US House Of Representatives

Presidential Courage And Human Rights: From John Quincy Adams To Barack Obama

Ronald 3 Comments

One of the most important roles of a President is to be a moral leader, a person who sets the standard for what is moral and ethical in public affairs,

And nothing is more important than to have the courage to take leadership on human rights matters, whether in the United States or in other nations.

In that regard, Barack Obama will always stand out for what he did on Wednesday, speaking up for gay rights, including the right to marry.

Who else among our Presidents can be seen as a moral leader on human rights issues?

John Quincy Adams, as President and in his post Presidential career in the House of Representatives, campaigned against slavery and the slave trade, and was censured by the House of Representatives for fighting the gag rule (forbidding discussion of slavery in the House chamber) over and over again. He also represented the slaves aboard the slave ship Amistad, and won the court case for their freedom in 1841.

Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, a move many thought was unwise and might undermine the Union effort during the Civil War. But he believed that African Americans should be given freedom.

Harry Truman took the earliest steps in promoting civil rights for African Americans in the 1940s when segregation reigned in the South, and he went ahead anyway and promoted integration of the military and of the nation’s capital, Washington, DC.

Dwight D. Eisenhower alienated the white South when he sent in National Guard troops to Little Rock, Arkansas, to enforce integration of a public high school.

John F. Kennedy followed Eisenhower’s lead, in promoting National Guard intervention at the University of Mississippi and the University of Alabama, to bring about integration, and also proposed a civil rights law that he had to know would be extremely difficult to accomplish.

Lyndon B. Johnson, despite his Southern heritage, became the great proponent of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, knowing it would turn the white South over to the Republican Party, as it did.

Richard Nixon signed affirmative action into law, which became one of the great advancements in civil rights for women and minorities.

Jimmy Carter became the advocate of promoting human rights overseas, instead of accepting violations by so called “friendly” nations, as part of the business of diplomacy. He was bitterly criticized as naive, but his human rights beliefs remain one of his great legacies.

And now Barack Obama joins this group on Presidential courage in relation to the advancement of human rights! Kudos to him!

The Imminent Loss Of A True Statesman From The US Senate: Richard Lugar Of Indiana

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With 24 hours to go, it seems imminent that Indiana Senator Richard Lugar is about to lose his Republican primary for a seventh term to a Tea Party right wing extremist.

If this happens, as expected, it will be a true tragedy not only for Lugar, but also for Indiana, and for the wish for bipartisanship and principle in the US Senate.

Lugar has been in the Senate for 36 years, after serving as Mayor of Indianapolis, and while he is a strong conservative, he has never resorted to reckless statements or crazy viewpoints, always keeping his dignity and image as a person willing to cross the aisle and work with opposition Democrats.

The fact that he cooperated with a new Senator, Barack Obama, in 2005-2006, on working to avoid the spread of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons on a world wide basis, now is being held against him.

The fact that he has occasionally supported the President on a few issues, not many, was enough to make people angry in his right wing Republican state.

The National Rifle Association is against him; Lugar has supported the DREAM Act on immigration; and he supported the two Supreme Court nominees of Barack Obama.

Lugar was twice Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and twice Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and if the Republicans won the Senate in 2012 and Lugar won, he would be Senate President Pro Tempore, third in line of succession to be President of the United States.

Of course, Lugar’s age, 80, could be used against him, but he is a very vigorous, energetic 80, and is seen by many as a brilliant statesman in his major area of interest, foreign policy.

But the GOP of 2012 is sadly controlled too much by the Tea Party and other right wingers, and the only good thing that might come out of a defeat of Richard Lugar is the takeover of the seat by a Democrat, Congressman Joe Donnelly, which would give his party a chance at keeping the Senate majority, a much endangered majority!

A Doomsday Scenario: A Possible 269-269 Electoral College Tie For The Presidency!

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All serious judgment about the Presidential Election of 2012 demonstrates that President Barack Obama should have no problem winning the Electoral College, since he won nine “swing states” in 2008, and is expected to win a majority, if not all, of those nine states again.

But a doomsday scenario has emerged, of what COULD happen if everything went awry!

And that doomsday scenario would lead to a 269-269 Electoral College tie, when 270 electoral votes are needed to win the election, no matter what the total popular vote is!

