US House Of Representatives

Projections On Midterm Elections Of 2022

Ronald 5 Comments

Here we are, a day before the Midterm Elections of 2022, so it is time to project the results, with trepidation about what is likely to happen tomorrow.

The odds are heavily in favor of the Republicans winning the House of Representatives, since they only need to gain five seats, so sadly, my projection is that they will gain about 20 seats, giving them an edge of about 15 seats–so a balance of about 232-203.

The Senate will remain Democratic in my estimate, with the following results:

Retention of presently held Democratic seats:

Mark Kelly, Arizona
Raphael Warnock, Georgia
Maggie Hassan, New Hampshire

However, the loss of Catherine Cortez Masto in Nevada!

Open Seats Gained by Democrats:

Tim Ryan, Ohio
John Fetterman, Pennsylvania
Mandela Barnes, Wisconsin

The end result would be 52 Democrats and Independents and 48 Republicans!

In the Governorships, Democrats gain seats:

Wes Moore, Maryland
Maura Healey, Massachusetts
Beto O’Rourke, Texas

So we would end up with 25 Democrats and 25 Republicans as Governors of their states.

So the elections will be a mixed bag, with both Democrats and Republicans able to claim vindication.

Sadly, however, Florida will remain strongly Republican both for the US Senate and the Governorship.

The Midterm Elections of 2022 will be seen as a “Red Ripple”, with less of a repudiation of Joe Biden than it was for earlier Presidents who saw much greater losses!

Democrat Tim Ryan Deserves To Be Elected As Ohio Senator

Ronald 2 Comments

Ohio has an opportunity to elect a Congressman who has made a distinguished record in the House of Representatives for the past 20 years to be its new US Senator.

Tim Ryan is clearly a person of distinction and principle, who would join Democrat Sherrod Brown in the Senate, and replace Republican Senator Rob Portman, one of the small number of Republican leaders who performed in a reputable fashion in his years in the upper body of Congress.

Ohio deserves to have two principled Democrats who care about the state and the nation, not about pleasing Fascist demagogue Donald Trump, as Republican Senate nominee J D Vance does (after having denounced Trump in 2016). Vance also is an “Election Denier”, regarding the Presidential Election of 2020, so cannot be trusted with power in the Senate!

Republicans Plot To Use Impeachment Weapon Against Biden Presidency!

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With the Midterm Elections of 2022 around the corner, it is becoming clear that the Republicans, if they win control of the House of Representatives, will go on the warpath against the Biden Presidency.

Kevin McCarthy will be, sadly, beholden to Donald Trump and the MAGA crazies, including Jim Jordan, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, Matt Gaetz, and a whole group of others in the “Freedom Caucus”.

So we can expect impeachment moves against Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Attorney General Merrick Garland, and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.

Impeachment will be used, because it was used twice against Donald Trump, but the difference is that Trump was involved in impeachable acts, and in the case of Joe Biden and company, the Republicans will have to conjure up ridiculous charges!

So the Republicans will create chaos and anarchy and disarray, and will undermine American economic policies, and foreign policy, including wishing to abandon Ukraine and favor Vladimir Putin!

Face the facts: the Republican Paty has become a Fascist authoritarian group, promoting white supremacy, racism, nativism, and misogyny, and cozying up to Vladimir Putin!

The Republican party is no longer a party of distinction, and decent Republicans will try to organize a new Conservative Party to replace the disgrace that the Republican Party has become!

12 Days To Go, and A Nail Biting Election Coming Up!

Ronald 6 Comments

This author and blogger cannot recall the tension and emotions that are being felt around the upcoming Midterm Elections of 2022 ever being quite as intense in past cycles.

It could be a poor memory, or seeing the past with rose colored glasses!

But literally, EVERY Senate race, EVERY House race, and EVERY Gubernatorial race is so significant for the future of American democracy, which is on the verge of being lost to the MAGA Republicans and Donald Trump!

With only about six vote margin in the House of Representatives, and an evenly split US Senate for only the 4th time in American history, and with Governors having tremendous power and influence on an issue such as abortion rights, every citizen needs to vote!

Last night’s debate in Pennsylvania leaves one worried about the performance of John Fetterman, as it could be the Senate election that decides Senate control in the 118th Congress. But also, the Georgia race of Raphael Warnock; the Ohio race of Tim Ryan; the Wisconsin race of Mandela Barnes; the North Carolina race of Cheri Beasley; the Florida race of Val Demings; the New Hampshire race of Maggie Hassan; the Nevada race of Catherine Cortez Masto; the Arizona race of Mark Kelly; and the Iowa race of Michael Franken, are all crucial.

And Governorship races, particularly in Michigan with Gretchen Whitmer; in Arizona with Katie Hobbs; in Florida with Charlie Crist; in Texas with Beto O’Rourke, are all significant for the future!

A New Generation Of House Of Representatives Democratic Leadership Is Likely To Come!

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No matter what happens in the House of Representatives in November, it is time for a new generation of leadership in the Democratic Party.

Nancy Pelosi has been an exceptional Speaker from 2007-2011, and now from 2019-2023, but at age 82 and 36 years as a member of the House of Representatives, it is time for change!

The same goes for Steny Hoyer, age 83 and House Majority Leader, who has been in the House for 42 years, and also for James Clyburn, age 82 and the House Majority Whip, who has been in the House for 30 years.

This team has done a great job, but all being octogenarians, and dominating for so long, it is time for a younger generation to take over, and there are excellent candidates, whether the Democrats keep control of the House of Representatives, or go into the minority for the next two years!

Hakeem Jeffries of New York is the likely choice to be Speaker or Minority Leader, and would be the first person of color in that position. But Adam Schiff of California will probably challenge him, and would be the first Jewish person to be Speaker or Minority Leader.

