Utah

Fascinating Senate Race In Utah: Evan McMullin Running As Independent Against Mike Lee, And Mitt Romney Remaining Neutral!

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One of the most interesting and fascinating Senate races in 2022 is in heavily Mormon Utah, where Republican Senator Mike Lee, who has emerged as a MAGA Republican, despite being very critical of Donald Trump six years ago, faces a challenge NOT from a Democrat, but from an Independent Republican who ran for President in 2016 in protest against Donald Trump’s candidacy.

McMullin won 21.5 percent of the vote in 2016 in Utah, and half of one percent of the total national vote, close to 750,000 votes. And in 2020, he endorsed Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden. McMullin had been a CIA agent, and believed Trump was a danger to national security.

When McMullin decided to run against Mike Lee, the Democratic Party in Utah agreed to stay out of the race, and right now, the polls indicate a very close race, with Lee only ahead by 4 percent, and more than ten percent of the voters still undecided.

McMullin, a strong conservative with principle, and never a Trump loyalist, has pledged he will not join the caucus of either the Republicans or Democrats if he wins the seat.

And the controversy over this race is magnified by Utah Senator Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican Presidential nominee, refusing to take a stand and endorse his Senate colleague, Mike Lee. This is causing an uproar, but remember Romney voted to convict Trump in both impeachment trials, and has been condemned by Donald Trump.

This race of Lee vs McMullin will certainly be one of the most intriguing Senate races in November!

Potential For Democrats To Gain Multiple Senate Seats In Midterm Elections Of 2022

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The potential now exists for the Democrats to gain multiple Senate seats in the Midterm Elections of 2022!

With six Republicans Senators retiring, at least three of those seats could go to the Democrats, along with three Republican Senators running for reelection having troubles in their reelection campaigns.

Pennsylvania with John Fetterman; Ohio with Tim Ryan; and North Carolina with Cheri Beasley, all have a good shot to win what have been Republican seats.

Additionally, Florida with Val Demings and Wisconsin with Mandela Barnes could see the defeat of Marco Rubio and Ron Johnson. And the longest serving Republican Senator, Chuck Grassley, running at age 89 for another six year term, also has a tough race from retired Admiral Michael Franken that should not be ignored.

Four Democratic Senators have major challenges to keep their seats—Mark Kelly in Arizona; Raphael Warnock in Georgia; Catherine Cortez Masto in Nevada; and Maggie Hassan in New Hampshire.

Also, Mike Lee in Utah has a strong independent, Evan McMullin, trying to defeat this loyal Trumpite, and Democrats are backing him.

Rand Paul in Kentucky has a strong African American opponent in Democrat Charles Booker, and the defeat of Paul would be welcome, but unexpected.

In Missouri, Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine will try to stop Republican Eric Schmitt, another tough race without an incumbent, but Schmitt favored to win.

The possibility of up to a 4-5 seat gain for Democrats is in the cards, if the present trend in polls continues!

Joe Biden Upholds Barack Obama And Bill Clinton, Cancels Donald Trump, On Environmental Protection

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President Barack Obama greatly expanded protection of national monuments during his time in office, including Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah, and also Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, off the coast of Rhode Island.

The first and the third national monuments were created by Obama in 2016, and the second created by Bill Clinton in 1996 and continued protected under Obama.

All three were dramatically reduced in size by Donald Trump in 2017, to promote development, mining, ranching, drilling, and fishing to take place on the lands, with the first two monuments also having sacred native American significance, which had been ignored by Trump.

But now, President Joe Biden has restored the entire expansion under Obama and Clinton, reversing Trump’s actions, a fantastic development!

Environmentalists and native American tribes are rejoicing, along with many conservation groups, including the Conservation Lands Foundation, for which my older son works as its Washington DC lobbyist!

Automatic Mail Ballots Should Be Sent By All States To All Voters As A National Law To Insure Voting Rights!

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Nine states and Washington, DC send automatic mail ballots to all eligible voters who reside in their states.

These states include:

California
Colorado
Hawaii
Nevada
New Jersey
Oregon
Utah
Vermont
Washington State
Washington, DC

There is no viable reason why voters have to show up in person to vote, as long as they are registered and live in the state they reside in.

