Walter Mondale

The Iowa Republican Caucuses Historically: A Waste Of Time!

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The Iowa Caucuses, which have existed since 1972 for the Democratic Party and competitively for the Republicans since 1976, have been largely a “waste of time” as far as picking future Presidents, and even Presidential nominees.

At least, the Democrats have chosen Jimmy Carter, Walter Mondale, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry, and Barack Obama, with Carter, Clinton and Obama going on to the White House.

But the Republican Caucuses have been much less successful and representative of what happened. Only Bob Dole in 1996, and George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004 have gone on to be the nominee, and only Bush being elected and reelected. There was no actual vote between Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan in 1976, and Reagan lost in 1980 and ran unopposed in 1984, and the same for George H W Bush in 1988 and no opposition in 1992.

The point is that the Iowa Caucuses gain an inordinate amount of attention, but only maybe a bit more than 100,000 people participate, far fewer than a primary in percentage of voters, and therefore, it has never been seen as a reliable barometer of who a future Presidential nominee or winner might be!

So don’t tend to think that the results in Iowa will matter, as the New Hampshire primary has ALWAYS been a much better barometer for the fortunes of Presidential candidates, since it emerged in 1952.

The Supreme Court: Most Important Issue Of Presidential Campaign Of 2012

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It is amazing how little this Presidential campaign of 2012 has been connected to foreign policy, and to constitutional law, as if ONLY the economy matters.

As much as the Great Recession and its supposed aftermath has created a major crisis for Americans, to overemphasize it is a dangerous action, as the LONG RANGE problem is much more our relations with the world AND the future of our judiciary.

Regarding the judiciary, the thought that a Republican President would select MORE conservatives to a Court already top heavy with conservatives is absolutely terrifying on issues such as the power and influence of corporations, the rights of women, the rights of gays, the role of religion in government, and the struggle to preserve civil rights and civil liberties.

For instance, if Michael Dukakis had been elected in 1988 instead of George H. W. Bush, we would not have had Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court.

If John Kerry had been elected President in 2004, instead of George W. Bush, we would not have had John Roberts and Samuel Alito on the Supreme Court.

Going further back, if Walter Mondale had defeated Ronald Reagan in 1984, we would not have had Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court, and Justice William Rehnquist would not have become Chief Justice.

So the election of the President has LONG TERM consequences in judicial and constitutional interpretation, just as much as foreign policy is not only short term, but long range affecting.

When one realizes that Ruth Bader Ginsberg is 78, and Justices Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy are 75, it seems realistic to believe that all three COULD be out of office in the next term of office.

So the Court could become more conservative if a Republican is elected to the Presidency, and more moderate if Barack Obama is elected to a second term in the White House.

Therefore, every voter MUST realize that the Presidential election has consequences, not only in foreign policy long term, but also in the future of our legal system and our constitutional rights.

Gay Rights, Minnesota, And Separation Of Church And State

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Minnesota is the land of Ten Thousand Lakes, the state of such luminaries in the past as Hubert Humphrey, Harold Stassen, Walter Mondale, and Paul Wellstone. It is the state of Senators Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar.

However, it is also the state of Michele Bachmann and Tim Pawlenty, both of whom profess to be Tea Party supporters and social conservatives, who appeal for support from those who believe in church and state being one, rather than supporting separation, as the Founding Fathers intended.

The hate mongers in the state legislature have forced a question on the 2012 state ballot, to ban gay marriage in the state constitution, a concept which does not belong in ANY constitution anywhere!

Democratic State Assemblyman Steve Simon spoke up in dramatic fashion against such a constitutional amendment, stating how much longer will we try to believe that being gay is not innate in a human being, and Republican John Kreisel, who lost both legs in Iraq, also opposed it on the grounds that gay soldiers die in defense of their country, and we have no problem with that, but don’t want to give them basic human rights to marry who they love!

As the polls indicate a majority of Americans have no problem with gay marriage rights, it is time for all decent people to organize against the hate mongers and the religious zealots who wish to promote a narrow minded change in the state constitution, which in future years will serve as a major embarrassment to the history and heritage of a state much more famous for progressive and liberal traditions!

The Split Political Personality of Minnesota

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Minnesota is certainly not the only state to have a split political personality, but right now it really stands out as unusual!

My colleague, Professor Steve Watnik, pointed this out today, and made me really think about this, so here goes!

