The US Constitution

Reagan Appointed Federal Judge Denounces Republican Deniers Of January 6 Insurrection

Reagan appointed federal Judge Royce C. Lamberth of the Federal District Court in Washington, DC, has denounced Republican deniers of the events and participants in the January 6, 2021 US Capitol Insurrection.

Appointed by Ronald Reagan in 1987, Lamberth was reacting to statements by Donald Trump and New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik that the arrested and convicted participants in the horrendous events of that day were “hostages”; Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene who called them “political prisoners” for their beliefs; and Georgia Congressman Andrew Clyde who said that the participants of that day had been involved in an “orderly normal tourist visit”.

Lamberth, a true and respected conservative, is working to insure that Americans do not accept the outrageous denial of truth being exploited by Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans, undermining American democracy, the Constitution, and the rule of law.

“No Labels” Movement A Farce, Cannot Win Presidency, But Could Help Donald Trump!

The “No Labels” movement, which is attempting to offer an alternative choice for the Presidency by gaining access to the state ballot in all 50 states, is clearly a farce in every way imaginable!

There is ZERO chance of any candidate on that line winning the Presidency, but it could help elect Donald Trump, who is a threat to the continuation of the Constitution, rule of law, and democracy.

It is clear that those who are engaging in this movement are a bunch of ego maniacs, who have visions that one of them can win the White House, when that will never happen!

Among those rumored to be considering a run are:

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie–Republican
Former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan—Republican
Former Utah Governor and Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman Jr—Republican who tried for the Presidency in 2012
West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, Democrat who is not running for reelection.

A key backer of this lunatic movement is former Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who was the Vice Presidential nominee with Al Gore in the Presidential Election of 2000.

No Labels has ballot access already in the following states:

Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
Colorado
Florida
Hawaii
Maine
Maryland
Mississippi
Nevada
North Carolina
Oregon
South Dakota
Utah

Legal barriers must be pursued to prevent this group from helping to elect Donald Trump, and harm Joe Biden.

As it is, already, we have other lunatics, including Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Cornel West, both running as Independents; and Jill Stein on the Green Party line, as announced candidates for the Presidency.

Supreme Court Will Take Up Colorado Ballot Access Case Of Donald Trump!

A month from now, on February 8, the Supreme Court will hear the case of Colorado barring Donald Trump from the Presidential primary ballot.

Maine has also gone in that direction, and many other states are in process of doing so.

This case will need to be decided in an expedited manner, with Super Tuesday primaries coming up in early March.

The Court would wish to stay out of the political thicket, but cannot do so, and this will be the most important such intervention since the Bush V Gore case in 2000.

Arguably, it is even more important, since Donald Trump is a threat to American democracy, the Constitution, and the rule of law, a series of realities that was not the same with George W. Bush in 2000.

Many conservative scholars and jurists think the Court will bar Trump from the ballots, which would be a victory for sanity and democracy, because Trump’s own rhetoric is Fascist oriented, and he advocates retribution and revenge, and speaks in Adolf Hitler rhetoric.

Also, this Court majority has emphasized their belief in “textualism” and “originalism” interpretation of the Constitution, so if they keep to that viewpoint, they will bar Trump from running for President.

The most corrupt President in American history needs to be stopped in his quest to undermine the future of America as his personal agenda, and his 25-35 percent support makes one wonder about the mental stability of his followers, who fail to see the danger of his attempt to regain power!

Ten Months Before Election Day, Joe Biden Makes Case For Democracy, And Repudiation Of Donald Trump!

In his opening salvo of the Presidential Election campaign of 2024, President Joe Biden yesterday, precisely ten months before Election Day, delivered a stirring speech on the campaign to protect American democracy, which includes a massive defeat of Donald Trump, who is promoting the destruction of the Constitution and rule of law!

In his 30 minute speech at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, Biden spoke with real passion and commitment, and reminded us how George Washington turned down the possibility of becoming a monarch after the American Revolution, and accepted the idea of serving as President, and then leaving office.