This 269 electoral vote total for Obama assumes he would win one of the five Nebraska electoral votes as he did in 2008,. when he won the Second Congressional District around Omaha. Nebraska and Maine are the only two states that allow splitting of electoral votes, although such an idea has been broached before, but not adopted elsewhere.

Without Nebraska’a one electoral vote of five, Obama could lose to Mitt Romney 270-268!

This whole scenario is based on the idea that Obama loses Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Ohio, Indiana, and New Hampshire, all of which he won in 2008, while keeping Pennsylvania, Iowa, New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada.

This whole scenario is a long shot, but with a country so evenly divided in Congress, who can say that it is not a possibility, as terrible as it sounds!

And if a tie developed, the House of Representatives in January would pick the President, with each state having one vote, so which party controlled the new House and had at least 26 state delegations of their party would choose the President, while the Senate would pick the Vice President, with each state having one vote, but a 50-50 tie a potential in the Senate. Imagine if that happened, and if 25 states had a Republican majority in their House delegation, and the other 25 states had a Democratic majority in their House delegation, keeping in mind that seven states have only one House member–Vermont, Delaware, Alaska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Wyoming!

What a mess, but again the likelihood is quite low of such a scenario occurring!

Is Mitt Romney “Captive” Of Grover Norquist, Paul Ryan, And Bill Kristol?

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Mitt Romney, the presumptive GOP Presidential nominee, is a man with very few interests, other than making money, along with caring about his family and his Mormon Church.

He has really no background or great knowledge in foreign policy, and has very little interest in improving the lives of average Americans.

Many are starting to wonder if he the “captive” of Grover Norquist, Paul Ryan, and Bill Kristol.

Grover Norquist, the head of Americans For Tax Reform, has been able to convince almost all Republicans in Congress to agree NEVER to raise taxes on ANYONE, and in fact, lower them ever more. Mitt Romney has committed himself to this insanity, and of course, he personally benefits from such a policy.

Paul Ryan, the House Budget Chairman from Wisconsin, promotes the idea of destroying Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security as we know it, and has been even criticized by leaders of his own Catholic Church for his harsh view and attitude towards the poor. Romney has also expressed the thought that nothing more needs to be done for those less fortunate.

Bill Kristol is the publisher of the conservative weekly, The Weekly Standard, since its inception in 1994, and he is infamous as one of the “neocons”, the so called neo conservatives, who call for use of force overseas, and advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Mitt Romney has pushed for the idea of bombing Iran, rather than diplomacy first being pursued over their nuclear program.

So one has to wonder if Mitt Romney, having no interest in issues other than what will elect him, is allowing himself now, and later as President, were he to be elected, to enact policies favored by these three men and others, which many would call “radical” ideas.

It is truly ironic that Barack Obama is often called a “radical” President, when if one examines Mitt Romney and who has influence or power over him, we should instead be concerned that Mitt Romney is the true “radical” in the race, ready to reverse progress and change under Barack Obama, and go back to the failed policies of George W. Bush!

The Final Exit Of Newt Gingrich From National Politics: Or Is It?

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Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has finally suspended his campaign for President, having won only South Carolina and his home state of Georgia.

Notice the word “suspended”, as Newt still sees himself as a future President, so we may not have seen the last of him.

Gingrich gave a very unflattering statement of support of Mitt Romney, simply saying that he was better than “the most radical President in American history”, as he describes Barack Obama.

Gingrich is insufferable, a braggart, a boaster, an obnoxious person, with a horrible record on morals and ethics, and a over inflated view of his own brilliance. It is hard to watch him, and wonder how he is not embarrassed by his own behavior, but he certainly is not a person who shows any shame!

So don’t be surprised that Newt will come back and try for the Presidency in 2016, when he would be 73, because his ego requires it, his need for attention is obsessive, and he will always think that he is the smartest person in the country.

His erratic behavior will always make him interesting, but he has a very high percentage of Americans who dislike him, and just wish he would go away!

Newt will be remembered as one of the most significant figures to come from the House of Representatives, but all of us who are sane would wish to say to Newt: “Please go away and don’t come back!”