Minnesota had great political luminaries in the past, including Hubert Humphrey, Walter Mondale, Eugene McCarthy, and Paul Wellstone, and continues to have some today in Senators Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar, and Congressman Keith Ellison, who is the first Muslim in Congress.

But it is also the state of two potential GOP candidates for President: the solid conservative former Governor Tim Pawlenty, who has managed to avoid looking or acting loony or weird, as so many others in the party have appeared; and Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, who has no problem in looking loony and weird, and seems to revel in it, as she displays total ignorance and outrageous comments while claiming to be religious and led by God’s command. Only Sarah Palin may be more outrageous in her behavior and comments than Bachmann, but certainly it is a close race between the two ladies!

So Minnesota is likely to see two home staters competing for the nomination, along with others, and Pawlenty seems legitimate, while Bachmann most certainly does not, all adding to the allure of following Minnesota politics for the Presidential Election year of 2012!

The Passing Of Geraldine Ferraro: A Symbol Of Progress For Women!

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Former Vice Presidential nominee Geraldine Ferraro passed away today at age 75 of blood cancer, and this news reminded us of her historical significance.

A Queens Congresswoman for three terms from 1979-1985, Ferraro was chosen by former Vice President Walter Mondale to be his Vice Presidential running mate on the ticket that lost to President Ronald Reagan in 1984.

Ferraro was the first woman and first Italian American to run for the second highest position in the nation, a heartbeat away from the Presidency.

She comported herself well as a candidate, not making a fool of herself, as the second woman to run for Vice President on a major party ticket, Sarah Palin, did so obviously in 2008!

Her being first to run for Vice President guaranteed that she would make the record books forever, and now she has gone into the history books as she is being laid to rest.

She should be highly honored and respected for her achievement, and give us hope that someday soon, a QUALIFIED woman of either party, not Sarah Palin nor Michele Bachmann, will take the oath of office for the Presidency in some future inauguration day in Washington, DC!

Ron Reagan Vs. Michael Reagan On The Historic Image Of Ronald Reagan: A Family Feud!

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Next month, on February 6, the nation will commemorate the centennial of the birth of President Ronald Reagan.

Sadly, his two sons by different marriages–Michael, adopted by Reagan and Jane Wyman–and Ron, born to Reagan and Nancy Davis–have been bitter enemies since the former President’s death, as they both fight over his legacy.

Michael is a right wing talk show host, and Ron is a left wing talk show host, and both have now written books about their dad. But Ron has not treated his father with total adulation, but has instead demonstrated his love and admiration while seeing shortcomings, such as his belief that his dad may have shown signs of mental disabilities, as in the debate with Walter Mondale in the Presidential campaign of 1984. Also, Ron pointed out in his book that his father may have suffered from deficits due to his advancing age and also from being shot by John Hinckley in 1981, the only time a President was shot in office and recovered to serve his full term in office.

Ron presents Reagan realistically, but Michael condemns him in bitter terms as just trying to make money on a book, as if Michael is not out to make money with many irresponsible statements over the years on his talk show.

Instead, Michael wants to paint his dad as somehow incapable of shortcomings and perfect in every way, a totally unrealistic portrayal! Michael comes across as petty, nasty, and refusing to realize that his dad would not like the trend of the Republican party, were he alive today, unlike Michael, who has no problem with the mean spirit of the GOP in 2011! 🙁

If one wants a sympathetic and realistic appraisal of the 40th President of the United States from a family member, read Ron Reagan’s memoir and ignore Michael Reagan’s propagandistic view of his father!

History, Losing The Vice Presidency, and Sarah Palin: A Reality Check!

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Many people seem to think that Sarah Palin, the losing Vice Presidential nominee in 2008, has a real shot at being elected President of the United States in 2012.

The fact that Sarah Palin is ill qualified to be President, and the thought of what a nightmare it would be if such an ill informed, ignorant person such as the former Alaska Governor were to be elected, is also mollified by historical reality.

What is that historical reality? Only ONCE in American history has a LOSING Vice Presidential nominee gone on later to be elected President!

And what is that one exception to the rule that losing candidates do not go on to become President? FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, who ran with Governor James Cox of Ohio, in the worst ever defeat of a Presidential candidate until that time, in the Election of 1920, which brought us Warren G. Harding to the Presidency and Calvin Coolidge to the Vice Presidency! Franklin D. Roosevelt went on to be elected President TWELVE years later, in the worst depths of the Great Depression.

