US House Of Representatives

Democrats Lead By Seven Points In New Poll For Congressional Elections Of 2012!

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A new Gallup poll shows Democrats leading by seven points over Republicans in a generic ballot as to which party they prefer to control Congress in 2013-2014.

This is a wider lead at this point than Republicans had in 2009, which led to a GOP House of Representatives!

The support of the Tea Party is very tepid, and it seems as if the alliance of the Tea Party with the GOP may backfire on them, and lead to the Republicans being pushed out of majority control after only two years, well justified as the Republicans have done nothing positive on the issue of jobs and the economy, and instead have simply stood in the way as obstructionists to President Barack Obama!

The Growing Danger Of Social Media, Social Networking: Growing Discontent Among Young People Who Are Unemployed Leads To Potential Violence And Revolution!

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Social Media such as Facebook and Twitter have brought people together in all kinds of great causes and crusades, including the “Arab Spring” in many Middle East nations that are autocracies.

At the same time, social networking has also been leading to the ability of crime gangs to promote chaos and anarchy, as has been occurring recently in Philadelphia; to demonstrations interfering with freedom of movement in the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) system in San Francisco; and to authorities attempting to shut down social media and cell phones to prevent such confrontations and violence, but in the process interfering with civil liberties, and the ability to communicate for law abiding citizens.

When one realizes that a lot of what has happened in the “Arab Spring” is not just based on politics, but also on the inability of many young people in the Middle East to find work or make an adequate living even with those who have educational attainment, one must also realize that millions of young Americans, who would never be ordinarily considering being lawless, MIGHT with growing unemployment and frustration help to cause some firebrands to incite people to rise up in violence and bloodshed in opposition to the lack of federal and state governments doing what they can to promote job creation. Whether with business assistance or through public works projects, as during the Great Depression, when millions of people contributed to the growth of infrastructure through the Works Projects Administration and other agencies, giving them faith in the future and a steady paycheck, it is ESSENTIAL that actions be taken immediately to prevent such an occurrence!

The fact that the US government under Republican House leadership has done NOTHING to promote job growth, and that state governments are cutting employment at the same time, means that unemployment is likely to grow, apparently part of the plan of the GOP to make Barack Obama look bad. But in the process, it is likely to provoke eventual violence and bloodshed, which can be fueled on the internet through Facebook and Twitter and other social media!

The potential for trouble is alarming, and the events in the Middle East, Philadelphia and San Francisco should ring alarm bells in our government at all levels, that we CANNOT allow widespread unemployment to grow and claim there is nothing that government can do, as they indeed did a GREAT DEAL during the New Deal years of Franklin D. Roosevelt and saved the country from revolution!

It is time for Congress and the states to stop the politics, and start promoting job opportunity, whether privately inspired or publicly created, and not later, but NOW!

2011 Is Becoming A Repeat Of 1937-1938! Economic Disaster In The Making!

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In 1937, under great pressure from critics, President Franklin D. Roosevelt cut back federal spending on the New Deal after four years of greatly increased spending, which had brought down the unemployment rate and given millions of Americans hope for the future, with the growing number of jobs and economic expansion resulting from people having income increases.

Conservatives then, as now, condemned the New Deal spending, and Roosevelt, unfortunately, reacted to it, and the result was the infamous collapse of the economy again, what is referred to as the Recession of 1937-1938 within the era of the Great Depression.

The result of what was done due to conservative pressure was the following:

1. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 49 percent from its peak in 1937 by the year 1938.

2. Manufacturing production dropped by 37 percent, greater than from 1929-1933 under President Herbert Hoover.

3. Unemployment percentages, which had reached 25 percent in 1933 as Hoover left the Presidency and then declined to 14 percent, suddenly rose to 19 percent because of the cut in federal spending, and the corresponding loss of jobs all over again.

4. Price declines, due to lack of spending, led to deflation, which is far worse than inflation.

The events of the past week, with steep stock market declines, and gyration of stock prices like we have never seen them before, is a danger sign, a warning sign, that we could have a disastrous economic collapse that could be even worse than 2008!

So the urging of Nobel Prize winning Paul Krugman of Princeton University and the New York Times, and of former Labor Secretary, (Bill Clinton) and University of California at Berkeley Professor Robert Reich that MUCH MORE federal spending is needed to stimulate the economy, and that budget cuts on a massive scale with no tax increases is a disastrous policy, needs to be listened to by government leaders!

However, with a GOP House majority, and the fact that Republicans can filibuster in the Senate with their 47 members, it makes such a possibility just about impossible!

The American people, by their ignorance or lack of understanding, have caused this mess by creating a split Congress, with, of course, corporate spending endorsed by the Citizens United case of the Supreme Court, playing a major role as well in causing a disastrous economic situation, which will cause much suffering, and guarantee the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression will become far worse in the next two years, until the next Congress, hopefully, will reverse course, but only if the Democrats win both houses and keep the White House!

