US House Of Representatives

The Re-emergence Of Newt Gingrich: A Nightmare Scenario!

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Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich of Georgia has suddenly catapulted into a front runner status in some polls for the Republican Presidential nomination.

This comes after the various “flavors of the month”, Donald Trump, Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, and Herman Cain, have all imploded after a flirtation with front runner status.

The polls this last six months have been notorious for proving absolutely nothing, except the clear cut desire of Republicans NOT to nominate Mitt Romney!

Gingrich has a lot of “baggage” in his background. Has there been a Congressional leader since World War II quite as controversial and divisive as Newt Gingrich was in the 1980s and 1990s, even before his four tumultuous years as Speaker?

Has anyone else left an image of poor ethics and morality as much as Newt Gingrich with his three marriages and two divorces, and pontificating on morality when Bill Clinton was facing impeachment?

It is often forgotten that Newt Gingrich was facing ethics charges as Speaker in 1998, after seeing his party margin in the House of Representatives dwindle dramatically, and that he was forced out as Speaker by his own party!

It is forgotten that Newt Gingrich has benefited from government, and has always utilized his fame to sell books and DVDs, get high lecture fees, and be a lobbyist for various organizations while denying that, and yet he denounces government as evil!

Can anyone believe ANYTHING coming out of Newt Gingrich’s mouth? He has been very inconsistent and often reckless in his rhetoric and behavior, and has been willing to utter ridiculous character assassination charges at Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and anyone who challenges his veracity or honesty in the news media, as he has no principles that he will not change for his maniacal ambition to be President!

Gingrich has the advantage of being more knowledgeable and informed than most of his GOP opponents, but the thought of a Gingrich Presidency is enough to vomit over, as it would be easily the most divisive Presidency since Richard Nixon declared “war” on liberals and the news media and promoted “law and order”, while presiding over the most unethical administration in American history!

George McGovern’s New Book: Promoting Liberal Values Forty Years After His Presidential Candidacy!

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Former Senator and 1972 Democratic Presidential nominee George McGovern is coming to the Miami Book Fair International to promote his book, WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A DEMOCRAT.

Now 89 years old, already the second longest surviving major party presidential nominee who lost the election, only surpassed by former Republican nominee and Governor Alf Landon in the 1936 Presidential election (who survived 51 years after his defeat), McGovern wishes to emphasize the importance of government in our lives at a time when many Republicans refer to government as a great evil in our lives!

Proud to call himself a liberal, he is critical of those who promote fear, and mourns the loss of bipartisanship in Washington DC, which used to see much cooperation across the aisle in the US Senate and US House of Representatives. He is supportive of the Occupy Wall Street movement, and critical of the Tea Party Movement.

On December 2, as part of the CONTENDERS series on Friday nights from 8-10 pm Eastern time, the life and career of George McGovern will be examined on C Span. Everyone should tune in and admire and appreciate the greatness of this man who lost, but added dignity and principle to the political process that is American democracy!

Two Hopes For The Future Of Politics: Elizabeth Warren And Ilya Sheyman

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Many Americans are turned off to politics, and have the growing feeling that it makes no difference who you put in office, as they will be beholden to the “special interests”, rather than the citizenry who elects them.

And yet, there is growing hope that some people running for public office in 2012 actually cannot be controlled or owned by lobbyists and special interests, and two of them are: Elizabeth Warren, running for the Massachusetts Senate seat of Scott Brown, who replaced Ted Kennedy in a special election at the beginning of 2010, but who is one of the most “owned” candidates by the big corporations; and an unknown Illinois Congressional candidate in the Tenth District north of Chicago, Ilya Sheyman, attempting to oust a Tea Party Republican freshman named Robert Dold.

Warren is famous for having promoted the passage of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, one of the major accomplishments of the Obama Presidency. However, the Republicans made it clear that they would oppose her appointment as its head, so Warren turned around and decided to challenge Brown for his Senate seat, and this will be one of the premier stories of 2012, as she inspires many progressives who have hopes for change from the old system that has dominated Washington, DC for so long.

Just as inspiring is the story of 25 year old Soviet Jewish immigrant Ilya Sheyman, who migrated with his parents at age 4 from the Soviet Union. Appearing on UP-WITH CHRIS HAYES on MSNBC this morning, we learned of his motivation to promote the progressive movement, after experience as a community organizer in Waukegan, Illinois; service in the office of Senator Barack Obama; and national Mobilization Director at MoveOn.org.

