Day: December 2, 2010

John McCain, Robert Gates, And Gays In The Military!

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Senator John McCain of Arizona, already criticized by his own wife and daughter, and coming across as an angry “old man” since his loss of the Presidency to Barack Obama, has lashed out at Secretary of Defense Robert Gates at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee on the report commissioned by the Defense Department on the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in the military! 🙁

Showing disdain for Gates, an appointee as Defense Secretary by both Presidents Bush and Obama, McCain was rude and arrogant in his criticism of the survey of the military, although Gates gave back as good as he got! 🙁

Not only that, but three members of the committee, who had not indicated their view on the repeal of the policy–Democrat Jim Webb of Virginia, and Republicans Scott Brown of Massachusetts and Susan Collins of Maine–gave hints that they disagreed with McCain’s bitter attacks and criticism of Gates, and might support repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, which would be crucial to possible action this month to end the policy!

At least two Republicans will be needed to overcome a filibuster and get the repeal accomplished, and finally end discrimination in the military and allow talented people, who have important skills, to contribute to the military defense of the United States!

Senator McCain is creating a record for himself in his later years in the Senate that will serve as an embarrassment for his historical reputation! 🙁

Sad Culmination Of A Political Career: The Censure Of Congressman Charlie Rangel!

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Congressman Charlie Rangel of Harlem has been censured by a 333-79 vote in the House of Representatives today for his financial and fund raising abuses over a period of years, a series of actions which embarrassed his colleagues and damaged his reputation after being Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, and a member of the House for 40 years! 🙁

This is indeed a sad moment for both Rangel and the House of Representatives 🙁

Rangel is seen as a nice guy with a winning personality and real concern for his district’s constituents, but he failed to follow basic ethical rules and was sloppy in his reporting and record keeping, possibly by omission and carelessness, although his critics would say because he has, as any long term Congressman or Senator seems to have, a level of arrogance!

Rangel is one of only 23 House members ever to be censured, which requires House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to read out loud the censure text with Rangel in the well of the House as the action takes place!

The problem is when one investigates the other 22 censures, Rangel’s censure seems less outrageous and not illegal, although certainly unethical!

One wonders if Rangel will remain in the House now, even though his constituents voted him in to another two year term, his 21st, by an 80 percent vote!

Time For Barack Obama To Stop Being A Nice Guy!

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President Barack Obama has proved to be a “nice guy” in office, and people across the nation tend to like him personally!

However, as the saying of the former baseball manager Leo Durocher was used, “nice guys finish last!”

It is time for Barack Obama to stop being a “nice guy”, and start being an aggressive leader, play “hardball” with the opposition, and appeal to the country in the manner that Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman utilized in their campaigns!

He needs to attack the Republican party over the next two years for their refusal to cooperate! He needs to give them hell, as Truman did in his 1948 election campaign! He needs to attack wealthy interests who have no concern for the American people, as FDR did in 1936!

Obama must show some “cajones”, and show the people of this nation that he has guts and courage as Truman and FDR had!

Obama made a major mistake in apologizing for failing to work with the Republicans the past two years! 🙁

There is NOTHING to apologize for, as he gained a mandate in his election, and should instead have condemned the GOP leadership and demanded an apology from THEM, which of course would NOT be forthcoming! 🙁

There is concern among liberals and progressives, and a lot of disappointment too, and Obama might very well be threatened with a challenge from the left, if he does not start to assert himself in a more aggressive fashion! Such a challenge would be tragic, and would certainly insure a re-election defeat, as for instance happened to William Howard Taft in 1912, Gerald Ford in 1976, Jimmy Carter in 1980, and George H. W. Bush in 1992!

So, Mr. President, show guts, courage and conviction, fight for the American people and what is right and moral, give the GOP hell, and then the American people will come to your defense and “throw the rascals out!”

The Ultimate Battleground For The 2012 Presidential Election: The Midwest!

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As a result of the Midterm Elections of 2010, it is becoming clear that the 2012 Presidential Election will be ultimately decided in the Midwest, an area of the country suffering more heavily from the Great Recession, and also an area that is losing a significant number of seats in the House of Representatives reapportionment that will take place, as a result of the Census of 2010!