31 GOP Senators Vote Against Reauthorization Of Violence Against Women Act: Absolutely Amazing!

Ronald 4 Comments

The US Senate yesterday voted overwhelmingly for reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, originally passed in 1994, during the Bill Clinton Presidency.

The vote was 68-31, with the opposition all being Republicans!

Those who voted against the legislation included such disgraces as:

Lindsey Graham of South Carolina
Jim DeMint of South Carolina
Tom Coburn of Oklahoma
Charles Grassley of Iowa
John Cornyn of Texas
Roy Blunt of Missouri
Orrin Hatch of Utah
James Inhofe of Oklahoma
Ron Johnson of Wisconsin
Jon Kyl of Arizona
Mike Lee of Utah
Richard Lugar of Indiana
Rand Paul of Kentucky
Mitch McConnell of Kentucky
Marco Rubio of Florida
Jeff Sessions Of Alabama
Richard Shelby of Alabama
John Thune of South Dakota
Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania

These and the others not mentioned are either right wing ideologues, Southerners (heavily), or gutless wonders who refuse to show courage (Hatch and Lugar)!

Those Republicans who voted for the legislation include all five women Senators: Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Susan Collins of Maine, Olympia Snowe of Maine, and Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, plus the following and a few others:

Scott Brown of Massachusetts
Lamar Alexander of Tennessee
Bob Corker of Tennessee
Daniel Coats of Indiana
Dean Heller of Nevada
John McCain of Arizona
David Vitter of Louisiana
Rob Portman of Ohio

Some of these voted YES because of upcoming election races, and others because they have a sense of decency on the issue of violence against women.

The opposition rose to the fact that the law would be extended to cover illegal immigrants who are victims of violence and domestic abuse, as well as LGBT victims, and those on Indian reservations who are non Indian being forced to be judged by tribal justice on the reservations.

The Republican majority in the House of Representatives will strip the bill of the new changes, and it will be a massive battle to get the legislation renewed without these modifications.

Its effect, whatever ultimately happens, will make the GOP reassert itself as engaged in a war on women!

The “Buffett Rule” Is The “Reagan Rule”, But Instead Cut Food Stamps: Republican Party Message To America!

Ronald 2 Comments

The “Buffett Rule”, the idea that those who earn more than a million dollars a year should pay a tax rate of 30 percent, more than their secretaries and other workers, was defeated in the Senate on a party line vote on Monday, with only Susan Collins of Maine voting with Democrats, and Mark Pryor of Arkansas voting with the Republicans, and 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster being unable to be accomplished.

Of course, the “Buffett Rule” is really a restatement of the “Reagan Rule”, the assertion of the 40th President that one should not expect an employee to pay a higher level of taxes than his or her employer. It is an embarrassment to the GOP of 2012, that they are actually defying their icon, their god, their “savior”, who they claim to be following and worshiping, but only when they choose to follow his lead. The fact that 72 percent of the American people in polls support the “Buffett Rule” has no effect at all on the Republicans, as they argue that $50 billion over ten years collected if the “Buffett Rule” went into effect is a “drop in the bucket”!

Meanwhile, the Republicans wish to cut spending on food stamps, the main source of funding for nutrition for poor families, attacked as socialism, but they insist that cutting it over ten years, saving $33.2 billion, is substantial, and must be done as part of the Paul Ryan budget plan in the House of Representatives.

The Republican Party has no conscience, as they are willing to take from the poor to give more tax cuts to the rich. They are Robin Hood in reverse, with no second thoughts!

So 4,000 families will benefit from the defeat of the “Buffett Rule”, while $46.4 million Americans, who are already dependent on food stamps for survival will see an 11 percent cut in monthly benefits after September 1.

The long term unemployed, who lost their jobs through no fault of their own, will now suffer even worse, as we now live in a society in which government leaders do not care about what hunger means, and do not care about the desperation of millions left behind, a large percentage of them children and single mothers, as long as the elite continue to get tax cuts!

Controversy Over Florida State University Law School Graduate: Should Illegal Immigrant Be Admitted To The Florida Bar?

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The issue of illegal immigration, particularly that of children brought here from foreign lands at a young age, has arisen again with a new controversy over a Florida State University Law School graduate who is applying for admission to the Florida Bar.

