US House Of Representatives

Nancy Pelosi’s Likely Last Term As Speaker Of The House In 2021-2022

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Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is highly controversial, criticized by left wing progressives in her party, but even more vilified by the Republican opposition in the House and Republican Senators, and totally attacked by the right wing propaganda machine and President Donald Trump.

But it seems to this blogger and author that Nancy Pelosi will stand out in history as one of the most outstanding Speakers in American history.

She has guts, courage, stamina, and is not intimidated by powerful men, and that fact drives Donald Trump and his minions to the point of insanity!

Trump is clearly intimidated by Pelosi’s tough exterior and great bargaining powers.

Pelosi has been the leader of the Democratic Party in Congress for nearly a generation, being Minority Leader from 2003-2007, and again from 2011-2019, along with being Speaker of the House twice, from 2007-2011, and again from 2019 to the present. She has been a member of Congress from San Francisco since 1987.

Pelosi is now 80, and has agreed to leave the Speakership by the end of 2022, when she will be past 82 and a half in age.

There is a feeling of a need for new younger leadership, as the top three positions are held by three octogenarians–Pelosi; House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland, who is presently 81, and has been in Congress since 1981, nearing 40 years; and James Clyburn of South Carolina, House Majority Whip , who is presently 80, and has been in Congress since 1993, nearly 28 years.

This team of Pelosi, Hoyer and Clyburn have been very successful, but it now seems likely that all three will run for their last term this fall, and leave by the end of 2022, hopefully while Joe Biden is President.

Who might replace them is not totally clear, but if one looks at lower ranking leadership right now in the House majority, it would seem as if such members of the House as the following might rise to the top leadership:

Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Democratic Caucus Chair

Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, Democratic Caucus Vice Chair

David Cicilline of Rhode Island, Policy and Communications Committee Chair

Cheri Bustos of Illinois, Democratic Congressional Committee Chair

Cedric Richmond of Louisiana, Assistant Majority Whip

These five are much younger than the three top leaders, and all of them have come to Congress since 2011 or 2013.

This group includes two African American males, a gay male, and two women, and come from the Atlantic Coast area, the Midwest and the South. The two African Americans (Jeffries and Richmond) are in their late 40s, while the other three are in their late 50s.

There could be others rising that could challenge these five, but they would seem to have an upper hand right now, to succeed to higher positions in the House leadership!

Will America Tolerate 20 Million People Being Made Homeless? The Long Term Damage Of Such A Scenario!

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Starting in August and for many months, maybe years after, America is on the brink of having up to 20 million people being made homeless by the second Great Depression and CoronaVirus Pandemic, with Donald Trump and the Republican Party unconcerned about it.

The refusal of Republicans in the US Senate to take action on extending protection for people who cannot pay their mortgage or rent, since they have lost their jobs and income, is infuriating beyond belief.

The emotional damage being done to millions of children and their families will scar the future of America!

The nation cannot tolerate the long term damage of such a scenario, and crime and violence will escalate, and will likely lead to mass death all over the nation.

The only answer offered by Donald Trump is “law and order”, making many think police brutality will be encouraged more than ever, and now federal troops coming in to cities when the state and local governments have not authorized it will only lead to civil war in much of the nation.

It seems clear that only, hopefully, when the Democrats win the US Senate and keep the House of Representatives in November, and when Joe Biden takes the oath of office in January, will we start to react to the disaster perpetrated once again as in the late 1920s, by the Republicans and their President!

But Donald Trump and the Republicans of 2020 are much more evil and disgraceful than Herbert Hoover and the Republicans at the beginning of the Great Depression 90 years ago!

Death Of Civil Rights Icon John Lewis, A True Inspiration For Nearly 60 Years

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This blogger and author woke up today and was shocked to discover that Civil Rights Icon John Lewis, Georgia Congressman since 1987, had passed away at age 80 of pancreatic cancer.

Lewis was a great inspiration to all of us who believe in civil rights and progressive reforms, and he personally paid the price in the early to mid 1960s, leading to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

He was arrested multiple times and bloodied and injured by Ku Klux Klansman all over the South, but he remained committed to nonviolent civil disobedience and basic human rights.

Lewis was the last speaker to survive, among those who spoke at the March on Washington on August 28, 1963, and worked closely with the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, even though he was just a young man in his mid 20s.

There is a movement on to rename the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama after him, as he was injured on “Bloody Sunday” on March 7, 1965, when marching for voting rights at that site.

Pettus was a Confederate Army General in the Civil War, a Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan, and a United States Senator from Alabama. It is time to remove his name from that bridge, and rename it after John Lewis.

Lewis will be remembered in the annals of history as a truly great man, and one of the most outstanding members historically of the House of Representatives.

Joe Biden Should Seek To Win Strongly “Red” States, To Promote Democratic Strength, And Humiliate Donald Trump!

Ronald 3 Comments

There is a growing feeling of a Democratic “Tsunami” on the way on November 3, 2020, when the Presidential and Congressional Elections take place across the nation.