Warren and Sheyman are both very impressive in their sincerity and commitment at a time when cynicism reigns supreme, so all who care about the future should work to elect Warren and Sheyman and like minded reformers!

Finally, Congressional Gold Medals To Japanese American Veterans Of World War II!

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Seventy years ago next December 7, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, forcing America into World War II.

Among the victims of the Japanese attack were approximately 110,000 Japanese Americans who were placed into internment camps for the duration of the war, because of their ethnicity.

But their sons served honorably in World War II and contributed mightily to the victory over both Japan and Germany, with a segregated unit winning more medals, honors and awards than any other unit of World War II.

Now, Congress has seen fit, as of November 2, to honor the veterans who served and those who died through the awarding of Congressional Gold Medals in a ceremony in the US Capitol Visitor Center, presided over by Speaker of the House John Boehner, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

The most touching moment was the speech of Senate President Pro Tem Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, who has served longer in the Senate than anyone but the late Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia.

Wounded seriously in World War II, and recuperating in a hospital alongside former Senator Bob Dole of Kansas, Inouye went on to become the most famous Asian American politician in the history of Congress, and if he serves in office until June 29, 2014, he will have become the longest serving senator in US history, surpassing Senator Byrd.

On Veterans Day, it is appropriate that we honor and commemorate those heroic Japanese American soldiers who did their duty despite their families being interned, as they fought for freedom and democracy!

The Effects Of The Ohio Vote Against John Kasich Sponsored Attack On Organized Labor

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The victory of public sector workers in Ohio against the law taking away labor union rights to collective bargaining yesterday is a blow to Governor John Kasich and a warning to other Republican governors in Florida, Wisconsin, Michigan, Maine and other states who had seen their 2010 victories as license for attacks on the middle class.

This is an issue which can help Democrats nationally and in the states to win back control of the House of Representatives, retain control of the Senate, and gain control of state legislatures and, eventually, the governor’s office.

It is also a sign that Ohio, the crucial state for Republicans nationally, with EVERY Republican President winning it on the way to victory since the beginning of the party in 1854, is open to a second victory by Barack Obama in 2012.

A win in Ohio would be a major step toward an electoral vote victory, and would likely mean that other “swing states” would join in reelecting Barack Obama. The odds of an Obama victory have been increased by what has happened in Ohio!

Only 9 Percent In Poll Trust Congress: All Time Low

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The reputation of Congress, always seen in a critical way as an institution, has reached a new low in a New York Times-CBS News Poll, with only NINE percent having trust, compared to 89 percent who don’t.

70 percent think the Republicans favor the rich, and want corporations to pay more taxes, and support a more even distribution of wealth.

The disillusionment seems likely to hurt the Republicans more, and Barack Obama, while only having 46 percent in the polls, has been rising, due to his speaking out and campaigning for his jobs bill, and his foreign policy successes.

So while all incumbents, including the President, have to be concerned about the distrust, in many respects Barack Obama is improving his image, while Congress, and particularly the GOP majority in the House, are seeing their image as the worst ever in polling.

This makes trying to predict what will happen to Congress and the Presidency in the upcoming Election of 2012 even more difficult to gauge.

Eric Cantor At It Again: Calls Wall Street Protestors “Mobs”!

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Eric Cantor, the Republican House Majority Leader, is condemning the “Occupy Wall Street” movement in New York and dozens of other cities in America, as “mobs”!

The fact that the movement is one to challenge banks, corporation, and Wall Street, which have victimized the middle class, is overlooked by Cantor, who had no problem with the hate mongering and anarchism of the Tea Party Movement in the past two and a half years!

The horrible behavior of the Tea Party gatherings were not seen as a “mob” by Cantor or other Republicans, but once the “99 percent” marched against the unfairness of one percent controlling a growing percentage of the entire wealth of the nation, all he can do is criticize it, and promote it as dangerous and unjustifiable!

Eric Cantor should be ashamed of himself, but he has no shame and no humility, and how anyone can support his behavior and rhetoric is impossible to justify!

It is clear that if nothing is done to deal with the income disparity, the greatest since 1929, we may face violence and bloodshed in America, and that would be truly tragic!

