US House Of Representatives

The Internicine Struggle In The Republican Party For Its Future

Ronald 3 Comments

As a result of the “Fiscal Cliff” vote on January 1, we have a Republican Party more split than ever, as all but five Republicans supported the legislation in the Senate, while only about one third of the House Republicans backed the legislation. It would not have passed without the support of almost all Democrats in the House.

Mitch McConnell backed it, John McCain backed it, Lindsey Graham backed it, but Rand Paul and Marco Rubio did not.

Speaker of the House John Boehner and House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan backed the legislation, but House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy did not!

Presidential ambitions and the battle over proper strategy for the party’s future on the budget and so many other issues will lead to an internicine struggle over the next months and years leading up to the Congressional Elections of 2014, and the Presidential Election of 2016.

Bipartisanship Of The Past: Why Not Now?

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When one looks at American history in previous recent decades, one sees so much evidence of bipartisanship between Republicans and Democrats, and one wonders why that is not possible now in the interests of the nation!

Witness the following examples:

1962–John F. Kennedy calls upon Dwight D. Eisenhower for help and counsel during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

1963–Lyndon B. Johnson becomes President after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and calls upon Dwight D. Eisenhower for advice in a moment of crisis.

1964–President Lyndon B. Johnson calls upon Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen of Illinois to help push through the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

1983—President Ronald Reagan and Democratic Speaker of the House Thomas “Tip” O’Neill work together on Social Security reform and get it passed.

1990s—Democratic Senator Sam Nunn of Georgia works with Republican Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana on arms control legislation, lessening the dangers of nuclear war after the end of the Cold War.

2000s—Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona works with Democratic Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin on passage of campaign finance reform legislation.

2001—Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts works with President George W. Bush on education reform.

Instead of publicly calling for the move to make Barack Obama a one term President, as Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky enunciated in 2009, or Speaker of the House John Boehner to use foul language against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and to say he refuses to have any more private meetings with President Barack Obama, what we need is mutual respect, and willingness to cooperate!

And this includes the idea that both Republicans and Democrats need to “cross the aisle”, and stop vilifying each other as the “devil”, as this prevents doing what is good for the American people!

The country is sick of the partisan wrangling and the lack of respect and dignity displayed, and is calling for Congress to act like adults and to work cooperatively with the President, who always has an open minded attitude toward discussion and compromise within reason!

The Most Women Ever As Members Of The 113th Congress!

Ronald 2 Comments

In the new 113th Congress, there will be an all time record of participation by women.

There will be 78 Congresswomen and 20 women Senators, for an all time high of 98.

So women will represent 98 seats, while men will have 437, still more than 80 percent of the membership.

But women will now have much more influence, including some committee chairmanships in the Senate by Democrats including Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, Diane Feinstein of California, and Barbara Boxer of California, and with Maine Senator Susan Collins being the most powerful Republican woman in the minority, due to seniority.

The number of women in the Congress is likely to continue to increase dramatically in future years, and that is all to the good for the future of American democracy!

The Republican Party And Debt Default And Government Shutdown: Constant “Hostage Taking” Tactics!

Ronald 1 Comment

Now that the “Fiscal Cliff” battle is over, and Barack Obama has won the battle on raising taxes on high incomes, a compromise at $450,000, instead of his original plan of $250,000, already the Republican Party, which lost the battle with only one third of them supporting it, but with Democratic backing and agreement to conduct a vote by Speaker John Boehner allowing it to pass, are creating a new crisis with reckless, irresponsible Republicans ready to fight on the issue of the raising of the debt limit, which must occur by the end of February. A new “Hostage Taking” situation is being created once again!

Among those Republicans who are arguing for a debt default and government shutdown are:

Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina
Senator John Cornyn of Texas
Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania
Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky
Senator Mike Lee of Utah
Congresswoman Michele Bachmann of Minnesota
Congressman Eric Cantor of Virginia, Majority Leader
Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, House Budget Commitee Chairman
Congressman Kevin McCarthy of California, House Majority Whip

Among those arguing against it, but not in public office are:

Former Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich
Just about any sane Republican who held office in the past and is holding his or her head in their hands in grief at what their party has become!

Speaker John Boehner has said that we cannot renege on the debt, and he knows that the government shutdown in 1995 by the House Republicans under Newt Gingrich during the Bill Clinton Administration was a disaster, and helped Clinton win a second term, and public opinion polls backed Clinton during the debacle.

But Boehner, having lost support of a dozen House Republicans in the Speakership vote on Wednesday, is weakened, and has a massive headache with Tea Party radicals and others who should know better than to play games with the fiscal health of the American economy!

Boehner has already said he will not speak privately with Obama, and has already insulted Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid with foul language, which he has not apologized for.

This creates a very awkward situation as the deadline nears iin late February, and all it will do is boost the ratings of the Democrats and President Obama, and further degrade the Republican Party future. Obviously, their defeat in November has NOT changed the mindset of the GOP, and that spells tragedy for their political futures!

A thought that comes to mind is that Vice President Joe Biden might again have to be called upon to negotiate with Boehner and others, since Obama and Reid seem to have no possibility of private discussions with House leaders or Senate leaders. Biden may, again, save the day, for the umpteenth time!