Indications are that Joe Biden is working hardest on convincing voters to support him in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, the three “swing” states that Hillary Clinton lost by small margins.

If those three states switched from Donald Trump to Joe Biden, then the former Vice President would win the Electoral College.

But since there is no guarantee, it is important for Biden to work hard to win Florida, North Carolina, and Arizona as well, to allow for any slippage in the three states lost by Clinton by small numbers. So a lot of effort is going into winning those three states listed, as Biden is now comfortably ahead in all three, along with the other three.

If Joe Biden wins Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, as well as Florida, North Carolina, and Arizona it will be a massive victory, which is almost certain to insure that the Senate would go Democratic by more than the three minimum victories needed. And the House of Representatives would add to the Democratic margin gained in the midterm elections of 2018.

But the argument is why not also go for states that seem long shots–Texas, Georgia, Ohio, and Iowa, all of which would make Joe Biden a landslide winner by far?

And even further, why not try to win Kansas and Montana?

So if things go well, the Democrats could have the most massive victory for the Presidency since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, and could be a sign of a Democratic majority that would be long lasting!

The total humiliation of Donald Trump would be a wonderful event to witness!

Donald Trump Commutation Of Roger Stone Prison Term The Final Nail In The Coffin!

Ronald 10 Comments

Donald Trump’s commutation of the Roger Stone prison term will be the final nail in the coffin of the Presidency of the 45th President, and will cause massive loss of seats in the House and Senate on November 3.

To give a commutation to a man totally obscene and crooked as Roger Stone is, only adds to the image of Donald Trump as the most corrupt President in American history, bar none!

Only Mitt Romney, among Republicans in Congress, has had the decency to condemn what Trump has done, giving a pass to a man who was convicted by a jury of seven felonies.

But polls show a complete collapse of Trump’s ratings, and this action only adds to the destruction of his chances to win a second term.

The Republican Party in the House and Senate has no principles other than their own political advancement, and their personal acquisition of wealth, and they will suffer an historic disaster, equivalent of 1964!

The Best African American Female Vice Presidential Choice For Joe Biden

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The African American Washington Post columnist Jonathan Capehart today published a piece, in which he discussed four prominent African American female contenders to be Joe Biden’s Vice Presidential running mate.

Capehart wrote about Georgia former state legislator Stacey Abrams; Orlando, Florida Congresswoman Val Demings; former National Security Adviser and United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice; and California Senator Kamala Harris.

Capehart made the case for all four women, and concluded that he believed that while all four are qualified to be Vice President, and potentially succeed to the Presidency, that Kamala Harris was his choice.

This blogger and author wishes to say that Capehart is correct, that Kamala Harris is the best qualified, and in my mind, the only other one of this group who is ready to take over the Presidency on a moment’s notice is Susan Rice with her foreign policy experience, but no elective experience.

Abrams is interesting, but has never been a leader on the state executive level, and Demings has her police chief background, but has only been a Congresswoman since 2017.

So assuming that Joe Biden decides to pick a woman of color, it makes the most sense to select Kamala Harris.

If however, he decides to avoid race as a factor, then his best choice is Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar.

The odds seem good one of these Senators will be the ultimate Vice Presidential choice for Joe Biden.

The Potential Of Justin Amash To “Mess Up” The 2020 Presidential Election Is High

Ronald 33 Comments

Michigan Congressman Justin Amash, elected as a Tea Party Congressman in the Republican “wave” of 2010, went on to a ten year career, including heading the “Liberty Caucus” and being a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus, an extreme right wing group that warred against Speaker John Boehner and his successor, Paul Ryan.

Amash went on to vote for the impeachment of Donald Trump in 2019, and to leave the Republican Party, and now he is an announced candidate for the Libertarian Party Presidential nomination.

Considering that Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party nominee received about 3.3 percent of the popular vote and 4.5 million votes in 2016, it is a concern whether Amash could perform at the same level in 2020, and whether it would harm Donald Trump or Joe Biden in the election.

Amash is complicated, as he supports the following that could bring over disaffected Democrats who wanted Bernie Sanders:

He voted against religious institutions being eligible for FEMA grants.

He supported gay marriage being left alone after the Supreme Court ruled in favor in 2015.

He has stated his opposition to political gerrymandering.

He voted against the reauthorization of the Patriot Act in 2011.

He voted against the Trump executive order banning migrating of people from seven majority Muslim nations.

He has stated his support of transgender American rights.

He has opposed building a Mexico Wall.

He has refused to support Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) without agreement that there have been abuses that need to be addressed, while believing in the basic mission of ICE.

He has opposed US support of Saudi Arabia in its war against Yemen.

He has voted against any war against Iran by executive decision, only if Congress agreed by majority vote of both houses of Congress.

And of course, he has been a consistent critic of Donald Trump from the beginning.