Right Wing Talk About Impeachment Or Resignation: A Dangerous And Preposterous Idea!

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The right wing will stop at nothing to get President Barack Obama out of office!

Talk of impeachment comes from a Texas Republican Congressman Michael Burgess of the Dallas area, the same district that used to be represented by Dick Armey, the head of Freedom Works and promoter of the Tea Party Movement. Burgess’s reasoning is that Obama is totally ineffective and should be removed for that reason, rather than any specific violation of the Constitution.

The concept of impeachment has already been abused, as with the proceeding against former President Bill Clinton in 1998-1999. It is preposterous to say that even if a President is ineffective, which is highly debatable, in the case of Obama, that it should be considered an impeachable offense. In any case, even were an impeachment proceeding to develop, there is no possibility of a two thirds vote in the US Senate to convict and remove the President, and all it would do, therefore, is cause more economic tumult and political disarray, which is precisely what this country does NOT need!

If one wants to place blame for the chaos and tumult going on right now, it must be shared not only by the President and his party, but also, and to a greater extent, the refusal of the Republicans in the House of Representatives, and their extremist Tea Party allies, to negotiate and compromise on any agreement that would raise taxes to help balance out the budget crisis!

But now, we also have right wing critics who are suggesting that the President resign because of lack of public support, and that he first replace Joe Biden as Vice President with someone more unifying. This assumes that Joe Biden would resign, and one wonders who would the right wing prefer to become Vice President temporarily before becoming President. Would the extremists accept Hillary Clinton? Highly doubtful, and in any case, why should the right wing tell us who our President is, when Obama was elected for a four year term and should finish that term, and leave it to the American people as to whether they prefer him or the Republican opponent as their next President!

It would be unprecedented for Obama to resign, even if one thinks of him as a failure, which he is clearly NOT!

Only Richard Nixon has resigned, just 37 years ago on August 9 because of the Watergate Crisis, and that was for criminal activity!

Only Woodrow Wilson secretly planned to resign in 1916 if he lost reelection, with World War I on, and America in danger of getting involved. His secret idea was to hand over the Presidency to his opponent, Charles Evans Hughes, ahead of time, if Hughes had won.

Many Presidents have been seen as failures in different ways, but NEVER has a President resigned because of that belief, and it would destroy the whole American system of government if every time there was discontent, the President should be forced out by resignation.

Think of the many cases that would exist:

1, James Madison, when Washington, DC was attacked by the British, and Congress and the President had to flee, during the War Of 1812.
2. Martin Van Buren, when the country suffered from the Panic of 1837.
3. John Tyler, upon succeeding the dead William Henry Harrison in 1841, being told he was illegitimate even though he had been Vice President.
4. James Buchanan, when we went through the Panic of 1857, and later when the South was seceding from the Union.
5. Abraham Lincoln, when he waged war against the South, and violated civil liberties in wartime for purposes of saving the Union.
6. Andrew Johnson, who was actually impeached but found not guilty, who many wanted to resign as well, because of his opposition to the goals of the Radical Republicans on Reconstruction policy.
7. Ulysses S. Grant, who presided over the worst political corruption up to that point of time, and under whom we suffered from the Panic of 1873.
8.Warren G. Harding, who had the most corrupt administration after Grant, but died just as we learned about the extent of the corruption.
9. Herbert Hoover, who was cautious and ineffective as the Great Depression became the worst economic crisis in American history.
10. Franklin D. Roosevelt, for his controversial domestic and foreign policy actions and strong executive leadership in the time of the Great Depression and World War II.
11. Harry Truman, who many thought should resign after the Republicans won both houses of Congress in 1947-48, and for his Korean War policies.
12. Jimmy Carter, for his ineffective policies on the economy and the Iran hostage crisis.
13. Ronald Reagan, for the Iran Contra scandal which erupted in his second term of office.
14. Bill Clinton, for various accusations of scandals, and for his affair with Monica Lewinsky, which led to impeachment, but not conviction by the Senate.
15. George W. Bush, for taking us into war In Iraq on false pretenses, and reckless spending, creating the debt problems of today.

The answer is NOT to have a President resign, but rather to overcome partisanship in a crisis as we have now, and unite around the President, help him, not attack him, and put COUNTRY FIRST!

The Presidency will be destroyed if we let the naysayers rule the roost, and tell the occupant of the Oval Office to resign, as that will not restore confidence!

We have survived good and bad Presidents, and the answer is to follow the US Constitution and stop this irresponsible attack by the right wing on the Constitution they claim to revere, but in practice violate and abuse on a regular basis!