Should a 25 year old man, brought here from Mexico at age 9, who was the valedictorian of his high school class, who was an Eagle Scout, but still is an illegal immigrant, who arrived with his parents on a tourist visa which eventually expired, be allowed to practice law in Florida, rather than face possible deportation?

A former President of Florida State University, also a former head of the American Bar Association, is the attorney for this young man, who has excelled in everything he has ever tried, and did not hide his illegal status when he applied to college and law school.

Additionally, three other former heads of the American Bar Association, with two of them also former heads of the Florida Bar, also back this young man in his quest to be able to get a law license in Florida, but anti immigrant amnesty groups bitterly oppose any such concession.

The student’s Congresswoman, Kathy Castor, also backs him, and calls for the passage of the DREAM Act, designed to give children of illegal immigrants the opportunity beyond high school to contribute to the nation in the military or by going to college, rather than forcing them as adults back to a country they have no memory of, and having wasted taxpayer money spent on their education to age 18.

This is an issue that bitterly divides the American people, but it really victimizes young people simply because of what their parents have done, failing to recognize the great talents and abilities these young people could contribute to the nation they love, if only given a chance.

Mitt Romney And Tea Party Republicans In The House Of Representatives: A “Shotgun” Marriage?

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Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, the likely GOP Presidential nominee, is accustomed to doing things HIS way, both in the corporate world and in his one term in the Massachusetts Governorship, where he never really learned the names of legislators, or went out of his way to negotiate with those he needed to work with.

This is a man who likes CONTROL to the extreme, but already there are signs in the campaign that the Tea Party Republicans in the House of Representatives are not going to allow themselves to be dictated to, or told how to conduct their campaigns, and how they deal with issues about the budget, foreign policy, and social controversies.

No matter how much Mitt Romney has moved to the Right, it is believed that he is going to attempt a move back toward the center, his more natural location in his earlier career, but if he does that, he will find many House Republicans, and possibly even Senate Republicans, will not join him in such a swing, and will be likely to attack him if he does.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg, as IF he is elected, with a GOP majority in one or both houses, the question will be whether he will allow his Presidency to be controlled by the Right Wing of the party.

The likelihood is that he will not agree to that, and that would mean bitter division within a party that even now is not thrilled at having Mitt Romney as their standard bearer.

Ironically, if Romney won, and had a Democratic Congress, while there would be natural rivalry and conflict, it is more likely that much more progress would be made toward dealing with economic and foreign policy issues, than under a Republican Party dominated by the Right WIng.

So anyone who thinks a Romney Presidency would be glorious, and united, and change the political atmosphere in the nation’s capital, needs to have a reality check!

Losing Vice Presidential Candidates And Their Careers

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In the past fifty years, since the Kennedy-Nixon election of 1960, we have had a total of 12 losing Vice Presidential nominees of major parties, not including Vice President Walter Mondale under President Jimmy Carter in 1980, and Vice President Dan Quayle under President George H. W. Bush in 1992.

What ever became of these 12 losing Vice Presidential nominees?

Henry Cabot Lodge, who ran with Richard Nixon in 1960, went on to be Ambassador to South Vietnam for President Kennedy in 1963-1964, a sign of bipartisan cooperation, even though Lodge had lost his US Senate seat to President Kennedy in 1952. He then was a candidate for the Republican nomination for President in 1964, but did not get very far in the race. Lodge had had a distinguished career as Senator from Massachusetts from 1937-1953, played an influential role in drafting Dwight D. Eisenhower for President in 1952, and served as Ike’s United Nations Ambassador for eight years, before becoming Nixon’s running mate in 1960. Overall, a very distinguished career, to say the least!

William E. Miller, who ran with Barry Goldwater in 1964, served as a member of the US House of Representatives from upstate New York from 1951-1965, and was Republican National Chairman from 1961-1964. His public career ended with the Goldwater defeat, but his daughter, Stephanie Miller, is a comedian and radio talk show host, and also on Current TV five mornings a week. Interestingly, she is very liberal, while her father was a solid conservative.

Senator Edmund Muskie of Maine ran with Hubert H. Humphrey in 1968, after having served in the US Senate for ten years, and continued to serve in the Senate until 1980, when he agreed to be President Jimmy Carter’s Secretary of State for one year. He also sought the Presidency himself in 1972, was considered a front runner, but his candidacy floundered.

