US House Of Representatives

If Dianne Feinstein Leaves, Maxine Waters Should Be Interim US Senator!

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The possibility is growing that California Senator Dianne Feinstein, who is in poor health, may end up leaving the Senate before the end of her term at the end of 2024.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has said that if such an eventuality were to occur, that he would select an African American woman as a caretaker until the election of the new Senator.

He has now clarified that it would be inappropriate to select anyone who is an announced candidate for the Senate, giving such person an unfair advantage.

So it seems clear that Congresswoman Barbara Lee would not be selected, since she is in contention with two other California members of the House of Representatives–Adam Schiff and Katie Porter–for the Senate seat.

The odds now would favor Schiff for the Senate seat, with Nancy Pelosi already endorsing him, although the opponent in November of next year likely could be Porter or Lee, since the California system allows the top two vote getters in an open primary situation to be the final rivals in the fall election.

So with Newsom’s declaration that he will not select any of the competitors, it is clear that the best solution would be to select Congresswoman Maxine Waters, who is 85, and while still in great health, might like the idea of being a Senator for a limited period of time as a fitting end to a distinguished career in Congress since 1991!

She is outspoken and dynamic, and suffers no fools, and her colorful nature has made her attractive to many, but she will be past 86 at the end of 2024, so it would be a graceful way for her to leave if the opportunity arises to serve a limited time in the US Senate!

A Proposal To Increase Membership In House Of Representatives After 2030!

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A movement is growing to promote a proposal to increase membership in the US House of Representatives after the next census in 2030, going into effect in 2032.

The House of Representatives has been set at 435 members since 1913, and capped officially at that number since 1929, with the exception, temporarily, of additional seats in 1959 with the admission of Alaska and Hawaii as the 49th and 50th states.

From the original 65 members in 1790, with each seat representing roughly 35,000 constituents, presently the 435 members represent roughly 770,000 constituents as of the 2020 census figures.

By 2040, if no additional seats are created, each district will represent approximately 875,000 constituents.

The ratio of population from largest states to smallest states was 12-1 in 1790; 70-1 in 2020; and would be 77-1 in 2040 (between California and Vermont).

The number of seats recommended to be added would be 150, which means almost all states that have lost seats to other states by reapportionment since 1931 would no longer be losing seats.

The average House district would decline to about 565,000, but one problems is how the chamber would seat another 150 members, plus the issue of office space and office buildings.

Some have said that the House of Representatives is “chaotic” as it is with 435 members, let alone 585.

And the Electoral College would change from 538 (including Washington DC and the 24th Amendment) to 688, requiring 345 electoral votes, rather than 270 electoral votes, to win the Presidency!

We shall see if any action on this proposal will move forward!

49th Anniversary Of Richard Nixon Resignation: Time To Hold Donald Trump Accountable!

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It is 49 years since the nightmare of Richard Nixon came to an end, with his announced resignation from the Presidency.

It is now time, a half century later, for Donald Trump, who makes Richard Nixon look like a choirboy, to be held accountable for his crimes and abuses in his Presidency!

Attempts are being made to delay any trial until after the Presidential Election of 2024, but that cannot be allowed to happen.

And if only Congress would impose the 14th Amendment, Section 3, against Donald Trump, then he would be ineligible to run for President, and to undermine American democracy.

Sadly, with a small margin Republican controlled House of Representatives, such a reality will not be happening, and the nation and the world is in danger from an authoritarian Fascist oriented, mentally unstable man, whose followers are a cult that have no concern about the US Constitution and the rule of law!

Minnesota Congressman Dean Phillips Considering Challenge Of Joe Biden!

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Minnesota Democratic Congressman Dean Phillips, a moderate centrist Democrat, is considering a challenge of President Biden for the Democratic Presidential nomination, as long a shot as that is.

