Day: June 29, 2013

The Ten Most Heroic Members Of The Senate: Committed To Reform And Decency!

Ronald 4 Comments

The US Senate is an exasperating legislative body, very slow to take action, and having too many members who cause one to roll his or her eyes and to sigh!

But it has its heroes and heroines, those members one knows are truly committed to reform and decency, and care about the middle class and the poor.

The “Honor Roll” of its ten most heroic members would include by last name alphabetical order the following, all Democrats:

Barbara Boxer of California
Sherrod Brown of Ohio
Chris Coons of Delaware
Al Franken of Minnesota
Kirsten Gillibrand of New York
Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota
Bernie Sanders of Vermont
Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts
Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island
Ron Wyden of Oregon

The “Honorable Mention” list of five other Senators would include four Democrats and one Republican:

Tom Harkin of Iowa
Patrick Leahy of Vermont
Jeff Merkley of Oregon
Barbara Mikulski of Maryland
Susan Collins of Maine (the only Republican)

The author welcomes commentary on these selections!

14 Republican Senators And The Future Of The GOP On Immigration Reform

Ronald 1 Comment

A total of 14 courageous, principled Republican Senators voted for the immigration reform bill which creates a path to citizenship over 13 years; doubles the number of troops at the Mexican border; spends twice as much on border security; and builds a 700 mile fence between Mexico and the United States.

32 Republican Senators voted against the bill in the US Senate, with a final vote of 68-32, all Democrats included in the majority.

The roll of honor of GOP Senators includes:

Marco Rubio of Florida
John McCain of Arizona
Jeff Flake of Arizona
Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire
Lamar Alexander of Tennessee
John Hoeven of North Dakota
Lindsey Graham of South Carolina
Bob Corker of Tennessee
Susan Collins of Maine
Orrin Hatch of Utah
Dean Heller of Nevada
Mark Kirk of Illinois
Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
Jeff Chiesa of New Jersey

These 14 Senators realize they will have their head handed to them by the Tea Party and right wing talk show hosts, but they did the right and moral thing by supporting reform.

Sadly, the other 32 Republican Senators and the majority of the House Republicans are not going to go along, and it will be up to Speaker of the House John Boehner, whether he will sacrifice his Speakership to do the right thing, promote passage of the Senate immigration reform bill, which is very rational and reasonable, and gives the Republicans a chance to gain some Hispanic and Latino support down the road!

Without this legislation, and maybe even with it, with the attack on women’s rights and gay rights, the Republican Party long term future is doomed!

The Hate Mongers Against Marco Rubio And Immigration Reform

Ronald 1 Comment

So the Republican Party right wing whackos are “eating their young”, the future of their pitiful party!

Senator Marco Rubio of Florida has discovered that members of his own party, and Tea Party supporters who helped him to win the Senate seat in 2010, are turning with a vengeance on him, a hatred that should make him think about joining the “tolerant” party, the Democrats!

The nerve of Rubio to co-sponsor an immigration reform bill, which spends many billions of dollars on border security, a border fence and doubling of troops at the border with Mexico, and give a path to citizenship over 13 years!

So he wants those “illegal immigrants” and their minor children who have grown up in America to have a chance at citizenship and some dignity, rather than have them live in the shadows for eternity!

Rubio, being an Hispanic Cuban, is looked down upon by most white Anglo Republicans, as the “scum of the earth”, something the Tea Party whackos had no problem with as long as Rubio played along with their hate and racism, but Rubio turned on them, unlike the other Cuban Republican Senator, Ted Cruz of Texas, who is making lots of friends on the far right with his denunciation of his rival, Rubio, in the battle for the GOP Presidential nomination in 2016!

Also major critics are fellow rival Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, whose IQ would not register on any test; former Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska; and conservative rabble-rousers Ann Coulter and Laura Ingaham. And of course, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and other conservative talk show hosts are not far behind!

And the list will become much longer very soon, and Marco Rubio is a marked man!

This is what happens when rationality and common decency is repudiated and replaced by hate, racism, and nativism!