Senator Thomas Eagleton of Missouri was George McGovern’s first running mate in 1972, but was forced out over revelations that he had undergone shock treatments and taken psychiatric medication. Despite that, he served in the US Senate for 18 years from 1969-1987, and served with distinction, with whatever mental problems he had not interfering with his performance.

Sargent Shriver, the brother in law of President Kennedy, replaced Eagleton, and was well known as the head of the Peace Corps under Kennedy, and as head of the War on Poverty under President Lyndon B. Johnson. Then he served as Ambassador to France under Johnson and Richard Nixon, before running for Vice President. He also ran for President unsuccessfully in 1976, and became the head of the Special Olympics. His daughter, Maria Shriver, became an NBC reporter and the wife of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California. His decline due to Alzheimer’s Disease had an impact on publicity about that disease. He died a much beloved public servant.

Gerald Ford had Senator Bob Dole of Kansas as his running mate in 1976. Dole had been a member of the House of Representatives from 1961-1969, and served in the Senate from 1969 until his resignation in 1996, when he became the Republican nominee for President. He remains active today, and is highly honored for his public career, and his wife Elizabeth also served as a United States Senator from North Carolina. Additionally, Dole had served as Republican National Chairman from 1971-1973 under Richard Nixon. He also was, at different times, Senate Majority Leader and Senate Minority Leader.

Geraldine Ferraro was Walter Mondale’s running mate in 1984, becoming the first woman to run for Vice President. She had been a Congresswoman from Queens County, New York City from 1978-1984, and was later US Ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights under President Bill Clinton from 1993-1996. She ran unsuccessfully for the US Senate in 1992 and 1998, and later was involved in the Hillary Clinton Presidential campaign of 2008.

Senator Lloyd Bentsen of Texas was the running mate of Michael Dukakis in1988. He served in the House of Representatives from 1949-1955, and as US Senator from 1971-1993, winning his seat the first time over future President George H. W. Bush, He was also Senate Finance Committee Chairman, and Treasury Secretary under BIll Clinton in 1993–1994.

New York Congressman Jack Kemp, a former football player for the San Diego Chargers and the Buffalo Bills of the American Football League, served in the House of Representatives from upstate Buffalo, New York, from 1971-1989. He ran for President unsuccessfully in 1988, before agreeing to be Bob Dole’s running mate in 1996. He also served as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under the first President Bush from 1989-1993. He was a major supporter of economic conservatism, and a follower of President Ronald Reagan. He continued to advocate his views after losing the Vice Presidency.

Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman was Al Gore’s running mate in 2000, and was the first Jewish nominee for Vice President. He had served in the Senate since first being elected in 1988, and will retire from the Senate in 2012, after four complete terms, as a controversial independent Democrat, progressive on social issues, but hard line conservative on foreign policy. He was called conservative intellectual William F. Buckley, Jr’s “favorite Democrat”.

In 2004, North Carolina Senator John Edwards was John Kerry’s Vice Presidential running mate. He served in the Senate for one term from 1999-2005, and sought the Presidency in 2008, and when his campaign failed, he was revealed to have a consensual affair with a woman while his wife was sick with cancer, and the liaison produced a daughter, and now has led to a trial that might lead to his imprisonment on charges of illegal use of campaign funds to cover the affair and the needs of the child and mother. This is truly a sad situation, still to be played out.

And finally, who could forget Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, who came out of obscurity as the second woman to run for Vice President, with John McCain in 2008. She became a lightning rod, and many blamed the debacle of the McCain campaign on her, and her obvious ignorance of the issues and the facts of American politics and history. She has remained a controversial figure, who has made millions writing some books and giving speeches,and is seen by many as a major factor in the conservative wing of the Republican Party. Her future is still ahead of her, and we will not be able to ignore her, as she will be part of political news for a long time.

So who stood out among these losing VP candidates?

Clearly, Lodge, Muskie, Eagleton, Shriver, Dole, Bentsen, Kemp, and Lieberman had a positive effect on American history.

The same cannot be said for Miller, Ferraro, Edwards, and Palin.

However, all of them contributed to our history, and should be remembered!