Ohio (John Boehner) And Kentucky (Mitch McConnell): Ground Zero Of Fight For Infrastructure Projects To Fight Poverty And Joblessness

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The Republican leaders of Congress come from states that border each other–Ohio (Speaker of the House John Boehner) and Kentucky (Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell).

Both states have lots of poverty, particularly Kentucky, and lots of joblessness, and lots of infrastructure projects that need to be funded!

President Obama was in Cincinnati (southern Ohio near Kentucky) today, emphasizing the need for the rebuilding of the Brent Spence bridge which connects Cincinnati to northern Kentucky, as an example of what the American Jobs Act would do to create jobs and improve infrastructure of the nation.

Of course, both Boehner and McConnell are very irritated that Obama is pushing this issue into their faces, but this is the precisely proper thing to do, as it is despicable that both GOP leaders have done NOTHING to promote jobs to help their OWN constituents, let alone others around the nation!

This is a strategy that is a winning strategy for the Democrats, and the more that it is protested by the Republicans, the more it should be utilized!

An Innocuous Bill Opposed By Republicans To Honor Civil Service Workers Killed In Line Of Duty: Is There No Limit To Their Lack Of Sanity And Decency?

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An innocuous bill proposed in the House of Representatives, and thought to have no problem to be approved, has been shot down by the Republican majority.

This bill would have called for an American flag to be presented at the funerals of American civil service employees killed in the line of duty, much like what is done for people who have died as soldiers in our military.

The civilians killed would not get the other honors that soldiers have at their funerals, just a flag to honor their service to the nation.

One might ask what is meant by civilian workers killed in the line of duty. This includes the following: those killed in a terrorist attack; work related accident or illness; natural disaster; or criminal attack occurring during service at their work.

Nearly 3,000 federal workers have died on their job for the above reasons in the past 20 years, and this bill would have honored their sacrifice.

But the American Legion opposed the bill, and a large number of Republicans have joined them, making a bill that was no big deal, suddenly a big deal and to be opposed, as if only military people, not civilians, have sacrificed for their country!

What can one say, what can one express, other than disgust and rolling eyes! There is no limit to the lack of sanity and decency in the present day Republican Party!

The Congress And Job Creation Failure: How The Republicans Will Suffer More Than President Obama!

Ronald 1 Comment

Right now, there is panic in the Democratic Party over the job statistics, with 9.1 percent unemployment, with many thinking President Obama cannot be reelected in 2012.

The fact is, that despite this hysteria, it is in the hands of the Republicans in Congress as to whether Obama will be reelected, due to the fact that they control the majority in the House of Representatives, and with their 47 Senators, are able to filibuster any action desired by the Democrats in the Senate!

If no jobs program is enacted to help bring about the creation of employment, it will reflect on them more than President Obama, who will be able to use the same “do nothing Congress” argument on them that Harry Truman utilized in 1948, leading to his upset victory and the return of the Democrats to control in both houses of Congress.

The Democrats tend to panic whenever times are tough, so President Truman had much liberal opposition in 1947-1948, but he came through, with foreign policy helping him to look like the strong, stable leader that he was!

President Jimmy Carter had much liberal opposition in 1979-1980, including challenges within the party from Ted Kennedy and Jerry Brown, weakening him, and foreign policy crises of Afghanistan and Iran undermined his ability to recover from economic difficulties that arose at the same time.

President Bill Clinton had liberal opposition in 1995-1996, but won a battle over the budget with the Republican majority in Congress, faced no opponent in the primaries, and while unable to throw the GOP out of control of the Congress, won reelection handily and weakened the Republican majority.

With Obama having no opposition within the party for the nomination, demonstrating a strong successful policy against terrorism, and having an extreme right wing GOP in the House of Representatives determined to do nothing to create jobs, the need for panic and hysteria is overdrawn!

As long as Obama fights the good fight for his program, even if nothing is done over the next 14 months, the Republicans will hand the election to him, particularly if Rick Perry is their nominee!

The ability of the Republicans to self destruct is immeasurable, and with a public opinion rating of 12 percent for Congress (under the control effectively of the GOP), and with Obama’s personal popularity being a plus and his overall rating being 43 percent, the future is not as gloomy as many might think!