Richard Nixon And Watergate Scandal

Presidents In Conflict With The Judiciary Are Nothing New Historically, But Trump Could Be The Biggest Threat Yet To Our Constitutional System

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The conflict of President Donald Trump with the judiciary is not the first time there has been a challenge from a President to the judicial branch.

Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson had regular conflict with Chief Justice John Marshall and the federal courts in the first third of the 19th century.

Abraham Lincoln had vehement disagreements with Chief Justice Roger Taney in the era of the Civil War.

Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson both found the Supreme Court as standing in the way of progressive reform in the early 20th century.

Franklin D. Roosevelt was so frustrated by a conservative Supreme Court negating important legislation of the New Deal in the mid 1930s, that he proposed the idea of adding six new Justices to the Court in 1937. This came to be known as the “Court Packing” plan, and was soundly defeated, including by members of his own Democratic Party.

Richard Nixon had issues with the rulings of the Earl Warren Court before he was President, and the continued Warren influence on the Court under his successor, Warren Burger. And, Nixon was stopped dead in his tracks in US. V. Nixon in 1974, forcing him to hand over the Watergate Tapes to the Special Prosecutor, Leon Jaworski, leading him to resign the Presidency in August 1974.

Barack Obama was critical of the John Roberts Court on its conservative decisions early on in his Presidency in 2010.

And now, Donald Trump has unleashed what many consider the strongest challenge to the whole federal judiciary, alarming many constitutional experts as far more dangerous and threatening to the checks and balances of the Constitution and the separation of powers.

It is clear that Trump has declared war on the judiciary, but it could be that the Roberts Court will smack back at him when cases regarding his abuse of power make it to the Court, so Trump may be “hoist by hid own petard”, and regret the attacks he has made on the whole court system.

Midterm Election History In First Presidential Midterms Since 1946, And Likelihood Of Results Of Midterm Elections In 2018

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With the Midterm Elections of 2018 upon us in less than two weeks, it is time to analyze midterm election results in the first such elections after a new President has come to office, starting with Harry Truman in 1946 and all the way through to Barack Obama in 2010.

We are discussing 12 Presidents and how they were factors in the midterm elections which followed their entering the Presidency.

Six of the 12 Presidents entered that first midterm election with their popularity in public opinion polls under 50 percent—with the order of lack of popularity being lowest to highest the following—Truman, Reagan, Lyndon B. Johnson, Obama, Clinton, and Carter. Notice this list is all Democrats except for Reagan.

The other six Presidents were above 50 percent popularity at the time of the first midterm elections–from the highest to the lowest being George W. Bush, Kennedy, Eisenhower, George H. W. Bush, Nixon, Ford. Notice this list is all Republicans except for Kennedy.

The record shows that only George W. Bush and Kennedy saw the best results, with Bush seeing a gain of 8 House seats and 1 Senate seat, in the year after September 11, and Kennedy losing 4 House seats but gaining 2 Senate seats in the weeks after the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.

And George H. W. Bush, Nixon, and Eisenhower midterms showed respectively 8 House seats and 1 Senate seat lost; 12 House Seats lost and 1 Senate seat gained; and 18 House seats and 1 Senate seat lost.

Only Ford, three months after taking over the Presidency, and with still a high public opinion rating of 54 percent, but the Nixon Watergate Scandal still reverberating with Ford’s pardon of Nixon, do we see a major loss of 48 House seats and 4 Senate seats lost.

Meanwhile, those six Presidents with a lower than 50 percent public opinion poll rating at the first midterm of their Presidency saw a much greater loss, with Carter having the smallest loss, 15 House seats and 3 Senate seats lost with a 49 percent rating.

Reagan, with a 42 percent rating, lowest except for Truman, saw a loss of 26 House seats but one Senate seat gained.

The other four Presidents—Johnson, Clinton, Truman, Obama—suffered far worse losses—with Johnson losing 48 House seats and losing 4 Senate seats, the same as Ford, who had ten points higher public opinion rating of 54 percent to LBJ’s 44 percent.

Clinton, Truman, and Obama, all Democrats,lost massively in seats in both houses of Congress—Clinton losing 54 House seats and losing 8 Senate seats; Truman losing 55 House seats and losing 12 Senate seats; and Obama losing 63 House seats and losing 6 Senate seats.

What all this leads to is the strong belief that Donald Trump, with 47 percent approval rating most recently, will see a major loss of House seats for sure, and the guess at this time, after much reflection, is that it will be between 40-45 seats. In the Senate, with the great Republican advantage in only having 9 seats open for election, and the Senate having a 51-49 Republican margin, the odds of the Democrats holding on to their seats and gaining two or more of the nine contested Republican seats would seem to lead likely to a 50-50 tie, meaning a one seat Democratic gain, but still a Republican controlled Senate at 50-50, whereby Vice President Mike Pence will still organize the Senate for the next two years. This so unless there is a move by Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, who voted against Brett Kavanaugh, and has been attacked by her state’s Republican party leadership, to switch to Independent or Democratic support, and giving the Senate to the Democrats.

The Governorships generally follow Congressional results, and are extremely important for reapportionment of state legislative districts and US House districts after the Census 2020 population figures are tabulated, so having more Governors of one party over the other are crucial. At this point, it would seem likely that the Democrats will gain from 16 present Governorships by 10-11, and have 26-27 Chief Executives of states.

So overall, a Democratic gain to a majority of House seats to about 235-240 and 26-27 Governorships, but likely a tied 50-50 Senate, putting the results worse for Trump than for Reagan in the House and Senate, but not as bad as for Ford among Republican Presidents.

