Day: July 1, 2013

The Attack On Hillary Clinton As “Too Old”: Sexism Rears Its Ugly Head For The Republican Party Once Again!

Ronald 2 Comments

The Republican Party, led by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is 71 years old and looks older, is on the attack against Hillary Clinton, trying to destroy her likely candidacy for President, and likely election as our 45th President, by asserting she will be too old to be President in 2017 and beyond!

This assertion is absolutely laughable, and is purely another example of Republican sexism, as this argument would NOT be used against men!

The Republican Party seems to have forgotten that it had the three oldest nominees for President in American history, and one of them was elected in 1980, and served until nearly age 78, but not at his mental peak in his second term, Ronald Reagan!

Ronald Reagan never had the intellectual brilliance of Hillary Clinton, who would be eight months younger at inauguration for the first term in the Presidency!

And Bob Dole in 1996 was 73, and John McCain in 2008 was 72, when they were Presidential nominees!

The GOP has no strong arguments, and they are afraid of Hillary Clinton, so they come up with this despicable excuse of an argument, about her age of 69 upon election!

The tactic will NOT work, as if Hillary wants the nomination, she will win it, and take the oath of office as President on January 20, 2017!

113th Congress To Set Record As Least Productive Since World War II!

Ronald 3 Comments

THe 113th Congress, the second consecutive Congress to be a split Congress of a Republican majority in the US House of Representatives, and a Democratic majority in the US Senate, the only two times that a split Congress has been of this such division in American history, is on its way to becoming the least productive since World War II, surpassing the dismal record of the previous 112th Congress in 2011-2012!

A reminder that the other “split” Congresses were of a Republican Senate and Democratic House, and a lot more was accomplished under that scenario in 1911-1913, 1931-1933, and 1981-1987!

But this 113th Congress is setting a record for obstructionism never seen in American history!

The GOP is preventing action on the following:

The rebuilding of America’s infrastructure, badly in need of repair.
Accessible and affordable health care for all Americans
Getting off dependence on foreign oil by having a clean energy agenda
Promotion of the protection of women’s health
Responsible gun regulations to prevent future Sandy Hooks
Immigration Reform
Air and water pollution regulations
Strengthening of voting rights and civil rights for all Americans
Wall Street and banking reforms to prevent future “crashes”
A new farm bill, including food stamp protection for the poorest among us
Student loan interest reform

Confidence in Congress is at an all time low of TEN percent! The Republicans have abused the filibuster weapon in the US Senate, and the Tea Party Movement in the House of Representatives has hijacked even the Speaker of the House, John Boehner, who is powerless in the assault on cooperation and crossing of the aisle so essential for anything to get done in Congress!

Only 15 legislative items have become law in the past six months, lower than the 23 which became law in the first six months of the 112th Congress!

Those who believe that divided and split government is good for democracy are learning the hard way that it is the prescription for statemate, gridlock, and total paralysis, and that the answer is to kick out the Republican House majority and elect a Democratic majority in both houses, ideally with a filibuster proof Senate of 60 Democrats!

Sadly, neither of these ideas are realistically tenable, so the halting of effective government is likely to continue, undermining the future of America!

The “Never Ever” States On Gay Marriage Unless Supreme Court Mandates Acceptance Nationally

Ronald 1 Comment

It is clear that unless, at some future time, the Supreme Court mandates acceptance of gay marriage nationally, as they did for interracial marriage in Loving V. Virginia in 1967, that states primarily Southern, Great Plains, and Mountain West will continue to resist it with a “never ever” attitude!

What is also in common, however, is that these are the states which promoted slavery, advocated racial segregation, and have led the fight to deny women equality, including the right to their own bodies and reproductive rights, all the while advocating how “religious” they are while promoting violation of human rights!

The states, based on public opinion, MOST stubborn on acceptance of gay marriage, are in order as follows:

Mississippi
Arkansas
South Carolina
West Virginia
Kentucky
Georgia
Utah
Louisiana
Nebraska
Alabama
Kansas
Oklahoma
Missouri
Wyoming
Idaho
Alaska

These states register between 13 and 40 percent support for gay marriage, a total of 16 of 23 states with negative view on gay marriage in public opinion polls.

Seven others are negative but above 40 percent and have potential for change, including in order from highest to lowest:

North Carolina
Montana
Florida
Wisconsin
South Dakota
North Dakota
New Mexico

It will be an interesting battle that will go on in all of these states, but IF the Supreme Court goes a step further in the near future, it will be a moot issue!

Number Of States Legalizing Gay Marriage Likely To Double In Short Period Of Time

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Now that the Supreme Court has ruled on gay marriage, and with 13 states now having legalized it, it seems likely, based on recent public opinion polls, that the number of states that will join the 13 is likely to be 12 more states, making half of the states allowing gay marriage by the next year or two,

The states that seem likely over the next two years to legalize are:

New Jersey
Michigan
Virginia
Arizona
Hawaii
Nevada
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Colorado
Illinois
Tennessee
Ohio

The first ten listed already have polls indicating 50 percent or more in favor of gay marriage, with Tennessee and Ohio having 49 and 48 percent respectively, with opposition being lower in percentage than those numbers.

In addition, Texas and Indiana have even division in percentage, 48-48 in Texas and 45-45 in Indiana.

So, a total of 25, and maybe 27, states will have legalized gay marriage in a very short period of time, as the destiny of history charges on!

Former Presidential Contenders Who Have Gone Far Right Since: Mike Huckabee And Lamar Alexander

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When one looks back at past Presidential campaigns at the numerous Presidential wannabees who failed to gain the nomination, one realizes the evolution of some of them from a respectable moderate conservative view to an extremist far Right advocacy now!

It is astounding to see people the author once respected going off the deep end, in their desire to conform to the Tea Party crowd!

Two such examples are former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who sought the GOP nomination in 2008, and former Tennessee Governor and Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander, who sought the Presidency in 1996 and 2000, and served as Education Secretary under President George H. W. Bush.

Huckabee has his own talk show on radio and a Fox News Channel show as well, and he sounds like a total right wing lunatic these days, instead of the reasonable, personable conservative he was as Governor and as a candidate for President. It is astounding how he has caved in to the Tea Party crowd in his mad quest to enrich himself by saying what his right wing audience wants to hear!

And Alexander, now a Senator from Tennessee, was someone to be respected, but now is off the wall in his views, including wishing to end the minimum wage, which is already way behind the cost of living, but yet he wants to keep low wage workers in permanent poverty!

Both should be ashamed of themselves, as their legacy will be the destruction of their reasonable moderate conservative image, which at the time of the Presidential Elections of 1996, 2000, and 2008, made them decent alternatives to Bob Dole, George W. Bush, and John McCain!