The point is that the Republican Party is fighting a losing battle for public opinion, and if there are bad economic implications, they will be the ones to suffer for it in 2014 and 2016!

Speaker Of The House John Boehner: Worst Speaker Of Modern Times!

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Speaker of the House John Boehner faces a vote today on whether he will retain his job in the new 113th Congress.

For so many reasons, he should be repudiated, although the alternative of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is no better!

Why should Boehner be removed as Speaker?

Boehner has presided over the most unproductive, least accomplished House of Representatives since at least World War II, if not throughout American history! The 112th Congress has been a total disgrace, with a public opinion rating of 12 percent!

Boehner has been totally unable to quell the Tea Party Movement within his party, a group that is destroying the party’s future!

Boehner has set a bad example by his drinking, smoking, and tanning habits, all of which are a terrible model for young people.

Boehner has utilized foul language toward Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, despite the fact that he must meet with and work with the Senate leader in the aftermath, and that demonstrates poor judgment and leadership!

Boehner has now indicated that he will NOT have any more personal, private meetings with President Obama, which insures further deadlock and stalemate for the next two years or more, and is a contrast to Speaker Thomas “Tip” O’Neill and President Ronald Reagan, and even Newt Gingrich with President Bill Clinton.

Face it: Speaker Boehner is a disgrace to his office, and should NOT be two heartbeats away from the Presidency under the Presidential Succession Law of 1947!

Total Outrage Over Denial Of Hurricane Sandy Relief By Republican House And Speaker Of The House John Boehner!

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The decision of the Republican majority in the House of Representatives to refuse to give disaster relief aid to New York and New Jersey for Hurricane Sandy, an action by Speaker of the House John Boehner, is a total outrage, and has led to bitter denunciation by both Democratic and Republican leaders in both states.

Particularly outraged are New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and New York Congressman Peter King from Long Island, both of whom blamed Speaker Boehner by name. There could not have been a stronger attack by some Republicans on others, with King suggesting that no one give any financial support to the Republican Party for the future, due to the attitude of callousness displayed by Speaker Boehner.

The fact that libertarians and Tea Party activists in the House majority are against federal aid of any kind on anything, and want to destroy the federal government, led Boehner to repudiate his responsibilities and to cave in to their pressure!

The Republican Party is starting to disintegrate as a united party, as a result of recent events since the election, and the future of the party as a legitimate entity is in great doubt!

The “Blue” States Support The “Red States: Time For Republican States To Take Care Of Themselves!

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The “Blue” or Democratic states are mostly donor states, more prosperous, who give much more in tax money to the federal government than they gain in return.

The “Red” or Republican states are mostly poor states who give much less in tax money to the federal government, and benefit from the generosity of the “Blue” states.

So we have Speaker John Boehner refusing to call up a bill for disaster relief for New York and New Jersey, due to the damages wrought by Hurricane Sandy!

But in “Red” states, disaster relief is much more quickly dispensed, as for instance, Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina in 2005!

This is eminently unfair, and due a lot to envy and jealousy of the advantages in so many ways of New York and New Jersey, culturally, educationally, and otherwise, by states that are in many cases still backward, and living more in the 19th century, while New York, New Jersey, and other “Blue” states live in the 21st century!

Not all “Blue” states are donor states, but 17 of 26 which are include:

New York
New Jersey
Massachusetts
Connecticut
New Hampshire
Rhode Island
Delaware
Florida
Michigan
Wisconsin
Minnesota
Illinois
Colorado
Nevada
Washington
Oregon
California

The only “Red” state which is a donor state is Texas!

It is time for change on this matter!

Obscene, Crude Behavior By Republicans And Conservative Ideologues: No Common Decency!

Ronald 2 Comments

Republicans and conservative ideologues have no limits as to their obscene, crude behavior.

Witness the news that Speaker of the House John Boehner, passing by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, uttered “Go F—Yourself”, which startled Reid, and Boehner repeated it. This was done, all because of the frustration of Boehner with Reid and the Democrats over the difficult bargaining on the “Fiscal Cliff”. It is certainly believable that anyone can have such thoughts, and might even state so to his friends and colleagues about someone else, but to use such language directly eye to eye with the person being attacked by such invective, is totally unacceptable, totally crude and obscene, totally unbecoming of a Congressional leader or anyone else in the public eye! Boehner needs to apologize publicly to Reid, but is unlikely to do so, but this makes further communication and negotiation with political rivals all that much more difficult! As a public figure, Boehner needs to set an example of good and appropriate behavior!

Let us not forget that during the George W. Bush Administration, Vice President Dick Cheney said the same words that Boehner utiliized against Reid, against Senator Patrick Leahy in the Senate chamber, and never apologized, and in fact bragged and gloated about his misbehavior and lack of class!

But it is not just foul language as mentioned above, but also the attack on Hillary Clinton by Republicans and conservatives who think her concussion and hospitalization with a blood clot is a lie, designed to prevent her from having to testify about the Benghazi, Libya terrorist attack on September 11, which killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others.