Such a system of mail in voting boosts voting, particularly of poor people, racial minorities, the disabled, members of the military, and the elderly.

Voting rights were guaranteed over time, and then added to by the Voting Rights Act of 1965, along with Constitutional amendments 15, 19, 23, 24, and 26, and so therefore, there should be ZERO boundaries for voting!

If we are to remain a democracy, this needs to become a national law that goes into effect by the Presidential Election of 2024, if not earlier with the Midterm Congressional Elections of 2022!

Mitt Romney Being Booed At Utah Republican Event Demonstrates How Loony The GOP Has Become!

Ronald 1 Comment

This author, blogger and scholar was not thrilled by Mitt Romney during and after his 2012 Presidential campaign, but there has always been respect for his dignity, principles, and basic virtues.

Romney, like John McCain before him, were Republicans this author would not support, but always felt that they presented basic Republican principles in a respectable manner.

Such is not the case with Donald Trump, but it is now clear that the Republican party of history is dying rapidly.

The bitter attacks on John McCain in his last years in the Senate, and the nasty attacks on Mitt Romney for repudiating Trump and voting to convict him on impeachment charges demonstrated that the Republican Party is much like a Fascist Party, controlled and dominated by a lunatic and maniac who has no regard for American democracy.

For Mitt Romney to be booed at a Utah Republican state party event demonstrates how loony the GOP has become!

By all rights, Donald Trump should be in prison for inciting the January 6, 2021 Capital Insurrection, and yet we have crazy Trump followers in the Congress and the state legislatures who bow to him as if he was Benito Mussolini or Adolf Hitler.

One does not have to agree with Mitt Romney on issues to feel sad that he is being mistreated for having basic decency and admirable principles, so we are witnessing the destruction of the party of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush, as well as John McCain and Mitt Romney!

Fascinating Electoral Map Of Americans 18-40 Shows Bright Future For Democrats, Gloom For Republicans!

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The Atlantic Magazine has just published an electoral map based solely on American expected voters ages 18-40, known as Millennials (born 1980-1996) and Generation Z (1997-2012) with those born from 1997-2002 able to vote in the Presidential Election of 2020!

It is astounding in detail, as if it pans out and is true, it means a bright future for Democrats, and gloom for Republicans!

According to this electoral map, Joe Biden has 295 electoral votes locked up among those under 40; and 63 more likely; and 70 less likely but favored, for a grand total of 428 electoral votes!

Donald Trump has 49 electoral votes insured, with 44 other electoral votes highly likely, and 17 electoral votes undecided, so it would be a grand total of 110 electoral votes, or 93 insured, with Utah and Indiana questionable.

That last fact is shocking, as one would think Utah would be insured Republican, and Indiana as well, particularly with Vice President Mike Pence being from the Hoosier State.

The Biden states have dark blue for such states as Florida, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, all four states having gone for Trump in 2016.

Interestingly, Ohio, Iowa, North Carolina, and Arizona are all medium blue, making them likely strongly Democratic by lesser amounts now and in the future, and all Trump states in 2016. Additionally, Virginia, which voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016 is also medium blue.

Georgia, Texas, Montana, and imagine this, Alaska are all light blue, a good sign for the future as well! But so is Missouri, which few see as going back to the Democrats, after having lost their status as a “reliable” state to be with the winner, starting in 2008 and continuing through 2016. As much as the first two states listed are seen as long shots, the last three are even more so, in theory!

Looking at the Trump states, 15 in total, we have West Virginia, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Oklahoma as strongest, while South Carolina, Tennessee, Louisiana, North Dakota, Kansas, Wyoming and Idaho are weaker in support among young people.

So, in conclusion, 33 states for Biden, 15 for Trump, and 2 probably Trump but not certain, mirroring what seems to make sense for the national election, with the only real surprises being Alaska and Missouri, and possibly Indiana and Utah, in the estimate of this scholar and blogger!

Time For Republican Giants George W. Bush, Mitt Romney, Jon Huntsman To Endorse And Vote For Joe Biden, As Essential For Nation’s Future!

