US House Of Representatives

“Establishment” Republicans In Crisis For Presidential Nominee In 2016

Ronald 78 Comments

The “Establishment” Republicans are in a crisis, trying to find a Presidential nominee who Wall Street likes, and they thought they had New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, until his campaign collapsed, due to “Bridgegate”.

But then they thought they had a good alternative in Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, who gained establishment backing by working against labor unions in his state, and surviving a recall election. However, violation of campaign finance laws and conflicts of interest by the governor’s aides is now creating troubles for Walker, and making his possible candidacy problematical.

Add in other governors who have had ethics violations, or have faced major controversies in the way they govern, including South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley; Florida Governor Rick Scott: Texas Governor Rick Perry; Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal; Michigan Governor Rick Snyder; and New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez, among others.

Suddenly, looking to state governors as the solution for the “Establishment” Republicans to back against Tea Party types such as Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, and Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin seems unlikely to be a productive alternative!

Again, the best choices seem to be former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and former Utah Governor and Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, but the likelihood of either seeking or winning the GOP nomination for President seems highly unlikely!

Instead, some are looking to Governor John Kasich of Ohio and Governor Mike Pence of Indiana as possible choices, and this blogger will write about them more at a later time!

Abraham Lincoln And Barack Obama Comparisons

Ronald 36 Comments

The more one studies Abraham Lincoln and witnesses the Presidency of Barack Obama, the more one can see comparisons.

Both of these Presidents faced more hate than any other Presidents, and both faced more assassination threats than any other Presidents.

Both of these Presidents faced the greatest crises in American History, along with Franklin D. Roosevelt, and dealt with them effectively, although not appreciated at the time of the events.

Both of these Presidents used their executive authority to effect change, and in so doing, divided their own nation, but did what they felt they must do.

Both of these Presidents came from comparatively little background in national government, with Lincoln having just two years in the House of Representatives, and Obama having four years in the Senate.

Both of these Presidents picked their chief rival for the nomination, New York Senators William Seward and Hillary Clinton, to be their Secretaries of State, with both cabinet members being significant in their roles on foreign policy.

Both of these Presidents came from Illinois, the only two Presidents elected from that state, although Ronald Reagan was born in Illinois, but elected from California.

Both of these Presidents were anti war, Lincoln in the Mexican War, and Obama in the Iraq War, and yet both waged war in office.

Both of these Presidents stretched civil liberties in reaction to threats to the nation–Lincoln with the Civil War and Obama with the war on terrorism.

Both of these Presidents had the gift of oratory, and the making of memorable statements.

Both of these Presidents had an excellent sense of humor, and could make fun of themselves.

Both of these Presidents showed compassion and empathy, crucial character strengths for any President.

Both of these Presidents demonstrated great courage in the face of challenges internally and externally, and could make decisions and live with them.

Both of these Presidents made mistakes, admitted to them, and moved on to other challenges without regrets.

Both of these Presidents were ridiculed, lampooned, denounced, abused in oratory, and yet kept their dignity and class as human beings, never giving in to petty responses.

Both of these Presidents were attacked by Southerners, and both worked against the racism and narrow mindedness so prevalent in the 19th century South, and, sadly, in the 21st century South.

Both of these Presidents were very devoted to their children, and found adequate time to be good dads while serving in the most stressful job any American can have, the honor of being our President.

Barack Obama still has three years to go, and as time goes on, he will rank higher in history than he is seen as now by critics, just as Lincoln suffered while in office, but now has been regarded by serious historians as the greatest American President!

Climate Change And Republican Influence On Congressional Committees: James Inhofe And Louie Gohmert!

Ronald 8 Comments

The battle for the control of both houses of Congress in 2014 is more than just an issue of which party, and which politicians, win.

It is a battle for the future of the reaction to climate change as well!

In the US Senate, Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe, heads the Republican minority on the Environment and Public Works Committee, and has been the biggest denier of climate change, ridiculing former Vice President Al Gore and others, who have warned of the dangers of global warming and climate change. Were the Republicans to win the majority of the Senate, his influence would grow, just as he becomes age 80 by the end of the year. Do we really want a scenario where a man who has a short life span, based on his age, determines our future on climate change?