So fun has been made, and accusations have been uttered, that Hillary is not really sick, that it is all a cover up!

Among those saying this on camera are:

Former Florida Congressman Allen West
Former United Nations Ambassador John Bolton
Conservative ideologue Laura Ingraham
Charles Krauthammer of Fox News Channel
Bill O’Reilly of Fox News Channel
Sean Hannity of Fox News Channel
Rush Limbaugh, radio talk show host

And this is just a short list of cynics, who have no common decency, no compassion, no humanity, and know very well that the Libya matter is all conjured up, not a real issue. But it is the view of the right wing wingnuts that they must attack Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry, Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Joe Biden and other Democrats, simply because they are alive and breathing!

Nothing will stop the nasty, insulting, disgraceful behavior of Republicans and conservative ideologues in their mission to destroy America through character assassination of our political leaders, as long as they are Democrats!

Second Term Presidencies Are Difficult: The Odds Against Success Of Barack Obama!

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When one examines two term Presidencies, it is clear that there is a great likelihood of disappointment and failure as the President becomes a “lame duck”, and particularly, so after the midterm elections, as everyone looks forward to the race for his successor in office.

The following Presidents had difficult second terms:

Thomas Jefferson–with the Chesapeake Affair
James Madison–with the British attack on Washington DC during the War of 1812
Ulysses S. Grant–with the Panic of 1873 and exposure of the Credit Mobilier scandals
Grover Cleveland–with the Panic of 1893 and the Pullman Strike
Woodrow Wilson–with the First World War and the Treaty Of Versailles and his stroke
Franklin D. Roosevelt–with the failure of the Supreme Court “Packing” Plan and Recession Of 1937-1938
Harry Truman–with the Korean War and the Red Scare (McCarthyism)
Richard Nixon–with the Watergate Scandal
Ronald Reagan–with the Iran-Contra Scandal
Bill Clinton–with the Monica Lewinsky Scandal and the Impeachment Trial
George W. Bush–with the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars and Hurricane Katrina and failed attempt to privatize Social Security

The only Presidents to have successful second terms were:

George Washington
James Monroe
Andrew Jackson
Theodore Roosevelt
Dwight D. Eisenhower

Barack Obama hopes to bring about:

Immigration Reform Legislation
Gun Control Legislation
Climate Change Legislation
Stability in International Affairs

The likelihood of success is very doubtful, however, with so much division, conflict, turmoil, and polarization, caused by the Tea Party Movement and the Republican control of the House of Representatives.

At most, Obama might be able to promote changes in the judiciary, particularly on the Supreme Court, if vacancies occur, as is expected, but even there, it is assured there will be major battles over every appointment, and the possibility of filibustering nominees.

This reality is already showing itself with the interference and opposition to Susan Rice to be Secretary of State, before she was ever considered for nomination, and now Chuck Hagel, a possible choice for Secretary of Defense, who despite being a Republican, has already built up major opposition in the party that he represented in the Senate for 12 years from the state of Nebraska!

There seems the likelihood that no matter what Obama does or says, he will have vehement opposition, not only during the first two years, but even in his last two years as a “lame duck”, having less influence each month as the Presidential Election Of 2016 approaches!

A Day To Celebrate Promotion Of Human Rights: 150th Anniversary Of Emancipation Proclamation!

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Today marks the most momentous day in all of American history, regarding the promotion of human rights! It is the 150th anniversary of the issuance by President Abraham Lincoln of the Emancipation Proclamation!

Lincoln had issued the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862, five days after the bloody Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest day in the Civil War. His entire cabinet was opposed to what he did, and had doubts about the final issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation 100 days later.

But Abraham Lincoln had the guts, the courage, the conviction that ending slavery was an essential part of the advancement of American democracy, and would help promote the victory of the Union forces over the Confederacy.

Lincoln knew that the Emancipation Proclamation was only a pledge to end slavery, and that the only true way to bring it about was military victory, and the passage two years later of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, an event excellently portrayed in the movie LINCOLN, with Daniel Day-Lewis portraying the events leading to the passage of that amendment by the House of Representatives.

Slavery’s end did not mean an easy time or adjustment for African Americans or the nation, as racial violence and discrimination would be a sad part of the future, but it was a necessary step forward on the march of human rights, including later passage of the 14th Amendment, the 15th Amendment, the 19th Amendment, the 26th Amendment, the various Civil Rights Acts (1866, 1875, 1957, 1960, 1964, 1965, 1968), and significant Supreme Court decisions on civil rights of women, minorities, labor, young people, and gays and lesbians.

The march of time has been toward the granting of greater human rights, but it all began with Lincoln’s courageous gamble, 150 years ago today, and for that, as so much else, all Americans should salute him today!

And it is inspiring to see massive lines at the National Archives in Washington, DC, as the Emancipation Proclamation is on view for a limited time to celebrate the event, but with the need to preserve a document which is in fragile condition after a century and a half of existence.

What Lincoln did in 1863 is connected to the whole long range story of American history, the expansion of human rights for all, and this is what draws foreigners to wish to come to America, the land of liberty and opportunity!