The Ideological Extremes In The House Of Representatives: Forecast Of More Conflict And Turmoil To Come!

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When one looks at the recent developments in the House of Representatives, it is clear that the forecast is one of more conflict to come over the next 17 months of the 112th Congress!

87 Republicans are freshmen, and most of them are self declared Tea Party Movement activists, who plan on no compromise on anything with the Democrats. Additionally, there are Republicans in the chamber who claim to be sympathetic to the same cause. meaning between one fifth and one fourth of the House is extreme ideological Right!

At the same time, there are over 80 members of the Democratic Party in the House that are declared members of the Progressive Caucus, dedicated to the progressive agenda considered by some as the ideological Left.

So between 40-45 percent of the House is very unwilling to compromise, and that means deadlock and turmoil for the next two years, brought about by the creation of a divided Congress, but for the first time with a Republican House and a Democratic Senate, rather than the past experiences of the opposite control of the two chambers of Congress!

The Symbolic Decline Of Labor: Thirty Years Ago Today, Ronald Reagan Fired The Air Traffic Controllers For Going On Strike

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On this day in 1981, President Ronald Reagan fired the air traffic controllers for going on strike, and this marked the symbolic decline of labor unions in America ever since, with Republican governors now having declared war on public workers in labor unions in 2011!

Ironic that a former labor leader as head of the Screen Actors Guild became the image of an anti labor President, and even more ironic that tens of thousands of workers working for the Federal Aviation Administration are now out of work over a funding dispute between the Republicans in the House and the Democrats in the Senate. There is absolutely no concern by the Republicans over workers not getting paid, losing their homes, and disrupting the economy, as long as they win the point that only big business matters, as under Calvin Coolidge in the 1920s.

The coming to power of Calvin Coolidge to the Presidency on this day, a leader who thought big business corporations were not “special interests”, but that labor and farmer and small business were such, and did not deserve any government favoritism, demonstrates that the Republican Party has not changed its image despite it being nearly a century later!

A Profile In Courage: Gabrielle Giffords Comes Back To Congress After Assassination Attempt!

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Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head in an assassination attempt in Tucson in January, made an heroic return to the House of Representatives tonight to cast her vote for the Debt Ceiling bill.

It was a dramatic moment, one of the few where there was bipartisan cheering and applauding, and there was not a dry eye in the chamber or by those watching at home, including the author.

Gabrielle Giffords is a true profile in courage, a miracle case of how a person shot in the head, under some circumstances, can recover and function even just seven months after the tragic event.

IF only the unity she brought to the House of Representatives briefly could carry over, but of course, that sadly is NOT going to happen!

With Exception Of Jon Huntsman, Republican Presidential Candidates Ally With Tea Party Movement In Opposition To Debt Ceiling Legislation

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The Republicans in the House of Representatives were able to gain the backing of three fourths of their membership on the Debt Ceiling legislation tonight, losing the remainder, who were the Tea Party radicals who held America hostage with their recklessness!

But despite this reality, ALL of the Republican Presidential candidates, with the one exception of former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, decided to join the Tea Party activists in statements of criticism of the legislation.

By doing so, all of these candidates have forfeited the right to be able to claim that they are responsible and legitimate candidates for the White House. They abandoned Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and it demonstrates that there will be tensions between those running for President, and the vast majority of the members of their party in Congress.

All of these candidates should be ashamed of their stand, particularly Mitt Romney, who is supposedly the front runner, but yet never intervened or spoke up during the weeks of controversy, and then, when he finally did over this past weekend, demonstrateed why he should not be elected President of the United States, as he fails to understand the importance of NOT siding with radical economic terrorists, the Tea Party Movement!

At the same time, it raises the image of Jon Huntsman, who is now easily seen as the best candidate that responsible, mainstream Republicans should support. But that does mean that the GOP will have the common sense to nominate a man who could really be a threat to the reelection of President Obama!

Barack Obama And Progressive Disillusionment: What Is The Alternative?

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With the announcement of a deal on the Debt Ceiling Crisis last night, but still to be voted on today by both houses of Congress without a guarantee of its passage at this moment of writing, the question arises as to what is the future of the progressive movement in America.

Many might say the answer is to give up on Barack Obama and challenge him in the primaries, and or run a candidate on a third party line in November 2012.

If one looks at the history of such efforts, however, it always leads to the worst alternative to progressivism being triumphant!

In November 1967, Senator Eugene McCarthy entered the race for the Presidency against President Lyndon B. Johnson, followed by Senator Robert Kennedy in March 1968, leading to his withdrawal and replacement as the administration candidate by Vice President Hubert Humphrey. The split engendered in the party over the war in Vietnam led to a divided Democratic convention, and the defeat of Humphrey by Richard Nixon, who proceeded to continue the war in Vietnam another four years, something assuredly that would not have happened under a President Humphrey. This tumultuous split in the Democratic Party helped to make for a Republican advantage, and permanently changed the Democratic party, whereby they would only win the Presidency three times out of the next ten national elections.

