Ted Cruz

The Long Range Potential Beneficiary Of Donald Trump Candidacy: Ted Cruz, Or Is Cruz The Possible Long Term Loser?

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It has been noticed that many of the Republican Presidential candidates have finally spoken out against Donald Trump’s racism and nativism.

This includes George Pataki, Jeb Bush, Lindsey Graham, Rick Perry, Marco Rubio, and Chris Christie, although some of them reacting quite tamely.

Others have avoided touching the subject, but then there is Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who has specifically avoided criticism of Trump, and in fact, has praised him for his stance on illegal immigration.

Rick Santorum and Dr. Benjamin Carson have also praised Trump to a lesser extent, but Cruz’s gushing about Trump makes it likely that Trump would promote Cruz when it is clear that Trump is ready to leave the race.

But, of course, Cruz’s support of Trump could backfire on him and kill him off as the potential Republican Presidential nominee. The Trump-Cruz connection is a double edged sword!

The Fox News-Republican Debate Of August 6—Which Ten Should Be In Debate?

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The Republican National Committee has put itself in a hole, by allowing Fox News Channel to limit the number of participants in the first GOP Presidential debate on August 6 to ten.

Yes, there are too many candidates, and now it looks as if it will be 17, not 16, with assurances that Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, Ohio Governor John Kasich, and former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore will enter the race before that debate.

The whole concept of 17 candidates, unprecedented in American history, is absolutely crazy, but why should national public opinion polls decide this, rather than common sense, as to who is really qualified to be a potential President, based on experience and accomplishments?

So this blogger will now eliminate SEVEN of the 17 potential debate participants, on the grounds that they do not have the credentials to be President of the United States. This does not mean that the ten who are, on paper, qualified, SHOULD be President or be the nominee, but simply that they have better credentials to compete for the White House.

Former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore–out of office since 2002, not one chance in a thousand of being nominated.

Carly Fiorina—no government experience, failed in the corporate world, never has a non politician been elected, and only Wendell Willkie was ever nominated by a major party.

Dr. Benjamin Carson— a fantastic pediatric surgeon, but no government experience, and there is no chance he can be elected, and his statements are often totally loony.

Former New York Governor George Pataki—a moderate, probably the most moderate, but absolutely no chance of being the nominee of the 2015 Republican Party.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal—-the most low rated governor in public opinion polls, a true disaster, and not a chance of being the nominee.

Former Texas Governor Rick Perry—had a chance in 2012, came across as moronic, and has no chance, even with new glasses, to be the nominee.

Business Donald Trump–who has NO qualifications to be President, and no government experience, no chance to be the nominee, and is out to destroy the Republican brand to feed his ego.

So the “serious” candidates who SHOULD be allowed in the debate are:

Five Senators–4 in the Senate now (Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Lindsey Graham) and former Senator Rick Santorum.

Five Governors—3 in office now (Chris Christie, John Kasich, Scott Walker) and two former Governors (Jeb Bush and Mike Huckabee)

Those who would object to this elimination of seven candidates have to answer the question: Do you REALLY believe any of the seven eliminated have ANY chance to be the nominee? Come on, get real!

Serious Republican Presidential Contenders: Part II—The Importance Of Florida And Ohio

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We have, so far, examined 13 of the 16 Republican Presidential contenders, most of whom could be considered a “Clown Bus”!

Only four of the 16 are serious contenders, and so far we have looked at Scott Walker, the Governor of Wisconsin, who President Obama would like to see as the nominee of the opposition party, as he believes Walker’s terrible economic record, his anti labor stance, and his dramatic attack on the University of Wisconsin budget, along with the connection to the Koch Brothers, would make him easy to defeat.

And then there are the three remaining contenders, from crucial swing states Florida and Ohio, so arguably the three best primed to have a real chance to win the Presidency.

Florida Governor Jeb Bush, brother and son of two earlier Presidents named Bush, comes across as more moderate, more mainstream than just about any other contender, but he had a mixed record as Florida Governor, and has been out of office for ten years by 2016, and last ran 14 years ago by 2016. He is, certainly, seen as a man among boys, but he also is too close to the neoconservatives who took us into endless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. There is also exhaustion at having a third President Bush, after the disastrous Presidency of his brother, George W. Bush.

Then we have the youthful, good looking, charismatic Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who is Cuban American, but much more appealing and less extreme than fellow Cuban American Ted Cruz of Texas. But Rubio has come across often as not too bright; has distorted the story of his parents leaving Cuba to make it seem as if it happened under Fidel Castro, when it happened two years earlier; has come across as having no guts on immigration reform; and has had issues with his finances and his connections with Norman Bramam, a South Florida auto dealer and billionaire. Some see him as the equivalent of a Republican Barack Obama or John F. Kennedy, but that is pure illusion.

