Day: April 18, 2012

The “Tantalizing” Concept Of Condoleezza Rice For Vice President: A Mirage!

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A CNN poll of Republican and Independent voters as to who they would like to see as the GOP Vice Presidential nominee came up with a surprise Number One–former Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice!

This is a major surprise, as Rice’s name has not been listed as a realistic possibility, and she has not shown any interest in the past in running for public office, preferring to live the scholarly life at Stanford University, after eight grueling years in the midst of stress and tension as a major figure in the George W. Bush Administration.

Having been involved in a rivalry with Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Rice seemed perturbed at the memoirs of both men, and a need to defend her record and stands on issues. To believe that she would wish to get into the political fray is beyond comprehension of any intelligent observer.

But the thought of Rice running is “tantalizing” to many, as there are definite pluses, but also, however, minuses if she ran.

The pluses include:

Rice has broad and extensive experience in all areas of foreign and national security policy, a major plus for Mitt Romney, who has none of it.

Rice is highly intelligent, and would be a great contrast to Sarah Palin, the VIce Presidential nominee four years ago.

Rice, as a black woman, would possibly fill the image of diversity, even though most blacks would not vote for Romney because Rice is on the ticket. Maybe somewhat more women would vote if she was on the ticket, but not very much.

The minuses are:

Rice is a reminder of the George W. Bush Administration, and its failure to prevent September 11, and its long, drawn out wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Rice has no political experience, and has never been involved in domestic affairs responsibility of any kind.

Rice would likely be a problem for many Republicans, because she is pro choice on abortion and open minded on gay rights, two areas that would disqualify her for many hard line right wing Republicans and conservatives.

Rice is a strong willed person, and would not fit well into being a Vice President under a person, Mitt Romney, who seems to have traditional views of the roles of women, which Rice does not fit very well.

So it is interesting to think about the possibility of Condoleezza Rice, but don’t put betting money on the idea that she would indeed run for Vice President with Mitt Romney!

Baptist Pastor Robert Jeffress, The Mormon Church, And Barack Obama

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Pastor Robert Jeffress of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas was very blunt a few months ago, that the Mormon Church was a cult, was not at all Christian, and that he was very uncomfortable with the concept of supporting Mitt Romney for President, since he is a Mormon.

Now, Jeffress has decided to openly endorse Romney, despite his being a Mormon, and despite his discomfort with Mormon beliefs, without convincing anyone of his sincerity.

Instead, it is clear to anyone who wants to be honest, that Pastor Jeffress is backing Romney, because Jeffress is a racist, who cannot imagine himself supporting a black man, Barack Obama, who has made it clear he is Christian.

Pastor Jeffress says it is because Obama has promoted abortion rights, and also has supported advancements in gay rights, which is not part of the Bible, according to Pastor Jeffress, even though many theologians argue that the Bible does not directly address these issues.

But, Jeffress can support a non Christian, as he describes Mormons, who years ago supported abortion rights and gay rights, a man named Mitt Romney, who has conveniently changed his views on every issue imaginable, and who one would think no one could truly believe or trust!

Realize Mitt Romney’s mother, Lenore, ran for the US Senate, in Michigan in support of abortion rights in 1970, so Mitt is even going against the memory and views of his own mother!

And this is a man for a “good, moral” Christian pastor to support? Give us all a break, and accept the fact that, under no circumstance, would Pastor Jeffress ever back a black man for anything, because of the color of his skin!

And Pastor Jeffress is supposed to be a model for tolerance and understanding since he is a pastor, right? What hypocrisy beyond belief!

Women In Congress And Governorships: The Historical Record

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As we celebrate the growing role of women in public life and politics, the question arises as to what is the record of election of women to the two houses of Congress, and to state governorships.

An investigation reveals the following:

All but six states have elected women to the House Of Representatives since 1916, when Montana elected Jeanette Rankin. Those six exceptions are Alaska, Delaware, Iowa, Mississippi, North Dakota, and Vermont. But Alaska and North Dakota have had women in the US Senate, and Alaska, Delaware, and Vermont have had women governors. In Iowa and Mississippi, the highest elected woman has been a Lieutenant Governor.