Katherine Clark of Massachusetts would be the frontrunner for the Majority Leadership, but will be likely challenged by Pramila Jayapal of Washington, who would be the first Asian American in that position, but with either being a woman.

For the third ranking position, Peter Aguilar of California, who is Hispanic, has the advantage, but Joe Neguse of Colorado, who is of Eritrean (Africa) heritage, would be likely to contend for the post.

So there would be great diversity in the Democratic leadership, although Pelosi and Clyburn already have been an example of gender and race diversity in their years of leadership!

Kevin McCarthy Would Be A Disaster As Speaker Of The House!

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Trepidation is growing at the looming possibility that Kevin McCarthy could become the Speaker of the House of Representatives in January 2023, two heartbeats away from the Presidency!

While John Boehner and Paul Ryan had their major shortcomings, either of them would be far superior to McCarthy, who has demonstrated his total lack of morals, ethics, and principles in his years working his way up leadership to the potential Speakership!

McCarthy was totally freaked out on January 6, 2021, and momentarily said and did the right thing in condemning Donald Trump, but his ambition took over, and he made up with Trump at Mar A Lago, and denied reality of the criminal activities of that day, including ignoring the suffering of US Capitol police officers!

McCarthy was willing to ditch Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, and work with Elise Stefanik, Jim Jordan, and the 147 House Republicans who refused to accept that Joe Biden won the Presidency!

He is willing to work with the most extremist members of his caucus, including Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert, and he has made it clear that the goal of the Republicans is to destroy ObamaCare (The Affordable Care Act), as well as phase out Medicare and Social Security, and move to impeach President Biden, Attorney General Merrick Garland, and other cabinet officers, even though none would be removed from office by such action!

The lunatic fringe of the Republican Party would hold the reins of power, and promote chaos, including trying to adopt a national abortion ban! As conservative columnist Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post and MSNBC host Chris Hayes have stated, the Republican Party would “wreak havoc”, including threatening not to raise the debt limit, and stopping aid to Ukraine, a gift to Vladimir Putin!

So the Republicans would do what Donald Trump was doing in his Presidential term—cozy up to Putin, and undermine NATO, a horrifying scenario, which would undermine both American democracy and efforts to maintain democracy in Europe and elsewhere!

January 6 House Committee Hearing Today Conclusive Evidence Of Trump Guilt

Ronald 6 Comments

The January 6 House Committee hearing today has provided yet more conclusive evidence of Donald Trump’s guilt in inciting the US Capitol Insurrection.

Particularly impressive was Vice Chair of the committee, Wyoming Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney, and Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, along with Maryland Democratic Congressman Jamie Raskin and California Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff.

While there is danger of violence with Trump talking about “civil war”, the Department of Justice has no choice but to bring charges against Donald Trump, with the timing being after the Midterm Elections of 2022, and before the new 118th Congress begins.

No one is above the law, and that principle is essential, as a warning to future Presidents, that justice is even handed, and no one has an advantage in court because of fame or notoriety!

So a subpoena is being issued to Donald Trump by the committee to come and testify under oath, and we shall see what transpires!

Adam Kinzinger Goes Bipartisan, Endorsing Democrats Up For Election, To Save Democracy!

Ronald 3 Comments

Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, one of only two Republicans on the January 6 Committee investigating the US Capitol Insurrection, will be leaving Congress at the end of the year, as his Congressional seat was eliminated in reapportionment, and he chose not to run in another district.

But Adam Kinzinger is a man of courage and principle, and he, along with Congresswoman Liz Cheney of Wyoming, is fighting against the Fascist takeover of their party by Donald Trump and his “Election Deniers” crowd!

So Kinzinger has endorsed Democrats running in the Midterm Elections next month, including:

Pennsylvania Democratic gubernatorial nominee Josh Shapiro, against the very dangerous Doug Mastriano

Arizona Democratic gubernatorial nominee Katie Hobbs, against the lunatic Kari Lake

Four Democratic Secretary of State candidates in Minnesota, Michigan, Arizona, and Nevada, crucial states for certifying election results, making them safe from “Election Deniers”.

Also, Kinzinger is backing Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski, and Independent Evan McMullin for the Senate seat in Utah, held by Republican Senator Mike Lee.

Kinzinger is someone who should be paid attention to, as he is seen as likely to announce a Presidential campaign, if for nothing else, to work against the MAGA Republicans, who are a danger to American democracy!

The Complicated “Economy” Issue: Lowest Unemployment In Half Century, But Highest Inflation In Decades!

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With the Midterm Elections of 2022 a month away, the economy has become the major issue to many voters, and to politicians campaigning for office.

Republicans emphasize the highest inflation in decades, and the higher mortgage rates on housing, rising to close to 7 percent.

Gasoline prices are rising again due to the collaboration of Saudi Arabia with the Russian Federation, and food prices have soared.

And yet, the Democrats can brag that the unemployment rate at 3.5 percent is the lowest since 1969, so we have a really complicated situation, which makes predictions on which party will control the House of Reprsentatives and Senate hard to figure out.

Which party will control more governorships and other state elected offices, including Secretary of State and Attorney General, is also impossible to forecast with confidence!

Voting Rights Case About Alabama Gerrymandering A Threat To Destroy Voting Rights Law!

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THe Supreme Court is hearing a case about Alabama gerrymandering, that could eliminate “black districts” for US House Of Representatives seats, diminishing representation for racial minorities.

If the Court ruled in favor of Alabama, we could be back to the era of “Jim Crow”, where African Americans were not represented in any way where they would have impact and influence.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 has been extensively weakened since Shelby County Alabama V Holder in 2013, and it now seems likely that a major reform initiative of President Lyndon B. Johnson and the Great Society is in danger of being eliminated!