And then we have the Governor of Ohio, John Kasich, who had 18 years in the House of Representatives, and was House Budget Committee Chairman, and has accepted Medicaid under ObamaCare as Governor of Ohio since 2011. He is very personable, engaging, and experienced, including recently, in a way that no other GOP contender can match him. And he comes from the crucial swing state of Ohio, more crucial than Florida, another swing state. And why is Ohio more important than Ohio? The answer is that every single Republican President from Abraham Lincoln to George W. Bush has won Ohio, so it is an essential state on the road to victory.

While all three of the above are serious contenders for the White House, it is clear that John Kasich would be the strongest, most competitive nominee imaginable, similar to what Jon Huntsman was in 2012. But that is precisely why the Republicans, almost certainly, will NOT select Kasich.

In any case, the Republican Party is on the road to defeat for the White House, and Donald Trump only further complicates that whole situation.

The Ultimate Wished For Two Person Debate: Eleven Scenarios In The Republican Battle For The Presidential Nomination In 2016

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With New Jersey Governor Chris Christie entering the Republican Presidential race today, we have 14 announced candidates.

The Republicans have quite a group of “characters’, but the thought has crossed one’s mind that it would be great “theater” to have two person debates, including:

Donald Trump vs Carly Fiorina—two business “tycoons”, debating who is worse in business dealings. (Trump)

Mike Huckabee vs Bobby Jindal—who is more willing to defy the Supreme Court, which they would both like to destroy (Huckabee)

Rick Santorum vs Ted Cruz—who is more dramatic in his view of how gay marriage will destroy the nation (Santorum)

Lindsey Graham vs Rand Paul—what is the role of America in international affairs in an age of terrorism (neither)

Dr. Benjamin Carson vs Mike Huckabee—who is more devoted to a literal interpretation of the Bible (Carson)

Marco Rubio vs Ted Cruz—who is more favored by the Hispanic-Latino community (neither)

George Pataki vs Chris Christie—who is the more moderate centrist Republican (Pataki)

Jeb Bush vs John Kasich—who is the more electable candidate (Kasich)

Scott Walker vs Chris Christie—who is the more corrupt candidate (both)

Marco Rubio vs Rick Perry–who is the more dense candidate intellectually (Perry)

Donald Trump vs Chris Christie–who is the most obnoxious, bullyish, loudmouth candidate (both)

Two Prime Vice Presidential Contenders For Hillary Clinton: Julian Castro And Thomas Perez

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IF Hillary Clinton is the Democratic Presidential candidate in 2016, a key factor in helping her to win over any Republican Presidential rival would be selecting a Vice Presidential running mate with good credentials and Latino ancestry.

There are two prime candidates working in President Barack Obama’s cabinet, and either of them would make a great running mate and possible Presidential successor.

The first is Julian Castro, Mexican American and former Mayor of San Antonio, the sixth largest city in America, who is now Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Castro’s twin brother Joaquin is a Texas Congressman, who is often seen as prime material for the US Senate in a race against Senator Ted Cruz in 2018. But Julian Castro, who can speak Spanish, and would be only 42 on Election Day 2016, would be a great candidate to draw widespread Hispanic and Latino support, particularly if Jeb Bush, who can speak fluent Spanish, or Florida Senator Marco Rubio, is the Republican nominee for President.

The second possibility is Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez, who speaks fluent Spanish and is of Dominican ancestry, and was part of the administration of Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, and will be 55 on Election Day 2016. Perez worked in the offices of the Justice Department and Department of Health and Human Services for many years before being in the O’Malley government in that state’s Labor Department, and then becoming Obama’s Assistant Attorney General, and then chosen to be Secretary of Labor in 2013.

Either Castro or Perez would be able to appeal for an even larger Hispanic-Latino support of the Democratic Party, already over 70 percent for Barack Obama in 2012!

The Clown Bus Group Of Republican Presidential Contenders, Part III: The US Senate

Ronald 4 Comments

In two earlier entries, we have discussed five “losers”, who were or are Republican Governors, but are not to be seen seriously as qualified to be President for various reasons; and three non office holders who think their medical and business careers make them Presidential material, but only in their deluded minds.

In Part III today, we will look at four figures who have served in the US Senate, three still there, and one who left nearly a decade ago.