Biden and his supporters must make the case every day until Election Day, and besides discussing the threat to democracy, he and they must also talk about abortion, the economy, immigration reform, environmental advancements, voting rights, civil rights, and support of Ukraine in its war with Russia, and promoting a changed policy regarding Israel and Gaza to limit the loss of life!

Three Years Since The January 6 Insurrection, And Most Republicans Remain Collaborators

As the third anniversary of the January 6 Insurrection comes upon us, we have the growth of ever more collaboration by Republicans in defending and supporting Donald Trump, even among those who condemned his promotion of bloodshed and violence on that day, including against Vice President Mike Pence.

While there are Republicans and conservatives who continue to condemn the former President and are committed to his demise as a political force, most of the party officeholders remain unwilling to demonstrate guts, courage, and principle.

It is more important for these officeholders to keep their job in Congress than it is to promote the survival of democracy.

So effectively, most Republicans are no better than the Confederates who were banned from holding public office by the 14th Amendment Section 3 in 1868 after the Civil War.

Then, the Republican Party was the party of the Union, committed to basic principles of having promoted the end of slavery and promoting racial equality.

The whole point of forming the Republican Party, coming to power, and upholding the end of slavery and the promotion of survival of the Constitution, has now been destroyed by the modern Republican Party, which has lost all sense of ethics, morals, and principles!

161st Anniversary Of Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation!

Today, New Year’s Day 2024, marks the 161st Anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s Issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, a bold move that his own Presidential Cabinet thought was inadvisable.

While it only ended slavery at the time in areas under Union Army occupation during the Civil War, it was a pledge that the eventual victory of the United States over the Confederate States of America, when and if it occurred, another 27.5 months into the future, would see the concept of the ownership of human beings by other human beings would come to an end.

It must be pointed out, however, that the Emancipation Proclamation alone could not end slavery, as it was written into the US Constitution by the Founding Fathers at the Philadelphia convention of the Constitutional Convention in 1787.

Only the battle to add the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in 1865 could end slavery long term, and set America up as a promoter of democracy.

Now, sadly, we see the party of Lincoln moving backward on the principle of promoting racial equality, and appealing to the ugliness of racism and nativism, as it enters an election year seemingly captive to the most dangerous man ever to hold the Presidency, Donald Trump!

2024 must see the end of the menace of Donald Trump by a total commitment to defeat his attempt at a comeback, and move away from the dangers of MAGA Republicans!

Top Five Political Heroes Of The Year 2023

In a year with so many politically difficult moments, certain situations stand out as bright moments.

Liz Cheney, the former Republican Congresswoman from Wyoming, stayed strong and continued to fight against the cancer represented by Donald Trump, holding to the traditions and beliefs of a Republican Party that once believed in principle, but no longer exists, ready to sell its soul to a charlatan who is destroying its history and traditions.

Adam Kinzinger, the former Republican Congressman from Illinois, has also, like Cheney, been a Profile in Courage, who has refused to bend to the intolerance and authoritarian nature of a party which has left him, and Cheney, rather than the other way around.

Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York has proved to be an exceptional potential Speaker of the House in 2025, as he has kept the Democratic minority united and strong against the degradation of the small majority Republicans in the House of Representatives. His leadership contrasts with the disgraceful, extremist oriented leadership of Kevin McCarthy, but even more so, Mike Johnson, a true religious extremist and moral hypocrite, who is sadly only two heartbeats away from the Presidency in his role as Speaker of the House.

President Joe Biden has shown great principle, courage, and decisiveness in a multitude of domestic and foreign crises, too often underrated and unappreciated for his strong stand for basic principles, including promotion of democracy, common decency, empathy, compassion, and the rule of law. He is presiding over the greatest crisis to our Constitution since the Civil War, but something that will only be fully understood in the future.