Ronald 11 Comments

Now that the Republican National Convention is done, and with Donald Trump acting more crazy and corrupt by the day, it is time for action by well known Republican leaders!

Many former Republican members of past Presidential administrations, as well as many who had worked for Donald Trump until they were forced out or quit on their own, have condemned Trump and crossed party lines to endorse and support Joe Biden.

Also, many former Republican members of Congress have done the same, and so have many conservative commentators who are columnists for newspapers and online media.

The amount of rejection of Donald Trump is a record breaker, and has never been matched by any previous President so outraging party members that they abandoned ship.

Sadly, the same cannot be said for Republican office holders in the House of Representatives and US Senate, although privately, many have expressed unhappiness, but are unwilling to speak up in opposition, particularly if they are on the ballot themselves this year. So, as a result, many of them will go down in a flaming and crashing defeat this November, and have, in the process, lost all their dignity and self respect!

But at this time, there are three high profile Republicans who need to stand up and show their principles, reject Donald Trump openly, and endorse Joe Biden to save the nation!

The first is former President George W. Bush, who had through confidential sources, made clear he is not supporting Donald Trump, who has trashed him and his family for years, including the departed George H. W. and Barbara Bush, brother Jeb Bush, and the former President himself.

It is time for Bush to speak up, as a retired President, and openly condemn Trump and endorse Biden, who he knows very well, gets along with, and respects. Party lines do not matter now, but the nation and its future, so come on, George W, and redeem some of your reputation harmed by your eight year Presidency!

Secondly, Utah Senator and 2012 Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who voted for impeachment conviction of Donald Trump on one of two counts, and has been a strong critic of Trump, needs to go further than not voting for Trump, as in 2016, and then voting for his wife.

That is silly, and passing the buck, and what Romney needs to do is endorse Joe Biden as the person he might not agree with on many issues, but is a safe choice to lead the nation, but leaving Romney the opening to disagree on future policies if he feels a need to do so.

There is no gamble on doing this, as Romney does not face election for his Senate seat until 2024, and may very well choose not to run for another six year term at then the age of 77. And if he did, as a Mormon in Mormon dominated Utah, which saw Independent Evan McMullin, a conservative, won 21.5 percent of the popular vote in 2016, and with Hillary Clinton winning 27.5 percent, it meant together they had more popular votes and percentage than Donald Trump, as Mormons do find Trump distasteful. So Mitt Romney needs to step up like a man and endorse Joe Biden!

And finally, another leading figure, former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, who served as Ambassador to China under Democrat Barack Obama, and ambassador to Russia under Donald Trump, needs to show courage and endorse Joe Biden over his former boss. Huntsman was very quiet while in Moscow, but it seems clear he was uncomfortable, and chose to leave before this campaign year.

This author and blogger has always admired Huntsman, going back to when he agreed to go to China for Barack Obama, and then sought the Presidency in 2012 as a Republican contender. Huntsman is solid on foreign policy, and very decent and principled and rational in a party which has had horrific contenders for the most part in 2012 and 2016.

Seriously, other than Huntsman in 2012 and John Kasich in 2016, no one else made this blogger and author comfortable enough to imagine being able to accept as a potential President, with Huntsman more so than Kasich.

As a fan of Huntsman, and respecting him despite differences on some domestic issues, since I am a proud progressive, I say it is time for Huntsman to condemn Trump, and fully endorse Joe Biden.

And after the hoped for election of Biden, it would be appropriate and smart for Joe Biden to offer Jon Huntsman a top Cabinet position, such as Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, or Secretary of Homeland Security. It is common for a Democratic President to have one Republican in his Cabinet, and who better than Huntsman, who has been bipartisan and is only nearing 61 years of age in March 2021.

Come on, President Bush, Senator Romney, and most significantly, Ambassador Huntsman, do the right thing and fully endorse Joe Biden for the safety and security of the nation!

Vote By Mail Should Be Alternative, And Should Be Offered Everywhere This November For All Elections

Ronald 9 Comments

With the nation in the midst of the CoronaVirus Pandemic, it is essential that all states offer Vote by Mail as an alternative, making it mandatory for all elections!

