Day: December 7, 2012

Speaker Of The House John Boehner In Danger Of Being Unseated By Tea Party Extremists!

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Speaker of the House John Boehner is in great danger of being unseated by Tea Party extremists and radical right wing opinion journalists, with RED STATE blogger Erick Erickson leading the charge!

They are concerned that Boehner will make a deal with President Barack Obama on the controversy over the “Fiscal Cliff”, and it has been made clear that if 16 Republicans in the new House of Representatives refuse to back Boehner on January 3, that he could lose his Speakership in a right wing revolt, and likely be replaced by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.

This situation has been brewing for the past two years, since Boehner has been a conservative who is seen as too much establishment oriented, and has displeased Tea Party wingnuts!

It is clear that the opening of the new Congress will not be dull in any sense!

Michigan Republicans Declare War On Organized Labor In State Where Labor Unions Became Nationally Significant In 1930s

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The state of Michigan was the location of the great auto strikes during the Great Depression years of the 1930s, and their success led to the rise of labor unions as major factors in American society and politics for the next fifty years.

But the Republican Party continued to be anti labor over those decades, and Ronald Reagan coming to the Presidency thirty years ago, ironically a labor leader himself with the Screen Actors Guild, became the beginning of a concerted attack on labor,which has continued in the states with the “Bully” Republican Governors elected in 2010.

And now, Michigan Republicans have declared war on collective bargaining, and have rammed through the legislature a “right to work” bill, which will be signed by Governor Rick Snyder, despite massive protests at the state capital in East Lansing.

Those who believe in collective bargaining and the right of labor to organize must organize and fight over the next two years, not only in Michigan, but in many other Republican states, to defeat the Governors and the reactionary members of the legislatures, in order to regain their basic human rights to decent conditions of work!

The State Of The Democratic Presidential Field As 2012 Ends

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This author has already, earlier today, made it clear that only four Republicans have any chance to be the Republican nominee in 2016, and, conceivably, to win the next Presidential election, although the odds against them are massive.

What about the Democratic field in a future election where the Democrats have a tremendous edge?

Realize that the likelihood of Barack Obama presiding over a greatly improved economy by 2016 will be a major boon to whoever is the party’s Presidential nominee.

So what is the state of the field?

There are three tiers of candidates, as things now stand.

First Tier—Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden, both extremely qualified and experienced, and the best of friends, and if either or both become candidates, they will be the so called “800 pound gorillas” in the race, very hard to overcome. But, of course, if they challenge each other, they could weaken each other and help a third candidate to gain the edge, someone with less experience, and significantly younger, which might be an appealing factor.

Second Tier—Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, Virginia Senator Mark Warner, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren–with all four being strong alternatives, and with one of them possibly able to challenge the two leaders, Clinton and Biden, if they both choose to compete, If neither Clinton nor Biden ends up a candidate, which is conceivable, then these four could be involved in a major competition.

Third Tier—Mayor Cory Booker of Newark, if he becomes Governor or Senator from New Jersey; San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, if he becomes Governor or Senator from Texas; Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick; Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar; New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand; all potential candidates of minority or gender diversity, but all of them less likely to have the opportunity to run, based on others who are competing, and difficulty raising money and supporters against others who are much more described as “heavy weights”, but they all could be possible Vice Presidential running mates.

So this is an early judgment on the Presidential race, and needless to state, there will be much more analysis of these potential candidates as the Presidential race begins in earnest in the second half of 2013, after the first hundred days of the new term! There will be no lack of news emerging on a regular basis, and the fact that this author and others are discussing the race only 30 days after the last Presidential election demonstrates, yet again, that there is no respite from politics, or speculation about the Presidential office and its present and future occupants!

Momentous Day As Supreme Court Chooses To Pass Judgment On Gay Marriage!

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Today has been a very momentous day, as the United States Supreme Court has chosen to accept two cases on gay marriage, one involving the constitutionality of the Defense Of Marriage Act of 1996, and the other the validity of the passage of Proposition 8 in California, banning gay marriage.

This could be the blockbuster case of the present term, when it is decided in late June of 2013, after oral arguments in March.

This matter brings to mind the Loving V Virginia case of 1967, when the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the right of interracial couples to be able to marry, a very controversial and divisive case in the age of the Civil Rights Movement.

It should be pointed out that many Southerners and Christian religious leaders opposed interracial marriage bitterly, but once it was settled by the Supreme Court, the issue was moot.

The same opposition, heavily Southern and religiously based, is now vehemently against gay marriage, but the tides of history are going against a continuation of discrimination.

If gay marriage is accepted by the Court, after already being legal in nine states, no religious group would be required to marry a gay couple, but they could be married civilly by a judge or county clerk, or hire someone who is legally qualified to marry couples.

The belief is strong that the Court will rule at least 5-4, if not 6-3, for gay marriage rights, with the four Democratic appointments to the Court—Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan—voting for the majority, along with Justice Anthony Kennedy, and possibly Chief Justice John Roberts.

Kennedy is the key vote, but since he supported the right of gays to privacy in the Lawrence V. Texas case in 2003, and was, indeed, the decisive fifth vote, it is believed he will take a step further in support of this major step forward.

Roberts is an unknown quantity, but after his surprising vote for ObamaCare in June, it is believed he might join the majority on this significant case.