And finally, above all else, the survival of American Democracy itself, with the support of Democrats, courageous Republicans, the courts, the responsible news media, and decent citizens who value our heritage of nearly 250 years of constitutional government, is the ultimate “HERO” in this nation!

Resistance to authoritarian Fascism in all its forms is a constant, long term battle, and the final defeat, conviction, and imprisonment of the evil Donald Trump is the battle ahead, and with the understanding, that MAGA Trumpism will continue to be a threat, that all decent people will need to continue to resist beyond the time of Donald Trump!

The 80th Congress (1947-1949) Vs. The 118th Congress (2023- )

It has often been claimed that the 80th Congress (1947-1949) under President Harry Truman was unproductive, or as Truman claimed it in his 1948 Presidential campaign, a “Do Nothing” Congress.

While it is true that the Republican dominated 80th Congress worked against Democratic President Truman and his “Fair Deal” proposals, most notably passing the anti Labor Taft-Hartley Act over the President’s veto, in reality a lot was accomplished in that Congress.

The following actions were accomplished:

The Truman Doctrine
The Taft-Hartley Act
The Presidential Succession Act
The National Security Act–including the Defense Department at the Pentagon in Virginia, the National Security Council, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, separate Department of the Air Force, and the Central Intelligence Agency
The Marshall Plan
22nd Amendment to the US Constitution

At the same time, NOTHING significant has been passed into law in the present first session of the 118th Congress, making it the least productive in modern times since the Great Depression 1931-1933 72nd Congress, split between a Democratic House of Representatives and Republican Senate under President Herbert Hoover!

Concern Grows Over Low Biden Ratings, As Trump Rants And Raves!

Public Opinion Polls continue to give President Joe Biden low ratings, and it is starting to alarm Democrats who are stunned by these polls.

One remembers that public opinion polls have been wrong so often in the past, but the thought that a Fascist authoritarian, Donald Trump, who has called for the end of the Constitution, and calls the criminals who attacked the US Capitol “hostages”, and embraces dictators around the world, might defeat Biden is horrifying!

One wonders if there is any possibility of Joe Biden withdrawing from the race, as Lyndon B. Johnson did in March 1968 after announcing for another term in the Presidency.

If that were to happen, Vice President Kamala Harris, sadly not well regarded in public opinion polls, mostly due to her race and gender, would be the likely heir apparent, but the odds of her being able to carry the mantle of the Biden Presidency and win the election, seems highly unlikely.

There are Democrats who would run in the future, but it is almost too late for their entrance into the race at this point.

So American democracy hangs in the balance as the nation comes into an eventful, transformative election year around the corner!

The End Of A Possible President Mike Pence!

Ever since Mike Pence became Vice President on January 20, 2017, the possibility of his accession to the Presidency remained a looming possibility.

The unstable and negative behavior of Donald Trump made this blogger and author think Pence might succeed to the Presidency rapidly in the early months of the term.

The constant crises and two Trump impeachments also put Pence in line for the Presidency, under the 25th Amendment, or the forced removal or resignation of Donald Trump.

Mike Pence stood for the rule of law in his refusal to help Trump steal the Presidential Election of 2020 on January 6, 2021, and could have lost his life that day if the circumstances and threats of that dark day had turned out differently.

Pence stood for the Constitution, and that will be his historic significance.

But he also was too much willing to bend to Donald Trump otherwise, even though Trump was as different in a moral and ethical sense as anyone could be from the highly religious Mike Pence.

Pence had no chance to become President for the next election, and has decided to leave the race, and he will have little impact on the future of a party which has, in so many ways, abandoned its principles. The Republicans have gravitated toward a total political disaster by following in the lead of the disgraced, twice impeached, four times indicted, and totally immoral and unethical former President Donald Trump.

So Pence will be seen as part of a Republican Party that is now in the distant past, as the so called Reagan wing of the party’s history goes into the distance as a lost memory!