Of course, to be fair, one must remember that Alaska, Delaware, North Dakota and Vermont each have had only one member of the House of Representatives, due to the small population of those states, offering only a total of four possibilities for election of a woman in each of those states–one House seat, two Senate seats, and one Governorship.

As far as Iowa and Mississippi, there is no such excuse available!

At the same time, right now, we have two women representing each of the following states in the US Senate–Maine, New Hampshire, California, and Washington State–three Republicans and five Democrats!

Gun Rights, Mass Murder, Chief Justice Warren Burger, And The Second Amendment

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The National Rifle Association is riding high, having succeeded in promotion of “Stand Your Ground” laws which has led to the deaths of hundreds of victims in the past ten years, including Trayvon Martin in Florida in February.

The NRA was the host of the rant of Ted Nugent last week, threatening the life of President Barack Obama, and calling for harm on Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Attorney General Eric Holder.

The NRA sat back and had no reaction to the assassination attempt against Arizona Congresswoman Gabriel Giffords in Tucson in January 2011.

The NRA had no reaction to the mass murder of 32 people at Virginia Tech five years ago this week.

The NRA had no reaction to the mass murder at Columbine High School in Colorado in 1999, also occurring this week.

The NRA continues to say that guns do not kill people, and that instead, people kill people, but fight against any sensible background checks, or the banning of assault weapons.

They continue to state that the Second Amendment allows uninhibited ownership of guns by anyone who wishes to collect them.

A Supreme Court case in June 2010 in McDonald V. Chicago further cemented their 2008 decision in District of Columbia V. Heller, with the five Supreme Court conservatives deciding both cases, in favor of gun owner rights.

The thought that such an important decision came about by a bare 5-4 vote on ideological grounds is very disturbing, and belies the statement of former Chief Justice Warren Burger, appointed by Richard Nixon in 1969 and serving to 1986.

In 1991, the former Chief Justice stated that the Second Amendment was subject to fraud by special interest groups, does not guarantee the right to have firearms at all, and was designed to provide state militia to promote defense of the state.

But then, as conservative as Burger was thought to be in his tenure on the Court, it is clear that the conservative majority on the Court today is far more right wing than any since the 1920s, a foreboding of the damage they may do in many key cases to be decided and announced between now and the end of June, including the Obama Health Care legislation!

The “Buffett Rule” Is The “Reagan Rule”, But Instead Cut Food Stamps: Republican Party Message To America!

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The “Buffett Rule”, the idea that those who earn more than a million dollars a year should pay a tax rate of 30 percent, more than their secretaries and other workers, was defeated in the Senate on a party line vote on Monday, with only Susan Collins of Maine voting with Democrats, and Mark Pryor of Arkansas voting with the Republicans, and 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster being unable to be accomplished.

Of course, the “Buffett Rule” is really a restatement of the “Reagan Rule”, the assertion of the 40th President that one should not expect an employee to pay a higher level of taxes than his or her employer. It is an embarrassment to the GOP of 2012, that they are actually defying their icon, their god, their “savior”, who they claim to be following and worshiping, but only when they choose to follow his lead. The fact that 72 percent of the American people in polls support the “Buffett Rule” has no effect at all on the Republicans, as they argue that $50 billion over ten years collected if the “Buffett Rule” went into effect is a “drop in the bucket”!

Meanwhile, the Republicans wish to cut spending on food stamps, the main source of funding for nutrition for poor families, attacked as socialism, but they insist that cutting it over ten years, saving $33.2 billion, is substantial, and must be done as part of the Paul Ryan budget plan in the House of Representatives.

The Republican Party has no conscience, as they are willing to take from the poor to give more tax cuts to the rich. They are Robin Hood in reverse, with no second thoughts!

So 4,000 families will benefit from the defeat of the “Buffett Rule”, while $46.4 million Americans, who are already dependent on food stamps for survival will see an 11 percent cut in monthly benefits after September 1.

The long term unemployed, who lost their jobs through no fault of their own, will now suffer even worse, as we now live in a society in which government leaders do not care about what hunger means, and do not care about the desperation of millions left behind, a large percentage of them children and single mothers, as long as the elite continue to get tax cuts!