First, we have Texas Senator Ted Cruz, a look alike for Joseph McCarthy, the old Communist witch hunter of the 1950s. Cruz had no problem shutting down the government in 2013, and continues to call for every part of ObamaCare to be repealed, despite the fact that Texas has more people who have no health care, including Medicaid. Cruz is a very evil man; a very nasty man; a very dangerous man to give executive power to; a man who thinks he is extremely brilliant, simply based on his Princeton and Harvard Law School degrees; a Senator disliked by just about all of his Republican colleagues; a man who would divide America and the Republican Party with his destructive Tea Party extremism.

Then we have Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, who is the son of former Texas Congressman Ron Paul, the libertarian champion. The two Pauls have a lot of young people who seem to adore them, as they both hate government, and both are isolationists in foreign policy. Rand Paul is an optometrist, who set up his own association, rather than go through the national organization, and it makes one wonder as to his true skill as an eye doctor. He has blundered on so many issues, and does not come across as very bright; has shown lack of concern for the poor in his own state; has made statements against the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as being enforceable; has led filibusters in the Senate that have made one wonder about his ability to get along with others; but at the same time, has shown concern about privacy rights and the issue of minor drug offenses that has imprisoned so many young people, many of them African American. So despite his faults, he has some redeeming values, but he is not highly regarded by the Republican establishment, and to believe a libertarian will be nominated and elected President requires hallucinations by those who imagine such an event happening.

Then we have South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, who is the major “hawk” in the Senate, along with his good friend, Arizona Senator John McCain. There is not a war or country that Graham and McCain do not wish to intervene in, and both are diametrically the opposite of Rand Paul on foreign policy. While Graham has some more humane views on some issues domestically, he has no real support that could win him the nomination for the Presidency, and many hold it against him that when in the House of Representatives, he led the move toward impeachment of Bill Clinton in 1998.

And then we have former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, who lost his Senate seat in 2006 by a landslide; who won the Iowa Caucuses in 2012; but who is a right wing extremist on social issues, and is committed to disobey a Supreme Court decision on gay marriage, which is pending, if he becomes President. Santorum is infamous for outrageous, narrow minded views, as he is the favorite of the Religious Right, and his social views would take back America to many decades earlier. His chances of being the nominee are the lowest of these four Senators, all of whom are embarrassments to the historical traditions of the party of Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Dwight D. Eisenhower!

So we have covered now 12 of 16 potential Republican nominees, and further analysis of the four remaining candidates—one Senator, one former Governor, and two sitting Governors—will be forthcoming soon.

Donald Trump Anti-Mexican Rant Guarantees Large Hispanic Vote For Democrats, Insuring Presidential Victory in 2016!

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Newly minted Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump has destroyed any chance of a growing percentage of Mexican Americans and other Hispanic Americans voting Republican in 2016.

The issue of Hispanic immigration, whether legal or undocumented, is an issue that will NOT go away!

There may be eleven million undocumented immigrants in America, and in ideal terms, that should not be.

But there is no way that these eleven million immigrants, or any great percentage of them, are going to be deported, and it would be extreme injustice in many cases to do such a thing!

Many from Mexico and from elsewhere in Latin America, and also from Asia, came because of political and social turmoil; economic hard times; and desire to better one’s lives!

This is nothing new, as ALL immigrant groups throughout American history have come for the same reasons.

Yes, a small percentage of immigrants are criminal, and they need to be dealt with and be deported if undocumented.

But the vast number of immigrants, likely 98-99 percent just want a opportunity for a better life.

So Donald Trump, stating that people from Mexico are mostly drug dealers, rapists, and other kinds of criminals, is simply guaranteeing that no respectable Mexican American who is a citizen, or any other Hispanic American or Latino of any Latin nationality who is a citizen, will vote Republican. And more young Hispanics and Latinos will register in droves to fight against a party that promotes nativism and hate!

The Republican Party already has had a problem with nativism, but Donald Trump has made it worse!

And realize that Mexican Americans alone are the second largest ethnic group in America, with nearly 35 million people and 11 percent of the population, and with over 50 million total population from Latin America combined, with Mexican Americans being 64 percent of the total. German Americans are the largest, over 50 million.

And having Jeb Bush’s wife as Mexican American; or Ted Cruz or Marco Rubio being Cuban American (about 3.5 percent of all Hispanics), will not make up for what Trump has done!

The Republican Party is done, as far as the Hispanic-Latinos vote is concerned, and with that, the 2016 election! The Democrats are assured of winning the Presidency!

And as far as relations with our neighbor to the South, Mexico, and to claim a wall will be built and Mexico will pay for it, is Trump ready to start a war with our neighbor and act in an imperialistic manner? Does he think Mexico would just lie down and drop dead? The man is a maniac, a dangerous man, who could cause massive boundary issues, way beyond any we have have had with Mexico!