Even though the Midwest is losing electoral votes because of a smaller relative population as compared to the growing Sun Belt, it still contains states that are among the top ten states in population plus others that are in the next ten states in population!

It is also an area that can presently be described as “purple”, rather than “blue” or “red”, but has moved in the direction of the Republican party in the midterm elections due to the economic hard times and the tendency to blame the party in the White House for the poor economic conditions!

With all of the key Midwestern states electing Republican governors except for Illinois, and many state legislatures and House seats going over to the GOP, it poses a massive problem for the Democrats and President Barack Obama as they look at the electoral scene for 2012!

However, two of those states historically are particularly crucial in a Presidential election–Ohio and Missouri!

Ohio has been the decisive state for the Republican Party, as every Republican President since the first one, Abraham Lincoln, to the last one, George W. Bush, has won Ohio! At the same time, it means that if Ohio goes to the Democrats, as say Jimmy Carter in 1976 and Barack Obama in 2008, the chances of Gerald Ford and John McCain were therefore dashed!

Missouri, if anything, has been the true bellwether state, as every single time since 1900, except 1956 and 2008, the winner of Missouri has become President! And even Dwight D. Eisenhower came close to defeating Adlai Stevenson in Missouri in 1956, and Barack Obama came extremely close to defeating John McCain in Missouri in 2008!

Since the Atlantic Coast of the nation–New England and the Middle Atlantic–is seen as solidly Democratic except maybe for New Hampshire and Pennsylvania, and the Pacific Coast also seen as solidly Democratic, while most of the South, maybe all of it including Florida, Virginia and North Carolina, are seen as solidly Republican next time, and much of the Mountain West and Great Plains also solidly “red”, it will be the Midwest which will decide the electoral winner again next time!

So the Democrats and Barack Obama will have to make inordinate efforts to appeal for support in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, and cannot afford to lose much of this area if the party and Obama are to win in 2012!

That is one of the reasons why the Democratic Party is planning its national convention in the Midwest in 2012, with St. Louis, Cleveland, and Minneapolis as the key competitors for that honor!

So despite declining population percentages, the heartland of the nation again will be the central focus in the upcoming national elections in 2012!

Importance Of Latino Vote For Democrats!

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The Democratic Party suffered major losses in the Midterm Elections of 2010, but it could have been far worse had it not been for solid Latino support in many states!

A couple of seats in the House of Representatives were saved because of Latino votes in Arizona, and the Senate seats of Harry Reid in Nevada, Michael Bennet in Colorado, and Barbara Boxer in California were retained due significantly to the Latino vote in those states for the Democrats!

Additionally, the Latino vote also helped Governor Pat Quinn to win in Illinois, and Jerry Brown to win the Governorship of California!

The only place that the Latino vote seemed to help Republicans was in Florida, where Marco Rubio won the Senate seat, but the difference is that Latinos in Florida are more heavily Cuban American, a voting bloc which tends to be strongly Republican. With Marco Rubio himself being a Cuban American, and replacing an elected Cuban American, Mel Martinez, who held the seat until he resigned in 2009, Florida is therefore a special case!

It is clear that the Latino vote can have a dramatic effect on the fortunes of  the Democratic Party in the 2012 elections, and be a decisive factor in the re-election campaign of President Barack Obama!

Creationist Theme Park Being Backed By Kentucky State Government: Is That Appropriate? :(

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A creationist theme park, sponsored by the Creationist Museum located seven miles from the Northern Kentucky-Cincinnati, Ohio Airport, is being supported by the Kentucky State government and Governor Steve Beshear, allowing the organization to gain tax advantages in the construction and operation of the theme park.

The corporation backing the project promotes the creationist concept, and denies the validity of Darwinist concepts of evolution!

It teaches that the earth is about 7,000 years old, that dinosaurs walked the earth with mankind, and that dinosaurs were on Noah’s Ark!

Is it appropriate for a state government to sponsor and promote such a theme park, considering the reality of the concept of separation of church and state? 🙁