Phillips is the representative of the western suburbs of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis-St Paul, and has voted with the President on almost every issue, but is seen as the 27th most bipartisan House member, and is a member of the Problem Solvers Caucus, made up of members of both parties who promote bipartisanship; and also a member of the New Democrat Coalition, a group of liberal and moderate Democrats who promote centrist views.

Phillips has some distinctions of interest, including that his paternal grandmother was “Dear Abby”–Abigail Van Buren, real name Pauline Phillips.

Also, Phillips owned Talenti Gelato until he sold the company, and he is one of the wealthiest members of Congress.

Also, Phillips happens to be Jewish, and his birthday is January 20, which means were he to be elected President at any time, he would be inaugurated on his birthday, and would be 56 on January 20, 2025.

Age 55 and 105 days is the average age of all Presidents if all their ages upon inauguration are compiled, and averaged out, and is considered the “ideal” age for any President!

However, the reaction among Democrats is that the thought of Phillips challenging Biden and being able to win the White House is that it is a fantasy, although less so than the looney Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is backed by Trump supporters to cause trouble for Biden!

Lyndon B. Johnson And Medicare: 58th Anniversary!

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It has been 58 years since President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Medicare Act, a pathbreaking turning point in health care, after much resistance for a half century.

Theodore Roosevelt in 1912, as the Progressive (Bull Moose) Party Presidential nominee, was the first President to suggest health care should be a national commitment.

His distant cousin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, considered the issue, but had enough of a battle over Social Security being legislated into law in 1935, as part of his “New Deal”.

Harry Truman promoted, as part of his “Fair Deal”, the consideration of some sort of national health care, but it went awry in the divisive politics of the “Red Scare” and the Cold War.

John F. Kennedy also pushed the issue, but did not have the clout to get it past House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Wilbur Mills of Arkansas.

Lyndon B. Johnson pushed the issue of national health care as part of his “Great Society”, and got it done, and it has been a godsend to millions of elderly people and disabled people, and added to the following year by the adoption of Medicaid.

Most Republicans opposed it then and since, and continue to call it “Socialism”, and ten states, including Texas and Florida, refuse to expand Medicaid, denying the poor the care they need, and this by a party that claims to be “Pro Life”! 🙁

And Barack Obama, in promoting the Affordable Care Act or “ObamaCare”, expanded health care, and it continues to survive despire blistering Republican and conservative attacks!

So this is a time to salute LBJ, as the savior of the promotion of national health care!

Impeachment Power Being Abused, When It Should Be Rarely Utilized!

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The reckless move toward impeachment of President Joe Biden, and or Attorney General Merrick Garland or Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas by the small margin Republican majority in the House of Representatives, is an issue that brings to attention that the impeachment power has been horribly abused, when it should be rarely utilized!

To impeach a cabinet officer is extremely rare, and basically is a no brainer, as it would not lead to conviction in the US Senate.

To impeach a President was always rare, with the only exceptions being Andrew Johnson and later Richard Nixon, although Nixon resigned the Presidency before the whole House of Representatives could vote to impeach him on the charges brought by the majority of the House Judiciary Committee.

The Bill Clinton impeachment was purely political, while the two impeachment cases against Donald Trump were totally justifiable, and the proposal to “expunge” the impeachments is preposterous, and will not take away the stain and the history of the reality of Trump’s abuses in office!

Attempts to impeach the following Presidents went nowhere:

John Tyler
James Buchanan
Ulysses S. Grant
Grover Cleveland
Herbert Hoover
Harry Truman
Lyndon B. Johnson
Ronald Reagan
George H W Bush
George W. Bush
Barack Obama

Unless a case is clear, as with Nixon and Trump, there is NO justification for abusing the impeachment power!

Donald Trump Indictments Mounting Up

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Former President Donald Trump has already been indicted twice, and it now seems clear that he will be indicted in the next couple of weeks at least twice more–by Jack Smith regarding the January 6 Insurrection in Washington, DC, and in Georgia for interference in the election results in that state in the Presidential Election of 2020.