In the House of Representatives, Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert, a Tea Party member, and considered one of the most moronic members of the Republican Party, on the level of Steve King of Iowa and Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, is third in seniority on the Natural Resources Committee, but due to retirement of the chair of the committee, is due to take over as Chair IF the GOP wins the majority of the House again, which is seen as likely.

Imagine these two climate deniers, both infuriating in so many ways, standing in the way of dealing with our environmental problems?

This is one of the most important issues to consider when analyzing the upcoming midterm elections, as it represents an “ostrich with its head in the sand,” refusing to deal with reality, in a way that can harm America and the world long term!

The Right Wing Talk Show Hosts Go Whacko Over Republican House Leadership Allowing Debt Limit Extension!

Ronald 3 Comments

For once, just once, the House Republican leadership, recognizing that the Tea Party whackos were out to cause a default and another economic crisis, did the right thing, in allowing a one year extension of the debt limit to March 15, 2015.

So Speaker John Boehner, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, and 26 others, including Kevin McCarthy, but NOT Paul Ryan, did the responsible thing, joining with 193 Democrats, to take the debt limit off the table as an issue to prevent further disarray.

But that upset the conservative talk radio hosts and Fox News Channel and right wing foundations no end, and the fury is spreading!

So we have Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Laura Ingraham, Michael Savage, Mark Levin and other demagogues who are denouncing the Republican leadership, and calling for their heads to be guillotined!

If one listens to these characters, one wonders why any intelligent human being wastes his or her time listening to their poison!

It is clear that all of these crooks, and that is what they are, are only interested in their own wealth and in selling books and giving speeches at high rates of pay before gullible audiences. They could not care less about the future of the American nation, as they are only interested in their own aggrandizement, and their pursuit to be part of the top one percent, if they are not already there!

Will John Boehner Be Removed From Speakership Before End Of 2014? Highly Unlikely!

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The courage and guts of Speaker John Boehner, in finally rejecting the Tea Party whackos in his caucus, and moving ahead to insure that the debt limit issue be taken off the table until March of 2015, could lead to his being deposed as House Speaker before this year is over!

It seems likely that Boehner will NOT be able to remain as Speaker after this year at the most, and he might, very well, decide to quit Congress in disgust at the end of this term.

But IF Boehner is forced out before the midterm elections, it would be likely that the GOP will lose control of the House, as unlikely as that seems to most political observers at the moment.

Never has a Speaker been forced out during his tenure, with the closest example being the stripping of much of the power of Speaker Joseph Cannon in the famous “Revolution of 1910” in October of that year, with the election for the House a month later, and the opposition Democrats winning the House and installing Champ Clark as the new Speaker in 1911-1912!

In any case, GOP disarray can only help the Democrats, and with Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, forcing by his filibuster tactics, that Mitch McConnell, the Minority Leader, had to vote for the extension of the debt limit, makes his Tea Party challenger in Kentucky have a greater chance of defeating McConnell, setting up a whacko against the Democratic nominee for the Senate, Alison Lundergan Grimes, and making the likelihood of the continuation of a Democratic Senate much more likely!

Speaker John Boehner Finally Shows “Cojones” Against Tea Party!

Ronald 5 Comments

Speaker of the House John Boehner FINALLY has shown “cojones” against the extremist Tea Party movement and other right wing whackos in his caucus, who are anarchistic and reckless.

He overcame the “Hastert Rule”, started by previous GOP Speaker Dennis Hastert, that no bill would come up for a vote unless there was a majority of Republicans behind it.

Having already abandoned this rule a few times, Boehner took a major step yesterday when he allowed a “clean” vote on the debt limit being taken off the table as a decisive issue until March 15, 2015, insuring economic stability and growth over the next year by that action!

By a vote of 221-201, with 193 Democrats and 28 Republicans, the debt limit increase passed, but many committee chairs and Paul Ryan, Budget Committee Chair, voted NO, and it made it on the record that 199 Republicans were willing to have the government go into default, something that should harm them in the midterm elections coming up in November. Interestingly, other members of the House leadership, including Eric Cantor, the heir apparent, and Kevin McCarthy, and Darrell Issa, voted with Boehner and the 28 Republicans who voted for the debt limit extension.