So, while Amash is a big Trump critic, he could get disaffected Democrats who are not thrilled with Joe Biden, to vote for him, and that could be a decisive factor in his home state of Michigan and other “swing’ states!

The House Of Representatives Likely To Be More “Blue” In 117th Congress

Ronald 3 Comments

Six months out, it seems highly likely that the House of Representatives, which turned Democratic in the 2018 midterm elections, will be more heavily “Blue”.

The present House balance is 233 Democrats to 196 Republicans, and Independent Justin Amash of Michigan, who left the Republican Party in 2019, and voted for the impeachment of Donald Trump.

There are, presently, six vacant House seats, but four of them being filled soon, and the likelihood is that the two Democratic seats and two Republican seats will remain the same. Two other Republican seats have a vacancy that will not be filled until the November 2020 election.

But if one counts all six vacant House seats, the real balance is 235 Democrats and 200 Republicans, as Justin Amash is leaving Congress as the only Libertarian member. So effectively, the balance is what it was after Election Day in November 2018. Republicans would need a net gain of 18 seats to come back to the majority, and no polls show that happening.

More women and minorities were elected as Democrats than ever before in the House of Representatives, while the Republicans remain mostly white men.

There were big gains, a total of 41 new members of the Democratic majority, and California, the largest delegation, dropped to only 7 Republicans.

The Democrats had their biggest victory since 1974, and won the popular vote by 8.6 percent, an all time high for a party that had been in the minority previously. More than half the population voted, the highest percentage in a midterm election since 1914.

Besides California’s loss of 7 Republican seat, the following states lost multiple GOP seats:

Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Texas–2 seats each

New York, Virginia–3 seats each

New Jersey, Pennsylvania–4 seats each

21 states, altogether, lost 42 Republican seats, and it now seems likely that Democrats will gain more seats in Florida, Illinois, Texas, New York, Virginia, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, with the estimate being at least 10 more seats, leading to a possible majority as high as 245-190, after a few likely Republican gains.

Strategies For Joe Biden’s Vice Presidential Selection

Ronald 1 Comment

Former Vice President Joe Biden is forming a committee to consider who should be his running mate for Vice President.

The choice of a future Vice President and possible President is crucial, so many of the proposed choices should not be seriously considered.

Any Vice President has to have the experience, the knowledge, the intelligence to take over on a moment’s notice.

That person needs to be much younger than Biden, who will reach 78 two weeks after the Presidential Election of 2020.

Such a person has to have the success of being an officeholder with state wide success.

Such a person should likely not be a Governor, as such a person should be kept busy dealing with the CoronaVirus Pandemic, not running for Vice President.

Such a person should not come from a state where if such person became Vice President, that state’s Senate seat might switch to the Republicans.

So already, just from what this author and blogger has stated, it is his belief that Elizabeth Warren, Stacey Abrams, Gretchen Whitmer, or Michelle Lujan Grisham, and any member of the House of Representatives should automatically be eliminated, such as Val Demings of Florida.

So who is on the list, and clearly stands out, and has already run for President, giving much needed extra national exposure?

Two US Senators are the finalists, with the reality that the Democratic Presidential nominee has always selected a US Senator as a running mate since 1944, except twice.

In 1972, it was George McGovern who chose Senator Thomas Eagleton, but he was forced out due to fears because he had undergone psychiatric treatment, and was replaced by Kennedy brother in law Sergeant Shriver.

And in 1984 ,Walter Mondale blundered in naming Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro as his Vice Presidential choice.

It should also be pointed out that those two times were the most disastrous for the Democrats, running against second term candidates Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, and in both elections, McGovern and Mondale only won one state and Washington, DC in the Electoral College.

Those two US Senators are Kamala Harris of California and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, with California certain to have a Democratic replacement in the Senate.

But Minnesota is much more uncertain, although right now that state has a Democratic Governor, Tim Walz.

But in a followup election after a temporary appointment, Minnesota could not be guaranteed to elect a permanent Democratic replacement in the US Senate.

So while either Harris or Klobuchar (age 56 or 60) are the two best choices, Harris has a slight edge in the sense her Senate seat is safely Democratic, but either woman would make an excellent VP, and a potential President of the United States!

Rand Paul And Libertarian Ideas Dead In the Water As It Should Be!

Ronald 17 Comments

Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul and his libertarian ideas, learned from his father, former Texas Congressman Ron Paul, are in free fall, dead in the water, as they should be!

Libertarianism is anti government, when government is necessary and essential, and all it does is promote selfishness, greed, and lack of compassion and empathy for those less fortunate!

This includes children, the elderly, the poor, the sick, the disabled, and people of all races, ethnicities, and religions.

For Rand Paul to attempt to block essential legislation to provide relief for tens of millions of Americans from the economic damage of the CoronaVirus Crisis, is obscene, despicable, reprehensible, and unconscionable!

A place in hell is reserved for this excuse of a human being, who deserves no sympathy or endorsement by any decent person!