Additionally, “fake” electors in Michigan have been indicted by the Michigan Attorney General, and more such indictments may follow in other states that Trump supporters challenged in an unethical, illegal fashion–including Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania.

Donald Trump is taking the Republican Party down with him, as even now, the leaders in Congress, including Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, Congressman Jim Jordan, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, and many others continue to claim that Trump has not engaged in corrupt behavior, but that Joe Biden has done so!

And except for Chris Christie and Asa Hutchinson, no other Republican contender for the White House is willing to show guts and courage, and denounce Trump, and call for him not to be allowed to compete for the Presidency!

Marjorie Taylor Greene Promotes FDR, LBJ, Biden, Totally Unaware Of What She Is Doing!

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Georgia Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene went on a rant at a right wing conference, making a total fool of herself, which she does on a regular basis!

She spoke about the “horrendous” actions of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal, Lyndon B. Johnson and the Great Society, and Joe Biden and “Build Back Better”, all three Democratic Presidents!

She compared Biden to FDR and LBJ, which is an endorsement of three Presidents who have done so much positive in domestic affairs, but she made it clear how terrrible it was that the nation has Medicare, Medicaid, Food Stamps, labor unions, environmental laws, education, urban and rural poverty, infrastructure investments, and other so called “socialist” programs that make life better for Americans!

Biden and the Democrats are using what Greene said to tout their own accomplishments, and are proud to be connected to LBJ and FDR, as any sane person would be!

Crazy: Many Republicans And Right Wing Media Calling For Revolution And Sedition!

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It is crazy and unbelievable to see many Republicans and Right Wing Media calling for revolution and violence because Donald Trump is facing prosecution for endangering national security by his illegal possession of highly sensitive documents at his Mar a Lago estate in Florida!

This craziness is being heard and seen on Fox News Channel, NewsMax, and on talk radio shows.

Among those advocting revolution, violence, and retribution, besides Donald Trump himself, are members of his family; failed Arizona gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake; right wing lunatic Mark Levin; Right wing activist Charlie Kirk; disinformation super spreader Alex Jones; Fox News Host Tucker Carlson; Donald Trump Jr’s fiancee Kimberly Guilfoyle; Arizona Congressman Andy Biggs; Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene; and a host of other extremists.

And Republican Presidential contenders, except for Chris Christie and Asa Hutchinson, are talking about pardons for January 6 insurrectionists and Trump himself, if any of them were to be elected President.

And top Republican leaders, at least in the House of Representatives, including Speaker Kevin McCarthy, are failing to realize how Trump endangered the national security of the US!

And Donald Trump, in two rallies since the announcement of the indictment, has promoted threats and violence against the prosecutor Jack Smith; the Department of Justice; and the FBI, making him “a clear and present danger” to the American government and nation!

Meanwhile, at least two former Trump Cabinet officers, Attorney General William Barr, and National Security Adviser John Bolton, have made it clear that the case against Donald Trump is very strong and powerful!

The Way To A Democratic House Of Representatives Majority In The 119th Congress!

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With the Democratic Party only needing to gain a minimum of five seats in the House of Representatives in the Congressional Elections of 2024, some key points to make.

California, Florida and New York, three of the four largest Congressional delegations due to their large populations, have Republican members who won in 2022, but represent districts won by Joe Biden in 2020.

Partisan gerrymandering in both New York and Florida also were the key to Republicans winning a small majority of five seats, which has upended so much in the 118th Congress.

Now, with the Supreme Court backing a challenge to an Alabama reapportionment that denied African Americans fair representation, there is also a good chance of gaining a seat in that state, plus the possibility of the same gains in Texas, Florida, and a few other states that have undermined black or Latino representation based on their proportion of state populations.

With the 118th Congress unable to accomplish much under Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the odds are growing that the Democrats will win back control of the House, and by more than just a bare margin.

A major Joe Biden victory against Donald Trump and other MAGA Republicans could produce a second term of major movement forward, both in Congress and the White House!