Boehner may end up leaving Congress, or at least, losing the Speakership if he stays and his party keeps control, but yesterday was a profile in courage FINALLY!

And if, by some chance, Texas Senator Ted Cruz tries to block the debt limit extension by calling for a 60 vote majority to consider it, and if five Republicans cannot be found, then Harry Reid, the Majority Leader, has threatened to use the “nuclear option”, allowing for all votes in the Senate to be based on a 51 vote majority, destroying the filibuster, and then a flow of legislation has a chance to get through the Senate!

The time of the Tea Party Movement dominance over Congress MAY have come to an end, and not too soon!

Rand Paul And Bill Clinton: A Losing Strategy!

Ronald 2 Comments

Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul Has decided that he is willing to bring up the controversies surrounding Bill Clinton’s indiscretions a generation ago as his tactic to win the Presidency of the United States in 2016.

This is a strategy that will fail, as it does not dignify Rand Paul to talk about an issue that is dead and gone a long time ago.

Let me make it clear, that this author deplored the behavior of Bill Clinton, and at the time, took the position that the President should resign over his misbehavior, but should NOT be impeached.

Be that as it may, Bill Clinton suffered total humiliation and exposure, was impeached, was found not guilty by the US Senate, finished his term, and has gone on to achieve a level of popularity for a former President unmatched by any in American history, even Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, or Ronald Reagan in their retirement years.

Bill Clinton has done a lot of good with his Clinton Initiative, following the work at good deeds only matched in retirement by former President Jimmy Carter, who has not been as fortunate to be as popular and respected and admired as Bill Clinton.

While his private behavior then, and by rumor even now, is reprehensible, Bill Clinton is no worse than millions of American men, and many Republican and Democratic Congressmen, Senators, and Governors. The difference is that he was a President, but then when one examines the sexual exploits of other Presidents, he is far from unique.

The point is that no matter how much one might condemn his behavior, he did not create any “victims”, as Monica Lewinsky was not a child, was not an innocent, knew precisely what she was doing, wanted to do what she did, and is responsible for her own behavior.

If anything, Rand Paul needs to answer for his voting record, for his statements against the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and if one is going to bring up the past, let him explain the wacky behavior and voting record and associations of his libertarian father, former Congressman Ron Paul, with racist and secessionist groups over his long career.

One might say that would be unfair, but would it be any more unfair than to try to harm Hillary Clinton by attacking her husband’s behavior, which has caused much grief for her, behavior which she personally is not responsible for, and for her to have to hear him being called a “sexual predator” by a man who cannot walk in her husband’s shoes in his level of intelligence, accomplishment, and historic role in American history?

Speaker Boehner: Halt Threat Of Presidential Impeachment NOW!

Ronald 29 Comments

Speaker John Boehner, we are well aware that you do not agree with the Tea Party whackos in your party, and that you wish to move immigration reform forward, and prevent future crises over raising the debt limit and shutting down the federal government!

We know that you have expressed, recently, your exasperation with these reckless, disobedient, anarchistic elements, but it is now time to put up or shut up, and that means halt IMMEDIATELY ANY talk of impeachment of President Barack Obama!

You know, Mr. Speaker, that Obama is a decent man, who you disagree with on policy, similar to what Senator John McCain said during his 2008 Presidential campaign. But McCain showed guts and courage when he contradicted a moronic woman at a campaign rally, who told him that Obama was a Muslim, not an American, and should not be respected.

It is now time for you to make clear that you will NOT allow any motion for impeachment to move forward, similar to what Speaker Nancy Pelosi made very clear when a small cabal of Democrats called for impeachment of President George W. Bush in 2007. She stated then, that while she disagreed on policy matters, there was no just cause for impeachment, and the idea was immediately dropped!

Speaker Boehner, you know in your heart of hearts, that Obama has done nothing illegal; has not committed high crimes and misdemeanors; and was voted into the Presidency twice by the voters by a clear margin. You should respect that reality, and take impeachment off the table, come hell or high water, in regards to retention of your own Speakership!