As it is, about 25 percent of voters vote by mail, including this blogger and author.

People who are older; those who are disabled; those who are in hospitals, nursing homes, and other public institutions; and others who find it inconvenient to stand in lines at polls on Election Day already vote by mail.

If Donald Trump had his way, no one would vote by mail, as he knows that is the only way that a majority of people, not electoral votes, would vote for the Republican party. They make it their mission to make voting harder, and to work to undermine the right to vote for minority groups, and make voter suppression their major effort in office!

Standing online yesterday in Wisconsin, forced on voters by the Republican Party of Wisconsin and the US Supreme Court majority of conservative Republicans, was a total outrage and disgrace!

The right to vote is sacred, and no one needs to prove his residence, as long as he or she has registered to vote with proper identification. Once that has been established, we should follow Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Utah and Hawaii, all enlightened states, that have all of their elections by mail already!

Sixteen other states also have vote by mail allowed, including my state of Florida, but also California and Arizona as major centers of population. allow it.

It is time for such states as New York, Massachusetts, Virginia, Texas, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, and particularly Southern states, to spread democracy to all citizens!

Eleven State Governors Ignoring Need For Shutdown To Combat CoronaVirus Pandemic!

Ronald 4 Comments

Eleven state governors, all Republicans, are ignoring the CoronaVirus Pandemic, and refusing to shutdown their states to combat the threat!

Alabama

Arkansas

Iowa

Missouri

Nebraska

North Dakota

Oklahoma

South Carolina

South Dakota

Utah

Wyoming

At the same time, other Republican states held off, delayed doing so, including

Georgia

Florida

Mississippi

Texas

The delay on the part of Georgia, Florida and Texas, all large populated states, is particularly reckless, but even smaller populated states, by not cooperating, insures a higher level of infection, and more deaths.

All of these governors have failed in their responsibility to protect their population, the most urgent job they have.

By all rights, all of these states’ governors should resign in shame, including the ones that delayed to just today!

One other point to make is that many of these states are mostly small in population, much more rural, and are concentrated in the South and Great Plains and Mountain West, all states known for being much more backward in their concern for their citizens!

Mitt Romney, A Profile In Courage, First Senator In American History To Vote To Convict President Of His Own Party!

Ronald 1 Comment

Senator Mitt Romney of Utah, the 2012 Republican Presidential nominee, was a true “Profile in Courage” yesterday, by voting to convict Donald Trump on the impeachment charge of “Abuse Of Power”.

This blogger and author was not a great fan of Mitt Romney in his failed 2012 Presidential bid, considering him a hypocrite for criticizing ObamaCare, which was based to a great extent on RomneyCare in Massachusetts. I did not want him as President, and think he lacked enough concern for the average American.

But that is the past, and Romney knows he will suffer attacks and condemnations from within the Republican Party for his action to be the first US Senator in American history to vote to convict a President of his own party in an impeachment trial. That took guts and also showed the true religiosity of Romney with his Mormon faith, whether one agrees or likes the Mormon Church and its teachings.

The accusation that he plans to run for President again is preposterous, and Romney may, very well, not run for reelection in 2024, but the future is not important as the present, to take a stand against the lawlessness and arrogance of Donald Trump.

The fact that Romney’s own niece, Ronna Romney McDaniel, is chair of the Republican National Committee, put her in an awkward position, and she did, indeed, make clear her objection to her uncle’s decision. But that does not matter, and whatever one thinks of Romney in the past, it is clear that his vote is based upon principle and courage, so it is proper to applaud and salute Mitt Romney for a decision that will live in history, and could be another chapter, updated, of John F. Kennedy’s famous “Profiles in Courage” book in 1956!

Romney will withstand the storm of criticism, and if moronic son Donald Trump, Jr is able to have Romney expelled from the Republican Party, as he called for in anger yesterday, the party will be the loser, not Romney.

If Romney is a true independent, he will be a greater Senator long term than being captive to a corrupt political party, so bring it on, is my thought!