US House Of Representatives

Desire Vs Reality: Democrats At This Point Must Settle For Half Social Infrastructure Ambitions!

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Sadly, it is now clear that Joe Biden and progressive Democrats have no choice to but accept a Social Infrastructure bill worth about half of the originally planned $3.5 trillion to help make life better for everyday Americans.

This author and scholar is furious about the impact of West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin and Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema, as well as some moderate Democrats in the House of Representatives.

But this is the reality when we have an evenly divided US Senate and a House of Representatives with a narrow margin of six votes.

But consider that IF Georgia had not elected two Democratic Senators in January—Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff–the first elected African American and first Jewish senators in Georgia history—the Republicans would be running the Senate under Mitch McConnell.

So the goal now is to accomplish what can be done, and try to work in the first half of 2022 for more, or make it the key campaign issue for the Congressional elections coming up next November.

Right now, celebrating what can be done, which advances the American nation, is still a major positive for Democrats, and it still will be the major domestic initiative, along with the financial assistance to deal with the COVID 19 Pandemic, that we have seen since Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society nearly sixty years ago.

So let us be happy for what can be done, and work to accomplish more Democratic Senators in the midterms, as there are more Republican seats up for election, and five Republicans are leaving, and more extreme nominees are likely, which, hopefully, will cause a major Democratic edge, despite historical trends, as this is a crisis situation for American democracy!

More Details About The January 6 Attempted Coup At The US Capitol Revealed

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The following 7 members of Congress conspired to promote a coup on January 6, 2021: (from Rolling Stone Magazine)

Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia
Lauren Boebert of Colorado
Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina
Paul Gosar of Arizona
Mo Brooks of Alabama
Andy Biggs of Arizona
Louie Gohmert of Texas

The following 10 individuals plotted strategy at the Willard Hotel, one block from the White House: (from Washington Post)

Donald Trump
Donald Trump, Jr.
Rudy Giuliani
Steve Bannon
Roger Stone
Michael Flynn
Alex Jones
John Eastman
Bernie Kerik
Boris Epshteyn

There are many others involved in the plot to overthrow the Presidential Election of 2020, and install Donald Trump as a dictator!

All of these characters and others not named here need to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, and imprisoned for long terms behind bars!

Tenuous House Of Representatives And Senate Majorities Have Happened Before In Congress

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In the era since since there were 48 states (1913) and 50 states (1959) and since, there have been several Congresses in which either the US House of Representatives or the US Senate have had razor thin margins in membership, similar to what is happening in the 117th Congress, with a Democratic lead of only six seats in the House and an even split (50-50) in the Senate.

In the US House of Representatives, we have had close margins in the following 7 Congresses:

65th Congress 1917-1919 215-214 6 others
72nd Congress 1931-1933 218-216 1 other
78th Congress 1943-1945 222-209 4 others
83rd Congress 1953-1955 221-213 1 other
106th Congress 1999-2001 223-211 1 other
107th Congress 2001-2003 221-212 2 others
117th Congress 2021-2023 222-212 1 vacancy

In the US Senate, we have had close margins in the following 11 Congresses:

66th Congress 1919-1921 49-47
70th Congress 1927-1929 48-46 1 other, 1 vacancy
72nd Congress 1931-1933 48-47 1 other
82nd Congress 1951-1953 49-47
83rd Congress 1953-1955 48-47 1 other
84th Congress 1955-1957 48-47 1 other
85th Congress 1957-1959 49-47
107th Congress 2001-2003 50-49 1 other
108th Congress 2003-2005 51-48 1 other
110th Congress 2007-2009 49-49 2 other
117th Congress 2021-2023 50-48 2 other

Notice that both houses of Congress have had tight margins in the 72nd Congress (1931-1933); the 83rd Congress (1953-1955); the 107th Congress (2001-2003); and the present 117th Congress (2021-2023)!