But that is indeed the only time a losing VP candidate has been elected President, and when one looks at all of the losing Vice Presidential candidates since 1960, Sarah Palin pales by comparison!

The list includes, chronologically by election, the following:

Henry Cabot Lodge
William E. Miller
Edmund Muskie
Sargeant Shriver
Bob Dole
Walter Mondale
Geraldine Ferraro
Lloyd Bentsen
Dan Quayle
Jack Kemp
Joe Lieberman
John Edwards

And only Dole and Mondale were nominated by their parties to run for President.

So the Palin lovers out there–it is time to face reality, as Sarah Palin has no chance to become President, and she certainly is no Franklin D. Roosevelt! 🙂

Former Vice President Walter Mondale Calls For Filibuster Reform In Same Vein As The Progressive Professor! :)

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A few days ago, the author called for filibuster reform in the Senate, a move which is to be introduced by Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico on opening day of the Senate on January 5.

Former Vice President Walter Mondale, in an op-ed in the New York Times, has now called for the same reforms that the author suggested: 55 Senators instead of 60 to stop a filibuster; a filibuster must be conducted by Senators staying on the floor of the Senate, not just by threat; and no more “secret holds” by one Senator to prevent action on a nomination or a bill.

Action by the full Senate this Wednesday could change the course of history of the next two years of the Obama Presidency, and make the Senate a functioning body, instead of a malfunctioning institution, which stands in the way of progress and action.

The eyes of the nation will be focused on what happens on Wednesday, and hopefully, Vice President Joe Biden, who also sees the essential need for reform, will help push it through by parliamentary maneuvers and the power of his leadership and connections with both parties of the Senate, with his 36 years of distinguished service in the upper body!

Vice President Joe Biden On Way To Becoming Most Influential Vice Presidency In History! :)

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The Vice Presidency has been growing in authority and influence since the days of Richard Nixon in that office, the first Vice President to have a great impact on a Presidency.

After Nixon, Nelson Rockefeller, Walter Mondale, George H W Bush, Al Gore, and Dick Cheney added to the office in so many ways.

But it looks likely now that Joe Biden may eventually be seen as the most influential and powerful Vice President, even surpassing the role of Dick Cheney under President George W. Bush.

Originally a rival of Barack Obama for the Presidency, Biden is rapidly becoming more significant, particularly now that the Congress will be divided for the first time since 1987.

Biden, with his contacts on Capitol Hill, and good relations with members and leaders of both political parties, is the perfect person to negotiate for the administration, and comes across as a more “affable fellow” than Rahm Emanuel was, or really, any other person around President Obama.

Biden has been involved in the negotiations over the tax package, and also is working hard on the START Treaty that is soon coming up for a vote, and requires GOP support to pass with a two thirds vote.

Biden and Obama have truly bonded over time, and while Biden might not win every battle, as with Afghanistan policy, who can say that Obama will not eventually go Biden’s direction and lower our involvement in that forsaken nation?

Biden is totally loyal to Obama and a great team player, and he is proving to be a tremendous asset in so many ways.

And his big plus is everyone likes Joe, while many detested Dick Cheney.

Personality can get one far in politics, and Joe Biden has always been a “nice guy” who can get things done, and proves that it is not always true that “nice guys finish last”.

Minnesota: The Ultimate Split State Politically!

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Here we are four weeks after the election, and still the Governorship race is not settled in Minnesota! 🙁

Democrat Mark Dayton, former Senator, leads Tom Emmer, the Republican and Tea Party favorite by a little over 8,000 votes, and the recount is still on, with Emmer challenging the result since it is within one percent or less of a lead held by Dayton.

This recount brings back memories of the Minnesota Senate race of 2008, which was ultimately won by Al Franken over Senator Norm Coleman by just a few hundred votes, after lawsuits and recounts that went on for six months!

Minnesota, once the state of such luminaries as Hubert Humphrey, Walter Mondale, Eugene McCarthy, and Paul Wellstone, today is the true epitome of a state with a split personality!

It has two Democratic Senators, Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken, but it has had Tim Pawlenty, a very conservative Republican as its governor, and Michele Bachmann, the Tea Party and conservative Congresswoman, as another major factor in the increasingly conservative GOP, and the voters have been truly evenly split about the direction of the state, leading to the excruciatingly close results in these statewide elections!

Minnesota is truly now a microcosm of the political state of the nation, and it is not a promising political climate for the future! 🙁