Benedict Arnold Committed Treason On This Date In 1780, And Now Donald Trump And Company Have Committed Treason

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On this day, September 21, in the year 1780, General Benedict Arnold, who had been trusted by Continental Army Commander in Chief George Washington, committed treason when he met British Major John Andre to negotiate the handover of West Point, New York to the enemy, thereby affecting the American Revolution and the loss of thousands of American soldiers, on the promise of a large sum of money and a high position in the British Army.

The plot was foiled, and Andre was captured and executed by orders of the American military, with Arnold fleeing to the British lines, and leading British troops in Virginia and Connecticut, until the British gave up their attempt to subjugate the new nation of the United States.

Arnold lost his reputation, and became synonymous with the word “traitor”, and is on a shortlist of such people.

But now, it is clear that we have an American President who is a traitor, and has collaborated with an enemy far more evil than Great Britain was 240 years ago, the Russian government under former KGB spy chief in the old Soviet Union, Vladimir Putin.

The case against Donald Trump is becoming clearer by the day and week, and eventually, Trump should be removed from office, and should face indictment, conviction, and life in prison without parole for the crime of collusion, along with many other violations, including obstruction of justice, abuse of power, and violation of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution.

There is no legitimate way that Donald Trump can be excused for his actions, and the continuing cover up.

There is no comparison that can be made between Watergate and Richard Nixon, and the danger that Donald Trump represents.

While not defending the horrible violations of law by Richard Nixon, it is clear that Nixon looks like a “choir boy” in comparison to the dangers presented by Trump and his corrupt administration.

America Is Now Really In The Greatest Crisis Since Richard Nixon And Watergate, But This Is Worse!

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There has been discussion going on for two years now, since Donald Trump became the nominee of the Republican Party in the summer of 2016, and intensified when he won a surprising Electoral College victory, that we were as a nation entering a constitutional crisis. Tensions have since accelerated by his rash and reckless behavior and utterances in his 19 plus months in office.

But this year, first in Michael Wolff’s book; then in Omarosa Manigault Newman’s memoir; and this week in Bob Woodward’s new book and yesterday’s New York Times op-ed by a high ranking official of the Trump Administration, all warning of the dangers of Donald Trump, and his totally unhinged behavior being more than ever a national crisis, we have now reached a stage where it is clear that we are in a more terrifying moment than even Richard Nixon and Watergate!

It is time for the Republican Party to put aside politics, and join the Democrats in demanding that Donald Trump resign, or that the 25th Amendment Section 4 be invoked.

Trump is more crazy than ever in his rhetoric, unstable actions, his amorality, and in his volcanic fury, with half hour rants, that could cause a heart attack or a stroke in most people, if occurring regularly.

The nation’s national security and stability is at stake, and this is not a time to promote division and conflict, so Paul Ryan, Orrin Hatch, Mitch McConnell and other GOP leaders need to end partisanship, and unite with the Democrats to promote the nation’s welfare over partisan wrangling.

We are in danger of a insane man utilizing the nuclear codes, and of an economic depression, and even though many might not be happy with Mike Pence, at the least, he is not mentally unhinged, or incompetent, and is not a reckless person who would undermine the nation. And with a likely Democratic House, even if not the Senate being likely in 2019. Mike Pence would be controlled to a great extent, and he would not win the Presidency for a full term in 2020.

Donald Trump’s Hostility Toward And Attacks On National Security And Intelligence Agencies Could Backfire On Him

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Donald Trump has declared “war” on national security and intelligence agencies, whose commitment is to protect the United States against all domestic and foreign threats.

Trump is doing this to try to end the investigation into the Presidential Election of 2016, and the evidence showing Russian collusion, obstruction of justice, abuse of power, and the widespread corruption of the Trump family and his close associates outside the family. This includes the most incompetent, corrupt, and abusive set of Cabinet officers in all of American history.

By removing the security clearances of past national security and intelligence officials, Trump is endangering the United States in future foreign policy and terrorism threats, as the wisdom, experience, and knowledge of these many top officials would be very useful in a crisis.

This seems all contrived by Trump, who has made it clear that he is trying to shut down the inquiries into his election and actions in office.

Trump’s hostility and and attacks could backfire on him in more ways than one.

It is not wise to “mess around” with patriots who devote their lives and careers to protection of the homeland internally and externally.

The alienation that has developed could cause committed people to take action behind the scenes to undermine Trump’s ability to succeed in his conspiracy against the American people.

And while no one can say that intelligence and national security agencies plot to remove Presidents, one cannot be certain of that.

There are, after all, conspiracy theories that claim that rogue agents in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) possibly had plotted against President John F. Kennedy, leading to his assassination in 1963, and also to take down President Richard Nixon in the Watergate Scandal in 1974.

While this author totally rejects such conspiracy theories, who can say that it might not be true in the past, and might be an avenue of opportunity for those dedicated patriots who see Donald Trump as a real threat and danger to America?

IF any element felt that Donald Trump was too cozy with Vladimir Putin, and was indeed collaborating to undermine American defenses against an authoritarian dictator as Putin is, who can say it would not be seen as the “patriotic duty” of such elements to remove the threat, even at their own personal danger?

This sounds like a novel or film, but it is not beyond the realm of possibility.

“Fooling around” with national security and intelligence agencies and personnel is certainly an unwise, reckless move by an arrogant, out of control President, and he might not like the end result!

So Donald Trump, be forewarned, before you have gone over the boundaries that the professionals in national security and intelligence deem acceptable, as that might lead to tragic results!