These elections occurred at the time of the worsening of the Great Depression; the beginning of the Eisenhower Administration; the time of the contentious Presidential Election of 2000; and the time of the controversial Presidential Election of 2020!

The decades of the 1950s and the 2000s saw the largest number of tenuous majorities, with four Congresses in the 1950s and three Congresses in the 2000s having such results!

A total of 14 Congresses have had at least one house with a tenuous margin!

Whether the present tenuous majorities in both houses of Congress will continue in 2022 and beyond is the big question!

Conservative Anti Trumpers Need To Enter The Republican Presidential Race In 2024!

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For the survival and continuation of the Republican Party, it is essential that conservative anti Trumpers enter the Republican Presidential race in 2024.

And if Donald Trump or one of his lackeys ends up as the GOP Presidential nominee, an anti Trumper, who has competed, needs to form a third party or independent movement to insure that Trump or his supporter is denied the Presidency in 2024!

Some candidates who might run include:

Larry Hogan Maryland Governor
Liz Cheney Wyoming Congresswoman
Adam Kinzinger Illinois Congressman
Ben Sasse Nebraska Senator
Mitt Romney Utah Senator and Presidential nominee in 2012
Lisa Murkowski Alaska Senator
John Kasich former Governor Ohio
Evan McMillan Independent Candidate for President 2020

Only 9 House Republicans Voted To Hold Insurrectionist Steve Bannon In Contempt Of Congress

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To demonstrate how corrupt and hypocritical the Republican Party has become, only NINE House Republicans had the guts and courage to uphold a contempt of Congress on former Donald Trump aide Steve Bannon, the true epitome of a full fledged Fascist-Nazi type character, who has long preached and promoted violence, bloodshed, and seizure of the government by extremist white supremacists.

These are the nine brave souls:

Liz Cheney of Wyoming
Adam Kinzinger of Illinois
Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio
Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington
John Katko of New York
Peter Meijer of Michigan
Fred Upton of Michigan
Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania
Nancy Mace of South Carolina

The first two named are on the House January 6 Committee investigating the horrid events of that day, two weeks before Inauguration Day of Joe Biden.

The next five are five of the ten, including Cheney and Kinzinger who voted to impeach Donald Trump in the second impeachment trial.

The last two are newcomers to expressing opposition to Donald Trump and his lackeys in Congress.

They are all going to be targets of Donald Trump and his supporters, as they work to cover up and act as if nothing unusual occurred on January 6, 2021.

The “Clear And Present Danger” Of A Fixed Presidential Election In 2024!

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The Republican Party under Donald Trump has become anti democratic organization, bent only on winning and maintaining power, no matter what the cost involved!

With so many Republican states working to limit voting rights, and many such states trying to gain control of the counting of votes in elections by putting Secretaries of State in office who will do the party’s bidding, whether for Donald Trump or someone else, we could have the national Presidential election of 2024 with a true constitutional crisis!

Republican state legislatures could work to deny a Democrat the electoral vote of a state even when such Democrat has won the popular vote!

Also, the presidential election could be contested to the point that neither candidate wins a majority of electoral votes, and the election goes to the House of Representatives, with gerrymandering likely insuring a majority of states having Republican controlled state delegations in the House, and leading to 26 or more states with a Republican majority choosing to give their electoral votes to the Republican nominee, no matter what the vote count demonstrates!

So the possibility of a “clear and present danger” of a fixed Presidential Election in 2024 is real, not imagined, and is very worrisome!

America Is In A New “Gilded Age” Of Obscene Wealth And Monopoly Capitalism: Reform Is Essential!

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At the beginning of the 20th century, America escaped the Gilded Age period of obscene wealth and monopoly capitalism, under the leadership of Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Robert LaFollette Sr., George Norris, and others who promoted the Progressive Era.

The Progressive Era was far from perfect, but it gave hope of escaping the worst elements of the GIlded Age in the last third of the 19th century.

