after John C Breckinridge (1857-1861) and Richard Nixon (1953-1961), he is perceived as the likely MAGA Republican front runner in 2028.

The thought of Vance as the likely successor to Trump is a horror, and makes former Vice President Mike Pence look a lot better!

At least, Pence did the right thing in counting the Electoral Vote results at the time of the US Capitol Insurrection, while Vance has said he would not have accepted those results, which are meant to be ceremonial.