No move to impeach Obama will lead to his conviction in any case, so do not besmirch his reputation and his obituary, as sadly, Bill Clinton suffered unjustly in 1998-1999, only harming the Republican Party image and reputation!

And finally, realize that IF Obama, somehow, were to be removed, you and your party would be elevating Vice President Joe Biden into the White House, with less than two years left by the time of the impeachment trial, and that would give Biden the upper hand for the nomination and election in 2016 and 2020, creating the possibility of near to a ten year Biden Presidency, only surpassed by Franklin D. Roosevelt!

Do you really wish to do that, Mr. Speaker, as, after all, Joe Biden would promote the same agenda as Obama, and just might have the ability to get things done that could match Lyndon B. Johnson in domestic affairs?

So, Mr. Speaker, be a profile in courage, and nip the impeachment threat in the bud, as it benefits no one, including your party, and the nation at large!

Our 18th Century Political System No Longer Works In The 21st Century!

Ronald 10 Comments

The Founding Fathers of the late 18th century created a political system that worked for a long time, despite many crises.

Sadly, it no longer works when one realizes that we have a system where land counts more than people, as in the US Senate!

The top NINE states in the 2010 US Census had a combined population which is a majority of the nation—California, Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Georgia, Michigan! So two Northeastern states, three Southern states, three Midwestern states, and one Western state are where the population is most concentrated!

Also, the next eleven states,in total, have over 25 percent of the total population. So that means TWENTY states have over 75 percent of the entire population of the country in their midst!

Also, if you add states 21-30, it adds another 15 percent of the nation’s population, and that means 90 percent of the country is in 30 states, while the other 20 states have less than ten percent of the entire population combined!

Also, 70 percent of the American population lives on TWO PERCENT of all of the land of the country!

Despite this, we have the 30 percent of the population living on 98 percent of the land, and 41 states out of 50, having the ability to dictate most actions of the Senate, and the House of Representatives!

And 30 states, having less than 25 percent of the total population, can, in theory, block action, or bring about action through the filibuster, in the Senate, with their 60 votes!

There is no immediate or long range solution to this reality, but it is important that people realize that the Founding Fathers, as brilliant as they were, could not, possibly, conceive how the nation would change over 225 years!

Conservatives, Republicans, The “Work Ethic”, And The “Big Lie” Technique!

Ronald 19 Comments

Conservatives and the Republican Party LOVE to promote the virtues of WORK, while at the same time, the Republicans in Congress have set up a work schedule which is far fewer days than when the Democrats controlled the House!

Conservatives and the Republican Party talk about work, but in their mind, their goal is to make people work more hours and years than is healthy for any human being, because by refusing to raise the minimum wage, cutting unemployment compensation to victims of the Great Recession, and cutting food stamps, and therefore, nutrition to women and children and the elderly, it forces people to take low wage jobs if they can get them, work two to three to four part time jobs, raising their chance of getting sick, and then, going into bankruptcy as a result. And the thought of EVER retiring or cutting back on work hours is a distant dream for millions of Americans being victimized by the greed and selfishness of the power elite!

The thought that people should have time for a real vacation; or to take off time for the family; or to start a new business or pursue education–all of these become impossible because conservatives and the GOP are out to exploit the American people, make the middle class poorer, and kick the poor around, including encouraging larger families than people can afford, by denying contraception and abortion, and instead, promoting government interference in the personal and private lives of all of us!

Meanwhile, the ruling class works less and less, gets more vacations, mistreats the people who serve their every whim, and look with disdain on the “slave labor” that they are promoting by their lack of compassion, empathy, and basic decency about those struggling to survive and have a little security and contentment, as that does not benefit the corporations and the top few percent who boss everyone else around and think they are working very hard!

This situation is very dangerous, almost a powder keg, as when finally the American people realize what is happening, it could lead to violent results, which would benefit absolutely no one!

And conservatives and the Republican Party utilizing the “Big Lie” technique about ObamaCare and everything else that has occurred under the Obama Presidency will eventually reverberate on them as well, when it is understood that they have been totally unconcerned about the American people, and the reaction will not be pretty!