In late 1979 and early 1980, President Jimmy Carter was challenged in the primaries, for being too moderate and centrist, by both Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts and Governor Jerry Brown of California. The effect of the primary challenge was to weaken Carter for the campaign, with all of the attacks by Kennedy and Brown used by the Republicans against Carter, and Ronald Reagan won the election, setting back the progressive movement dramatically, still having an effect in 2011!

There was similar discontent among some progressive elements with Bill Clinton in his first term, but no revolt or challenge from within the progressive movement, and Bill Clinton, with his faults and shortcomings, was reelected to a second term, the only Democrat to do so since Franklin D. Roosevelt.

So while there can be discontent and disappointment with Barack Obama, that he has not achieved everything that progressives desire, try to imagine President John McCain instead, and try to imagine whether any of the many accomplishments of the Obama Presidency would have been achieved, and the answer is clearly negative.

So when Ralph Nader, who helped to defeat Al Gore by running in Florida in the 2000 election, talks about challenging Barack Obama, the answer is to steer clear of him unless one wants another 2000 election, unless one wants a Republican likely to be further to the right than George W. Bush or Ronald Reagan were in 2000 or 1980.

And when one tries to consider what progressive spokesman could really win the nation in 2012, one comes up empty handed. Certainly, Ralph Nader has no credibility and is seen as fringe in nature. Dennis Kucinich has appeal for some of what he advocates, but has run twice in the Presidential primaries and comes across as loony to many with his personal quirks. Bernie Sanders is appealing to many, but is actually a Socialist, not a Democrat, and could not possibly have broad based appeal. Russ Feingold is probably the most attractive alternative, and has formed Progressives United, an advocacy organization in Madison, WIsconsin, but he is weakened by the loss of his Senate seat in 2010, and it would be better if he ran for Senator Herb Kohl’s Senate seat with Kohl retiring, with a good chance to come back to the Senate in 2012 and promote the progressive cause from that location, in a more constructive manner.

Who else is possible, with any credibility? Realistically, NO ONE, and therefore, there is no alternative but to support Barack Obama, have him and his party fight the good fight over the next 15 months, and work to create a solid majority for progressive causes in the House of Representatives and the Senate!

If that quest is successful, and with a second term and no reelection to face, Barack Obama would likely turn further to the left, stick his neck out, and become more progressive than he has been able to do, logistically, in this first term. With all the criticism that has been and will be made of Barack Obama, he still has the most progressive term in office since Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1960s with his Great Society!

Boehner Debt Ceiling Bill Dead On Arrival With Its Demand For Balanced Budget Constitutional Amendment For Later Raising Of The Debt Ceiling In 2012!

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The Debt Ceiling proposal of Speaker of the House John Boehner barely made it through the House of Representatives yesterday by a vote of 218-210, with 22 Tea Party radicals voting against the proposal.

It has already been defeated in the Senate by a motion to table it, and the President has already indicated that he would veto it were it to pass the Senate.

And there is good reason to defeat it, as it requires another vote in six months on the extension of the debt ceiling, in the midst of a presidential campaign, and would guarantee further economic turmoil while the economy is in such a deep recession. It is reckless and irrational to complicate the economic recovery, and the Democrats are right in demanding an extension of the debt ceiling for 18 months until after the Presidential Election of 2012.

But beyond all this, there is another element to consider, and that is the demand under the Boehner legislation that the Congress MUST pass a balanced budget constitutional amendment, or else the debt ceiling will NOT be raised at all, six months from now!

This is economic terrorism at its worst, and it is, of course, impossible to accomplish!

Realize there are 240 Republicans in the House of Representatives in the 112th Congress, and 47 Republicans in the US Senate.

To accomplish the passage of any constitutional amendment and send it on to the states, a two thirds vote is required in both houses, which means you need 290 votes in the House if everyone is voting, and 67 Senators.

This would mean that at least 50 Democrats in the House of Representatives and 20 Democrats in the Senate would have to support such an amendment, and that simply is NOT going to happen under any circumstances!

And the irony is even if such an occurrence came about, there is almost no chance that 38 state legislatures (three fourths of the states) would pass such an amendment by a majority vote in both houses!

All that would be needed is to have one house of the state legislature by a one vote margin of defeat in 13 states kill the amendment, and one must recall that the proposed Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s reached 35 states, three short of the required 38, and then died.

So the possibility of a constitutional amendment under the so called “best circumstances” to be added to the Constitution is less likely than that we are going to send astronauts to Mars in the next decade!

In other words, the odds are absolutely ZERO!