Climate Change Seen As Essential Issue By Military, Intelligence, And Security! So Climate Change Deniers Must Be Confronted And Defeated!

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There is more growing evidence of a dangerous trend on climate change, with 14 of the last 15 years the warmest on record; with the melting of the icebergs in the Arctic; and the growing flooding issue affecting the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. Additionally, there are tons of evidence of climate change worldwide in all kinds of ways.

And yet the climate change deniers, led by Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, and others in Congress, claim that there is absolutely no evidence, and that nothing needs to be done.

President Barack Obama has attempted to draw attention to this crucial issue, with little success.

And yet, we have military leaders; we have those in the intelligence community; and we have those involved in our national security apparatus, who are only too aware of the realities and challenges of climate change, with the naval base in Virginia, Norfolk Naval Station, one clear example of many of the future dangers to our national security.

So these communities—military, intelligence, security—must continue to lead the fight as this “ostrich in the sand” mentality will undermine the future of America, if we continue to allow these deniers the power and influence that they possess!

Many Republican Presidential Possibilities Are Totally Delusional, And Need To Drop Out Or Not Enter, As They Are Harming The GOP!

Ronald 16 Comments

Face the facts: Many of the Republican Presidential possibilities are totally delusional, and have no chance to be the Republican nominee or President of the United States!

They need to get out of the race, or not enter, as they are harming the GOP, and making the party the laughing stock of the nation and of the party’s history!

Those announced candidates who need to drop out are: Carly Fiorina and Dr. Benjamin Carson, who together have ZERO government experience, and we are not about to elect a President who has no concept of government, other than what he or she reads in the newspapers or sees on cable. Being a corporate leader or a medical doctor, with no other experience, is disqualifying on its head!

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who has gone out of his way to divide the American people and promote hate in the name of religion, and has no chance to win a national election.

The following unannounced possible Presidential candidates also need to decide NOT to enter the race:

Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, former Texas Governor Rick Perry, and Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey, who have governed their states in a horrific and corrupt manner, undermining the needs of the population of their states, with Perry indicted and Christie facing the threat of an indictment.

Businessman Donald Trump, who has no ability to govern, again having never served in government, and whose mouth gets him into trouble daily.

Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, who also offers nothing positive to the race except his own nuttiness and divisiveness, and has zero chance to be the nominee.

United States Senators may be loony and extreme, but they do less harm than Governors who have failed their state populations and led corrupt governments, as is the case with Jindal, Christie and Perry.

So who is left in the race who seems legitimate to run, although most will never win a national election?

Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina; Senator Marco Rubio of Florida; Senator Ted Cruz of Texas; Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky; Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush; Ohio Governor John Kasich; and for good measure although it seems he will not run, former Utah Governor and Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman!

This makes for a reasonable number of candidates as seven to eight who have serious potential, and elimination of eight others who are going nowhere in the Presidential race, and should stop wasting our time.

And anyone else, such as Indiana Governor Mike Pence and former New York Governor George Pataki–just forget it! Do not waste our time and yours!

Hate Mongering Republican Presidential Candidates Who Would Disgrace The Office Of The Presidency!

Ronald 13 Comments

There are anywhere from 15 to nearly 20 potential Republican Presidential candidates, and one can find faults and shortcomings with most of them, but there are only a few who can be labeled, by their utterances, to be hate mongers, wishing to stir up fear and incite audiences with their rhetoric. One is held accountable for what one says and what he promotes, and therefore, disqualify themselves for the honor of residing in the White House!

Those who would qualify for this dubious “honor” include:

Dr. Benjamin Carson
Texas Senator Ted Cruz
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee
Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal

All of these five have been reckless in their desire to divide the American people, and have advocated lawlessness and disobedience of the federal government, including the court system and the Supreme Court in particular.

They have promoted hate and fear of gays and lesbians; immigration; women’s rights; racial justice; and have shown no concern about the poor and the sick, particularly on the issue of health care.

Interestingly, all five constantly invoke Christianity in their political pitches, and specifically, hard line Christianity of the evangelical and right wing Catholic variety, a total repudiation of the teachings of Jesus Christ, and a defiance of the principle of separation of church and state under our political system! And they all criticize Pope Francis and his liberal, open minded view of the meaning of Jesus Christ and his teachings!

Any of these five would totally disgrace the office of the Presidency!

Fortunately, it is highly unlikely that any of these five will win the nomination of the Republican Party, but if so, the odds of such an individual winning the Presidency are very low!