So now, ten years later, it looks likely that the Court will have evolved further, and the right of anyone to marry who they love will be guaranteed as a basic civil right.

This is basic social justice, and a majority in public opinion polls, and particularly the younger generation, support gay marriage.

No one is saying that there cannot be people who oppose gay marriage, but society does not have the right to use their prejudices and religious views to deny basic human rights to others!

Pearl Harbor Day: Has It Been Forgotten?

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Today is the 71st Anniversary of the Japanese attack on our naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, bringing America into World War II.

Approximately, 2,400 servicemen were killed in the attack, and we fought the war against Japan with the aim of never forgetting what happened on that tragic day.

And yet, as World War II veterans die at a growing rate, the question that arises is whether most Americans have any understanding or recognition of the sacrifices of our military on that day, and in the four years after.

It is clear that many Americans have no clue as to what Pearl Harbor is all about, or the significance of this day in our history.

This is more tragic in many ways, than even the loss of our servicemen on that day, as to forget, or have no memory or interest in what happened, is a sign of a nation that is ignorant and uncaring!

It is also an indictment of our education system that our youths come out of high school, and even often college, with no clue as to their history, and even the history of other nations and civilizations.

An ignorant nation on history is doomed to be bamboozled by crafty politicians and religious extremists out to promote an agenda to take us backward, rather than forward!

Forget It: Chris Christie, Paul Ryan, Bob McDonnell, Bobby Jindal, Rick Santorum, John Kasich, Rand Paul, Scott Walker, Rick Perry, Ted Cruz, Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee! The White House Is NOT Your Future!

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Many Republican officeholders are hinting that they may seek the Presidency, but for a whole bunch of them, the best advice is to simply FORGET IT! There is no chance in the world that any of the following will be the next President of the United States:

Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey
Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin
Governor Bob McDonnell of Virginia
Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana
Former Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania
Governor John Kasich of Ohio
Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky
Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin
Governor Rick Perry of Texas
Senator Ted Cruz of Texas
Congresswoman Michele Bachmann of Minnesota
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee

In reality, any Republican nominee will have a great deal of trouble being elected President in 2016.

However, the following have some chance to be the nominee and to compete for the Presidency:

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush
Senator Marco Rubio of Florida
Former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman
Senator John Thune of South Dakota

Good luck, Gentleman, but the Democrats have a tremendous demographic edge for the long term future in the Presidency!

Retreat Of Right Wing Tea Party Types: A Good Month For Progressives And Democrats!

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One month since the Presidential Election of 2012, and we see the following:

Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina, leader of the Tea Party Caucus in the Senate, resigns and goes to the right wing think tank, the Heritage Foundation.

Grover Norquist, head of the Americans For Tax Reform, witnesses Republican members of Congress repudiating their tax pledge to him, and say they are willing to support tax increases.

Dick Armey, former House Majority Whip, leaves Tea Party backed organization Freedom Works over disagreements on policy and strategy.

Karl Rove, the “brains” of the George W. Bush election victories, flops badly with his superPAC, Crossroads GPS, and loses all credibility with his behavior on Fox News Channel.

Mitt Romney repudiates all involvement in the Republican and American future, preferring to stay in isolation and make yet more money.

Republican officeholders fall over each other trying to stand out as standing for different values than the losing Romney campaign promoted, on women, immigrants, gays and lesbians, and young people, the groups that will determine the political future of America.

YES, this has been a good month for progressives, liberals, Democrats, and forward looking people, as the Republican Party and conservative movement “purges” itself!

Republican Senate Leadership: From Howard Baker And Bob Dole To Trent Lott And Mitch McConnell

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A clear sign of the decline of the Republican Party in the Senate is the clear cut difference between earlier Republican leaders twenty to thirty years ago–Howard Baker of Tennessee and Bob Dole of Kansas—and recent Republican leadership, including Trent Lott of Mississippi and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

The first two were outstanding Senators, and in many ways, statesmen, while the latter two were and are party hacks, men with an image of prejudiced, narrow minded leadership, neither destined to be regarded in history as outstanding or as statesmen.

When one looks at the Republicans in the Senate today, one can only mourn the decline of a once great party, that had real outstanding leaders and other exceptional Senators, many of them now having passed on, but part of the historic Republican tradition of men of principle, who also knew how to work across the aisle!

Lowest Birth Rate Ever Recorded Since Statistics Were Kept: What It Means For America

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In 2010, we saw the lowest reported birth rate in America in its history, since statistics were kept, going back to 1920.

This includes all ethnic and racial groups, and even immigrants, notorious for having large families, are having smaller families.

This is due to many factors, including birth control methods, greater education of women, need of wives and husbands to work to survive and prosper, and recognition that quality of life is enhanced by having fewer children.

This means over time that the population of the United States will continue to age, and that creates a problem of how to take care of older people as there are fewer young people who work and pay taxes, so Social Security, Medicare, and other programs will be affected long term.

This puts America into the category of European countries which are over time on a trend to lose population as they age, and the reality that the mass of younger population will continue to grow in the “third world” nations, particularly in Asia, which already has 60 percent of the world’s population as it is right now.

So western civilization, as we define it, may be in a long range decline as the fulcrum of world affairs, being replaced by China, India, Pakistan, Indonesia and other rising Asian powers that are constantly rising in population.