We have had ups and downs since the Progressive Era, the New Deal, the New Frontier, and Great Society, particularly with the triumph of conservatism under Ronald Reagan and the two Presidents Bush, and then made ever worse by Donald Trump.

But now, the news of billionaires having arrangements to keep their wealth from being taxed by overseas havens and even South Dakota allowing such reprehensible tactics is highly disturbing. This, along with the clear cut monopoly of Facebook promoting division, conflict, polarization, and affecting even young girls’ self image due to the toxic Instagram social media site, cries out for strong movement toward another “Progressive Era”.

The idea that concentration of wealth and power rivals and is clearly greater than the time of John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, J P Morgan, and other monopolists of the late 19th and early 20th century is totally outrageous!

But is it possible in a nation with a 50-50 US Senate and a six vote margin in the House of Representatives to accomplish necessary reform?

This present, disturbing situation is a massive crisis of American democracy, with the threat of Donald Trump possibly regaining power, and destroying any possibility of reform!

Democrats In Disarray; Progressives Vs. Moderates—What Is The Future Of “Social Infrastructure”?

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It now seems clear that the progressive vs moderate battle in the Democratic Party is making the party look in disarray.

One must realize that with a 50-50 Senate and only a 6 vote margin in the House, this is not the time of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal, or the time of Lyndon B. Johnson and the Great Society.

If Georgia’s two Senate seats had not been won in a runoff in January 2021, the opposition Republicans would be in charge, and nothing that the Democrats want would be occurring, or have the potential of occurring.

And as much as there is anger toward West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin and Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema, it would not work to attack them to the point where either might consider switching parties.

So the future of “Social Infrastructure” now seems essential to pare down from the proposed $3.5 trillion over 10 years to, more likely, a figure in the $2 trillion level.

This means some of the programs proposed will have to go by the wayside or be cut back in coverage or years, an unavoidable situation, highly regrettable, but reality must set in, sadly!

2021 Elections, And Plans For Running For Office In 2022 Is Upon Us

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Here we are, about a month out from the comparatively small number of elections taking place this November.

This includes the gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey; the Mayoral Election in New York City; and many other municipal elections in smaller cities.

The only real concern for Democrats is Virginia, where former Governor Terry McAuliffe is being challenged by Republican Glenn Youngkin.

The New Jersey gubernatorial race seems an easy win for Governor Phil Murphy, and the NYC Mayoralty race seems an easy win for Eric Adams.

Once these elections are over, the real competition for the Senate and House of Representatives seats in 2022 Midterms begins, as well as gubernatorial races, particularly the latter for Republicans, who plan to run for President, such Trump lackeys as Ron DeSantis of Florida, Greg Abbott of Texas, and Kristi Noem of South Dakota!

The Ultimate Week Of Reckoning For Joe Biden And The Democratic Party Future

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President Joe Biden has been in office a week more than eight months, and he has had high public opinion ratings until the last month, with so many issues clashing, including the withdrawal from Afghanistan; the continuing COVID-19 Pandemic debate; and the problems at the Mexico border.

So right now, Biden is backed by only 43 percent in some polls, and the pressure is on to move ahead this week on the domestic policy agenda.

This will be seen as the ultimate week of reckoning for Joe Biden and the Democratic Party future, as debate begins on the Physical Infrastructure bill which passed the Senate with a bipartisan support of 69-30 on August 10, and the House of Representatives will vote on it this week.

The proposed “Social Infrastructure” bill, which would be the most expanded reform program since the Great Society of Lyndon B. Johnson and the New Deal of Franklin D. Roosevelt is more complicated. Progressive Democrats and moderate Democrats are fighting over the price tag of $3.5 trillion over ten years, and the issue also of gaining the support of Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, who are resisting modifying the filibuster to accomplish the legislation.

The price tag might have to be lowered substantially, and the issue of the order of voting for the two pieces of legislation is also holding up progress, as moderates want the bipartisan bill passed now, and the more progressive “Social Infrastructure” bill to be passed later, while progressives in the party want passage of both at the same time.